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McManus: Biden & Xi agree on the easy steps

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:36 GMT

In a world beset by wars in Gaza and Ukraine, it’s good news when two superpowers step back from frictions that increased the danger of another war in Asia.That’s what happened last week when President Joe Biden met with China’s Xi Jinping at a country estate west of Silicon Valley.The two presidents met after a year of frosty noncommunication, touched off by China’s suspected espionage balloon that wandered across U.S. airspace last winter, by aggressive Chinese military actions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, and by U.S. restrictions on advanced technology.The presidents agreed to bury a few of their differences for the simple reason that neither needs another crisis right now.Beijing’s stock has been falling literally and figuratively. Its economy, once the world’s powerhouse, has slowed to a low-for-China growth rate of 5%. Foreign investors are pulling money out of the country, a reversal of a decades-long trend.On the diplomati...

Dear Abby: Immature sister makes lousy roommate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:36 GMT

Dear Abby: I’m 20, and I recently moved into an apartment with my 19-year-old sister. I thought it would be a great idea because we’d get to see each other more often and we’d be more comfortable living together than with strangers. Recently, however, she has gotten a new boyfriend she brings over all the time.I don’t like people. Having him in my home makes me feel threatened for some reason I can’t figure out, especially since he hasn’t done anything. I acknowledge that fact, and I try not to be nasty to him because of it. The problem is, he comes over during the day, and my sister also has him sneak out of his parents’ house at 2 a.m. so he can sleep here with her.This happens almost every night, and I’m usually awake and hear them. I have told my sister I don’t like it and asked her not to do those things when I’m home, but she won’t listen. She gets upset and defensive and tries to take the blame off of herself b...

4 killed in Thanksgiving SR-94 crash identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:36 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The four people killed in a crash on Thanksgiving Day on State Route 94 in Mount Hope have been identified, local medical officials said.Jonathan Torres, 26, Linet Manasyan, 33, Nelly Tamara Espinoza, 20, Ivan Aniceto Torres, 35, were announced as the deceased, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office said on its website.The collision occurred Thursday morning around 2:30 a.m. eastbound near Home Avenue, according to California Highway Patrol.Authorities say Jonathan Torres was driving a black BMW M3 at a high rate of speed when for unknown reasons he lost control of the vehicle and it overturned multiple times, causing the driver and three passengers to be ejected. Over $3.5 million worth of fentanyl found in vehicle on I-15 All four victims suffered major injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.The right front passenger, a 22-year-old woman from San Marcos, was wearing her seatbelt and sustained minor injuries, CHP said. She was transported to a local h...

Tackling climate change and alleviating hunger: States recycle and donate food headed to landfills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:36 GMT

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — When Sean Rafferty got his start in the grocery business, anything that wasn’t sold got tossed out.But on a recent day, Rafferty, the store manager for ShopRite of Elmsford-Greenburgh in New York, was preparing boxes of bread, donuts, fresh produce and dairy products to be picked up by a food bank. It’s part of a statewide program requiring larger businesses to donate edible food and, if they can, recycle remaining food scraps.“Years ago, everything went in the garbage … to the landfills, the compactors or wherever it was,” said Rafferty, who has 40 years in the industry. “Now, over the years, so many programs have developed where we’re able to donate all this food … where we’re helping people with food insecurities.”New York is among a growing number of states targeting food waste over concerns it is taking up diminishing landfill space and contributing to global warming as meat, vegetables and dairy release the greenhouse gas methane a...

Donald Trump will look to upstage Clemson grad Nikki Haley at her alma mater’s football rivalry game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:36 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Donald Trump is using a college football rivalry weekend to bask among his supporters in a state and region that are key to his presidential fortunes, while potentially upstaging his Republican opponent Nikki Haley on her home turf.The former president and current front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination will be on hand Saturday as the University of South Carolina Gamecocks host the Tigers of Clemson University, Haley’s alma mater, in the annual Palmetto Bowl. Trump’s campaign has not detailed his itinerary. But if his visit is similar to his trip to Ames, Iowa for the Iowa State-Iowa game, he will visit pregame parties, perhaps stop by a fraternity house and then join 80,000-plus fans for the nationally televised matchup.“We do it bigtime in the South,” said Brandon Beach, a Georgia state senator and top Trump supporter who traveled with him in September for the game in Ames. “President Trump knows he can connect with people, and they are go...

