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Latvian Parliament elects foreign minister as new president

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:50:39 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Latvian lawmakers on Wednesday picked the country’s long-serving and popular foreign minister, a strong backer of Ukraine, as its new head of state in a tight vote.The 100-seat Saeima legislature elected Edgars Rinkevics, the country’s top diplomat since 2011, as president to serve for a four-year term. He received 52 votes, one vote more than required to win the race. Incumbent Egils Levits, Latvia’s head of state since 2019, didn’t seek reelection.Rinkevics, who announced in 2014 that he is “proudly” homosexual. will be the first openly gay president in the Baltic nations — all former Soviet republics where attitudes to sexual minorities have been less tolerant than in western Europe.His closest rival, businessman Uldis Pilens, got 25 votes in the third round of voting between the two remaining contenders after the third candidate, Elina Pinto, had dropped out of the contest. After the vote, Rinkevics tweeted that he was “honored and humbled” by t...

Oman launches $5B investment fund as part of efforts to diversify oil-dependant economy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:50:39 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oman plans to launch a $5 billion public investment fund to support plans to overhaul the economy in the Gulf Arab nation over the next two decades, state media reported Wednesday.The Oman Future Fund will aim to increase economic activity and support the private sector as the country looks to reduce its reliance on oil. With a population of some 4.5 million, Oman is the second largest Gulf Arab nation after Saudi Arabia but has nowhere near its vast oil reserves.Oman has long served as a regional mediator, maintaining close ties to the U.S. and other Gulf states as well as Iran. That has allowed it to facilitate prisoner exchanges and other tense negotiations.State media said Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said approved the new fund, which would launch with 2 million riyals, or around $5.2 billion. It would support the country’s Vision 2040 plans to grow and diversify the economy.Oman, like other Gulf countries, already has a sovereign wealth f...

Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet of a Syrian refugee, will travel the US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:50:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Little Amal, a 12-foot (3.7-meter) puppet of a Syrian refugee, will journey across the United States this fall, visiting key places in America’s history to raise awareness about immigration and migration.The puppet of the 10-year-old girl will visit the U.S. Capitol, Boston Common, Joshua Tree National Park and the Edmund Pettus Bridge among other sites during a trek which starts in Boston on Sept. 7 and ends Nov. 5 along the U.S.-Mexico border.“There is something in the act of welcoming a stranger which redefines you,” says Amir Nizar Zuabi, the artistic director. “I think that’s part of what we’re trying to create when walking into places that have a beautiful, complicated, defining history.”Stops are also planned for Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, the Tennessee cities of Nashville and Memphis, New Orleans, the Texas cities of Austin, Houston, San Antonio and El Paso, as well as the California cities of Los Angeles and San Die...

Chipotle giving away free food during NBA Finals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:50:39 GMT

(WHNT) - The 2023 NBA Finals are set and Chipotle is giving away free food throughout the series. The popular Mexican grill announced Tuesday that every time a player makes a three-pointer in the NBA Finals they will give away 300 free entrees.During the "Chipotle Free Pointer" promotion, every time a Denver Nuggets or Miami Heat player makes a three-pointer, Chipotle will tweet a unique message from @CHIPOTLETWEETS. The first 300 to text that message to 888222 will receive a free entrée code. Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s introduce new app feature that can track customers’ location Those who are one of the first 300 to text will be eligible to redeem the Entrée Code by placing an order through the Chipotle App or on the Chipotle website during normal business hours.Combined, the Nuggets and Heat average 23 three-pointers per game, and the chain says it will give away up to 10,500 free entrees per game."This year, when it rains threes, it rains free burritos," said Chris Brandt, Chief&...

Seaweed mixing with plastics could provide fertile ground for flesh-eating bacteria, research shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:50:39 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Researchers from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) fear a pathogen could be breeding amid the rising levels of seaweed known as sargassum found washing up on some Florida beaches.Masses of the sargassum seaweed have grown larger in recent years. This year, the seaweed bloom reached record size, and experts said "major beaching events are inevitable.""It impacts tourism, it impacts some of the health of some people living by the beaches," said Dr. Frank Muller-Kager, an oceanographer at the University of South Florida. Giant seaweed bloom’s beaching begins, expected to worsen In newly-released research, scientists expressed a new concern: the increased presence of plastics in our waters, plus blooming sargassumn, could provide a breeding ground for vibrio, a bacteria found in oceans and other waterways. Vibrio bacteria "are the dominant cause of death in humans from the marine environment," explains a summary of the FAU findings. "Vibrio vulnificus, o...

