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Opinion: Christmas gifts turbocharge our trash problem. How I cope

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:54:22 GMT

Every time I rip open a lovingly wrapped gift (and plenty of us will be doing a lot of that soon), one thing pops into my mind: trash.The wrapping paper, trash. The package hidden underneath it, trash. And the gift itself, in most cases, future trash, given enough time.Too harsh? Then ask yourself: Do you remember much of what you got last Christmas?Though I’d wager the answer is no, I’d also bet you do remember something: who gave you a present, and the love you felt because of it. Like it or not, giving our friends and family stuff between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is one of the most important bonding rituals we have.This is why my instinctive “don’t get me anything” response won’t work when my wife, my mother-in-law and even my children ask what I want for Christmas. My late Norwegian grandparents, who spent much of their childhood under Nazi occupation, appreciated this kind of conspicuous frugality, but to American ears, “Don’t get me anything” sounds like “I want a divor...

EU’s top court confirms International Skating Union rules breach competition law

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:54:22 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — International Skating Union rules that sanction athletes for taking part in events it does not recognize were in breach of European Union competition law, the EU’s top court said on Thursday.Upholding a previous ruling by a lower tribunal, the European Court of Justice said ISU’s rules on the prior authorization of skating competitions infringe EU law.“They have the object of restricting competition to the detriment, in particular, of athletes, consumers and audiences,” it said.The ruling is the latest episode in a case which started years ago when an EU investigation was launched following a complaint by Dutch speed skaters Mark Tuitert and Niels Kerstholt. Tuitert, an Olympic champion from the 2010 Vancouver Games, and Kerstholdt wanted to join a new South Korean competition in Dubai, the Icederby, but said they were threatened with a ban if they did.The Icederby offered prize money of $2 million, and the ISU said it feared it would become a target for bettin...

Jaromir Jagr enters Czech league action at age 51

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:54:22 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — Jaromir Jagr has made his ice hockey season debut at age 51 for his hometown Kladno Knights in the Czech league.Jagr began his 36th professional season with an assist to help Kladno come back from 3-0 down at league leader Pardubice. Kladno eventually tied the score but conceded a short-handed goal to lose 4-3.He skated for 13 minutes, 44 seconds. He didn’t talk to reporters after the game but coach Otakar Vejvoda called Jagr’s contribution “excellent.”His return is expected to be a boost for Kladno, which is second to last on the table.He has started the season in Kladno’s 26th game, but late starts are not uncommon for Jagr, who entered last season in game No. 27.Jagr made his debut for Kladno as a teenager and returned to the club — which he now owns — in 2018 after the Calgary Flames released the NHL’s second all-time leading point-scorer.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/sportsSource

A wildfire in Australia on the outskirts of Perth destroys at least 2 homes and injures 2 people

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:54:22 GMT

PERTH, Australia (AP) — A wildfire burning out of control on the outskirts of the Australian west coast city of Perth on Thursday destroyed at least two homes and injured two people, officials said.An emergency warning was issued for the eastern suburb of Parkerville where the fire was sparked by a tree branch falling on power lines on Thursday morning. The alert warned that the fire posed a threat to lives and homes.At least two homes had been “completely lost,” Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said.The full extent of the damage wouldn’t be known until inspection crews were able to survey the fire zone. Two men in their 60s were hospitalized after being injured by the fire in separate incidents, media reported. One had minor burns and the other an injured foot. The ambulance service didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Fire authorities reported late Thursday that the fire had been contained but remained out of control after razi...

Cool Clouds Continue this Thursday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:54:22 GMT

Following a cloudy, cool and dreary Wednesday across South Florida, those clouds look to dominate much of the day this Thursday.Expect mostly cloudy skies much of the day with some breaks of blue possible in the afternoon. Some of these clouds will produce the occasional light rain shower or drizzle, especially this morning, being steered in by the northeast breeze. High temperatures on Thursday will be below average again in the mid 70s.Friday will be fairly similar with more clouds than sunshine expected. Fewer showers are forecast while the breeze lessens and temperatures should therefore be a degree or two warmer.Highs will still be below average, however, continuing the dominance of the cooler than normal readings this month.Now over the long holiday weekend, it is looking fairly nice overall.More sunshine is forecast for our Saturday with a warm breeze out of the east and highs in the upper 70s. Then on Sunday, clouds should increase once again. Besides a spotty shower or two,...

