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Drum-beating ‘monkeys’ and dancing ‘parrots’ celebrate 100th anniversary of Mexico City zoo

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:27 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hundreds of people celebrated the 100th anniversary of Mexico City’s Chapultepec Zoo Thursday with a costume parade that featured a marching band of lions and children dressed as birds or butterflies. Other revelers dressed up as dancing parrots, acrobatic zebras and there were even drum-beating monkeys at the Chapultepec zoo, which was founded in 1923 in a city park of the same name. The well-loved zoo draws about 5 million visitors per year. But it is not without its challenges.Dentist Diana Godínez held up a sign reading: “The animals at the zoo need better habitats, and better treatment.”Reflecting changes in zoo philosophy over the years, the zoo has changed from a simple repository of animals. Fernando Gual Sill said the zoo is now “a center for wildlife conservation” that protects endangered species.Mexico has a long and troubled history related to its fascination with exotic animals. Many lions and elephants were effectively abandoned after Mexico ba...

Former national chief calls for investigation into potential federal interference

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:27 GMT

RoseAnne Archibald is calling for an independent investigation into potential government interference into the Assembly of First Nations a week after she was ousted as national chief.Archibald was voted out last week during a special chiefs assembly that also dealt with a human resources investigation related to complaints AFN staff filed against her. In a Facebook video, Archibald alleges the investigation is a coverup for what is really happening within the First Nations advocacy organization.She says the AFN has become a tool for the federal Liberal government and called for supporters to write to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh to ask for an investigation into interference.Hundreds of First Nations chiefs will be gathering in Halifax next week for the AFN’s annual general assembly. Archibald has called to be reinstated and says she will come back if chiefs push for that move during the meeting next week.This report by The Canadian Press wa...

Food delivery services sue NYC over minimum pay rates for app-based workers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:27 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub sued New York City on Thursday to block its new minimum pay rules for food delivery workers.The recently announced rules, touted as a national first, could nearly triple average earnings for app-based delivery workers in the coming years. An increased pay rate of $17.96 an hour is set to take effect July 12.New York’s more than 60,000 delivery workers currently make an average of $7.09 an hour, according to the city.The food delivery services are seeking a temporary restraining order in state Supreme Court in Manhattan to stop the changes from going into effect on July 12. The companies claim the changes would result in higher costs for consumers.“The city’s entire rule depends on the false assumption that restaurants make no money on deliveries – it must be paused before damaging restaurants, consumers and the couriers it purports to protect,” Uber spokesperson Josh Gold said in a prepared statement.DoorDash and Grubhub jointly ...

2 weeks of monsoon rains in Pakistan have killed at least 55, including 8 children

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:27 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — The death toll from two weeks of monsoon rains rose to at least 55 on Thursday after 12 people, including eight children, died in weather-related incidents in Pakistan amid fears of flash floods, authorities said.The eastern city of Lahore witnessed a record-breaking downpour the previous day, flooding many streets and disrupting normal life. Since Wednesday, 19 people have died in the city due to collapsing roofs and electrocution, officials said. Pakistan’s weather forecast agency warned of more rain to hit the city.At least eight children died when a massive landslide hit Shangla, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, officials said. Rescuers were trying to remove a large mud pile for fear that other missing children were buried. Heavy rain also continued to lash the impoverished nation, overflowing the main rivers in the Punjab province, Jhelum and Chenab, prompting the disaster management agency to be on high alert fo...

Biden administration seeks stay of judge’s social media order, saying it could cause ‘grave harm’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Louisiana-based federal judge’s order broadly limiting executive branch communications with social media companies could cause “grave harm” by preventing the government from “engaging in a vast range of lawful and responsible conduct,” Biden administration attorneys said in a motion filed Thursday with a federal appeals court.The request to stay the order was the administration’s first substantive response to a July 4 ruling by U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Monroe. Doughty, a conservative nominated to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump, issued an injunction Tuesday blocking multiple government agencies and administration officials from meeting with or contacting social media companies for the purpose of “encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”The order also prohibits the agencies and officials from pressuring social media co...

