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Alexandria, Annapolis land on ’10 Best Small Cities’ list

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:02 GMT

Conde Nast Traveler’s 36th annual Readers Choice Awards includes survey favorites for Best Small Cities in America, and Alexandria, Virginia, and Annapolis, Maryland, both make the top 10 cut.Its Readers Choice rankings included survey responses from 526,518 readers this year.Alexandria ranks No. 3 on this year’s Best Small Cities list. Conde Nast readers cite its charming historic district that draws travelers and would-be residents alike.“Most folks start to imagine moving there immediately after setting foot in Old Town, once they’ve strolled the red-brick sidewalks, clocking street after street of perfectly preserved row houses from the 18th and 19th centuries,” its editors wrote.Its readers recommend King Street boutiques and restaurants, the waterfront, the Torpedo Factory Art Center and Gadsby’s Tavern, where some of America’s Founding Fathers used to drink.Annapolis is No. 9 on the list, with readers liking the charming town’s beck-lined streets and structures that dat...

Who are the 2023 MacArthur ‘genius grant’ fellows?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:02 GMT

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced the 2023 class of fellows, often known as recipients of the “genius grant,” on Wednesday. The 20 fellows will each receive a grant of $800,000 over five years to spend however they want, though they are selected for the exceptional work they’ve already done, their ability to do more and their ability to leverage and be enabled by the fellowship itself, said Marlies Carruth, who directs the MacArthur Fellows program. The foundation reviews nominations for fellows over a yearslong process that solicits input from their communities and peers. Fellows do not apply and are never officially informed that they’ve been nominated unless they are selected for the award. The 2023 fellows are:E. Tendayi Achiume, 41, Los Angeles, a legal scholar who examines the history of global migration to argue for a reimagining of the rules governing the movement of people.Andrea Armstrong, 48, New Orleans, a legal scholar who focuses on inca...

RPM International, Acuity Brands rise; Cal-Maine, Helen of Troy fall, Wednesday, 10/4/2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:02 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that are trading heavily or have substantial price changes on Wednesday: RPM International Inc. (RPM), up $5.26 to $98.06.The specialty chemicals company beat analysts’ fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts.Acuity Brands Inc. (AYI), up $10.08 to $177.46.The lighting maker reported strong fiscal fourth-quarter earnings.Helen of Troy Ltd. (HELE), down $9.07 to $104.57.The Hydro Flask maker expects stagnant earnings this quarter because of retailers’ growing caution.Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (CALM), down $3.08 to $44.52.The egg producer’s fiscal first-quarter earnings fell far short of analysts’ forecasts.A10 Networks Inc. (ATEN), down $4.39 to $10.78.The provider of networking technologies gave investors a disappointing financial update.Insulet Corp. (PODD), down $5.80 to $151.The maker of insulin infusion systems’ chief financial officer is stepping down.Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), down $3.57 to $112.26.Energy companies slipp...

Kenyan opposition lawmakers say the Haiti peacekeeping mission must be approved by parliament

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:02 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan lawmakers said Wednesday that parliamentary approval is required before the deployment of police to the Kenya-led peacekeeping mission in Haiti to combat gang violence that was approved by the U.N. Security Council this week.Opposition lawmaker Anthony Oluoch told a session of Parliament’s lower house that the conditions for foreign deployment hadn’t been met under the National Police Act.He also said that the country’s security needs “ought to take first precedence before any foreign commitments,” alluding to the internal attacks by the East Africa-based al-Shabab extremist group, which has links to al-Qaida.Another lawmaker, Junet Mohamed, said the matter should be tabled in Parliament for approval “before any police officer leaves the country” for what he called a “dangerous mission,” citing Kenyan police officers’ inexperience in combating local crime.The Kenya-led peacekeeping mission to Haiti was approved in a U.N. Security ...

Tennis player apologizes for hitting a chair umpire with ball in Shanghai Masters qualifying

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:02 GMT

SHANGHAI (AP) — Australian tennis player Marc Polmans has apologized for hitting a ball into the face of the chair umpire during final round qualifying at the Shanghai Masters, which led to him being immediately disqualified.Polmans, ranked 140th, had match point against Italy’s Stefano Napolitano in the second set on Tuesday when he missed a volley and then hit the ball in anger as it bounced back from the net. His errant hit narrowly missed the ball person before hitting chair umpire Ben Anderson in the face. Anderson was apparently not seriously injured.“An update from me – the umpire, Ben, has accepted my apology for my actions,” Polmans posted on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. “He knows it was unintentional, and I shanked the ball on the frame in frustration in the heat of the moment.“We both move on. It was a high-pressure situation and I should have reacted better.”The Australian joins Denis Shapovalov, Novak Djokovic and former British player Tim Henman ...

