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Mateo Askaripour’s ‘The Great Hemisphere’ is a novel about power set 500 years from now

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Mateo Askaripour’s follow-up to his acclaimed debut novel “Black Buck” is a look into the distant future. Dutton, a Penguin Random House imprint, announced Tuesday that Askaripour’s “This Great Hemisphere” is scheduled for release next summer. The novel is set 500 years from now and tells of a society in which some people are born invisible and consigned to second-class citizenship. One invisible person, Sweetmint, embarks on a quest to find her missing brother. ”’This Great Hemisphere’ is a novel about the nature of power, the lengths people will go to in order to gain and maintain it, as well as the almost biological compulsion we all possess to protect those we love,” Askaripour said in a statement. “It is a call to arms for the unseen, a rallying cry for those who are tired of being ignored and forgotten. And, of course, it’s a hell of an adventure.” Askaripour’s “Black Buck,” released in 2021, was a widely pr...

Canada limited in preventing wider Mideast crisis, amid humanitarian plight: experts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:53 GMT

Experts say Canada has limited options as it works diplomatic channels to try preventing clashes in Israel and Palestinian territories from escalating into a wider, regional war.Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says she’s in touch with counterparts in the region, as the fallout from Hamas’s brazen surprise attacks on Israel Saturday threatens to engulf multiple countries.University of Ottawa professor Costanza Musu says that while some countries in the region are offering to mediate talks between Israeli and Palestinian actors, they are likely more concerned with their own geopolitical interests rather than ending the bloodshed, which already has killed at least 1,800 people.She notes that Canada has been a staunch supporter of Israel in recent decades, including when Israeli officials diverge from Ottawa’s official policy of advocating for a two-state solution to the protracted conflict.Musu says Israel’s restrictions on essential services in Hamas-cont...

Four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies hospitalized, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:53 GMT

CASTAIC, Calif. (AP) — Four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were taken to the hospital Tuesday morning after a fire during a “training incident” north of Los Angeles, authorities said.Few details were immediately available, including the extent of the deputies’ injuries, according to Deputy David Yoo, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department.A KTLA helicopter over the scene showed firefighters spraying water into the smoking rear of a parked semi trailer.Firefighters were dispatched to the law enforcement training facility, near a county jail, at 9:41 a.m., said Fred Fielding, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. They arrived 11 minutes later to find a blaze but the deputies had already been taken to the hospital.Castaic is roughly 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.The Associated Press

Mexico says it has rejected US-funded migrant transit centers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:53 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Tuesday that he rejected a U.S. request to set up migrant transit centers in Mexico. Neighboring Guatemala has set up one such center, where migrants can apply for U.S. work and refugee visas. But President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has so far rejected a U.S. request to set up sites in Mexico, noting he would prefer to have such centers in countries that are the sources of migration, despite the fact that a considerable number of migrants enter the United States from Mexico.López Obrador said that he would raise the subject in a meeting of Latin American leaders he will host later this month, suggesting that the countries might agree to a common plan on such sites.“We have been looking at setting up sites in Mexico, because they (the United States) have asked for it,” López Obrador said. “We have not accepted it, first we want to talk to the presidents,” referring to the Oct. 22 meeting with the leaders of 11 countries that are on migrati...

Texas prepares for inmate’s execution in hopes that Supreme Court allows it to happen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:53 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas moved ahead with preparations to execute a condemned inmate on Tuesday in the hopes that the U.S. Supreme Court would lift a lower court’s stay and allow the lethal injection to proceed.Jedidiah Murphy, 48, was sentenced to death for the October 2000 killing of 80-year-old Bertie Lee Cunningham during a carjacking.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a federal judge’s order from last week delaying the execution after Murphy’s lawyers questioned the evidence used to sentence him to death.But the state attorney general’s office filed an appeal hours later asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the stay and allow the execution to proceed at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.Normal procedures for the day of an execution were still being followed on Tuesday with Murphy, including final visits, said Amanda Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.Murphy admits that he killed Cunningham, who was fro...

