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F1 leader Verstappen returns to dominant form by claiming pole position at Japanese Grand Prix

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:49 GMT

SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen stormed to pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, shrugging off a challenging weekend in Singapore a week ago with a dominant performance in qualifying at the Suzuka Circuit.Looking to return to the top of the podium after missing out in Singapore, the Red Bull driver clocked a blazing lap of 1 minute, 28.877 seconds to finish .581 seconds ahead of McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri, whose teammate Lando Norris was third.It was Verstappen’s ninth pole of the season but first since the Dutch Grand Prix a month ago.“An incredible weekend so far and especially in qualifying when you can really push it to the limit, it felt really, really nice,” Verstappen said. “We had a bad weekend in Singapore but from our preparation we felt this was going to be a good track for us.”Verstappen, who has led every session since arriving in Japan, can’t secure the drivers’ championship in Sunday’s race but could wrap up...

ANÁLISIS | La disputa de Polonia y Ucrania enfureció a muchos en Europa y fue un regalo para Putin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:49 GMT

(CNN) —  El apoyo de Europa a Ucrania se enfrentó esta semana a un inesperado revés cuando Polonia —hasta ahora el aliado más firme de Kyiv en el continente— pareció declarar que dejaría de enviar armas a su vecino.La medida se produjo después de que el presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelensky, criticara a Varsovia por seguir prohibiendo las importaciones de grano ucraniano, y es el último ejemplo de un comportamiento más confrontativo del gobierno polaco hacia Kyiv, justo antes de unas reñidas elecciones generales en el país.El teatro político ha suscitado una serie de preguntas importantes, la más clave de ellas: ¿será este el momento en que la firme resolución de Europa contra la invasión a gran escala de Rusia se resquebraje?¿Cómo es posible que una disputa sobre la importación de cereales se haya convertido en una crisis diplomática? En mayo, la Unión Europea prohibió temporalmente las importaciones de grano de Ucrania para evitar un cuello de botella de grano barato que...

Four most important Patriots players in Week 3 vs. Jets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:49 GMT

This year’s Jets are not the typical doormat that the Patriots face twice and year and have beaten in 14 straight matchups.But after losing quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a torn Achilles, the 1-1 Jets are a beatable team for the 0-2 Patriots and serve as an opportunity to get right before another difficult matchup in Week 4 against the Cowboys.Here are the Patriots’ four most important players in Sunday’s early afternoon game.WR Demario DouglasThe Patriots pretty desperately need some speed and play-making ability in their pass-catching corps. Douglas was benched after the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins when he lost a costly fumble.The Patriots could have used their rookie wide receiver, who showed off his impressive agility on two catches early in the Week 2 contest, but head coach Bill Belichick wouldn’t put him back in on offense.Surely he’s learned his lesson a week later.The Liberty product shared snaps out of the slot with wide...

A landslide in Sweden causes a huge sinkhole on a highway and 3 are injured when cars crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:49 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — A landslide in western Sweden caused a huge sinkhole on a major highway to Norway early Saturday, and three people were injured when their cars and a bus skidded off the road, police said. Photos and video footage showed a sinkhole 500 meters (1,640 feet) wide that had opened up on the E6 highway, which runs from southern Sweden to Norway, not far from Sweden’s second largest city of Goteborg. Police said at least four cars and a bus skidded off the road and crashed, and three people were hospitalized. Several buildings and facilities were damaged, including a Burger King restaurant. Swedish emergency services received alarm at 1:45 a.m. that a substantial part of the E6 had collapsed in Stenungsund, police spokesman August Brandt told Swedish public broadcaster SVT.Emergency officials were searching with specially trained dogs and staff to ensure there were no people trapped in the debris. The cause for the landslide wasn’t immediately known. Swedish media said the ...

Lebanese troops rescue 27 migrants from sinking boat off Lebanon’s coast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:49 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese army and the country’s civil defense recused early Saturday 27 migrants whose boat was sinking off the coast of north Lebanon, the military said in a statement.The army did not say where the migrants were heading nor did it give their nationalities.Over the past years, thousands of Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinian migrants took the dangerous trip from Lebanon across the Mediterranean seeking a better life in Europe. Such migrations intensified since the country’s historic economic meltdown began in October 2019.Lebanon has hosted refugees for years. It has some 805,000 U.N.-registered Syrian refugees, but officials estimate the actual number to be between 1.5 million and 2 million. Lebanon is also home to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants, many living in 12 refugee camps scattered around the country.Over the past months, thousands of Syrian citizens fleeing worsening economic conditions in their war-torn country made it to Le...

