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GRAND FORKS – Several Lutheran churches in the area are joining together to present two events leading up to the celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. A concert, titled “Lift Every Voice: A Celebration of Sacred Choral Music,” is set for 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, at Calvary Lutheran Church, 1405 S. Ninth St. ADVERTISEMENT A special combined worship service is planned for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 26, at Sharon Lutheran Church, 1720 20th St. S. (See below for details.) The public is welcome to attend. Sunday’s concert, organized by Whitney Berry, choir director at Calvary Lutheran Church, will feature the choirs of Calvary, Sharon and United Lutheran churches in Grand Forks and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in East Grand Forks – altogether, about 80 singers. The concert was scheduled close to Thanksgiving Day to raise money for a hunger-related charity, Berry said. A free will offering will be collected to benefit St. Joseph’s Social Care food pantry and summer lunch program. The performance will feature music that is sacred in nature and represents a variety of styles. Each church choir has selected two or three anthems from their repertoire, she said. After each choir performs, the audience will be asked to join in singing a hymn together. At the close of the concert, all choirs will join together as a mass choir to sing an arrangement of “When In Our Music God is Glorified,” Berry said. Melanie Popejoy will conduct the mass choir, which will be accompanied by the UND Prairie Rose Brass Quintet, a group of student musicians. Popejoy and Berry are teaching associate professors of music at UND. The idea for a joint concert sprang from earlier experience when Berry and fellow church choir directors held this type of concert at Messiah Lutheran in Fargo in 2018 and another one at Calvary Lutheran in Bemidji the following year. A third was planned for Grand Forks in 2020 but was tabled due to the pandemic and further efforts to host a concert were stymied for various reasons, Berry said. ADVERTISEMENT “The idea for this concert came out of a desire to host a similar event but with choirs from Grand Forks to make the logistics easier,” she said. With Sunday’s concert, “We are hoping to get a nice-sized audience for this event and hopefully raise some money for a great cause,” she said. “Church choirs are kind of isolated and don’t get opportunities to collaborate like this very often, so I am very excited to be able to do this.” A collaborative choir concert used to be a regular event here, senior members of her choir have told her, but Berry is unsure when it was last held. “If all goes well,” she said, “we may try to make it an annual tradition again.” Tuesday’s worship service Sharon, United and Calvary Lutheran churches have organized Tuesday’s worship service, which will take place at Sharon Lutheran, but other churches may also participate if they wish, said Deacon Jamie Travers of Sharon Lutheran. A “pie potluck” will follow the service. Those who wish to may bring a pie to share, Travers said. “The ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Churches in America) churches here in town are trying to do a little bit more things together,” he said, noting, as an example, the service and fellowship event in September at Town Square, which involved Sharon, United, Calvary, Augustana, St. Mark’s and University Lutheran, all ELCA churches. ADVERTISEMENT “After that event, this is another idea that popped up ... doing a Thanksgiving service together,” he said. “Because, usually, we have each done our own, either on Wednesday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving. And this year, someone just brought up the idea of doing it together.” Other ELCA churches already had services planned, but Sharon, United and Calvary hadn’t scheduled any yet, so they decided to offer a service together, he said. Tuesday’s worship service will feature a blend of traditional and contemporary music; the combined choir, representing the three churches, will be performing, Travers said. It will also include music by members of Sharon Lutheran Church’s handbell group. Ministers from all three churches will each have a role in the service, he said. The service, which will include the distribution of Holy Communion, will revolve around the thanksgiving theme. The churches’ pastors thought presenting a combined worship service “was something good to do,” Travers said. Collaboration of this kind is encouraged by the ELCA Eastern North Dakota Synod office. “I think there are hopes that this will become a yearly thing, possibly,” he said.Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it has donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration fund. The donation comes just weeks after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with Trump privately at Mar-a-Lago. A Meta spokesperson confirmed the offering Thursday. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Stephen Miller, who has been appointed deputy chief of staff for Trump's second term, has said that Zuckerberg, like other business leaders, wants to support Trump's economic plans. The tech CEO has been seeking to change his company's perception on the right following a rocky relationship with Trump. Trump was kicked off Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The company restored his account in early 2023. RELATED STORY | Meta's Mark Zuckerberg is the second richest person in the world. Here's who he just outranked During the 2024 campaign, Zuckerberg did not endorse a candidate for president but has voiced a more positive stance toward Trump. Earlier this year, he praised Trump's response to his first assassination attempt. Still, Trump had continued to attack Zuckerberg publicly during the campaign. In July, he posted a message on his own social network Truth Social threatening to send election fraudsters to prison in part by citing a nickname he used for the Meta CEO. "ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!" Trump wrote. Corporations have traditionally made up a large share of donors to presidential inaugurals, with an exception in 2009, when then-President-elect Barack Obama refused to accept corporate donations. He reversed course for his second inaugural in 2013. Facebook did not donate to either Biden's 2021 inaugural or Trump's 2017 inaugural. Google donated $285,000 each to Trump first inaugural and Biden's inaugural, according to Federal Election Commission records. Inaugural committees are required to disclose the source of their fundraising, but not how they spend the money. Microsoft gave $1 million to Obama's second inaugural, but only $500,000 to Trump in 2017 and Biden in 2021. RELATED STORY | Celebrity private jet-tracking accounts suspended by Meta without reason, college student claimsK'Andre Miller suffered an upper-body injury Wednesday night as a result of a hit from the Buffalo Sabres' Jordan Greenway. He'd leave the ice and not return after the second period of the game. Miller's status is up in the air, after suffering a brutal hit from