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Germany’s Scholz confident of resolving budget crisis, says no dismantling of the welfare state

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:55 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday he is confident that his troubled government will find a good solution to a budget crisis triggered by a court ruling last month, and promised his center-left party there will be no dismantling of the country’s welfare state.Leaders of Scholz’s three-party coalition have been wrangling over money since Germany’s highest court annulled a decision to repurpose 60 billion euros ($65 billion) originally meant to cushion the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic for measures to help combat climate change and modernize the country.The immediate challenge is to plug a 17 billion-euro hole in next year’s budget. Scholz, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner have met repeatedly to seek to resolve the impasse, but have run out of time to get the budget through parliament before the new year starts.The issue has added to tensions in the 2-year-old coalition, which has become notorious ...

US and Philippines condemn China coast guard’s dangerous water cannon blasts against Manila’s ships

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:55 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines and its treaty ally, the United States, separately condemned a high-seas assault Saturday by the Chinese coast guard together with suspected militia ships that repeatedly blasted water cannons to block three Philippine fisheries vessels from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.The noontime assault by China’s ships off the Scarborough Shoal, one of the most aggressive this year, caused “significant damage” to the communication and navigation equipment of one of the three Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ships of the Philippines, Filipino officials said.They said without elaborating that suspected militia vessels accompanying Chinese coast guard ships used a long-range acoustic device that could impair hearing causing “severe temporary discomfort and incapacitation to some Filipino crew.”It’s the latest flare out of the long-seething territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a flashpoint in Asia that has put the U....

Veterans Affairs won’t pay for truck cover for retired navy reservist’s wheelchair

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:55 GMT

OTTAWA — Winter hasn’t arrived yet in the Niagara region, but the rain and cold the last few weeks have kept Stephen La Salle from leaving home as often as he’d like. Every time the retired naval lieutenant goes out, his wheelchair is exposed to the elements in the bed of his truck because Veterans Affairs has refused to pay for a cover to protect it. It’s an example of the “almost demeaning” bureaucracy La Salle said he’s encountered in the department since he left the Canadian Armed Forces last fall. “They’re looking at things from … a policy and a cost basis, but not what’s going to have the best impact on the veteran and their quality of life,” he said. La Salle’s leg was amputated below the knee after he was injured during a training exercise in 2018. He suffered a rare nerve injury that caused chronic pain and that still prevents him from being able to walk with a prosthetic. When his occupational therapist lear...

A fire in a hospital near Rome kills at least 3 and forces the evacuation of facility and patients

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:55 GMT

ROME (AP) — A fire broke out in a hospital on Rome’s outskirts, killing at least three people and forcing the overnight evacuation of the smoke-filled facility and its patients, officials said Saturday.Patients in intensive care at St. John the Evangelist hospital in Tivoli were transferred immediately to other hospitals via ambulance, the Tivoli mayor’s office said in a statement. Less-critical patients were moved into a nearby municipal gymnasium and then transferred to other facilities.The governor of the Lazio region, Francesco Rocca, said from the scene that three people were killed and an investigation would determine the cause of the blaze. He acknowledged there were “notable delays” in updating Italy’s aging hospitals with sprinkler systems and other fire safety infrastructure.The fire department initially said four people were killed after the blaze broke out late Friday. Italian news reports said the confusion arose because a body, already in the hospital morgu...

‘Grateful’: Hudson bicyclist continues recovery after hit and run, with help from local community

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:55 GMT

Barbara Espy opens her eyes in the morning and blinks. She exhales. For more than 70 days, the Hudson, Wis., resident couldn’t get out of bed without help. She couldn’t turn onto her side without excruciating pain.When Espy needs to, she will begin her morning routine. But first, she takes a second to appreciate the moment.A blink. A breath. She’s here.Espy was not supposed to survive the hit-and-run crash July 2, when a motorist dragged her several feet through the parking lot near the boat launch in downtown Hudson. The crash kept her at Regions Hospital for 40 days, and at Prescott Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for another 30 days. Her list of severe injuries compounds upon itself: Traumatic brain injury. Broken pelvis. Several fractured vertebrae. Lacerated liver. Fractured hip. She lost pints of blood. Her ankle was, according to reports from the scene, left hanging by the skin.She was not supposed to still have her left ankle.She was not supposed to be here at all.“The fir...

