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UN somber economic forecast cites conflicts, sluggish trade, high interest and climate disasters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations issued a somber global economic forecast for 2024 on Thursday, pointing to challenges from escalating conflicts, sluggish global trade, persistently high interest rates and increasing climate disasters.In its flagship economic report, the U.N. projected that global economic growth would slow to 2.4% this year from an estimated 2.7% in 2023, which exceeds expectations. But both are still below the 3.0% growth rate before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, it said.The U.N. forecast is lower than those of the International Monetary Fund in October and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in late November.The IMF said it expects global growth to slow from an expected 3% in 2023 to 2.9% in 2024. The Paris-based OECD, comprising 38 mainly developed countries, estimated that international growth would also slow from an expected 2.9% in 2023 to 2.7% in 2024.The U.N.’s report — World Economic Situation and Prospects 2024 &...

Eli Lilly starts website to connect patients with new obesity treatment, Zepbound, other drugs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

Eli Lilly has launched a unique website to connect U.S. patients seeking obesity treatment to doctors, dieticians and its new weight-loss drug, Zepbound.The drugmaker said Thursday it will use the site, called LillyDirect, to pair visitors with third-party mail-order pharmacies for prescriptions and to care providers through a virtual medical weight-loss clinic.The site also offers a directory for in-person care and help with insulins and migraine treatments.Lilly says the doctors connected through the website are independent and not paid to promote its products, and the drugmaker also isn’t paid to send referrals to them.In November, U.S. regulators approved Zepbound, a version of the popular diabetes treatment Mounjaro, to be used as a weight-loss treatment. The drug joins Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy in a hot field for care, chronic weight management.At least 100 million adults are considered obese in the United States.Indianapolis-based Lilly started its site to eliminate some of the c...

Alabama judge puts a temporary hold on medical marijuana companies

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A judge has temporarily blocked Alabama from issuing licenses to medical marijuana facilities amid an ongoing legal battle over how the state selected the winning companies. Montgomery Circuit Judge James Anderson issued a temporary restraining order late Wednesday to stop the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission from issuing licenses for “integrated” facilities that grow, transport and sell medical marijuana. The coveted licenses, which the commission planned to issue this month, will be on hold while he hears a challenge to the selection process. Companies that were not selected to receive the licenses have challenged the selection process used by the commission. Anderson said he is sympathetic to concerns about delaying the availability of medical marijuana but said a pause on the licenses is merited.The restraining order is the latest development in a legal battle that has plagued the start of Alabama’s medical marijuana program. Alabama lawmakers voted to...

Founding member of experimental rock band Mr. Bungle suspected of killing girlfriend in California

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

CAPITOLA, Calif. (AP) — Theo Lengyel, a founding member of the experimental rock band Mr. Bungle, has been arrested on suspicion of killing his girlfriend after human remains were found at a park near San Francisco, police said. Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann was last seen Dec. 3 in Santa Cruz County, where she lives, and became the subject of a missing person inquiry the following week, according to a statement from the Capitola Police Department. “As the investigation progressed, it became clear that foul play was involved, leading to the identification of Theobald Lengyel as a suspect,” Capitola police wrote in a statement. Lengyel, 54, was arrested Tuesday after investigators discovered human remains in a wooded area of Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley, the statement said. DNA confirmation is still pending but police believe it is Herrmann. Jail records show Lengyel, of El Cerrito, California, was held without bail on one count of first-degree murder. He’s scheduled t...

King’s daughter says wars, gun violence, racism have pushed humanity to the brink

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Citing gun violence in the U.S., the deaths of families in Ukraine and Gaza from war, and threats from artificial intelligence, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter said Thursday the world urgently needs to study and adopt her father’s philosophy of nonviolence to avoid self-destruction.The Rev. Bernice King used an address to announce events for the upcoming holiday in honor of her father to warn that humanity was at a critical juncture.“We are witnessing unprecedented loss of human life and especially among the Black, brown and indigenous people throughout the world,” she said. She also mentioned conflicts in Yemen, Congo and Ethiopia and cited racism against Black people as another threat to humans, saying it remained a “blight” more than 50 years after her father was assassinated. Overall, humanity was dangerously close to fulfilling her father’s prophecy that it could destroy itself through the misuse of its own instruments, she warned. Bu...

