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UN envoy urges donor support for battered Syria facing an economic crisis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:12 GMT

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The United Nations special envoy for Syria Sunday urged donors not to reduce their funding as the war-torn country’s economic crisis spirals. Syrian President Bashar Assad’s decision last month to double public sector wages and pensions further skyrocketed inflation and fueled ongoing protests that shook the southern Druze-majority province of Sweida and nearby Daraa.Initially sparked by deepening economic misery, angry residents in greater numbers began to call for the fall of Assad, similar to that of the country’s 2011 uprising that turned into an all-out civil war.The U.N. estimates that 90% of Syrians in government-held areas live in poverty and that over half the country’s population struggles to put food on the table. As the conflict, now in its 13th year, reached a stalemate Syrian government reclaimed large swathes of lost territory with the help of its key allies in Russia and Iran in recent years. With international donor support d...

A US Navy veteran got unexpected help while jailed in Iran. Once released, he repaid the favor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael White had only recently arrived in a grim Iranian jail when a curious fellow prisoner, an English-speaking Iranian, approached him in the courtyard for a conversation.The American did not reveal much at first, but it was the beginning of an unlikely friendship between White, a Navy veteran imprisoned on spying charges he says were unfounded, and Mahdi Vatankhah, a young Iranian political activist whose positions on social issues had drawn his government’s ire. As the men connected behind bars over a shared interest in politics and human rights, they developed a bond that proved vital for both. Vatankhah, while in custody and after his release, helped White by providing White’s mother with crucial, firsthand accounts about her son’s status in prison and by passing along letters White had written while he was locked up. Once freed, White did not forget. He pushed successfully this year for Vatankhah’s admission to the United States, allowing...

Sunday Forecast: Increasing clouds, high near 80

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:12 GMT

Sunday:  Increasing clouds, slight chance of a few showers. WSW/ESE 5-10 mph. Air quality is in the Moderate category. High near 80, cooler lakesideSunday Night: Mostly cloudy & chance of showers-- especially after midnight. ESE/S 5-10 mph. Low 62Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Monday: Rain at times & slight chance of an isolated thunderstorms. SSW 5-10 mph. High:69Chicago Area Radar | WGN TVExtended outlook calls for lingering showers on Tuesday with highs in the upper 60s. A bit cooler on Wednesday but the sun comes back. Highs in the mid 60s. Sunshine for the remainder of the week with highs in the comfortable mid to low 70s. 

Cooler, wetter weather ahead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Sunday and Monday will be the hottest temperatures of the next 7 days. In fact, it is possible that today or tomorrow could feature our last triple digit temperatures of the season. So far we have had a total of 78 days of 100-degree or hotter weather.Rain chances start low Monday and Tuesday before gradually increasing mid- to late week. These storms and showers will be triggered by a few upper-level disturbances and the passing of a cold front. Rain chances will peak Thursday and into Friday with about 40% coverage.Predicted totals through SaturdayDrought updateThursday's Drought Monitor update shows the expansion of exceptional drought (Category 4) across nearly all of Central Texas. The current drought picture is among the worst on record in our area.Exceptional drought expands to include all counties STORY: Central Texas drought ‘top one or two driest’ BLOG: Could PDO mess with our wet El Niño? Austin Interactive Weather Stats (2023) FIRST WARNING WEATH...

Customers complain of suspected inaccuracies with Austin Water's new smart meters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – It just kills Lori Latimer to let her plants die. “These are some Mother’s Day gifts,” she said. “I used to have beautiful pink and white flowers all over this one and now it’s just a weed almost.”Still, there’s no way she’s watering now. “With the water situation as it is,” she said. “I had to stop.”That situation is her new Austin Water smart meter.In 2020, Austin Water began an ambitious, five-year project to replace all 250,000 analog water meters in the city with new, digital meters that measure and transmit water usage by wireless transmission. Austin Water said the conversion will cost $95.1 million dollars, paid for with low-interest loans from the Texas Water Development Board.Latimer, a medical practice manager, said ever since Austin Water installed the smart meter at her north Austin home in the spring, “Each month my water usage goes up and up and up.” Central Texas drought ‘top one or two driest’ ‘Not smart at all,” she added. “This meter has a m...

