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Loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking: surgeon general

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses health risks as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually, the U.S. surgeon general said Tuesday in declaring the latest public health epidemic.About half of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced loneliness, Dr. Vivek Murthy said in an 81-page report from his office.“We now know that loneliness is a common feeling that many people experience. It’s like hunger or thirst. It’s a feeling the body sends us when something we need for survival is missing,” Murthy told The Associated Press in an interview. “Millions of people in America are struggling in the shadows, and that’s not right. That’s why I issued this advisory to pull back the curtain on a struggle that too many people are experiencing.” The declaration is intended to raise awareness around loneliness but won’t unlock federal funding or programming devoted to combatting the issue. Rese...

Inflation inches up in Europe ahead of interes rate decision

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:01 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s painful inflation inched higher last month, extending the squeeze on households and keeping pressure on the European Central Bank to unleash another large interest rate increase.Consumer prices in the 20 countries using the euro currency jumped 7% in April from a year earlier, just down from the annual rate of 6.9% in March, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday. Food prices eased a little, falling to an annual 13.6% from March’s 15.5%, while energy prices rose a more modest 2.5%.Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel, slowed slightly but was still high at 5.6%, underlining the expectation that the ECB will press ahead with its campaign to beat inflation into submission with rate hikes. The question is: How quickly will the bank go? Analysts say the ECB’s meeting Thursday in Frankfurt could end in an increase of a quarter- or a half-percentage point. A quarter-point hike would be a moderation in the b...

Stock market today: Global stocks mixed after bank failure

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:01 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were trading mixed Tuesday with some markets closed or anticipating holidays and investors showing muted reaction to the latest U.S. banking failure.France’s CAC 40 lost 0.4% in early trading to 7,459.14. Germany’s DAX fell nearly 0.4% to 15,866.12. Britain’s FTSE 100 inched down nearly 0.1% to 7,864.44. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures slipping 0.2% to 34,090.00. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.2% to 4,179.50. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.9% to 7,267.40, after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates by a quarter-percentage point, an unexpected move that signaled further tightening might be ahead. “We think that the RBA has done more than enough and we have reached the peak in rates. Continuing to raise rates from here adds to the rising risk of plunging the economy into a recession,” said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP in Sydney. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.9% to 2,524.39. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng...

Kenyan police clash with anti-government protesters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:01 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Police in Kenya clashed with anti-government protesters in the capital, Nairobi, in a fresh round of demonstrations called by the opposition leader.Protesters who turned up early Tuesday morning to erect barricades on major roads around the city threw stones at police, who responded with tear gas. A bus was torched.Business was paralyzed in Kisumu County, an opposition stronghold, as police clashed with protesters.The opposition is calling for action to tackle the cost of living and reforms to the electoral commission that oversaw last year’s election that was won by President William Ruto.Opposition leader Raila Odinga rejected the government’s position that the Tuesday protests are illegal and urged his supporters to turn up in large numbers.Odinga said the protests will be peaceful. The police chief had banned the protests, citing previous violent protests that led to businesses being looted and Kenyans being robbed.Ruto on Monday warned opposition supporter...

Who will replace Tucker Carlson at Fox News? Here are some top contenders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:01 GMT

(The Hill) - Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News, which means the network now has a massive hole to fill in its formidable prime-time lineup.It’s a high-profile job that promises to make whoever gets it more famous and powerful, and the network is buzzing a week after Carlson’s surprise exit over who might get the position.Here are some of the names most likely to be in the conversation.Jesse Watters Watters is the odds-on favorite to replace Carlson at 8 p.m.Waters, a star who has risen through the network’s ranks over the past several years, hosts a show in the hour preceding Carlson and is a leading panelist of the network’s top-rated debate show “The Five.” A sharp-tongued conservative who, like Carlson, has proven willing to attack Republicans and Democrats, Watters would be a consistent successor to the former Fox star, providing an audience with tested populist takes and quirky nonpolitical segments.The only downside to putting Watters at 8 p.m., from Fox’s point of v...

Hollywood writers go on strike, slam 'gig economy'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:01 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Television and movie writers declared late Monday that they will launch a strike for the first time in 15 years, as Hollywood girded for a walkout with potentially widespread ramifications in a fight over fair pay in the streaming era.The Writers Guild of America said that its 11,500 unionized screenwriters will head to the picket lines on Tuesday. Negotiations between studios and the writers, which began in March, failed to reach a new contract before the writers’ current deal expired just after midnight, at 12:01 a.m. PDT Tuesday. All script writing is to immediately cease, the guild informed its members.The board of directors for the WGA, which includes both a West and an East branch, voted unanimously to call for a strike, effective at the stroke of midnight. Writers, they said, are facing an “existential crisis.” Hollywood writers to go on strike Tuesday after negotiations fail “The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workfor...

'I Love my Park Day' Saturday at Grafton Lakes State Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:01 GMT

GRAFTON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The annual "I Love My Park Day" at Grafton Lakes State Park will be on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Volunteers of all ages are invited to a morning of service on park trails, shores, and fields. Interested eventgoers can pre-register online. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Participants can check in at 8:30 a.m. near the Beach Tent, located on the right side of the main parking lot at the end of the main park road. Those who have pre-registered will receive a t-shirt provided by Parks and Trails NY. Snacks will be provided by the Friends of Grafton Lakes State Park before the event, with a pizza party to be held afterward.There is no entry fee for volunteers at this event. Grafton Lakes State Park is located off Route 2, 12 miles east of Troy. Anyone with further questions can call the park at (518) 279-1155.

Play of the Week winner - Burnt Hills' Emily Martin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:01 GMT

BURNT HILLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Congratulations to this week’s winner of our Play of the Week poll, Burnt Hills' Emily Martin! Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Martin robbed a home run in the Spartan's matchup Webster Schroeder. Vote here for this week’s Play of the Week poll!

Senior Spotlight: Burnt Hills besties bond through lacrosse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:01 GMT

BURNT HILLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- If you ever watch a Burnt Hills girls lacrosse game, you can find MK Lescault and Ella Blesi competing side-by-side in the midfield. It is something they’ve been doing since they were young. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! “Definitely, since we were really little, we clicked on any sport we were playing really, and I think that just being around MK and being around the player she is it makes me a better player and everyone around us," said Blesy. "So, she’s definitely an impact.”The childhood friends turned teammates have shown growth over the last few seasons, and the result has been continued support and winning with one another.“She’s just always been there for me, been literally my biggest fan so it’s always been great to just play with her, practice with her and just win games with her,” said Lescault.The chemistry and teamwork have led to back-to-back section championships for the Spartan...

France's Macron and Ukraine's Zelenskiy held call on Sunday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:01 GMT

Both sides reported that French President Emmanuel Macron (pictured) spoke with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy by phone on Sunday (30 April) to discuss Ukraine's needs in terms of military.Zelenskiy claimed that he and Macron had a meaningful and long conversation during which they co-ordinated their positions regarding the war, and how to end the conflict in Ukraine and Russia.In a video message he gave that evening, he thanked France personally and Emmanuel for their support for our country and people. He also thanked France because it had promised to send arms to Ukraine.The French presidency stated that Macron reaffirmed France’s support for Ukraine in Zelenskiy's presence, and that Macron gave an update regarding European coordination to give Ukraine military assistance.Josep Borrell, the European Union's chief of foreign policy, expressed confidence this week that a plan would be finalised within days by the bloc to purchase ammunition for Ukraine. This was after Kyiv v...