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Ricky Martin, Jwan Yosef announce divorce after 6 years of marriage

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:23 GMT

Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef are divorcing after nearly six years of marriage, the couple announced Thursday.“For some time, we have considered transforming our relationship, and it is after careful consideration that we have decided to end our marriage with love, respect and dignity for our children,” the couple wrote in an Instagram post, shared in Spanish on Martin’s profile and in English on Yosef’s.Martin’s publicity team confirmed the accuracy of the post to The Associated Press. No other details were provided. People magazine first reported the news.Martin, singer of such Spanish-language and English-language hits like “Livin’ la Vida Loca,” “She Bangs,” “La copa de la vida” and “Vente pa’ ca,” has won two Grammys and four Latin Grammys and also acted. Yosef is a Swedish artist of Syrian origin.“Our greatest desire now is to continue having a healthy family dynamic and a relationship centered on our genuine friendship as we continue the joint upbringing of our children,” Marti...

A Palestinian gunman kills an Israeli in the West Bank, a day after Israel’s military raid in area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:23 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian man on Thursday opened fire near an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, killing one Israeli, a day after Israeli forces withdrew from the largest military operation in the West Bank in two decades. The attacker was shot and killed by Israeli forces, the army said.The shooting came on the heels of the Israeli withdrawal from the nearby Jenin refugee camp after a two-day offensive meant to crack down on Palestinian militants. The operation destroyed the camp’s narrow roads and alleyways, sent thousands of people fleeing their homes and killed 12 Palestinians. One Israeli soldier also was killed.Thursday’s shooting near the West Bank settlement of Kedumim raised questions about the effectiveness of the Israeli raid, which came after nearly a year and a half of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed in the West Bank. It also could prompt calls from members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government for additional military incu...

Turkey and Sweden fail to end their NATO membership standoff. Their leaders will try again on Monday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:23 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Sweden and Turkey made some progress in talks aimed at overcoming President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s objections to the Nordic country joining NATO, but gaps still remain in their positions and their leaders will meet next week to discuss them, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday.NATO had hoped the problems would be resolved before its July 11-12 summit in Lithuania. Sweden’s entry would be a symbolically powerful moment and the latest indication that Russia’s war in Ukraine is driving countries to join the alliance. Those hopes have been all but dashed.Stoltenberg told reporters after the meeting that he, Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson would hold talks in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Monday — on the eve of the summit — in an effort “to bridge the gap we still see.”“We all agreed that we have made good progress. We all agreed that the full membership of Sweden is in the security interests of all allies, and we all want to concl...

Kirk Howard, founder of publishing house Dundurn Press, dies at 90

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:23 GMT

TORONTO — Kirk Howard, founder of the quintessentially Canadian publishing house Dundurn Press, has died. The publisher confirms Howard died on June 30 at age 90. Howard established Dundurn Press in 1972 and remained at its helm for 47 years, before selling it in 2019.Dundurn Press started as a publisher of books on Canadian history, but expanded over the decades.Among its notable releases are the series “Amanda Doucette Mysteries” and “Inspector Green” by Barbara Fradkin and two works by Steve Paikin: “Bill Davis: Nation Builder, and Not So Bland After All” and “Paikin and the Premiers.”Howard also served at various times as president of the Association of Canadian Publishers and the Ontario Book Publishers Organization, as well as treasurer of Livres Canada Books.In 2019, he was invested into the Order of Canada. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2023.The Canadian Press

Parade entry of woman in Native American dress pulled by a rope sows outrage, confusion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:23 GMT

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — An entry in a Fourth of July parade in Iowa has spawned confusion and outrage — one woman on horseback pulling a rope used to bind the wrists of another woman wearing Native American dress.Commenters of Facebook and other social media sites were perplexed by the entry Tuesday in a parade in Muscatine. Some wondered whether it a disapproving commentary on treatment of Indigenous people or an endorsement of that treatment.Mayor Brad Bark said he spoke with the group responsible and was told their intention was to pay homage to the Cherokee Nation and how unjustly its members were treated.Megan Burton, the woman on the horse, told the Quad-City Times that the portrayal was on behalf of Cherokee National Treasure, a group that honors distinguished Cherokees. Burton said she and the woman who appeared to be portraying a slave are both of Native American descent.The parade’s host, the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a statement that...