the Buffalo Sabres' Jordan Greenway. Miller's loss will not help the New York Rangers' cause, as he is one of the key pieces on the blue line. Despite failing to produce up to expectations, he's continued to work on his play this season. Yet in 28 games, he's only produced six points (2G, 4A) with a -5 rating. His best season with the Rangers saw him score 43 points (9G, 34A) and play a solid two-way game in 2022-2023. After the game, Peter Laviolette would not offer any significant details on the injured defenseman. This is unfortunate as we don't have a timetable to return, or any idea of when he'd be evaluated. The root of this injury could have been caused by a hit from Jordan Greenway, although it's unclear if that play led to his exit. Miller is one of many Rangers stars this season who are in a slump, and similar to another Original Six team ( the Boston Bruins), fans aren't happy. The team is 15-12-1, and while the Rangers were able to put together a victory, will they have to rely on a call-up from the AHL to fill the gap Miller leaves? Adam Fox, Reilly Smith and Mika Zibanejad would all post goals Wednesday night in a surprising turn of events, for two players who have been cold all season. When Miller returns could we see a return to form? This article first appeared on NY Rangers Insider and was syndicated with permission.
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Allowing the use of WhatsApp and Google Play is the "first step in removing internet limitations," according to Iranian officials. The country still enforces draconian internet controls. Iranian authorities have lifted a ban on Meta's messaging platform WhatsApp and Google Play app purchasing service as a first step towards scaling back internet restrictions, state media reported. "A positive majority vote has been reached to lift limitations on access to some popular foreign platforms such as WhatsApp and Google Play," Iran's official news agency IRNA said, referring to a meeting headed by President Masoud Pezeshkian . The agency also quotes Iran's Minister of Information and Communications Technology Sattar Hashemi as saying the move is "the first step in removing internet limitations." The country has some of the strictest controls on internet access in the world. These include embargos on US-based social media networks such as Facebook , X and YouTube . Messaging service Telegram was also banned by a court order in April 2018. However, these restrictions are routinely bypassed by tech-savvy Iranians using virtual private networks (VPN). Social media platforms were widely used in anti-government protests in Iran . In September, the US called on big tech companies to help evade online censorship in countries that heavily censor the internet, including Iran. ftm/dj (AFP, Reuters)FCC throws open 6 GHz band to unlicensed low-power gizmos
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When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Blundstone is an Australian heritage footwear brand with a long history of producing rugged slip-on leather boots beloved by adventurers, farmers, and fashionistas alike. The 154-year-old company remains family-owned and is based in Tasmania. While Blundstone's rugged boots are known worldwide, the brand has a dressier version of its iconic Chelsea boot , and I was sent a pair to put through its paces. The Chelsea boot is a laceless leather ankle boot with elastic sides that allow you to easily slip them on and off. The style dates back to the Victorian era when the invention of vulcanized rubber allowed J. Sparkes-Hall to create the iconic footwear for the House of Queen Victoria in 1851. These boots fit for royalty were made for the Queen who wanted a simple, low-slung riding boot. While they've gone through some changes over the years, they're still basically the same boot created more than 170 years ago. How are these Blundstones different? The first thing you'll notice about the Dress Ankle Boots when compared to the Blundstone Original 500 series or Classic 550 series, which are the traditional styles the company is best known for, is the shape. This dress version has a leaner silhouette and a chisel toe, where the traditional Blundstones have a wider toe bed and a chunkier outsole. Additionally, the new ankle boots, which come in chestnut brown, tan, and black, have monochromatic stitching while the 500s often sport contrast stitching. It's a handsome boot that manages to achieve an upscale feel while still looking like a Blundstone. Putting the Blundstone Dress Chelsea Boot to the test Blundstones are known for being really comfortable, and this dress boot maintains that high standard. The break-in period was short, about a day, and they've gotten more and more comfortable over the four months I've been testing them out. They're great for all-day wear, whether you're at work or on the move. I've worn them on 10-mile walking excursions in LA (I know, who walks 10 miles in LA?) and San Francisco. The latter included a long trek through the woods in Golden Gate Park. I don't recommend these for serious hikes in the actual woods or as rugged work boots since the leather is a little softer than the Blundstone 500s, but they still held up on my long walks. I'm notoriously hard on footwear and I've managed to rack up several small scratches and scuffs on the boots. They were easily fixed with a good cream shoe polish. Construction The boots are constructed with the same level of care as the rest of the company's products, including twin-needle reinforced stitching with a high tensile strength thread. The outsoles are made from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), which is lightweight, long-lasting, flexible, and resists splitting, abrasion, and most oils. These are cemented-construction boots, meaning the leather upper is glued to the outsole, a method that is typically seen in sneakers. And as with sneakers, this allows for the addition of technology aimed at making the boots more comfortable, including XRD Technology , a flexible, lightweight material that's in the boot's heel-strike zone and is designed to absorb impacts. The midsole is made from polyurethane, which you'd typically see in hiking or work boots. It's also good at impact absorption and cushioning. Blundstone's boots can't be resoled, according to the company , but I've found a few shoe repair places, including one online, that say they can replace Blundstone soles for around $80. Since the boots retail for $225, it may be worth at least trying to get them resoled when the time comes. How long the boots will hold up You can expect a pair of Blundstones to last between two and five years, depending on the amount of wear and what you're using them for, according to the Canadian footwear retailer the Australian Boot Company . My last pair of Blunnies (as they're colloquially known) lasted well beyond that, more than eight years, but I didn't wear them as work boots. They were my go-to boots during the fall and winter but I stayed on top of their upkeep (basically just cleaning and polishing them once a month). Here's a good Reddit thread about customers' experiences with how long their Blundstones lasted. Since