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Egypt pardons jailed activists including two prominent rights defenders, official reports say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:13 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s president has pardoned a group of prisoners who include two prominent rights activists, one of whom has ties to Italy and was sentenced this week, the country’s state-run news agency reported Wednesday.Among those pardoned by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi was rights activist Patrick George Zaki, who was a post-graduate student in Italy and who was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday over an opinion article he wrote in 2019, the MENA news agency said.Also pardoned was Mohammed el-Baker, a rights lawyer, who was arrested in Sep. 2019, the agency reported. El-Baker was sentenced to four years in prison late in 2021 over charges of disseminating false news, misuse of social media and joining a terrorist group.The report didn’t elaborate who else was pardoned. Prisoners who are pardoned usually walk free within days.Egypt has pardoned dozens of detainees in the past several months, after its human rights record came under international scrutiny when...

5 Denver bars to watch the 2023 Women’s World Cup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:13 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — After four long years, the Women’s World Cup kicks off Thursday with three matches to start the 2023 competition. The United States women debut on Friday at 7 p.m. MDT to compete against Vietnam.Whether you’re looking to watch Team USA or the country of your choice, here are some of the best places to watch some football.Number 38Location: 3560 Chestnut Pl. The taproom is starting off the festivities with a World Cup Watch Party from 6-10 p.m. on Friday to watch the U.S. play ball. The outside patio will be filled with soccer fans and a huge screen to watch the game. Lionel Messi takes to the practice field for 1st time since signing with Inter Miami Tom’s Watch Bar Location: 1601 19th St., Unit 100 Tom’s Watch Bar is preparing for the World Cup with a viewing party and giveaways throughout the next month. It’s scheduled to watch more than just the United States play. Canada and Switzerland are on the calendar for Thursday.Celtic on Market Location: 1400 Market St....

2 decades later, smoking consequences to be posted at tobacco retailers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:13 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — New signage could be coming to your local gas station and convenience stores, and it would be posted near the cigarette counter.While the U.S. has made great progress in reducing smoking, 11.5% of adults, or 28.3 million, still smoke cigarettes.So why now?This all stems back from a lawsuit filed by the Clinton administration back in 1999.The initial result was a 2006 federal court ruling that said the major cigarette companies had violated federal anti-racketeering laws by what the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids calls “decades of deception and lies about the hazards of their products.” Thornton mayor granted permanent protection order Under this court order, tobacco companies were ordered to post signs highlighting the deadly consequences of smoking at 220,000 retail stores across the U.S.However, FOX31 was told the tobacco companies put all their resources into appeals. Over the course of 16 years, they have fought this requirement with four different appeals and...

Wesleyan University joins other schools in nixing legacy admissions after Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:13 GMT

(CNN) — Wesleyan University will stop giving preferential treatment to applicants who are the children of alumni – joining a growing list of schools to end legacy admissions after the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action.“We will still value the ongoing relationships that come from multi-generational Wesleyan attendance, but there will be no ‘bump’ in the selection process,” Wesleyan University President Michael Roth said in a statement Wednesday.Family members of alumni will be admitted based on their own merits, he said.Roth said legacy status has only played a “negligible role” in the admissions process for years. “Nevertheless, in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision regarding affirmative action, we believe it important to formally end admission preference for ‘legacy applicants,’” he said.Last month, the Supreme Court said colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis for granting admissio...

Double-lottery mania: Tonight’s Powerball drawing will be for $1 billion as the Mega Millions jackpot soars to $720 million

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:13 GMT

(CNN) — Start saying goodbye to your coworkers, because you might soon retire with a lottery ticket worth $1 billion.OK, probably not. But Wednesday night’s billion-dollar Powerball drawing – combined with a Mega Millions jackpot that keeps growing – means some lucky winners could become millionaires even if they don’t hit the jackpot.No one hit all six numbers in Tuesday night’s Mega Millions jackpot drawing: 19, 22, 31, 37, 54 with a mega ball of 18.That means the jackpot for Friday’s Mega Millions drawing is worth an estimated $720 million, with a cash value of $369.6 million.If you can’t wait until Friday to buy 264 Ferrari LaFerraris (or whichever supercar you prefer), the drawing for Wednesday night’s $1 billion Powerball jackpot drawing will happen at 10:59 p.m. ET.The colossal jackpot is the seventh largest in US lottery history and the third largest Powerball jackpot. One insanely lucky winner scored the record-high $2....

