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Salman Rushdie warns free expression under threat in rare public address after attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:13 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Writer Salman Rushdie has made a public speech, nine months after being stabbed and seriously injured onstage, warning that freedom of expression in the West is under its most severe threat in his lifetime.Rushdie delivered a video message to the British Book Awards, where he was awarded the Freedom to Publish award on Monday evening. Organizers said the honor “acknowledges the determination of authors, publishers and booksellers who take a stand against intolerance, despite the ongoing threats they face.”He said that “we live in a moment, I think, at which freedom of expression, freedom to publish has not in my lifetime been under such threat in the countries of the West.”“Now I am sitting here in the U.S., I have to look at the extraordinary attack on libraries, and books for children in schools,” he said. “The attack on the idea of libraries themselves. It is quite remarkably alarming, and we need to be very aware of it, and to fight against it very hard.”Rushdie, 7...

Seeing a ton of potholes? Here's how to report them

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:13 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — It's back again, pothole season. Denver has already seen record-breaking rainfall this spring, and all the moisture is causing problems on roads and highways.This May is already the 11th wettest on record with 4.65 inches of rainfall so far, and there is still half of the month to go.The Colorado Department of Transportation is addressing the pothole problem and is asking drivers to watch out for road closures as crews work on repairs. 23 Adams County roads still closed after deluge Potholes are a part of life in Colorado, but you can be a part of the solution by reporting them so that repairs can be scheduled. Who you can callTo report a pothole, call one of these CDOT hotlines depending on the area its located:Metropolitan Denver – Region 1: 303-759-2368Southeastern Colorado – Region 2: 719-562-5568Northwestern Colorado – Region 3: 970-243-2368Northeastern Colorado – Region 4: 970-350-2368Southwestern Colorado – Region 5: 970-385-1423CDOT only repairs state roadw...

Fatal crash in Deerfield Beach causes road closure

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:13 GMT

A fatal crash in Deerfield Beach led to a major road closing after police blocked off the area for an investigation.Around 7 a.m. Tuesday, a collision between a vehicle and a motorcycle occurred on Powerline Road near Hillsboro Boulevard.Live video footage showed the scene where skid marks could be seen on the street and the wrecked motorcycle on its side. Yellow tarps were also evident on the road, which indicates a body is underneath it.Details of the incident are limited as police continue to investigate the scene.As a result of this incident, the northbound and southbound lanes of Powerline Road have been affected.https://twitter.com/browardsheriff/status/1658441588983361539?s=20Drivers are urged to avoid the area until crews have cleared the road.

Two rare, unknown Rembrandt portraits worth millions discovered in private collection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:13 GMT

(CNN) — A pair of unknown and “exceptionally rare” portraits by Rembrandt have been discovered in a private collection in the UK.The intimate paintings of relatives of the Dutch master are now expected to sell for between £5 million and £8 million ($6.25 million-$10 million) at auction.Signed and dated 1635, the pictures are of an elderly husband and wife who were related to Rembrandt by marriage.Measuring just under 8 inches high, the paintings depict wealthy plumber Jan Willemsz van der Pluym and his wife Jaapgen Carels, who were from a prominent family in the Dutch city of Leiden.Their son Dominicus van der Pluym was married to Rembrandt’s cousin Cornelia van Suytbroec. The couple had one child, Karel van der Pluym, who is thought to have trained with Rembrandt and included the artist’s only surviving heir, Titus, in his will.In 1635, the year the portraits were painted, the subjects acquired a garden next to that of RembrandtR...

2 arrested, person sought in New Hampshire graduation party shooting that wounded 4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:13 GMT

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Two men have been arrested and there’s a search for a third person following a shooting at a graduation party in New Hampshire that wounded four people, police said.A 21-year-old man was charged Monday with four counts of felony reckless conduct and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. A 20-year-old man was charged with criminal liability to reckless conduct and two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Both also face parole violations.It wasn’t immediately known when they would face a judge or if they had lawyers.The Manchester Police Department said Monday night they were still working to identify a third person and asked for the public’s help regarding the identity and any further information about the shootings.The victims in Saturday’s shooting in Manchester included two women and two men, all in their 20s, who are expected to survive, police said.Initial reports said two males in h...

