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Poland, Baltic states warn they could seal border with Belarus if military, migrant tensions grow

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:20 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — NATO members Poland and the Baltic states will seal off their borders with Russia’s ally Belarus in the event of any military incidents or a massive migrant push by Minsk, the interior ministers warned Monday.The ministers said they were seeing growing tensions on NATO’s and the European Union’s borders with Belarus, which has taken in thousands of Russia’s military mercenaries and is pushing Middle East and African migrants into Europe, despite barriers having been put up.They warned of swift and concerted reaction in the case of a military incident or large migrant push.The ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia addressed the media following their talks. In a joint statement they demanded that the government of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko immediately remove from its territory the Wagner Group mercenaries. They also demanded the removal of migrants from border areas and their return to their home countries. The four cou...

Will back-to-school season make the summer COVID surge worse?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:20 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – As more students head back to classrooms, public health officials are keeping a close eye on the rising COVID-19 numbers around the country. The number of people being admitted to the hospital with the virus has been rising week after week, most recently jumping by 21% nationwide. Will the back-to-school season worsen the summer spike we're seeing? Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, expects the trend to look pretty similar to last year."Overall, I would expect cases and hospitalizations to increase – then decrease again before they rise in the late fall and early winter," Chin-Hong said. "This has been the pattern for the past three years and may be where COVID may settle to: a smaller swell in the summer and a larger increase in cases in the late fall and winter." What to know about new COVID-19 shots, RSV treatments It isn't anything about school environments in particular that would increase the spread ...

Bog snorkeling championships: Competitors race through slime in British contest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:20 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Intrepid athletes donned snorkels and slithered through slime on Sunday during one of Britain’s quirkiest sporting events: the World Bog Snorkeling Championships.The annual competition in the tiny town of Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, sees competitors race to complete two lengths of a 60-yard (55 meter) water-filled trench cut through a peat bog. They can use flippers on their feet, but conventional swimming strokes are banned.Competitors take part in the Rude Health World Bog Snorkelling Championships at Waen Rhydd peat bog in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, Sunday, Aug, 27, 2023. Bog snorkelling is a sporting event where competitors aim to complete two consecutive lengths of a 60 yards water-filled trench cut through a peat bog in the shortest time possible, wearing traditional snorkel, diving mask and flippers. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)Competitors take part in the Rude Health World Bog Snorkelling Championships at Waen Rhydd peat bog in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, Sunday, Aug, 27, 202...

Airbnb data reveals top destination for family bookings in each state

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:20 GMT

(KDVR/NEXSTAR) – Summer is soon coming to an end. The kids are heading back to school, your job is getting crazy, and — let's face it — the windows aren't going to weatherize themselves.In other words, there's little time for another fun family vacation before the season's over.But there's always next year. And if you start planning early, you just might be able to book a few nights at some of the most popular (and unexpected) U.S. travel destinations for families.After all, family vacations have come a long way since your last trip to Colonial Williamsburg.To illustrate this point, Airbnb has recently revealed the top-booked travel destinations for families in every state. Using data obtained from the first half of 2023, Airbnb focused only on "family night" bookings (i.e., guests traveling with kids) to find out where folks planned to go in June, July and August. Is unlimited vacation time really unlimited? So where, exactly, were they headed?In some cases, the results weren't t...

Drippings Springs ISD to consider 'alternative standard' to HB 3

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:20 GMT

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) – The Dripping Springs ISD Board of Trustees is expected Monday night to take up an "alternative standard" under a new state law. Schools struggle to find money, hire more officers after lawmakers gut safety bill House Bill 3, which goes into effect Friday, would require armed security officers at every campus. In May 2023, KXAN reported the district had four School Resource Officers (SROs) and the board voted to add three. Dripping Springs ISD to increase school resource officers According to the August agenda item, Hays County is "unable to fully staff the district’s request of additional SROs."The board will consider placing School Marshals at elementary schools where there are no School Resource Officers.

