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Holocaust survivors will mark Hanukkah amid worries over war in Israel, global rise of antisemitism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Holocaust survivors from around the globe will mark the start of the fifth day of Hanukkah together with a virtual ceremony as Jews worldwide worry about the Israel-Hamas war and a spike of antisemitism in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. Survivors can join an online ceremony of a menorah lighting on Monday night to pay tribute to the 6 million European Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust. Several dozen survivors were also expected to gather in-person for a menorah lighting at Jerusalem’s Western Wall — the holiest place where Jews can pray.“Holocaust survivors somehow overcame the depravity of concentration camps, death camps and killing centers, among other horrors, to become our living exemplars, providing a roadmap on how light can overcome darkness,” Greg Schneider, the executive vice president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, said in remarks released to The Associated Press ahead of the ceremony. The New York-based confer...

Russian presidential hopeful vows to champion peace, women and a ‘humane’ country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

Sometime in the early 2010s, Yekaterina Duntsova’s eldest daughter drew a picture of her debating Russian President Vladimir Putin live on prime-time TV.A decade on, the little-known journalist and mom-of-three from a small town in western Russia recalls the drawing as a joke about her civic activism — but says it also carried a “message about the future.”Duntsova hopes that future might see her forcing Putin into a run-off in Russia’s next presidential vote, scheduled for March, despite her political inexperience and analysts’ assessments that the Kremlin leader’s tight grip on politics has virtually assured him another term as head of state.Speaking to The Associated Press in Moscow, Duntsova, a 40-year-old independent, said her message of peace with Ukraine, freedom for imprisoned critics of the government and a “humane” Russia that heeds its citizens’ concerns could give hope to those opposing the Kremlin’s military operation in Ukraine, the decades-long centralization of power ...

A day of 2 prime ministers in Poland begins the delayed transition to a centrist, pro-EU government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The national conservatives who have ruled Poland for eight years are expected to finally relinquish power this week to a centrist bloc led by political veteran Donald Tusk.The transition will come in several steps over three days, starting Monday, nearly two months since Poles turned out in huge numbers to vote for change in a national election. The transition was delayed for weeks by the president, who chose to keep his political allies in office as long as possible.The change of power in Poland is consequential for the 38 million citizens of the central European nation, where collective anger produced a record-high turnout to replace a government that had been eroding democratic norms.There is relief for many, including women who saw reproductive rights eroded and LGBTQ+ people who faced a government hate campaign that drove some to leave the country.The change holds important implications for Ukraine and the EU as well.Tusk, a past EU leader, is expected to ...

Jury trial will decide how much Giuliani must pay election workers over false election fraud claims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A trial set to get underway in Washington on Monday will determine how much Rudy Giuliani will have to pay two Georgia election workers who he falsely accused of fraud while pushing Donald Trump’s baseless claims after he lost the 2020 election. The former New York City mayor has already been found liable in the defamation lawsuit brought by Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who endured threats and harassment after they became the target of a conspiracy theory spread by Trump and his allies. The only issue to be determined at the trial — which will begin with jury selection in Washington’s federal court — is the amount of damages, if any, Giuliani must pay. The case is among many legal and financial woes mounting for Giuliani, who was celebrated as “America’s mayor” in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack and became one of the most ardent promoters of Trump’s election lies after he lost to President Joe Biden. Giuliani is ...

Biden’s 2024 dilemma: US economy looks solid, but voters still not feeling it

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden goes into next year’s election with a vexing challenge: Just as the U.S. economy is getting stronger, people are still feeling horrible about it.Pollsters and economists say there has never been as wide a gap between the underlying health of the economy and public perception. The divergence could be a decisive factor in whether the Democrat secures a second term next year. Republicans are seizing on the dissatisfaction to skewer Biden, while the White House is finding less success as it tries to highlight economic progress.“Things are getting better and people think things are going to get worse — and that’s the most dangerous piece of this,” said Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who has worked with Biden. Lake said voters no longer want to just see inflation rates fall — rather, they want an outright decline in prices, something that last happened on a large scale during the Great Depression. “Honestly, I’m kind of mystified by it,...

