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AP PHOTOS: Hong Kong’s ‘villain hitting’ ritual draws crowds

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:13:13 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — People holding a grudge may have found a way to release it in Hong Kong’s “villain hitting” ritual.To relieve themselves from a bad mood, customers paid ritual practitioners who work underneath the Canal Road Flyover in Causeway Bay, one of the city’s shopping districts, and watched them bashing an image of their target with a shoe. It could be anyone — rival lovers and unfriendly colleagues, or horrible bosses and unlikeable public figures. The ritual is particularly popular in March because some people believe that the best day to perform it falls on “ging zat,” as pronounced in Cantonese, a day on the Chinese lunar calendar that literally means “awakening of insects.”This year, “ging zat” fell on March 6. The tradition, mostly run by elderly women, attracted crowds of customers after the lifting of major COVID-19 restrictions, including the mask mandate.“I’m hoping to cut out all the gossip around me and wish that the bad people would stay away from m...

Today in History: March 14, Eli Whitney patents cotton gin

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:13:13 GMT

Today in HistoryToday is Tuesday, March 14, the 73rd day of 2023. There are 292 days left in the year. Today’s highlight in history: On March 14, 1794, Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin, an invention that revolutionized America’s cotton industry. On this date: In 1879, physicist Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany.In 1939, the republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved, opening the way for Nazi occupation of Czech areas and the separation of Slovakia.In 1951, during the Korean War, United Nations forces recaptured Seoul.In 1962, Democrat Edward M. Kennedy officially launched in Boston his successful candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts once held by his brother, President John F. Kennedy. (Edward Kennedy served in the Senate for nearly 47 years.) In 1964, a jury in Dallas found Jack Ruby guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, and sentenced him to death. (Both the conviction and death sentence were o...

Parents want teen who shares massive house party videos stopped

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:13:13 GMT

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Local parents are trying to stop a teen who’s known on social media for throwing parties at homes where parents are out of town.Andrew Brodie and his wife were backcountry skiing Saturday when notifications from their home surveillance cameras started popping up on their phone. ‘Unusual pink coloring’ seen in treated water sent into Clear Creek “As we summited the mountain, our Ring doorbell went off,” Brodie said. "All of a sudden there's a kid climbing up my ladder trying to break into my house.”Teens try to break into locked homeVideo shows the Brodies’ daughter, her friend and a third teen he didn’t recognize trying to get into their locked home. Brodie called Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies to stop the break-in attempt.“When the police arrived, they were going to smash a window with a cinder block,” he said. “They broke a key and my key lock. They melted a plastic spoon to try to forge a fake key." Everything to know about the men’s NCAA bas...

Coyote returns to wild after illegal jaw trap injury in San Diego

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:13:13 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A coyote rescued from an illegal jaw trap on a residential property in the Skyline neighborhood was released into the wild last week, animal officials said.The rescue, which occurred on Feb. 17, involved an adult female coyote who was found dangling on a chain link fence from a jaw trap attached to her left front leg, Nina Thompson with the San Diego Humane Society stated in press release Friday. The animal suffered soft tissue damage to her lower leg from the trap, but did not have any fractures or permanent damage, per the Humane Society. The medical team also performed a tooth extraction, which was probably due to her trying to free herself from the trap. A coyote is set free on March 10, 2023, after rehabilitating with the San Diego Humane Society. (San Diego Humane Society) After three weeks in care with San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife team, the coyote was released in a greenbelt area close to where she was found. San Diego father killed in aval...

Parents left wondering what comes next after Oceanside school closure

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:13:13 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- The Oceanside Unified School District on Monday voted three to one to close Reynolds Elementary School over safety concerns.Reynolds Elementary was recently being evaluated for a modernization project, according to Oceanside Unified. Six months of testing showed the soil conditions do not allow for any construction and also puts the current buildings at risk in case of an earthquake.Dozens of families attended the special meeting Monday night with signs in hope to convince the Oceanside Unified School District from closing the Douglas Drive campus.Now, parents are upset and left wondering what comes next. "They aren’t being transparent the real reasons of why they are closing this school," parent Nick Thomas said.Another parent, Acucena Correa, is concerned on where she is going to take her kids. National City teacher pleads not guilty to over a dozen felony charges, including sex abuse charges Thomas thinks the soil report is a "convenient reason" after he cl...

Alaska oil project approval adds yet another climate concern

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:13:13 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration’s approval of a massive oil development in northern Alaska commits the U.S. to yet another decadeslong crude project even as scientists urgently warn that only a halt to more fossil fuel emissions can stem climate change.ConocoPhillips’ Willow project would produce 180,000 barrels of oil a day at its peak, and using that crude would result in at least 263 million tons (239 million metric tons) of greenhouse gas emissions over 30 years. Demand for oil isn’t dropping as the planet heats, and a bitter political dispute over the project, which was approved Monday, has underscored the Democratic administration’s struggle to balance economic pressures against pledges to curb fossil fuels. The proposal in the remote region north of the Arctic Circle also highlights the paradox facing the U.S. and other nations: The world’s transition to clean energy lags the realities of an economy still largely driven by oil consumption.“At some point, ...

Activists urge UN Security Council to refer Myanmar to court

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:13:13 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Human rights activists urged the U.N. Security Council on Monday to refer Myanmar’s military rulers to the International Criminal Court and urged neighboring Southeast Asian countries to support the opposition pro-democracy movement.The leaders of two women’s rights organizations spoke to reporters ahead of a closed council meeting on Myanmar. Members heard briefings by U.N. special envoy for Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer and Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, whose country chairs the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.May Sabe Phyu, director of the Gender Equality Network, a coalition of organizations promoting women’s rights in Myanmar, accused Myanmar’s military of conducting “a terror campaign” and committing “heinous acts” that constituted crimes against humanity. She said the Security Council should refer the junta’s actions to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.Myanmar’s military has long been accused of human ri...

“Anonymous Jury” Trump About To Enter Ominous Legal Club

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:13:13 GMT

The Future Of AI Is Now, Embrace It, Not Fear It

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:13:13 GMT

Former Dodger Trevor Bauer signs with Japan's Yokohama BayStars

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:13:13 GMT

Trevor Bauer has agreed to a contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan's Central League.The 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Jan. 12, three weeks after an arbitrator reduced his suspension imposed by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred from 324 to 194 games. The penalty followed an investigation into domestic violence, which the pitcher has denied.“Playing in the NPB has always been a dream of mine and I can’t think of a better organization to do it with," Bauer said in a statement Monday, referring to Nippon Professional Baseball.The BayStars said Bauer will wear uniform No. 96.“To all the BayStar fans out there — I am so excited for the opportunity to be part of the great team we have this year and to try to bring home a championship,” Bauer said. "And to all the Japanese baseball fans out there — I cannot wait to see you guys out at the stadium soon. Please come say hi and help me learn more about your great country. See you guys soon...