After one week without a House speaker, Republicans appear no closer to choosing a new leader

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Republican majority is stuck, one week after the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, with lawmakers unable to coalesce around a new leader in a stalemate that threatens to keep Congress partly shuttered indefinitely. On Tuesday evening, two leading contenders for the gavel, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, were scheduled to address colleagues behind closed doors at a candidate forum, but they appeared to be splitting the vote. McCarthy, meanwhile, was openly ready to reclaim the gavel he just lost, but was seen by many as a longshot option unlikely to win back the handful of hardliners who just ousted him.“This has been going on for days. Members want to come together,” Scalise said late Monday at the Capitol. “We’ve got to get back on track,” House Republicans took the majority aspiring to operate as a team, and run government more business-like, but have drifted far from that goal. Just 10 months in power,...

Toronto police issue PSA after grenade brought to Scarborough station

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:53 GMT

The Toronto Police Service issued a public service announcement urging residents not to bring weapons or ammo to police stations after a grenade was dropped off.A spokesperson said the grenade was brought to 41 Division headquarters in Scarborough at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The explosives unit was forced to intervene.“Please do not turn in guns, ammo, explosives to police stations. Call the police; we will come to you,” TPS wrote on X.The grenade was deemed safe and was removed from the property.No injuries were reported.“If you find [a] gun, ammo, explosive, call 9-1-1. If you’re turning it in, arrange it through 416-808-2222,” TPS added. “We will come to you. Do not bring it to us.”PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTIf you FIND gun, ammo, explosive, call 9-1-1. If you're TURNING IT IN, arrange through 416.808.2222. We will come to you. Do not bring it to us.SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE– Explosives Disposal Unit deemed grenade safe; removed#GO2357...

Man arrested after climbing Accenture Tower in Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:53 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was arrested Tuesday after scaling the Accenture Tower in the city's West Loop.The 42-story building, located at 500 West Madison Street, houses the Consul General of Israel.Tenants on the south side of the building were told to stay away from windows as the man managed to scale up the length of the high-rise.The man reached the rooftop and was immediately taken into police custody. Charges are pending. 104-year-old Chicago woman who became oldest person to tandem skydive dies He has been identified as an alleged anti-abortion activist who goes by the name "Pro-life Spider-Man" on social media. A video of him climbing the Accenture Tower was livestreamed on his Instagram account.

104-year-old Chicago woman who became oldest person to tandem skydive dies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:53 GMT

OTTAWA, Ill. — The 104-year-old Chicago woman who recently became the oldest person to tandem skydive has died.Dorothy Hoffner passed away Monday, a little more than a week after taking the record-breaking plunge with her US Parachute Association instructor, Derek Baxter. Family, friends and neighbors gathered at Skydive Chicago Airport in Ottawa on Oct. 1 to celebrate Hoffner as she broke the record. It was Hoffner's second dive as a centenarian, having previously jumped out of a plane at age 100. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 104-year-old Chicago woman becomes oldest person to tandem skydive When asked how she felt after becoming a record holder, Hoffner replied, "Like I'm old," to laughs. "Age is only a number, you know?"Skydive Chicago and USPA, who confirmed Hoffner's passing, issued a joint statement:We are deeply saddened by Dorothy’s passing and feel honored to have been a part of making her world-record skydive a reality.Skydiving is an activity that many of us safely tuck away in our...

Tuesday Forecast: Temps in low 60s with mostly sunny conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:53 GMT

CHICAGO — Cool conditions with temperatures near 60 Tuesday. Mostly sunny, Winds: W 5-15. High: 60.Frost Advisory issued until 8 a.m. (all counties except central & northern cook and lake IL). Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Mostly clear tonight, patchy frost possible. Winds: W 0-5. Low: 40.Wednesday Forecast: Increasing Clouds, late day rain/storms, W 0-5. High: 63.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog