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Macron attempts damage control after comments criticizing Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:46 GMT

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron went into diplomatic overdrive on Sunday to snuff out a growing row with Israel over comments he made about civilian casualties in Gaza. Israeli top officials slammed Macron after he ramped up his call for a cease-fire, asking Israel to stop its retaliatory bombing campaign, which is leading to the death of women and children. On Friday, Macron said “these babies, these ladies … are bombed and killed” in Gaza, and urged Israel to stop, saying there was “no legitimacy” for the deaths, in an interview with the BBC. The French president’s harshest comments yet on the conflict sparked fury in Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday telling reporters Macron had “made a serious mistake factually and morally,” pointing instead to Hamas’ preventing evacuation of civilians. Later, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said the French head of state’s comments “caused much pain and upset in Israel.”On Sunday, Macron tried to smooth ove...

NH soldier among 5 killed in training exercise in Mediterranean Sea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:46 GMT

A staff sergeant from New Hampshire was among five U.S. Army Special Operations soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in the Mediterranean Sea late last week, the Department of Defense announced. The crash happened on Friday. In an update Monday, the DOD said the MH-60 Blackhawk had been conducting aerial refueling training when it “experienced an in-flight emergency resulting in the crash.” Tanner Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire was killed in the crash. Citing service details shared by Army Special Operations Command, officials said Grone enlisted in the Army in 2017 as a Blackhawk repairer. From there, Grone served as a flight instructor and as an MH-60M Blackhawk crew chief. Officials said Grone deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan, with “several no-notice deployments and exercises” during his career. He also received multiple awards and commendations. The DOD identified other soldiers killed in Friday’s crash as follows:Chief Warrant Offic...

The Pentagon identifies the 5 US troops killed in a military helicopter crash over the Mediterranean

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:46 GMT

By TARA COPP (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon on Monday identified the five Army aviation special operations forces killed when their UH-60 helicopter crashed in the Eastern Mediterranean.The military’s European Command said the helicopter went down over the weekend during an air refueling mission as part of military training.The five service members who died were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tennessee; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California; Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire; Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona; and Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota.The U.S. has built up its force presence in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. There are two carrier strike groups operating in the region, U.S. Air Force squadrons have received additional crews and warplanes, and U.S. special operations forces...

Jon Batiste announces first North American headlining tour, celebrating ‘World Music Radio’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:46 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jon Batiste, the Grammy- and Oscar-winning musician and former bandleader for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will embark on his first North American headlining tour in support of his latest album. The expansive “World Music Radio,” featuring his signature rich blend of R&B, hip-hop, swing, jazz and pop, was released earlier this summer.The tour news arrived Monday, on the heels of the 2024 Grammy nominations announcement: Batiste is up for six Grammys, including album, song, and record of the year.The “Uneasy Tour: Purifying the Airwaves for the People” will kick off Feb. 16 in Portland, Oregon, and take Batiste across the U.S. and Canada. The tour wraps in Miramar Beach, Florida, on April 27.Along the way, he’ll hit numerous cities including Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York and Atlanta. “I’m into numbers, so: 20 theaters and 24 performances to bless the pivotal year 2024. For my first solo run I wanted to play in smaller ve...

Book Review: Mitch Albom spins moving Holocaust tale in ’The Little Liar’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:46 GMT

Mitch Albom’s books often capture the zeitgeist, but his new novel about the fate of Greek Jews during World War II packs a particular punch in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7.“The Little Liar” tells the story of four interconnected characters, three of them Jews living in Salonika, Greece, at the onset of Germany’s invasion, and the other a Third Reich devotee carrying out Hitler’s orders on the Mediterranean island. Nico Krispis is the title character and it’s his journey from a beautiful boy who has never told a lie to a Nazi pawn that drives the novel. Nico and his brother, Sebastian, are just boys when the story begins and by the end they’re middle-aged men who have lived lives defined by the choices they made during the war. Between them is their childhood friend Fannie, who both boys crushed on when they were growing up, and who Sebastian throws off a train bound for Auschwitz at the start of the novel.The book’s narrator presents as the definition of re...

