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Biden administration says colleges must fight ‘alarming rise’ in antisemitism and Islamophobia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is warning U.S. schools and colleges that they must take immediate action to stop antisemitism and Islamophobia on their campuses, citing an “alarming rise” in threats and harassment.In a Tuesday letter, the Education Department said there’s “renewed urgency” to fight discrimination against students during the Israel-Hamas war. The letter reminds schools of their legal duty to protect students and intervene to stop harassment that disrupts their education.“Hate-based discrimination, including based on antisemitism and Islamophobia among other bases, have no place in our nation’s schools,” wrote Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights at the department.Universities have faced mounting criticism over their response to the war and its reverberations at U.S. schools. Jewish and Muslim students on many campuses say too little is being done to keep them safe. Protests have sometimes turned violent including at a recent dem...

Fiorentina given suspended ban for racist chants at Juventus players McKennie, Kean, Vlahovic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:37 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Fiorentina was hit with a suspended partial stadium ban Tuesday after fans directed racist and discriminatory chants at Juventus players Weston McKennie, Moise Kean and Dusan Vlahovic.If there is another incident over the next year, the Tuscan club will be forced to play with one end of its stadium closed — plus another penalty, Serie A said.The incidents occurred during Juventus’ 1-0 win at Fiorentina on Sunday.United States international McKennie and Italy’s Kean are both Black, while Vlahovic — a former Fiorentina standout — is Serbian.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/SoccerSource

Brazil police search Portugal’s Consulate in Rio de Janeiro as part of a corruption investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:37 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian federal police conducted searches at five locations, including the Portuguese Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, as part of a corruption investigation Tuesday.Portuguese public prosecutors and Portuguese security agents accompanied the Brazilian officers, according to a statement from the Federal Police force. Pictures shared by the agency’s press office showed officers in front of the consulate, which is located in the Sao Clemente Palace.Portuguese authorities are investigating alleged corruption and the falsification of documents in collusion with applicants seeking visas and Portuguese nationality, according to the statement. A spokesperson from the federal police’s press office said the searches were unrelated to the corruption-related raids and arrests in Portugal that prompted Prime Minister António Costa’s resignation Tuesday.The police statement did not disclose the four other locations searched, but at least one was in Saquarema, a seaside t...

Ukraine’s president rules out holding elections next spring and calls for unity in fighting Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:37 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy late Monday ruled out holding a presidential vote in the spring and urged his countrymen to avoid political divides, saying they must concentrate all resources on fighting Russia.Zelenskyy’s comments in a video address follow increasing discussions about the possibility of a presidential election in March. Zelenskyy, who was elected for a five-year term in March 2019, had previously avoided definitive statements on the question. His associates had said he was pondering various possibilities.“Now, in wartime, when there are so many challenges, it is absolutely irresponsible to throw the topic of elections into society in a lighthearted and playful way,” Zelenskyy said, adding that ”the waves of any politically divisive things must stop.”“We must realize that now is the time of defense, the time of the battle that determines the fate of the state and people, not the time of manipulations, which only Russia expect...

Treasury’s Yellen calls Republican effort to cut IRS funding for Israel ‘damaging and irresponsible’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called Republicans’ most recent round of proposed funding cuts to the IRS “damaging and irresponsible” during an event Tuesday meant to commemorate new customer service improvements to the agency. “Playing politics with IRS funding is unacceptable,” she said, referring to an aid bill that passed the House last week — unlikely to be approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate — that would cut $14 billion from the nation’s tax collector in exchange for providing assistance to Israel as it pursues a war against militant Hamas in Gaza. While House Republicans say the IRS cuts would save taxpayer money and offset spending, independent budget analysts say the cuts would cost taxpayers billions of dollars from uncollected tax revenues. President Joe Biden has said he would veto the bill if it reaches his desk.“The current proposals to cut funding for the IRS make this an especially crucial time to talk about the importance of t...

