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Catholic Charities DC volunteers load dinner plates and serve those in need

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:40 GMT

Several hundred people, young and old, lined up Wednesday afternoon in a queue that wrapped around the block at 9th and G Streets Northwest. Bundled up against the cold, the patient crowd waited for seats at decorated tables arrayed outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington turned its regular Wednesday hot meal service for the hungry and homeless into an early Christmas dinner, replete with roast turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, collard greens and cornbread.Eager volunteers of the St. Maria’s Meals program made up the plates at a long table of chafing dishes, then served their guests, who were seated at round banquet tables, covered with red tablecloths and topped with a poinsettia plant.“Everyone deserves dignity, everybody matters, everybody counts,” said Jim Malloy, president and CEO of Catholic Charities DC.“We have people that are without their homes that are here, and they come here to get a...

No. 3 NC State recovers from slow start and blows out Old Dominion 87-50 for another 12-0 start

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:40 GMT

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Madison Hayes scored 17 points to lead six players in double figures and No. 3 North Carolina State ran away from Old Dominion 87-50 on Wednesday night, spoiling the Lady Monarchs’ tribute to the late Anne Donovan.Aziaha James, from nearby Virginia Beach, added 16 points and Zoe Brooks had 11 assists as the Wolfpack (12-0) capped the fifth unbeaten nonconference schedule in its history and its third 12-0 start in the past 11 seasons under coach Wes Moore.Brenda Fontana led Old Dominion (8-2) with 12 points and Nnenna Orji had 10, but the Lady Monarchs lost their second straight. It was also Old Dominion’s first home loss in nonconference action in 13 games dating to last season.The Lady Monarchs scored the first six points of the second period to lead 19-18, but the Wolfpack outscored ODU 18-2 over the final 6:36 of the first half to lead 36-21 at the intermission and never let the Lady Monarchs back in the game.NC State won the second half 51-29.Dono...

Maryland-born Broadway star Myles Frost makes film debut next month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:40 GMT

Montgomery County, Maryland’s own Myles Frost wowed audiences playing Michael Jackson in “MJ: The Musical” on Broadway. He later became the youngest individual actor to win a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2022.Now, Frost is jumping to the big screen, with a role in the upcoming Ava DuVernay film “Origin.” The movie is based on the bestselling book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson and explores racism in America.Frost portrays Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Black teen who was killed in Florida by a neighborhood watch volunteer in 2012.“This is Trayvon Martin. This is the first time he’s ever been put on film, so it was a lot to take in,” Frost told WTOP. “The essence of Trayvon Martin is he’s just like me. He was a young kid, he’s a young teenager.”“Origin” won two awards at the Virginia Film Festival. It hits theaters Jan. 19, and Frost says to bring a box of tissues.“I cried like six, seven times, and I’m not a crier,” he said. “It’s very impo...

Athletics lefty Sean Newcomb has surgery on right knee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:40 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Athletics left-hander Sean Newcomb had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday to help alleviate pain he experienced while recovering from a procedure on his left knee in September.Team orthopedist Dr. Will Workman performed a medial meniscectomy, the team said. Newcomb, who went 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA over seven games with two starts spanning 15 innings, is projected to be ready to pitch by the start of spring training.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLBSource

Northfield High victim of alleged rape frustrated with school response

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:40 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A 14-year-old girl who says a 16-year-old boy raped her in the bathroom last Monday at Northfield High School said she's upset with how the school handled her coming forward.The victim said she walked into the family bathroom near her classroom on Monday, Dec. 11, when the 16-year-old boy followed her in, locked the door, turned off the lights and assaulted her, and she says she told him to stop more than once. Missing Colorado child found in Virginia sex trafficking sting She said she feels like her high school years have been stripped away from her."I don’t want to go back there. That’s where I've been for a few months and built friendships and relationships and stuff, and now, I feel like it's all taken away from me and the school doesn’t really care," she said.Boy allowed at school during sex assault investigation"The policy heavily favors the assailant; it doesn't favor the victim," Marlo Greer, attorney for the victim, said about how the boy was allowed back ...

