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Crisis-hit Sri Lanka may allow Indian rupee to be used in local transactions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:30 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka is considering the possibility of allowing the use of the Indian rupee for local transactions, as the island nation struggles to build its depleted foreign reserves and to emerge from last year’s unprecedented economic crisis.Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said Saturday the move to allow the use of its giant neighbor’s currency would enable “tourists and other people from India to directly use Indian rupees here” without going through the hassle of multiple currency conversions.Sri Lanka imports plenty of items from India — its largest trading partner — including food, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, automobiles, fertilizers and chemicals. Trade between the two nations stood at $5.45 billion in 2021, according to official figures.Sabry said accepting the Indian rupee would work as an advantage for Sri Lanka as the trade imbalance between the two countries is in favor of India.“We need more Indian currency, so more Indian peop...

Michigan man charged with murder and other crimes in case involving ex-girlfriend and her toddler

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:30 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend and kidnapping and killing her 2-year-old daughter has been charged with murder by Michigan’s attorney general.Attorney General Dana Nessel charged Rashad Trice, 26, on Friday with 20 counts, including one count each of first-degree premeditated murder and felony murder in Wynter Cole Smith’s strangulation death. Both charges carry a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.The Lansing man faces 18 other state charges, including kidnapping, in connection with the crimes committed on July 2 and July 3, when he allegedly stabbed and sexually assaulted his ex-girlfriend in Lansing, stole her car and drove away with Smith. The child was later found strangled to death with a cellphone cord.Trice is charged with numerous state counts accusing him of fleeing police who spotted his car in a Detroit suburb on July 3, crashing it into a police vehicle and trying to disarm an officer before he was taken in...

Barbie mania sweeps Latin America, but sometimes takes on a macabre tone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:30 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Latin America is taking Barbie mania to an extreme, with everything from pink-colored tacos and pastries, commercial planes bearing the Barbie logo, political ads and even Barbie-themed protests.But it’s not all high heels and pom-poms: Barbie mania in the region has taken on a darker, macabre tone.In Peru, anti-government demonstrators this week dressed up two women in pink and put them in giant Barbie boxes in the main square of Lima, the capital, to protest current President Dina Boluarte, under whose administration police have often clashed with protesters.One actress, whose box was labeled “Barbie Dictator,” held a pink gun. The doll, according to the box legend, “includes tear gas and dum-dum bullets.” Another protester’s box was labeled “Genocidal Barbie.”Meanwhile, stores, street vendors and restaurants throughout Latin America are offering up all sorts of Barbie-themed goodies.In Mexico, there are Barbie tortillas (the corn dough is colored pink with beet...

Family expresses gratitude after body believed to be missing girl found; search for boy continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:30 GMT

WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. (AP) — The family of a 2-year-old girl swept away along with another child by a flash flood that engulfed their vehicle on a Pennsylvania road is expressing gratitude at the discovery of a body believed to be hers. The body was found early Friday evening in the Delaware River near a Philadelphia wastewater treatment plant about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from where Matilda Sheils was carried away, authorities said Friday night. The Philadelphia medical examiner’s office plans an autopsy. The search continues for Matilda’s 9-month-old brother, Conrad.“We are grateful that our little Mattie has been brought home to us. We are still praying for the return of Conrad,” the family said in a statement posted Saturday by Upper Makefield Township police. Family members also expressed “continued gratitude for the overwhelming outpouring of love, support, and concern from the community and from people around the country as rescue workers have worked tirelessly to f...

Charges dismissed against white woman who spat on Black woman during protests in Connecticut

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:30 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A judge Friday dismissed hate crime and other charges against a white woman who spat on a Black woman during competing protests at the Connecticut state Capitol, then was allowed to resolve the case through probation. The victim called the outcome “being spit on once again.” “The justice system has failed me,” Keren Prescott told the court. Yuliya Gilshteyn had faced charges including deprivation of rights, which is a hate crime, in the 2021 encounter. Then she was granted a special probation program that lets first-time offenders avoid a criminal record if they complete certain requirements. Hers included 100 hours of anti-hate instruction. The two women, both in their 40s, crossed paths as people rallied at the Capitol for various causes on Jan. 6, 2021, the start of a new state legislative session. It was also, as it turned out, the date of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and it was in the thick of the coronavirus pandemic. Prescott was taking p...

