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Religious freedom vs. ‘gray water.’ AP explains ruling favoring Amish families who shun septic tanks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:37 GMT

A long-running religious freedom case has come full circle, with court ruling this week that a deeply conservative Amish community in Minnesota cannot be threatened with the loss of homes if its members don’t install septic systems to dispose of their bath, laundry and dish water.The state Court of Appeals on Monday found that the Swartzentruber Amish community in southeastern Minnesota doesn’t need to install septic systems to dispose of “gray water,” which is dirty water left from dishwashing, laundry, bathing, and other tasks not involving toilet waste. Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed court rulings that had required the group to install septic tanks.Here’s a look at the legal dispute and the traditionalist religious community at the root of it.Who are the Swartzentruber Amish? The Amish are a Christian religious group that, based on its religious beliefs, shuns many modern technologies like electric and gas-powered machinery. Members are likely most recogniza...

Record monsoon rains have killed more than 100 people in northern India over two weeks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:37 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Schools and colleges were closed after record monsoon rains led to massive waterlogging, road caves-in, collapsed homes and gridlocked traffic in large parts of northern India, killing more than 100 people over two weeks, officials said Thursday.At least 88 people died, 42 of them in the past five days, and more than 100 were injured in the worst hit-mountainous Himachal Pradesh state where cars, buses, bridges and houses were swept away by swirling flood waters, a state government statement said. The region is nearly 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of New Delhi.Twelve people have died of rain-related incidents since Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh state, said Shishir Singh, a state government spokesman.Nine of them drowned, two died after being struck by lightning and one was killed by a snake bite, Singh said.One person died in New Delhi and four were killed in the Indian-controlled section of Kashmir, officials said.Authorities used helicopters to rescue nearly 300 p...

Stock market today: Wall Street adds to gains as company profit reports come in strong

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is adding to its winning week following encouraging profit reports from big companies and more signs that inflation is continuing to slow. The S&P 500 was 0.5% higher in early trading Thursday and on pace for its seventh winning week in the last nine. The Dow rose 116 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.8%. Delta Air Lines rose 2.3% after reporting record profit and revenue for the latest quarter. The earnings reporting season is just getting underway. JPMorgan Chase and a big group of other banks will report their results on Friday. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.This week’s Wall Street rally appears ready to extend into Thursday with bellwether companies putting up impressive numbers for the second quarter despite fears of a pullback in spending by Americans. Futures for the Dow Jones industrials rose 0.2% the S&P 500 ticked 0.3% higher before the bell.Delta Air Lines jumped 4.6% after it re...

Royal LePage says average home price down 0.7% year-over-year in second quarter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:37 GMT

TORONTO — A report by Royal LePage says the average home price in Canada in the second quarter edged lower compared with a year ago.The firm’s house price survey says the aggregate price of a home in Canada was down 0.7 per cent year-over-year at $809,200 in the second quarter of this year.On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the report says the aggregate price, which averages out median values of all housing types, was up 4.0 per cent.Royal LePage says the real estate market is close to the point where it will have recovered fully from the drop in home prices last year when interest rates began to rise.The aggregate price in the second quarter was down 5.6 per cent from the peak reached in the first quarter of 2022.The firm says prices in the fourth quarter this year are now expected to be up 8.5 per cent compared with the fourth quarter of 2022.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2023.The Canadian Press

A heat wave named Cerberus has southern Europe in its jaws, and it’s only going to get worse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:37 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Tourists in central Athens huddled under mist machines, and zoo animals in Madrid were fed fruit popsicles and chunks of frozen food, as southern Europeans braced for a heat wave Thursday, with a warning of severe conditions coming from the European Union’s space agency.Emergency measures – including staffing changes, cellphone alerts, and intensified forest fire patrols – were readied or put into effect in several countries as temperatures in parts of Mediterranean Europe were set to reach 45 degrees Celsius (113F) Friday and into the weekend.In Athens and other Greek cities, working hours were changed for the public sector and many businesses to avoid the midday heat, while air-conditioned areas were opened to the public.“It’s like being in Africa,” 24-year-old tourist Balint Jolan, from Hungary, told the AP. “It’s not that much hotter than it is currently at home, but yes, it is difficult.”The high-pressure system, which crossed the Mediterranean from north ...

