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‘Ramadan Camp’ reaches Muslim children across the globe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

Amin Aaser remembers as a child growing up in Minnesota that his Muslim faith often made him feel like an outsider, and being required to follow its practices and tenets “sometimes felt like going to the dentist.”Those memories are part of what spurred Aaser, now a married man with a 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, to spend Ramadan producing an online, interactive “Ramadan Camp” for Muslim children ages 5-12 throughout the world.The Noor Kids Ramadan Camp started two years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, about 90,000 families have signed up, and about 3,000 families join live every night, he said.The camp is streamed from a warehouse in Brooklyn Park that is designed to resemble a treehouse. Children spend between 30 minutes and an hour hearing stories, playing games, making projects, listening to guest speakers and sharing prayers.It’s all intended to find fun ways to help the children learn and discuss the tenets of their faith while meeting other Muslim...

Red Cross: Yemen’s warring sides wrap up major prisoner swap

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s warring sides on Sunday wrapped up a major exchange of prisoners linked to the country’s long-running conflict, according to the International Committee for the Red Cross.The three-day operation, which started Friday, was the most significant prisoner exchange in Yemen since the Saudi-led coalition and their rivals, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, released more than 1,000 detainees in October 2020.The U.N.-brokered deal involved the release of over 700 detained Houthis, and more than 180 other prisoners, including Saudi and Sudanese troops fighting with the Saudi-led coalition.The Red Cross said it “worked tirelessly to reunite about 900 former detainees with their families,” describing the prisoner exchange as a “positive step toward peace and reconciliation in Yemen.”Yemen was plunged into devastating conflict when the Iranian-backed Houthis descended from their northern stronghold in 2014, seizing the capital of Sanaa and much of northern Yemen and f...

COVID-19 pandemic stalled progress on eliminating tuberculosis among Inuit: officials

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

Nunavut’s health minister says the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted efforts to eliminate tuberculosis in Inuit communities, and questions remain over whether targets to stamp out the disease can be met.“COVID has had a huge impact on every area of health care, and that includes TB,” said John Main. “While we were putting so much effort toward dealing with COVID, we did have to slow the pace of work on other areas.”Five years ago, Ottawa and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a national advocacy group, announced plans to reduce active tuberculosis across Inuit Nunangat by at least half to no more than 100 cases per 100,000 people by 2025, and eliminate it entirely by 2030. Inuit Nunangat, or Inuit homeland in Canada, is made up of more than 50 communities in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Quebec and Labrador.Public Health Agency of Canada data indicates reported rates of active tuberculosis dropped significantly among Inuit between 2019 and 2020 from 188.7 cases p...

The latest data on tuberculosis among Inuit in Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

Ottawa and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a national advocacy group, announced plans in March 2018 to reduce active tuberculosis across Inuit Nunangat by at least half to no more than 100 cases per 100,000 people by 2025, and eliminate it entirely by 2030. Inuit Nunangat, or Inuit homeland in Canada, is made up of more than 50 communities in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Quebec and Labrador.Here is a breakdown of rates and cases of tuberculosis across Canada and among Inuit from 2010 to 2021, as reported by the federal government. CanadaFor most people in Canada the risk of developing active tuberculosis is very low. Rates are much higher, however, among the foreign-born population, Inuit and First Nations people living on reserve. Rates and case numbers of tuberculosis, as well as deaths related to the disease, have fluctuated little across the country over the past decade.2010: 4.7  per 100,000 population (1,586 cases)2011: 4.7 (1,621 cases)2012: 4.9 (1,700 cases)2013: 4.7 (1,651 ...

'Multitude of injuries,' 4 killed in Alabama birthday party shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

DADEVILLE, Ala. (WRBL) - At least four people were killed Saturday night in a shooting at a celebration in Alabama, according to law enforcement.Witnesses said the shooting occurred at a 16th birthday party at Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in downtown Dadeville. Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said shots were fired at 10:34 p.m.Witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots and seeing people running and screaming from the building.The total number of people shot was initially reported as more than 20. The State Bureau of Investigations, which confirmed the deaths Sunday morning, did not give an updated number of people injured. A spokesperson only said there were a "multitude of injuries" during a Sunday morning press conference, and described the investigation as a "long, complicated process." Does your state allow teachers to carry a gun? Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as the chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and for the local high school foo...

