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UK passport office workers kick off 5-week strike

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:36:28 GMT

LONDON (AP) — British passport office workers kicked off a five-week strike on Monday, as the latest group of civil servants to demand a pay raise in response to double-digit inflation threatened to cause headaches for travelers ahead of the summer holiday season.The walkout by some 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union is taking place as Britons seek to renew their travel documents in preparation for their summer vacations. Despite fears of delays, the government hasn’t changed its estimate that it will take up to 10 weeks to get a passport.The walkout is the latest in a wave of strikes that has disrupted Britons’ lives for months. Public-sector workers including doctors, teachers, train and bus drivers, airport baggage handlers, border officers and postal workers are demanding pay increases to keep pace with inflation, which stands at 10.4%.A cost-of-living crisis fueled by sharp rises in food and energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left ma...

Snoop Dog steps in at last second during WrestleMania, wins match

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:36:28 GMT

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Leave it to Snoop Dogg to emerge as the Most Valuable Performer of WrestleMania 39.During a weekend that saw World Wrestling Entertainment set a two-night attendance record for their signature event, rumors of a possible sale and Roman Reigns remaining the undisputed champion, the iconic rapper stepped up in an emergency.Snoop Dogg was co-hosting a segment between matches on Sunday at SoFi Stadium with wrestler Mike “The Miz” Mizanin when he goaded Mizanin into an impromptu match with Shane McMahon, who made his appearance at a WWE event for the first time in 14 months. McMahon and Mizanin traded punches before McMahon tore his quad when he did a leapfrog maneuver while trying to avoid Mizanin. Here’s where Trump’s other ongoing legal cases stand Doctors checked on McMahon before he was helped out of the ring. Snoop Dogg then came back into the ring to continue the match, as he punched “The Miz” twice, then stole a page from “The Rock” and landed a people’...

Marjorie Taylor Greene defends calling Democrats 'pedophiles,' eliciting eye-roll from 60 Minutes' Stahl

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:36:28 GMT

(The Hill) - Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) defended calling Democrats "pedophiles" in a new interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" Sunday, eliciting eye-rolls from correspondent Lesley Stahl. Stahl asked Greene about what she called "over-the-top" comments, such as saying that "Democrats are a party of pedophiles.""I would definitely say so," Greene responded. "They support grooming children.""They are not pedophiles," Stahl responded. "Why would you say that?""Democrats support — even Joe Biden the president himself — supports children being sexualized, having transgender surgeries," Greene responded. "Sexualizing children is what pedophiles do to children."Greene's response elicited an eye roll from Stahl, who sighed and said "wow," before asking her next question: whether the congresswoman might fight for what she believed without name calling and personal attacks. "I would ask the same question to the other side. Because all they've done is call me names and insult me nonstop s...

Spain's Asturias ravaged by fires as authorities blame 'fire terrorists'

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:36:28 GMT

More than 90 wildfires erupted in Asturias, northern Spain, on Friday (31 March). Most of them were started by arsonists, whom the leader of the region called "fire terrorists".More than 600 firefighters responded to the fires, and many towns were evacuated after police closed roads and highways.After an unusually dry winter in southern Europe, and rising temperatures caused by climate change, the Spanish government expressed concern that wildfires could flare up again this year."THEY ARE BURNING OUR ASTURIAS. "We are dealing with terrorists who are endangering people, towns, and cities," Adrian Barbon (head of the regional government) stated on Twitter.Over the past two days, emergency services in Asturias (and Cantabria) have already set off dozens of fires. Authorities said that most of them were intentionally set off and fanned with strong winds.Although multiple investigations were opened by police, no arsonist was ever identified. Arson convictions can lead to up to 20 years i...

