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Protests in Lebanon as pound hits new low against dollar

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:25 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Protesters closed down major roads in parts of Lebanon on Tuesday after the Lebanese pound briefly hit a new low amid a historic economic crisis that seemingly has no end in sight.The Lebanese pound lost more than 15% of its value on Tuesday alone, tanking to more than 140,000 pounds to the dollar. A week ago, the dollar was worth 100,000 pounds.The small nation is in the grips of the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by a political class that has ruled the country since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.The political class has been resisting the implementation of reforms as demanded by the international community. Since the economic meltdown began in October 2019, three-quarters of Lebanon’s population of over 6 million, including a million Syrian refugees, now live in poverty and inflation is soaring.The official exchange rate is set by the central bank at 15,000 pounds for the U.S. dollar but t...

Missouri Senate endorses transgender health restrictions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:25 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Senate gave initial approval Tuesday to a pair of bills that would temporarily prohibit gender transitioning health care treatments for minors and restrict them from competing in sports. The Senate votes came after an all-night session and only after Republican supporters agreed to several provisions they described as compromises with Democrats, including the addition of an automatic expiration for the restrictive provisions in 2027. The GOP also agreed to allow minors already receiving hormone treatments or puberty-blocking drugs to continue to do so, applying that ban only to those who had not yet started them. Health care providers who perform a gender-transition surgery or prescribe “cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking drugs” to minors could have their medical licenses revoked.Republican state Sen. Mike Moon, a lead sponsor of one of the bills, said the expiration date was necessary to win approval in the Senate, where Democrats had hel...

BlackBerry strikes new deal to sell portfolio of non-core patents

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:25 GMT

TORONTO — BlackBerry Ltd. has signed a deal to sell a portfolio of what it says are non-core patents related to mobile devices, messaging and wireless networking in an agreement that could be worth up to US$900 million.The company says Malikie Innovations Ltd., a newly formed subsidiary of Key Patent Innovations Ltd., will pay US$170 million in cash up front and an additional US$30 million in cash by no later than the third anniversary of closing the deal. BlackBerry will also receive annual cash royalties from the profits generated from the patents that will initially be capped at US$700 million. The cap is subject to an annual increase of an amount equal to four per cent of the remaining portion of the US$700 million that has not been paid to BlackBerry as of the date of the increase. BlackBerry has transformed itself from a smartphone company to one focused on security software and services.The portfolio being sold includes about 32,000 patents and applications relating primarily...

Rapidly spreading fungus already in 28 states, including Illinois, presents 'urgent' threat, CDC warns

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:25 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – A fungus that poses "an urgent antimicrobial resistance threat," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has already been detected in more than half of U.S. states. Candida auris, or C. auris, is so concerning because it is often resistant to anti-fungal drugs, making it hard to treat infections. It can also be hard to identify with standard lab tests, making it even more difficult to treat properly and early. The fungus was first detected in the United States in 2016. The fungus "spread at an alarming rate" between 2020 and 2021 in health care facilities, the CDC wrote in a memo released Monday, and has continued to spread in 2022. CDC study warns of ‘dramatic increase’ in deadly fungus across US By the end of 2022, there were more than 8,000 instances of Candida auris identified across 28 states and Washington, D.C. The map below shows confirmed cases of the fungus, with states shaded in red having the most infections. While it usually isn't a s...

Stove left on determined cause of deadly fire in Ottawa

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:25 GMT

OTTAWA, Ill. — The cause of a deadly fire last week in Ottawa has been determined to be from a stove that was left on.On Wednesday, March 15, authorities responded to the 100 block of West Campbell Street on the report of a fire.Crews entered and found a heavy fire in the kitchen, which extended to the bedroom and living room. A victim, whose name or age was not given, was found unresponsive in the living room.They were later pronounced dead at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Firefighters rescued after ceiling collapses during house fire on Far Southeast Side Further investigation revealed that the fire was started from an open flame on the stove. Multiple pots were melted and smoke detectors were melted as well, authorities said.It was classified as accidental.