the new dress ankle boot isn't meant to be worn at a construction site or on the farm, you'll probably get a longer life out of these than you would a Blundstone 500 or 550 used as work boots. How to style the Blundstone Dress Chelsea Boots These boots are very versatile and look as good with jeans and a fisherman's sweater as they will with a T-shirt and chinos come springtime. I'd consider them three-season boots (it's not likely you'll be wearing these in the summer due to their colorways and warmth). The company does make a summer version , dubbed the Active series; they're made from lighter-weight leathers and suedes in more summer-appropriate tones and are cut slightly shorter at the ankle. It should be noted that because the dress ankle boots, like the 500 and 550 styles, have front and back pull-on tabs with the company name, some super slim-fit suit pants or cropped pants may not cover the tabs, which could take away from the formality of your look. The bottom line Overall, I found the new dress ankle boots to be really comfortable, strikingly handsome, and constructed to the same quality standards as other Blundstone shoes. I'd recommend them for business-casual work environments, weekends, and everything in between. Pros: Handsome, very comfortable, with the same quality construction Blundstone is known for. Cons: The pull-on tabs may be seen when wearing very slim suit pants; the leather requires some upkeep; resoling them may not be easy.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was during the pandemic when the Rev. Kira Austin-Young and her puppet-maker husband, Michael Schupbach, were going a little stir-crazy that they came up with the idea. Instead of a star or some stylized humanoid angel to top their Christmas tree, why not create a biblically accurate angel? The result was a pink, blue and gold-feathered creature with six wings and dozens of eyes that went a little bit viral. "I think in, particularly, the times of the world that we're in, where things seem kind of scary and weird, having a scary and weird angel sort of speaks to people," she said. This Dec. 12, 2021, photo shows the biblically accurate angel Christmas tree topper created by the Rev. Kira Austin-Young and her puppet-maker husband, Michael Schupbach, atop the tree in their former home in Nashville, Tenn. There are a number of different kinds of angels that show up in the Bible, said Austin-Young, associate rector of the Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin in San Francisco. For the most part, we don't get a lot of description of them, but both Revelations at the end of the Bible and some of the books of the prophets in the Old Testament describe strange creatures around the throne of God. "Some of them have six wings with eyes covering the wings," she said. Others have multiple animal heads. "I think one of the delightful things about the Bible and the Scripture is just kind of how bizarre it can be and just how kind of out there it can be." About 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe in angels, according to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted last year. Still, there's no agreement about what they look like or even exactly what they are. Social media is full of various interpretations of "biblically accurate angels" imagined not just in tree toppers but also drawings, tattoos, even makeup tutorials. The many-eyed creatures reject traditional portrayals of angels in Western art, where they often look like humans with wings, usually white and often blonde or very fair. Esther Hamori, a professor of Hebrew Bible at Union Theological Seminary, makes a distinction between angels and other "supernatural species" in the Bible like seraphim and cherubim, but she said she loves the biblically accurate angel trend, even if it conflates them. "It shows that people are thinking about ways in which the Bible contains far stranger things than what's often taught," the author of "God's Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible" wrote in an email. "The biblical heavens are filled with weird, frightening figures. In the Bible, God has an entourage of monsters." One of Austin-Young's favorite portrayals of the annunciation — a favorite theme of Christian art depicting the archangel Gabriel's appearance to Mary to announce that she is going to bear the son of God — is by Henry Ossawa Tanner. It conceives of Gabriel as a vaguely humanoid shaft of light. "It kind of makes you rethink, 'What would that be like to be approached by an angel?'" she said. "If it's somebody you don't know, or if it's a strange creature, or if it's just this kind of manifestation of God's message to you. ... That could be anything." ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Red Square, the GUM department store, center, and St. Basil's Cathedral, right, are decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, seen Dec. 13 through a window of the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow in Moscow, Russia. Coco Jones performs Dec. 4 during the 92nd annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in New York. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree after being lit Dec. 4 during the 92nd annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in New York. A 42-meter-tall candle, which is actually an illuminated medieval tower, shines Nov. 30 in the historic city centre of Schlitz, Germany. A large inflatable Santa Claus decorates the stall of a Christmas tree dealer Dec. 3 on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany. People walk through the annual year-end illumination Dec. 16 in the Roppongi district of Tokyo. A woman looks at disco and Christmas balls illuminated with lights on display Dec. 18 for the Christmas Festival at a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing. A child plays Dec. 9 among space-themed holiday lights near a replica of shuttle Independence at Space Center Houston. A visitor takes photos of a Christmas tree Nov. 20 at the Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea. The Los Angeles County Christmas Tree is lit up Dec. 2 at the Jerry Moss Plaza at Music Center in Los Angeles. People take pictures with Christmas decorations Nov. 22 at the waterfront of the Victoria Harbour in West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong. The Kremlin Wall, the Spasskaya Tower, Red Square, the GUM department store, St. Basil's Cathedral and the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge over the Moscow River are decorated Dec. 13 for the New Year and Christmas festivities in Moscow, Russia. Visitors pose in a sledge for a picture Dec. 5 with Christmas lights and decorations in the background at Covent Garden in London. People look at the illuminations Nov. 16 at the Wiener Chritkindlmarkt, one of Vienna's most popular Christmas markets, in front of City Hall in Vienna, Austria. Visitors walk in front of an illuminated Christmas tree Dec. 16 at Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania. Christmas lights are displayed Nov. 20 on Regent Street in London. Actors welcome visitors for the Christmas festival of lights Dec. 13 at a zoo in Johannesburg, South