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Venezuela and opposition to resume talks in Barbados, mediator Norway says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:00 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuela’s government and opposition will resume their dialogue, mediated by Norway, with talks scheduled for Tuesday in Barbados, Norway’s embassy in Mexico said Monday in a brief statement posted to the platform X.Mexico hosted multiple rounds of talks in 2021 and 2022. When they last met in November 2022, the sides agreed to create a U.N.-managed fund to finance health, food and education programs for the poor.The U.S. government, in response, agreed to allow oil giant Chevron to pump Venezuelan oil.Colombia and other countries have tried in recent months to restart negotiations, but the government of President Nicolás Maduro has demanded that the U.S. drop economic sanctions and unfreeze Venezuelan funds held overseas as a condition of resuming talks. Norway’s statement Monday said that the two sides had decided to resume the dialogue “with the objective of reaching a political agreement.” Venezuela’s government did not immediately comment.The dialogue ...

LinkedIn cuts more than 600 workers, about 3% of workforce

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:00 GMT

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) — LinkedIn said Monday it is laying off hundreds of employees amounting to about 3% of the social media company’s workforce.The Microsoft-owned career network is cutting about 668 roles across its engineering, product, talent and finance teams. “Talent changes are a difficult, but necessary and regular part of managing our business,” the company said in a statement. The job cuts follow another more than 700 layoffs LinkedIn announced in May, as well as thousands more this year from parent company Microsoft, which has owned the professional-networking service since buying it for $26 billion in 2016.LinkedIn keeps growing and said its annual revenue surpassed $15 billion for the first time in the fiscal year that ended in June. The service, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, makes money from advertisements on the platform as well as from users who pay to subscribe for premium features.LinkedIn reports having about 19,500 employees.Redmond, Washington-...

Nice player Atal investigated for ‘defending terrorism’ after reposting antisemitic message

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:00 GMT

NICE, France (AP) — The Nice public prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation Monday targeting soccer player Youcef Atal on charges “of defending terrorism” after he shared an antisemitic message on social media. The prosecutor’s office said Atal is also being investigated for “public incitement to hatred or violence because of a particular religion.”Atal, who plays for French league club Nice and the Algeria national team, apologized after reportedly reposting and then deleting a video in which a Palestinian preacher made an antisemitic statement.French Football Federation President Philippe Diallo said Atal had relayed “appeals for violence.” Diallo said in a statement that he “condemns them with the greatest severity” and that the case will be handled by the federation’s ethics committee.Writing on Instagram, the defender said he understood that his post “shocked several people, which was not my intention.”Atal also said he condemns all forms of vio...

First group of Canadians leave West Bank for Jordan as those in Gaza brace for worst

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says a group of Canadians has crossed safely from the West Bank into neighbouring Jordan as violence continues in Israel’s escalating war against Hamas. Joly made the announcement this morning on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, thanking the Global Affairs staff who she says worked around the clock to make it happen.The federal government says 21 Canadians and foreign nationals took a bus out of the West Bank, a Palestinian territory that Israel has occupied since 1967, and where it has established settlements.Long-simmering tensions in the region exploded on Oct. 7 when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds of civilians and taking more than 150 people hostage.Israel responded by bombarding Hamas-controlled Gaza and cutting off food, water and electricity to 2.3 million Palestinians, and more than 4,000 people have been killed on both sides in the last 10 days.With Israel planning a m...

He’s a survivor: A mother fights for son kidnapped by Hamas militants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Hersh Goldberg-Polin is like a lot of other young people.The 23-year-old from Jerusalem loves music, wants to see the world and, now that he’s finished his military service, plans to go to university. But first he has to come home.Goldberg-Polin was last seen on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants loaded him into the back of a pickup with other hostages abducted from a music festival where at least 260 people were killed.His mother, Rachel Goldberg, still expects to see him again.“He’s a survivor,” Goldberg said of her son, whose grin beams out from behind a sparse, youthful beard in family photos. “He’s not like this big, bulky guy. But I think that survival has a lot to do with where you are mentally,” she added.Born in Berkeley, California, Goldberg-Polin moved to Israel with his family when he was 7 years old.As a child, he wanted to learn about the world, pouring over maps and atlases to learn the names of capital cities and mountains. Later he became a fan of psychedeli...

