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Russia escalates military tensions in Black Sea after blowing up grain deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:32 GMT

Moscow is ramping up its threats to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and the ships that dock there, heightening the risk of conflict in the key trade route and sending global wheat prices sharply upward.Russia’s defense ministry warned in a statement Wednesday that “all vessels sailing in the waters of the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be regarded as potential carriers of military cargo.” The statement added that “the countries of such vessels will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kiev regime.”The U.S. also has information that indicates Russia has placed more sea mines around Ukrainian ports and could attack commercial ships in the region, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge.“We believe that this is a coordinated effort to justify any attacks against civilian ships in the Black Sea and lay blame on Ukraine for these attacks,” Hodge said in a statement.The moves seemed to be a response to Ukrainian Presiden...

Tornado damages Pfizer plant in North Carolina as scorching heat, floods sock other parts of US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:32 GMT

By BEN FINLEY and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM (Associated Press)RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A tornado heavily damaged a major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday, while torrential rain flooded communities in Kentucky and an area from California to South Florida endured more scorching heat. Pfizer confirmed that the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount, but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries. A later company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for. Parts of roofs were ripped open atop its massive buildings. The Pfizer plant stores large quantities of medicine that were tossed about, said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone, adding, “I’ve got reports of 50,000 pallets of medicine that are strewn across the facility and damaged through the rain and the wind.”The plant produces anesthesia and other drugs as well as nearly 25 percent of a...

How extreme heat affects your mental health

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:32 GMT

A heat wave is affecting parts of the U.S., including much of the Southwest, through the Southeast and parts of Europe. When temperatures soar, the heat can take a toll more than just physically. Our well-being can suffer as well.“A study of over 2 million people found an increased visit rate or incidence of people going to the emergency department with psychiatric and mental health-related concerns during periods of high heat,” says Dr. Robert Bright, a Mayo Clinic psychiatrist.“It showed a higher level of visits for substance abuse, anxiety, mood disorders, and even people with schizophrenia had an increased incidence of distress or issues with their illness, bringing them to the emergency department.”Heat and emotionsA common side effect of extreme heat is irritability, which can arise from physical discomfort and disrupted sleep patterns. The fatigue from sweating, working in the heat and the lack of quality sleep can leave people feeling stressed and on ...

Editorial: Bill would ban stock trading in Congress – and White House

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:32 GMT

Hard-working taxpayers who toil while Capitol Hill elites rake in cash from stock trading may be getting some relief.A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate Wednesday would ban stock trading and individual stock ownership by members of Congress and their families.And it added executive branch officials to the list.Members of Congress have rightly come under fire for stock trading while in office. They were, after all, elected to serve, not to profit.Last year, an Business Insider investigation found scores of members of Congress violated a requirement to disclose stock trades within 45 days of the transaction. Worse, when the website sought comment from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (whose husband is a major stock trader), she dismissed the idea of requiring lawmakers to put their holdings in blind trusts while serving.She didn’t do herself any favors with that response.As RollCall reported, Wednesday’s measure, led by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, (D-N.Y.), and Josh Hawley,...

Kolhatkar: Legacy admissions are affirmative action for the rich

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:32 GMT

Who will benefit from the Supreme Court’s recent ruling striking down race as a factor in college admissions? Mostly, just wealthy white people.That’s because the ruling refused to touch so-called “legacy admissions.” Colleges are free to continue giving preferential treatment to the children of alumni, donors, and other well-connected, privileged people.Former president George W. Bush is a classic example of how legacy admissions are effectively a form of affirmative action for the rich. How else would a mediocre student like him be admitted to Yale University? Because his father and grandfather were Yale alumni.Legacy admissions give wealthy people a leg-up in ensuring that generational wealth, privilege, and power remain in the family. And the origins of the practice lie in antisemitism.According to Jerome Karabel’s book The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, legacy admissions were a way to reduce the number of Jewish Americans ...