The 100 best doughnut shops in the country, according to Yelp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:50:39 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Do you “go nuts” for doughnuts? Sure you do. We all do. They’re made from fried dough and sugar. We’d be fools not to be interested.But we don’t go gaga over just any doughnut. We all have our favorite shops and flavors, and we’re always on the lookout for newer, tastier varieties. And while there’s no shortage of shops providing exactly what we crave, there are also plenty of mediocre doughnut purveyors that, frankly, no one has ever gone nuts for.  To help us find the best of the best, Yelp’s team of analysts have compiled their second annual ranking of America's top 100 doughnut shops based on the ratings and reviews of Yelp’s online community. The 2023 list — released ahead of National Doughnut Day on June 2 — includes shops from 27 states and Washington, D.C., though some are more well-represented than others. California and Florida, for instance, are each home to 10 of the top-rated doughnut shops on Yelp’s list. (It's worth noting that Yelp's list-makers only...

Al Pacino expecting 4th child at 83 years old

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:50:39 GMT

(KTLA) – Al Pacino is about to be a dad again.A representative for the 83-year-old actor confirmed the news Tuesday evening following an early report from TMZ that the actor’s girlfriend, Noor Alfallah, 29, was eight months pregnant.The couple has been romantically linked since April 2022 after they were photographed leaving a Los Angeles restaurant, reports NBC News. Just five weeks ago, Alfallah posted a photo with the "Godfather" actor on Instagram, showing the two of them at her friend Bennett Miller's art exhibit in New York.Alfallah has also previously been linked to rock icon Mick Jagger from 2017 to 2018, reports E! Online. Nearly half of parents with adult children still pay their bills Pacino already has three children from previous relationships: 33-year-old Julie Marie with ex-girlfriend Jan Tarrant, and 22-year-old twins Anton and Olivia with ex-girlfriend Beverly D'Angelo.The "Scarface" actor's baby news comes just weeks after fellow “Heat” and “Godfather Part ...

Dean cooks 3 different kinds of burgers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:50:39 GMT

WGN Entertainment Reporter Dean Richards is gearing up for summer and cooking burgers!Stuffed CheeseburgersIngredients:2 lbs. ground Beef1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce1 teaspoon Garlic Powder1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste.  1/2 lb.  Cheese of choice (finely grated.)  I loved cheddar but blue cheese, swiss, provolone are also great.   6  Hamburger Buns  (brioche is great.)Instructions: Combine the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix together well.Roll the beef into 6 balls. Split each beef ball in half and flatten out to your preferred patty size. Place about 2-3 tablespoons cheese in the center of one patty, then top with the other patty and seal the edges by pinching and smoothing with your fingers.Gently press flat, double checking there are no opening for the cheese to escape when the burgers cook.Cook on a grill or skillet over medium hi...

Austin FC's honorary mascots for Wednesday match named after 'Ted Lasso' characters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:50:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- You may recognize the names of Austin FC's honorary mascots for the Verde's Wednesday match. Ted Lasso, Rebecca Welton, Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt are 8-week old shepherd mix puppies from Austin Pets Alive! and will serve as the honorary mascots for Austin FC's match against Minnesota United FC.Roy Kent, a shepherd mix puppy from Austin Pets Alive! is one of four puppies named after 'Ted Lasso' characters who will be Austin FC's honorary mascots on May 31, 2023. (Photo: Austin Pets Alive!)Jamie Tartt, a shepherd mix puppy from Austin Pets Alive! is one of four puppies named after 'Ted Lasso' characters who will be Austin FC's honorary mascots on May 31, 2023. (Photo: Austin Pets Alive!)Rebecca Welton and Ted Lasso, two shepherd mix puppies from Austin Pets Alive! are two of four puppies named after 'Ted Lasso' characters who will be Austin FC's honorary mascots on May 31, 2023. (Photo: Austin Pets Alive!)Wednesday marks the end of the third season of the popular Apple...

Minneapolis author’s debut novel is GMA’s book club pick for June

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:50:39 GMT

A Minneapolis author’s debut novel has been selected as Good Morning America’s book club pick for June.“Ink Blood Sister Scribe,” a fantastical page-turner by Emma Törzs, was also the subject of a bidding war by publishers. It was released by William Morrow on Tuesday.The hype and buzz are warranted, our book critic says.“It doesn’t matter how many TBR books are lying on every surface of your house,” our book editor, Mary Ann Grossmann, wrote in her Readers and Writers column on Sunday. “You have to make room for this debut novel from Minneapolis author Emma Törzs. It has everything we want in summer reads — old houses, hidden staircases, messages (and corpses) sent through mirrors, likable characters, secrets that go back centuries, scribes who literally gave their lives to write magic into their books, and questions of how far family loyalty should go.”ABC’s “Good Morning America” introduced the book on Tuesday during its...