In crowded field of psychedelic startups, Filament CEO makes case for ‘natural’ drugs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:46 GMT

A recent boom in psychedelic research has given way to a bumper crop of startups seeking to harness the potential of mind-altering drugs for treating depression, addiction and other conditions.In this crowded field, Vancouver-based Filament Health has a unique approach: extracting drugs like psilocybin and mescaline from natural sources, including mushrooms and cacti, rather than synthesizing the ingredients in a laboratory.Filament is studying its mushroom-based psilocybin as a treatment for opioid and stimulant use disorder. And more than a dozen other companies and academic centers are using the company’s drugs in trials of depression, chronic pain and other disorders.Filament CEO Benjamin Lightburn spoke with The Associated Press about the ethical, therapeutic and medical case for using naturally derived psychedelics. The answers have been edited for length and clarity.Q: What do you mean by “natural psychedelics” and how are they produced?A: It means we’re deriving them f...

Cargojet CEO Ajay Virmani moving to executive chair role, names co-CEOs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:46 GMT

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Cargojet Inc. says founder and chief executive Ajay Virmani is stepping down and moving to the role of executive chair at the start of next year.In his new job, the air cargo carrier says Virmani will focus on strategy, strategic customer partnerships, acquisitions of major assets including aircraft and corporate governance.Virmani will be replaced by a pair of longtime Cargojet executives.The company says chief corporate officer Pauline Dhillon and chief strategy officer Jamie Porteous will become co-chief executives, effective Jan. 1, 2024.Both Dhillon and Porteous have been with the company since its start 22 years ago.Cargojet provides air cargo services across North America with a fleet of over 40 aircraft. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:CJT)The Canadian Press

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Nov. 19-25

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:46 GMT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Nov. 19-25:Nov. 19: Talk show host Dick Cavett is 87. Media mogul Ted Turner is 85. Fashion designer Calvin Klein is 81. Sportscaster Ahmad Rashad is 74. Actor Robert Beltran (“Big Love,” ″Star Trek: Voyager”) is 70. Actor Kathleen Quinlan is 69. Actor Glynnis O’Connor is 68. Journalist Ann Curry is 67. Actor Allison Janney (“Mom,” “The West Wing”) is 64. Drummer Matt Sorum of Velvet Revolver (and Guns N’ Roses) is 63. Actor Meg Ryan is 62. Actor Jodie Foster is 61. Actor Terry Farrell (“Becker”) is 60. Actor Erika Alexander (“Living Single,” “The Cosby Show”) is 54. Drummer Travis McNabb (Better Than Ezra) is 54. Singer Tony Rich is 52. Singer Jason Albert of Heartland is 50. Country singer Billy Currington is 50. Dancer-choreographer Savion Glover is 50. Singer Tamika Scott of Xscape is 48. Rapper Lil’ Mo is 46. Actor Reid Scott (“Veep,” “My Boys”) is 46. Director Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”) is 44. Guitarist Browan Lollar of St. Paul and the Bro...

This year’s Biden-Xi summit has better foundation but South China Sea and Taiwan risks won’t go away

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:46 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The course of events in the year since the last meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping offers cautious hope that they will have better luck this time around. But it also shows how easily any agreement they reach could once again veer off course. The U.S. and Chinese leaders meet Wednesday while attending the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.They go into the meeting on the back of five months of government-to-government talks that have accelerated in recent weeks and expanded to cultural and business exchanges. In contrast, the November 2022 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, took place after China had suspended talks to express anger over a visit by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.“This rests on a stronger foundation than the Bali meeting did,” said Jude Blanchette, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Substantively and contextually this meeting is taking place in a moderately bette...

Food delivery driver among several killed in Chicago weekend violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:46 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are investigating at least six fatal shootings following a weekend of gun violence around the city.More than 20 people were victims to gun violence, including a deadly shooting involving a food delivery driver.The latest deadly shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. Sunday on the corner of Jackson Boulevard and Springfield Avenue in the Garfield Park neighborhood. Police said officers responded to a call of shots fired and found a man, between the ages of 20 to 25. The victim was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.He was transported to Norwegian Hospital where he was pronounced dead. No one is in custody.Early Saturday morning, another shooting left another man dead in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. According to police, it happened near the corner of Avers Avenue and Hirsch Street around 3 a.m.Two men were inside a vehicle when someone from a blue SUV fired shots, hitting the two men.26th Ward Ald. Jessie Fuentes said on her Facebook page the two victims w...