Taco Bell is fighting to cancel the ‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:13 GMT

New York (CNN) — Taco Bell wants to liberate the “Taco Tuesday” trademark from a smaller, rival chain.The taco chain filed a petition Tuesday (naturally) with the US Patent and Trademark office to cancel the trademark, owned by rival Taco John’s for 34 years, because Taco Bell claims the commonly used phrase “should be freely available to all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos.”Since Taco John’s owns the trademark, other restaurants and companies must seek permission to use “Taco Tuesday” in branding and advertising.The use of the phrase “potentially subjects Taco Bell and anyone else who wants to share tacos with the world to the possibility of legal action or angry letters if they say ‘Taco Tuesday’ without express permission from [Taco John’s] — simply for pursuing happiness on a Tuesday,” the filing said.Taco Bell added that “nobody should have exclusive rights in a common phrase.”Maggie Mettler, director of legal for Taco Bell’s parent company...

Biden and congressional leaders to meet in debt ceiling showdown as McCarthy pushes for faster deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:13 GMT

 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is ready to discuss the debt ceiling with congressional leaders at the White House in a high-profile session with reverberations across the globe as early outlines of a potential deal begin to emerge from painstakingly slow negotiations.Raising the stakes, the Tuesday afternoon session comes as Biden is preparing to depart for the Group of Seven summit in Japan where the U.S. leadership will be on the world stage later this week. The president and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are trying to strike a budget deal before the U.S. Treasury runs out of cash to keep paying the nation’s bills, which could occur as soon as June 1.While Biden has remained upbeat that “we’ll be able to do this,” McCarthy is prodding the president to move faster. The Republican speaker says they need an agreement soon to avoid default. Expectations are low that a deal is that close at hand. Instead, it is more likely that staff talks will continue while the president ...

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, set to receive Ms. Foundation’s Woman of Vision Award

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will be in New York Tuesday night, along with Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown, to receive the Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Award, as the nation’s oldest women’s foundation marks its 50th anniversary.The appearance is set to be her first public event since she opted to skip the coronation of her father-in-law King Charles III earlier this month in order to stay at home in California for her son Prince Archie’s sixth birthday. Her husband Prince Harry attended the coronation in London and then rushed back to California.Funds raised at the foundation’s annual gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan will be used to further the organization’s equity-centered initiatives and its mission of advancing women’s collective power.The foundation will also honor Wanda Irving, co-founder of Dr. Shalon’s Maternal Action Project, and Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of URGE, as well as abortion rights activist Olivia Juliann...

Beijing LGBT Center shuttered as crackdown grows in China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:13 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — An advocacy group that also served as a safe space for the LGBTQ community in Beijing became the latest organization to close under a crackdown by Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government.“We very regretfully announce, due to forces beyond our control, the Beijing LGBT Center will stop operating today,” read a notice posted on the center’s official WeChat account Monday night. Beijing LGBT Center did not respond to an email request for comment. The Ministry of Civil Affairs, which oversees nonprofits in China, also did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.The group’s shuttering marks a critical blow for advocacy groups that once had been able to be public about their work for LGBTQ+ rights.“They are not the first group, nor are they the largest, but because Beijing LGBT Center was in Beijing, it represented China’s LGBT movement,” said one Chinese activist who requested anonymity out of fear for his safety. “In our political, e...

Canada ‘extremely concerned’ about fate of Line 5 pipeline in Wisconsin, embassy says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:13 GMT

WASHINGTON — Canada’s embassy in Washington says it is “extremely concerned” about the fate of the Line 5 cross-border pipeline. A court hearing Thursday in Wisconsin could determine whether the pipeline, owned and operated by Enbridge Inc., is allowed to continue operating. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa says spring flooding has heightened the risk of a rupture and it wants a federal judge to shut the line down. A strongly worded statement from the embassy says doing so would endanger more than 33,000 U.S. jobs and US$20 billion in economic activity. Canada argues that Line 5 is a vital energy conduit across the U.S. Midwest and an economic lifeline for Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. The Indigenous band fears a rupture would foul not only a key watershed on its territory, but also the waters of Lake Superior. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2023.The Canadian Press