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Switzerland to become a net importer of cheese this year for the first time

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:40 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Switzerland will import more cheese than it exports this year for the first time, according to the head of the country’s dairy association.The opening up of the Swiss milk market has put a squeeze on domestic producers in recent years, prompting some to give up, Boris Beuret told Geneva-based newspaper Le Temps in an interview published Saturday.Beuret said measures need to be taken to ensure Switzerland — famous worldwide for high-quality cheese varieties such as Gruyère and Emmentaler — can continue to produce for its own population.“If not, then we will end up importing (cheese), which would be absurd economically, socially and ecologically,” he was quoted as saying.The Associated Press

Minnesota officials say error in tax cut bill could cost taxpayers $352 million, but promised a fix

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:40 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota officials discovered an error in a $3 billion tax cut bill lawmakers passed this spring that could cost taxpayers $352 million over the next two years, but state leaders promised to fix it before it would take effect.The head of the Minnesota Revenue Department Paul Marquart told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Friday that his staff caught the error when they were reviewing the nearly 400-page bill.By mistake, lawmakers used the 2019 standard deduction for the 2024 tax year without including four years of adjustments for inflation. That means most taxpayers’ standard deduction would be $1,600 smaller.Marquart said the error would cost single filers $110 and married couples $210 on their 2024 taxes. About 2.3 million returns would be affected if the law isn’t changed.Republican State Rep. Greg Davids said mistakes sometimes happen when staffers are working overtime at the end of a session to finish everything. Sometimes, lawmakers can resolve ...

As uncertainty looms in Halifax, Nova Scotia town to host first-ever Pride parade

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:40 GMT

HALIFAX — With uncertainty looming over Halifax’s Pride parade this year, smaller communities in Nova Scotia are stepping up and opening their doors during what some say is a pivotal time for LGBTQ rights.Lunenburg County Pride is hosting the first-ever Pride parade in Bridgewater on the province’s South Shore on Sunday.The parade will be followed by two after parties and a week of events for all ages, including a senior social, flag raising, drag queen story time, comedy night, movie night, dog show and drag show and dance. Lunenburg County Pride chair Steve Ellis says the parade has about 40 entries and will likely last about an hour.He says with the Halifax Pride parade up in the air, organizers of the Bridgewater parade are encouraging people to make the roughly one-hour trek from the city to the South Shore event. The Halifax Pride parade is slated to take place on July 23, yet a lack of communication from parade organizers and the abrupt cancellation of a community...

4 die in upstate NY house fire as crews respond to woman’s desperate call

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:40 GMT

NEW SCOTLAND, N.Y. (AP) — Four people died, including a 5-year-old girl, when a fire swept through a house west of Albany, New York, just before sunrise Saturday.Fire crews rushed to the home after a desperate call from a woman, who told a 911 dispatcher that she was trapped in a room with a child and unable to escape through a window because of an air-conditioning unit.“It’s a horrible scene,” Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple Sr. told reporters. “I feel horribly for the family, the neighbors.”The Albany Times-Union reports that a 14-year-old boy survived the flames by jumping out of second-story window as fire crews arrived. He was being treated for scrapes and bruises.A dispatcher tried to help direct the woman and child out of the burning house but was unsuccessful. By the time fire crews arrived, the blaze had engulfed the house on Normanskill Road in the town of New Scotland, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) west of New York’s Capitol.The Times-Union says the addre...

Zelenskyy hails Ukraine’s soldiers from a symbolic Black Sea island to mark 500 days of war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:40 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war Saturday by hailing the country’s soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraine’s resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.Speaking from Snake Island, Zelenskyy honored the Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island “is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory.”“I want to thank — from here, from this place of victory — each of our soldiers for these 500 days,” Zelenskyy said. “Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!”It was unclear when the video was filmed. Zelenskyy was returning from Turkey on Saturday.He announced that five commanders of the defense of the Azovstal steel plant, a grueling months-long siege early in the war, were returning on the plane with him.The sprawling steelworks was the last bastion of resistance as Russian...

Two people charged after man attacked with hammer near Donlands station

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:40 GMT

Two people have been charged after a man was reportedly beaten with a hammer near Donlands subway station in Toronto’s east end.Irfan Askani, 32, of Toronto, was charged with attempted murder and two counts of failure to comply with probation.Zaid Malek, 31, of Toronto, was charged with attempted murder.Emergency crews were called to the area just before 11 p.m. on Thursday after a man was found in medical distress by TTC special constables.Both paramedics and police told CityNews there were reports the victim was attacked with a hammer.He was taken to a trauma centre with serious but non-life threatening injuries. The victim is believed to be a man in his 30s.Officials say the incident did not happen on TTC property but the victim went into the station after the assault.With files from Michael Ranger.

Airstrike in Sudanese city kills at least 22, officials say, amid fighting between rival generals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:40 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — An airstrike in a Sudanese city on Saturday killed at least 22 people, health authorities said, one of the deadliest in the weekslong fighting between Sudan’s rival generals. The attack took place in a residential area in Omdurman, the neighboring city of the capital, Khartoum, according to a brief statement by the health ministry. The attack wounded an unspecified number of people, it said.aSamy Magdy, The Associated Press

Woman, 22, dead after shooting in Roseland

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:40 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 22-year-old woman is dead after she was shot in the back of the head in the city's Roseland neighborhood early Saturday morning. According to police, the woman was walking on the sidewalk near the 9600 block of South Perry Avenue around 4:00 a.m. when shots were fired by an unknown individual. 5 injured after shooting on North Side overnight: CPD She sustained a gunshot wound to the back of the head and was pronounced dead on the scene. There is no one in custody and police are investigating the incident.

Teenage suspect arrested in Baltimore block party shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:40 GMT

(The Hill) – A teenage suspect has been arrested in connection with the mass shooting at a block party in Baltimore last weekend that killed two and injured nearly 30 others. The Baltimore Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Friday that officers had arrested a 17-year-old male following the execution of a search warrant at a residence. Detectives believe he was involved in the Sunday shooting that took place just after midnight on Sunday in the southern part of the city. The post states that the 17-year-old is being charged with possession of a firearm by a minor, assault weapon possession, reckless endangerment and handgun in vehicle. He has been taken to a booking facility. The police said three victims remain in the hospital, all listed in fair condition. Nine had been taken to the hospital and 20 walked themselves to local hospitals immediately following the shooting. The investigation is open and ongoing, with as much as a $28,000 reward available for in...

Doctors warn against 'beer tanning' trend seen on social media

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:40 GMT

CLEVELAND (WJW) - On a sunny day, there is a lot that you can do: parasail, surf or just sit and soak in those warm rays.On bright days, though, one of the first things you should do is reach for the sunscreen."We put it on before we even left, so that we would make sure that we had good coverage and that it had time to absorb," said Becki Bell, who was visiting one of Cleveland's lakefront parks with family this week. "We're out here to enjoy the weather and enjoy the park, but not damage our skin." Unfortunately, some bad advice spreading on social media could make sunny-day activities even more damaging for your skin.That's because "beer tanning" appears to be a trend on social media. Proponents basically just pour a bottle on their skin, then soak in a dose of UV and other harmful rays.Often there's no sunscreen, no tanning oil and no protection.  "I was shocked. Why would anyone do this?" said Cleveland Clinic dermatologist Dr. Shilpi Khetarpal. "I think, besides everything we ...