Second person dead in Chicago's 1st homicide of 2024

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

CHICAGO — A man and a woman are dead after a double homicide that took place on the South Side Wednesday. A woman shot in the early-morning hours of Jan. 1 in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on Chicago's South Side was pronounced dead around 9 p.m. Wednesday by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. The woman, 50, had sustained a gunshot wound to the head.She joins a 53-year-old man who was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene as victims of the double-homicide. Chicago crime stats 2023: Murders, shootings down but crime still stubbornly high A 48-year-old woman was also shot in the incident and taken to the hospital in fair condition, Chicago police said at the time.Police said the shooting occurred around 12:45 a.m. on Jan. 1 near 70th St. and S. Wabash Ave. Three people were inside a home when gunfire came through the window, according to police.

Fire at Tyreek Hill's home started by child playing with cigarette lighter

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A fire at the $6.9 million home owned by Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill was started by a child playing with a cigarette lighter in a bedroom, a fire official said Thursday.“It was an accidental fire,” Davie Fire Marshal Robert Taylor told The Associated Press.Taylor did not provide the age of the child, or the amount of damage caused by the fire. He said the investigation is now closed.The house is located in Southwest Ranches, which is about 30 miles northwest of Miami, and was purchased by Hill in May 2022 shortly after the Kansas City Chiefs traded him to the Dolphins.Miami television station WSVN showed a large amount of black smoke coming from the roof as firefighters doused the house with water. Firefighters appeared to be working on the highest parts of the structure. Many of the bedrooms, a home theatre and a den were among the rooms upstairs, according to the property listing.Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told reporters gathe...

Talent blooms during pandemic, now artist work showcases African roots

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

SKOKIE, Ill. — It was three years ago during the heart of the pandemic that a Skokie man uncovered a hidden gift.With a charcoal pencil in hand, surrounded by a gallery of his own work, John Wangendo is still getting used to his new title."I never thought in a million years that I'd be an artist,” he said. "I've never drawn since I was ten years old but I always knew I loved to draw"When he left his homeland of Kenya for the U.S. 25 years ago, that piece of him was left behind, forgotten until covid changed everything."And then pandemic came and my work load went low," he said.Stuck at home, it was his daughter who encouraged her dad to do something he loved. And so he picked up a pencil and began to sketch. The more he sketched, the more his drawings brought him back to his African roots. More: Pandemic sparks Skokie man’s mission back to art by educating about his heritage Fast forward three years later, Wangendo has had showings at multiple exhibitions along with offers from pr...

'Thank you for revitalizing my hope in humanity': Man rescued from truck days after crash posts emotional update

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Matt Reum, the man who survived a crash along Interstate 94 that left him trapped inside his vehicle for nearly a week over Christmas continues to improve.Reum, 27, of Mishawaka, Indiana survived six days on rainwater prior to being rescued from a mangled truck, according to Indiana State Police.ReumMemorial Hospital in South Bend issued a statement on Thursday that said his condition has been upgraded to fair and he has been moved to inpatient rehabilitation at the hospital. Related: ‘This guy’s will to live is second to none.’ Emergency responders detail miraculous rescue of trapped driver Reum also posted two videos on his Facebook page expressing gratitude for the support he has received from across the country."You guys have made what was and is a tragedy for me — I lost my leg, I have an above the knee amputation now. I've got an ankle that's broken. I've got a hand that's broken," he said. "You guys have made something that would be so har...

37th Annual Young Playwrights Festival Giving Voices To Teen Writers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

The 37th Annual Young Playwrights Festival has started today - a citywide competition that gives voices to teens crafting one-act plays. Joining us now is Ilesa Duncan - Executive Director at Pegasus Theatre Chicago, and Alexander Loaiza - one of the four young playwrights chosen this year.Peagasus Theatre Chicago765 N AberdeenJanuary 4 - 27PegasusTheatreChicago.orgTwitter @pegagsusThtrChiFacebook Pegasus ChicagoSpotlight Chicago airs weekdays on WGN from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m