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Low-speed zone: Europe’s super crops revolution hits bottleneck

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:39 GMT

“Would you rather feed gene-edited lettuce to your kids or no lettuce at all?” asks Mónica Álvaro, an agronomist specialized in organic farming.Álvaro is clear: she wouldn’t put plants engineered in a laboratory on her plate, but realizes that some families might have no choice once these products enter the market.In July, the European Commission proposed rules to legalize new gene-editing technologies for crops, exempting them from the hard-fought and ultra-restrictive law on genetically modified organisms (GMO) — often labeled as “frankenfoods” — in a bid to catch up with other regions of the world already embracing these new varieties.Such deregulation was marketed by its proponents as the magic recipe to help farmers produce more and affordable food against the backdrop of a worsening climate crisis and high inflation. Resistance to drought and pests are some of the potential crop traits that Brussels is eyeing.The EU executive stepped on the gas in the hope that this proposal w...

‘No shame’ in Emma Stone’s ‘Poor Things’ game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:39 GMT

Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” won the Gold Lion, the top prize, at its Venice world premiere and now looms as an Oscar favorite.A bizarre, unsettling, one-of-a-kind odyssey, it gifts Emma Stone with not just a chance for a second Best Actress Oscar but buzz as one actor ready for anything.Stone’s Bella is brought to life as a late 19th century Frankensteinian brain-switching experiment by Willem Dafoe’s mad doctor (he resembles the classic Hollywood monster).A satirical sex comedy and feminist revenge tale, “Poor Things” boasts frequent, unabashed full-out nudity as it traces Bella’s rapid evolution from childhood to maturity.“We had to be confident like the character and have no shame,” Lanthimos, 50, said of his film which costars Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef. “And Emma had to have no shame about her body, nudity, doing those scenes. She understood that right away.”This is the fourth teaming of the Greek writer-director and his unabashedly American star.It works, Stone, 35, sai...

Team USA experience showcases Teddy Mutryn

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:39 GMT

Following a full day at St. Sebastian’s School in late October, junior ice hockey forward Teddy Mutryn got a text message that presented quite the opportunity.The 16-year-old Boston College commit was offered a chance to join the United States Under-17 National Team for the 2023 World U17 Hockey Challenge in Prince Edward Island, Canada.“It was kind of spur of the moment,” Mutryn said. “I got the text right after school – ‘you’re flying out 8 A.M. Thursday morning.’ So, it’s a pretty quick and surreal turnaround. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. It was an awesome experience.”This wasn’t Mutryn’s first foray with the Red, White and Blue. He represented the U.S. at the 2023 Five Nations tournament in August and had attended several camps with the National Team Development Program. Still, the opportunity to join the U.S. team at this tournament was something he could not pass up, and he had the full support of St. Sebastian’s head coach Sean McCann.“To go up there, r...

Editorial: New education fad leaves kids depressed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:39 GMT

There are many reasons to be depressed about public education in America. But the craze that has swept through public schools is actually increasing depression among students.You may have heard about social and emotional learning. It’s the major trend in public education and has gained steam over the past decade. It’s intention is to help students “acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions,” according to the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning.That’s a murky scramble of buzzwords and catchphrases that only an academic could love. Such pseudo-sophisticates are well-represented among the education establishment. In intelligible terms, SEL aims to make students better people, which, in theory, will improve academic outcomes.These goals are c...

What to gift the young professional on your list

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:39 GMT

Holiday shoppers relish the moment when a loved one unwraps a gift and immediately smiles. Hitting the nail on the head in regard to a holiday gift is its own reward, and there’s no shame in looking around for some inspiration to find a gift loved ones will truly cherish.Shopping for young professionals this holiday season could be a little tricky, as changes sparked by the pandemic continue to affect work environments. However, shoppers can still find gifts to make young professionals happy this holiday season.Home office essentialsMany businesses have welcomed workers back to the office, but some are taking a hybrid approach to being in the office. Many professionals who once went into the office five days a week are now spending one or two days a week at home. Others may still be working remotely full-time.Take this into consideration when shopping for young professionals and look for some basic home office essentials. A comfortable office chair, a monitor that can be paire...

