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French town gathers at playground where young children were stabbed to support victims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:32 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Children, parents and grandparents joined a few thousand well-wishers Sunday in a park in the French Alps town of Annecy to show solidarity and support for the victims of a playground stabbing attack that left four young children and two adults hospitalized with serious wounds, The children represent ‘’the poetry of life,” Annecy Mayor Francois Astorg told the crowd, calling on Annecy residents to “come together to build, instead of to hate.”Astorg had called for a “citizens’ gathering’’ in the lakeside park where a man with a knife raced around stabbing people Thursday. City officials reopened the playground hours after the attack in an attempt to show the area was again safe.People have heaped flowers, stuffed toys and messages of support on the playground’s padded surface in the days since. A pink heart-shaped balloon tied to a bench read, “For the children – LOVE.”The children targeted were a 22-month-old Dutch girl, a 3-year-old British girl, and two 2-year-o...

Hospitalized Pope Francis follows Mass on TV, lunches with medical personnel and aides

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:32 GMT

ROME (AP) — Sticking to doctors’ advice, Pope Francis on Sunday skipped his customary Sunday noon public blessing as he convalesces from abdominal surgery, but he followed Mass on TV from a Rome hospital and prayed in private, the Vatican said.Francis also ate lunch in his 10-floor hospital apartment with doctors, nurses, other medical staff and members of his Vatican security detail, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a written statement.The surgeon who performed the three-hour surgery Wednesday to repair an abdominal hernia and to remove painful internal scarring that had resulted from previous operations said the 86-year-old pontiff had begun a semi-liquid diet. Dr. Sergio Alfieri also told reporters that medical staff had made clear to Francis their concerns that even if the pontiff delivered the noon public blessing and greeting from a balcony down the corridor from his hospital room, he might over-exert himself and tear a prosthetic mesh that was inserted as part of ...

Meet the LGBTQ activist who challenged his Caribbean country’s anti-sodomy law and won

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:32 GMT

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua (AP) — For years, Orden David was persecuted in his native Antigua and Barbuda — a frequent complaint by many LGBTQ people who fear for their safety across the conservative and mostly Christian Caribbean, where anti-gay hostility is widespread. David was bullied and ridiculed. One time, a man stepped out of a car, made a comment about how a gay man was walking on the street late at night, then hit him in the head. More recently, another stranger struck him in the face in broad daylight, knocking him out. That’s when he had enough.Facing ostracism and risking his life as the public face of the LGBTQ movement, David took his government to court in 2022 to demand an end to his country’s anti-sodomy law.“I realized that with our community, we’ve gone through a lot and there’s no justice for us,” Orden told The Associated Press. “We all have rights. And we all deserve the same treatment.”Last year, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court ruled the law un...

Lawmakers say UK’s planned law to deport Channel migrants breaches rights obligations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:32 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A committee of British lawmakers said Sunday that the U.K. will break its international human rights commitments if it goes through with government plans to detain and deport people who cross the English Channel in small boats.Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights said the Illegal Migration Bill “breaches a number of the U.K.’s international human rights obligations and risks breaching others.”Scottish National Party lawmaker Joanna Cherry, who chairs the committee, said the law would leave most refugees and victims of modern slavery with no way of seeking asylum in Britain.“By treating victims of modern slavery as ‘illegal migrants’ subject to detention and removal, this bill would breach our legal obligations to such victims and would risk increasing trafficking of vulnerable people,” she said.The committee urged the government to make sweeping amendments to the bill, including exempting trafficking victims and curbing the government’s power to detain people i...

Three British tourists missing after a boat caught fire off Egypt’s Red Sea coast, authorities say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:32 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities said three British nationals were missing after a scuba diving boat they were cruising in caught fire off Egypt’s Red Sea coastline on Sunday.In a short statement, Egypt’s Red Sea Governate said 12 crew members and 12 British tourists were rescued when a medium-sized scuba diving boat, christened “Hurricane,” went up in flames off the southern Red Sea resort town of Marsa Alam. A search party was launched to find the remaining three British tourists whose identities were not revealed. Following an initial examination of the vessel, Egyptian authorities said, “an electrical short circuit in the boat’s engine room sparked the blaze.” Britain’s Foreign Office said that it was in contact with the Egyptian authorities and is “supporting the British nationals involved.”Fatal boat accidents are uncommon in Egypt. In 2021 a boat capsized in a lake near Egypt’s Mediterranean city of Alexandria, leaving at least five people dead, including three c...