Man arrested after sexually assaulting person at medical centre

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:30 GMT

Toronto police have arrested a man after a sexual assault at a medical centre in the Finch Avenue West and Norfinch Drive area.On Thursday police responded to a call reporting a sexual assault at approximately 12:15 p.m. at the Norfinch Medical Centre.The victim was seeking medical treatment at the centre when the accused allegedly sexually assaulted her.Md Arifur Rahman, 47, of Toronto, has been arrested and charged with sexual assault.He appeared in court at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Friday.

Counties with the worst commutes in Illinois

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:30 GMT

(Stacker) -- Commuting easily ranks as one of the least enjoyable parts of a person's day. Commuters encounter more physical health problems, and low-income commuters are less likely to gain financial stability—among a host of other negative impacts. And yet, America's commutes keep getting longer as people move farther away from the office, according to Census Bureau data.Stacker compiled a list of counties with the worst commutes in Illinois, using 2021 data from the Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by longest average commute time in 2021 among workers over the age of 16, excluding those who work from home. Think you have a long trip to work? Read on to compare it against the worst commutes statewide.#49. Lee County (tie)- Average commute to work: 24.2 minutes- Share with commutes over an hour: 9.1%- Share that worked outside their county of residence: 40.9%- Means of transportation to work:--- Drove alone: 84.3%--- Carpooled: 8.8%--- Public transportation: 0.8%--- Walked: 1.3%-...

How much do you need to be a 'one-percenter' in your state?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:30 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - Data shows the wealthiest 1% of Americans control over a third of nation’s total wealth. But what it takes to be a “one-percenter” can vary based on where you live, a new analysis has found. Personal finance website SmartAsset reviewed data from the IRS and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to calculate how much income it takes to be among the top earners in each state. Nationally, households earning just over $652,650 are considered the wealthiest. When it comes to individual states, SmartAsset found the requirement to be among the top 1% ranging from $368,000 to nearly $1 million.  Here’s the richest person in your state, according to Forbes States with the highest floor to be a one-percenter were primarily along the coasts while those with the lowest floors were primarily in the center of the country. Technically, it was our capital that had the highest 1% threshold, not a state. The top earners in Washington, D.C. earn at least $1,013,698, SmartAss...

Counties with the highest unemployment in Illinois

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:30 GMT

(Stacker) -- While significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, unemployment rates remain a subject of concern, though experts' views on a potential recession are mixed. The last economic recession—the Great Recession of 2007-2009—sent rates up to 10% as of October 2009. It was not until the spring of 2019 that unemployment finally went down to the same level it sits at now.As of May 2023, national unemployment is at 3.4%, with little change from April. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 1.9% in South Dakota to 5.4% in Nevada.Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Illinois using Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in May 2023, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonal...

Tony Bennett: New Yorkers remember singer's passion for the arts, frequent order at Italian restaurant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:30 GMT

NEW YORK (WPIX) – Tony Bennett sang about leaving his heart in San Francisco, but he never left New York City.From Central Park to Ditmars Boulevard, people from New York are remembering the world-famous singer — and sharing stories.Bennett grew up in Astoria, Queens. In more recent years, he lived in an apartment across from Central Park, but he and his family would often travel across the Queensboro Bridge to his old neighborhood.In 2001, he and his wife helped start the Frank Sinatra School for the Arts in Astoria. He visited the school many times since."His face lit up and you could tell this was a passion project for him,” Gideon Frankel, the school's principal, said. Gilgo Beach murders: Inside the investigation that led to Rex Heuermann’s arrest One of Bennett’s favorite restaurants, Manducatis, in Long Island City, Queens, was also the "most authentic Italian restaurant in the U.S.," as far as he was concerned."[He'd order] a little eggplant, a little bit of fettuccini, w...