Africa. In this photo taken with a long exposure, a person walks a dog past Christmas lights in a park Dec. 15 in Lenexa, Kan. Spectators walk on the Champs Élysées Avenue after attending the Nov. 24 illumination ceremony for the Christmas season in Paris. A couple stops to view Christmas lights on the facade of a building Dec. 4 in downtown Lisbon. People stand on a bridge Dec. 9 as Christmas lights illuminate the Darsena dei Navigli, the neighborhood named for the canals that run through this area of Milan, Italy. The supermoon rises Nov. 14 behind street lights in Santiago, Chile. In a timed exposure, motorists pass a pair of cowboys boots, standing 40 feet tall and 30 feet long, that were decorated with lights for the holidays, on Dec. 10 in San Antonio. Visitors stand before an illuminated installation, one of many displayed across the Cologne Zoo as part of the China Lights Art Festival, on Dec. 20 in Cologne, Germany. Visitors walk through the "Cathedral" on the Christmas light trail Nov. 12 as it returns for its 12th year, with a showcase of new installations set within the UNESCO World Heritage Site landscape of Kew Gardens in London. People experience the holiday lights Dec. 11 at the Cheekwood Estate and Gardens in Nashville, Tenn. A Christmas wreath and lights adorn the Windansea surf shack Dec. 12 on Windansea Beach in San Diego. Traditional luminarias, also known as farolitos, flicker Dec. 13 throughout the Jemez Historic Site during the annual Lights of Gisewa event in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. People ride a chain carousel Dec. 11 at the Red Square Christmas Fair in Moscow. Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!
Mozambique’s largely deserted capital was hit on Tuesday by skirmishes between protesters and police, AFP reporters said, the day after the ruling party was controversially confirmed winners in recent elections. Police in armoured vehicles patrolled the centre of the city, where hundreds of protesters in small, scattered groups threw objects and started fires. Makeshift roadblocks on major thoroughfares were set alight on Monday evening, covering the city with thick smoke, soon after the country’s highest court confirmed the victory of the ruling Frelimo party presidential candidate Daniel Chapo. Chapo’s main challenger, exiled opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, has claimed the election was rigged, sparking fears of violence between rival party supporters. Shops, banks, supermarkets, petrol stations and public buildings meanwhile were ransacked, with their windows smashed and contents looted. Some were set on fire and reduced to smouldering rubble. “Maputo Central Hospital is operating in critical conditions, more than 200 employees have not been able to reach the site,” its director Mouzinho Saide told AFP, adding that nearly 90 people had been admitted with injuries. ALSO READ: Analysts suggest a GNU as a solution to Mozambique instability Forty were injured by firearms and four by knives, he added. Main roads leading to Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola were blocked by barricades and burning tyres, while the road leading to Maputo airport was largely impassable. Most local residents stayed at home, with the few who ventured out doing to look at the damage or do last-minute Christmas shopping. Christmas Eve is normally a busy time, with large crowds in central Maputo but shops and even small neighbourhood grocery stores were closed, making petrol and bread unavailable. Public transport was also paralysed, with only ambulances and funeral vehicles running. ‘Humiliation’ ALSO READ: Hundreds arrested at Lebombo for illegally attempting to cross SA-Mozambique border The unrest spread to several cities in the northern part of Mozambique, local media reported, with violence and vandalism in the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Zambezia and Tete, where opposition support is strong. More than 100 people have already died in the unprecedented post-election violence, with fears that the toll could increase after Mondlane’s claim of victory. Mozambicans are demanding “electoral truth”, he said in a Facebook post. “We must continue the fight, remain united and strong.” Monday’s confirmation of the result of the October 9 election came despite claims of irregularities from many observers. Chapo won 65.17 percent of the vote, more than five points lower than the initial results declared by the country’s electoral commission. In the National Assembly, Frelimo has a majority of 171 seats out of 250, down 24 from the announcement in October. ALSO READ: SA pushes for dialogue and stability in Mozambique “Venancio”, as Mondlane is called on the street, repeated his assertion in a social media message on Tuesday that the constitutional court was “legalising fraud” and “the humiliation of the people”. “We want to create a People’s Constitutional Court, which will confirm Venancio Mondlane as president,” he said of himself. “I will be sworn in and invested,” he added. Chapo, who is due to take office in mid-January, struck a conciliatory tone in his victory speech on Monday, promising to “talk to everyone”, including his main opponent. – By: © Agence France-PresseProvidence, Oklahoma hope key players are back in BahamasTanner, Charles connect for 2 TDs and Robert Morris tops Stonehill 31-13
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AP News Summary at 4:53 p.m. ESTBRUSSELS, Belgium: NATO chief Mark Rutte held talks with US President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on the “global security issues facing the alliance”, a spokeswoman said Saturday. The meeting took place on Friday in Palm Beach, NATO’s Farah Dakhlallah said in a statement. In his first term Trump aggressively pushed Europe to step up defence spending and questioned the fairness of the NATO transatlantic alliance. The former Dutch prime minister had said he wanted to meet Trump two days after Trump was elected on November 5 and discuss the threat of increasingly warming ties between North Korea and Russia. Trump’s thumping victory to return to the US presidency has set nerves jangling in Europe that he could pull the plug on vital Washington military aid for Ukraine. NATO allies say keeping Kyiv in the fight against Moscow is key to both European and American security. “What we see more and more is that North Korea, Iran, China and of course Russia are working together, working together against Ukraine,” Rutte said recently at a European leaders’ meeting in Budapest. “At the same time, Russia has to pay for this, and one of the things they are doing is delivering technology to North Korea”, which he warned was threatening to the “mainland of the US (and) continental Europe”. “I look forward to sitting down with Donald Trump to discuss how we can face these threats collectively,” Rutte said.TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli soldiers raided a hospital in isolated northern Gaza after forcing all the patients and most of the doctors to leave, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday. The Israeli military confirmed its troops had entered the Indonesian Hospital in the town of Jabaliya as part of an operation searching for Hamas fighters. Winter is hitting the Gaza Strip and many of the nearly 2 million Palestinians displaced by the devastating 15-month war with Israel are struggling to protect themselves from the wind, cold and rain. In the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian city of Bethlehem was marking a somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza, with most festivities cancelled and crowds of tourists absent. Israel's bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count. The war was sparked by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel in October 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage by Palestinian militants. Around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, although only two thirds are believed to still be alive. Here’s the latest: WASHINGTON — A leading global food crisis monitor says deaths from starvation will likely pass famine levels in north Gaza as soon as next month. The U.S.