Bridge: April 3, 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:36:28 GMT

The blame game began in Eden: Adam blamed Eve, she blamed the serpent, and he had not a leg to stand on. Even today, some people won’t take the blame for a foul-up until they exhaust every other possibility.Today’s West led the ten of hearts against 3NT, and dummy won and led the queen of diamonds. When East took the king, he returned … a heart. West won the next diamond and led a third heart, but South won and ran the diamonds. East was stuck for discards, and South wound up with 11 tricks.“I expected your hearts to be Q-10-9-x-x,” East told his partner.SURE THINGIt’s not whether you win or lose but how you place the blame. East had a sure thing by leading the deuce of spades at Trick Three. When West took the ace of diamonds, he could lead another spade, and East would get three spade tricks.As for East’s don’t-blame-me comment, once West showed the ace of diamonds, he could hardly hold another queen. Then South would have at most fi...

Word Game: April 3, 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:36:28 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — PUNDITS (PUNDITS: PUN-ditz: Learned persons.)Average mark 14 wordsTime limit 30 minutesCan you find 17 or more words in PUNDITS? The list will be published tomorrow.SATURDAY’S WORD — CANTLES cane cant cantle case caste castle cent cesta clan clean cleat acne ante ascent neat nest talc tale teal lace lance lancet lane lase last late laten lean least lens lent lest east elan enact sale salt sane sate scale scan scant scat scent seal seat secant sect sent slant slat slate stale stance stealTo 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, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words,...

Ask Amy: I need to stop job-hopping, but after 60 days I’m done with this one

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:36:28 GMT

Dear Amy: I recently got a new job that I’ve been at for two months. Even though I just started and am still in my 90-day trial period, I feel like this job isn’t the right fit for me.I’ve been in the medical field for six years and within those years, I’ve been in and out of medical offices, either quitting or getting fired.My question is, how do I stay at one job when I really don’t like their values? (My manager declined to let me attend an appointment with my son’s school because I’m still under my 90-day review.)I’ve been looking for other employment, but I feel like it’s going to be a never-ending cycle of leaving and being burnt out.Any advice?Burnt-out MomDear Burnt Out: I agree that you are trapped in a never-ending cycle – of working in medical offices and then either quitting or being fired.By this point, you’ve racked up an extremely poor work history, which I assume would negatively affect your ability to get another job at a quality medical practice.My suggestion is th...

Harriette Cole: My friend unsent a text, and what I saw before it vanished has me worried

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:36:28 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently received a strange, cryptic text from my friend at a late hour of the night. It had worrying connotations and made me think that they might be considering suicide.The iPhone now has a feature where you can unsend messages, so they deleted it shortly after I received it, but I still saw a part of it before they had a chance to unsend it.How can I express my concern without making them uncomfortable? This situation is delicate, and I don’t want them to feel like I’m overreacting.Cryptic MessageDEAR CRYPTIC MESSAGE: Being a friend in a situation like this means risking the friendship, at least in the short term, because you dare to probe.Go for it. Reach out to this friend. See if you can get together in person. If not, try for a video call so that you can see them as close to face-to-face as possible.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: They act like my down-and-out childhood was disgraceful Advice | Harriette Cole:...

Russia’s top counterterrorism agency says the killing of a military blogger was staged by Ukrainian security agencies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:36:28 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top counterterrorism agency says the killing of a military blogger was staged by Ukrainian security agencies.Source

Thailand’s political hopefuls register for May election

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:36:28 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Hundreds of would-be lawmakers in Thailand on Monday began the official registration process for the upcoming general election, a vote that will pit supporters of an exiled prime minister against the conservative political establishment and its allies in the military.Dressed in T-shirts and jackets in their party colors, and backed by groups of noisy supporters, the political hopefuls pushed their way past a throng of journalists to cram into a Bangkok stadium and complete the paperwork to qualify for the May 14 election. Underscoring the political tensions, four protesters under the watchful eyes of two dozen police officers held up signs demanding changes to Article 112 of the constitution, which carries harsh penalties for defaming the country’s monarch. Calls for reform of the law have increased in recent years but remain a major taboo in a country where the royal family has traditionally been seen as untouchable. Prayuth Chan-ocha, the incumbent prime minister, r...