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Exit polls show Swiss anti-immigrant party on track for record election showing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:14 GMT

The far-right and euroskeptic Swiss People’s Party (SVP) is set to make its strongest-ever showing in national elections, according to exit polls published Sunday night by the SSR public broadcaster.The SVP, which centered its campaign on anti-immigrant rhetoric, is projected to win 29 percent of the vote, up from 25.6 percent four years ago and higher than pre-election polls. It has been the country’s largest party since 2003.In an election dominated by domestic issues, the three other main parties — the Social Democrats, the Free Democrats and the Center Alliance — were seen as recording roughly the same result as in the previous ballot, with SD on 17 percent in exit polls (compared to 16.8 percent in 2019), and the FDP and Center with 15 percent each (the Center was born in 2020 of a fusion of two parties which gained 14 percent combined in 2019). Support for the Greens dipped in the exit polls to roughly 9 percent compared to 13.2 percent in 2019.The Swiss vote for 200 sea...

Unsanctioned coterie of pro-Israel quasi-lobbyists descends on DC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:14 GMT

This past week, an unlikely pair of men sat down for breakfast at the Capitol Hill Club, a Republican gathering site just a stone’s throw from Congress, to plot ways to help Israel.On one side of the table was Rep. Paul Gosar, a firebrand Republican who has faced criticism for ties to white nationalists. On the other was Bobby Rechnitz, a Los Angeles real estate developer dubbed a “confidant” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Over coffee, the two discussed Israel’s former Prime Minister Golda Meir and the situation in Gaza. Rechnitz said he’d come to Washington to share real-time intelligence from Israel and to ensure lawmakers understood the challenges facing leadership there.“I hope to slightly enlighten the congressman about some of the things that I’m hearing,” he said. Rechnitz said he’s connected lawmakers with members of the Knesset, Israel’s governing body. He also uses a large iPad to show them photos of bullet-riddled bodies of babies and people burnt ...

Amazon launches drug deliveries by drone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:14 GMT

Amazon will soon make prescription drugs fall from the sky as the e-commerce giant becomes the latest company to test drone deliveries for medications.The company said that customers in College Station, Texas, can now get prescriptions delivered by a drone within an hour of placing their order.The drone, programmed to fly from a delivery center with a secure pharmacy, will travel to the customer’s address, descend to a height of about four meters — or 13 feet — and drop a padded package.Amazon says customers will be able to choose from more than 500 medications, a list that includes common treatments for conditions like the flu or pneumonia, but not controlled substances.The company’s Prime Air division began testing drone deliveries of common household items last December in College Station and Lockeford, California. Amazon spokesperson Jessica Bardoulas said the company has made thousands of deliveries since launching the service, and is expanding it to include prescri...

Woman on motorcycle dies in hit-and-run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:14 GMT

TIERRASANTA, Calif -- A 68-year-old passenger of a motorcycle succumbed to her injuries Saturday night after being involved in a traffic accident while traveling on the southbound lanes of West Hills Parkway, according to the San Diego Police Department.Authorities say that the crash occurred at around 7:30 p.m. when a 33-year-old male driving a Honda Accord merged into the number two lane on West Hills Parkway and hit the rear of the Harley Tri-glide Motorcycle. The driver of the car fled the scene after the crash but was found a short distance away by responding officers.The Harley Tri-glide Motorcycle was driven by a 65-year-old male who was transported to the hospital, his condition is unknown. The female passenger of the motorcycle was also transported to the hospital for severe injuries suffered at the crash, and later succumbed to her injuries.SDPD says that DUI is a factor. An investigation remains ongoing.

Diana Nyad marks anniversary of epic Cuba-Florida swim, freeing rehabilitated sea turtle in the Keys

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:14 GMT

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — A decade after swimming the treacherous passage from Cuba to Key West, Diana Nyad returned Sunday to the beach where she completed her epic feat, joining in the release of a sea turtle rehabilitated at the Florida Keys’ Turtle HospitalNyad and her Cuba swim expedition leader Bonnie Stoll helped return “Rocky,” a 120-pound (54 kilogram) female green sea turtle, to the Atlantic Ocean at Key West’s Smathers Beach as they marked the anniversary with her former support team.On Labor Day 2013, nearly 2,000 people had lined the beach to welcome Nyad as she came ashore after her 111-mile (178-kilometer) odyssey, a nonstop swim lasting 52 hours and 54 minutes across the Florida Straits from Havana.Succeeding on her fifth attempt at age 64, Nyad became the first person to swim from Cuba to the Keys without a shark cage — despite battling stinging jellyfish, nausea and other physical and mental challenges.She joined personnel from the Turtle Hospital to carry Rocky ...

