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Lebanese troops rescue 27 migrants from sinking boat off Lebanon’s coast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:16 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese army and the country’s civil defense recused early Saturday 27 migrants whose boat was sinking off the coast of north Lebanon, the military said in a statement.The army did not say where the migrants were heading nor did it give their nationalities.Over the past years, thousands of Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinian migrants took the dangerous trip from Lebanon across the Mediterranean seeking a better life in Europe. Such migrations intensified since the country’s historic economic meltdown began in October 2019.Lebanon has hosted refugees for years. It has some 805,000 U.N.-registered Syrian refugees, but officials estimate the actual number to be between 1.5 million and 2 million. Lebanon is also home to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants, many living in 12 refugee camps scattered around the country.Over the past months, thousands of Syrian citizens fleeing worsening economic conditions in their war-torn country made it to Le...

Amid questions about background, Minnesota’s new ‘marijuana czar’ resigns day after appointment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:16 GMT

The newly named director of Minnesota’s marijuana regulatory agency left the job a day after being appointed by Gov. Tim Walz after an MPR News-APM Reports investigation found she ran a business that sold products that exceeded state limits on THC potency, owed money to former associates, and accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in tax liens.Erin DuPree was appointed Thursday to head the new state Office of Cannabis Management, but a review of her background by Minnesota Public Radio News and American Public Media Reports raises serious questions about her record and how thoroughly the governor’s administration checked it before she got the job.A website for the Loonacy Cannabis Co., owned by DuPree, advertised products with THC content far above what was legally allowed starting in July 2022. It also advertised vape products containing THC, which were prohibited under the law.The Apple Valley strip mall storefront was cleared out on Friday. DuPree said she planned to sell the b...

Ask Amy: Nature lover seeks noise cancellation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:16 GMT

Dear Amy: I live in Colorado and have young children at home, as well as a job where I am constantly bombarded by sound.I frequent outdoor spaces seeking peace, solitude, and the quiet sounds of nature — for my mental health.I am dismayed at the proliferation of Bluetooth speakers, large and small. They seem to be everywhere! Hiking trails, lakes, on boats and paddleboards, at the pool, while camping, even strapped to people while they are biking and skiing! Few seem concerned about the noise pollution they are inflicting on others around them.Why do people seem not to notice or care that those around them may not wish to listen to their choice of music?What happens if we get multiple, conflicting speakers at the same time?I wish I could ask people to use headphones when they are alone, or at least turn down the sound so it is mostly heard by a group in a small vicinity, not everyone around them.In the case of running or biking, they should only wear one ear bud and have the v...

Buyers want to know why sellers called for a ‘cool-off’ period

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:16 GMT

Question: Against our better judgment, we, as homebuyers, submitted a purchase offer without contingencies. The strategy failed. Instead of an offer of acceptance, we received a counteroffer. They require a three-day “cool-off” property contingency. We were shocked. We endured lively exchanges with our buyer’s agent, who claimed, “Everyone is making noncontingent offers” and “Nonrefundable earnest money deposits are part of the process.” He was wrong. This surprise left our talkative buyer’s agent speechless.  We signed the seller’s counteroffer. We are in contract. But why did the sellers and their agent give us three days to “cool off” with a property contingency? Answer: In Silicon Valley, as the dot-com era heated up, the number of contingencies in a purchase offer went down. It was alarming. I rally against it on my soapboxes, including this column. Soon, to counter this trend, the real estate attorneys for Alain Pinel Realtors and Coldwell Banker Northern California crafted ad...

La tormenta tropical Ophelia azota parte de la costa este mientras se acerca a Carolina del Norte

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:16 GMT

(CNN) — La tormenta tropical Ophelia está generando fuertes vientos, lluvias e inundaciones en las costas de Carolina del Norte y Virginia este sábado, donde las comunidades están sufriendo cortes de electricidad.Se espera que la tormenta provoque fuertes lluvias en una amplia franja del Atlántico medio, incluyendo Maryland, Delaware, Nueva Jersey y Nueva York, a partir del sábado por la mañana y durante todo el fin de semana.Ophelia se encuentra a 40 km al suroeste de Cape Lookout con vientos máximos sostenidos de 113 km/h, según el boletín del Centro Nacional de Huracanes (NHC, por sus siglas en inglés) de las 05:00 a.m. hora de Miami. Se espera que toque tierra en las próximas horas.Alrededor de 52.000 hogares y empresas de Carolina del Norte y Virginia se habían quedado sin electricidad a primera hora del sábado, según el sitio de seguimiento PowerOutage.us.Algunos lugares en el este de Carolina del Norte y el sureste de Virginia podría ver entre 8 a 13 cm de lluvia.“...

