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Editorial: Ukraine belongs in NATO, just not yet

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:55:59 GMT

Although no one knows how the war in Ukraine will end, the country’s leaders maintain that they’ll continue to face the threat of Russian aggression long after the fighting subsides. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said that the only way to ensure the country’s security is for it to join NATO. He wants the alliance to commit to a timetable for Ukraine’s membership during its July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.It’s a good idea at a terrible time. NATO members are rightly wary of discussing such an escalation while the war is raging. Yet Ukraine’s eventual membership should remain a strategic goal: It would safeguard the country’s independence, bolster the stability of Europe as a whole, and deter Vladimir Putin from ever again attempting to seize control of his neighbor.In 2008, NATO member states made a nonbinding pledge to eventually admit Ukraine and Georgia, both former Soviet republics vulnerable to Russian pressure. However, the alliance refrained from offering eit...

Ambrose: The possible disaster of climate change fear

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:55:59 GMT

President Joe Biden wants to save us from climate change but who will save us from Joe Biden? The latest trick issuing from his consciously misnamed Inflation Reduction Act is a 681-page rule that could disastrously shut down 3,400 fossil-fuel power plants supplying 60% of our electric power. For them to avoid closure, they would need to eliminate 617 million tons of CO2 emissions even though the means remain iffy at best.He’s a science denier, Biden is, and that’s part of the danger. Scientists agree that atmospheric CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels reflect dangerous heat back to the earth, but not that we will thereby be wiped out. Biden uses the phrase “existential threat” as if climate change will exterminate humankind. Most scientists agree that the hotter it gets, the worse life will be, but don’t go that far.The power plants can supposedly use their own CO2 solution, although the possibilities are limited, and one recommendation of the Environmental Protection Agency s...

Pipes: Scope-of-practice reforms can address doctor shortage

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:55:59 GMT

America is facing a chronic doctor shortage. Solving that problem will require not just more doctors but a much bigger role for advanced-practice nurses in our healthcare system.A 2021 report found that the United States will need nearly as many as 48,000 more primary care doctors by 2034 to meet patient demand. It’s infeasible to train that many more new doctors over the next decade. We need to make better use of the supply of healthcare professionals we have.In nearly half of states, “scope-of-practice” laws prevent highly qualified nurse practitioners from delivering basic primary care.These laws were intended to protect patients from receiving substandard care. But they just create more work for doctors and unnecessary bottlenecks for delivering care. The result is that doctors are overburdened, fewer patients get seen, and qualified nurse practitioners are frustrated that they can’t exercise the full extent of their training.In today’s healthcare s...

For teens, regular summer jobs may beat side gigs

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:55:59 GMT

Teens looking for summer work may think “side hustles” and social media are the only ways to make money.“What we hear from a lot of young people is that they’d rather try to start a business than have traditional jobs,” says Ed Grocholski, chief marketing officer of Junior Achievement USA, an organization that helps young people prepare for career success.It’s easy to see why teens are excited. Social media influencers appear to be cashing in on their images and hobbies, and side hustle culture makes it look more feasible than ever to market and sell a product or service. But what teens might not realize is that early entrepreneurial endeavors usually take time to take off. Put another way, they don’t provide steady pay.But traditional jobs do, and for teenagers looking to eventually be their own boss online or off, such in-person work can lay beneficial groundwork. Here are some options for working-age teens and what lessons they could learn on the job.Restaurants remain a qu...

Dear Abby: Woman wants life partner, not hookups

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:55:59 GMT

Dear Abby: I’m a 32-year-old woman. My 20s were spent in a serious long-term relationship. It was a lot of firsts for me. After we split, I took a couple of years to sow my wild oats and find out who I am as an individual.I’m now looking for something more than “friends with benefits.” However, the last few men I’ve met and gone on dates with, as wholesome as they seemed on dating sites (which have been my main source of meeting men), were really just looking for hookups. I want to find a life partner.I have been chatting with a potentially great guy I met online, and we have a date scheduled. But I’m nervous that when we meet that he’ll expect more than a date. I’m over that. Like I said, I want an actual relationship.Can you give me some advice on what to do and say, or not, on a first or second date to help move it in the right direction without scaring the guy away? — Proceeding With CautionDear Proceeding: Your dating profil...