City establishes 15 food scrap drop-off sites for new composting program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:00 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago's first-ever citywide composting initiative was announced on Monday with 15 food scrap drop-off sites.To participate, residents must sign up for a nearby drop-off location, collect in sealed containers and bring the collected materials to the green carts at the sites.The 15 food scrap drop-off sites are:  Morgan Park – 11059 S. Homewood Ave. Englewood – 611 W. 69th St. West Englewood – 1756 W. 74th St. West Edelson – 3720 W. 55th St. Grand Boulevard – 4352 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Brighton Park – 3359 S. Maplewood Ave. Near South Side – 1758 S. Clark St. Lower West Side – 1944 W. Cullerton St. West Town – 2505 W. Grand Ave. Logan Square –2460 W Cortland.  Belmont Cragin – 5605 W. Grand Ave. Avondale – 3143 N. Rockwell St.  Bowmanville – 5333 N. Western Ave. Irving Park – 4605 W. Lawrence Ave. Norwood Park – 6453 W. Higgins Ave."Diverting food scraps for composting ...

LinkedIn laying off more than 660 workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:00 GMT

(The Hill) -- LinkedIn is laying off more than 660 workers across its engineering, product, talent and finance teams, the employment-focused social media site announced Monday.“Talent changes are a difficult, but necessary and regular part of managing our business,” the company said in a news release. This marks LinkedIn’s second round of major layoffs this year after it announced its plans to cut more than 700 jobs in May amid efforts to make “changes to our Global Business Organization (GBO) and our China strategy.”In a Monday email to employees, which was obtained by Insider, LinkedIn executives said the latest round of layoffs reflected a need to “evolve how we work and what we prioritize so we can deliver of the key initiatives we’ve identified.” Rite Aid seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it deals with lawsuits and losses “While we are adapting our organizational structures and streamlining our decision making, we are continuing to invest in strategic prioritie...

Indiana State Police reportedly investigating evidence leak in Delphi case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:00 GMT

DELPHI, Ind. — An investigation by "The Murder Sheet" podcast, certain elements of which have been confirmed by WXIN, indicates an alleged leak of sensitive crime scene evidence by Richard Allen’s defense team that could derail the early 2024 trial of the man accused of killing two young girls in Delphi nearly seven years ago.This past Thursday, Special Judge Fran Gull of Allen County issued an order for a hearing on October 19 in her Fort Wayne courtroom, “to discuss the upcoming hearing on October 31, 2023, and other matters which have recently arisen.”Those “other matters” most likely include the revelation that a handful of Delphi crime scene evidence items have been circulated among the social media community that has focused on the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German near the Monon High Bridge on February 13, 2017.It was just a year ago that Richard Allen was arrested and charged with those killings.Allen’s attorneys, Andrew Baldwin of Franklin and Bradley Rozzi of ...

21 species across 16 states now considered extinct: US wildlife officials

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:00 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Nearly two dozen species from 16 states that were listed as endangered have been delisted — but not because they've rebounded. Instead, the change in status is due to extinction. Two years ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed delisting 23 species. After a public comment period, they opted against delisting two: a perennial herb from Hawaii after new surveys found new habitats that could be suitable for the species, and the ivory-billed woodpecker, which FWS said it will continue to review. The remaining 21, however, are now being delisted from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), FWS said in a Monday press release. The ESA was established in 1973 to protect plants and animals considered threatened or endangered in the U.S. So far, the ESA is credited with saving 99% of the species that received its protection, FWS said. It was a popular national monument, until it was robbed to extinction Many of the newly delisted species first received protection under the ...

Secret 'Seinfeld' project? Julia Louis-Dreyfus responds to Jerry Seinfeld's comments at recent performance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:00 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – If Julia Louis-Dreyfus knows anything about the mysterious “Seinfeld” project that Jerry Seinfeld alluded to earlier this month, she’s clearly keeping it in the vault.“Yeah, I just saw [that news] last night,” Louis-Dreyfus said in a recent interview with The Guardian. “And I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about.” Netflix plans to open permanent store locations in 2025 Louis-Dreyfus was specifically reacting to Seinfeld’s comments at an Oct. 7 performance in Boston after he was asked if he was happy with the finale of his sitcom.“Did I like what? The ending? Of the show?” Seinfeld said, repeating a question from an audience member. “Well, I have a little secret for you about the ending, but I can’t really tell it. Because it is a secret.”Perhaps egged on by some booing in the audience, Seinfeld continued.“Here’s what I’ll tell you, OK?” But you can’t tell anybody,” he said. “Something is going to happen, that has to do with that ending, but it hasn’t happened ye...