Art helps Md. youth in juvenile detention create pathways to positive behaviors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:16 GMT

Teenagers detained in facilities in Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services are being given opportunities to express themselves through art.Lisa LaPrade, the director of the department’s recreational programming and creator of the Changing Habits and Making Positive Strides program, told WTOP that there’s a lot more going into the teens’ paintings, sculptures and collages than vibrant colors or powerful messages.LaPrade explains that some of the students were skeptical at first about the benefits of taking part in an art program, but said once they were told that the art might be auctioned off to buyers who would have that artwork in their homes, “That’s when they really got excited about it.”Under the program plan, funds raised by the sale of the artwork would go toward any restitution owed by the juveniles. LaPrade said the teenagers were told, “If you owe restitution, we have to take care of our responsibilities first.”LaPrade said one juvenile told her he wasn’t t...

What parents should know about young kids getting the new COVID booster

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:16 GMT

The new COVID-19 booster shot is safe for young kids and infants, according to Dr. Sarah Combs with the Children’s National Hospital in D.C.“We are seeing a lot of children coming through the doors with respiratory illnesses, so I will say top of mind for a lot of parents right now is ‘how can I prevent another illness?'” Combs told WTOP.Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the new shots for everyone six months and older, and the agency’s director quickly signed off on the panel’s recommendation earlier this month.“The main difference to know for parents is that the child doses are lower than the adult doses,” Combs said.There are three age groups that are taken into consideration with the updated booster: A small dose is given to those between six months and four years old, a medium dose is given to kids five to 11 years old and everyone 12 and older is given an adult-sized dose.“We do want parents...

Twins clinch AL Central for 3rd division title in 5 years; postseason losing streak up next

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:16 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have the AL Central title in hand.Now they can get back to the unfinished business of trying to stop that record postseason losing streak.The Twins secured their third division title in five years on Friday night, eliminating the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers with an 8-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels and popping the champagne in their raucous clubhouse afterward.“We did a lot of different things to build this club, and the team really is jelling,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That’s what you want to see. It doesn’t happen most of the time. This is not the norm, but the team has come together so, so well. It’s a great team.”The Twins have been in first place for 167 of 177 days this season, the best of the worst in terms of the AL Central’s current stature among the six divisions in the major leagues. The Twins even had the lead with a losing record a few times in the first half, as the Guardians failed to defend their di...

EU to China: Don’t take us for suckers on trade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:16 GMT

The European Union has to be able to protect itself “when its openness is abused,” the European Union’s Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in a speech in China on Saturday. The EU remains committed to free and fair trade, but “‘fair’ is the key word here,” Dombrovskis said, speaking at the Bund Summit in Shanghai.“We welcome global competition. But it must be conducted fairly,” the senior EU official explained. His comments come shortly after the European Commission said it would probe Chinese electric vehicles as the Asian country’s car exports explode. China is the EU’s largest trade partner, and a key supplier across a range of sectors from rare earth materials, to renewable energy equipment, or medicinal ingredients.The trade commissioner’s speech touched on the global economic situation as it has evolved since the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The world, said Dombrovskis, had ...

Biblioracle: Reading can help you explore the world. John McPhee’s ‘Tabula Rasa’ is just such a book.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:16 GMT

One of the things I love about reading a good work of nonfiction is that it’s like you’ve dispatched your own explorer into the world, tasked to return with the most interesting things they can find.Sometimes authors explore ideas, sometimes it might be the past (as in a work of history), or perhaps an interesting person (biography) or scandalous event (true crime). Whatever the subject or approach, the pleasure in reading comes with a kind of joining of consciousnesses, where suddenly you’re experiencing the world through another person’s mind. This joining can feel almost mystical and given that none of us has the time to explore everything that might be of interest, it’s wonderful that at any given moment there’s countless others out there, unearthing hidden treasures for the rest of us.One of my absolute personal favorite explorers is John McPhee, and his most recent book, “Tabula Rasa,” allows the reader a unique insight into the ...