S&P/TSX composite down more than 300 points, U.S. stocks also fall

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:23 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down more than 300 points in a broad-based decline, while U.S. stock markets also fell.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 343.22 points at 19,760.67.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 513.22 points at 33,775.42. The S&P 500 index was down 60.19 points at 4,386.63, while the Nasdaq composite was down 215.26 points at 13,576.39.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.90 cents US compared with 75.34 cents US on Wednesday.The August crude oil contract was down 69 cents at US$71.10 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was down three cents at US$2.63 per mmBTU.The August gold contract was down US$12.30 at US$1,914.80 an ounce and the September copper contract was down four cents at US$3.73 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Record-breaking wildfire season will continue to burn hot for months: officials

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:23 GMT

OTTAWA — Natural Resources Canada says the country’s record-breaking wildfire season will continue to be abnormally intense throughout July and into August.The projections are based on anticipated high temperatures, dry conditions and historical comparisons. The risk is expected to shrink slightly in August, but it will remain high across the country.Canada surpassed the known historic record for total area burned by wildfires in one season on June 27, with months of hot weather still to come. Some 88,000 square kilometres have burned as of July 5 — nearly 11 times the average amount burned by that date over the past 10 years.More Canadians have been evacuated from their homes this year than in the last four decades, with more than 155,000 forced to leave due to fire and smoke. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2023.The Canadian Press

Wimbledon is finally dry after 3 days of rain. Wawrinka wins and gets Djokovic next

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:23 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — The courts are finally dry at Wimbledon and the sun is even shining through the clouds at times, giving organizers hope of fitting in a full day of tennis on Thursday for the first time at this year’s tournament.The first three days of action at the All England Club were affected by rain. Only eight matches were completed on Tuesday. Those matches were played on either Centre Court or No. 1 Court, the only stadiums on the grounds with roofs.Because of the all the disruption, there were a handful of first-round matches being played on Day 4. Normally, the first Thursday of the tournament would wrap up the second round.Among the winners was Stan Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion from Switzerland. Wawrinka beat No. 29-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the third round.The 38-year-old Wawrinka, who won his major titles at the other three Grand Slam tournaments, will next face Novak Djokovic — the 23-time ...

Chicago man receives 15 years for child pornography possession

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:23 GMT

CHICAGO — A registered sex offender received 15 years in prison for child pornography possession.Jason Jeffries, 41, of Chicago, was arrested in Oct. 2022. He was on parole at the time for a 2017 child pornography conviction.Prior to his arrest, detectives received a tip from the Illinois Department of Corrections that Jeffries downloaded and stored several videos on a memory card that contained sexually explicit material involving children.Jeffries pleaded guilty Wednesday to possession of child pornography with a prior conviction. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and will be required to service three years of supervised release.

5 things to know about Threads, Twitter's newest rival

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:23 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Twitter has faced rival apps before, especially after Elon Musk's purchase of the social media platform last year. Now, it seems a new challenger is coming after Twitter, and it's already gaining traction. On Wednesday, Meta — the company behind Facebook and Instagram — launched Threads, a text-based version of Instagram. Within seven hours, 10 million people had signed up for Threads, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg even took to Twitter for the first time in 11 years, sharing a meme appearing to call out the similarities between Twitter and Threads.If you haven't tried Threads yet, or aren't sure what to do on the platform, here are 5 things to know. What is Threads?As mentioned above, Threads is a text-based app, like Twitter. Also like Twitter, you can share photos and videos on Threads — it is, of course, built by photo-and-video-based Instagram. Threads is intended to provide "real-time updates and public conversations," according to a post on Meta...