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Pope Francis’ 87th birthday closes out a big year of efforts to reform the church, cement his legacy

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:14 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis turned 87 on Sunday, closing out a year that saw big milestones in his efforts to reform the Catholic Church as well as health scares that raise questions about his future as pope.Francis celebrated his birthday with cake during a festive audience with children Sunday morning, and there were “Happy Birthday” banners in St. Peter’s Square during his weekly noon blessing.One early present came Saturday, when a Vatican tribunal handed down a mix of guilty verdicts and acquittals in a complicated trial that Francis had supported as evidence of his financial reforms. The biggest-name defendant, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison.“It was quite a year for a pope who’s obviously thinking about legacy and finishing up,” said Christopher Bellitto, professor of history at Kean University in New Jersey.Only seven popes are known to have been older than Francis at the time of their deaths, according to the o...

European diplomacy steps up calls for Gaza cease-fire

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:14 GMT

Some of Israel’s closest European allies pressed for a cease-fire in the war with Hamas on Sunday, underscoring growing international unease with the devastating impact of the conflict on Gaza’s civilian population.The concerted push by top European diplomats comes ahead of a visit to Israel on Monday by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is also expected to put pressure on Israeli leaders to end the war’s most intense phase and transit to a more targeted strategy against Hamas.Western allies of Israel have increasingly expressed concern with civilian casualties and the mass displacement of 1.9 million Palestinians — nearly 85% of Gaza’s population — though the U.S. has continued to provide vital military and diplomatic support to its close ally.In a joint article in the Sunday Times, a British weekly, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock called for a cease-fire and said “too many civilians have been killed. The Israeli gov...

Quebec’s electricity ambitions reopen old wounds in Newfoundland and Labrador

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:14 GMT

MONTREAL — As Quebec prepares to ramp up electricity production to meet its ambitious economic goals, the government is trying to extend a power deal that has caused decades of resentment in Newfoundland and Labrador.Around 15 per cent of Quebec’s electricity comes from the Churchill Falls dam in Labrador, through a deal set to expire in 2041 that is widely seen as unfair. Quebec Premier François Legault not only wants to extend the agreement, he wants another dam on the Churchill River to help make his province what he has called a “world leader for the green economy.”But renewing that contract “won’t be easy,” Normand Mousseau, scientific director of the Trottier Energy Institute at Polytechnique Montréal, said in a recent interview. Extending the Churchill Falls deal is not essential to meet Quebec’s energy plans, but without it, Mousseau said, “we would have some problems.”The Legault government is enticing global companies, ...

Study says buffers, fire resistant materials could slash wildfire risks to residences

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:14 GMT

A new study says Canadian homeowners and communities can slash wildfire risks to buildings if they start taking steps like cutting buffer zones and using fire resistant construction materials.The study released Sunday by the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo is noting that the 2023 wildfire season saw wildfire losses that shattered previous records set in 1995, with an area about one quarter the land mass of Manitoba going up in flames.The report, titled “Ahead of the flames,” says Canadians living in forested and grassland regions need to follow “well-tested actions” that can reduce the risk of their home burning “by up to 75 per cent.”The document includes two infographics, with images showing practical actions for homeowners and communities to take.They include calls for homeowners to store wood away from the house, remove shrubs and other flammable material near the foundation and take down trees within 10 metre...

Toronto man charged with mischief after ‘hate-motivated’ graffiti found on TTC bus

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:14 GMT

Toronto police have arrested and charged a 51-year-old man with mischief in an incident they allege was hate-motivated.Police say a man boarded a TTC bus in the Jane Street and Bloor Street West area on December 2 and wrote hate-motivated graffiti on several windows.Police did not give details on who was targeted in the graffiti messages.Christopher Welsh has been charged with mischief – interfere with property. He is scheduled to appear in court on February 2, 2024.Investigators say the incident is being treated as a suspected hate-motivated offence. If a person is charged and convicted of the offence, the Judge will take into consideration hate as an aggravating factor when imposing a sentence.

