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An AP explainer on recent arrests in alleged human remains network

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — WHAT HAPPENED?Federal investigators discovered a human remains trade with connections to Harvard Medical School and have arrested people in several states. According to prosecutors, the defendants were part of a nationwide network of people who bought and sold remains stolen from the medical school and an Arkansas mortuary. One of those charged, 55-year-old Cedric Lodge, of New Hampshire, allegedly took dissected parts of cadavers that had been donated to Harvard in a scheme that started back in 2018, prosecutors said. Another person facing criminal charges, Katrina Maclean of Salem, Massachusetts, owned a store that sells “creations that shock the mind” with along with “creepy dolls, oddities and bone art,” according to the store’s social media page.WHO IS FACING CHARGES?The indictment charges Lodge; his wife, Denise; Maclean; Joshua Taylor, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania; and Mathew Lampi, of East Bethel, Minnesota, with conspiracy and interstate transport of st...

Novak Djokovic wins the first set against Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Novak Djokovic won the first set of the Wimbledon final 6-1 against Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.Djokovic is bidding for his record-tying eighth Wimbledon singles championship and fifth in a row. Alcaraz is trying for his first trophy at the All England Club.Djokovic wants his 24th Grand Slam title. Alcaraz wants his second.There is plenty on the line when Djokovic and Alcaraz meet each other at Centre Court.There’s also this: Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain, is ranked No. 1, and Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, is ranked No. 2. In addition to the Wimbledon trophy, the winner will have the top ATP ranking.This is a rematch of the showdown between Alcaraz and Djokovic in the French Open semifinals last month.The first two sets were terrific, and each man won one. But then Alcaraz was overcome by cramping — he said later he thought nerves were the main cause — and Djokovic took the anticlimactic last two sets 6-1, 6-1.Marketa Vondrousova won her first...

3 survivors rescued from rubble of collapsed apartment building in Naples, Italian officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

ROME (AP) — A wing of a three-story apartment building collapsed Sunday in a seaside suburb of Naples, and three people were pulled out alive from the rubble, Italian officials said. “As of now, there are no indications of people missing,’ said Luca Cari, a spokesperson for Italy’s national firefighters’ corps, of the collapse of the building in Torre del Greco, a town 12 kilometers (7 miles) from Naples. Firefighters initially said they pulled out two survivors, and later a local interior ministry official confirmed Italian media reports that a third survivor was rescued. Local officials told reporters at the scene that all persons were accounted for.Among those pulled alive from the mound of rubble was the owner of a pizzeria down the block who happened to be in front of the building when it collapsed, Rai state TV said. Survivors were being treated in hospital for fractures, Rai said.Two passersby were slightly injured by fragments of debris and were treated at ...

Palestinian gunman opens fire on a car in the occupied West Bank, wounding 3, including 2 girls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A Palestinian gunman opened fire on a car in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, wounding three Israelis, including two girls, Israeli authorities said. The suspect fled the scene of the shooting, but he was later captured.The bloodshed was the latest in a relentless cycle of violence that has gripped the region, driving up the death toll and sparking the worst fighting between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank in nearly two decades.The Israeli military said the gunman opened fire on a car from a passing vehicle. Israel’s rescue service MDA said three Israelis were wounded, including a 35-year-old with gunshot wounds who is in serious but stable condition. Two girls, ages 9 and 14, were slightly wounded by flying debris. The military said that forces apprehended the suspected gunman in the city of Bethlehem and seized his car and an assault rifle found inside. Troops arrested two other suspects, the army said.Fighting between Israel and the Pal...

Better weather conditions help slow down La Palma wildfire in Spain’s Canary Islands

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

MADRID (AP) — More favorable weather conditions have helped firefighters slow down the advance of a wildfire on La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands that has forced the evacuation of more than 4,000 residents, authorities said Sunday. The blaze, which started Saturday, has affected an area of about 4,600 hectares (11,300 acres) and burned some 20 houses and buildings.Authorities urged people not to go near the area on the northwest side of the island.Tourism Minister Héctor Gómez told reporters that thanks to the efforts to combat the blaze overnight, the outlook for bringing it under control had improved.More than 300 firefighters have been deployed and nine water-carrying helicopters and two planes are being used to try to extinguish the fire. A further 86 members of the army’s Military Emergency Unit were flown to the island on Sunday.The fire coincides with a heat wave that is hitting southern Europe.Temperatures in the Canary Islands, located off the northwest coast of Afri...

