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3M fires company executive for inappropriate conduct weeks after promotion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — 3M has fired prominent company executive Michael Vale due to “inappropriate personal conduct and violation of company policy,” the maker of Post-it notes, industrial coatings and ceramics announced on Monday.Vale was promoted to group president and chief business and country officer just last month. Vale worked at 3M for more than 30 years, according to an April 25 press release announcing his promotion, which said he would report to Chairman and CEO Mike Roman. The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company said that Vale was terminated on Friday. 3M did not specify many details surrounding the executive’s termination but noted that his inappropriate conduct and violation of policy was “unrelated to the company’s operations and financial performance.”According to 3M’s Monday announcement, the company took “immediate action” after verifying the violation.3M has initated a search to find a replacement for Vale, the company said.When contacted by The Associated Pr...

Jewish teacher arrested for threatening students who drew swastikas, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

GRAFTON, Wis. (AP) — A Jewish middle school teacher in Wisconsin was arrested for making terrorist threats toward students who drew swastikas on a paper in his classroom, police said.The Grafton Police Department, north of Milwaukee, has not identified the seventh grade teacher they say told the students that he had 17 guns in his basement and that he wasn’t afraid to use them.The John Long Middle School teacher, who police say is Jewish, was angered by the drawings and also threatened to send his daughter to students’ homes with a baseball bat, WTMJ-TV reported.“At first he kind of just acted normal, he just put it on his desk like, ‘I’m going to tell the office about this,’” seventh grader Ethan Poulos told the television station. “But then he picked up the piece of paper and went on a ramble about how that’s bad and that’s a disgrace to his people. He started mentioning the N-word and how that was worse than writing the N-word on the wall.”The teacher was booked into the Oz...

Zelenskyy’s European tour aimed to replenish Ukraine’s arsenal and build political support

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Volodymyr Zelenskyy set off across Europe with a long shopping list. Ukraine’s president will head home with much of what he wanted — though not the Western fighter jets he seeks to defend against Russian air attacks.European leaders promised Zelenskyy an arsenal of missiles, tanks and drones during a whirlwind three-day visit to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and the U.K. that sought to replenish Ukraine’s depleted weapons supplies ahead of a long-anticipated spring offensive aimed at turning the tide of the war.The trip was also about shoring up European political and military support for the longer term, to ensure Ukraine can hold any ground it takes back and press for a favorable peace.“They’ve got to show … they’re in this conflict for the long term and that they’re able to keep sustaining this effort,” said Justin Crump, a former British tank commander who heads security consultancy Sibylline. “It’s not going to be one shot and done.”Zelenskyy’s energetic in...

Don’t have udon? Try spaghetti in this `Asian noodle’ dish

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

With bold, exciting flavors and speedy cooking, savory Asian noodles are ideal for weeknight meals. But what happens if all you have in the pantry is spaghetti? No problem.Though the dish won’t be traditional, Italian noodles can make a good stand-in for Asian noodles if that’s what you have on hand. All you need are a few heavy-hitting pantry staples to strike the right balance of sweet, savory, salty and umami.For this recipe from our book “Cook What You Have,” which draws on pantry staples to assemble easy, weeknight meals, you can use udon noodles if you have them, but spaghetti or fettuccine will work just fine, too.Since we were throwing tradition out the window anyway, we decided to blend the meatiness of Sichuan dan dan mian, or spicy noodles with ground pork, with the simplicity of peanut noodles. Whisking together soy sauce, peanut butter and oyster sauce (or hoisin) creates a rich, savory sauce loaded with umami, and the creaminess of the peanut butter helps it cling to ...

Which Colorado counties get the most precipitation?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

DENVER (Stacker) — Rain, sleet, snow, hail, wintry mix. Precipitation takes on many forms, and the degree to which climate change affects precipitation levels comes down to something almost everyone learns about in school—Earth's water cycle. A system in endless motion, the water cycle traces the process through which water exists in its three primary phases—liquid, solid, and gas—as it moves perpetually between the Earth and its atmosphere.Increases in precipitation frequency and intensity are markers of climate change. When temperatures rise and oceans grow warmer, the amount of water that evaporates into the atmosphere—and the speed at which it does so—also increases. As atmospheric circulation carries the moisture-rich air over land or pushes it into a storm system, heavy rain or snow is often the result.The continental U.S. on average received about 30 inches of precipitation between March 2022 and February 2023. Traditionally "wet" regions—such as Washington sta...

