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Library association reports record book ban attempts in 2022

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Attempted book bans and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022, according to a new report from the American Library Association being released Thursday.More than 1,200 challenges were compiled by the association in 2022, nearly double the then-record total from 2021 and by far the most since the ALA began keeping data 20 years ago. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “The last two years have been exhausting, frightening, outrage inducing.”Thursday’s report not only documents the growing number of challenges, but also their changing nature. A few years ago, complaints usually arose with parents and other community members and referred to an individual book. Now, the requests are often for multiple removals, and organized by national groups such as the conservative Moms for Liberty, which has a mission of “unifying, ed...

Etobicoke house fire leaves woman in life-threatening condition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:58 GMT

A woman is fighting for her life in hospital after an early morning house fire in Etobicoke.The one-alarm fire broke out around 12:30 a.m. Thursday on Brussels Street in the area of The Queensway and Park Lawn Road.Fire crews say a woman was rescued from the second floor of the home and given lifesaving treatment on scene before being rushed to hospital.She remains in hospital in life-threatening condition.The fire has since been put out. There is no word on the cause.Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg says police and the Ontario Fire Marshal are on scene investigating.Our fire investigations team will work in collaboration with @TorontoPolice and @ONFireMarshal to complete the origin, cause and circumstances investigation. The fire has been extinguished. Our crews will remain on scene as operations continue. @TPFFA— Matthew Pegg (@ChiefPeggTFS) March 23, 2023

Australia sets wording of Indigenous Voice referendum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:58 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government on Thursday released the wording of a referendum question that promises the nation’s Indigenous population a greater say on policies that effect their lives.Australians are expected to vote sometime between October and December on a constitutional amendment that would enshrine a new body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. The Voice would be an elected group charged with advocating Indigenous interests, but would not have a vote on laws.An emotional Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the body was needed to overcome Indigenous disadvantage. “We urgently need better outcomes because it’s not good enough where we’re at in 2023,” Albanese told reporters.The Voice was originally proposed by a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocates in 2017.Megan Davies, an Indigenous lawyer who consulted with grassroots communities over years to develop the Voice proposal, described the decision on the referendum ...

Taiwan recalls ambassador as Honduras switches ties to China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:58 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan says it has recalled its ambassador to Honduras amid moves by the Central American country to establish formal diplomatic ties with China.Taiwan and China have been locked in a battle for diplomatic recognition since the sides split amid civil war in 1949. Honduras President Xiomara Castro announced last week that her government will seek to establish diplomatic relations with China, which would imply severing relations with Taiwan. The switch would leave Taiwan recognized by only 13 countries, as China spends billions to win recognition for its “One China” policy.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin dismissed reports that Honduras switched relations after Taiwan declined requests to buy $2.5 billion in the country’s sovereign debt. “We welcome the Honduran government’s positive statement to develop relations with China. We are ready to establish and develop bilateral relations on the basis of equality and mutual respect,” Wang said at...

Prince William honors Poles who fell in past wars in Warsaw

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:58 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Prince William placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw on Thursday, paying his respects to the Poles who have lost their lives in past wars during a visit aimed at honoring Poland’s efforts to help Ukraine today.The heir to the throne’s visit to Poland underscores Britain’s support for an ally on the front line of efforts to help refugees displaced by Russia’s war in Ukraine and to assist the Ukrainian military in fighting off the invasion.William laid a wreath in Poland’s national colors, white and red, and bowed his head solemnly at the memorial to the fallen Poles. He is expected to meet next with President Andrzej Duda, one of several meetings on a two day trip to Poland.William began his surprise visit Wednesday by meeting with British and Polish troops in Rzeszow, a city of 200,000 people in southeastern Poland that has become a hub for shipments of military and humanitarian aid bound for Ukraine.“I just wanted to co...