Brussels’ big makeover: Green buildings, wider sidewalks and fewer parking spots

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:54:22 GMT

This article is part of POLITICO’s Global Policy Lab: Living Cities, a collaborative journalism project exploring the future of cities. Sign up here.BRUSSELS — For years Brussels has lagged behind other European cities when it comes to quality of life.While Paris, Vienna and Barcelona transformed their urban landscapes with new parks, sustainable housing projects and green superblock neighborhoods, Brussels maintained a somewhat unpolished image with its car-choked streets and concrete-heavy public spaces.But the city now hopes to shed that image with a radical new urban scheme known as “Good Living.” The city-building plan would make wider sidewalks, greener public spaces and sustainable buildings the norm across the Belgian capital, while prohibiting demolitions and progressively slashing on-street parking.In an interview with POLITICO, Brussels Secretary of State for Urbanism Ans Persoons, who oversees the scheme, said it would ensure “quality of life, qual...

Harvard President Claudine Gay requests new corrections as House panel launches plagiarism probe

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:54:22 GMT

(CNN) — Harvard President Claudine Gay is back in the hot seat as the embattled leader requested additional corrections of her past work, and a House committee widened an existing probe of Harvard to include an investigation into allegations of plagiarism.In a statement to CNN on Thursday morning, a Harvard spokesperson said the university reviewed more of Gay’s academic work, and the president plans to update her 1997 PhD dissertation to correct additional instances of “inadequate citation.” But Harvard did not use the word “plagiarism” in its review of Gay’s work, and the university said Gay’s past mistakes did not constitute a punishable offense under its research misconduct rules.The new corrections, first reported by The Harvard Crimson, are on top of the ones Gay issued last week to two scholarly articles she wrote in the 2000s. But a review by CNN, which published Wednesday, found Gay’s previous requested corrections did not address even clearer ...

Cameron Diaz: ‘We should normalize separate bedrooms’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:54:22 GMT

(CNN) — He snores until the walls rattle. She gives off a massive amount of body heat. One of you is a cover hog, kicks at night or takes consistent 3 a.m. bathroom breaks. Maybe you sleepwalk or suffer from insomnia. Such nighttime disturbances are all too common, experts say.Even film star Cameron Diaz has an opinion on the matter, calling for separate marital bedrooms in a December 2023 podcast of “Lipstick on the Rim,” hosted by Molly Sims and Emese Gormley.“We should normalize separate bedrooms,” Diaz said, while discussing her marriage of eight years to Good Charlotte rocker Benji Madden, whom she called “wonderful.”“To me, I would literally, I have my house, you have yours. We have the family house in the middle. I will go and sleep in my room. You go sleep in your room. I’m fine,” she said. “And we have the bedroom in the middle that we can convene in for our relations.”Sleep divorceMore and more couples are considering the merits of a “sleep divorce,” or the use o...

United States announces plan to land international astronaut on the moon

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:54:22 GMT

(CNN) — Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that an international astronaut will be landing on the surface of the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program.While the United States had previously committed to flying international astronauts around the moon on future Artemis missions, today’s announcement takes that commitment a step further by allowing one of them to actually walk on the surface of the moon — thereby joining an elite club that thus far has only 12 members.“Today in recognition of the essential role that our allies and partners play in the Artemis program, I’m proud to announce that, alongside American astronauts, we intend to land an international astronaut on the surface of the moon by the end of the decade,” Harris said Wednesday during a meeting of the White House’s National Space Council in Washington, DC. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security advisor Jake Sullivan also attended the meeting.Each planned Artemis moon-landing missio...

A Dutch court has sentenced a man convicted in a notorious Canadian cyberbullying case to 6 years

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:54:22 GMT

AMSTERDAM (AP) — A Dutch man, who was convicted in British Columbia of charges including extortion and harassment related to a Canadian teenager who took her own life after he blackmailed her online, had his sentence cut Thursday by an Amsterdam court from 13 years to six.Aydin Coban wasn’t present in Amsterdam District Court for a brief hearing to announce the sentence. His lawyer, Robert Malewicz, said he would appeal the decision to the Dutch Supreme Court.Coban was extradited from the Netherlands to Canada in 2020 to stand trial on charges linked to Amanda Todd, who took her own life in 2012 at the age of 15 after posting a video that described being tormented by an online harasser. Coban was born in 1978, according to court documents, making him 44 or 45.He was sent to Canada on condition that his sentence would be served in a Dutch prison. That also meant that prison time imposed by the British Columbia Supreme Court last year had to be converted into a sentence in the N...