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Shakira’s hometown unveils a giant statue of the beloved Colombian pop star

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:51 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Pop star Shakira was immortalized in her Colombian hometown of Barranquilla, where officials unveiled a giant bronze statue of the music diva known around the world for her catchy tunes and exhilarating moves.The six-meter (20-feet) tall monument depicts the multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy winner in one of her famous belly dancing outfits, with her hips swaying to her right and her arms raised gracefully toward the sky.A plaque under the statue says that on Feb. 2, 1977, the town of “Barranquilla and the world witnessed the birth of a heart that composes, hips that don’t lie, a voice that moves masses and a pair of bare feet that walk for the good of children and humanity.”The statue, located on a recently built promenade along the Magdalena River that runs along the edge of the town, was unveiled in a small ceremony on Tuesday attended by Shakira’s parents and the mayor, Jaime Pumarejo.However, the bronze giant is not the Caribbean town’s first ...

Vancouver food delivery workers stabbed after seizing Facebook Marketplace thief: VPD

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:51 GMT

Vancouver Police are commending the bravery of two food delivery workers who were stabbed when they intervened in an attempted robbery stemming from a Facebook Marketplace sale.VPD Sgt. Steve Addison says a 21-year-old suspect is in custody after being subdued by bystanders when he tried to rob the seller in the transaction.Addison says the incident happened at around 7:40 p.m. Tuesday in the Olympic Village neighbourhood, when the 36-year-old seller was meeting a buyer for an in-person exchange.The transaction turned violent when the buyer attacked the seller with pepper spray and tried to flee with the item.Addison says the food-delivery workers and others gave chase and subdued the suspect who was trying to escape in a taxi.He says one delivery worker was stabbed in the hand and the other in the shoulder, and both are recovering after being treated in hospital. “While we never want people to put themselves in harm’s way, we appreciate the quick thinking of these Good Samaritans,&...

Casinos, hospital ask judge to halt Atlantic City road narrowing, say traffic could cost jobs, lives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:51 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Five Boardwalk casinos and a hospital want a judge to prevent Atlantic City from completing a controversial program to narrow the main road running through the city’s downtown, saying such a move could hurt business and endanger lives during traffic-choked periods.The AtlantiCare hospital system, and Caesars, Tropicana, Bally’s, Hard Rock and Resorts casinos, are asking a state Superior Court judge to order an end to the project, which began Dec. 13.The city says the federal and state-funded project will make a dangerous road safer at no cost to local taxpayers. Officials said narrowing the road was a requirement for accepting the $24 million in government funds.Last Friday, Judge Michael Blee in Atlantic County declined to issue the immediate order the casinos and the hospital had sought to stop the project in its tracks. Rather, the judge will hear full details of the situation in a Jan. 26 hearing.Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts as w...

Ariana Grande announces new album arriving in 2024, her first since 2020’s ‘Positions’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:51 GMT

Thank you, next: On Wednesday, Ariana Grande announced that she will release a new album in 2024.The two-time Grammy award winner teased the future full-length album on her Instagram page. It will be her seventh studio album and first since 2020’s “Positions.”“See you next year,” she wrote in the caption of the Instagram post, which included images in a studio and in front of a mixing board, and a video where someone off screen tells her it is “almost the last day of this album.” Grande responds, “I’m so tired,” and laughs. “But so happy and grateful. I also feel like I weigh 3,000 tons.”On her Instagram story, she shared a screenshot captured from FaceTime with the text, “The two moods of the album.”She also shared posts from fans who received packages from her in the mail containing red lipstick from her R.E.M. Beauty line and a note that also read, “See you next year.”The announcement arrives a few weeks after news broke that Ariana Grande signed to Good World Managem...

Argentina’s unions take to the streets to protest president’s cutbacks, deregulation and austerity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:51 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Thousands of union members and activists took to the streets of Argentina’s capital Wednesday to protest a decree from President Javier Milei that imposes sweeping deregulation and austerity measures meant to revive the country’s struggling economy. Unions had asked a court for a prior injunction to block measures lifting some labor protections, but a judge rejected the appeal, noting the decree had not yet entered into effect. It does so on Friday.Argentine labor activists question whether Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist who has long railed against the country’s “political caste,” can impose the measures by way of an emergency decree bypassing the legislature where his party has few seats. “We do not question the president’s legitimacy … but we want a president who respects the division of powers, who understands that workers have the need to defend themselves individually and within the framework of justice when there is ...

