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EU and Italian leaders tour tiny Lampedusa as tensions rise over surge in migrant arrivals

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:19:39 GMT

MILAN (AP) — EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni toured Sunday a migrant center on Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa that was overwhelmed with nearly 7,000 arrivals in a 24-hour period this week.Tensions have spiked on the island in the days since, with residents expressing impatience with the constant flow of migrants trying to reach Europe from North Africa arriving on their shores, with occasional spikes, for decades.Television images showed Meloni speaking to islanders expressing their frustrations; she told them the government was working on a robust response, including 50 million euros ($53.4 million) to help the island. An unidentified person in the crowd said it wasn’t just money that they needed. New arrivals also have chafed at the long wait to be transferred to the mainland; TV footage on Saturday showed hundreds surging toward the gate as police used shields to hold them back. In other shots, single migrants climbe...

Chinese police detain wealth management staff at the heavily indebted developer Evergrande

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:19:39 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Police in a southern Chinese city said they have detained some staff at China Evergrande Group’s wealth management unit in the latest trouble for the heavily indebted developer.A statement by the Shenzhen police on Saturday said authorities “took criminal coercive measures against suspects including Du and others in the financial wealth management (Shenzhen) company under Evergrande Group.”It was unclear who Du was. Evergrande did not immediately answer questions seeking comment. Media reports about investors’ protests at the Evergrande headquarters in Shenzhen in 2021 had listed a person called Du Liang as head of the company’s wealth management unit.Evergrande is the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer, at the center of a property market crisis that is dragging on China’s economic growth.The group is undergoing a restructuring plan, including offloading assets, to avoid defaulting on $340 billion in debt.On Friday, China’s national financial r...

Karl W. Smith: Saving Medicare will never be easier than it is right now

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:19:39 GMT

Despite a robust economy, the U.S. budget deficit is poised to double over the next year — to an eye-watering $2 trillion. As bad as that sounds, things would be a lot worse if it weren’t for a surprising bright spot: health care costs, which have been growing more slowly than expected for more than a decade.It’s an odd situation that turns decades of Washington conventional wisdom on its head. People used to say that the key to deficit reduction was entitlement reform. Now entitlement reform seems possible — but only if people don’t try to bring the deficit into it.Rising health care costs were a constant source of budgetary pain for the public and private sector alike for decades. Between 2010 and 2020, however, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that Medicare spending was nearly $1 trillion less than originally projected. Economists and health experts have theories, but no one is quite sure why.After a brief spike upward because of COVID-19, t...

Word Game: Sept. 17, 2023

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:19:39 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — NOTORIETY (NOTORIETY: no-tuh-RYE-ih-tee: The quality or state of being widely known and talked of.)Average mark 40 wordsTime limit 60 minutesCan you find 55 or more words in NOTORIETY?TODAY’S WORD — NOTORIETY niter noir note noter onto orient otter tenor tent tern tier tine tint tinter tiny tire titer tone toner tony toot tooter tore torn tort torte tortoni tote toter trey trine trio trite triton tritone trot troy rein rent riot rite root rote roti rotten inert inter into intro iron irony entity entry yeti yoreTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Pr...

Horoscopes Sept. 17, 2023: Danielle Brooks, build a solid foundation

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:19:39 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Patrick Mahomes, 28; Danielle Brooks, 34; Doug E. Fresh, 57; Kyle Chandler, 58.Happy Birthday: Take a stance, bring about change and live your dream. Seize the moment and construct your life to harvest success. Choose to take control and use your talents, connections and ideas to improve the world around you and to build a solid foundation that offers you and future generations a platform for growth. Stand up, be counted and make a difference. Your numbers are 8, 14, 22, 26, 33, 37, 45.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Pull in favors if it will help free up time to relax and enjoy the company of someone you love. A break will help improve your attitude and lust for life. Be good to yourself and appreciate those who stand by your side. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t waste time satisfying someone else’s needs. Your happiness depends on following your heart and pursuing something that makes you happy. Put yourself first and you will achieve yo...