Koepka delivers another major performance to win PGA

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:55:59 GMT

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Confidence was never an issue for Brooks Koepka until the injuries piled up, the doubts crept in and he began to wonder if he still belonged among golf’s elite.Koepka answered every question at the PGA Championship with a performance that ranks among his best. His fifth major title was the sweetest of them all. No doubt about that, either.“It feels damned good. Yeah, this one is definitely special,” Koepka said. “I think this one is probably the most meaningful of them all with everything that’s gone on, all the crazy stuff over the last few years.”One knee injury kept him from the Masters, another from the Presidents Cup in Australia. Two years ago, he tried to pop his knee back into place and shattered his knee cap. And then last summer, uncertain about his future, he decided to leave the PGA Tour for the guaranteed Saudi riches of LIV Golf, bringing a mixture of criticism and skepticism.And there he was Sunday at Oak Hill, looking good as new, d...

With all the politics and maneuvering, how is life in Florida changing for its residents?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:55:59 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — “Don’t say gay.” Regulation of books and classroom discussion. Teachers, parents and school librarians all navigating new and uncertain ground. LGBTQ+ rights under attack. A very public spat between state government and Disney. And at the center of it all is a governor who has emerged as a rival of former President Donald Trump and likely has his eyes set on the White House. This is Florida at this moment in history, in mid-2023. For many of those who live in Florida, recent months have brought some changes — many linked to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Here, longtime Florida-based Associated Press journalist Brendan Farrington, who has covered the state’s politics since 1997, reflects on the changes for different groups and puts them into the context of the cultural and political landscape. ___HOW LIFE IS CHANGING FOR … YOUR AVERAGE FLORIDIAN:For your average Floridian, cost of living concerns have become an issue and really are not being addressed a...

One year after Uvalde shooting, investigation of police response continues

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:55:59 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A criminal investigation in Texas over the hesitant police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting is still ongoing as Wednesday marks one year since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers inside a fourth-grade classroom in Uvalde. The continuing probe underlines the lasting fallout over Texas’ deadliest school shooting and how the days after the attack were marred by authorities giving inaccurate and conflicting accounts about efforts made to stop a teenage gunman armed with an AR-style rifle.The investigation has run parallel to a new wave of public anger in the U.S. over gun violence, renewed calls for stricter firearm regulations and legal challenges over authorities in Uvalde continuing to withhold public records related to the shooting and the police response.Here’s a look at what has happened in the year since one of America’s deadliest mass shootings: POLICE SCRUTINYA damning report by Texas lawmakers put nearly 400 office...

Fire destroys main post office in Philippine capital, a nearly 100-year-old neo-classical landmark

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:55:59 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A massive fire tore through Manila’s historic post office building overnight, slightly injuring one person and and razing the nearly 100-year-old landmark in the Philippine capital, police and postal officials said Monday.The fire started before midnight in the basement of the neo-classical, five-story building and was brought under control Monday morning more than seven hours after it began, firefighters said.An investigation was underway to determine the cause of the fire and what was damaged, officials said.The Manila Central Post Office was one of the capital’s busiest office buildings but was closed when the fire started. The building was the country’s main mail-sorting and distribution hub and was the central office for the Philippine Postal Corporation. Postal service in the Philippines began during the Spanish colonial period with horse-riding mail couriers. The building now recognized as a national landmark was built in 1926 with high columns in t...

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise despite worries about US debt talks

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:55:59 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly drifted higher Monday as investors fretted whether the United States government would be able to reach a deal to avoid a federal default. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was little changed in morning trading, gaining nearly 0.1% to 30,833.94. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.3% to 7,261.40. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.9% to 2,560.16. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.2% to 19,691.82, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1% to 3,287.30. Markets are closely watching a pivotal meeting set for later in the day at the White House between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the debt ceiling. A default on the U.S. debt would almost surely cause a recession in the American economy, which would have damaging effects on global economies. “It seems pretty likely that a full-fledged deal will be reached before early June, but the timing is hard to predict,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said ...