Steinbrenner consulted with players over whether Boone should return as Yankees manager

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner questioned current and former players along with staff on whether to keep Aaron Boone before deciding the New York manager will return next year.New York faded from contention by mid-August and finished 82-80, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.“It was awful. We accomplished nothing. We didn’t win a division, didn’t make it to the playoffs, didn’t win a series in the playoffs, much less a championship,” Steinbrenner said Tuesday during an online news conference. “The fans didn’t get anywhere close to what they deserved.”Steinbrenner delivered a stern message when he addressed staff last month at the start of three days of meetings in Tampa, Florida.“I told them this season is completely unacceptable, that we got a winning record — that’s not an accomplishment, that’s a requirement, as far as I’m concerned,” Steinbrenner said.Boone, 50, replaced Joe Girardi before the 2018 season. Boone has a 509-361 rec...

Photos: Denver Broncos plan to build new $175M training facility

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:37 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- On Tuesday, the Denver Broncos announced the plan for a new training facility that starts construction in the spring of 2024.Replacing the over-30-year-old training facility is a three-story, 205,000-square-foot area that's over 30% bigger than the existing facility.An overall aerial rendering of the Denver Broncos' new offices at Centura Health Training Center. Rendering provided by HOK (Courtesy of Denver Broncos)An overall aerial rendering of the Denver Broncos' new offices at Centura Health Training Center. Rendering provided by HOK (Courtesy of Denver Broncos)An overall aerial rendering of the Denver Broncos' new offices at Centura Health Training Center. Rendering provided by HOK (Courtesy of Denver Broncos)The headquarters is just west of the current building on the existing Centura Health Training Center campus in Englewood.The first floor will feature an expanded locker room, sports performance areas and meeting rooms. The second floor will hold football...

Say goodbye to plastic bags, they may start disappearing soon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:37 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Say goodbye to plastic grocery bags, because they will soon be a thing of the past in Colorado.Since the start of 2023, stores statewide have had to charge a 10-cent fee for every single-use bag they provide to customers. Photos: Denver Broncos plan to build new $175M training facility Stores could choose whether or not to keep providing plastic or paper single-use bags, with some, such as Walmart, eliminating single-use bags altogether at the start of the year.This change came because of a law passed in 2021 that was not designed to last forever. A second part of the law goes into effect in January 2024.Plastic bags out, paper bags inStarting January 2024, stores and some food establishments will no longer be allowed to buy new single-use plastic bags.They'll still be able to provide them to customers for the fee, granted they still have some in stock, but this status quo doesn't last forever. What new traffic laws did Colorado pass in 2023? That's because star...

Heat sign Udonis Haslem, but this time as a vice president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:37 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Udonis Haslem is back with the Miami Heat — this time, as an executive.The long-awaited move was completed Tuesday, when Haslem was hired as Miami’s new vice president of basketball development. It comes five months after his 20-year playing career with the Heat ended, the last 16 of those as a team captain.Haslem is one of two players to play for all three of Miami’s NBA title teams, with Dwyane Wade being the other. Haslem had long spoken of joining the Heat front office or ownership group after retirement, and he had been at some practices in recent weeks.Haslem — a Miami native and the franchise’s all-time rebounding leader — was the NBA’s oldest active player at 43 when he retired after last season. The three-time champion was the third player to spend a two-decade career with one franchise, joining Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant.He also became the oldest player to appear in an NBA Finals game, doing so two days befo...

Prince William’s 2023 Earthshot Prize winners announced

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:37 GMT

Singapore (CNN) — An agritech startup that helps female farmers in India to cut food waste using solar-powered dehydration equipment is among the five green innovations to scoop the Prince of Wales’ prestigious Earthshot Prize.The winners of the annual eco-awards were revealed on Tuesday evening at a star-studded ceremony at the Theatre at MediaCorp in Singapore.Each will walk away with £1 million (around $1.2 million) to scale up their pioneering projects.Prince William and his Royal Foundation launched the ambitious 10-year initiative in 2020, with the goal of funding 50 solutions to some of the planet’s most urgent environmental problems by 2030.“I choose to believe that future generations will look back on this decade as the point at which we globally took collective action for our planet — the moment we refused to accept the voices of denial and defeatism, and instead became the architects of change towards a healthy and sustainable world,” William said during th...