Should the school year be extended to make up for learning loss?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:36 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — The COVID-19 pandemic had a lasting impact on education in the United States bringing discussions of extending the traditional school year to the forefront. When schools shut down and went remote, students fell behind. The learning those students lost, as a result, will need to be made up to avoid a ripple effect down the line.Tom Kane, Faculty Director of the Center of Education Policy Research at Harvard University, helped develop the Education Recovery Scorecard, which tracks the amount of learning loss from reporting districts in the United States. According to the scorecard, the average student lost the equivalent of a half-year in subjects like math."It's important to point out that it's not that students forgot knowledge that they had gained, it's that they didn't do the learning that they normally would have been doing. Especially during the 2021 school year," Kane said. "So when I say half-a-year's worth of loss, I'm referring to the typical gains students make ...

Texas high school football regional semifinal playoff scores for Friday, Nov. 24

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:36 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Lake Travis rolled to a berth in the 6A Division I Region IV final with a 34-7 with over San Antonio Brennan on Friday.The Cavaliers could face district rival Westlake in the regional final if the Chaparrals can beat Laredo United on Saturday.REPORT YOUR SCORE: We'd love to post your team's score on our website, but we need your help to do it. Email the score of your game to [email protected] and we'll get it on our websiteLiberty Hill and Wimberley also notched wins to advance in the playoffs. The Panthers took out Corpus Christi Flour Bluff 49-28 in 5A Division II play and Wimberley turned back Ingleside 63-14 in 4A Division II action.The remaining regional semifinal games will take place Saturday. Scores with teams in the KXAN viewing areaA&M Consolidated 44, Cedar Park 20Blanco 34, Goliad 0Lake Travis 34, SA Northside Brennan 7Liberty Hill 49, CC Flour Bluff 28Poth 26, Lexington 7Regents 34, Houston Second Baptist 7Veritas 77, Hill Country 56Wimberley 63, Ingle...

Nuggets coach Michael Malone vows to make changes to bench rotation: “You’ve gotta bring something to the party”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:36 GMT

HOUSTON — After business hours on Black Friday, Denver Nuggets bench minutes went on sale.The holiday season is here. The second-unit carousel has officially started spinning again. Nuggets coach Michael Malone made that clear to his locker room after a 105-86 loss to the Rockets completed a 1-4 road trip Friday night.“I just told them,” Malone said. “Minutes, I’m gonna start playing different people. You just can’t go out there because you think you’re gonna play, and go out there and do nothing. You’ve gotta bring something to the party.”This was a theme last season as well. The Nuggets struggled to find continuity on their bench throughout the regular season. They were able to shorten the rotation to eight players during their run to the NBA title. But it’s arguably even more important this regular season that they avoid over-working the starters who pushed through expanded minutes in those 20 playoff games then got a sh...

Kurtis MacDermid’s goal lifts Avalanche over Wild 3-2

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:36 GMT

By PATRICK DONNELLYST. PAUL, Minn. — Kurtis MacDermid scored the winning goal early in the third period and the Colorado Avalanche held on to defeat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Friday night.Ross Colton and Valeri Nichushkin also scored for the Avalanche, who have won five of their last six gamesAlexandar Georgiev stopped 19 of 21 shots.Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek scored and Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves for the Wild, who are 0-4-2 in their last six games.MacDermid took a pass from Andrew Cogliano in the slot, deked Gustavsson and tucked it home on the backhand for his first goal of the season.Nichushkin’s power-play goal, a redirection of Nathan MacKinnon ‘sslap shot, gave Colorado a 2-0 lead at 8:39 of the second period.But just 34 seconds later, Kaprizov’s tip trickled through Georgiev’s pads to put the Wild on the board.Minnesota tied it on Eriksson Ek’s power-play goal five minutes later.The Wild were playing for the first time since returning from a trip to Sweden...

6 detained after shooting at Northridge mall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:36 GMT

At least 6 people were detained after gunfire erupted at a crowded Northridge shopping mall on Friday night.Officers responded to the Northridge Fashion Center on the 9300 block of Tampa Avenue around 6 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department.Video from the scene shows the front windows of a restaurant, H2O Sushi & Izakaya, completely shattered, with shards of glass covering the outdoor patio and dining area.Witnessed told KTLA that shoppers were running for cover as the gunshots rang out.Officers responded to the scene and discovered the shooting was reportedly caused by a dispute between a group of juvenile suspects.No injuries were reported so far, LAPD said.Police tape blocked off the immediate outdoor plaza surrounding the Japanese restaurant.  Crowds of Black Friday shoppers continued to stroll the mall as officers placed the juveniles into handcuffs."LAPD officers have been, and will continue to be deployed at this mall and many other shopping centers through...