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Iran’s morality police return after protests in a new campaign to impose Islamic dress on women

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian authorities on Sunday announced a new campaign to force women to wear the Islamic headscarf and morality police returned to the streets 10 months after the death of a woman in their custody sparked nationwide protests.The morality police had largely pulled back following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September, as authorities struggled to contain mass protests calling for the overthrow of the theocracy that has ruled Iran for over four decades.The protests largely died down earlier this year following a heavy crackdown in which over 500 protesters were killed and nearly 20,000 detained. But many women continued to flaunt the official dress code, especially in the capital, Tehran, and other cities.The morality police were only rarely seen patrolling the streets, and in December, there were even some reports — later denied — that they had been disbanded.Authorities insisted throughout the crisis that the rules had not changed. Ira...

College students struggling with hunger face potential loss of food stamp benefits

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Raised on welfare by his grandmother, Joseph Sais relied so much on food stamps as a college student that he thought about quitting school when his eligibility was revoked.In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sais said, he missed an “important letter” and temporarily lost his eligibility in SNAP, the foundational anti-poverty program commonly known as food stamps. “There were times when I was taking a test and instead of focusing on the test, I’m focused on what I’m going to be able to eat tonight,” said Sais, who graduated from Sacramento State University with a degree in political science and journalism and is now a first-year graduate student at the same school.Sais, whose eligibility was restored earlier this year, is part of a largely hidden group that researchers and policymakers are still trying to address: full-time college students struggling with serious food insecurity. Radha Muthiah, president of the Capital Area Food Bank. calls it a hidden cr...

2 survivors rescued from rubble of collapsed apartment building in Naples, Italian media say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

ROME (AP) — A three-story apartment building collapsed Sunday in a seaside suburb of Naples, and at least two people were pulled out alive from the rubble as rescuers searched for any others who might be trapped, Italian media reported.Italian news agency ANSA said a woman was rescued from the debris of the building in Torre del Greco, which is 12 kilometers (about 7 miles) from Naples in southern Italy’s Campania region. Shortly after, Italian state TV said a second survivor was extracted.Police and firefighters scrambled over a mound of rubble in a search for additional survivors or any victims. It was not immediately clear how many people might have been in or near the building in the town’s center when it came down.Five squads of firefighters were deployed at the scene. The Associated Press

‘Catastrophe:’ Strong opposition to Lac-Mégantic rail bypass 10 years after tragedy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

LAC-MÉGANTIC, Que. — Raymond Savoie has lived all his 71 years in a small stone house, surrounded by farmland, that was originally built by his great-grandfather nearly 100 years ago in Lac-Mégantic, Que.But last month, he and his partner, Rita Boulanger, learned that their home and part of their land will be expropriated by the federal government on Aug. 1 for a project to divert trains from the community’s downtown, parts of which were destroyed in 2013 when an oil-laden train derailed and killed 47 people.At first he was told the house would be moved, or dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt, but he doesn’t believe them. “They want to put a bulldozer in it,” he said.The 12.5-kilometre rail bypass was supposed to help the town heal from the collective trauma of the disaster. But 10 years after the tragedy, work has yet to begin, and the bypass has become a source of division and anger rather than unity.Ottawa confirmed in mid-June that it would expropriate ...

5 people shot, 1 fatally, in Garfield Park drive-by: CPD

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

CHICAGO -- Four people were injured and one is dead after a drive-by shooting that took place in the city's Garfield Park neighborhood overnight. According to police, officers found multiple injured individuals near the 4000 block of West Washington Boulevard around 2:07 am. with gunshot wounds.Police said a 40-year-old woman sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the body and was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Prisoner on the way to jail breaks free from custody, carjacks 2 vehicles before being arrested in Wisconsin A 38-year-old woman sustained a gunshot wound to the buttocks and was transported to Stroger Hospital where she is listed in fair condition.A39-year-old man was shot in the arm and transported to Stroger Hospital where he is listed in fair condition. One victim told officers that the individual who fired shots was travelling in a car during the time of the shooting.There is currently no one in custody and police are investigating the...