Transcript: Denver Mayor Mike Johnston talks homeless policy with FOX31

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:40 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver residents have been asking a lot of questions about the mayor’s homelessness policies.Mayor Mike Johnston made himself available for a 20-minute sit-down interview with FOX31. Here is a full transcript, lightly edited for clarity.You ran with a clear mission of solving the homeless crisis here in Denver. Did you expect to get this much pushback?Johnston: I actually thought we would have gotten more, I think. I've actually been surprised by how supportive people have been all around the city, even in the midst of some of the hardest, most contentious conversations. When even the very large town hall meeting we had last weekend about the Embassy Suites where people were upset, I still think more than 40% of the people in that room, that day, all raised their hands and they said, 'Who wants this to go forward?' And so, and that doesn't even consider the many thousands of people who are supportive that aren't showing up.But, you know, we get everyday stories of pe...

Reenactment of Rosa Parks’ arrest at St. Cloud preschool sparks controversy; 2-year-old seen with hands behind her back

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:40 GMT

ST. CLOUD, Fla. (WSVN) — A Central Florida preschool is facing criticism regarding a controversial lesson that involved toddlers reenacting the arrest of a civil rights icon.The class at the Building Brains Academy in St. Cloud was learning about the legacy of Rosa Parks, but the parents of a young girl said the school used an offensive way to teach this lesson.The pictures shared in a school parent group — and shared by the NAACP — showed a 2-year-old girl with her hands behind her back and hand-printed by another student while learning about Parks.A spokesperson for the preschool said this a spontaneous activity, but the girl’s family said everything about the reenactment is inappropriate.“Her hands [were] restrained behind her back as if she was being taken into custody, and then the next image was her hands being placed on a table as of she was being booked,” said Bri, the child’s mother. “The look on her face alone, it was horrifi...

Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza isn’t ‘indiscriminate’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:40 GMT

Brigadier General (Ret) Mark Kimmitt is a former assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs and deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East.After United States President Joe Biden accused the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) of conducting an “indiscriminate” bombing campaign in Gaza last week, reports have now emerged of the IDF’s extensive use of unguided bombs.Set against images of wounded Palestinians and demolished infrastructure seen the world over, this criticism has intensified growing calls from within the U.S. to pressure Israel into declaring a cease-fire and putting a leash on a seemingly undisciplined military.However, this critique is largely unwarranted. And lost in the discussion are the extensive procedures the IDF uses to enforce tough standards aimed at minimizing civilian deaths and protecting infrastructure.At the tactical level, planners consider all possible variables in terms of their impact on mission accomplishment. They take into ...

Meloni’s dangerous constitutional change in Italy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:40 GMT

Michael Meyer-Resende and Nino Tsereteli work for Democracy Reporting International, a Berlin-based NGO.The optics are terrible: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made proposals for constitutional reform that are eerily reminiscent of another constitutional change made a century ago by Benito Mussolini.Adopted in November 1923, Mussolini’s notorious Acerbo Law established that the party winning the largest share of the vote — even if only 25 percent — would get two-thirds of the seats in parliament. And after his party won the subsequent election — although intimidation and violence proved more important there than tampering with electoral law — the road to dictatorship was paved.Meloni’s current proposal now echoes this Acerbo Law, as the Italian leader wants to automatically give the party with the highest percentage of votes a 55 percent share of the seats in parliament. In other words, as long as one party receives more votes than any other — even if that were, say...

Labour staff work for lobbying firm touting Westminster access

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:40 GMT

LONDON — Labour staffers working on the U.K. parliamentary estate have second jobs with a lobbying firm that offers “an on-the-spot interface between the client and MPs.”Solidarity Consulting Ltd acts on behalf of unions, charities and campaign groups.It states on its website that it is a “political and parliamentary consultancy service with a not-for-profit ethos.” The firm is a limited company with £211,000 in net assets, according to its most recent financial statements.It openly advertises its presence in parliament as a selling point for its services — and four of its staff work in MP offices, entitling them to parliamentary passes.“We provide an on-the-spot interface between the client and MPs and we are present in Parliament on a daily basis, organising briefings, lobbies and interventions,” the organization says. “We ensure that each client has a vocal presence in Parliament and that their campaigns are effectively progressed.”Parliamentar...