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Powder in letters sent to Swedish counties declared harmless

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:29 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Investigators in Sweden determined that a powdered substance found in letters received Wednesday by several county boards was not dangerous. Swedish media reported that employees were evacuated in some places and at least two people were taken to hospitals after the suspicious letters arrived. Several police districts issued statements later in the day saying that “after closer inspection, the powder has been found to be harmless.”Earlier Wednesday, police in Jonkoping, a city 280 kilometers (174 miles) south of Stockholm, said no one was injured there after the arrival of ”a suspected dangerous object” — a letter with powder. “Because it cannot be ruled out that the powder is dangerous, we have been called in to check it more closely with the emergency services,” Katarina Rusin, a police spokesperson in southern Sweden told Swedish news agency TT.At least 18 of Sweden’s 21 counties received the letters, TT reported.In Sweden, country administrative boards...

‘It’s not sustainable’: No bailout for Toronto in 2023 federal budget

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:29 GMT

Toronto’s deputy mayor says Tuesday’s federal budget will have a significant impact on Torontonians after it failed to address the city’s request for financial support.Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s 2023 budget invested heavily in clean electricity and health care, but didn’t provide money to Canada’s largest city to offset a pandemic shortfall of nearly $1 billion.“We have been very clear to the government what the city’s needs are and about the importance of supporting Toronto,” Jennifer McKelvie said in a statement, calling the city Canada’s “economic engine.”McKelvie says she is disappointed that Freeland, a Toronto MP, would ignore a direct commitment the federal Liberals made during the last election to former mayor John Tory.Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s city council meeting, the first since Tory’s resignation, McKelvie says the lack of funding is going to have a serious impact on residents.&#...

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy is ‘ready’ for Chinese leader to visit

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:29 GMT

ON A TRAIN FROM SUMY TO KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president invited his powerful Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to visit the war-torn nation, saying they haven’t been in contact since the war began and he is “ready to see him here.”“I want to speak with him,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy told The Associated Press on Tuesday, the week after Xi visited Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. China had no immediate response about whether a Xi visit to Ukraine would happen. China has been economically aligned and politically favorable toward neighboring Russia across many decades, and Beijing has provided Putin diplomatic cover by staking out an official position of neutrality in the war. Xi, a powerful leader who commands the resources of the world’s most populous nation, is an important player in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and even China’s lack of involvement is a potent statement. Zelenskyy spoke to the AP aboard a train shuttling him across Ukraine, to ci...

Review: A vibrant portrait of NYC, family in Sundance winner

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:29 GMT

There is a dread that hovers over “ A Thousand and One,” writer-director A.V. Rockwell’s remarkably vivid and tender debut feature about a mother and son in New York in the 1990s. The film does not play out like a mystery or a thriller — it’s about the mundanities and trials of life with a kid in a city that has always been the most hostile to its most loyal. But it does begin with a crime and from that point on, you’re on edge waiting for the other shoe to drop. “A Thousand and One” drops you into New York in 1994 as a young 20-something Inez (the positively electric Teyana Taylor ) returns to Harlem after 18 months behind bars in Rikers. From the first low angle shot of her walking through the neighborhood, in a striking red crop top tank, hair parted slickly to the side to Gary Gunn’s catchy and defiantly anti-sentimental score, you have an acute sense of this character (and possibly the director, too). This is not a timid wallflower. She is confident, determined and not to...

Man charged over Danish mall shooting that killed 3

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:29 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A 23-year-old man has been formally charged with murder and attempted murder for allegedly opening fire last year in a crowded Copenhagen shopping mall, killing three people and injuring several more, Danish police said Wednesday.Danish authorities have ruled out the attack being related to terrorism. The suspect — who was known to mental health services — allegedly acted alone and apparently selected his victims at random.Police said that on July 3, the suspect, who was not identified, opened fire inside one of Scandinavia’s biggest shopping centers on the outskirts of the Danish capital. The suspect, carrying a rifle and knife, was quickly arrested. Police said the firearm he had was obtained illegally.On Wednesday, the man was charged with three counts of murder, 11 counts of attempted murder and one count of attempted murder by shooting at a group of about 21 people, prosecutor Søren Harbo said in a statement.He said it was “an extremely serious case” ...