Literary calendar for week of July 16

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

ZOE FISHMAN: Presents “The Fun Widow’s Book Hour” in conversation with Sherry Walling. 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.Savita Harjani (Courtesy of the author)SAVITA HARJANI: Retired Minneapolis lawyer launches “Postcards from Within: Random Ramblings of An Ordinary Human,” her memoir about caring for her dying mother in her native India for four years. The author came to the United States as a 20-year-old, earning her law degree at what is now Hamline-Mitchell Law School.  After her mother’s death in 2020, she returned to Minnesota. Her husband, Ramesh Harjani, is an electrical engineering professor at the University of Minnesota. Free. 6 p.m. Thursday, July 20, University of Minnesota Weisman Art Museum, 333 E. River Road, Mpls. Ticket information at eventbrite.com.LEBLANC/GOLDBERG: Courtney LeBlanc and Zach Goldberg of Minneapolis discuss “Her Whole Bright Life,” LeBlanc’s poetry collect...

Thousands without power in north St. Louis County after storms

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

SPANISH LAKE, Mo. - Severe storms ripped through the region on Friday, leading to downed power lines, fallen trees, and damaged homes around north St. Louis County.Ameren crews have been busy since the storms, but thousands around Missouri remain without power as of Sunday morning. North county resident Robert Brown Jr. says he's lucky to have a backup generator after the storms, which packed heavy wind, rain and even some hail. Thousands without power in north St. Louis County after storms "I know it's God's will. I don't have control over it. I thank God for the improvements that I made and that I have the generator because I would have lost a lot of food," said Brown. A few blocks away at the Conoco gas station, owner Hanna Qumseya was without power into Saturday afternoon. Ameren reported more than 15,000 power outages in north county at its peak. "We just went and bought a generator to kind of try and speed things up until the actual power comes back on, but that's no succes...

Thunderstorm chances increase Sunday afternoon with temp highs in low to mid 90s, rain lingering through Monday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Thunderstorm chances increase Sunday afternoon, but exactly what happens depends on what develops Sunday in the plains. We could see storms develop and roll through in the afternoon and evening primarily along and north of I-70. A few storms could reach severe limits. Thunderstorms and cloud cover will impact temperatures. Where we do have more clouds to the north, temp highs will be in the upper 80s to around 90. For St. Louis and points south, we'll likely be in the low to mid 90s. St. Louis radar: See a map of current weather here We'll also notice that smoky haze from the Canadian wildfires thanks to our northwest flow. Scattered storms increase Sunday night as a cold front continues dipping into the area. Some rain could linger through Monday morning. Highs on Monday will also be in the upper 80s, and we could see storms again in the afternoon and evening, but this round looks to stay south/southeast of the metro.

Breaking down Group E of Women’s World Cup: The USWNT, Netherlands, Portugal and Vietnam

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

A breakdown of each of the USWNT’s opponents in Group E as the world’s top-ranked team will be favorites to top the table.VietnamWorld ranking: 32Match vs. USWNT: 7 p.m. MDT, Friday, July 21The last time the U.S. opened against a Southeast Asian debutant, the Americans certainly made headlines with a 13-0 rout of Thailand in 2019. The more teams that enter the fray as the field expands to 32 teams, the more likely it is we’ll see a few upsets. This won’t be one of them. The Vietnamese are led by 31-year-old Huynh Nhu, who scored more than 100 times for Ho Chi Minh City over 15 seasons before making a move to a top-flight team in Portugal last fall. She’s held her own in Europe, scoring seven times.NetherlandsWorld ranking: 9Match vs. USWNT: 7 p.m. MDT, July 26Talk about a blockbuster matchup. The U.S. will face its toughest challenge of the group in a rematch of the 2019 World Cup finale. Even after a disappointing quarterfinal exit at last summer’...

As Windsor’s Sophia Smith prepares for first FIFA World Cup, one phrase keeps the striker grounded: “Let ‘Soph’ be ‘Soph'”

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

It seems everybody in the soccer world wants to get inside the head of United States Women’s National Team forward Sophia Smith these days.A remark meant for her teammates during her 2022 NWSL MVP speech offered a glimpse into the mind of one of the world’s most fearless attacking players, both on and off the field: Her supreme confidence on the ball and in front of goal, her desire to bridge the gap between two generations of U.S. players, and her insistence on doing it her way.It echoed a message her parents, Kenny and Mollie, regularly relayed to their three daughters years ago — one that will undoubtedly be on Smith’s mind as she readies herself for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.“Our parents always encouraged us to don’t try to be anybody other than who we are,” Gabbi Dobratz (née Smith), the oldest of the trio, said. “To know that we’re unique and we have our own specialties that we bring to the table, and to t...