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Philippine president vows to defend territory, announces amnesty for rebels in key speech

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:40:14 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday underscored his administration’s resolve to defend the country’s territory through diplomacy in a key speech but did not mention China, with which it has had an escalating series of conflicts in the disputed South China Sea.Marcos also announced in his state-of-the-nation speech to Congress that he would offer an amnesty to armed insurgents and would crack down on smugglers and hoarders of agricultural products, whom he blamed for steep spikes in food prices.Despite an array of problems and uncertainties sparked in part by the war in Ukraine, Marcos said the dedication and patriotism he had seen among Filipino workers in and out of government have kept him optimistic.“With this in my heart, I know that the state of the nation is sound, and is improving,” Marcos said to applause from lawmakers and top government officials in the heavily secured House of Representatives.Marcos outlined reforms pursued...

At least 17 bodies recovered after a boat capsizes in Senegal’s capital

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:40:14 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — At least 17 people were found dead after a boat capsized in Senegal’s capital, said local officials on Monday. The bodies were discovered by the navy early in the morning and are believed to be migrants because of the type of boat they were in, said Ndeye Top Gueye, the mayor of the Ouakam neighborhood of Dakar where the bodies were found.“Because of the size and shape, we know that it’s a pirogue (a long wooden boat),” she said. While this is the first time bodies have washed up in the neighborhood migrant deaths at sea are becoming more common in Senegal, she said. “It’s not the first time, it’s the umpteenth time. The government needs to take countermeasures.” It was unclear where the people were coming from, what nationalities they were or where they were going. But the Atlantic migration route is one of the deadliest in the world, with nearly 800 people dying or going missing in the first half of 2023, according to Walking Borders a Spanish aid...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of July 30-Aug. 5

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:40:14 GMT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of July 30-Aug. 5:July 30: Blues guitarist Buddy Guy is 87. Singer Paul Anka is 82. Jazz saxophonist David Sanborn is 78. Actor William Atherton (“Die Hard” films”) is 76. Actor-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger is 76. Actor Jean Reno (“The Da Vinci Code,” ″Godzilla”) is 75. Actor Ken Olin is 69. Actor Delta Burke is 67. Actor Richard Burgi (“Desperate Housewives”) is 65. Singer-songwriter Kate Bush is 65. Country singer Neal McCoy is 65. Director Richard Linklater (“Boyhood,” “Dazed and Confused”) is 63. Actor Laurence Fishburne is 62. Actor Lisa Kudrow (“Friends”) is 60. Guitarist Dwayne O’Brien of Little Texas is 60. Actor Vivica A. Fox is 59. Actor Terry Crews (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” ″Everybody Hates Chris”) is 55. Actor Simon Baker (“The Mentalist”) is 54. Director Christopher Nolan (“Memento,” ″Insomnia”) is 53. Actor Tom Green is 52. Drummer Brad Hargreaves of Third Eye Blind is 52. Actor Christine Taylor (“Dodgeball,” “The Brady Bunch Mo...

Presser held to address growing security concerns for street vendors

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:40:14 GMT

CHICAGO -- A presser is being held Monday morning with Alderman Sigcho-Lopez to address the community's growing security concerns for street vendors.Community members plan to discuss the challenges they face while running their businesses from crime to food licensing requirements. Over the past year, there have been a string of attacks on street vendors, some reporting they had been robbed at gunpoint multiple times.Street vendors are especially vulnerable because they work alone and usually only deal with cash. 16-year-old shot and killed over the weekend grandson of South Side pastor, activist Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot had suggested vendors go cashless to help diffuse the risk, but several vendors responded that it would not be feasible for them citing technological challenges as an obstacle. Aldermen and community leaders asked the 10th district police to step up patrol in early mornings. Volunteers also organized a citizen's patrol to provide more security. Food licensing a...