-created Famine Early Warning System Network says that’s because to a near-total Israeli blockade of food and other aid in that part of Gaza. The finding, however, appears to have exposed a rift within the Biden administration over the extent of starvation in northern Gaza. The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Jacob Lew, disputes part of the data used in reaching the conclusion and calls the intensified famine warning “irresponsible.” Northern Gaza has been one of the areas hardest-hit by fighting and Israel’s restrictions on aid throughout its 14-month war with Hamas militants. UNITED NATIONS — Israel’s foreign minister has requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to condemn recent missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and to condemn the group's Iranian allies for allegedly providing the group with weapons. Gideon Saar said in a letter Tuesday to Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of the United States, which holds the council presidency this month, that the Houthis are violating international law and council resolutions. “This Iranian-backed terrorist group continues to endanger Israel’s and other nations’ security, as well as the freedom of maritime navigation, in flagrant violation of international law,” Saar said. “All of this malign activity is done as part of a broader strategy to destabilize the region.” The U.S. Mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to an email asking when the council meeting will be held. The Houthis have said they launched attacks on shipping in the Red Sea – and on Israel -- with the aim of ending Israel’s devastating air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli war in Gaza followed Hamas’ deadly October 2023 attacks in southern Israel. TEL AVIV, Israel — An Israeli military investigation has concluded that the presence of troops inadvertently contributed to the deaths of six hostages killed by their Hamas captors in Gaza. The hostages' bodies were discovered in a tunnel in late August, an event that shook Israel and sparked some of the largest anti-war protests since the war began. The investigation found that the six hostages were killed by multiple gunshots from their captors after surviving for nearly 330 days. The Israeli military’s “ground activities in the area, although gradual and cautious, had a circumstantial influence on the terrorists’ decision to murder the six hostages,” the report found. According to the investigation, the Israeli military began operating in the area where the hostages were being held in southern Gaza about two weeks before their discovery, under the assumption that the chances of hostages in the area was medium to low. On August 27, hostage Qaid Farhan Alkadi was found alone in a tunnel , causing the Israeli military to halt operations for 24 hours to determine if there could be other hostages in the area. The military discovered the opening leading to the tunnel where the bodies of the six hostages were located on August 30. A pathological report estimated the six hostages were killed on August 29. The six hostages killed were Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin , whose American-Israeli parents became some of the most recognized spokespeople pleading for the hostages’ release, including addressing the Democratic National Convention days before their son’s killing. “The investigation published tonight proves once again that the return of all hostages will only be possible through a deal,” the Hostages Families Forum said in response to the investigation. “Every passing moment puts the hostages’ lives in immediate danger.” JERUSALEM — The Israeli negotiating team working on a ceasefire returned from Qatar to Israel on Tuesday, the prime minister’s office said, after what it called “a significant week” of talks. After months of deadlock, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt resumed their mediation efforts in recent weeks and reported greater willingness by the warring sides to reach a deal. According to Egyptian and Hamas officials, the proposed agreement would take place in phases and include a halt in fighting, an exchange of captive Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and a surge in aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel says Hamas is holding 100 hostages, over one-third of whom are believed to be dead. On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was “some progress” in efforts to reach a deal, but added he did not know how long it would take. CAIRO — Israeli soldiers took control of a hospital in isolated northern Gaza after forcing all the patients and most of the doctors to leave, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday. Some of the patients had to walk to another hospital while others were driven by paramedics, according to Health Ministry spokesperson Zaher al-Wahidi. He did not specify how many patients had evacuated. The Israeli military confirmed its troops had entered the Indonesian Hospital in the town of Jabaliya as part of an operation searching for Hamas fighters. The army later said its soldiers had left the hospital. The military said it had assisted with evacuating the patients and had not ordered the hospital closed. However, al-Wahidi said only one doctor and maintenance person were left behind. The Indonesian Hospital is one of three hospitals left largely inaccessible in the northernmost part of Gaza because Israel has imposed a tight siege there since launching an offensive in early October. The Israeli army said Tuesday’s operation at the Indonesian Hospital came after militants carried out attacks from the hospital for the past month, including launching anti-tank missiles and planting explosive devices in the surrounding area. The Health Ministry accused Israel of “besieging and directly targeting” the three hospitals in northern Gaza. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said Israeli drones detonated explosives near the hospital and that 20 people were wounded, including five medical staff. The Israeli military declined to comment on the operation around the hospital. DAMASCUS — Scores of Syrian Christians protested in the capital Damascus on Tuesday, demanding greater protections for their religious minority after a Christmas tree was set on fire in the city of Hama a day earlier. Many of the insurgents who now rule Syria are jihadis, although Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of the main rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has renounced longtime ties to al-Qaida and spent years depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance. It remains unclear who set the Christmas tree on fire Monday, which was condemned by a representative of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham who visited the town and addressed the community. “This act was committed by people who are not Syrian, and they will be punished beyond your expectations," the HTS representative said in a video widely shared on social media. "The Christmas tree will be fully restored by this evening.” On Tuesday, protesters marched through the streets of Bab Touma in Damascus, shouting slogans against foreign fighters and carrying large wooden crosses. “We demand that Syria be for all Syrians. We want a voice in the future of our country,” said Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II of the Syriac Orthodox Church as he addressed the crowd in a church courtyard, assuring them of Christians’ rights in Syria. Since HTS led a swift offensive that overthrew President Bashar Assad earlier this month, Syria’s minority communities have been on edge, uncertain of how they will be treated under the emerging rebel-led government. “We are here to demand a democratic and free government for one people and one nation,” another protester said. “We stand united — Muslims and Christians. No to sectarianism.” DOHA — Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said that ceasefire negotiations to end the war in Gaza were ongoing in Doha in cooperation with Egyptian, Qatari, and American mediators. “We will not leave any door unopened in pursuit of reaching an agreement,” said Majid al-Ansari, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday. Al Ansari added that rumors the ceasefire would be reached before Christmas are “speculation.” The ceasefire negotiations come at a time when winter is hitting the Gaza Strip and many of the nearly 2 million Palestinians displaced by the devastating 15-month war with Israel are struggling to protect themselves from the wind, cold and rain. Families of the approximately 100 hostages who have been held for 445 days in Gaza are also worried their loved ones will not survive another winter. In a press conference, al-Ansari also called on the international community to lift sanctions on Syria as quickly as possible on Tuesday. “The reason was the crimes of the previous regime, and that regime, with all of its authority, is no longer in place, therefor the causes for these sanctions no longer exist today,” he said. DAMASCUS, Syria — American journalist Austin Tice is believed to be still alive, according to the head of an international aid group. Nizar Zakka, who runs the Hostage Aid Worldwide organization, said there has never been any proof that Tice, who has been missing since 2012, is dead. Zakka told reporters in Damascus on Tuesday that Tice was alive in January and being held by the authorities of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad. He added that U.S. President Joe Biden said in August that Tice was alive. Zakka said he believes Tice was transferred between security agencies over the past 12 years, including in an area where Iranian-backed fighters were operating. Asked if it was possible Tice had been taken out of the country, Zakka said Assad most likely kept him in Syria as a potential bargaining chip. Biden said Dec. 8 that his administration believed Tice was alive and was committed to bringing him home, although he also acknowledged that “we have no direct evidence” of his status. TEL AVIV, Israel — Hannah Katzir, an Israeli woman who was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, and freed in a brief ceasefire last year, has died. She was 78. The Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the families of people taken captive, confirmed the death Tuesday but did not disclose the cause. Her daughter, Carmit Palty Katzir, said in a statement that her mother’s “heart could not withstand the terrible suffering since Oct. 7.” Katzir’s husband, Rami, was killed during the attack by militants who raided their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Her son Elad was also kidnapped and his body was recovered in April by the Israeli military, who said he had been killed in captivity. She spent 49 days in captivity and was freed in late November 2023. Shortly after Katzir was freed, her daughter told Israeli media that she had been hospitalized with heart issues attributed to “difficult conditions and starvation” while she was held captive. TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel's military said the projectile was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory, but it set off air raid sirens overnight in the country's populous central area, sending residents looking for cover. Israel’s rescue service Magen David Adom said a 60-year-old woman was seriously wounded after being hurt on her way to a protected space. There was no immediate comment from Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. It was the third time in a week that fire from Yemen set off sirens in Israel. On Saturday, a missile slammed into a playground in Tel Aviv, injuring 16, after Israel’s air defense system failed to intercept it. Earlier last week, Israeli jets struck Yemen’s rebel-held capital and a port city, killing nine. Israel said the strikes were in response to previous Houthi attacks.
Dana Hull | (TNS) Bloomberg News Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s money manager and the head of his family office, is listed as the chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a longtime Musk aide who has worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is named as an official contact. Related Articles National Politics | Trump’s picks for top health jobs not just team of rivals but ‘team of opponents’ National Politics | Biden will decide on US Steel acquisition after influential panel fails to reach consensus National Politics | Biden vetoes once-bipartisan effort to add 66 federal judgeships, citing ‘hurried’ House action National Politics | A history of the Panama Canal — and why Trump can’t take it back on his own National Politics | President-elect Trump wants to again rename North America’s tallest peak But they’re not connected to Musk’s new technology venture, or the political operation that’s endeared him to Donald Trump. Instead, they’re tied to the billionaire’s new Montessori school outside Bastrop, Texas, called Ad Astra, according to documents filed with state authorities and obtained via a Texas Public Information Act request. The world’s richest person oversees an overlapping empire of six companies — or seven, if you include his political action committee. Alongside rockets, electric cars, brain implants, social media and the next Trump administration, he is increasingly focused