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Keir Starmer’s got 5 missions. Can the UK Labour boss accomplish them?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

MEDWAY, England — Keir Starmer is a man on five missions. But the Labour leader’s big plan for government may soon have to contend with reality.Starmer launched the last in a five-strong list of “missions” for the U.K. on Thursday if — as current polls suggest — he becomes the country’s next prime minister at the upcoming general election.Speaking at a college in Gillingham, Kent, the opposition leader argued only his party could break the “class ceiling,” and vowed to put education at the heart of his governing plan.But while the promise of five “missions” might make for a snappy headline, converting them into actually policy could prove more tricky.Starmer’s not the first leader to give the pledges tactic a try. Labour’s last election-winner, Tony Blair, rode to power with five key promises — printed on physical cards — in 1997. Starmer’s Tory opponent Rishi Sunak is currently working his way through five key priorities, with limite...

Philadelphia mass shooting was ‘obviously planned,’ DA says. But investigation could still take months

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

(CNN) — The man facing murder charges in a mass shooting that left five people dead in a Philadelphia neighborhood Monday “obviously planned” the rampage, but the investigation could take months as authorities dig for more details, a district attorney said.Authorities believe Kimbrady Carriker, 40, acted alone when he carried out the shootings, but investigators are still combing through his social media history and looking into possible mental health issues, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told CNN on Wednesday. He is being held without bail and has not entered a plea.“I can certainly tell you that there are indications of mental health issues. There are indications of irrational behavior. There are indications of irrational statements and irrational acts,” Krasner told CNN.Krasner’s comments came as new details emerged Wednesday about a possible motive for the shootings in Philadelphia’s Kingsessing neighborhood. Five people, including a 15-year-ol...

Will the doctor see you now? The health system’s changing landscape

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

Julie Appleby, KFF Health News, Michelle Andrews | (TNS) KFF Health NewsLucia Agajanian, a 25-year-old freelance film producer in Chicago, doesn’t have a specific primary care doctor, preferring the convenience of visiting a local clinic for flu shots or going online for video visits. “You say what you need, and there’s a 15-minute wait time,” she said, explaining how her appointments usually work. “I really liked that.”But Olga Lucia Torres, a 52-year-old who teaches narrative medicine classes at Columbia University in New York, misses her longtime primary care doctor, who kept tabs for two decades on her conditions, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, and made sure she was up to date on vaccines and screening tests. Two years ago, Torres received a letter informing her that he was changing to a “boutique practice” and would charge a retainer fee of $10,000 for her to stay on as a patient.“I felt really sad and abandoned,” Torres said. “This was my PCP. I was like, ‘Dude, I t...

What is Threads? All your questions about Meta’s new Twitter rival, answered

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Threads, a text-based app built by Meta to rival Twitter, is live.The app, billed as the text version of Meta’s photo-sharing platform Instagram, became available Wednesday night to users in more than 100 countries — including the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan. Despite some early glitches, 30 million people had signed up before noon on Thursday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Threads. New arrivals to the platform include celebrities like Oprah, pop star Shakira and chef Gordon Ramsay — as well as corporate accounts from Taco Bell, Netflix, Spotify, the Washington Post and other media outlets.Threads, which Meta says provides “a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations,” arrives at a time that many are looking for Twitter alternatives to escape Elon Musk’s raucous oversight of the platform since acquiring it last year for $44 billion. But M...

Mayo Clinic Minute: Sunscreen has a shelf life and other facts to know

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

Deb Balzer | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkDid you know sunscreen has a shelf life and can expire? Or that too much heat or cold can ruin a new bottle?Protecting your skin from harmful sun rays will help against inflammation, burns, premature aging and, most importantly, skin cancer.Dr. Dawn Davis, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist, has more on sunscreen shelf life and other facts to help make decisions as you head into the sun.You might think a dermatologist is going to ask you to ban the sun.“There’s nothing wrong with being outside in the sun,” says Dr. Davis.UV, or ultraviolet light, is a carcinogen. That’s where sunscreen helps.“Sunscreen can act as a carcinogen barrier to help keep your skin safe,” says Dr. Davis.Keep these sunscreen facts in mind when you’re reaching for your favorite bottle:— Sunscreen can expire, affecting the active ingredient and the preservative.— Sunscreen is sensitive to extreme temperatures. Keep it out ...

