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Illustrated Anne Frank book removed by Florida school

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:22 GMT

By MIKE SCHNEIDER (Associated Press)ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A high school along Florida’s Atlantic Coast has removed a graphic novel based on the diary of Anne Frank after a leader of a conservative advocacy group challenged it, claiming it minimized the Holocaust.“Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” was removed from a library at Vero Beach High School after a leader of Moms for Liberty in Indian River County raised an objection. The school’s principal agreed with the objection, and the book was removed last month. The book at one point shows the protagonist walking in a park, enchanted by female nude statues, and later proposing to a friend that they show each other their breasts.Under the school district’s policy, the principal makes the decision on a challenged book. If someone disagrees with a decision to keep the disputed book on the shelves, it can be appealed to a districtwide committee. The Anne Frank graphic novel had been chec...

How Meghan was kept off royal payroll and other revelations from new book about King Charles

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:22 GMT

Joseph Wilkinson | New York Daily NewsA new book about King Charles is packed with information about his feuding sons and their combustible relationship.“Our King: Charles III — The Man and the Monarch Revealed” by royal family expert Robert Jobson will be on shelves April 13, but selections of the book were published early in British tabloids.Here are five of the biggest bombshells from those excerpts:Charles kept Meghan off the royal payrollWhen Prince Harry told Charles and his brother, William, that he planned to marry Meghan Markle, he got a lukewarm response, according to Jobson.“Are you sure, Harold?” William reportedly asked.And rather than congratulating his son, Charles responded by telling Harry that he wouldn’t be adding Meghan to the payroll during their relationship. Charles said he was already paying for Queen Consort Camilla and William and Kate’s growing family.“This infuriated Harry,” Dobson writes.Charles and William stopped trusting HarryHarry and Meghan’s March ...

What does Odell Beckham Jr.’s deal mean for the Ravens — and Lamar Jackson — going forward? The impact is myriad.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:22 GMT

The hints were there.Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey last month tweeted that Odell Beckham Jr. “looks like a Raven to me.” John Harbaugh said at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix two weeks ago — three days after signing free agent receiver Nelson Agholor — that Baltimore wasn’t done when it came to adding to that group. Then, incredibly, Beckham showed up the next day at the meetings to meet with multiple teams, including the Ravens, about his services.Still, in the NFL offseason smoke often doesn’t mean fire, and the odds didn’t seem to be in Baltimore’s favor. The Ravens have little salary cap space and little history of splashy free agent receiver signings. Plus, Beckham was reportedly scheduled to meet with the New York Jets beginning Sunday night about the possibility of teaming up with Aaron Rodgers.There also was the uncertainty surrounding the Ravens’ disgruntled quarterback Lamar Jackson, who last month told the organ...

France: 5 bodies found after Marseille building collapse

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:22 GMT

MARSEILLE (AP) — Three bodies were found Monday in the rubble following an explosion that collapsed a building in the southern French city of Marseille, bringing the confirmed death toll to five as rescuers continued searching for three more people who are unaccounted-for.Two other bodies had previously been found overnight. The judicial authority will proceed to identify the victims, firefighters said in a statement.“The hope to find survivors is still there,” Minister for Cities and Housing Olivier Klein told reporters earlier Monday, after he met with rescuers on site. More than 100 firefighters were mobilized for the searches.Rescuers were using a crane to move heavy blocks of concrete and rubble with great caution so as not to hurt people who could still be trapped underneath, and then continuing the investigation with their hands.Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan tweeted Monday that “the pain and sorrow are great.” He expressed his thoughts for the fam...

Curley: Enough with excuses over botched withdrawal from Afghanistan

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:22 GMT

Perspective is everything. Just ask John Kirby.On Thursday, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications revealed that he is proud of the way the Afghanistan withdrawal was conducted.After months of delay, the White House finally released its summary of several different reports from the individual agencies that participated in the withdrawal.CBS’s Ed O’Keefe didn’t mince words about the timing of the release.“We want the record to reflect that this was sent to us about 10 minutes before the briefing began with little notice, and it’s the very definition of a modern major holiday news dump,” he huffed.Kirby assured the reporter that there was no effort “to try to obfuscate or try to bury something.”Whenever someone uses the word obfuscate, there is a good chance that obfuscating is exactly what they are trying to do.But no amount of buzzwords was enough to satisfy the reporters in the briefing room. This must’ve come as a real shocker to Kirby who was expec...

