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Martin Luther King’s ‘Dream’: Letting freedom ring from Stone Mountain, 60 years later

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:12 GMT

Nneka M. Okona | for the Chicago TribuneI was born in Atlanta during the evening hours on a Friday in late May. Days later, my parents brought me home, home to Stone Mountain. Since then, I’ve begrudgingly called this Atlanta suburb, born of red clay and granite, mine.From my hometown, the 825-foot-tall quartz monadnock for which our city is named looms in the distance, visible from most anywhere. Its presence follows us as we run errands, lounge in outdoor spaces, or take out the trash in the evenings.Others have staked their own claim on Stone Mountain. Before roads were built, Indigenous people hiked to the summit, bowing to the sunrise in the mornings and the sunsets as evening called.This rock meant something else before the reborn Ku Klux Klan set a cross ablaze on the summit in 1915 the night of Thanksgiving, reigniting its agenda to sow seeds of violence, destruction, bigotry and discord. It became a sacred place to many Klansmen, who owned the land and as recently as 2017 p...

Lockdown ended after apparent shooting at University of North Carolina’s flagship campus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:12 GMT

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM (Associated Press)An apparent shooting at the University of North Carolina’s flagship campus Monday led students and faculty to barricade themselves in dorm rooms, offices and classrooms for hours until the lockdown was lifted.About three hours after warning students to seek shelter indoors and avoid windows Monday, the school posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “All clear. All clear. Resume normal activities.”The school didn’t say whether anyone had been shot or arrested, and it didn’t immediately respond to an email requesting further information.Although school officials and local authorities didn’t provide details about the alleged shooting, Gov. Roy Cooper posted on X that he had spoken to the Orange County sheriff and the state’s public safety secretary and “pledged all state resources needed to capture the shooter and protect the UNC campus.”Two police officers move around a building on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...

Missing woman, 48, last seen in Del Cerro

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:12 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego police are on the lookout for a 48-year-old woman who has been missing since last week.Chesare Gia Dale was last seen Thursday night in the 5500 block of Del Cerro Boulevard, police said. Dale is considered at-risk because of her medical conditions.Dale is white with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 300 pounds. USPS supervisor slashed outside of post office in North County Dale uses public transportation and is known to visit local beaches.Anyone who sees Dale or knows where she might be is asked to call SDPD's Communications Division at 619-531-2000 and reference Case No. 23-502009.

SeaWorld expands ticket protections for extreme weather conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:12 GMT

SAN DIEGO — With San Diego facing a heat wave and Tropical Storm Hilary just in the rearview mirror, SeaWorld on Friday announced new protections to their ticket policy for extreme weather events.The "Weather-or-Not Assurance" will cover a wider range of weather conditions to cover ticket buyers at SeaWorld San Diego and Sesame Place in Chula Vista. Get free admission at SeaWorld for the rest of 2023 with new deal According to park officials, if extreme weather impacts guests' experience in the park or flight plans for an upcoming visit, SeaWorld will invite them back at no cost within the next 12 months.The expanded ticket protection program will cover a wide range of weather events including rain, lightning, extreme heat, wind, snow, hail and more, SeaWorld said in a news release.“In introducing Weather-or-Not Assurance, we are proud to note this is the most generous inclement weather policy in the industry,” said Marisa Thalberg, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer ...

90-year-old man suspected of stabbing wife

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:12 GMT

ENCINITAS, Calif. -- Sheriff's deputies last week arrested a 90-year-old man suspected of stabbing his wife in Encinitas.Around 7 p.m. Thursday, deputies went to the 1000 block of C Street after receiving a call from a neighbor about an injured woman who had come to their door, San Diego County Sheriff's Department said.Deputies say a husband and wife were having an argument that turned physical. That's when the husband used a knife to stab his wife, authorities said. Fight after Chargers-49ers game leads to stabbing at In-N-Out The woman, 82, was taken to a hospital to be treated. She was expected to be OK. Her husband, Clark Sandknop, was also treated for minor injuries before he was booked into Vista Detention Facility on attempted murder and felony elder abuse charges.

