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Mathews: The United States only advances through disunion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:25 GMT

The further I drove into Oroville, the more disappointment I felt.I had my passport with me, but no one asked me to show it. American flags still hung from Montgomery Street storefronts. City Hall had not been replaced by a  national capitol. And I could find no new standing army or an Oroville Food and Drug Administration.It was as if the city council of Oroville (pop.20,000), 70 miles north of Sacramento, had never made national news in 2021 by declaring itself a “constitutional republic.”Too bad. Because there is no greater creative force than the commitment to declare independence and build something new.That’s the spirit we should celebrate on Independence Day. But it’s been a long time since Independence Day was about independence.Instead, we put on displays of national unity — even though unity has produced so many awful things in our country. We the people came together to adopt a constitution that enshrined slavery and shunned democracy. In the name of unity, we ended Recon...

Opinion: D.C. memorial to honor slain journalists, U.S. free press

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:25 GMT

In the 1980s, Ben Cardin and I went to Congress from very different places, both politically and geographically. I was a young Republican elected in 1980 from a suburban Los Angeles district as Ronald Reagan swept into the White House. Six years later, Ben was elected as a Baltimore Democrat who had served as speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. I would stay in the House for more than 30 years, while, in 2007, Ben moved to the Senate, where he still is today.There were plenty of times when we disagreed. But, in 2019, we came together on one topic where we share an identical viewpoint — the vital importance of the First Amendment and a vibrant free press.On June 28, 2018, in a targeted attack, a gunman killed five people in the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Md. I was a director on the board of Tribune Publishing, which owned the paper.During memorial services and quiet moments that followed the attack five years ago, I met with survivors and their family members...

Greek foreign minister says Athens is ready for talks with Turkey to resolve sea borders dispute

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:25 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Greece is ready to start talks with Turkey to resolve a long-standing dispute over maritime borders that has repeatedly brought the two neighbors to the brink of armed conflict, Greece’s newly appointed foreign minister said Tuesday.Giorgos Gerapetritis said the Greek government wants to “take advantage of the ongoing positive climate” in order to come to an agreement on delineating the areas in which each country has exclusive economic rights, including the right to search for offshore oil and gas.Turkey disputes areas which Greece says fall within its own economic zone and where it’s seeking to start a search for offshore oil and gas reserves. Turkey claims much of the economic zone of Cyprus where several sizeable offshore natural gas deposits have been discovered.The feud over exploratory drilling rights had culminated in a naval standoff three years ago.Another key issue at the heart of Greek-Turkish tensions that Gerapetritis wants resolved is the extent...

Tiroteo en Filadelfia deja al menos cinco muertos: el sospechoso bajo custodia llevaba un rifle AR-15, dijo la Policía

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:25 GMT

(CNN) — La policía de Filadelfia está investigando un tiroteo en expansión que cree que dejó cinco muertos y dos niños heridos este lunes por la noche, antes de que las autoridades arrestaran a un sospechoso que, según dicen, tenía un chaleco antibalas, un rifle estilo AR-15 y una pistola.Las autoridades inicialmente dijeron que cuatro personas murieron, pero este martes a primera hora anunciaron el descubrimiento de un quinto cuerpo en el mismo vecindario de Kingsessing en el suroeste de Filadelfia, y dijeron que preliminarmente creen que esa persona murió en la misma juerga.El tiroteo abarcó varias cuadras, dañó vehículos y llenó las calles de decenas de casquillos de bala, dijo la comisionada de policía de Filadelfia, Danielle M. Outlaw, en una conferencia de prensa este lunes por la noche.Las autoridades aún tienen que identidicar al sospechoso; Outlaw dijo que creía que tenía 40 años.Cuando los agentes arrestaron al sospechoso después de una persecución a pie, llevaba pue...

How will fireworks impact air quality? DC area’s Independence Day forecast

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:25 GMT

Listen to WTOP for weather updates on the 8s.Those celebrating the nation’s independence should look out for pop-up showers or storms later on Tuesday along with a drop in the air quality. Here’s what you need to know about the Fourth of July’s forecast.Air quality is expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups such as those with heart and lung disease on Tuesday, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments rating system.A “Code Orange” air quality alert is forecast until Thursday — thanks to the fireworks Tuesday and a separate pollutant, ground-level ozone that’s expected to cause issue later on this week.Pollution from fireworks will cause a decline of the air quality from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, said 7news First Alert Meteorologist Brian van de Graaff.“Once the fireworks start to go off, they add these particle pollutants in the atmosphere,” van de Graaff said. “Oftentimes, we see some of our ...

