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Elizabeth Gilbert delays release of novel set in Russia, citing objections from Ukrainian readers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Author Elizabeth Gilbert is delaying publication of a novel she had set in Russia, saying she had received an outpouring of “anger, sorrow, disappointment and pain” from Ukrainian readers. The head of PEN America, the free expression organization, called the decision “regrettable.” Gilbert’s “The Snow Forest,” set in Siberia during the Soviet era and billed as “a dramatic story of one wild and mysterious girl in a pristine wilderness, and of the mystical connection between humans and the natural world,” had been scheduled to come out next February. It has received hundreds of one-star reviews on the online reader site Goodreads. Many denounced the novel — which has yet to come out even in advance editions — as insensitive and a whitewash of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.“It is not the time for this book to be published,” Gilbert said in a video message posted Monday on social media. “And I do not want to add any harm to a group of people who have alre...

Many Quebec fire evacuees allowed to return home as situation improves: premier

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

MONTREAL — Thousands of Quebecers who were forced from their towns by out-of-control wildfires started to return home on Monday, as the province’s public security minister praised the work of firefighters in saving lives and property.François Bonnardel told reporters that while the fight to contain wildfires across the province was far from over, the government had been able to meet its primary objective of safeguarding lives, residences and critical infrastructure.“To date, we have won the fight,” Bonnardel told reporters at a news conference in the hard-hit Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, in western Quebec.“It has not been easy for people, but we have won the fight. There are no injuries, there are no deaths, there isn’t a single primary residence in Quebec that has burned down.”Bonnardel said the biggest areas of concern remained the fires threatening northwestern towns, including Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Normétal, where firefighters managed on Su...

Woman declared dead in Ecuador revives during her wake; health authorities investigate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A 76-year-old woman who was declared dead at a hospital in Ecuador astonished her relatives by knocking on her coffin during her wake, and the incident has prompted a government investigation into the hospital. Relatives left the coffin behind and rushed retired nurse Bella Montoya back to the hospital after the wake Friday in the central city of Babahoyo, son Gilberto Barbera told The Associated Press.“It gave us all a fright,” Barbera said, adding that doctors have said his mother’s situation remains dire.Ecuador’s Health Ministry said that Montoya was in intensive care Monday at the Martín Icaza Hospital in Babahoyo while the ministry investigates doctors involved in her case. A technical committee has been formed to review how the hospital issues death certificates, the ministry said in a statement.Montoya initially had been admitted Friday at the hospital with a possible stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest, and when she did not respond to resuscitation a doc...

Jury finds electric utility PacifiCorp liable in devastating Oregon wildfires; company to appeal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A jury in Oregon on Monday found the electric utility PacifiCorp responsible for causing devastating fires during Labor Day weekend in 2020, ordering the company to pay tens of millions of dollars to 17 homeowners who sued and finding it liable for broader damages that could push the total award into the billions.The Portland utility is one of several owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. The property owners, suing on behalf of a class of thousands of others, alleged that PacifiCorp negligently failed to shut off power to its 600,000 customers during a windstorm, despite warnings from then-Gov. Kate Brown’s chief-of-staff and top fire officials, and that its power lines were responsible for multiple blazes. There has been no official cause determined for the Labor Day fires, which killed nine people, burned more than 1,875 square miles (4,856 square kilometers) in Oregon, and destroyed upward of ...

Teachers’ reorganizes real estate operations, names new Cadillac Fairview CEO

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

TORONTO — The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan says it’s switching up how it handles real estate investments while announcing that the head of its Cadillac Fairview subsidiary is retiring. The pension plan has been using its Cadillac Fairview division as its main avenue to invest in real estate, but says it plans to instead create an in-house group to oversee its global real estate investing and portfolio management.The pension says the new structure will help it share information, co-sourcing, and best practices across its global platform. As part of the changes, the pension plan will bring 37 of Cadillac Fairview’s real estate professionals to the organization.The shift, expected to be in place by the start of next year, will leave Cadillac Fairview to focus on developing its Canadian real estate portfolio that is heavily concentrated in malls. The moves come as Cadillac Fairview president and chief executive John Sullivan announced he plans to retire on Nov. 1, to...