Minnesota, Wisconsin dairy farmers forced to pivot after closing of Hastings Creamery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:20 GMT

After 110 years, the Hastings Creamery closed its doors last week, putting stress on local dairy farmers to find a new way to process and sell their products.Minnesota and Wisconsin farmers who worked with the dairy now are forced to sell their products on the spot market, hoping to find someone purchasing large quantities of milk, said Thom Peterson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.“They are either selling on the spot market, which is a problem because they may not get strong dollars, or they call creameries all over to find out who needs milk,” Peterson said, noting that in some cases they might have to dump the milk if they can’t find a buyer.Of the 40 affected dairy farms, 14 are in Minnesota and 26 in Wisconsin, Peterson said. Minnesota has fewer than 2,000 dairy farms in total.Before closing its doors, the Hastings Creamery had been working with the city and state agencies to remedy a number of issues, including a milk leak in June that led to the cream...

Hilary Swank movie filmed in Albany nears release date

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:20 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Hilary Swank movie "The Good Mother," which was filmed in Albany, is set to release in theaters on Friday, September 1. The movie is also having a special screening at the Madison Theatre in Albany on September 7 with a Q&A with the filmmakers. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! "The Good Mother" is a noir thriller set during the opioid crisis in 2016. Swank stars as a Times Union reporter looking to find her son's killer in the world of heroin trafficking. The movie was filmed in Albany in the summer of 2022.The film also stars Olivia Cooke, Jack Reynor, Hopper Penn, Norm Lewis, and Karen Aldridge. You can watch the trailer on Youtube. Mozzarella sticks, melba sauce, and the Capital Region "The Good Mother" was written by Madison Harrison and Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, friends who grew up in Albany and attended The Free School. Joris-Peyrafitte also directs the film.At the September 7 screening, Al...

Resident requirement ends for St. Louis City workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:20 GMT

ST. LOUIS - New laws are going into effect in Missouri on Monday, including the removal of residency requirements for St. Louis City workers.Mayor Tishaura Jones hopes the change will make it easier to recruit essential workers.  The new law still says the city can require workers to live within an hour of the response time. Seven spots no longer serving as St. Louis-area malls This comes three years after the residency requirement was dropped for first responders in the city. Mayor Jones joins city employees Monday morning at the City of St. Louis Streets Department to promote job opportunities

Denver weather: Scattered thunderstorms likely with brief reprieve from warmer temps

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:20 GMT

Denverites can expect the weekend’s rain to continue on Monday with scattered thunderstorms most likely in the late afternoon and early evening, according to the National Weather Service.Related ArticlesWeather | Denver weather: Cloudy skies with a chance for p.m. showers and thunderstorms Weather | Denver weather: Roads washed out in Morgan County Weather | Denver weather: Another warm day with chance of afternoon storms Weather | Denver weather: Sunny and warm with chance of afternoon thunderstorms Weather | First it was drought. Now rain, hail and worms are impacting Colorado’s biggest crops Monday’s forecast in Denver calls for a high of 80 degrees and a low of 58, with mostly cloudy skies during the day and wind gusts as high as 16 mph in the afternoon.It will be cooler today compared to yesterday, with scattered to likely showers and thunderstorms. The best coverage will be over ...

How PayPal is using AI to combat fraud, and make it easier to pay

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:20 GMT

By KEN SWEET (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Artificial intelligence has been the buzzword of 2023 ever since ChatGPT made its public debut earlier this year, with businesses, schools, universities and even non-profits looking for ways to integrate AI in their operations. John Kim, chief product officer for PayPal, spoke with The Associated Press about how the company is using the early proliferation of artificial intelligence technologies in its business, as well as PayPal’s future in payments when there’s so much competition. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.Q: How have security issues changed since you’ve been in this role or similar roles? How much more complicated or sophisticated are threats or opportunities to protect customer data? A: One way you you can put it is that the fraud is a pretty big business, it’s growing and getting more sophisticated by the day. It used to be that you would get, let’s say, an email sen...