Israel faces new truce calls as errant killing of captives adds to concern about its wartime conduct

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:14 GMT

Israel’s government faced local protests and calls for a cease-fire from some of its closest European allies on Sunday after a series of shootings, including of three hostages who were waving a white flag, added to mounting concerns about its conduct in the 10-week-old war in Gaza.The protesters are calling on the government to renew hostage negotiations with Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whom it has vowed to destroy. Israel could also face pressure to scale back major combat operations when U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits this week, as Washington has expressed growing unease with civilian casualties even while providing vital military and diplomatic support.The air and ground war has flattened large parts of northern Gaza, killed thousands of civilians and driven most of the population to the southern part of the besieged territory, where many are packed into crowded shelters and tent camps, surviving off a trickle of humanitarian aid. Some 1.9 million Palestinians — ...

The pattern stays quick and cold for the early weeks.

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:14 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Metro Today:  mostly cloudy AM, clearing PM, wind WNW 10-15, high 49.  Overnight:  mostly clear, not as cold, low 32.  Monday:  blustery, bright and cold; wind NW 15–30; high 39; low 22.    Tuesday:  partly cloudy, high 45, low 33.  Wednesday:  variable clouds, high 54, low 42.  Thursday:  increasing clouds, rain developing, high 56, low 44.  Friday:  scattered showers, high 55, low 47.  Weekend:  scattered rain chances continue; highs 55 to 58, lows 43 to 46.

Nuggets’ DeAndre Jordan takes vegan diet to London for Great American Baking Show’s celebrity holiday special

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:14 GMT

With applesauce as an egg substitute, DeAndre Jordan worried his batter would take more time to rise than his first career NBA championship banner.It was summer, after he “sobered up a little bit” from celebrating a title with the Denver Nuggets, and Jordan was outside London … baking holiday goodies. On a tight deadline. Without any animal products. Surrounded by competitors and judges.A perfectly relaxing way to unwind after the soaring highs of a parade in Denver.“I was afraid it was gonna take my (stuff) forever to set and rise,” he recalled. “Just because I was using other ingredients.”Jordan, 35, spent a week last offseason in the English countryside recording a celebrity holiday episode of “The Great American Baking Show,” a spin-off of “The Great British Bake Off.” And he made his appearance with a twist. It has been five years since Jordan, a three-time All-NBA center who won his first career championship with Denv...

Grading The Week: Don’t poke The Moose! Do Avs fans have Artturi Lehkonen’s dad to thank for Mikko Rantanen’s scoring surge?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:14 GMT

So, um, do we give Ismo Lehkonen … an assist? No?Lordy, you should’ve seen the cringes and awkward glances traded around the Grading The Week offices after we saw what Lehkonen, father of Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen, told the Yle media outlet in Finland about Mikko Rantanen, his son’s very large and very good teammate, this past Monday.With the Avs having dropped five of six, the elder Lehknonen, an analyst in Finland, his homeland as well as Rantanen’s, said the Colorado forward “didn’t have a very good summer” and had basically hit a wall in December, and that “frustration and pain have started to show in Rantanen’s game.”Given how the Moose responded, any chance Papa Lehkonen would like to chuck a few more Avs under the bussi — that’s “bus” or “shuttle” in Finnish — now that he’s talking roskat (“trash”)?Mikko Rantanen — A-After a stretch of nine straight goalless ga...

Hickenlooper: With the PUEBLO Act, the old Chemical Depot is primed to get cleaned up and revitalized

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:14 GMT

Puebloans: rest easy. Congress is about to pass our bill to finally bring certainty to the future of the Pueblo Chemical Depot. Our Promoting Utilization and Economic Benefits from Land Optimization (PUEBLO) Act has been included in the final version of the annual defense authorization bill, which will pass into law this month.What does this bill mean for Pueblo? The PUEBLO Act directs the Army to close the Pueblo Chemical Depot no later than one year after the completion of the chemical demilitarization mission using the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.The Depot hit this milestone in June. Passage of this legislation means a seamless transfer of Department of Defense land to the local economic redevelopment authority, PuebloPlex, which will reimagine the property to serve Pueblo for decades to come.The Pueblo Chemical Depot was one of two remaining military sites in the United States that safely stored chemical weapons. The weapons held at these facilities were incredib...