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Oprah Winfrey selects Jesmyn Ward’s ‘Let Us Descend’ for her book club

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:06 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey’s new book club pick highlights an author she has long admired, Jesmyn Ward. On Tuesday, Winfrey announced she had selected Ward’s “Let Us Descend,” which comes out this week. “Let Us Descend” is a slave narrative set in the 19th century and follows a teenage girl’s journey across the American South. Ward, 46, is among the most acclaimed writers of her generation. Her previous works include the novels “Salvage the Bones” and “Sing, Unburied, Sing,” both winners of the National Book Award.In 2022, she became the youngest winner of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.“I have read all of Jesmyn Ward’s books and have been a fan of her writing for years,” Winfrey said in a statement. “‘Let Us Descend’ is a vital work for our culture and I’m so excited to have her newest offering as part of our Book Club.” Ward has also written such nonfiction as “Men We Reaped” and “Navigate Your Stars.” In a statement Tuesday, she expressed ...

A brief history of Middle East ceasefires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:06 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, two weeks after a terror attack by Hamas, and two weeks into a devastating retaliatory bombing campaign by Israel, thousands of lives are gone, and the world wonders how and when the horror might stop. There are calls for a humanitarian pause. A ceasefire. Deescalation. It seems impossible in the moment, but then, it usually does.Dr. Randa Slim, the Director of the Conflict Resolution and Track II Dialogues Program at the Middle East Institute, says that the involvement of third parties, like Iran and it’s regional proxies, is making the situation even more volatile.“Every party in this conflict, Israel, Hamas, allies of Hamas, America, they are all messaging each other, and the purpose of this messaging is to help shape the calculus of their opponent in terms of the next steps,” says Slim.     So today, a brief history of ceasefires, peace deals, and other quests for a pause in a deadly conflict — and an explanation from a long-time observer of how the...

Love it or hate it, feelings run high over candy corn come Halloween

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:06 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Cruel joke for trick-or-treaters or coveted seasonal delight? The great Halloween debate over candy corn is on.In the pantheon of high-emotion candy, the classic shiny tricolor kernels in autumn’s white, orange and yellow are way up there. Fans and foes alike point to the same attributes: its plastic or candle-like texture (depending on who you ask) and the mega-sugar hit it packs.“I am vehemently pro candy corn. It’s sugar! What is not to love? It’s amazing. It’s like this waxy texture. You get to eat it once a year. It’s tricolor. That’s always fun,” comedian Shannon Fiedler gushed on TikTok. “Also, I know it’s disgusting. Candy corn is objectively kind of gross, but that’s what makes it good.”Or, as Paul Zarcone of Huntington, New York, put it: “I love candy corn even though it looks like it should taste like a candle. I also like that many people hate it. It makes me like it even more!” Love it or loathe...

Ukraine’s leader says Russian naval assets are no longer safe in the Black Sea near Crimea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:06 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on Tuesday that recent Ukrainian attacks have denied the Russian fleet safe bases and secure maritime corridors in the western part of the Black Sea, as Kyiv’s troops look to squeeze the Kremlin’s occupying forces out of the Crimean Peninsula.Crimea provides rear support for Moscow’s battlefield efforts further west and has been a frequent target for Ukrainian forces during the war since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.“The Russian fleet is no longer capable of operating in the western part of the Black Sea and is gradually retreating from Crimea,” Zelenskyy claimed, without providing evidence. “This is a historic achievement.”Ukraine is keen to show that billions of dollars’ worth of weapons supplied by its Western allies have allowed it to make progress in the fighting, as the conflict enters its 21st month amid a broad stalemate.With the war poised to extend into another winter and likely deep into next year, K...

4 shot, 1 fatally, in West Englewood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:06 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are searching for suspects in a shooting that killed a man and injured three others in the city's West Englewood neighborhood.The fatal shooting happened around 9:11 p.m. Monday in the 6100 block of South Justine. According to police, officers responded to a shots fired call and found four victims in an alley with gunshot wounds.A 35-year-old man sustained two gunshot wounds to the head and was pronounced dead on the scene.A 60-year-old woman was shot in the head and transported to Holy Cross Hospital in critical condition. A 52-year-old woman was shot in the upper right thigh and transported to Stroger Hospital in critical condition. Man shot, critically injured near Chicago’s Magnificent Mile A 64-year-old man was shot in the right forearm and transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition.Police said witnesses stated they saw a man shooting at the mouth of the alley and then fled the scene.No one is in custody. Area One Detectives are...

