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After approving blessings for same-sex couples, Pope asks Vatican staff to avoid ‘rigid ideologies’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:36 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis urged Vatican bureaucrats Thursday to avoid “rigid ideological positions” that prevent them from understanding today’s reality, an appeal made days after he formally allowed priests to bless same-sex couples in a radical change of Vatican policy.Francis used his annual Christmas greeting to the Holy See hierarchy to encourage the cardinals, bishops and laypeople who run the Vatican to listen to one another and to others so they can evolve to truly offer service to the Catholic Church.Speaking in the Hall of Blessings, Francis told them it was important to keep advancing and growing in their understanding of the truth. Fearfully sticking to rules may give the appearance of avoiding problems but only ends up hurting the service that the Vatican Curia is called to give the church, he said.“Let us remain vigilant against rigid ideological positions that often, under the guise of good intentions, separate us from reality and prevent us from moving forward,”...

Albania’s parliament lifts the legal immunity of former prime minister Sali Berisha

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:36 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s parliament voted Thursday to lift the legal immunity of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who leads the opposition Democratic Party and is accused of corruption. Opposition lawmakers inside the hall boycotted the vote and tried to disrupt the session by collecting chairs and flares, but security guards stopped them. Berisha declined to take the floor to speak against the motion. The ruling Socialist Party holds 74 of the 140 seats in Albania’s national legislature, and 75 lawmakers agreed to grant a request from prosecutors to strip Berisha of his parliamentary immunity. Thursday’s vote clears prosecutors to seek a court’s permission to put Berisha under arrest or house arrest. With the opposition refusing the participate, there were no votes against the move or any abstentions.Berisha, 79, was charged with corruption in October for allegedly abusing his post to help his son-in-law, Jamarber Malltezi, buy land in Tirana owne...

EU court: FIFA and UEFA defy competition law by blocking Super League

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:36 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — UEFA and FIFA defied European Union competition law by blocking plans for the breakaway soccer Super League, the EU’s top court ruled on Thursday. The case was heard last year at the Court of Justice after Super League failed at launch in April 2021. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin called the club leaders “snakes” and “liars.”The company formed by 12 rebel clubs — now led by only Real Madrid and Barcelona after Juventus withdrew this year — started legal action to protect its position and the court was asked to rule on points of EU law by a Madrid tribunal.“We have won the right to compete. The UEFA monopoly is over. Football is free. Clubs are now free from the threat of sanctions and free to determine their own futures,” said Bernd Reichart, the CEO of A22 Sports Management, the Madrid-based company promoting Super League.The clubs accused UEFA of breaching European law by allegedly abusing its market dominance of soccer competitions.“The FIFA and U...

Get ready, the holiday rush to airports and highways is underway

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:36 GMT

It's beginning to look a lot like a hectic holiday travel season, but it might go relatively smoothly if the weather cooperates.Travel over Christmas and New Year's tends to spread out over many days, so the peaks in the U.S. are likely to be lower than they were during the Thanksgiving holiday. That is making airlines and federal officials optimistic.But the debacle at Southwest Airlines over Christmas last year should guard against overconfidence. Just this week, the Transportation Department announced a settlement in which Southwest will pay $140 million for that meltdown, which stranded more than 2 million travelers.So far this year, airlines have canceled 1.2% of U.S. flights, down nearly half from 2.1% over the same period last year. Cancellations were well below 1% during Thanksgiving, according to FlightAware.“I don't want to jinx us, but so far 2023 has seen the lowest cancellation rate in the last five years,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday....

Our favorite new global eats from St. Paul in 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:36 GMT

As 2023 comes to a close, it’s time to look back on restaurants that have opened in St. Paul this year.Looking through my list of standouts, it’s clear that many of them feature global eats, from potstickers to arepas to tacos and more. There are so many places we want to tell you about that we are splitting this story in two. The first are my favorite new places serving food from around the world.The second, which will come out in a few weeks, will feature some new finer-dining restaurants, new American fare and a few more global options.As always, it’s a good time to be a food lover in the Saintly City.Spicy FetaThe Spicy Apollo flatbread wrap at Spicy Feta in St. Paul. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)When chef Angelo Giovanis went back to his native Greece, closing Naughty Greek, I was distraught. Those pork gyros were second to none in the Twin Cities. Still, I kept an open mind about its replacement Spicy Feta, operated by the owners of Ariana Kabob & Gyro Bistro in St. Louis...

