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Elon Musk restores X account of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:34 GMT

Elon Musk has restored the X account of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, pointing to a poll on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that came out in favor of the Infowars host who repeatedly called the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax.It poses new uncertainty for advertisers, who have fled X over concerns about hate speech appearing alongside their ads, and is the latest divisive public personality to get back their banned account.Musk posted a poll on Saturday asking if Jones should be reinstated, with the results showing 70% of those who responded in favor. Early Sunday, Musk tweeted, “The people have spoken and so it shall be.”A few hours later, Jones’ posts were visible again — the last one from 2018, when the company permanently banned him and his Infowars show for abusive behavior.Musk, who has described himself as a free speech absolutist, said the move was about protecting those rights. In response to a user who posted that “permanent account bans a...

The EU wants to put a tax on emissions from imports. It’s irked some other nations at COP28

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:34 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The European Union’s plan to impose a tax on the carbon pollution emitted to make goods imported from countries like India and China has sparked a debate at the United Nations climate conference in Dubai, as poorer countries argue that the tax will harm livelihoods and economic growth.Known as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the tax wants to set a price on the carbon emitted to make energy-intensive products like iron, steel, cement, fertilizers and aluminum in non-EU countries. The EU says this creates a level-playing field for domestically-manufactured goods that have to adhere to stricter green standards and also reduces emissions from imports. But other nations, particularly developing countries, are worried this would harm their economies and make it too expensive to trade with the bloc.“CBAM’s sole aim is to prevent carbon leakage” elsewhere in the supply chain, European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said at a press conference at COP28....

Tyler Cowen: The YIMBY movement needs to go commercial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:34 GMT

The YIMBY movement has so far focused on the deregulation of the residential housing market. In California, for instance, a variety of legal changes have made it easier to build more densely. In the commercial market, there is no real YIMBY movement — and not just because offices tend not to have backyards. What would “Yes in My Backyard” even mean in the context of commercial real estate?A new economic research paper offers a hint of an answer: Most likely, there would be taller buildings, more mixed-use neighborhoods and considerably more wealth.One way to approach this question is to look at less regulated cities. According to one widely used index, the least regulated metro area in the U.S. is Midland, Texas. Midland isn’t particularly large or well-known, with a population of about 132,000, yet one of its nicknames is the “Tall City” because of its downtown skyline. When there is freedom to build, going vertical often is most cost-effective.F...

Horoscopes Dec. 10, 2023: Raven-Symone, build a better future

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:34 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Raven-Symone, 38; Emmanuelle Chriqui, 48; Meg White, 49; Kenneth Branagh, 63.Happy Birthday: Pay attention; if you are too busy chasing an impossible dream, you will miss an opportunity. Use common sense, and don’t feel pressured to act in haste. Make plans and justify what you want and the best way to make things happen. Energy alone won’t get you where you want to go, but discipline, hard work and taking advantage of what’s available will help you build a better future. Your numbers are 7, 18, 23, 27, 31, 44, 46.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Keep your plans to yourself. Don’t get involved in drama when spreading joy will bring better results. Physical activity will ease stress and help you prepare for the festive season. Don’t wait until the end of the year to resolve bad habits; start today. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Keep your money in your wallet and use common sense when spending. Resist and protect against temptat...

Word Game: Dec. 10, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:34 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — STRIDENT (STRIDENT: STRY-dent: Characterized by harsh, insistent and discordant sound.)Average mark 55 wordsTime limit 60 minutesCan you find 66 or more words in STRIDENT?TODAY’S WORD — STRIDENT send sent side sine sire siren site sitter snide snit stein stent stern stet stint stir stride tend tent tern test tide tied tier tinder tine tint tire titer trend trident tried tries trine trite rein rend rent resin rest ride rind rinse rise risen rite ides inert insert inset inter deist dent dentist diet dine diner dint dire dirt dries driest edit nerd nest niterTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed...

Vermont Niceness Is Not the Answer to the Shooting of Three Palestinians

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:34 GMT

People gather for a vigil, after three Palestinian American students were shot near the University of Vermont campus, in Pliny Park in Brattleboro, Vt., on Nov. 27, 2023.Photo: Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via APWhen a white man shot three Palestinian students in Burlington, Vermont, it struck much of America as the least likely place for the violence of Israel–Palestine to show its teeth. Vermont is peaceful. Vermont is civil. Vermont is tolerant. It had to be an aberration.In fact, it turned out that Jason Eaton — the man charged with shooting Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad — is not a Vermonter. He’s from Syracuse, New York, just recently relocated to Burlington, where he bought the gun. He might not have had plans to stay. Yes, it had to be an aberration.I have lived half-time in Vermont for 32 years. The home my partner and I share is on a dirt road in a small town in the rural Northeast Kingdom, which is about as far as you can get, eco...