Elon Musk reveals new black and white X logo to replace Twitter's blue bird

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:40:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Elon Musk has unveiled a new black and white “X” logo to replace Twitter's famous blue bird as he follows through with a major rebranding of the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year.Musk replaced his own Twitter icon with a white X on a black background and posted a picture on Monday of the design projected on Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.The X started appearing on the top of the desktop version of Twitter on Monday, but the bird was still dominant across the phone app.Musk had asked fans for logo ideas and chose one, which he described as minimalist Art Deco, saying it “certainly will be refined.”“And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds," Musk tweeted Sunday.The X.com web domain now redirects users to Twitter.com, Musk said. ‘Barbie’ takes box office crown while ‘Oppenheimer’ soars in historic weekend In response to questions about what tweets would be called when the rebranding ...

Jury deliberates in Kevin Spacey's sexual assault trial in London

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:40:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Jurors in the sexual assault trial of Kevin Spacey retired to begin deliberations on Monday on allegations against the actor by four men that date back two decades.Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including multiple counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.The case went to the jury about a month after the nine men and three women were seated in Southwark Crown Court.Spacey's defense lawyer said during closing arguments last week that three of the men are liars and he suggested jurors not convict him for making a “clumsy pass” at a fourth man.The prosecutor called Spacey a “sexual bully” who took advantage of his power as a major celebrity and took what he wanted when he wanted it. The acts alleged between 2001 and 2013 range from unwanted touching to aggressive crotch-grabbing and, in one instance, performing oral sex on an unconscious man.

Chicago Firehouse Restaurant with Beyonce-themed cocktails

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:40:14 GMT

Check out the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant on WGN Weekend Morning News with Beyonce-themed cocktails.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

John Stamos on 'Full House': 'I hated that show'

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:40:14 GMT

(WJW) -- In a new interview, John Stamos, who played Uncle Jesse on "Full House," says he wanted to quit the show after he felt upstaged by Jodie Sweetin in one of the show's first table reads.In the interview on the YouTube talk show "Hot Ones," Stamos recalled calling his agent from a pay phone and saying, "Get me the (expletive) off this show!""I hated that show," said Stamos. "Obviously, I ended up loving it." Bye bye birdie: Twitter could change logo by Monday Stamos explained that when he accepted the role of Uncle Jesse, he was under the impression that children in the series would be "background" characters, and was at first unpleasantly surprised during a table read when Sweetin's character, Stephanie, got all the laughs."They couldn't even hear my lines they were laughing so hard at her," said Stamos.THE LITTLE MERMAID LIVE! - To honor the 30th anniversary of one of the most beloved Disney films of all time, The Wonderful World of Disney and ABC are proud to present a sp...

5 questions around Trump’s looming indictment

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:40:14 GMT

(The Hill) -- It looks all but inevitable that former President Donald Trump will soon be criminally charged in relation to the events that culminated in the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021.Trump declined to meet with the grand jury investigating the matter late last week. An invitation for a “target” such as Trump to give grand jury testimony is often a precursor to the person being charged.The former president has himself predicted his imminent arrest over the riot, in which almost 150 law enforcement officers were injured.Trump said in a Truth Social post last Tuesday morning that the combination of the target notification and the offer to speak to the grand jury “almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.”Here are the biggest questions if that indictment does come in the next few days.What will the charges be?The biggest question of all — and the one that will be answered the moment an indictment is issued.Among the most intriguing possibilities is that Trump could be charged un...

What was that mysterious light flying over Central Texas Sunday night?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:40:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Another set of mysterious lights were reported flying over Central Texas Sunday night. The lights were spotted as far away as San Angelo. According to viewers, the lights were spotted moving east between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.According to a spokesperson with the Federal Aviation Administration, the culprit was most likely a SpaceX rocket launch. The launch occurred at 7:50 p.m. CT on Sunday. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 Starlink satellites into orbit launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, according to SpaceX's website.This was the sixth launch and landing of this particular Falcon-9 rocket's first stage booster.Starlink and aliensThis isn't the first SpaceX launch that has been mistaken for a UFO. Recently, Starlink satellites were spotted over Central Texas, prompting numerous reports of flying objects over the area.Starlink satellites are known to catch people off guard. When in orbit, they form a train of glowing lights in the sky. Spac...