Mark Zuckerberg lanzará la nueva red social “Threads”, la nueva competencia de Twitter

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:25 GMT

NUEVA YORK – El gigante tecnológico Meta, propietario de Facebook, Instagram y WhatsApp, se dispone a lanzar una nueva red social que se llamará Threads (hilos), con la que pretende hacer la competencia a Twitter, que ha impuesto nuevas restricciones a sus usuarios.Según informa la prensa estadounidense, se espera que Meta anuncie el próximo jueves el lanzamiento de Threads, que permitirá mantener conversaciones digitales en tiempo real, pero la aplicación ya está disponible en las tiendas de aplicaciones como Play Store, en la modalidad de acceso anticipado.Mark Zuckerberg, el presidente de Meta, llevaba mucho tiempo planeando el lanzamiento de una red social de conversaciones en línea en tiempo real que le hiciera la competencia a Twitter, una plataforma que, pese a los vaivenes y restricciones que ha sufrido desde su adquisición por parte del multimillonario sudafricano Elon Musk, sigue pareciendo irreemplazable. ¿El ring los espera? Mark Zuckerberg dice estar...

To fridge or not to fridge? Ketchup company clears the air on how you should store the popular condiment

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:25 GMT

(CNN) — With just five words, a recent tweet from Kraft Heinz sparked a bit of a debate about how you should store your ketchup.“FYI,” began the tweet from the United Kingdom-based branch of the food and beverage company. “Ketchup. Goes. In. The. Fridge!!!”Kraft Heinz, whose ketchup is among its popular condiments, shared the heavily punctuated statement on Tuesday in a tweet that reached over 4 million people.A day later, the company asked the public via a Twitter poll whether they kept their ketchup chilled or in the pantry.“Where do you keep yours? It has to be … in the fridge!” the poll stated. The answer of “fridge” appeared to be the consensus, according to 63.2% of over 13,000 votes cast, the poll’s results showed. Meanwhile, 36.8% of respondents said they preferred their ketchup in the cupboard.Some Twitter users who voiced their distaste for cold ketchup pointed out that ketchup bottles are stored at room temperature on tables at restaurants. Other users didn’t understand t...

Florida Keys celebrate 200th birthday with giant key lime pie

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:25 GMT

MONROE, Fla. (WSVN) – In a celebration of history and culinary talent, the Florida Keys commemorated the 200th anniversary of Monroe County’s establishment with the creation of a unique key lime pie. The pie measured over 13 feet in diameter and is believed to be the largest key lime pie ever made, capturing the attention of locals and tourists alike.Monroe County contains all of the Keys and a portion of Everglades National Park.In 2006, Key lime pie was designated Florida’s official pie by the state legislature.

Sexual misconduct claims against former Tory MP to be reinvestigated

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:25 GMT

LONDON — Sexual misconduct allegations against the former Conservative MP David Warburton will be reinvestigated after his appeal against the original probe was upheld.Parliament’s Independent Expert Panel (IEP) said Tuesday that an investigation into the ex-MP’s conduct was “procedurally flawed,” and ordered a fresh look at the case.Warburton, who served as a Tory MP from 2015 to this year before quitting, had the Conservative whip withdrawn in 2022 after a Sunday Times report alleged that he harassed three women and used cocaine. Warburton later admitted using the drug, but has denied all other allegations against him.A member of staff in Warburton’s Westminster office made a formal complaint to parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) in March 2022. It opened an investigation into four sexual misconduct allegations and two bullying and harassment claims against him.The parliamentary commissioner for standards opted to uph...

Macron: ‘Peak’ of French riots has passed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:25 GMT

PARIS — The “peak” of rioting that has taken place across France in the past week has passed, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday. “I’ll still be very cautious over the coming days and weeks, but the peak we experienced in the first nights [of the riots] is over, and now it’s the lasting, republican order we all want … and that’s the absolute priority,” he told French mayors, according to BFMTV. The French president gathered at the Elysée Palace with some 250 mayors of cities targeted during the riots. The killing of a 17-year-old of North African descent by a police officer last week has thrown France into chaos, sparking violent demonstrations across the country and reigniting long-simmering tensions between the youth and the police, who have been accused of brutality and racial discrimination. In the past week, rioters have looted stores, targeted many symbols of the French Republic such as schools, police stations...