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China’s PM focuses on trade and climate, ignores Scholz’s Ukraine plea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:34:04 GMT

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday reiterated his appeal to China to use its influence on Russia to help end the war in Ukraine. But his guest from Beijing wanted to talk about deepening trade ties instead.In a statement to journalists following a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Scholz said that he had “again appealed to the Chinese government to exert even more influence on the Russian government in this war.” He added: “As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, China carries a very special duty here … Russia must — as we see it — withdraw its troops; otherwise it will not be possible to achieve a good peace.”However, there was no sign that Scholz’s plea — which he previously issued during a visit to Beijing last year — bore fruit: Standing next to Scholz, Li told journalists China wants closer economic cooperation with Germany but avoided any mention of Russia or Ukraine.The two leaders met in Berlin on the occasi...

Titanic submarine: France sends in rescue team to find missing crew

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:34:04 GMT

PARIS — France is deploying a rescue team to help find the Titanic tourist submarine reported missing in the Atlantic Ocean off North America, according to local media reports. The French Research Institute for Sea Exploitation (Ifremer in French) — which is under the authority of the Sea and Research ministries — has diverted its vessel Atalante equipped with a deep-sea robot to the area where the submarine disappeared, Junior Minister for the Sea Hervé Berville said. Paris will communicate with the NATO coordination center and is already in contact with American authorities, Berville added. The American exploration submarine — dubbed Titan — was on an expedition to see the Titanic’s shipwreck when it went missing Sunday with five people on board. The submarine’s operator OceanGate Expeditions and the authorities refused to identify the passengers but French media reported that French oceanographer and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet is among the...

Illinois product Bren Spillane, a former Cincinnati Reds draft pick, heats up in Frontier League. ‘I’m going to own it.’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:34:04 GMT

Whether it was a foul ball that came down in the wrong spot, a collision with an opponent or an attempt at a diving catch that went awry, outfielder Bren Spillane has dealt with many of what he calls “fluky” injuries throughout his five-year career in the minor leagues.Spillane, a Wheeling native and University of Illinois product, has had more than his share of misfortune. But the 26-year-old has learned not to wallow in it with the Windy City ThunderBolts.“At first, I started to think about having bad luck,” Spillane said. “But I stopped thinking about it. These are the cards I’ve been dealt with. God’s put me here for a reason, put me on this path for a reason. I’m going to own it and roll with the punches.”Spillane has not taken many hits this season. He has played nearly every day for the T-Bolts (12-21) while being one of the most consistent hitters in the Frontier League.He’s hitting .304 with five home runs and 14 R...

Bears announce 9 training camp practices will be open to public in Lake Forest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:34:04 GMT

Chicago Bears fans hoping to get a glimpse of quarterback Justin Fields and the rest of the team ahead of the 2023 regular season are set to have nine opportunities to do so this summer in Lake Forest.The Bears have announced nine summer training camp practices will be open to fans between July 27 and Aug. 10 at their Halas Hall headquarters in Lake Forest, with all of the sessions starting at 10 a.m.Starting July 6, at 10 a.m. fans can go to ChicagoBears.com/camp to get the tickets that are free of charge. Fans can select up to four tickets per date, subject to availability. They will be distributed as mobile tickets.“This family-first experience is built for all Bears fans alike, with team practices being the center point and many other attractions, games and activities across our campus in Lake Forest throughout each open date,” Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren said in a news release.As has been the case in previous years, parking will be provided at Hawthorn Mall...

Business applications still surging: What new owners should know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:34:04 GMT

A sustained high number of new business applications from mid-2020 to now indicates an optimism not necessarily shared across the economy. That ambition may be tested in the coming months.From January to July 2020 — the six-month period with a very short and deep recession smack dab in its middle — the number of applications for employer identification numbers (EINs) from the IRS nearly doubled. That ambitious optimism amid great economic uncertainty persists: As of April 2023, filings of these new business applications were 55% higher than in that January three years earlier.But banks are being more cautious about lending, and consumers may begin pulling back on spending after a long campaign by the Federal Reserve to cool the economy. New businesses, by their nature often on already-vulnerable financial footing, should prepare for rocky times with the knowledge that all healthy businesses, young or old, can benefit from contingency planning.New businesses still elevated, three yea...

