Suspect in assault at Pelosi home had posted about QAnon
The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosiโs home and severely beating her husband with a hammer appears to have made racist and often rambling posts online, including some that questioned the results of the 2020 election, defended Donald Trump and echoed QAnon conspiracy theories.
'Gladiator' actor Russell Crowe feted in Rome
Russell Crowe, who won a best actor Academy Award for portraying a gladiator in the 2000 film of the same name, is being feted by the city of Rome, home to the Colosseum where real gladiators clashed before thousands of spectators through the time of the Roman Empire.
Portland mayor seeks $2 million to stem rampant gun violence
(AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer, File)PORTLAND, Ore. โ The mayor of Portland, Oregon, announced Thursday he would seek $2 million in one-time funding for police, other agencies and outreach programs to try to stem rampant gun violence in the city. The move by Mayor Ted Wheeler represents an about-face after city leaders in June voted to cut nearly $16 million from the police budget, reductions that included the elimination of a gun violence reduction unit. During an hour-long news conference Thursday, Wheeler, activists, faith leaders and community members reiterated that in order to solve the problem of gun violence, the community must work together. Wheeler said the tactic is not the same as the now-eliminated Gun Violence Reduction Team and would be more transparent. Wheeler said he supports the ideas, beginning with asking City Council to appropriate $2 million in one-time fiuds from the cityโs reserve stability contingency account created last fall, to address gun violence.
Food fight: Meat-free school meals spark furor in France
FILE - In this Jan.18, 2019 file photo, French President Emmanuel Macron meets pupils as he visits a school canteen in Saint-Sozy, southwestern France. With a meatless four-course meal that Lyon City Hall says will be quicker and easier to serve to children who must be kept socially distanced while eating lunch to avoid coronavirus infections. With more local elections expected later this year, the arguing over Lyon's school meals offered a foretaste of broader political battles to come. Lyon City Hall said serving the same meal to all children, instead of offering them their usual meat and meat-free options, would shorten the time they take for lunch. City Hall said it also opted for meat-free meals because they suit all children, including those who habitually don't eat meats for religious, dietary or other reasons.
VIRUS TODAY: Health experts warn against holiday gatherings
With some Americans now paying the price for what they did over Thanksgiving, health officials are warning people begging them, even not to make the same mistake during the Christmas and New Year's season. Andrew Cuomo has ended indoor dining indefinitely in New York City as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations climb. As of Monday, only takeout orders and outdoor dining will be allowed in one of the worldโs great cuisine capitals. THE NUMBERS: Deaths in the U.S. have climbed to almost 2,260 per day on average, about equal to the peak seen in mid-April. ___Find APโs full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
Lock down lifted at Palm Bay City Hall after reports of suspicious person
PALM BAY, Fla. โ A temporary lockdown at Palm Bay City Hall has been lifted Monday afternoon after reports of a suspicious person. Palm Bay police tweeted around 9:35 a.m. that City Hall is on a temporary lockdown โdue to reports of a suspicious person on scene.โ The lockdown was lifted around 12:20 p.m.Palm Bay police said they made contact with the person of interest and determined there was no threat to City Hall. During the investigation, people were asked to stay away from city hall. No other details have been released.
Citing low coronavirus rates in schools, NYC again reopens schools
Public schools reopened for in-school learning Monday after being closed since mid-November. Public school doors reopened for preschool students and children in kindergarten through fifth grade whose parents chose a mix of in-school and remote learning. Overall, the city counts about 1 million public school students; most have opted to learn from home this fall. Masks and social distancing are required at all city schools. About 190,000 students were eligible to return to school buildings starting Monday.
Workers at New Smyrna Beach City Hall exposed to COVID-19
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. โ City leaders in New Smyrna Beach have been forced to cancel all of the cityโs commission meetings next week due to the coronavirus. Several employees at New Smyrna Beachโs City Hall were exposed to someone who recently tested positive for COVID-19. City leaders said all of those workers are currently in quarantine. The commission meetings scheduled for Nov. 10 have been moved to the following Tuesday.