on education, spanning preschool to college. One part of his endeavor was revealed last year, when Bloomberg News reported that his foundation had set aside roughly $100 million to create a technology-focused primary and secondary school in Austin, with eventual plans for a university. An additional $137 million in cash and stock was allotted last year, according to the most recent tax filing for the Musk Foundation. Ad Astra is closer to fruition. The state documents show Texas authorities issued an initial permit last month, clearing the way for the center to operate with as many as 21 pupils. Ad Astra’s website says it’s “currently open to all children ages 3 to 9.” The school’s account on X includes job postings for an assistant teacher for preschool and kindergarten and an assistant teacher for students ages 6 to 9. To run the school, Ad Astra is partnering with a company that has experience with billionaires: Xplor Education, which developed Hala Kahiki Montessori school in Lanai, Hawaii, the island 98% owned by Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison. Ad Astra sits on a highway outside Bastrop, a bedroom community about 30 miles from Austin and part of a region that’s home to several of Musk’s businesses. On a visit during a recent weekday morning, there was a single Toyota Prius in the parking lot and no one answered the door at the white building with a gray metal roof. The school’s main entrance was blocked by a gate, and there was no sign of any children on the grounds. But what information there is about Ad Astra makes it sound like a fairly typical, if high-end, Montessori preschool. The proposed schedule includes “thematic, STEM-based activities and projects” as well as outdoor play and nap time. A sample snack calendar features carrots and hummus. While Birchall’s and Balajadia’s names appear in the application, it isn’t clear that they’ll have substantive roles at the school once it’s operational. Musk, Birchall and Balajadia didn’t respond to emailed questions. A phone call and email to the school went unanswered. Access to high quality, affordable childcare is a huge issue for working parents across the country, and tends to be an especially vexing problem in rural areas like Bastrop. Many families live in “childcare deserts” where there is either not a facility or there isn’t an available slot. Opening Ad Astra gives Musk a chance to showcase his vision for education, and his support for the hands-on learning and problem solving that are a hallmark of his industrial companies. His public comments about learning frequently overlap with cultural concerns popular among conservatives and the Make America Great Again crowd, often focusing on what he sees as young minds being indoctrinated by teachers spewing left-wing propaganda. He has railed against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and in August posted that “a lot of schools are teaching white boys to hate themselves.” Musk’s educational interests dovetail with his new role as Trump’s “first buddy.” The billionaire has pitched a role for himself that he — and now the incoming Trump administration — call “DOGE,” or the Department of Government Efficiency. Though it’s not an actual department, DOGE now posts on X, the social media platform that Musk owns. “The Department of Education spent over $1 billion promoting DEI in America’s schools,” the account posted Dec. 12. Back in Texas, Bastrop is quickly becoming a key Musk point of interest. The Boring Co., his tunneling venture, is based in an unincorporated area there. Across the road, SpaceX produces Starlink satellites at a 500,000-square-foot (46,000-square-meter) facility. Nearby, X is constructing a building for trust and safety workers. Musk employees, as well as the general public, can grab snacks at the Boring Bodega, a convenience store housed within Musk’s Hyperloop Plaza, which also contains a bar, candy shop and hair salon. Ad Astra is just a five-minute drive away. It seems to have been designed with the children of Musk’s employees — if not Musk’s own offspring — in mind. Musk has fathered at least 12 children, six of them in the last five years. “Ad Astra’s mission is to foster curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking in the next generation of problem solvers and builders,” reads the school’s website. A job posting on the website of the Montessori Institute of North Texas says “While their parents support the breakthroughs that expand the realm of human possibility, their children will grow into the next generation of innovators in a way that only authentic Montessori can provide.” The school has hired an executive director, according to documents Bloomberg obtained from Texas Health and Human Services. Ad Astra is located on 40 acres of land, according to the documents, which said a 4,000-square-foot house would be remodeled for the preschool. It isn’t uncommon for entrepreneurs to take an interest in education, according to Bill Gormley, a professor emeritus at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University who studies early childhood education. Charles Butt, the chairman of the Texas-based H-E-B grocery chain, has made public education a focus of his philanthropy. Along with other business and community leaders, Butt founded “Raise Your Hand Texas,” which advocates on school funding, teacher workforce and retention issues and fully funding pre-kindergarten. “Musk is not the only entrepreneur to recognize the value of preschool for Texas workers,” Gormley said. “A lot of politicians and business people get enthusiastic about education in general — and preschool in particular — because they salivate at the prospect of a better workforce.” Political Moves Musk spent much of October actively campaigning for Trump’s presidential effort, becoming the most prolific donor of the election cycle. He poured at least $274 million into political groups in 2024, including $238 million to America PAC, the political action committee he founded. While the vast majority of money raised by America PAC came from Musk himself, it also had support from other donors. Betsy DeVos, who served as education secretary in Trump’s first term, donated $250,000, federal filings show. The Department of Education is already in the new administration’s cross hairs. Trump campaigned on the idea of disbanding the department and dismantling diversity initiatives, and he has also taken aim at transgender rights. “Rather than indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual, and political material, which is what we’re doing now, our schools must be totally refocused to prepare our children to succeed in the world of work,” Trump wrote in Agenda 47, his campaign platform. Musk has three children with the musician Grimes and three with Shivon Zilis, who in the past was actively involved at Neuralink, his brain machine interface company. All are under the age of five. Musk took X, his son with Grimes, with him on a recent trip to Capitol Hill. After his visit, he shared a graphic that showed the growth of administrators in America’s public schools since 2000. Tuition Costs Musk is a fan of hands-on education. During a Tesla earnings call