Lucas: As far as NATO is concerned, Biden’s made of Teflon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:32 GMT

Despite his problems Joe Biden is still the man to beat.And the $72 million he just reported raising, or was raised for him, is a key reason why.It is more than the combined total of his two leading Republican opponents, Donald Trump, $35 million, and Ron DeSantis, $20 million.And Jill Biden will be at a Provincetown fundraiser Friday to raise even more.Unlike all the candidates running against him, including his two Democrat opponents, Robert F. Kennedy Jr and self-help author Marianne Williamson, Biden did not lift a finger to raise the cash.It was largely raised by the Democrat National Committee, which he controls. The sum adds to the $3 million Biden had on hand.And Biden has done this without opening a campaign headquarters, fleshing out a campaign re-election staff or holding campaign rallies.He does not have to. Instead, Biden is using his Delaware home as his campaign headquarters and the U.S. Justice Department to go after Donald Trump, his expected opponent.Also, he was a...

Soaring ‘Oppenheimer’ another triumph for director Christopher Nolan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:32 GMT

Christopher Nolan has done it again. He has assembled a great ensemble cast and made a visually lavish, state-of-the-art film you should see on the biggest screen you can find (I saw it in 70mm IMAX). “Oppenheimer” tells the mostly gripping story of the brilliant, fedora-and-pipe-adorned quantum physicist (Irishman Cillian Murphy in a definitive role), aka “the father of the Atomic Bomb.” Oppenheimer is an arrogant genius and the leader of the Manhattan Project. He brings together groundbreaking scientists, including Czech-American Lilli Hornig (Olivia Thirlby) and Edward Teller (Bennie Safdie). This motley band of brainiacs manufacture and test atomic weapons before the Nazis are able to, allowing the U.S. to use the weapons to force Japan to surrender.As the film tells us, Oppenheimer was an “American Prometheus,” who bestowed the the fire of the gods upon American forces. But, to paraphrase the first Morse Code message transmitted in1844, “what hath Oppenheimer wrought?” And what...

Dear Abby: Daughter’s pricey college strains family’s $$

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:32 GMT

Dear Abby: My daughter is attending a pricey college. She will be taking out the maximum of student loans, and we will slowly but surely eat through our entire savings to pay for it.Her college hires resident assistants (RAs) to help freshmen adjust to college life. In return, the RAs receive free room and board. This would be a tremendous financial help to our family and might also allow us to pay off some of her unsubsidized loans next year.My daughter has agreed to apply to be an RA for her junior year, but since then, she has become despondent. She says all her friends are moving off-campus and she’ll be “stuck” in a freshman dorm. I am sympathetic to her concerns since the social aspect of college life is important. On the other hand, my husband and I are making tremendous sacrifices so she can go to her dream school.She’s generally outgoing, likes socializing and is temperamentally well-suited to an RA position. So, to be completely honest, I’m an...

From parties to cocktails, Boston goes all out for ‘Barbie’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:32 GMT

Are you ready for a Barbie summer? Greta Gerwig’s movie about the style icon is hitting theaters, starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken,.As The New York Times puts it, Gerwig delivers “a very, very, very pink summer blockbuster that acknowledges Barbie’s baggage, unpacks that baggage and, also, sells that baggage.”There’s no reason we all shouldn’t take part in the all-things-Barbie celebration with a few themed activities around Boston, and a few Barbie-inspired tidbits of beauty and fashion, to boot.For starters, on Saturday from starting at 11 a.m.. in Cambridge, The Summer Shack is holding a Barbie Malibu Dream House Drag Brunch party. Join Neon Calypso, and pick out some serious brights, because costumes are encouraged.On Sunday night starting at 3 p.m., Shy Bird in South Boston throws a  Barbie Blowout Party (tickets are $58 on https://www.eventbrite.com/e/barbie-blowout-party-at-shy-bird-tickets-662635860697). Kens are welcome, and pink attire i...

Protesters storm Swedish Embassy in Baghdad ahead of planned Quran burning in Stockholm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:32 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Protesters angered by the planned burning of a copy of the Quran stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday, breaking into the compound and lighting a small fire. Online videos showed demonstrators at the diplomatic post waving flags and signs showing the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr ahead of a planned burning of the Islamic holy book Thursday in Stockholm. The videos showed dozens of men climbing over the fence at the complex, with the sound of them trying to break down a front door. Another showed what appeared to be a small fire being set. Other footage showed men, some shirtless in the summer heat, inside what appeared to be a room at the embassy, an alarm audible in the background.Others later performed predawn prayers outside of the embassy. As dawn broke, police and other security officials gathered at the embassy as small plumes of smoke still rose. Firefighters tried to douse the flames from the ladder of a f...