Jannik Sinner wins China Open. Iga Swiatek advances to quarterfinals

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:02 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Jannik Sinner won his third title of the year by beating third-ranked Daniil Mevedev 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) Wednesday at the China Open.The 22-year-old Italian had not beaten Medvedev in their six previous meetings, but he quickly found his rythym from the baseline to earn his ninth tour title.“Daniil, thanks for letting me win at least one match,” Sinner joked during the trophy ceremony. “We have had some very tough battles, especially this year. Thanks for making me a much better player. I have been training a lot to beat you.”Along with his trademark clean groundstrokes, Sinner relied on his serve, winning more than 70% of his second-serve points and attacking from the net.Medvedev came into Wednesday’s final looking for his 21st career title and sixth of 2023. His next stop will be the Shanghai Masters, where he is seeded second.In the women’s tournament, second-ranked Iga Swiatek dropped only two games and advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Magd...

Pakistani army says 2 people were killed when a Taliban guard opened fire at a border crossing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:02 GMT

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A Taliban guard opened fire at civilians at a border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing two people, including a 12-year-old boy, the Pakistani military said. Another child was wounded in the shooting at the Chaman border crossing in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province. The military said in a statement that Pakistani troops “exercised extreme restraint” to avoid more casualties in the shooting. The army did not say anything on the Afghan Taliban guard’s possible motives for opening fire and there was no immediate comment from Afghanistan’s Taliban government. Pakistan has asked the Afghan Taliban authorities to investigate the “irresponsible and reckless act, apprehend and hand over the culprit to Pakistani authorities,” the military also said. On Tuesday, Pakistan announced a major crackdown on migrants who are in the country illegally, many of them from Afghanistan, and said it would expel them starting next month. The expulsions wou...

Meet this year’s MacArthur ‘genius grant’ recipients, including a hula master and the poet laureate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:02 GMT

A scientist who studies the airborne transmission of diseases, a master hula dancer and cultural preservationist, and the sitting U.S. poet laureate were among the 20 new recipients of the prestigious fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, known as “genius grants,” announced on Wednesday.MacArthur fellows receive a grant of $800,000 over five years to spend however they want. Fellows are nominated and endorsed by their peers and communities through an often yearslong process that the foundation oversees. They do not apply and are never officially interviewed for the fellowship before it’s awarded.Each year, the foundation calls the new class of fellows in advance of the public announcement and fellows described being shocked and stunned by the news after receiving a call from an unknown number, which they had sometimes initially ignored. Ada Limón, who recently began her second term as the country’s poet laureate, said she first missed a call the d...

A man charged with voter fraud in Florida blames rivalry between Trump and DeSantis supporters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:02 GMT

THE VILLAGES, Fla. (AP) — A man has been charged with forgery and fraud after authorities say he cast a ballot in Florida for his deceased father in the 2020 election, though the suspect says the charges were motivated by a local, internal GOP political rivalry between former President Donald Trump advocates and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis supporters.Elections officials in Sumter County did not count the ballot because it was postmarked four days after the father died in mid-October 2020, according to a criminal complaint brought by William Keen, the Sumter County elections supervisor. An examination of the father’s ballot showed the signature on resembled that of his son’s and not any of the father’s previous ballot signatures, the complaint said.Robert Rivernider was arrested and charged last week with felony forgery of a public record and fraud, according to court documents. He has since been released from custody.Reached by telephone Wednesday, Rivernider said he planned to ...

Rudy Giuliani: ‘I have never had an alcohol problem’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:02 GMT

Former Trump lawyer and adviser Rudy Giuliani vehemently denied having a drinking problem Wednesday, following a report from the New York Times detailing the former New York City mayor’s drinking habits.“I do not have an alcohol problem. I have never had an alcohol problem,” Giuliani said during a press conference in Concord, New Hampshire in response to questions about the Times report.“[If] I have an alcohol problem, I should be in the Guinness Book of World Records,” Giuliani said, citing his various accomplishments and his job history as evidence refuting the report.“Nobody could have achieved that if they did [have a drinking problem]. … I was working 24 hours a day. It’s a big damn lie,” Giuliani told reporters, who had gathered outside Merrimack County Superior Court to hear the former mayor announce his plans to sue President Joe Biden over a comment Biden made about him during the 2020 presidential race.According to the Times, those close to Giuliani have be...