Ready for a meteor shower? Geminids meteor shower can be seen St. Louis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:55 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Next week, bright and colorful meteors will light up the night sky. The nights of December 13 and 14 will feature the peak of the Geminids meteor shower.The Geminids earn their reputation as one of the best celestial displays each year because they are known for their vibrant and vivid meteors. They stand out as one of the most reliable and active meteor showers annually. The Geminids reached their peak in mid-December and have a rich history that dates back to the mid-1800s. They started with a modest showing of only 10 to 20 meteors per hour, which initially made them unremarkable.Over time, a major meteor shower has evolved, and observers can witness a spectacular display of up to 120 Geminids meteors per hour under optimal conditions at its peak. These meteors have a reputation for being bright, moving at high speeds, and frequently displaying a distinctive yellow color. Court docs: Woman made $100K for unworked hours at Chesterfield nursing home Viewing Tips:NASA...

Ask Amy: Anxious host wants to politely stop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:55 GMT

Dear Amy: How can I politely say no when friends are passing through town or vacationing here and ask if they can spend a couple of nights with us?I have never said no to anyone and have always been gracious to anyone staying in our home, but I find I really don’t enjoy it.I have extreme stress and anxiety days before they arrive, and also while they are here.My husband doesn’t understand my tirades over this. He welcomes anyone who wants to stay with us.I just don’t like people here with us 24 hours a day. I like my privacy at night to rest and read or watch television, and the last thing I want is to see faces at the breakfast table when I get up in the morning.I know this issue will be coming up soon again as one recent guest has already said he plans to be back in town early next year.Houseguests unsettle me, my lack of privacy is the issue, although I make sure they would never guess how I feel.I am tired of pretending it is fine that they are staying with us.How can I suggest ...

For Palestinians Who Just Left Gaza, Witnessing the War From Afar Evokes Helplessness and Grief

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:55 GMT

A 3 a.m. call startled Walaa AlAbssi awake. It was nearly a week into Israel’s retaliatory bombing of the occupied Gaza Strip. Just two months earlier, AlAbssi, 26, had left Gaza for the first time to attend graduate school in Dublin. When she picked up her phone and saw her sister’s name, her heart fell. A call at this hour could only mean tragedy.“Everyone was screaming,” AlAbssi said. “‘May God never let you live my terror,’ she told me, ‘Pray for us, pray for us.’” The call disconnected. Panicked and crying, AlAbssi redialed her sister over and over until, on the 10th try, she got through. An Israeli airstrike had just hit the house neighboring their family in Gaza City, her sister said, and a piece of shrapnel entered her younger brother’s wrist.“All the windows were broken, and the doors flew in their faces,” AlAbssi said. “My brother was bleeding, everyone was screaming and did not know anything, and the world was dust.” The phone disconnected again, and AlAbssi was alon...

Creator of GoFundMe for family who lost home in Arlington explosion just wanted to help

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:55 GMT

Jami and Lance Smith, their two kids and family dog are alive and healthy after an explosion leveled their home earlier this week in Arlington, Virginia. Now, they’re heading into the holidays without a home.“Many of us were just wondering: ‘How are we going to be able to help?'” said longtime family friend Derek Cole, who set up a GoFundMe for the Smiths.“There are things that have been passed along through the family, there are personal mementos that can never be replaced,” he said.Cole met the Smiths when they went to college together in the 90s.Now, the real estate agent wants to do what he can by raising money to help his friends who lost everything.“People were so very quick to help and ask what they could do to help and offer kind words and encouragement and support in so many different ways,” said Cole, who was unsure about how much to ask for when setting up the fundraiser.“I received offers for Christmas trees and homes...

CosMc’s: por qué McDonald’s quiere su propia cadena de café

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:55 GMT

(CNN) — McDonald’s anunció el miércoles que está poniendo a prueba un nuevo concepto de cafetería llamado CosMc’s, que venderá sobre todo bebidas con cafeína altamente personalizables con algo de comida. El primer CosMc’s ya está abierto en Illinois, y está prevista la apertura de nueve más en Texas en los próximos meses.Para muchos, la noticia ha suscitado probablemente una gran pregunta: ¿Por qué? ¿Por qué una cadena que básicamente es sinónimo de hamburguesas de repente está interesada en vender bebidas azucaradas de café? ¿Y por qué no añadir esas opciones al menú de los locales de McDonald’s existentes, en lugar de lanzar una marca totalmente nueva?Y, quizá lo más apremiante, ¿por qué llamarla CosMc’s?Hay algunas buenas razones para que McDonald’s adopte este enfoque.Las bebidas son un mercado lucrativo, y especialmente las bebidas de café personalizables, como las que dan fama a Starbucks.(Crédito: Eric Cox/Reuters)“No hay catego...