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The Taliban’s new ambassador to China arrives in Beijing as they court foreign investment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:36:26 GMT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban’s new ambassador to China arrived in Beijing on Friday — the first time Afghanistan’s rulers have officially sent an ambassador to another country since returning to power more than two years ago.No country recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan but some, including China, have embassies in the capital. Many other diplomatic missions were shuttered and their staff evacuated as the Taliban bore down on Kabul. China is of particular importance to the Taliban, who are courting foreign investment and regional alliances amid their continued isolation on the international stage because of their restrictions on Afghan women and girls.The new ambassador, Bilal Karimi, who has no diplomatic experience and is in his late 20s or early 30s, was welcomed in Beijing by China’s special envoy for Afghan affairs at the Foreign Ministry, Yue Xiaoyong, according to a Taliban statement. Karimi presented his credentials to the ...

BMO Financial Group reports Q4 profit down from year ago, raises dividend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:36:26 GMT

TORONTO — BMO Financial Group raised its dividend as it reported its fourth-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago.The bank says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, up from $1.47 per share.The increased payment to shareholders came as BMO said its net income amounted to nearly $1.62 billion or $2.06 per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, down from $4.48 billion or $6.51 per diluted share a year earlier.On an adjusted basis, BMO says it earned $2.81 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $3.04 per diluted share a year ago.Revenue was $8.36 billion, down from $10.57 billion in the same quarter last year.BMO’s total provision for credit losses for the quarter rose to $446 million, up from $226 million a year earlier.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:BMO)The Canadian Press

One person in critical condition after vehicle slams into pole in Brampton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:36:26 GMT

One person is fighting for their life in hospital after a single-vehicle crash in Brampton on Friday morning.Emergency crews responded to a collision near Sandalwood Parkway and Heart Lake Road, just west of Highway 410, around 3:10 a.m.Police say a vehicle crashed into a pole. One person was taken to hospital in life-threatening condition.Sandalwood is closed in both directions west of Heart Lake Road for the investigation.COLLISION:-Sandalwood PY / Heart Lake Rd #Brampton-Single vehicle collision into pole-Victim in life-threatening condition-Transported to trauma centre-Sandalwood PY closed between Royal Palm Dr and Heart Lake Rd-Use alternate routes-C/R 3:11 am-PR230386655— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) December 1, 2023

Dozens displaced after extra-alarm apartment fire in Cicero

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:36:26 GMT

CICERO, Ill. — Firefighters battled an extra-alarm fire at an apartment building in Cicero that has left dozens of people displaced.Flames broke out at the building early Friday morning in the 5000 block of 16th Street. The roof of the building completely collapsed. As many as 30 people were inside the building at the time of the fire, but officials said they were able to get out safely.Police said approximately 20 to 30 are displaced due to the fire. The Red Cross is currently on scene helping those people. Report: Residents near Sterigenics facility could face increased risk of cancer An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.

'Dude, where's my car?': Chicago winter parking ban goes into effect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:36:26 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago's winter parking ban goes into effect, but what does that exactly mean for street parking in the city?"Starting at 3 a.m., tow trucks will be lining up to move cars parked along 107 miles of some of the city’s busiest streets," said Cole Stallard, commission for the City's Department of Streets and Sanitation.From Dec. 1 until April 1, there is no parking allowed from 3-7 a.m. on streets that display the signs below:A map of the 107 miles of streets affected by the winter parking ban can be found at the end of this article.According to Stallard, 242 cars were towed on Dec. 1 last year when the winter parking ban went into effect last year."I look down my window, don’t see my car down there," said one Chicagoan who was among the 242 towed on Dec. 1 last year. "I look down the street and see just a bunch of tow trucks. So I sprint down and I'm like telling this guy, 'I'll give you cash, just give me my car back!' and he was like, 'you got to talk to the big guy ...

Friday Forecast: Temps in low 40s with am widespread rain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:36:26 GMT

CHICAGO — Widespread rainfall Friday morning tapers to scattered showers and drizzle this afternoon as temperatures hold in the lower 40s.  Rain becomes widespread again this evening, before scattered showers taper and end overnight.  Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Some snow is possible in far northwest counties as temperatures fall into the upper 30s. Saturday Forecast: Saturday will be cloudy with highs in the lower 40s.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

CDC: Don't eat pre-cut cantaloupe from unknown source amid deadly salmonella outbreak

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:36:26 GMT

Consumers shouldn't eat pre-cut cantaloupe if they don't know the source, U.S. health officials said Thursday, as the number of illnesses and recalls tied to a deadly salmonella outbreak grows.At least 117 people in 34 U.S. states have been sickened by contaminated cantaloupe, including 61 who were hospitalized and two who died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another 63 illnesses, 17 hospitalizations and one death tied to the same outbreak have been reported in Canada.The illnesses are severe, with more than half of infected people hospitalized, including residents of long-term care centers and children in day care, the CDC said.Previous recalls of whole and pre-cut cantaloupes have been expanded to include Kwik Trip markets, Bix Produce and distributor GHGA, which sent recalled products to Kroger, Sprouts Farmer's Markets and Trader Joe's stores in several states, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. ...

Dean’s Weekender: The Nutcracker, Mariah Carey, Countess Luann de Lesseps and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:36:26 GMT

Check out Dean’s Weekender for the latest events coming to the Chicagoland area this weekend.Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!

If Donald Trump is convicted, then what? The 2024 Republican convention rules don't say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:36:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Republican National Committee's rules for next year's nominating contest and convention were released this week without addressing a question the GOP could well face next summer: Can the party's delegates vote for a different candidate if the presumptive nominee is convicted of a felony?Former President Donald Trump is under four criminal indictments that will proceed through the GOP primary season, an overlap of legal and political calendars with no precedent in American politics. Fifteen states and American Samoa hold their GOP primaries on March 5, known as Super Tuesday, which is also the day after his first trial is scheduled to begin in Washington on charges that he unlawfully sought to overturn the 2020 election.Trump is dominating the Republican field and may secure much of the support he needs by Super Tuesday, by which time almost half of delegates who select the nominee at the GOP convention will have been awarded. Even if he were to be convicted in Wa...

After decades, 'Mutts' comic strip creator frees Guard Dog character

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:36:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Something is different on the comics pages this week. In the panels of “Mutts,” there's the long-delayed sight of freedom.Patrick McDonnell, the cartoonist who draws the popular strip, is freeing his character Guard Dog, liberating an animal who has become for decades a symbol of the cruelty of dog chaining.“I think it just hit me that I can’t do it forever and that it has to happen,” McDonnell told The Associated Press ahead of the publication of Thursday's panel showing Earl's owner kneeling beside the dog and announcing: “We have to remove this chain.” On Friday's strip, it will be gone.“I had a vague idea what the story was going to be, but I finally took some time and said, ‘Well, what is that story?’ And I was happy with what I came up with. So I said, ‘Now’s the time to do it.’”"Mutts" premiered in 1995 with two heroes — the small canine Earl and the feline Mooch, fond of saying “Yesh.” There's also Woolfie, Sid the fish, Crabby, Sourpuss and Butchie, the ever...