Pete Davidson to perform in El Cajon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:12 GMT

EL CAJON, Calif. — Comedian and Saturday Night Live alum Pete Davidson is heading to San Diego County for a comedy performance.Davidson will take the stage at The Magnolia in El Cajon on Sep. 27 for a live show.Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Aug. 30 at 10 a.m. PT and can be purchased here. Various pre-sale tickets will also be available starting on Aug. 29.Doors open for the show at 6 p.m., with Davidson scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. The Magnolia is located at 210 East Main Street in El Cajon.Event organizers are touting the show as a phone-free experience, meaning the use of phones, smart watches and accessories will not be permitted in the performance area. Guests will be required to place their electronics inside a Yondr pouch, which will seal the phone or accessory until the end of the show, with guests holding onto their items at all times. Pete Davidson avoids jail time after charge of driving into Beverly Hills house A designated phone use area will be av...

California sues district that requires parents be notified if their kids change gender ID

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:12 GMT

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — California’s attorney general sued a Southern California school district Monday over its new policy requiring schools to notify parents if their children change their gender identification or pronouns, the latest blow in an intensifying battle between a handful of school districts and the state about the rights of trans kids and their parents.Attorney General Rob Bonta said policies like the one adopted by Chino Valley Unified School District will forcibly out transgender students and threaten their well-being. But the district’s board president and supporters say parents have a right to know the decisions their children are making in schools.Bonta is seeking a court order to immediately block the policy in Chino Valley, a district about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, which requires schools to notify parents within three days if employees become aware a student is asking to be treated as a gender other than the one listed on offici...

Biden says action needed against ‘hate-fueled violence’ after racist shooting in Florida

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden called Monday for action to end the type of “hate-fueled violence” that authorities said motivated a white man to fatally shoot three Black people at a Florida store over the weekend. Biden said people must speak out about injustice. “We can’t let hate prevail, and it’s on the rise. It’s not diminishing,” Biden said at the White House as he met with civil rights advocates and the children of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. “Silence, I believe, we’ve all said many times, silence is complicity,” Biden said. “We’re not going to remain silent and, so, we have to act against this hate-fueled violence.” Biden’s meeting with the King family and other civil rights advocates came two days after Saturday’s racist attack in Jacksonville, Florida. Three Black people were shot to death by a white man wearing a mask and firing a weapon emblazoned with a swastika. The shooter, who had also posted ...

After lots of hype, West Point treasure box opening yields no bombshells, just silt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:12 GMT

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — Excitement and anticipation dissolved into disappointment at West Point when a lead box believed to have been placed by cadets in the base of a monument almost two centuries ago was opened Monday during a livestreamed event and revealed to contain little more than gray dust.An audience at the U.S. Military Academy hoped to see military relics or historical documents pulled from the box. Instead, they let out a groan after experts pried open the top and pointed a camera inside to show just a layer of sediment on the bottom.West Point archeologist Paul Hudson and West Point Museum curator Michael Diaz gingerly lifted out a few gray clumps and dusted them with a brush, only to have them crumble into powder.“A little disappointed. We built up to this quite a bit,” Hudson said after the event. “And I’ll tell you the truth, that was the last outcome that I expected with all the trouble that they went to create that box, put it in the monument.”The box, which ...

S&P/TSX composite up almost 200 points Monday, U.S. stock markets also rise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:12 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in energy stocks as the price of oil once again topped US$80 per barrel helped lead a broad rally on the Toronto Stock Exchange Monday, lifting Canada’s main stock index almost 200 points, while U.S. stock markets also climbed.Materials, energy and commodities helped the TSX outperform its U.S. counterparts as news of more economic stimulus in China provided some hope, said Stephen Duench, vice-president and portfolio manager for AGF Investments Inc.The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 189.39 points at 20,025.14.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 213.08 at 34,559.98. The S&P 500 index was up 27.60 points at 4,433.31,while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.48 points at 13,705.13.It’s been an overall weak, choppy month of August, with Monday marking the first time the S&P 500 has ended the day positive back-to-back, Duench said. “We’ve had a lot of consolidation in this market in August,” said Duench. “Sometimes after those c...