Blinken, Austin say US is ready to respond if US personnel become targets of Israel-Hamas war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:14 GMT

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday said the United States expects the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran and asserted that the Biden administration is prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities.“This is not what we want, not what we’re looking for. We don’t want escalation,” Blinken said. “We don’t want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, we’re ready for it.”Austin, echoing Blinken, said “what we’re seeing is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region.”He said the U.S. has the right to self-defense “and we won’t hesitate to take the appropriate action.”The warning from the high-ranking U.S. officials came as Israel’s military response to a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on civilians in comm...

Business groups call on Ottawa to intervene as St. Lawrence Seaway strike begins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:14 GMT

MONTREAL — Business groups urged the federal government to intervene to void a lengthy labour dispute at the St. Lawrence Seaway amid concerns that a strike that began early Sunday could have a profound affect on their members.The St. Lawrence Seaway shut down after hundreds of workers walked off the job shortly after midnight over failed contract negotiations. Unifor, the union representing the roughly 360 striking workers, said last week that it remained miles apart from management on the key issue of wages.  Hours before the strike, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. indicated there had been little progress in the negotiations and has argued the union’s salary demands could lead to higher tolls.The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said strike-related delays could result in lost sales and revenue at a time when small businesses are already dealing with other challenges like inflation and labour shortages.“It comes after the B.C. port strike, it comes a...

Here's how trustworthy your Zoom background makes you look, according to study

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:14 GMT

(NEXSTAR) -- If you want to make a great first impression during a Zoom meeting, you might want to check what's in your background. Some experts are calling it the new business suit. A group of researchers at Durham University in the UK examined how gender, facial expressions, and video backdrops influence first impressions online.Their study, published Sept. 27 in the journal Plos One, noted that the way people meet in professional settings is changing as digital platforms like Zoom and Teams grow in popularity thanks, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic. While you should still dress appropriately during these virtual calls, your clothes are not the only thing colleagues might be looking at. What's on your screen also matters. Nearly 1 in 5 couples include ‘home fund’ in wedding registry: Study “It gives off information about all sorts of stuff -- about how you live, your socioeconomic status, your confidence, your cleanliness levels. These are all things you’re presentin...

Candy corn once had a much different name

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:14 GMT

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) -- Candy corn: you either hate it or love it. Regardless of your opinions toward it, you're likely seeing it on grocery store shelves ahead of Halloween and Thanksgiving. Before it became the candy corn you've come to love (or hate), the controversial candy had a different reputation. The beginning of candy cornGeorge Renniger at Wunderlee Candy Co. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has been thought to be the original creator of the treat. While it's said Renniger created the candy in the 1880s, there is no physical proof of it. Around 1898, Jelly Belly, then known as Goelitz Confectionery Company, began making candy corn inside of their factory in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jelly Belly is said to be the company that has been making the treat the longest. Here’s the ‘most popular’ Halloween candy in your state The company still uses the original recipe to create the tri-color candy.The name was...what?Candy corn was originally called "chicken feed," and its target audience ...

49ers at Vikings picks: Christian McCaffrey’s return would make the difference

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:14 GMT

Pioneer Press staffers who cover the Vikings forecast Monday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium:DANE MIZUTANI49ers 31, Vikings 17It sounds like San Francisco will have Christian McCaffrey, while Minnesota will be without Justin Jefferson. It’s hard to imagine the Vikings pulling the upset without their best player.JOHN SHIPLEYVikings 27, 49ers 24In a league where anything can happen, the locals upset San Francisco after Raymond McCloud has his game-winning punt return for a touchdown called back because, upon video review, the NFL determines he thought briefly about just running out of bounds.CHARLEY WALTERS49ers 31, Vikings 17Despite their upset loss to the Browns last week, the 49ers remain the NFL’s best team. The Vikings are among the NFL’s worst teams. Easy pick.Related ArticlesMinnesota Vikings | The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week 7: Last-minute moves Minnesota Vikings | Vikings could activate receiver Jalen Na...