Leahy: Trade reforms needed to compete with China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:39 GMT

The recent meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, came amid growing concerns that China is surpassing the United States as a global innovation leader.This is no accident. China has consistently invested in the foundation of its innovation economy and is reaping the benefits. Now, the United States must do the same, or risk being left behind.Nowhere is the U.S. failure to support our own innovative industries more obvious than in the intellectual property abuses that are festering at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), as unfair trade practices investigations have repeatedly set back American innovation and economic productivity.The ITC’s investigations have been in the spotlight lately. In October, the agency ruled that the Apple Watch infringes on a patent held by the medical device company Masimo and issued an import ban that would prevent Apple Watches from being sold in...

Dear Abby: Wedding invite comes with job duties

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:39 GMT

Dear Abby: I was invited to my nephew’s wedding out of state and accepted the invitation. It’s a four-hour drive. My son wasn’t interested in attending, and my boyfriend wasn’t sure he could attend due to work travel. The mother of the bride informed me that she had decided to “put” an elderly relative in my room with me, claiming they were now out of rooms. (She’s known to be miserly and dishonest.)There was no offer to share costs, and it was assumed that I’d transport, dress and monitor the relative. I ended up declining the invitation, and I regret not being at my nephew’s wedding. My boyfriend was able to attend but, by then, I couldn’t make an appropriate room arrangement. Thoughts? — Skipped It in the EastDear Skipped It: Just this: Because you felt the mother of the bride should have asked your permission rather than “tell” you her plan was for you to babysit the relative, you were within your righ...

Snow blankets northern China, closing roads and schools and suspending train service

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:39 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Overnight snowfall across much of northern China prompted road closures and the suspension of classes and train service on Monday.A red alert for a blizzard was in effect until mid-morning in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, and schools were closed there and in two other cities in Henan, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The Zhengzhou airport was also closed until 11 a.m.A total of 134 road sections in 12 provinces, including 95 on highways, were closed as of 7 a.m. because of snowfall and icy conditions, CCTV said. Several trains in two parts of Shanxi province were suspended.It was the first significant snowfall this year in much of China, outside of mountainous areas and in the northeast near the border with Russia’s Siberia.A thin layer of snow blanketed rooftops and parked cars in downtown Beijing. The roads were mostly clear and workers swept remaining snow from the sidewalks. The Beijing Public Transport Group said that 187 bus routes were suspend...

Mariah Carey’s 1994 hit ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ still dominates the holiday charts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — If anything about Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” annoys you, best to avoid shopping malls now. Or the radio. Maybe music altogether, for that matter.Her 1994 carol dominates holiday music like nothing else.The Christmas colossus has reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart the past four years in a row — measuring the most popular songs each week by airplay, sales and streaming, not just the holiday-themed — and it’s reasonable to assume 2023 will be no different. One expert predicts it will soon exceed $100 million in earnings. Even its ringtone has sold millions.“That song is just embedded in history now,” says David Foster, the 16-time Grammy-winning composer and producer. “It’s embedded in Christmas. When you think of Christmas right now, you think of that song.”Yet the story behind “All I Want for Christmas is You” is not all holly and mistletoe.The song’s co-authors, Carey and Walter Afanasieff, are in a mystifying feud. The authors of a diff...

Negotiators, activists and officials ramp up the urgency as climate talks enter final days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:39 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Delegates at the United Nations climate talks have little time left to decide how the world plans to cap planet-warming emissions and keep the worst of warming at bay, ramping up the urgency as new drafts were expected on key outcomes of the summit. Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, told journalists Monday morning that the “climate wolves” remained at the world’s doors as negotiations reach their climax at the summit.“We do not have a minute to lose in this crucial final stretch and none of us have had much sleep,” Stiell said. He added that “the areas where options need to be negotiated have narrowed significantly,” in particular how to reduce planet-warming emissions and the “transition with the proper means of support to deliver it.”When asked directly if it was a possibility that negotiators could leave Dubai without a deal, Stiell did not deny that could happen.“One thing is for certain: ...