4 CPD officers under investigation for sexual relationship with migrants living at station

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:27 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department is reportedly investigating four officers who allegedly engaged in sexual relations with migrants living at a West Side patrol district.According to the Chicago Police Department, an internal investigation was launched on Thursday into allegations that four officers engaged in sexual relationships with migrants who were living in a police station on the city's West Side.The four officers involved were assigned to the Ogden District, that covers Chicago's Little Village and Lawndale neighborhoods. Glen Ellyn woman faces 132 counts of animal cruelty charges Since their arrival to the city, the Chicago Police Department has housed many migrants at stations across the city, along with several city-owned buildings as temporary housing.No further information has been made available at this time.WGN reached out to Mayor Brandon Johnson, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, and the Chicago Police Board for comment, but have yet to hear bac...

CPD: Missing Chicago elderly woman last seen on June 28

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:27 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department is asking for the public's help in locating a missing 69-year-old woman who was last seen on Wednesday, June 28.Maggie Cooper, 69, was last seen at her home on the 3300 block of West Maypole Ave in Chicago's Garfield Park neighborhood on Wednesday, June 28. Missing Portage Park teen considered high-risk, police say Cooper is described as 5-foot-4, weighing 125 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a red sweater, pink hooded sweatshirt, and blue jeans.Anyone with information regarding Maggie Cooper's whereabouts are asked to contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-746-8251.

McDonald's wedding catering coming to some international locations

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:27 GMT

(WDTN/NEXSTAR) — It may be just a little soon to get your heart set on saying "I Do" with Chicken McNuggets or a Grimace Shake — but the dream could come true one day.Some McDonald's locations in Indonesia are rolling out a catering menu to help people planning weddings on a budget, according to McDonald's Indonesia. The company's Indonesian division announced the "Wedding Mekdi" package on Instagram this week — and McD's fans were Ba-da-ba-ba-ba-lovin' it. JFK grandson goes viral for anti-restaurant rant The package includes 100 chicken sandwiches and 100 packs of four-piece Chicken McNuggets for about $230, CNBC reports.The package doesn't mean you can get married inside a McDonald's, however, the company noted to the Sun US. But the fast food chain will bring the food to your venue. Items are to be served via food stalls, McDonald's Indonesia's post explains.As of right now, the wedding special is only available in Jakarta.

Austin ISD teachers asked to pay back $2,000 bonus after district accidentally overpaid some employees

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:27 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Email records show some Austin Independent School District teachers are being asked to pay back a $2,000 retention stipend after district officials said they accidentally paid them out to the wrong employees.According to a district email sent to teachers, the retention stipend was a recruitment tool meant for newly hired staff who agreed to be assigned to hard-to-staff positions. The email from the Chief Human Capital Officer said a processing error led to the bonus also going to returning employees. The district has not said the exact number of people who inadvertently received the stipend. The district said in the email to teachers those returning employees should have received their stipend in November and March.In another email from July 5, the district told employees the $2,000 stipend could either be paid back in one lump sum or over four pay periods.“I want to express my sincere apologies for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused. We understand t...

Bumblebee, Pac-Man and the Cookie Monster: Virginia man dons costumes to make people smile

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:27 GMT

A woman balanced a toddler on her hip while standing on the porch of the Jump’n Jellybeans daycare on a recent Thursday morning. She stared at what was walking down the sidewalk on the other side of Portsmouth Boulevard.So did the toddler. Then he leaned forward, frantically waving an outstretched arm at the slow-moving creature.It was Bumblebee, the bright yellow, friendly, talking robot from the “Transformers” comic books, TV show and movies.Aaron Jackson, the 24-year-old inside the Bumblebee costume, saw the toddler and knew he’d accomplished what he’d set out to do that morning: Make people smile.Aaron Jackson walks along Portsmouth Boulevard in Portsmouth, dressed as Bumblebee from Transformers on June 23. Jackson began walking around Portsmouth in costume in 2020 as a way to cheer people up during the pandemic. His love for costume was born out of his involvement in Comic-con conventions.  (Billy Schuerman / The Virginian-Pilot)Sometimes two or three times a week, Jackson step...