Michelle Goldberg: Gerrymandered majority threatens to essentially undo an election in Wisconsin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:12 GMT

For a little while this year, it looked as though Wisconsin voters had finally broken out of the straitjacket of minority rule in their state. The key to their freedom was an April state Supreme Court election that, turning on the intertwined issues of abortion and gerrymandering, flipped control of the bench from conservatives to liberals.Since 2011, Wisconsin Republicans have manipulated electoral maps to lock in their legislative dominance, even when a majority of voters chose Democratic candidates. Their grip on the state Legislature has made it impossible to repeal an unpopular 1849 law banning almost all abortions, which went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The state Supreme Court election, which turned into the most expensive such race in history, offered voters a singular chance to make their state’s politics more democratic.Janet Protasiewicz, the left-leaning candidate in the nonpartisan contest, was careful not to declare how she would rul...

Keeler: CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders “can break all my records,” Sefo Liufau says. Based on how he torched those softies from Nebraska, Coach Prime’s kid just might.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:12 GMT

BOULDER — Sefo Liufau took a break from training to be a firefighter just long enough to watch Shedeur Sanders burn Nebraska square in the backside.“(Shedeur has) definitely got to be a little more accurate than I was my junior year,” Liufau, owner of 64 CU passing records, including yards in a season and touchdowns in a season, told me Saturday by phone after watching his beloved Buffs stomp the Huskers into corn mash, 36-14. “I would say he’s definitely more accurate.“(Sanders) has done a very good job of extending plays. He’s got good presence in the pocket. He says confident and humble at the same time. Which is very hard to find these days.”You know what’s harder? Finding a Power 5 defense that can make Sanders, son of first-year Buffs coach Deion Sanders, look remotely human.Most first-time QB1s at CU get to wade in the shallows a bit first, in order to get used to the water. The 2023 fight card chucked Shedeur straight into the ...

RV park or mobile home park? Battle over semantics has major implications in Colorado.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:12 GMT

GRAND LAKE — The T Lazy W Park has long served as a mountain oasis for vacationers looking to escape the summer heat and relax in Colorado’s picturesque high country.The park for recreational vehicles, nestled alongside U.S. 34, sits between Lake Granby and Shadow Mountain Lake, its cool blue waters reflecting the surrounding mountains. Just up the road, visitors can hike the vast west side of Rocky Mountain National Park or cast a line in the Colorado River.The grounds sport 55 RV and trailer sites, with another 23 mobile home units. The 80-some owners only come during the summer months as the park doesn’t have running water or sewage systems during the winter. None use it as their primary residence.Residents call it an RV park. But the state says it’s a mobile home park subject to the Mobile Home Park Act, a series of laws aimed at protecting low-income residents from predatory owners looking to jack up rents. This distinction, T Lazy W Park’s owners ...

Is CBD Crude Oil Crummy Or High-Quality?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:12 GMT

The term “CBD oil” now encompasses a wide array of hemp extracts. Although all CBD oils may look similar, each company uses a different refining process to extract this valuable hemp cannabinoid. Some companies refine away virtually all the secondary hemp compounds, while others focus on preserving the “full spectrum” of the hemp plant.Arguably, hemp crude oil is the most “unrefined” CBD oil on today’s market. While the name may be off-putting, this type of CBD oil is gaining popularity in the hemp community. Customers who are still considering which CBD extract to buy should consider the advantages and disadvantages of crude hemp oil.What Are The Defining Traits Of CBD Crude Oil?Simply put, crude hemp oil is the least purified form of CBD oil. Many companies that make CBD crude oil claim their extract is incredibly close to the chemical profile in hemp flowers. While CBD will be the dominant cannabinoid in hemp crude oils, they will also co...

From the Roadshow archives: Crazed by your commute? There’s always Bismarck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:12 GMT

Editor’s note: Mr. Roadshow wanted to share some of his favorite columns and stories from more than 30 years of informing, entertaining and getting things changed for Bay Area (and beyond) drivers. He’ll be back on the road with new material soon. In the meantime, please keep sending Mr. Roadshow your comments or questions to [email protected] story originally was published on Feb. 2, 1997. This is it. Commuter heaven.The fewest traffic problems of any significant city in the entire U.S. of A. No traffic reports every 10 minutes. No carpool lanes. Metering lights? Bah, humbug. Triple left-turn lanes? Not here. Driver rage? You gotta be kidding.Places Rated Almanac ranks the capital of North Dakota No. 1 in the country when it comes to the shortest and least stressful commute. People here actually live five blocks from work. Compared to us, they gain an extra three weeks of vacation a year in time they save motoring to their job.“Driving in N...