Bridge: Sept. 17, 2023

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:19:39 GMT

“The word `homeowners’ contains `meow.’ Good luck pronouncing it right from now on.” — graffiti.Playing in a duplicate game, today’s South had a cat-astrophe. He survived the auction. Unwilling to “reverse” with only 14 high-card points, he opened one spade on his strong five-card suit and bid hearts next. When South rebid his hearts over North’s jump to 3NT, he found himself catapulted into slam.West led the jack of clubs, and South took dummy’s ace and cashed the A-K of trumps. He next tried the A-K of hearts — and a cataclysm ensued when East ruffed and shifted to the king of diamonds. Declarer took dummy’s ace, ruffed a diamond, ruffed a heart and ruffed a diamond, but he had lost control. He wound up down two and heard some catcalls from the kibitzers.South could still have made six spades after taking one high trump, but he took a catnap when he drew a second round. Here’s a valuable technique in the...

Ask Amy: Our new neighbor crosses a lot of boundaries

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:19:39 GMT

Dear Amy: A new neighbor moved in. I left a welcome gift on their porch, like I do for everyone who moves in.He got our number from a neighborhood directory and texted us a few times, inviting us to visit.My husband and I went to their house, and our children (ages 13 and 11) stayed home.Upon entering, the husband said: “Let’s get the awkward part over and hug.” Hugs came in our direction, and we gave them both a hug.During dinner he mentioned wanting to use our pool. After more texts from him, we invited them over on a Sunday evening.The husband immediately went in to hug my sons. My younger son gave him an uncomfortable side hug. My older son put out his hand for a handshake. The neighbor said, “Oh, a handshake, huh?”I never thought they’d come in expecting to hug our children!A few weeks later he texted, asking my son to feed their dog while they were away. When my son went over to get instructions, I went with him. We weren’t comfortable sendi...

New York Times Doesn’t Want Its Stories Archived

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:19:39 GMT

The New York Times tried to block a web crawler that was affiliated with the famous Internet Archive, a project whose easy-to-use comparisons of article versions has sometimes led to embarrassment for the newspaper.In 2021, the New York Times added “ia_archiver” — a bot that, in the past, captured huge numbers of websites for the Internet Archive — to a list that instructs certain crawlers to stay out of its website.Crawlers are programs that work as automated bots to trawl websites, collecting data and sending it back to a repository, a process known as scraping. Such bots power search engines and the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, a service that facilitates the archiving and viewing of historic versions of websites going back to 1996.The New York Times has, in the past, faced public criticisms over some of its stealth edits.The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine has long been used to compare webpages as they are updated over time, clearly delineating the differences between t...

Capitol South Metro station closed through Sunday afternoon for ‘full-scale’ active shooter training

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:19:39 GMT

If you’re wondering why your Orange Line trip on the Metro is delayed through Sunday afternoon, the Metro Transit Police and several area first response agencies have your answer.From opening until 2 p.m., Orange Line riders hoping to stop or pass through Capitol South Metro Station should adjust their plans slightly while several police and metro staff conduct a law enforcement exercise at the station.The full-scale security exercise, officials said in a news release, is a simulation of a response to “an active assailant in the Metro” and will include over 100 first responders and staff from across the District. Residents and travelers near the station may also see and hear weapons fire — officials are using blanks for this drill — along with a significant emergency response.“That being said, don’t be alarmed by simulated ammunition noises and a lot of police activity around the Capitol South station if you’re just walking by,” the release said.Metro i...

Sore Lance Stroll will sit out the Singapore Grand Prix after a heavy crash in qualifying

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:19:39 GMT

SINGAPORE (AP) — Aston Martin said Sunday that Lance Stroll will sit out the Singapore Grand Prix after a heavy crash in qualifying left the Canadian driver sore.Stroll’s car hit the barriers head-on in the first session of qualifying. The impact ripped off one wheel and caused heavy damage. Stroll was able to walk away but Aston Martin said that the “team face a huge job repairing the car today and Lance is still sore following such a high impact.” He will focus on recovering for the Japanese Grand Prix next week.“The whole team are relieved that Lance was able to step out of the car after yesterday’s accident – however, he is still feeling the after-effects of such a high-impact crash,” team principal Mike Krack said.“Our priority now is that he makes a full and speedy recovery. Together, we have decided that he will sit out this evening’s race and instead focus fully on returning to the cockpit for next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.”Stroll qualified 20th ...