Amber Alert issued for 2-year-old girl from Virginia Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:34 GMT

An Amber Alert has been issued for 2-year-old Zury Dorsey of Virginia Beach, Va. (Courtesy Virginia Beach police) An Amber Alert has been issued for 2-year-old Zury Dorsey of Virginia Beach, Va. (Courtesy Virginia Beach police) An abducted Virginia toddler is believed to be in “extreme danger” after being taken from home, according to police.The Virginia Beach Police Department issued an Amber Alert for 2-year-old Zuri Dorsey after it said she was abducted around 7:15 a.m. Saturday.Police said the toddler is believed to have been taken by her 27-year-old estranged father, Deandre Alante Dorsey.The pair may be headed to Lewiston Woodville, North Carolina in a red 2016 Honda Accord with North Carolina pl...

Trump desestima las advertencias de que su victoria amenazaría la democracia y dice que Biden es la verdadera amenaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:34 GMT

(CNN) —  El expresidente Donald Trump calificó este sábado de “engaño” y de “desinformación demócrata” las advertencias de que su victoria en 2024 representaría una amenaza para la democracia.El expresidente, que enfrenta cargos federales y estatales derivados de sus esfuerzos por anular las elecciones de 2020, dijo en un discurso organizado por el Club de Jóvenes Republicanos de Nueva York que el presidente Joe Biden “es la verdadera amenaza a la democracia”.“¿Puedes creerlo? Esta es su nueva línea, ya sabes”, dijo Trump. “Aquí vamos de nuevo: ‘Rusia, Rusia, Rusia’, ‘Mueller, Mueller, Mueller’, ‘Ucrania, Ucrania, Ucrania’. Un engaño tras otro”.“Pero no, no soy una amenaza. Salvaré la democracia. La amenaza es el corrupto Joe Biden”, dijo Trump.Y añadió: “Y eso es lo que es, es un engaño. Ahora lo llamamos el engaño de la amenaza a la democracia, porque eso es lo que es”.Trump dijo más tarde que esos ataques fueron un “intento desesper...

Philippines says Chinese coast guard used water cannons against its vessels for a second day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:34 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Chinese coast guard targeted Philippine vessels with water cannon blasts Sunday and rammed one of them, causing damage and endangering Filipino crew members off a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, just a day after similar hostilities at another contested shoal, Philippine officials said.The Philippines and its treaty ally, the United States, immediately condemned the latest confrontation near the Second Thomas Shoal, where two Philippine navy-operated supply boats and two Philippine coast guard escort ships sailed to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino forces in a long-marooned navy ship that serves as a territorial outpost.“We condemn, once again, China’s latest unprovoked acts of coercion and dangerous maneuvers against a legitimate and routine Philippine rotation and resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal that has put the lives of our people at risk,” a Philippine government task force that deals with the territorial disputes said in a...

Filipinas y China se acusan mutuamente de incidentes ‘peligrosos’ que involucraron a varios buques en el Mar de China Meridional

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:34 GMT

(CNN) —  Filipinas y China se acusaron este domingo de maniobras peligrosas y de provocar una colisión en aguas en disputa en el Mar de China Meridional , el último de una serie de enfrentamientos marítimos entre los dos países que han aumentado las tensiones regionales.En una declaración compartida en X, el portavoz del Grupo de Trabajo Nacional para el Mar de Filipinas Occidental (NTF-WPS), Jay Tarriela, dijo que los buques de la Guardia Costera y la milicia marítima china habían “acosado, bloqueado y ejecutado maniobras peligrosas en buques de suministro civiles filipinos, en otro intento de impedir u obstruir ilegalmente una misión rutinaria de reabastecimiento y rotación” al Second Thomas Shoal.Sin embargo, la Guardia Costera china dijo que barcos filipinos habían “invadido ilegalmente” sus aguas y que estaba tomando “medidas de control contra los barcos filipinos de acuerdo con la ley”.También dijo que un barco filipino había “ignorado numerosas advertencias de China” y ...