Driver killed, another seriously injured after head-on collision in southern New Hampshire

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:13 GMT

Authorities say one driver was killed and another was left with life-threatening injuries after both their vehicles collided in Pelham, New Hampshire, early Wednesday morning.Police say it was around 5:50 a.m. when both officers and the Pelham Fire Department were called to the area of Bridge Street, near Hobbs Road for a report of an accident.Authorities went on to find two vehicles there with significant damage to their front-ends and one of them on fire.According to the police department, both operators were unconscious and still in their vehicles when emergency crews arrived.“Good Samaritans stopped on scene with fire extinguishers and assisted officers with knocking down the fire until the fire department arrived,” Pelham PD officials stated in a news release. “Both operators were transported to Massachusetts Hospitals.”Police said that despite life-saving measures being taken, one of the drivers died following the crash, while the other had life-threate...

Raising minimum wage benefits health of poor mothers and their babies, study finds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:13 GMT

Isabel Webb Carey | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsRaising the hourly minimum wage holds unexpected benefits for low-income pregnant women and their children, with increases as small as $1 helping to fend off events linked to poor health, researchers found.Pregnant women in U.S. states that increased the minimum wage were less likely to encounter high-stress incidents — like being unable to pay bills — in the year before delivery, according to research published Tuesday in the JAMA Network Open medical journal. Other disruptive occurrences linked to poor maternal health, such the incarceration of a partner, were also less likely, according to the study of nearly 200,000 women across 39 states who gave birth between January 2004 and December 2015.U.S. rates of pregnancy-related death more than doubled in the last 20 years, especially among minorities, according to a separate study published this month in JAMA that found Black women are more than twice as likely to die from pregnancy-related cau...

Study: Extreme heat increases summer health care costs by $1 billion in ‘ominous trajectory’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:13 GMT

Hunter Boyce | (TNS) The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionA new study from Virginia Commonwealth University published by the Center for American Progress has reported that the heat wave running rampant across the U.S. is significantly inflating health care costs. The authors of the study — an interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff and students from the university — estimated that heat events each summer are responsible for nearly 235,000 emergency department visits and over 56,000 hospital admissions for heat-related or heat-adjacent illnesses. In total, this is believed to add approximately $1 billion in health care costs across the country each summer.To combat the hazardous effects of summer heat waves on U.S. health care, the study made a series of policy recommendations, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the raising of public awareness about the risks of extreme heat.“The growing threat of extreme heat requires all levels of government and the private sector...

Firms with flex-work policies are hiring faster than those fully in office

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:13 GMT

Mia Gindis | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsCompanies with flexible in-office policies are hiring faster than those that have fully returned to pre-pandemic attendance rules. But landing a flexible job still comes with challenges.New research from Scoop Technologies Inc., which advises organizations on how to coordinate hybrid staffing, compared headcount growth at roughly 3,600 fully-flexible, hybrid and entirely in-office companies. It found that flexible outfits — those with hybrid, fully-remote or electively-remote staffs — added headcount at more than two times the rate of fully in-office counterparts during the March-through-May period.“Companies grow faster when they offer flexibility because people are more excited to join,” said Rob Sadow, co-founder and chief executive officer of Scoop. Prospective employees rank flexibility second only to compensation when it comes to workplace satisfaction, meaning that consistent headcount growth might be explained in part by talent flocking to fl...

Source: Patriots hosting RB Leonard Fournette for free-agent workout

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:13 GMT

The Patriots are hosting free-agent running back Leonoard Fournette for a workout Wednesday, a source told the Herald’s Doug Kyed.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots training camp countdown No. 7: Can Mac Jones return to form? New England Patriots | Doug Kyed joins Boston Herald’s Patriots coverage New England Patriots | DeAndre Hopkins picks Titans over Patriots, so what’s next in New England? New England Patriots | Patriots reportedly sign defensive captain to 2-year contract extension New England Patriots | Source: Patriots, WR DeVante Parker agree to reworked 3-year deal Fournette started nine of 16 games last season for the Buccaneers, rushing for 668 yards and three touchdowns. The six-year veteran previously visited New England as a free agent in March 2022. He left Foxboro without a deal and eventually re-signed with Tampa Bay.Over the past two seasons, Fournette rus...