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The state of the planet in 10 numbers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:44 GMT

This article is part of the Road to COP special report, presented by SQM.The COP28 climate summit comes at a critical moment for the planet. A summer that toppled heat records left a trail of disasters around the globe. The world may be just six years away from breaching the Paris Agreement’s temperature target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, setting the stage for much worse calamities to come. And governments are cutting their greenhouse gas pollution far too slowly to head off the problem — and haven’t coughed up the billions of dollars they promised to help poorer countries cope with the damage.This year’s summit, which starts on Nov. 30 in Dubai, will conclude the first assessment of what countries have achieved since signing the Paris accord in 2015. The forgone conclusion: They’ve made some progress. But not enough. The real question is what they do in response.To help understand the stakes, here’s a snapshot of the state of the planet — and global climat...

Party like it’s 2010? Rishi Sunak takes UK Tories back to the future

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:44 GMT

LONDON — David Cameron called it a “hammock idea” — a policy dreamt up during a lazy summer holiday in 2007 that would electrify his opposition Conservative Party’s ailing fortunes and put him on the path to power.The idea in question was a radical cut to inheritance tax, allowing people to pass on far more wealth to their children whey they die.“It was deeply Conservative, rewarding people who worked hard, saved and wanted to pass something on,” Cameron wrote in his memoir, For the Record.When George Osborne — Cameron’s shadow Chancellor, who devised the policy while on vacation — announced the inheritance tax pledge that fall, it was an instant hit.Prime Minister Gordon Brown was spooked, and cancelled plans for a snap election. His reputation never recovered.The policy, however, wasn’t introduced when Cameron and Osborne won power in 2010, after the 2008 financial crisis blew a huge hole in Britain’s national finances. But 16 years later, Cameron is back in Cabi...

Editorial: In too many schools, a ‘B’ means ‘D’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:44 GMT

Despite widespread griping about the quality of K-12 education, polls consistently show that most parents are happy with the public schools their children attend. Since 2001, Gallup surveys on the topic show an average 76% satisfaction rate for those with kids attending a local campus.This disconnect might be explained by a survey released this week which found that parents are rarely accurately apprised of the academic progress of their children. They’re being deceived.The report, by Gallup and Learning Heroes, revealed that 88% of parents believe their kids are performing at grade level. In reality, testing last year shows that just 36% of American fourth graders and 26% of eighth graders are proficient in reading. Math numbers are similarly dismal.Yet the vast majority of students who perform below grade level still bring home report cards packed with decent grades.“Grades are the holy grail,” Bibb Hubbard, founder and president of Learning Heroes, told The Associated Press. “The...

How to organize a workplace gift exchange

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:44 GMT

The average person will spend around eight hours at work each day, and do so roughly five days a week. Over time, relationships with coworkers may grow, and many people become friendly with their colleagues. In such settings, it can be customary to celebrate holidays with coworkers at company-sanctioned events.Personnel tasked with organizing the sharing of gifts across departments or the company can employ the following tips to make things run smoothly.Defer to company rulesCompanies may have guidelines in place that govern gifting. Check employee handbooks or company policies, which may dictate spending limits or even prohibit gift-giving.Keep it holiday nonspecificCompanies feature staff from various cultures, ethnicities and religious backgrounds. Therefore, resist any urge to affiliate the gift exchange with a specific holiday. Keep terms generalized, avoiding the use of “Secret Santa” or references to Christmas or Hanukkah. Specify that gift wrap be generic as well...

Raso: New pain treatments bypass need for opioids

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:44 GMT

Nearly 52 million Americans experienced chronic pain in 2021, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s one of our nation’s most common health problems, with new cases outpacing diagnoses of other chronic conditions, including diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure.And it truly is “chronic.” Although chronic pain is defined as lasting three months or more, almost two-thirds of Americans who develop the condition are still suffering from it a year later. In 2021, more than 17 million Americans had high-impact chronic pain, which affected day-to-day functioning and often prevented them from engaging in basic activities of daily living.Chronic pain is so prevalent in part because the current standard of care is insufficient, with limited options beyond opioids and invasive surgeries. That standard needs to change. Medical science has developed technologies that can effectively treat chronic pain for certain patien...