Amid questions about background, Minnesota’s new ‘marijuana czar’ resigns day after appointment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:49 GMT

The newly named director of Minnesota’s marijuana regulatory agency left the job a day after being appointed by Gov. Tim Walz after an MPR News-APM Reports investigation found she ran a business that sold products that exceeded state limits on THC potency, owed money to former associates, and accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in tax liens.Erin DuPree was appointed Thursday to head the new state Office of Cannabis Management, but a review of her background by Minnesota Public Radio News and American Public Media Reports raises serious questions about her record and how thoroughly the governor’s administration checked it before she got the job.A website for the Loonacy Cannabis Co., owned by DuPree, advertised products with THC content far above what was legally allowed starting in July 2022. It also advertised vape products containing THC, which were prohibited under the law.The Apple Valley strip mall storefront was cleared out on Friday. DuPree said she planned to sell the b...

Ask Amy: Nature lover seeks noise cancellation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:49 GMT

Dear Amy: I live in Colorado and have young children at home, as well as a job where I am constantly bombarded by sound.I frequent outdoor spaces seeking peace, solitude, and the quiet sounds of nature — for my mental health.I am dismayed at the proliferation of Bluetooth speakers, large and small. They seem to be everywhere! Hiking trails, lakes, on boats and paddleboards, at the pool, while camping, even strapped to people while they are biking and skiing! Few seem concerned about the noise pollution they are inflicting on others around them.Why do people seem not to notice or care that those around them may not wish to listen to their choice of music?What happens if we get multiple, conflicting speakers at the same time?I wish I could ask people to use headphones when they are alone, or at least turn down the sound so it is mostly heard by a group in a small vicinity, not everyone around them.In the case of running or biking, they should only wear one ear bud and have the v...

Buyers want to know why sellers called for a ‘cool-off’ period

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:49 GMT

Question: Against our better judgment, we, as homebuyers, submitted a purchase offer without contingencies. The strategy failed. Instead of an offer of acceptance, we received a counteroffer. They require a three-day “cool-off” property contingency. We were shocked. We endured lively exchanges with our buyer’s agent, who claimed, “Everyone is making noncontingent offers” and “Nonrefundable earnest money deposits are part of the process.” He was wrong. This surprise left our talkative buyer’s agent speechless.  We signed the seller’s counteroffer. We are in contract. But why did the sellers and their agent give us three days to “cool off” with a property contingency? Answer: In Silicon Valley, as the dot-com era heated up, the number of contingencies in a purchase offer went down. It was alarming. I rally against it on my soapboxes, including this column. Soon, to counter this trend, the real estate attorneys for Alain Pinel Realtors and Coldwell Banker Northern California crafted ad...

La tormenta tropical Ophelia azota parte de la costa este mientras se acerca a Carolina del Norte

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:49 GMT

(CNN) — La tormenta tropical Ophelia está generando fuertes vientos, lluvias e inundaciones en las costas de Carolina del Norte y Virginia este sábado, donde las comunidades están sufriendo cortes de electricidad.Se espera que la tormenta provoque fuertes lluvias en una amplia franja del Atlántico medio, incluyendo Maryland, Delaware, Nueva Jersey y Nueva York, a partir del sábado por la mañana y durante todo el fin de semana.Ophelia se encuentra a 40 km al suroeste de Cape Lookout con vientos máximos sostenidos de 113 km/h, según el boletín del Centro Nacional de Huracanes (NHC, por sus siglas en inglés) de las 05:00 a.m. hora de Miami. Se espera que toque tierra en las próximas horas.Alrededor de 52.000 hogares y empresas de Carolina del Norte y Virginia se habían quedado sin electricidad a primera hora del sábado, según el sitio de seguimiento PowerOutage.us.Algunos lugares en el este de Carolina del Norte y el sureste de Virginia podría ver entre 8 a 13 cm de lluvia.“...

Art helps Md. youth in juvenile detention create pathways to positive behaviors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:49 GMT

Teenagers detained in facilities in Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services are being given opportunities to express themselves through art.Lisa LaPrade, the director of the department’s recreational programming and creator of the Changing Habits and Making Positive Strides program, told WTOP that there’s a lot more going into the teens’ paintings, sculptures and collages than vibrant colors or powerful messages.LaPrade explains that some of the students were skeptical at first about the benefits of taking part in an art program, but said once they were told that the art might be auctioned off to buyers who would have that artwork in their homes, “That’s when they really got excited about it.”Under the program plan, funds raised by the sale of the artwork would go toward any restitution owed by the juveniles. LaPrade said the teenagers were told, “If you owe restitution, we have to take care of our responsibilities first.”LaPrade said one juvenile told her he wasn’t t...