In a last-ditch effort, longtime Southern Baptist churches expelled for women pastors fight to stay

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:32 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The robed choir performed a rousing missionary chorus, the worshippers sang from the Baptist Hymnal, and the pastor preached on the need to listen to God before inviting people to come forward and profess faith in Jesus.If there was ever a blueprint for a traditional Southern Baptist worship service, Fern Creek Baptist Church followed it to a tee on a recent Sunday.Except for one key detail.The pastor is a woman.And because of that, Fern Creek is no longer a Southern Baptist church.In February, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee voted to oust Fern Creek for having a woman pastor — the same issue it cited for expelling four other churches, including the massive California-based Saddleback Church. All Baptist churches are independent, so the convention can’t tell them what to do, but it can decide which churches are “not in friendly cooperation,” the official verbiage for an expulsion.Fern Creek and Saddleback are appealing the decision to the...

Man, 70, found dead in house fire on far South Side ID'd

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:32 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 70-year-old man who was found dead in a bed in a house fire on the city's far South Side overnight has been identified. The man was identified as Aaron Gill and relatives told WGN he had been living in the home for 27 years. The Chicago Fire Department reported the fire at a home in the 104th and South Calumet Avenue just before midnight in the city's Roseland neighborhood. Boy, 15, injured after shooting in Austin overnight Firefighters said upon arrival, flames were coming from the back of the house. They believe that is where the fire erupted. Reports said the windows of the home were broken, the ceiling collapsed and there was damage to the roof. A cause of the fire has not been named yet. Relatives told WGN that firefighters stated a possible cause could been electrical due to faulty wiring. The incident is currently under investigation.

England's health service says it won't give puberty blockers to children at gender clinics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:32 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The publicly funded health service in England has decided it will not routinely offer puberty-blocking drugs to children at gender identity clinics, saying more evidence is needed about the potential benefits and harms.The National Health Service said Friday that “outside of a research setting, puberty suppressing hormones should not be routinely commissioned for children and adolescents.”Children can still be given puberty blockers in exceptional circumstances, the NHS said, and a clinical study on their impact on kids is due to start by next year.The four new regional clinics are due to open later this year. They replace London’s Gender Identity Development Service, previously the only facility of its kind in England. It is scheduled to shut down after a review said it was overburdened by increasing demand and there was not enough evidence about the outcomes of its treatment.Hormone blockers are drugs that can pause the development of puberty, and are sometimes presc...

Splash time in Texas! 10 must-see water parks in Texas to visit this summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:32 GMT

DALLAS (KDAF) — Summertime is the perfect time to enjoy the warm weather and take a break from everyday life. If you're looking for a fun, splashy way to cool off in Texas, then these 10 must-see water parks are where you need to be.1. Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels is known for its tall slides, lazy rivers, and cool wave pools. With lots of attractions, there’s something for everyone here.2. Splashway Waterpark and Campground in Sheridan offers both wet and dry fun. It has thrilling slides, a lazy river, and a swim-up bar.3. Big Rivers Waterpark in New Caney boasts more than 20 rides and attractions, including a wave pool, lazy river, and several water slides.4. Hurricane Harbor Splashtown in Spring is the place to go for thrills. It has heart-stopping slides, a wave pool, and a lazy river.5. Typhoon Texas Waterpark in Katy is a great destination for families. It offers a wave pool, lazy river, and a variety of slides.6. Aquatica in San Antonio is a Caribbean-themed water...

Headless 'Jane Doe' found in West Texas in 1982 identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:32 GMT

LUBBOCK, Texas -- For the first time, officials Thursday publicly identified a body found in 1982 as Debra Mackey.  As part of the announcement, the Texas Department of Public Safety and Lubbock Police Department asked for the public’s help in that case. The remains of a headless Jane Doe were found more than 40 years ago in Hale County.Mackey was 20 years old when she disappeared and her family reported her missing to police, according to LPD. A little over a month later, a body was found in Hale County but the remains couldn't be identified, LPD said. In 1983, American serial killer Henry Lee Lucas confessed to being responsible for the death, but it was later determined to be untrue. Lucas' case was dismissed in 1986 and Mackey's body was buried in 1993. Previous reports said her body was exhumed in 2015 when doubts arose about the medical examiner's conclusions that she was a Caucasian female. DoeNetwork a non-profit focused on unidentified and missing persons, said that the sku...