By NEAL FRANKLIN – Lincoln Journal Star, Neb. (TNS) Lego Party Bus, 12.19 Abel Handly, 13 (right), and Ezra Tanner, 12, inspect the Lego castle they built together during a competition inside the Brick Bus on Dec. 19. For an experienced Lego builder, entering the Brick Bus starts with a challenge. On this day, six
Continue ReadingBy AP 2 sailors die in the stormy first night of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, organizers say Two sailors on separate boats have been killed in boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the annual Sydney to Hobart race, adding to the event’s long history of deaths at sea.
Continue ReadingBy AP Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen’s capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital and multiple ports, while the World Health Organization’s director-general said the bombardment occurred nearby as he prepared to board
Continue ReadingBy NINA BAKER – Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa (TNS) A Davenport doula who specializes in end-of-life care has joined with the Midwest Writing Center to host a workshop on poetry as an expression of grief. The Dec. 28 “Narrating Grief Through Poetry” event focuses on using poetry and sound to capture, process and release
Continue ReadingBy OLIVIA ALLEN – Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa (TNS) Over the past two weeks, most Quad-Cities schools have celebrated the holidays in some fashion to keep their students engaged before winter break. Several schools host annual concerts or Christmas recitals during this time, while many teachers or clubs sponsor themed parties. Others, however, took
Continue ReadingBy NINA BAKER – Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa (TNS) The Swampland Jewels, a fusion band mixing Iowa charm and Gulf Coast soul, will perform on Sunday, Jan. 19, for the first 2025 show in Polyrhythms’ Third Sunday Jazz series. “Let The Swampland Jewels take you on a trip down old Highway 61, and across
Continue ReadingBy JOSHUA SHIMKUS – Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa (TNS) Starting on Jan. 1, 2025, the city of Moline plans to hire six new firefighters/paramedics with the intention of staffing a third ambulance in the city. This will be the first major staffing increase for the department in more than 40 years. According to a
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press Dec. 20-26, 2024 In Honduras, the daughter of slain environmentalist Juan López posed for a photo with her state-assigned bodyguards at her ninth birthday party. Wounded journalists reeled from getting shot at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In Brazil, Santa Claus visited an Amazonian community, trying his hand as a
Continue ReadingBy AP Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen’s capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen has targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and multiple ports. The World Health Organization’s director-general said Thursday’s bombardment took place just “meters away” as he
Continue Reading
By ABBY SEWELL – Associated Press HOMS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s new security forces checked IDs and searched cars in the central city of Homs on Thursday, a day after protests by members of the Alawite minority erupted in gunfire and stirred fears that the country’s fragile peace could break down. A tense calm prevailed
Continue ReadingBy CHAD DRURY – Ottumwa Courier, Iowa (TNS) OTTUMWA — The last meeting was already going to be difficult for Brian Morgan. Then his wife and three kids walked into the Wapello County Courthouse courtroom single file, and took a seat in the back of the room. Morgan chaired his final meeting of the board
Continue Reading
By The Associated Press Aviation experts said Thursday that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured. Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North
Continue ReadingBy CHAD DRURY – Ottumwa Courier, Iowa (TNS) As the year 2024 comes to a close, here’s a look back on a year’s of news that appeared in the pages of the Ottumwa Courier. These headlines were curated by Courier staff, and come from reporting by the Courier and our news partners. Part 1 covers
Continue Reading
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER – Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A lead organization monitoring for food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north Gaza under what it called Israel’s “near-total blockade,” after the U.S. asked for its retraction, U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The move follows
Continue Reading
By HUIZHONG WU – Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — The order came from the top. China’s leader Xi Jinping wants the recent spree of mass killings that shocked the country not to happen again. He ordered local governments to prevent future “extreme cases.” The attacks, where drivers mow down people on foot or knife-wielding assailants