Iraqi premier in Syria for first visit in over a decade to discuss boosting cooperation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister held talks Sunday with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus during the first trip of its kind to the war-torn country since the 12-year conflict began.The two leaders told reporters that they discussed fighting drugs, the return of Syrian refugees and the imperative of lifting Western sanctions imposed in Syria. They also talked about Israel’s strikes on the war-torn country and water shortages in the Euphrates River that cuts through both countries because of projects in Turkey. Iraq and Syria have had close relations for years even after many Arab countries withdrew their ambassadors from Damascus and Syria’s membership in the 22-member Arab League was suspended because of the crackdown on protesters in 2011.Assad received Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who was heading a high-ranking delegation, at the presidential palace in Damascus. They discussed mutual relations and cooperation between the two neighboring countries among other ...

Actress, singer and style icon Jane Birkin dies in Paris at age 76

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Actress and singer Jane Birkin, who charmed France with her English grace, style and accented French and made the country her home, has died at age 76, according to France’s Culture Ministry and French media. The London-born star was widely admired for her fashion style and known for her musical and romantic relationship with French singer Serge Gainsbourg. Their songs notably included the steamy “Je t’aime moi non plus,” with Birkin’s ethereal, British-accented singing voice interlacing with his gruff baritone. She was also celebrated in France for her political activism. In 2022, she joined other screen and music stars in France in chopping off locks of their hair in support of protesters in Iran. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Birkin’s daughter with Gainsbourg, cut off a lock of her mother’s hair for that filmed campaign.The French Culture Ministry tweeted that Birkin died Sunday. It hailed her as a “timeless Francophone icon.”French news outlets...

Downtown ad campaign launched to find suspects in Leslieville shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

An ad campaign has been launched across the city, with billboards asking for the public’s assistance in tracking down the outstanding suspects in the death of a woman killed by a stray bullet in Leslieville earlier this month.Karolina Huebner-Makurat, the 44-year-old wife and mother of two young daughters, was walking in the area of Queen Street East and Carlaw Avenue to pick up lunch when gunshots rang out just before 12:30 p.m. on July 7. She was struck by a stray bullet and killed. The campaign was arranged by the Canadian Out of Home Marketing and Measurement Bureau (COMMB) – a non-profit organization that the victim’s husband, Adrian Makurat, works for. They’ve worked with Toronto Police and digital advertisers to display the posters across the city including on Yonge-Dundas Square and by the Gardiner Expressway.“The purpose of this campaign was truly to raise awareness, bring tips, and to ensure that we could support one of our own, whose been in our industry...

Sunday Forecast: Hazy sunshine, bad air quality

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

Sunday: Air Quality Alert with unhealthy air for all. Hazy sunshine early-- but some of us seeing Canadian wildfire smoke almost down to ground level. Clouds & sun in the afternoon. WNW 5-15 mph. High mid to low 80s. Sunday Night: Chance of evening showers/thunderstorms. Some could be strong to severe-- the main threat looks to be strong gusty winds up to 6 mph in localized areas. WSW 5-15 mph. Low mid 60sMonday: Slight chance of early showers then clearing with improved air quality. WNW 5-15 mph. Highs near 80, cooler lakeside. Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Extended outlook calls for another mostly sunny day on Tuesday with temps in the mid to low 80s. We'll see increasing clouds on Wednesday with a chance of afternoon showers/t'storms back in the forecast. 

Washington's legal pot farms get back to work after pesticide concerns halted operations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:48 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — A big mound of fresh dirt sits at Terry Taylor's marijuana farm in the high desert of north-central Washington state. Each hole for a new plant gets filled with the clean soil.Large swaths of recently installed landscape fabric cover the ground, and soon the dirt roads on his property will be covered in crushed rock to keep contaminated dust from covering the crops.Taylor's pot farm is one of several getting back to business after state regulators halted their operations in April, citing product testing that turned up unacceptable levels of chemicals related to DDT, a synthetic pesticide banned half a century ago. The affected growers haven't used the pesticide themselves, but they are located on a 5-mile (8-kilometer) stretch of former fruit orchards along the Okanogan River where it was applied heavily and remains in the soil.The Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board announced last week it had lifted the holds on the businesses, which are now taking steps with state ...