Equatorial Guinea confirms 8 new cases of Marburg virus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:58 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Equatorial Guinea has confirmed another eight cases of the “highly virulent” Marburg virus, a deadly hemorrhagic fever with no authorized vaccine or treatment.The World Health Organization on Thursday said that brings the country’s total number of cases to nine in the outbreak declared in mid-February.There are two known current outbreaks of Marburg on the African continent. Tanzania this week announced eight cases of Marburg, including five deaths. One of the people killed was a health worker.“Our pathogen genomics team will sequence samples from both places … and see if there is a relationship between the current two outbreaks,” the acting director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ahmed Ogwell, told journalists on Thursday. He said results should be known within the week.The WHO said the new cases in Equatorial Guinea were found in the provinces of Kie Ntem, Litoral and Centro Sur, all with borders with Cameroon and Gabon.“The a...

Holocaust survivor becomes TikTok star educating young people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:58 GMT

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) — Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman is a TikTok star at age 85, thanks to her 17-year-old grandson.In the family living room in Morristown, New Jersey, he records short videos of his grandmother reminiscing about life in 1944 and 1945 when she was a 6-year-old child at the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. She also discusses her experiences before and after the camp.They say videos on her account have garnered 75 million views since the duo started posting in September 2021.Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman, 85, prepares to record a TikTok video with her grandson, 17-year-old Aron Goodman, in Morristown, New Jersey, on Monday, March 13, 2023. Goodman records TikTok videos of his grandmother describing her experiences as a six-year-old at Auschwitz concentration camp that have millions of views on the social media platform. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman, 85, prepares to record a TikTok video with her grandson, 17-yea...

Fox News reporter hugs son on camera as he leaves site of Denver school shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:58 GMT

(The Hill) - A Fox News reporter hugged her son on camera as he came out of a Denver high school where a shooting occurred on Wednesday. Alicia Acuna, a reporter for the station’s Denver bureau, was reporting at the scene of East High School when she saw her son. She took a moment from her work to hug him and ask him if he was alright. “There’s no way you would have let your kid walk by,” Acuna said, referring to her brief pause in her reporting. She said her son kept her updated about what was happening at the school, and her sister was passing on information that she was getting from her daughter. Local police are searching for a teenager who they say shot two administrators at the school while being patted down before fleeing. The administrators were taken to the hospital with one in serious but stable condition and the other in surgery in critical condition. Police said the student used a handgun and fired multiple shots. Acuna has a total of three child...

What made Beethoven sick? Preserved hair that holds DNA offers clues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly 200 years after Ludwig van Beethoven's death, researchers pulled DNA from strands of his hair, searching for clues about the health problems and hearing loss that plagued him.They weren't able to crack the case of the German composer's deafness or severe stomach ailments. But they did find a genetic risk for liver disease, plus a liver-damaging hepatitis B infection in the last months of his life.These factors, along with his chronic drinking, were probably enough to cause the liver failure that is widely believed to have killed him, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology.This photo provided by researchers in March 2023, shows the Stumpff Lock, from composer Ludwig van Beethoven, in a laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany. Hundreds of years after Beethoven's death, researchers have pulled DNA from strands of his hair — and found clues about what killed him, according to a study publi...

City says most have left downtown Salvation Army shelter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The City of Austin says only 26 people remained at the Salvation Army downtown shelter on March 17, just one month after the shelter announced it would close. According to a memo released Wednesday from the City of Austin Homeless Strategy Division, 71 people left the downtown shelter since Feb. 17.The city memo says the Salvation Army reports that clients have gone to a variety of locations, including the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH), the Austin Shelter for Women and Children, A New Entry, Community First! Village, Lifeworks, the SAFE shelter, as well as hotels provided through Front Steps veterans programming, and other permanent rental housing. The memo says others have reunified with family or have gone to self-paid hotels. One person asked for access to a previously offered transfer to The Salvation Army facility in Dallas. 17 have gone to an unknown destination or ended up in unsheltered homelessness.Of the 26 that remained on March 17, the m...