Montenegro: South Korea, US seek extradition of Do Kwon

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:29 GMT

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — South Korea and the United States have requested the extradition from Montenegro of Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon, who is wanted in connection with a $40 billion crash of the firm’s cryptocurrency that devastated retail investors around the world, Montenegro’s justice minister said Wednesday. Do Kwon and another South Korean citizen were arrested in Montenegro last week on international arrest warrants. A court in the small European country ordered the two detained for 30 days for legal proceedings, Justice Minister Marko Kovac said.South Korea asked Interpol in September to circulate a “red notice” asking the agency’s 195 member nations to find and apprehend the 31-year-old Kwon.He and the other man were arrested at Montenegro’s Podgorica Airport on March 24 while trying to depart for Dubai using fake Costa Rican passports, authorities have said. They are believed to have been hiding in Serbia but moved to Montenegro after South Korean investigat...

50 years ago today US combat troops leave Vietnam

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:29 GMT

CHICAGO — In 1973, the last United States combat troops left South Vietnam, ending America's direct military involvement in the Vietnam War.Ceremonies are being held around the Chicago area to mark the historic moment, including one at the Vietnam War Memorial at State and Wacker. The event is expected to feature multiple Vietnam War veterans reflecting on their service. Chicago-area native being hailed a hero after Nashville school shooting WGN plans to livestream the memorial within this story beginning at approximately 9 a.m.Among the other events, a wreath laying ceremony is set to take place at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood at 10 a.m.

See the day-by-day lineup for Lollapalooza 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:29 GMT

CHICAGO - After announcing which acts are going to play at the festival, now Lollapalooza fans know when their favorite artists are going to play this summer. (Courtesy: Lollapalooza)On Tuesday, the organizers announced the day-by-day lineup for the event in Grant Park from August 3-6. This announcement comes as single-day and two-day tickets go on sale on Wednesday at Noon central time. Prices for one day start at $125 with the two-day passes starting at $250.Full festival passes have already been on sale and start at $365. Lineup revealed for Lollapalooza 2023 Thursday will be highlighted by performances from Billie Elish and Karol G while also featuring Noah Kahan, Carly Rae Jepsen, Diplo, NewJeans.Friday features Kendrick Lamar and The 1975 as the headline performers with Fred again.., Thirty Seconds to Mars, Subtronics among those taking to the stage. Saturday will be headlined by Odesza and Tomorrow X Together with performances by Maggie Rogers, J.I.D., ...

CDC warns of drug-resistant, deadly fungus: How is it spread?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:29 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified Candida auris as an "urgent" threat as it spreads rapidly through U.S. hospitals, tripling in just three years. The fungus is spreading "at an alarming rate," the CDC says, but how exactly is it spreading?This fungus likely originated in a health care setting, explained Melissa Nolan, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of South Carolina. Counterintuitively, because hospitals are disinfected so frequently, they can be the birthplace of bacteria or fungus that are resistant to antimicrobial cleaning products and to treatments. "If you think about the amount of cleaning that we do in the hospital versus what you do at home, it's significantly greater in a hospital setting. So every time we're spraying Clorox ... that just creates the opportunity for more resistance," Nolan explained. "Over time, those pathogens have been able to evolve and adapt to resistance." Candida...

Melissa Joan Hart helped Nashville kids flee to safety amid school shooting

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:29 GMT

(NewsNation) — Melissa Joan Hart helped kindergartners cross the street to safety after a fatal shooting in a Nashville school on Monday morning. The “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” actress, who lives in Nashville with her family, told NewsNation host Ashleigh Banfield that she and husband Mark Wilkerson were driving by The Covenant School when the tragedy took place. And after being redirected by a cop, Hart said she saw little children following their teacher. Hart got out of the car and started helping the kids cross the street, she said."We got them across the street as fast as we could. The teachers didn't want to make eye contact. I think it's because they were trying not to break down," Hart said.Hart added that she wasn't sure why the children were being rushed across the street — and additional students were being ushered out of a wooded area, toward the street — but she suspected it was a shooting."It was so traumatic, and I was just a bystander, I'm just there trying to help ...