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American author Fatimah Asghar wins inaugural Carol Shields Prize

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

American author Fatimah Asghar has won the inaugural Carol Shields Prize for Fiction for their debut novel “When We Were Sisters.” The $150,000 award celebrates excellence in fiction by women and non-binary authors in Canada and the U.S., and is bankrolled by BMO.Asghar, whose pronouns are gender-neutral, also wrote the poetry collection “If They Come for Us” and is the writer and co-creator of the Emmy-nominated web series “Brown Girls.”They also win a residency at the Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland and Labrador.The jurors said that Asghar’s book is “a tour de force, at once stirring and beautiful, breathtaking in its lyricism, and head-turning in its experimentations.”The other shortlisted authors, who will each receive $12,500, are Canadian Suzette Mayr for “The Sleeping Car Porter,” and Americans Daphne Palasi Andreades for “Brown Girls,” Talia Lakshmi Kolluri for “What We Fed to the Manticore&#...

Biden dispatching top aide to meet with Saudi crown prince

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is dispatching one his top advisers to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of the oil-rich kingdom, later this week.White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday he will travel to Saudi Arabia on Saturday for talks with Saudi officials and will also meet with his counterparts from the United Arab Emirates and India during his visit.Sullivan said he would “discuss new areas of cooperation between New Delhi and the Gulf, as well as the United States and the rest of the region.” India and UAE last year signed a comprehensive economic partnership aimed at improving ties between the two countries.Sullivan is expected to meet with the crown prince, who is often referred to by his initial MBS, during the visit, according to a person familiar with Sullivan’s travel plans who was not authorized to publicly discuss that element of them.Sullivan spoke by phone with MBS last month amid si...

GOP boycott in Oregon halts bills on guns, abortion and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Most Republican members of the Oregon Senate failed to show up for the second straight day Thursday, delaying action by the majority Democrats on bills on gun safety, abortion rights and gender-affirming health care.The stayaway prevented a quorum, with Senate President Rob Wagner calling for another try on Friday. Republican lawmakers have used walkouts in the past, but this time — if they continue to stay away — they’ll be testing a law approved overwhelmingly in a ballot measure last November that bans lawmakers with 10 unexcused absences from running for reelection.The boycott comes as several statehouses around the nation, including in Montana and Tennessee, have become battlegrounds between conservatives and liberals. Oregon has increasingly been divided between liberal population centers like Portland and Eugene and its mostly conservative rural areas.The leader of Senate Republicans, Sen. Tim Knopp, spoke on the phone Thursday with Democratic Gov. Tina Kot...

Official: WVa pesticide facility wouldn’t pass zoning muster

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia logging company hoping to locate a toxic-spewing facility in the picturesque Allegheny Mountains won’t be allowed to build in that particular spot due to a zoning issue, a local official said Thursday night.Allegheny Wood Products wants to construct a fumigation facility in the Hardy County community of Baker to treat logs before they are shipped overseas. The state Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Air Quality has said it tentatively plans to issue an air permit that would let the facility emit up to nearly 10 tons of the pesticide methyl bromide into the atmosphere each year.But during a public hearing, Hardy County Planner Melissa Scott said the proposed location off U.S. Route 48 is zoned for agricultural use, not industrial use. Scott read a letter approved by the county commission on Tuesday that said “the requirements for Hardy County zoning compliance have not been met.” Local residents have bombarded re...

Water beads could pose life-threatening risk to children: Health Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

Health Canada is warning parents and guardians to be mindful of purchasing water beads for their children after several international incidents where youths who had ingested them sustained life-threatening injuries.Health Canada said the tiny beads — also known as jelly beads, hydro orbs, crystal soil, sensory beads or orb beads — are water-absorbing and can grow up to 1,500 times their size when placed in water.The primary point of focus is cautioning parents to ensure children don’t swallow these beads, which can be fatal.“Water beads can be very harmful if swallowed or put in the ears or nose,” Canada’s health agency said. “If ingested, water beads can continue to grow inside the body leading to potentially life-threatening injuries, such as intestinal or bowel obstruction.”Health Canada noted that water beads are most often found in a wide range of products that may be accessible to children. These include toys, art kits, stress ba...

US to control land sales to foreigners near 8 military bases

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreign citizens and companies would need U.S. government approval to buy property within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of eight military bases, under a proposed rule change that follows a Chinese firm’s attempt to build a plant near an Air Force base in North Dakota.The Treasury Department’s Office of Investment Security is set to propose the rule on Friday. It would give expanded powers to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which screens business deals between U.S. firms and foreign investors and can block sales or force the parties to change the terms of an agreement to protect national security. Controversy arose over plans by the Fufeng Group to build a $700 million wet corn milling plant about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, which houses both air and space operations. As opposition to the project grew, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, all Republicans, raised ques...

Alabama inmate who escaped with jailer help enters plea deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama inmate charged in the death of a jail official who helped him escape pleaded guilty Thursday to escape in exchange for having the murder case dismissed. Casey Cole White entered the plea agreement in Lauderdale County Court, avoiding a June trial on the felony murder charge. He continues to await trial on a separate murder charge. Authorities said White escaped from an Alabama jail in 2022 with the help of Vicky White, the assistant director of corrections for Lauderdale County and a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office. Law enforcement officials initially thought that the inmate had kidnapped the female jailer but later learned the pair had a jailhouse romance. An 11-day manhunt for the pair ended in Indiana as authorities caught up with them. Casey White was recaptured, and Vicky White died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Casey White was charged in her death because Alabama law allows someone to be charged with murder if someone is killed whi...

Friday classes canceled after fire at Glenbrook South High School

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

GLENVIEW, Ill. — Friday classes are canceled at Glenbrook South High School after a fire on Thursday afternoon.The school said the accidental fire was reported shortly before dismissal around 3 p.m. and the fire alarm was activated. IDOT announces new construction project on Kennedy Expressway The school said no homework will be due until classes resume and AP exams will be rescheduled.No injuries were reported, according to public safety officials and the school.The school said no one is allowed back in the building until an all-clear has been given by the fire department. They said anyone who tries to go into the building will be turned away. All home athletic events, except for the men's lacrosse game and Thursday night's band concert have been canceled.The school said students' items will stay where they left them.

2 men accused of taking $1.1M during armored truck robbery tracked down using Apple AirTag

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

Investigators tracked down two suspects accused in connection with an armored truck robbery Tuesday, thanks to the help of a hidden Apple AirTag inside a bin of stolen money, court documents show.In a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in federal court, authorities recommended Devonte Davis, 26, and Darrell Singleton, 18, be charged with armed robbery. Singleton was already wanted by the FBI for his alleged involvement in another armed robbery of a Brink’s truck last October, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation Chicago Field Office confirmed.According to authorities, the robbery happened at approximately 9:25 a.m. Tuesday outside Jewel-Osco on 183rd Street in south suburban Homewood. Brink’s records show the robbers took approximately $1.1 million, court documents reveal. FBI: Armored truck robbed in Homewood; bank robbed on North Side The criminal complaint alleges two guards exited the armored truck and went into the store. When one returned, he was appro...

Chicago police find 13-year-old girl missing from Little Village

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police have found a missing 13-year-old girl last seen Wednesday. IDOT announces new construction project on Kennedy Expressway Chicago police said Thursday the teen had been located.