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed more than 700 people in the past day, Gaza Health Ministry says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:06 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip had killed more than 700 people in the past day, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said Tuesday.That represented a massive increase in the death toll amid widening Israeli bombing attacks in the territory.Israel has been attacking Gaza since Hamas militants attacked southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7. 2 Israeli women held hostage in Gaza released by Hamas THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel escalated its bombardment of targets in the Gaza Strip, the military said Tuesday, ahead of an expected ground invasion against Hamas militants that the U.S. fears could spark a wider conflict in the region, including attacks on American troops.The stepped-up attacks, and the rapidly rising death toll of thousands killed in Gaza, came as Hamas released two elderly Israeli women who were among the hundreds of hostages it captured during its devastating Oct. ...

Bicyclist struck, killed in Ravenswood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:06 GMT

CHICAGO — A man riding a bicycle was struck and killed Monday night in Ravenswood.At around 7:55 p.m., CPD said the 59-year-old bicyclist was traveling northbound in the 5100 block of North Damen Avenue.A vehicle also traveling northbound accidently struck the bicyclist. He was transported to Illinois Masonic in critical condition and died a short time later.The driver did stop and will be issued traffic citations, CPD said.No further information was provided.

Watch: Deputies chase runaway cow through Colorado neighborhood, playground

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:06 GMT

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (WJW) - A runaway cow led sheriff's deputies on a wild chase through a Colorado neighborhood and playground Sunday morning.According to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, deputies, the owner and some cowboys tried to wrangle a cow that "hightailed it" from the pasture and ended up in a residential neighborhood in Englewood. This house has 3,000 pumpkins on display for Halloween In a video released by the sheriff's office, you see the cow make its way over a front lawn, slip past cars and bolt down the street as officials try to catch it."The steaks were high and we didn’t want to butcher this slow-speed chase but this cow was moooooving!" the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post.The cow was later cornered in a small playground and herded back to its trailer. "Holy cow! You all did an udderly good job. Now let’s milk this for all it’s worth," the sheriff's office said in its post.Back in July, police worked to corral a loose cow in the Cleveland area.

Researchers in Tennessee study how to stop 'phantom' traffic jams

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:06 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) - It's never fun getting stuck in traffic, but what if you can make one single change with your car to prevent backups? Vanderbilt University researchers tested that in the middle of rush hour on Interstate 24 in Nashville, Tennessee. We've all been there. You're inching along in a traffic jam, but it's not really clear what's causing the slowdown. "There's not a wreck. There's not a lane merge. There's not a car stuck in the middle of the road trying to change lanes. You're like, 'What happened? Why did we slow down?'" said Vanderbilt researcher Jonathan Sprinkle. Studies show traffic in TN will ‘continue to grow’ in coming years, officials promise action to address it Sprinkle has a name for this bizarre phenomenon: "They're sometimes called 'phantom' traffic jams." His team at Vanderbilt is on a mission to stamp these out once and for all, but first, they have to understand how they happen. It turns out that drivers play a crucia...

How has Texas voter registration changed since the last constitutional amendment election?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Voting is underway ahead of the statewide constitutional amendment election in Texas on Nov. 7.Fourteen proposed amendments to the Texas constitution are on the ballot, along with several local and school elections. KXAN Voter Guide: What you need to know ahead of the November 2023 election November's election comes two years after the last constitutional amendment election, in November 2021. Since then, more than 760,000 Texans have registered to vote across the state.According to figures from the Texas Secretary of State, more than 17.7 million people are currently registered to vote in the state. That means 763,362 more people are on the voter rolls compared to two years ago, an increase of 4.49%.Of Texas' 254 counties, 184 saw an increase in the number of registered voters over that two-year span, while 70 saw a drop in voter registration.Suburban counties, particularly surrounding Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, saw the largest increases i...