Continue ReadingBy SAMYA KULLAB – Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in the fighting in Russia’s Kursk region and facing logistical difficulties as a result of Ukrainian attacks, Ukraine’s military intelligence said Thursday. The intelligence agency, known under its acronym GUR, said Ukrainian strikes near Novoivanovka inflicted heavy casualties
Continue Reading
By ROB GILLIES – Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Two top Canadian Cabinet ministers are visiting Palm Beach to talk border security and trade with the incoming Donald Trump administration as Trump threatens tariffs on all Canadian products. New Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly will be in Palm Beach, Florida on
Continue Reading
By LARRY NEUMEISTER – Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — An Alabama woman who says she was raped by Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs when she was 13 can proceed anonymously, for now, in her lawsuit against the rap moguls, a judge ruled Thursday. In her written order, Judge Analisa Torres also chastised the lawyer
Continue ReadingBy JEFF REINITZ – Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) WATERLOO — Authorities are asking the public’s help in locating a woman who fled from a residential facility where she was serving time for firing a gun in 2020. D’Iona Asia Marie Wilson-Bass, 21, failed to report back to the Waterloo Women’s Center for Change on
Continue ReadingBy JEFF REINITZ – Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) CEDAR FALLS — A Denver caregiver has been arrested for allegedly using her Cedar Falls clients’ credit cards for personal expenses. Cedar Falls police arrested Rachael Lynn Nicklaus, 38, on Dec. 20 for three counts of felony dependent adult abuse, two counts each of identity theft
Continue ReadingBy Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) WATERLOO — Waterloo Community Schools has named Charletta Sudduth director of equity, inclusion and belonging effective July 1. She will succeed Gina Weekley, who is relocating out of state with her family. Weekley will hold the position through June. Sudduth currently serves as the district’s pre-K administrator. That role
Continue ReadingBy MARIA KUIPER – Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) TRIPOLI — A natural sanctuary now looks like a graveyard after bird flu has spread through its waterfowl. Sweet Marsh bird flu 02 Dead trumpeter swans litter the ice of Sweet Marsh in Bremer County. Sweet Marsh, a wetland northeast of Tripoli, welcomes Canada geese, trumpeter
Continue ReadingBy Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) Each December, Courier reporters look back at their favorite stories of the past year. We ask them to pick their favorites: not necessarily the biggest stories of the year, just the ones they found most interesting. Here are some of Andy Milone’s favorite Cedar Valley stories of 2024. Some
Continue ReadingBy Eduardo Castillo – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 26—A man and a cat were killed Christmas night when a duplex in Derby caught on fire. Officials have not yet released the identity of the man, who was in his 70s. He lived in the duplex with one other person, who wasn’t home at the
Continue ReadingBy Taylor Eldridge – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 26—The Wichita State men’s basketball team is the best in the country at something it seemingly has no control over. No team can boast a better free-throw defense through Christmas than the Shockers, who rank No. 1 nationally with opponents shooting just 58.2% at the foul
Continue ReadingBy St. Joseph News-Press, Mo. (TNS) Dec. 26—The Kansas Highway Patrol reports that two individuals are injured and one is dead after a two-vehicle crash in Doniphan County, Kansas, on Christmas day. According to the KHP report at approximately 8:41 a.m. on Dec. 25, one vehicle was driving north on Kansas Highway Seven while the
Continue Reading
By The Associated Press Americans still dreaming of a really big Christmas present can keep that dream alive during Friday’s Mega Millions drawing for a jackpot worth an estimated $1.15 billion. Friday’s jackpot will potentially be the fifth largest in the game’s history. Mega Millions tickets are $2 a piece. But the odds of winning
Continue ReadingBy Tom Barton – The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (TNS) Dec. 26—The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. A semi truck collided with a train near Amana Thursday morning, temporarily blocking a busy highway. Authorities said no one was injured, and traffic was detoured around the crash site.
Continue Reading
By Cameron Montemayor Sheri Gray remembers a time when she was one of, if not the only, Special Olympics coaches in the St. Joseph area 15 years ago. “So much has changed,” she said. “At first, you know, there might be 30 people at a St. Joe event … But now there’s 150. It’s great.”
Continue Reading
By AP PHOENIX (AP) — A shooting at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix left two people injured by gunfire and another person stabbed in an incident related to a family dispute, police say. Phoenix police said the shooting happened at about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday at an airport restaurant located outside the security checkpoints in Terminal
Continue Reading