Texas tops Stanford 3-1 to clinch spot in NCAA volleyball semifinals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — There's only one team that isn't a No. 1 seed in its region headed to the NCAA volleyball national semifinals, and it's the defending national champion Texas Longhorns.The second-seeded Longhorns avenged an early-season loss to top-seeded Stanford 3-1 in the regional final Saturday at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, California. Texas will play Wisconsin on Thursday in Tampa, Florida. It's the 15th time in school history that Texas has made it to the national semifinals.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersSet scores were 25-16, 15-25, 25-19 and 25-22.Madisen Skinner put the Longhorns on her back in the deciding set, hammering eight of her match-high 24 kills in the frame with a service ace to lift them to victory. Asjia O'Neal had 10 kills with five blocks while Bella Bergmark and Molly Phillips combined for 12 blocks.Texas was much more efficient in its attac...

Concert review: Young musicians bring sweet reverence to Lucia Celebration Concert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

The American Swedish Institute’s Lucia Choir brought a bit of light to these dark days through the museum’s annual Lucia Celebration Concert, commemorating the Feast of Saint Lucia, practiced in Sweden as well as other Scandinavian countries.The choir, made up of children and teenagers who rehearse for five weeks, performed two sold-out concerts at Larson Hall in the Nelson Cultural Center on Sunday. Led by Lucia choir director Ingrid Aune, with accompanist Janis Aune impressively switching between piano, Nyckelharpa (a bowed string instrument with more strings than a violin, and held by the waist), and harp, the group admirably rang in the festival of light.At times, the young people doubled as instrumentalists, accompanying the singing as part of ASI’s Lilla Lag fiddle/cello folk music ensemble. The youth will perform a sold-out final show in the museum’s historic Turnblad mansion on Dec. 13.The feast day of Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also known as Saint Lucy Day, began to be ce...

Elderly man beaten in apparent hate crime attack in Beverly Hills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the assault of an elderly man in Beverly Hills that may have been racially motivated.According to a media release from the Beverly Hills Police Department, officers responded to the area of North Rexford Drive and North Santa Monica Boulevard just after 9 a.m. Saturday morning on calls of an assault with a deadly weapon.  Authorities searching for man who stole more than $1,000 in designer fragrances from Sephora Responding officers found an elderly man who had sustained a laceration on his head after being struck with a belt, according to BHPD. “During the commission of the crime, the suspect made anti-Semitic statements to the victim,” Beverly Hills police said. The victim, who was accompanied by his wife at the time he was assaulted, was treated at the scene by paramedics and did not require further medical attention, officials said. A man claiming to be the victim's son posted on X, formerly Twitter, that h...

San Jose Sharks nearly finish six-game road trip on stirring note

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

The San Jose Sharks nearly saw their road trip end on another stirring note.The Sharks sent their game Sunday with the Vegas Golden Knights into overtime as Mike Hoffman scored with 38.2 seconds left to tie the game 4-4.But after a scoreless overtime, Kevin Labanc and Mikael Granlund could not capitalize on their shootout attempts, and Golden Knights forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel finished theirs to hand the Sharks a 5-4 loss at T-Mobile Arena.Hoffman’s marking the fourth time the Sharks have scored a 6-on-5 goal in their last three games.Hoffman’s goal was his second of the game and Mario Ferraro and Calen Addison both added one goal. Granlund had two assists for the Sharks.After Ferraro scored his first goal of the season 29 seconds into the first period, the Sharks (8-18-2) allowed goals to Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson in the second period and Brayden McNabb to fall behind 3-1.Hoffman and Addison both scored goals in the third period — sa...

SantaCon, Haney fight in SF draws nearly 100K BART riders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:49 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- It was a busy Saturday in San Francisco. Thousands of people made their way to the city for two big events: SantaCon and the world championship fight between local native Devin Haney and Regis Prograis. A large number of those events' attendees took BART as nearly 100,000 riders were recorded on Dec. 9. Official ridership for that day was 99,824 exits, the public transit agency said. That was 20,000 more trips than the previous Saturday on Dec. 9. The average ridership on Saturdays last month was 89,053, according to BART records. Deebo Samuel scores 2 TDs, Purdy throws for career-best 368 yards as 49ers beat Seahawks 28-16 SantaCon is the annual San Francisco event in which thousands are dressed in Santa clothing. Attendees must be 21 and older as most of the SantaCon events (which are free) are held at various bars across the city. The Haney-Prograis bout happened at the Chase Center -- the first world title fight in San Francisco in over a decade. Fans,...