Gwyneth Paltrow's trial begins for Deer Valley ski crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:25 GMT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow's trial is set to begin on Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by a retired optometrist who said that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer violently crashed into him in 2016 while skiing in Utah at one of the most upscale ski resorts in the United States.Terry Sanderson, 76, said Paltrow was cruising down the slopes so recklessly that they collided, leaving him on the ground as she and her entourage continued their descent down Deer Valley Resort, a skiers-only mountain known for its groomed runs, après-ski champagne yurts and posh clientele."Gwyneth Paltrow skied out of control," Sanderson's attorneys claim in the lawsuit, “knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries. Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured.”In a case that has lasted years since the 2016 incident, Sanderson is suing Paltrow for $300,000 — claiming that t...

'No need to worry': Shaq offers update after surgery

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:25 GMT

(WJW) — Basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal on Sunday posted a photo of himself in a hospital bed on social media, worrying some fans. "I'm always watching," he posted on Twitter, telling his "NBA on TNT" cohosts Candace Parker and Ernie Johnson that he missed them. Shaquille O’Neal pays off engagement ring for stranger at jewelry store At the time, O'Neal did not make clear what he was in the hospital for, but TMZ Sports reported that he underwent hip surgery and was recovering.On Monday evening, Shaq cleared the air, telling fans to rest assured he was doing well.FILE - This June 24, 2019, file photo shows Shaquille O'Neal at the NBA Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)"To all the people who are worried and concerned, first off, let me say thank you. And lastly no need to worry, just had to get some BBL WORK AKA #hipreplacement," he wrote in another tweet. "Thanks and love you all, but no need to worry and, yes, I’m fine."ET reported that ...

LA schools strike begins; more than half a million students affected

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:25 GMT

(KTLA) – Despite last-minute negotiations that went into the evening Monday, the Los Angeles Unified School District was unable to come to an agreement with the union representing thousands of its employees to avert a work stoppage.On Tuesday morning, the LAUSD strike began, shutting down hundreds of schools and creating hardships for hundreds of thousands of parents.Demonstrators could be seen picketing under the rain as early as 5:30 a.m. in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Van Nuys, video showed.The strike had been in the works for several weeks, and union representatives identified Tuesday as the first day of what is tentatively planned to be a three-day stoppage.The strike includes the support of as many as 60,000 employees of the school district who are members of both the Local 99 of Service Employees International Union and United Teachers Los Angeles.The unions represent both educators and school district employees, including bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and te...

'Abbott Elementary' goes all-in against charter schools 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:25 GMT

(The Hill) - ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” has made charter schools its boogeyman.The popular sitcom, now in its sophomore season, is wrapping up an arc in which the titular institution, a chaotic but whimsical inner-city Philadelphia school, faces off against the big, bad charter company down the street, Legendary Schools, which is actively seeking to incorporate it. “They don’t even require all their teachers be certified,” one Abbott educator laments of their rival in an episode that aired earlier this month.“Yet they take our funding, not to mention the private money from wealthy donors with ulterior motives,” another replies.Later in the same episode, a former Abbott student returns after having been kicked out of the Legendary charter, apparently for dragging down its test results.“They don’t see students, they see scores,” an Abbott teacher says.Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, for one, sounds like a fan. Speaking with The Hill on Sunday, Cardona said that while he ...

Springsteen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus among those to receive National Medal of Arts from Biden in COVID-delayed ceremony

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:25 GMT

(The Hill) - President Biden will host a star-studded White House ceremony this week — honoring big names including Bruce Springsteen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Gladys Knight, Vera Wang and more — as he presents them with the highest award given to artists by the United States government in an event that had been delayed due to COVID-19.While the White House unveiled the 23 recipients being recognized with the National Medal of Arts and the National Humanities Medal for the first time on Monday, the honorees are actually the 2021 award winners. The president did award a National Humanities Medal to Elton John last year, in a surprise move after the “Rocket Man” singer performed at a White House event. E Street Band’s Steven Van Zandt gifts Raskin a head cover as congressman battles cancer Jill Biden is also expected to attend the arts award event at the White House on Tuesday.The 2021 National Medal of Arts recipients include: musician Jose Feliciano, artist Judith Francisca Baca, radi...