IOC declines to give Russia and Belarus formal invitations to Paris Olympics 1 year out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:37 GMT

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Russia and Belarus will not get a formal invitation to the 2024 Paris Olympics when more than 200 national teams receive their traditional invites later this month, the IOC said Thursday.It is an International Olympic Committee tradition exactly one year before a Summer Games or Winter Games opens to invite all the national teams worldwide to the event. Despite the protocol move, some Russian and Belarusian athletes could still compete in Paris despite their countries’ war on Ukraine. Their national teams will not yet be asked to come. The IOC said Thursday that 203 eligible national Olympic committees (NOCs) will be sent their invitations to Paris on July 26.“For the reasons given, this will exclude the NOCs of Russia and Belarus, plus the NOC of Guatemala, which is currently suspended,” the Olympic body said in a statement.The president of the Belarus NOC is Viktor Lukashenko, the son of state leader Alexander Lukashenko. He followed his father i...

Storm damage surveyed after multiple suspected tornadoes hit Chicago area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:37 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A National Weather Service team will survey damage Thursday across the Chicago area, where fierce winds from suspected tornadoes ripped roofs from buildings, downed trees and sent residents scrambling for safety as sirens sounded.The weather service warned Wednesday evening that a confirmed tornado was on the ground near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Passengers took shelter and the storm disrupted hundreds of flights, but there were no immediate reports of injuries. A short time later, the weather service said the Chicago forecast area was “currently tornado warning free.” Tornado touches down near O’Hare Airport amid severe weather warnings The storm moved into Michigan before passing through the state and into Canada early Thursday. Tornado watches that were in effect for parts of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio all expired.Ty Carr, a resident of the Skyline Motel in McCook, Illinois, said a tornado tore off the roof.“Just chaos,” Carr said, cradling a toddle...

FDA approves 1st over-the-counter birth control pill in US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials have approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill, which will let American women and girls buy contraceptive medication from the same aisle as aspirin and eyedrops.The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it cleared Perrigo’s once-a-day Opill to be sold without a prescription, making it the first such medication to be moved out from behind the pharmacy counter. The company won’t start shipping the pill until early next year, and there will be no age restrictions on sales.Hormone-based pills have long been the most common form of birth control in the U.S., used by tens of millions of women since the 1960s. Until now, all of them required a prescription.Medical societies and women’s health groups have pushed for wider access, noting that an estimated 45% of the 6 million annual pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended. Teens and girls, women of color and those with low incomes report greater hurdles in getting prescriptions...

Man claims to be Northwest Indiana police chief in phone spoof

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:37 GMT

CHESTERTON, Ind. — Chesterton police are warning residents following a phone spoof where a man claimed to be their police chief.The woman who was targeted was a Westwood Manor resident and saw her caller ID display the phone number to the Chesterton Police Department.The man identified himself as Chief Tim Richardson, but spoke in what she described as an "Indian accent."Police said Richardson's accent might be best described as "Flat Indiana."The man told her that he needed to discuss a complaint against her involving Homeland Security. The man ended the call after the woman asked him if he knew anyone who once served with the department, police said. Gary bar shut down after man killed, 3 shot “It is worth noting that it is relatively easy nowadays to manipulate caller ID information, making it appear as though you are receiving a call from a specific phone number,” Assistant Chief Francisco Rodriguez said. “Unfortunately, the resident did not engage in conversation long enough ...

Driehaus Foundation gives $1M neighborhoods on West and South Sides

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:37 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Driehaus Foundation is giving $1 million to underserved neighborhoods on the West and South Side.The grant will be given to Landmarks Illinois to help fund their program that provides low interest loans to spark reinvestment in particularly under-resourced communities.Landmarks Illinois will be allowed to give out larger loans. Repaid loans will replenish the fund and be redeoloyed for new projects. FDA approves 1st over-the-counter birth control pill in US A Driehaus Foundation spokesperson said in a statement:"Rehabilitation and reuse of historic buildings can be challenging for many reasons but lack of funding is often the most frequent obstacle for preservation project."Landmarks Illinois made its first loan last year to the Greater Chatham Initiative (GCI) to fund storefront repairs to a historic building at 735 East 79th Street to support GCI in inspiring investment on the block. GCI used the building for its “Artists on the 9” program, creating a work and ga...