Toronto Public Health building purchased by TMU, other programs to be relocated

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

The City of Toronto has finalized a deal to sell an essential property to Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU).The specific addresses are 277 Victoria Street and 38 Dundas Street East, on the northeast corner of Victoria and Dundas. The building currently houses Toronto Public Health (TPH).Administrative offices will be relocated over the next 24 months to one of the city’s core civic centre hubs. The dental clinic and safe injection site that operate out of the building will also be moved over the next two years, but the new site has not yet been announced.“Through the ModernTO program, we are optimizing and modernizing the City of Toronto’s office space – this is the right and responsible thing to do,” said Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie.“This transaction with Toronto Metropolitan University will help expand and revitalize the school’s campus. At the same time, the funds are put back into ModernTO to help support the delivery of affordabl...

Doc: Man told officers he drank alcohol, used cocaine before deadly Hoffman Estates crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — A man charged in a crash that killed a teen couple from Hoffman Estates told police he was drinking alcohol and using cocaine before the deadly crash, according to a court document.Deni Rubio, 32, of Elgin, has been charged in connection with Saturday's deadly crash. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office has charged him with two counts of aggravated DUI resulting in death of another person, two counts of reckless homicide and one count of trying to disarm a police officer. Cook County ME ID’s teen couple killed in car crash Amelia Mazeikis and D'Shaun Tudela at their high school graduation in May.Amelia Mazeikis, 18, was driving her boyfriend of three years, D'Shaun "DJ" Tudela, 18, to work when the crash happened. The two had graduated from Schaumburg High School last month.On Monday, prosecutors said Rubio was driving at a high rate of speed before the crash. They also said he was driving eastbound on Higgins Road, which had a red light, but he got in...

Where to celebrate Juneteenth events in Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

CHICAGO — Communities around Chicago are celebrating Juneteenth and bringing light to Black life and culture, here are just a few of the celebrations happening. 'Juneteenth' or June 19th is marked in U.S. history as the day African Americans were emancipated from slavery in 1865 and two years ago was established as a federal holiday.From medical screenings and healing circles to live music and performances, an array of organizations around the city of Chicago are commemorating the history of justice and freedom with educational and celebratory events. Emancipation Day: The Garfield Park 1865 CoalitionWhen: June 16- June 18 Where: Garfield Park Gold Dome - 100 North Central Park The three-day cultural experience is meant to educate and enhance Black culture by hosting many family-friendly programs such as educational workshops, sports activities, art, live music and food.'Go Green Community Fresh market: Juneteenth Celebration' When: Friday, June 16, 8 AM - 7 PMWhere: 1207 West 63rd ...

Americans are drinking as much alcohol now as in Civil War days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

(The Hill) -- The average American drinks 60 percent more hard liquor now than in the mid-1990s, an unheralded surge in spirit consumption that signals changing tastes in alcohol. Americans are drinking more wine, too: 50 percent more per person since 1995.  Overall, the average American consumed 2.51 gallons of ethanol, the alcohol in wine, beer and spirits, in 2021, compared to 2.15 gallons in 1995, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. If 2.5 gallons in a year sounds low, consider that the figure covers only alcohol, not water and other ingredients in an alcoholic drink. In America’s embrace of adult beverages, the big loser is beer. Beer consumption is down about 15 percent since the mid-1990s.  Alcohol consumption has risen and fallen dramatically across the decades. The average person drank 2.5 gallons of alcohol in 1860, at the brink of the Civil War; 1 gallon in 1934, at the repeal of prohibition; 2.3 gallons in 1945, a...

Connor Bedard continues to speak highly of the Blackhawks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

BUFFALO — In a little more than two weeks, it's very much expected that he'll officially become a member of the Blackhawks. Until then, however, Connor Bedard and the team are being coy when it comes to the No. 1 overall pick which he'll likely be selected with on June 28 in Nashville. Yet the center, who is considered one of the best prospects in the NHL Draft in years, hasn't been afraid to praise the Blackhawks in the media. He did so again at the league's scouting combine in Buffalo, New York this week."Yeah. It would be awesome," said Bedard when asked about what his attitude would be if he's selected by the Blackhawks as the central player in their rebuild. "The history with that organization and that city with sports would be unbelievable. We'll see what happens. But if they do select me, that would be a huge honor." This is consistent with his messaging since the Blackhawks won the NHL Draft Lottery on May 8. At the Stanley Cup Final on June 5, Bedard said he would be "incr...