Troy 18-year-old pleads guilty to machine gun possession

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:36 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An 18-year-old from Troy pleaded guilty to possessing a machine gun on Wednesday. Ahmed AlSaadi faces up to 10 years in prison. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), AlSaadi admitted to possessing three machine gun conversion devices and a modified Glock handgun allowing it to shoot and function as a machine gun. The DOJ says he also admitted to selling machine gun conversion devices from March to July 2023. AlSaadi is currently in custody and will be sentenced on April 16, 2024. AlSaadi faces a fine of up to $250,000 and may have to serve a three-year term of supervised release.

UAlbany QB Reese Poffenbarger enters transfer portal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:36 GMT

ALBANY, NY (NEWS10) -- Sophomore quarterback Reese Poffenbarger led the best season in UAlbany history, reaching their first ever FCS Semifinal. He set the single season UAlbany record for offensive yards in the process, while also setting the Great Danes record for career touchdown passes with 60. He's proved it all at the FCS level. Now, he's looking to take it to the FBS level. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Poffenbarger announced on X Wednesday that he will enter the transfer portal. Poffenbarger threw for 3,603 yards and 36 touchdowns last season, adding five touchdowns on the ground.Poffenbarger's statement read in part, ""As I enter a new chapter in my academic and athletic journey, it's truly difficult to express the gratitude I have for the city of Albany and all of the amazing people here," wrote Poffenbarger. "Over the past two years, the University of Albany has been more than just a school, it has been a home away from hom...

Alex Moses reaches 1,000 points as Duanesburg downs Schoharie

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:36 GMT

DUANESBURG, NY (NEWS10) -- Alex Moses has helped take the Duanesburg girls basketball team to new heights, including a trip to the state semifinals two years ago. Wednesday night, she had a personal milestone on the line, sitting just 12 points away from 1,000 for her career. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Moses reached the milestone in a 59-27 win over Schoharie. "Honestly, it's a feeling like no other," said Moses. "I've been looking forward to this since I was a little baby in first grade. This moment really, it's just unreal.""The constant support from the community has been amazing," added Moses. "Since we went to the state semifinals back in my 10th grade year, ever since then the community has had constant support for us, so it's been really amazing. All of my family got to be here which was really nice. It was a home game. It was a picture perfect moment." "It just shows all that hard work, effort, all the time that she has put...

56% of EU people have basic digital skills

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:36 GMT

In 2023, 56% of people in the EU aged 16 to 74 had at least basic overall digital skills. This information comes from data on the use of ICT in households and by individuals published by Eurostat today. Source dataset: isoc_sk_dskl_i21 In 2023, the share of people aged 16 to 74 who had at least basic overall digital skills was highest in the Netherlands (83%), followed by Finland (82%), and Denmark (70%). At the other end of the range, the lowest share was recorded in Romania (28%), followed by Bulgaria (36%) and Poland (44%). The digital skills indicator is one of the key performance indicators in the context of the Digital Decade, which sets out the EU’s vision for digital transformation. The 2030 target is that 80% of EU citizens aged 16-74 years old have at least basic digital skills. More informationStatistics Explained article on digital economy and society statistics - households and individuals Digitalization in Europe - 2023 edition Thematic section on digital economy ...

Word Game: Dec. 21, 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:36 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — TRUDGES (TRUDGES: TRUJ-ez: Walks steadily and laboriously.)Average mark 22 wordsTime limit 30 minutesCan you find 27 or more words in TRUDGES? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — FLORIST first fist flirt flit foil foist fort fortis frit frost lift list loft lost rift riot roil roti sift silo silt slit slot soft soil sort stir toil trioTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.Contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe at [email protected].