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Inside the renovated White House Situation Room: Cutting-edge tech, mahogany and that new car smell

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House Situation Room — a space of great mystique and even greater secrecy — just got a $50 million facelift. Actually, “room” is a misnomer. It’s a 5,500-square-foot (511-square-meter), highly secure complex of conference rooms and offices on the ground floor of the West Wing.These are the rooms where history happens, where the president meets with national security officials to discuss secret operations and sensitive government matters, speaks with foreign leaders and works through major national security crises. Where President Barack Obama and his team watched the raid that took down al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in 2011. Where President Donald Trump monitored the 2019 operation that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Where President Lyndon Johnson went over Vietnam War plans. This was no small update: The total gut renovation took a year to complete.The White House opened the classified space to a group of reporters this week fo...

Hurricane Lee now a Category 5 storm, expected to maintain strength

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (WFLA) — Hurricane Lee tore through open waters toward the northeast Caribbean late Thursday becoming the first Category 5 storm of the Atlantic season.Lee was not expected to make landfall although forecasters said tropical storm conditions are possible on some islands. Meteorologists said it was too early to provide details on potential rainfall and wind gusts. Hurricane Lee: ‘Powerful’ Category 5 storm expected to maintain intensity, NHC says The Category 5 hurricane was located about 630 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands. It had winds of up to 165 miles per hour and was moving west-northwest at 14 mph.The storm is expected to remain a major hurricane into next week.“Lee continues to strengthen at an exceptional rate,” the National Hurricane Center said."Hurricane Lee continues to strengthen and may reach 180 mph max winds as it travels to the north of the Leeward Islands," said WFLA meteorologist Leigh Spann. "While the long-range forecast ...

5 things to know this Friday, September 8

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Happy Friday! According to Meteorologist Jill Szwed, today won't be as hot. However, the heat index will still surge into the 90s. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! A standoff shut down Upper Union Street in Schenectady for several hours Thursday. The call for the incident came in just after 3 p.m. Meanwhile, as the asylum seeker issue continues, Governor Kathy Hochul said she spoke with the White House Chief of Staff about the situation Thursday. These stories, and more, are covered in your five things to know this Friday morning. 1. No charges filed after Schenectady standoffA standoff shut down Upper Union Street in Schenectady for several hours Thursday. The call for the incident came in just after 3 p.m.2. Governor Hochul keeps pushing for federal support for asylum seekersAs the asylum seeker issue continues, Governor Kathy Hochul said she’s speaking with the White House Chief of Staff about the situation t...

UAlbany defense scheming for Rainbow Warriors offense

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- This week UAlbany will do battle with Hawaii, and there's a heavy point of emphasis being made on stopping the Rainbow Warrior's passing attack. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Junior quarterback Brayden Schager leads that attack. Schager threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns in last week's 37-24 loss to Stanford. Despite the loss, Schager showed efficiency finding 10 different receivers. The Great Danes defense will have its hands full, trying to stop an offense that likes to attack vertically. Head coach Greg Gattuso believes that it's going to be an interesting test for his team. "You know they throw the ball over it a lot, and the quarterback is a good player," Gattuso said. "Everybody that has a good quarterback can beat you, and we almost proved that on Saturday night you know, and he runs well, he can make all the throws, and they have talent around him so I've got a good look at their fronts, an...

New European Supercomputer inaugurated in Portugal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

On 6 September, the Commission and the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) together with the Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology inaugurated Deucalion, the latest EuroHPC supercomputer. Deucalion is located at the Azurém Campus, Guimarães, Portugal.The new world-class system will be used to advance research and development in domains such as energy efficient technologies, weather forecasts, and sea and oceanic research. It will also help develop industrial applications in drug discovery, new materials design, neuroscience, climate-friendly energy systems, and other areas.Deucalion, the seventh EuroHPC supercomputer installed in the European Union, is the most powerful and advanced computational resource in Portugal. It represents an investment of €20 million including €7m of EU funding and has a peak performance of 10 Petaflops – or 10 million billion calculations per second. Moreover, it off...