Why do mass shooters kill? It's about more than having a grievance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

(THE CONVERSATION) – An acutely troubling aspect of life in contemporary America is the growing proliferation of mass shootings that claim thousands of innocent lives year after painful year and make everyone feel unsafe.The year 2023 is still young, and already there have been at least 146 mass shooting events in the U.S. on record, including the killing of five people in a Louisville, Kentucky, bank that the shooter livestreamed. There were 647 mass shootings in 2022 and 693 in 2021, resulting in 859 and 920 deaths, respectively, with no respite in sight from this ghastly epidemic. Since 2015, over 19,000 people have been shot and wounded or killed in mass shootings.In the wake of most shootings, the news media and the public reflexively ask: What was the killer’s motive?As a psychologist who studies violence and extremism, I understand that the question immediately pops to mind because of the bizarre nature of the attacks, the “out-of-the-b...

New city earns title of nation's top city for weed: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver lost its place as the nation's marijuana mecca, according to an analysis from Clever Real Estate. The new king of kush is Portland, Oregon. Oregon was two years behind Colorado in legalizing recreational cannabis. Washington and Colorado legalized it in 2012, while Alaska and Oregon legalized it in 2014. To be the nation's top hash hub, cities had to score highly in a handful of categories including legality, number of dispensaries and cannabis doctors, dispensaries' customer ratings, pot prices, Google search trends for marijuana-related terms, public perception and the number of hiking trails, concert venues, and – most importantly – Taco Bells. Where is marijuana legal in 2023? Portland took the top spot mainly because Portland's pot is cheaper than other cities'. High-quality cannabis costs $210 per ounce in Portland as opposed to $242 in Denver. Portland also has more dispensaries per 100,000 residents - 13.7 to Denver's 11.5. While no California cities...

How do you pronounce 'Whataburger'? A linguist weighs in on the debate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Hundreds of Whataburger fans found themselves questioning reality last month, but not because they found out that Whataburger sells knockoff Snuggies in addition to burgers.Rather, it was because they were told they may have been pronouncing “Whataburger” wrong their entire lives.The team behind the restaurant chain recently suggested on Twitter that “Whataburger” is pronounced “WAT-ER-BRR-GRRR” — a pronunciation embraced by many Texans, but not directly conveyed by the spelling of the word.Making matters murkier is the fact that Whataburger’s own commercials have featured several different pronunciations, including those that sound like “WHUT-uh-burger,” “WATT-uh-burger” and, as mentioned above, “WAT-er-burger" or WUD-der-burger.” What does CVS stand for? A series of commercials produced in the 1980s, for instance, features country singer Mel Tillis clearly pronouncing the restaurant’s name as “Water-burger.” But other ads feature voiceover artists using “Watt-a-burge...

This area of Illinois is seeing the biggest inflation spike: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

ILLINOIS (WMBD) – Inflation is everywhere — from the gas pump to the grocery store, you’ve most likely felt the sting in your wallet by now.Depending on where you live, however, inflation may be hitting your area harder than others, according to a new study.A recent ranking from WalletHub, a personal finance website, sought to rank “cities where inflation is rising the most.” Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, WalletHub compared 22 major Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) based on metrics involving the consumer price index, which is used to measure inflation.Those metrics concerned changes to the consumer price index from the latest month versus two months before, and changes to the consumer price index from the latest month versus a year ago.WalletHub included only one Illinois MSA in its ranking of major metro areas where inflation is rising more quickly: the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin MSA, at No. 14.Below is the list of the top 10 MSAs where inflation is increa...

These are the most popular Make-A-Wishes in Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for April 16, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) -- For nearly four decades, Make-A-Wish Central & South Texas has helped grant thousands of wishes for children diagnosed with life-threatening conditions. On April 29, the nonprofit will celebrate its anniversary, dubbed "World Wish Day."With thousands of wishes completed, what are the most popular requests? That, nonprofit officials said, trickles back to faith, trust and a little bit of Disney-inspired pixie dust. RELATED: Make-A-Wish eyes $150K fundraising goal to support Central Texas kids Trips to Disney World are by and large the most common wish type, a Make-A-Wish CSTX spokesperson told KXAN. "In a typical year, over half of the wishes we grant are Disney," she said. "The next most popular wish types would be domestic travel and shopping spree wishes."With World Wish Day less than two weeks away, the nonprofit has eyed a $150,000 fundraising goal for the month of Apri...