US seeks dismissal of corruption charges against Florida 2018 Democratic governor nominee Gillum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

Federal prosecutors asked a judge Monday to dismiss the remaining corruption charges against Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee for Florida governor in 2018, after a jury deadlocked on all but one count following a trial earlier this month.Prosecutors had said they intended to retry Gillum after the trial concluded on May 4, but reversed course in a one-paragraph motion that also seeks dismissal of the case against his co-defendant, Sharon Lettman-Hicks.Jurors acquitted Gillum of lying to the FBI but could not reach a verdict on more than a dozen fraud and conspiracy charges contending Gillum and Lettman-Hicks diverted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions for his personal use.Gillum’s defense team, led by Miami attorney David O. Markus, said in an email that he can now “resume his life and public service.”“Andrew Gillum had the courage to stand up and say ‘I am innocent.’ And that is finally being recognized. We want to thank the hard working jury who did ...

European countries succeed in yearlong push to relocate WHO Moscow office 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

It took a year, but European countries have succeeded in their push for the World Health Organization (WHO) to relocate a key office away from Moscow.A special session of the WHO’s Regional Committee for Europe on Monday, called by all EU countries except Hungary, as well as Iceland, Norway, U.K. and Ukraine, saw the countries force the WHO’s hand on the closure of the non-communicable diseases office in Moscow. The office will be relocated to Copenhagen by January 1, 2024.It marks a significant moment for the WHO, which attempts to remain politically neutral while condemning actions that harm human health. The European countries pushing for the relocation of the office argued in a letter in April that “the immediate and long-term health impacts in Ukraine and beyond, caused by Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, continue to be a matter of utmost concern.”The majority of countries present at the meeting Monday voted in favor of the resolu...

State police recover body of 4-year-old boy who went missing at Castle Island

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

Authorities say the body of a 4-year-old boy from South Boston who was reported missing over the weekend has been found.Massachusetts State Police said the body of Mohamed Abou Fofana was found midday on the shoreline of Spectacle Island, off South Boston.“At 12:29 PM a Massachusetts State Police Marine Unit crew observed the boy’s body on the shore from their boat,” an MSP spokesperson said in a statement. “Troopers from the MSP Special Emergency Response Team and State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County were ferried to the island by the Marine Unit, and they have confirmed the body to be Mohamed. State Police Crime Scene Services also responded to document the scene of the recovery.”According to officials, the body of Mohamed will be brought to shore and transferred to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, with a death investigation to be conducted by the State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County.This is a developing news story; stay wit...

America’s fastest growing sport is coming to your mall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

(CNN) — Pickleball is coming to your local mall, replacing shuttered Bed Bath & Beyond, Old Navy, and Saks Off 5th stores.It may seem like a strange strategy, but the match offers benefits to both mall owners and pickleball players.Malls need new tenants to fill vacant spaces and draw customers beyond their traditional department store anchors and clothing stores.Consumers are craving fun, social experiences after years of limited gatherings during the pandemic, and they have shifted their spending from goods to experiences like theaters, arcades and amusement parks.Malls are responding to these trends by turning to a wider range of tenants and activities to draw traffic, real estate investment firm JLL said in a report this week.The new mix at malls also includes skydiving, virtual golf and breweries.Meanwhile, pickleball is America’s fastest growing sport. Backers of the game and developers are desperate to find vacant spaces to build court...

Microsoft’s bid to buy Activision Blizzard clears a key hurdle. But the $69B deal is still at risk

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

By KELVIN CHAN (AP Business Writer)LONDON (AP) — The European Union on Monday approved Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of video game maker Activision Blizzard, deciding the deal won’t stifle competition for popular console titles like Call of Duty and accepting the U.S. tech company’s remedies to boost competition in cloud gaming.But the blockbuster deal is still in jeopardy because British regulators have rejected it and U.S. authorities are trying to thwart it.The acquisition, sweetened by Microsoft’s promises to automatically license Activision games to cloud gaming platforms, “would no longer raise competition concerns and would ultimately unlock significant benefits for competition and consumers,” said the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm and top antitrust watchdog.The commission’s approval “has removed one potential major roadblock for this deal” but “it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in a stronger position” to overturn the U.K.’s rejection, said Liam...