in 2018, he talked about the need for more electricians as the electric-car maker scaled up the energy side of its business. On the Joe Rogan podcast in 2020, Musk said that “too many smart people go into finance and law.” “I have a lot of respect for people who work with their hands and we need electricians and plumbers and carpenters,” Musk said while campaigning for Trump in Pennsylvania in October. “That’s a lot more important than having incremental political science majors.” Ad Astra’s website says the cost of tuition will be initially subsidized, but in future years “tuition will be in line with local private schools that include an extended day program.” “I do think we need significant reform in education,” Musk said at a separate Trump campaign event. “The priority should be to teach kids skills that they will find useful later in life, and to leave any sort of social propaganda out of the classroom.” With assistance from Sophie Alexander and Kara Carlson. ©2024 Bloomberg News. Visit at bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Mexico City, Nov 23 (AP) Mexico has been taking a bashing lately for allegedly serving as a conduit for Chinese parts and products into North America, and officials here are afraid a re-elected Donald Trump or politically struggling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could try to leave their country out of the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. Mexico's ruling Morena party is so afraid of losing the trade deal that President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday the government has gone on a campaign to get companies to replace Chinese parts with locally made ones. Also Read | Pakistan Violence: 15 Killed, 25 Injured in Fresh Sectarian Clashes in Kurram, 2 Days After Attack on Passenger Vehicles. “We have a plan with the aim of substituting these imports that come from China, and producing the majority of them in Mexico, either with Mexican companies or primarily North American companies,” Sheinbaum said. While Sheinbaum claimed Mexico had been working on that effort since the 2021 global supply chain crisis — when factories around the world were stalled by a lack of parts and particularly computer chips from Asia — it appears to be an uphill battle. Even the United States has faced big challenges in moving chip production back home despite billions in subsidies and incentives. Also Read | Gautam Adani Indicted: US SEC Summons Indian Billionaire's Nephew Sagar in Bribery Case. Mexico gained tens of thousands of jobs when US and foreign automakers moved their plants to Mexico under the free trade pact to take advantage of much lower wages. But the idea that Chinese parts — or even whole cars — could be piggybacking on that arrangement to further hollow out the US auto industry has enraged some people north of the border. So Mexico is scrambling with private companies to get them to move parts production here. “Next year, God willing, we are going to start making microchips in Mexico,” Mexican Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said on Thursday. “Of course they're not yet the most advanced chips, but we are going to start producing them here.” Mexico's nationalistic ruling party, which is normally very resistant to being seen as bending to US demands, is scrambling in other ways, too. The ruling party is in the process of eliminating a half-dozen independent regulatory and oversight agencies that were established by former presidents. That includes the anti-monopoly, transparency and energy regulatory bodies. Together with reforms that will make all judges stand for election in Mexico, that has sparked concern in the US and Canada. Countries are required under the agreement to have some independent agencies, in part to protect foreign investors. For example, they could prevent a government from approving a monopoly for a state-owned company that could force competitors out of the market. So ruling-party legislators are actually re-writing the proposed laws to exactly mimic the minimum accepted requirements under the trade accord. “What is being done is to create a reform so that its almost exactly equal to what exists in the United States, so we can clear that up,” Ebrard said. It's all part of a very legalistic defence of the trade accord, signed in 2018 and approved in 2019. Mexico hopes the rules of the agreement would prevent the US or Canada from simply walking away when the trade pact comes up for review in 2026. Experts agree, saying that totally abandoning the accord is unlikely. Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis of the financial group Banco Base notes that if a country is dissatisfied with the trade agreement during the periodic reviews, like in 2026, there is a clause in the pact that says they can ask for a review each year to work out a solution, and keep doing that for a decade while the agreement remains in force. “That is, they wouldn't be able to get out until 2036,” Siller said. “I think they will play hardball with Mexico in the 2026 review.” Like any marriage, when the pact no longer works for one party, it may still drag on for years but it's death by a thousand cuts. C.J. Mahoney. who served as deputy US trade representative in Trump's first administration, said in a talk for the Texas-based Baker Institute in September that the United States probably wouldn't end the trade agreement. But with growingly vocal critics of the pact it could hold up renewing it for years. “The costs of not renewing immediately are actually quite relatively low,” Mahoney said. “I think the inclination to just kick the can down the road will be pretty strong.” Because many companies won't make big investments in production facilities without certainty, that could be a serious if not fatal blow to the pact. How much does Mexico actually buy from China? Mexican officials say they have fewer imports of Chinese parts and products than the United States does. But given the enormous size difference between the two countries' economies, it is a true but weak argument. In July, the US imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum shipped from Mexico that were made elsewhere, in an attempt to stop China from avoiding import taxes by routing goods through Mexico. It includes a 25 per cent tariff on steel not melted or poured in Mexico and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum. Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, has called for stopping Mexican steel imports, saying “the alarming rise in Chinese steel and aluminum coming into the country through Mexico ... is unsustainable and a threat to American jobs, as well as our economy and national security". In the end, Mexico may be forced to crack down on Chinese imports, but it won't be easy. “Reducing the dependence on Chinese imports is not going to be achieved in the short or medium term," said José María Ramos, a professor of public administration at the Colegio de la Frontera Norte in Tijuana. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)Report: Institutional neutrality favored at Carolina, Wake, Duke'It’s a surprise': Shoebox Project gives women impacted by homelessness a Christmas gift