Is baseball’s Shohei Ohtani worth a $701 million contract?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

One big-money California business deal to watch is how rich Angels baseball star Shohei Ohtani will become once his current contract ends this year.Ohtani, who’s making $30 million in 2023, will be a free agent when the season ends. He’ll be available for hire by any of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams to pursue. It’s all but given he’ll sign the priciest long-term contract in baseball history.Now, it’s hard to argue that anybody paid $30 million in a single year is underpaid. Hey, it’s the 15th biggest paycheck in baseball, according to Spotrac. But if you’re not a sports fan, please realize this athlete is arguably the game’s best batter and pitcher – a two-way feat nobody else has pulled off.Next week’s All-Star Game will serve as another billboard for Ohtani’s talents. He’s been named to the American League team twice thanks to his unique mix of skills. The festive gathering will only fuel wild speculation a...

Tribal sovereignty bill falters as Maine lawmakers fail to override governor’s veto

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine lawmakers failed Thursday to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would have expanded the sovereignty of Native American tribes in the state by ensuring more federal laws apply to them.It’s a defeat for the tribes, which are bound by a land claims settlement that puts them on different footing then the nation’s other 570 federally recognized tribes.Both chambers had voted to enact the bill with big-enough majorities to override the veto, but some House members backtracked under pressure by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. She contends the bill was vague and would lead to lengthy and costly litigation in coming years.The 84-57 House vote fell short of a two-thirds majority after tribal Rep. Aaron Dana, a Passamaquoddy, implored lawmakers to vote for the tribes, saying they want the same thing that the nation’s Founding Fathers wanted.“We seek equality. We seek life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And we seek the liberty and the ...

Quebec social media influencer charged for simulating crimes to gain attention

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

GATINEAU, Que. — An online-video creator who tried to gain popularity by simulating fake crimes has been arrested and charged with attempted public mischief, police in Gatineau, Que., said Thursday.Police in the western Quebec city said Anthony Gagné, 27, recorded himself pretending to commit crimes and posted the videos on social media platforms in an effort to attract a response from law enforcement.The investigation into Gagné began in May, after police said he tried to lure children by driving a van with the words “free candy” printed on the side — an act that led concerned citizens to call 911, Gatineau police Const. Patrick Kenney said.“In this case here, we know that the crime wasn’t real. We know he wasn’t acting with the goal of attracting children to commit a crime. It was to make a video,” Kenney said in an interview.Police then searched the man’s video archive and allegedly found more fake-crime videos.“When investigators b...

Texas officials name suspect arrested and charged in arson that killed 5 in San Marcos in 2018

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — Officials in San Marcos, Texas, have named the man charged with intentionally starting a fire five years ago which killed five people and displaced 200 others. Jacobe De Leon O Shea Ferguson, of Austin, was arrested early Wednesday, Jonathan Henderson, Fire Marshal for the San Marcos Fire Department announced in a news conference Thursday.Ferguson was a student at Texas State University in San Marcos at the time of the fire, Henderson said. Ferguson is accused of setting the July 20, 2018, blaze which damaged the Iconic Village and Vintage Pads apartments in San Marcos, a city of almost 70,000 people southwest of Austin. Ferguson didn’t live in the building where the fire happened, Henderson said. He and other officials declined to say where Ferguson did live at the time.They also declined to comment on any suspected motive.People who lost loved ones in the fire and those who still bear injuries have known since late 2018 that the fire was set on purpo...

Wisconsin governor’s 400-year veto angers opponents in state with long history of creative cuts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto that attempts to lock in a school funding increase for 400 years drew outrage and surprise from his political opponents, but it’s just the latest creative cut in a state that’s home to the most powerful partial gubernatorial veto in the country.“Everybody will shout and scream,” said former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, “but he’s got ’em.”Wisconsin governors have the most expansive partial veto power in the country because, unlike in other states, they can strike nearly any part of a budget bill. That includes wiping out numbers, punctuation and words in spending bills to sometimes create new law that wasn’t the intention of the Legislature.That’s exactly what the Democratic Evers did on Wednesday with a two-year state budget passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature.The Legislature had language in the budget increasing the per pupil spending authority for K-12 public schools by $325 in the 2023-24 and...