Long wait for Hawaii vote spurs call for more voter centers
FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2020, file photo, a long line of people waiting to vote stretches around City Hall on Election Day, in Honolulu. Overall, the stateโs vote-by-mail election appears to have been a big success, leading to record numbers of voters participating. The law also gives voters the option to vote in person at voter service centers, where people may also register to vote or get help with casting a ballot. Ma said people waited between two to four hours on Tuesday at the two voter centers on Oahu, an island with about 549,000 registered voters. Another factor was people who view voting in person on Election Day as sacrosanct and something they wanted to do.
New this week: 'This Is Us,' Baby Yoda, 'The Craft' redone
(NBC via AP)Hereโs a collection curated by The Associated Pressโ entertainment journalists of whatโs arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. MOVIESโ Many things will be different about Halloween this year, but the annual rush of horror films is much the same. It stars Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku as a Sudanese refugee couple finding new horrors in life in England. But Neon, the โParasiteโ distributor, last week put a restored version into theaters and on Tuesday brings it to VOD. One is Natalie Margolin โThe Party Hop,โ which she wrote during quarantine in one week in early April.
Masked pope, faith leaders pray for peace and pandemic's end
Pope Francis lights a candle for peace during an inter-religious ceremony for peace in the square outside Rome's City Hall, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)ROME โ A masked Pope Francis welcomed religious leaders to a socially-distanced interfaith peace prayer Tuesday, appealing for a unified international effort to work for peace and an end to the coronavirus pandemic. โThe pandemic is reminding us that we are blood brothers and sisters,โ they said in a joint appeal issued at the end of the service. For weeks, Francis has shunned facemasks in his public and private audiences despite a surge in COVID-19 cases across Italy and even inside Vatican City. The service was organized by the Rome-based SantโEgidio Community, which each year organizes an interfaith peace prayer in the spirit of the first one of its kind, celebrated by St. John Paul II in Assisi in 1986. In the past week 11 Swiss Guards and a resident of the hotel where Francis lives have tested positive.
Alexie, Pilkey books among most 'challenged' of past decade
FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2016 file photo, author and filmmaker Sherman Alexie appears at a celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Day at Seattle's City Hall. Alexie is included in a list of authors who wrote books that were among the 100 most subjected to censorship efforts over the past decade, as compiled by the American Library Association. All wrote books that were among the 100 most subjected to censorship efforts over the past decade, as compiled by the American Library Association. The association does not formally count the number of times books are actually removed from a library shelf or from a school reading list. โThere are actually two lines of objections to the Anne Frank diary,โ Caldwell-Stone says.
UPDATES: Protests over George Floyd death continue across US, world
ORLANDO, Fla. โ Hereโs the latest on protests surrounding the death of George Floyd, a black man who died as a white police officer knelt on his neck. The agreements reached Friday are the first concrete steps that have been taken to remake the city's police department since George Floyd's death. BUFFALO, N.Y.Two Buffalo police officers were charged with assault Saturday, prosecutors said, after a video showed them shoving a protester in recent demonstrations over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. He referenced Floyd, whose death in police custody has sparked protests across the world. ORLANDO -- A group of pastors marched through Orlando on Friday morning to protest the death of George Floyd.
Chicago teachers OK tentative agreement but strike goes on
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, joined by Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson, rear center, makes a statement about the Chicago Teachers Union strike Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, at City Hall in Chicago. "Not once during that three-and-a-half-hour meeting did they raise compensation for strike days," Lightfoot said heatedly. Lightfoot refused from the start of the strike to lengthen the school year to make up days. Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson said it would require cutting winter or spring break days or adding days to the end of the year. Union leadership said the tentative agreement does not include additional preparation time for elementary school teachers, which was a sticking point during talks this week.