Wine production in Belgium on a high – thanks to climate change

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

Whisper it quietly but wine production in Belgium is enjoying something of a real boom, writes Martin Banks.That is partly due to a phenomenon we have all come to know about of late – climate change.Warming temperatures – clearly evident this summer throughout Europe and the rest of the world – is helping wine growers enormously in Belgium.“Better weather means a better grape,” declares Pierre-Marie Despatures, who is part of a team running a highly successful organic vineyard near Namur in Wallonia.His wine estate, Domaine du Chenoy, has already made a name for itself and its wines rank well when compared with others in France and elsewhere.Pierre-Marie was on hand to explain some of the secrets of their success” at event in Brussels on 7 September.The “Sofitel Wine Days”, part of a series of similar events, was an opportunity to take stock of wine production in Belgium and also sample the delights of a culinary offering from “The 1040”, a popular restaurant at Sofitel Brussels Eur...

Bridge: Sept. 8, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

Even a pro golfer makes only about half of his six-foot putts. (It seems like more because the players you see on TV are the ones putting well that week.) How often would you expect an expert declarer to resolve a two-way guess for a queen?In today’s deal, West led the deuce of diamonds against six hearts. Declarer won and had to play the trumps. Since West’s lead suggested four diamonds, giving East six, South judged that West was more likely to have length in trumps. So South started with the ace.CLUB LOSERSSouth still wasn’t home; he was threatened with two club losers. But after he picked up the trumps, he took his spade tricks, then led dummy’s queen of diamonds. When East followed low, South discarded a club.West took the king and was end-played. He had to lead a club to South’s A-Q or concede a ruff-sluff.My guess is that a good declarer will locate a missing queen at least 75 percent of the time. Invariably, clues from the bidding or defense wil...

Horoscopes Sept. 8, 2023: Pink, shoot for the stars and enjoy the ride

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Pink, 44; David Arquette, 52; Brooke Burke, 52; Neko Case, 53.Happy Birthday: Target your goal and stay on track. Your dedication to making your dreams come true will prove fruitful through your will to do your best. Clear the passage forward by preparing your path behind closed doors. Secrecy will add to the element of surprise that will help you gain momentum, trust and the acceptance and rewards you desire. Shoot for the stars and enjoy the ride. Your numbers are 7, 15, 26, 29, 33, 38, 46.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Keep an open mind, but jump right in. It’s important not to make waves but to devise a plan that works for you. Your appeal is your ability to think and do for yourself. Turn up the volume and proceed with confidence. 2 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Time spent rubbing shoulders with well-informed people will pay off. Listen to what others say and determine what options can be applied to your plans. Look at a challenge you face and t...

Ask Amy: Is it OK that my wife is having these ‘Pretty Woman’ trysts?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

Dear Amy: My wife “Linda” and I have been married for 20 years and have two teenage kids.We are close in all ways imaginable – except for sex. We have not had sex in many years. That part of our relationship is over but has been superseded by a deeper love.About 10 months ago, Linda said, “I’ve known this man from our West Coast office for a few years. Now he tells me that he can’t stop thinking about me in a sexual way. And when he visits our office every three months or so, he wants me to visit him in his hotel. He is crazy about me, but he is a family man and doesn’t want our relationship to go beyond his room.”The “he is crazy about me” part really affected her.Linda is a beautiful woman and apparently craves the type of attention that I don’t give her.I agreed that she could give it a try. And since then, they’ve had three of these “Pretty Woman” meetings.Afterward, she doesn’t say much but does seem content. She has t...

Livermore: Motorcycle crash leaves one dead, another seriously injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

LIVERMORE – One person was killed and another was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash Thursday night in Livermore, according to the California Highway Patrol.The solo-vehicle collision was reported around 8:30 p.m. on North Livermore Avenue near Interstate 580.A male was pronounced dead at the scene and a female was taken to Eden Medical Center with major injuries, the CHP said. It was not immediately clear which one was driving the motorcycle.Additional details about the crash were not immediately available.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Driver charged with vehicular manslaughter in wrong-way Highway 84 crash that killed two Crashes and Disasters | ATV rider killed in East Bay collision Crashes and Disasters | Truck company allegedly rushed to buy insurance after crash that killed 5 people Crashes and Disasters | San Jose: Motorcyclist dies from injuries suffered in August crash Crashes and Disasters | ...