Check out these great finds for Record Store Day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:44 GMT

Those people who run and push and scream for Black Friday deals are out of control! Oh, wait, they are running and pushing and screaming for records? Never mind, that’s fine.Another Record Store Day Black Friday is upon us. Here are some exclusives and timed releases to make you shriek like a teenager at the height of Beatlemania.“Mindsets,” Joan Jett and the BlackheartsHow do you like your Joan Jett? Live and raw or recorded and raw? Both! Fabulous answer. “Mindsets” shows off six new cuts and six live takes on the tracks. The showstopper might be “If You’re Blue.” The lead cut sits halfway between punk and rock ‘n’ roll. In other words, it’s signature Jett. The rest all measure up to that same standard.“The Master,” Chico HamiltonThis could be considered one the greatest jazz albums ever made, if it was jazz. Sorry, if it was just jazz. Legendary jazz drummer Chico Hamilton went into the studio in 1973 with the core of rock band Little Feat — guitarists Lowell George and Pau...

Dear Abby: Woman wants all the gifts that can’t fit

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:44 GMT

Dear Abby: Several of our grandchildren have had weddings in the last few years, along with showers and receptions. They all had plans to move into residences of their own. The shower gifts were household items — nothing extravagant, but nice.Our granddaughter is now planning to be married in the next few months, and she wants all the things the previous grandkids wanted. Her parents will only go so far.This granddaughter and her fiance have agreed to live with the groom’s recently widowed mother, who has a fully furnished home and a spare bedroom. The newlyweds may have a bedroom to decorate, but the rest of the house belongs to someone else. Packing up gifts for storage will require a place to put them, because other family members don’t have spare room.How do we have a normal shower for a couple who won’t have room for their gifts? Renting a unit can get expensive. By the way, the bride does have a job and income, but the groom is currently unemployed. ...

Deputies investigating homicide of elderly woman in Borrego Springs: SDSO

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:44 GMT

BORREGO SPRINGS, Calif. — Authorities are investigating an apparent homicide in Borrego Springs after finding an elderly woman was found in her home on Saturday with apparent stab wounds, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.Sometime in the afternoon, a deputy responded to the home in the 2800 block of Borrego Springs Road to conduct a welfare check on one of the residents, a 63-year-old woman, at the request of a family member, SDSO Lt. Joseph Jarjura said in a release.Upon arrival, the deputy was told by the family member that she was concerned after seeing blood in the house. SDSO added that the family member also noted there should be three people in the residence.The deputy then searched the home and found what appeared to be the woman with stab wounds to her body, Jarjura said. Fire department personnel later pronounced the woman dead on scene at 3:15 p.m. Seven injured in shooting at Spring Valley home: SDSO Her name has not been disclosed by law enforcement, ...

UCSD says video claiming evacuation of Jewish student meeting is 'incorrect'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:44 GMT

SAN DIEGO — UC San Diego responded to a video circulating on social media that alleged a building where Jewish students gathered to discuss antisemitism was evacuated, saying in statements over the weekend that the post's claims were untrue.The footage was initially posted to X, formerly Twitter, by a self-described news aggregator based in Hungary, but has since been taken down. It was later shared again to Instagram by a pro-Israel advocate that appears to live in Tel Aviv.The video contained text that read "The police have been forced to evacuate Jewish students from a building of University of California San Diego @ucsandiego where they had gathered to discuss antisemitic threats. Swiftly, a large and threatening anti-Israeli mob gathered in front of the building.” SDSU responds to video showing people taking down Israeli hostage flyers In a statement, the university said no such evacuation took place and that the video was from a student government meeting on Nov. 1, 2023. Ac...

Canned seafood moves beyond tuna sandwiches in a pandemic trend that stuck

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:44 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Sardines swirling in preserved lemons. Mackerel basking in curry sauce. Chargrilled squid bathing in ink. All are culinary delicacies long popular in Europe that are now making their mark on U.S. menus. The country’s canned seafood industry is moving well beyond tuna sandwiches, a pandemic-era trend that began with Americans in lockdown demanding more of their cupboard staples. Since then, the U.S. market has only expanded, fueled by social media influencers touting the benefits of the high-powered protein food in brightly colored metal containers. On the TikTok channel Tinned — Fishionado, Kris Wilson posts recipes for quick meals, including one mixing leftover rice, soy sauce, avocado and a runny egg with a tin of smoked mussels from the Danish company Fangst. Tinned fish, as it’s called in Europe, is now a regular offering on menus at wine bars from San Francisco to Houston to New York, where patrons scoop the contents straight out of the can. The...