Adult woman fraudulently enrolled in multiple BPS high schools, under police investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:34:04 GMT

An adult woman enrolled in three BPS high school in the last school year in a scheme using multiple pseudonyms and transfers and is now being investigated by police, BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper said in a letter to families at the schools Tuesday morning.“I am deeply troubled that an adult would breach the trust of our school communities by posing as a student,” Skipper said in a statement. “This appears to be a case of extremely sophisticated fraud.”The individual attended Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School and English High School during the 2022-23 year.A BPS staff member at one of the schools identified “irregularities” in the individual’s paperwork and immediately notified district leadership who then informed police, the letter said. The adult was immediately discharged and ordered to stay away from BPS facilities.“While the investigation is in its early stages and remains ongoing, school officials have not ide...

Hunter Biden will plead guilty in a deal that likely averts time behind bars in a tax and gun case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:34:04 GMT

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s son Hunter will plead guilty to federal tax offenses but avoid prosecution on a separate gun charge in a deal with the Justice Department that likely spares him time behind bars.Hunter Biden, 52, will plead guilty to the misdemeanor tax offenses as part of an agreement made public Tuesday. The agreement will also avoid prosecution on a felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user, as long as he adheres to conditions set by prosecutors. It’s somewhat unusual to resolve a federal criminal case at the same time charges are filed in court but not unheard of.The deal ends a long-running Justice Department investigation into Biden’s second son, who has acknowledged struggling with addiction following the 2015 death of his brother Beau Biden. It also averts a trial that would have generated days or weeks of distracting headlines for a White House that has strenuously so...

Paris 2024 Olympics HQ searched in third consecutive Summer Games scandal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:34:04 GMT

By ANGELA CHARLTON and GRAHAM DUNBAR (Associated Press)PARIS (AP) — French investigators searched the Paris Olympic organizers’ headquarters on Tuesday as part of corruption investigations into contracts linked to the Games, according to officials, the third straight time graft allegations have dogged a Summer Olympics.The Paris organizing committee said in a statement that a search was underway at their headquarters in the suburb of Saint-Denis, and said it was cooperating. It would not comment further.Tuesday’s search and other related raids were linked to two preliminary investigations of the Paris Olympics that had not previously been made public, according to an official with the financial prosecutor’s office, who was not authorized to be publicly named according to office policy. One probe was opened in 2017 — the year Paris was picked by the International Olympic Committee as the 2024 host — and the other began last year.Corruption allegati...

Raising Cane's opening in Chula Vista

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:34:04 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Lovers of chicken fingers will soon have a new option to feast at when Raising Cane's opens their newest location in San Diego County.On Tuesday, June 20, Raising Cane's will host a grand opening for their Chula Vista location, located at 512 H Street, the sixth location to open in the county.The new spot can be found at the entrance of the Chula Vista Center and will feature a double drive-thru and a large indoor dining space.“We are excited to continue our expansion in the San Diego market with the opening of our sixth Restaurant in the area and first in Chula Vista!” Restaurant Leader Ale Gonzalez said in a news release. “We look forward to serving our community and celebrating on Tuesday.”The grand opening event will begin at 7 a.m. with a "Lucky 20" drawing, where 20 chicken finger fanatics will have a chance to win free Cane's for a year. Customers must be at least 13 years of age and entries will be accepted from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., with the winners announ...

How a Mexican spiritual leader preserves the sacred knowledge of the volcano known as El Popo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:34:04 GMT

AMECAMECA, Mexico (AP) — Moisés Vega has a distinctive job: The 64-year-old Mexican says he can speak the sacred language of volcanoes to ask for good weather and a good crop.Mexico lowered the alert level on the Popocatépetl volcano by early June after its eruptions of gas and ash had drawn the attention of the international community. For Vega, though, the 17,797-foot (5,425-meter) mountain, known as El Popo, is a living being that never fades from his sight.“The Popocatépetl is our father and the Iztaccíhuatl is our mother,” he said, referring to a neighboring volcano. “They are providers of water and we are not afraid of them. On the contrary, their exhalations are blessings because they give us life.”There is no English translation for his profession, but among the inhabitants of the towns of central Mexico, men like him are called “graniceros.”“Their work is based on the pre-Hispanic notion of conciliation with nature,” said archaeologist Arturo Montero, from...