Russell Hamler, thought to be the last of WWII Merrill’s Marauders jungle-fighting unit, dies at 99

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:51 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The reputed last member of the famed American jungle fighting unit in World War II nicknamed the Merrill’s Marauders has died.Russell Hamler, 99, died on Tuesday, his son Jeffrey said. He did not give a cause of death.Hamler was the last living Marauder, according to a biography published by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in January.Hamler had been living in the Pittsburgh area, where he was born in 1924, and enlisted in the Army at 18, according to the department’s biography.In 2022, the Marauders received the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest honor. The Marauders inspired a 1962 movie called “Merrill’s Marauders,” and dozens of Marauders were awarded individual decorations after the war, from the Distinguished Service Cross to the Silver Star. The Army also awarded the Bronze Star to every soldier in the unit.The soldiers spent months behind enemy lines, marching hundreds of miles through the tangled jungles and steep mou...

A helicopter crashes into a canal near Miami and firefighters rescue both people on board

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:51 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Emergency workers in South Florida on Wednesday rescued two people from a canal after their helicopter crashed.The helicopter was carrying two people from Fort Myers when it crashed into a canal about three miles west of Miami Executive Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.Aerial video footage showed divers from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue searching the canal. The two people were sent to local hospitals in Miami, where one was in serious condition and the other had non-life-threatening injuries, CBS News Miami reported.The federal aviation agency said it was opening an investigation.The Associated Press

Man with machete, knife arrested outside US Capitol: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:51 GMT

(The Hill) -- A man allegedly carrying a machete and a knife on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol was arrested Tuesday afternoon by U.S. Capitol Police. According to the statement released by police, an officer saw a man pacing back and forth who then sat down on a ledge on the east side of the Capitol building around 4:15 p.m.The officer approached the man after witnessing “strange behavior” and after speaking for several minutes, he noticed the man had a brick in his pocket, the release said. Michigan Supreme Court rejects bid to take Trump off primary ballot He tossed the brick aside but also pulled out a knife and placed it on the ledge. The officer called for backup and secured the knife, police said.“Then the officer noticed the handle of a machete under the man’s clothing,” USCP said. “The officer drew his service weapon and ordered the man to put his hands up.”The man complied, and officers were able to take the machete away from him and make the arrest.The suspect was id...

'We need more': New road in east San Marcos provides alternative route to I-35

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:51 GMT

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) --- As Hays County continues to grow, so do the number of roads in the area. RELATED COVERAGE: New road opens in east San Marcos, providing an alternative route to I-35 Now, drivers have a new route in east San Marcos that provides an alternative to Interstate 35. The new FM 110 road, part of the East San Marcos Loop, begins slightly east of I-35 and Yarrington Road and ends at SH 80. FM 110, part of the East San Marcos Loop, begins slightly east of Interstate 35 and north of San Marcos at Yarrington Road and ends at SH 80 (Photo Courtesy Hays County Government Twitter Account). "I-35, as we all know, is all too often a parking lot. Creating these alternate routes will help us with the movement of people and products," said Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra. Becerra said this road is meant to be an alternative route to I-35. He thinks it could help first responders, who get caught up in traffic as well."When they are unable to move because of traffic, beca...

Driver killed in Columbus head-on crash identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:51 GMT

Anoka County authorities say the motorist killed in a head-on collision this weekend in Columbus was from Lino Lakes.According to the sheriff’s office, Sarah Jean Rajanen was killed when her northbound SUV crossed into the southbound lane of Lake Drive Northeast shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday. Her SUV collided head-on with a southbound SUV.Rajanen, 32, was pronounced dead at the scene near the intersection with 141st Avenue Northeast. The driver of the other SUV was hospitalized in stable condition.The crash is being investigated by the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota State Patrol and Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | St. Paul police ID pedestrian and dog killed in Christmas Eve crash Crime & Public Safety | Man and his dog hit by a car and killed in St. Paul on Sunday night Crime & Public Safety | Pornhub owner agrees to pay $1.8M and independent monitor to resolve sex traffickin...