‘Our hearts are broken’: Cambridge’s Faith Lutheran Church pastor reacts to ‘agonizing’ fire on Easter, steeple will come down

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:22 GMT

The devastated pastor of the Cambridge church that went up in flames on Easter said his “heart aches,” but he emphasized that this tragedy will not stop them from worshipping this week as he thanked the community for their support.Faith Lutheran Church was being inspected on Monday following the 6-alarm fire on Sunday. Cambridge firefighters had established a “collapse zone” with Broadway shut down to traffic because officials have been concerned about the church’s steeple falling after the massive blaze.The steeple will be removed once the investigation into the origin and cause of the fire is complete, according to Acting Cambridge Fire Chief Tom Cahill.Faith Lutheran had a service Sunday morning before the church was engulfed in heavy flames and smoke in the late afternoon into the evening.“What we do know is that no one was in the building when it happened, and no one was seriously hurt,” Pastor Robin Lutjohann wrote to the congregation....

Will Social Security run out? How to prepare for potential changes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:22 GMT

Millions of workers pay Social Security taxes every year in the United States, and when they retire, they’ll likely expect to collect their benefits. But the number of people receiving Social Security is outpacing the number of people paying into the program, and by 2035 the Social Security program’s trust fund reserves will be depleted. Taxpayer funds will only be able to cover 80% of scheduled benefits, according to an estimate from the Social Security Administration.Essentially, yes, Social Security’s reserve funds will “run out,” but the majority of benefits will still be covered by taxpayers. And if Congress adjusts the structure of the program by 2035 through tax increases, benefit reductions or some other method, Social Security may be able to continue providing full benefits.This isn’t the first time this has happened. The Social Security Administration has projected financial shortages before, and in 1983 Congress made changes that helped replenish its reserves.Here’s what ...

Taking GO or TTC to Blue Jays home opener? What you need to know

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:22 GMT

Toronto Blue Jays fans are gearing up for the home opener on Tuesday, the first one in the newly-refurbished Rogers Centre.The team will be playing the Detroit Tigers, and the first pitch is at 7:07 p.m.The TTC is offering free rides on the 510 Spadina streetcar to and from the game from 5 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.“The start of the baseball season is always an exciting time for Toronto, and I’m pleased that the TTC is once again able to lend our support by providing free rides in partnership with Polar Ice Vodka,” TTC CEO Rick Leary said in a release.“On April 11, I invite everyone to celebrate the Blue Jays return to Toronto with a free ride on the 510 Spadina.”GO Transit has partnered with Budweiser to help fans celebrate by offering free transit home on GO vehicles after the game.GO says fans who attend the game can board the train or bus for free after 9 p.m. until 3:30 a.m.“If you are travelling to the game using a paper ticket or an e-ticket and plan on ...

‘Heartbroken’ family forced to abandon dog opts to rehome him: Toronto Humane Society

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:22 GMT

The four-year-old dog who was found abandoned in a Toronto parkette along with a heart-wrenching note last week will be rehomed, the Toronto Humane Society (THS) said on Monday.Max, who was found in the Davenport area, was described in the note as “very smart” and “good with kids.” The note also explained that the owner lost their job and apartment and was therefore no longer able to care for their pet, ending with “he’s a good boy.”THS put out an appeal on their website looking for Max’s family in order to offer them a spot in their urgent care program, which provides foster homes for pets whose families are temporarily unable to afford their care. It allows the owners to get back on their feet while knowing their pet is well cared for.A hand written note was left with four-year-old pet dog Max, found abandoned on Monday. Credit: Toronto Humane SocietyIn an update to CityNews, THS said they were able to connect with Max’s family late Monday morni...

Justice Department calls abortion pill order ‘unprecedented’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:22 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department on Monday called a Texas court ruling that would halt approval of the most commonly used method of abortion in the U.S. “extraordinary and unprecedented” while asking a federal appeals court to put the decision on hold.The request to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was filed just days after conflicting court rulings over the legality of the abortion medication mifepristone put in doubt access to the drug that has been widely available for more than 20 years.U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointment of Donald Trump, issued his decision Friday but ruled it would not take effect for seven days.His decision came at nearly the same time a separate federal judge in Washington directed U.S. authorities not to make any changes that would restrict access to the drug in at least 17 states where Democrats had sued.The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of mifepristone in 2000. The Biden administration asked the New Orlean...