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An ancient Japanese tradition points a way to healthier aging

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:14:51 GMT

Every week, a small group of older women gathers in a little room next to the courtyard of a senior living center in Northern California to practice the centuries-old Japanese craft of arranging flowers.The ikebana stylists, ranging from 75 to 95 years old, have been meeting for years. They come together for an hour on Tuesdays to work with yellow daffodils and flowering purple veronica, creating beautiful, delicate, and impermanent arrangements they will enjoy in their homes until the next week comes.Ikebana follows strict rules that dictate style and form. Flower stems must be a precise length and lean at a precise angle. The second stem should be three-quarters the length of the first stem; the third, half the length of the second. The result is a colorful tapestry of flowers that are mathematically identical to one another, but completely unique in style.“Before I retired, I was a CPA,” said Alice Huang, the group’s instructor. “But every day I wanted to look at flowers.”Huang g...

Column: When it comes to hype, top prospect Matt Mervis is following in Anthony Rizzo’s Chicago Cubs footsteps

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:14:51 GMT

Matt Mervis arrived at Wrigley Field Friday morning to make his Chicago Cubs debut in the opener of a three-game series against the Miami Marlins.It was the most anticipated debut by a Cubs prospect since Kris Bryant in 2015, though Mervis’ call-up more closely resembles that of first baseman Anthony Rizzo 11 years ago.Rizzo’s Cubs debut on June 26, 2012, was one of the most hyped events in years and served as the unofficial start of president Theo Epstein’s rebuild.“I’m here to stay,” Rizzo said before the game. “I’m just going to work hard every day, learn, get better, go through the ups and down of a baseball player, the nicks and bruises, and that’s about it.”WGN-Ch. 9 hyped the arrival with a commercial promoting the broadcast. Newspapers added o the hysteria, including a Chicago Tribune graphic — with the headline of “The second coming” — comparing Rizzo’s arrival on the North Side with B...

Clarence Thomas’ wife scored secret big bucks payments from conservative court guru with help from Kellyanne Conway

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:14:51 GMT

The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas reportedly received nearly $100,000 in secret payments orchestrated by the leader of the conservative Federalist Society — with an assist from former Donald Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.Ginni Thomas, a prominent far right-wing activist, scored the back-channel payments from Leonard Leo, a powerful court-shaping conservative guru, even as Leo’s non-profit filed briefs to the court on which her husband sits.The river of cash was channeled through a company run by Conway, Trump’s onetime White House communications chief and campaign manager, according to the Washington Post.Leo instructed Conway to bill his own non-profit for $80,000 of supposed consulting work and to pass the cash on to Ginni Thomas in 2011 and 2012.Another $20,000 was planned to be paid by the end of 2012, but it’s unclear if that amount was ever forked over, the paper said.“No mention of Ginni, of course,” Leo noted in communicat...

City facing lawsuit for negligence, dangerous conditions after teen drowned off Mission Beach

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:14:51 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The family of an 18-year-old who drowned after getting caught in a rip current last year has filed a lawsuit against the City of San Diego for negligence and dangerous conditions at Mission Beach that allegedly led to their son's death.The complaint was brought about a year after the parents of Crawford High School graduate, Woodlain Zachee Prudhomme, initiated an attorney-led investigation into the incident. In the complaint, they allege that the lifeguards monitoring the beach on the day of Zachee’s death were aware of the rip currents, but did not warn beachgoers of these hazardous swimming conditions. Portion of Crystal Pier closed for maintenance “I think it’s important for people to realize that this was a young life that was lost and it shouldn’t have been lost,” Evan Walker, an attorney for Zachee’s parents, said in the days after his disappearance.The incident occurred on June 14, 2022 when Zachee was hanging out with two friends at Mission Beach to cele...

San Diego blended cask-finished bourbon wins gold at World Spirits Competition

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:14:51 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- It looks like small batch bourbon crafted in San Diego is giving some Kentucky spirits a run for their money in regards to rich flavor profiles. On Friday, Cask & Coast Spirits Co. announced it's inaugural batch of premium cask-finished California bourbon was awarded a gold medal last month at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The contest considered over 5,000 spirits from around the globe and is considered to be "the most prestigious spirit competition in the world" as described on its webpage. North County drinking spot named best brewery in California: Yelp The San Diego-based company produced the only gold medal-winning bourbon from Southern California based on the results of the competition. “We are so honored to receive a coveted gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition,” said Cask & Coast Spirits cofounder Mark Kersey, who's also a former San Diego city councilman. “We made a bourbon that we wanted to drink and it’...

Wearing red, Indigenous families honor missing relatives

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:14:51 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Native Americans whose relatives have gone missing or been killed wore red on Friday, a color synonymous with raising awareness about the disproportionate number of Indigenous people who have been victims of violence.Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day is held on May 5 — the birthday of Hanna Harris, who was only 21 when she was slain on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana. Countless more Indigenous people have gone missing since her body was found nearly a decade ago. Advocates describe it as a silent crisis, rooted in colonization, forced removal and government policies that led to the stamping out of culture and identity as entire communities were marginalized.This weekend’s marches, symposiums, prayer gatherings, art installations and ceremonies are meant to pressure policy makers in the U.S. and Canada to ensure equity when investigating such cases. The red dresses, they say, are used to call home the spirits of m...

More than 100 killed in Congo flooding

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:14:51 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — More than 100 people were killed in flooding and landslides brought on by torrential overnight rains in eastern Congo’s South Kivu province, a local official said Friday.Thomas Bakenge, a regional government official gave the estimate after overseeing recovery efforts in the affected territory of Kalehe, calling the scale of destruction “enormous, beyond words … whole houses were carried away.” He said bodies were still being collected from the shores of the nearby Lake Kivu. Two rivers broke their banks after the heavy rains which began on Thursday evening and there have been multiple landslides with scores of homes destroyed, according to Delphin Birimbi, a community leader in the region. As bodies were pulled from the mud, some residents estimated that more than 75% of homes in the village of Nyamukubi have been carried away by the floods, along with school buildings and a health center.Official Thomas Bakenge called for immediate as...

Expelled GOP lawmaker fails to regain Arizona House seat

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:14:51 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Republican lawmaker Liz Harris who was previously expelled will not be sent back to the Arizona House of Representatives, Maricopa County officials announced Friday.The county’s Board of Supervisors instead selected Republican Julie Willoughby to replace her, despite Republican precinct committee members in her legislative district giving Harris the most votes.“In my discussions with Ms. Harris, she firmly believes her removal was improper and unlawful,” said Supervisor Jack Sellers, who represents an area that includes the legislative district. “This board was not a party to that process but must give weight to an action that over two-thirds of the House members voted in favor of.” Willoughby, an emergency room trauma nurse, teamed up with Harris in campaign ads and events during last year’s election. They had hoped to win both district seats, but Harris and Democratic Rep. Jennifer Pawlik emerged as the top two vote-getters.Harris was kicked out last mon...

Senator says RCMP must release evidence of alleged Chinese police stations in Canada

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:14:51 GMT

MONTREAL — A Canadian senator is denouncing the stigmatization of two Montreal-area community organizations that have been accused by the RCMP of hosting secret Chinese government police stations.Independent Sen. Yuen Pau Woo told reporters today that the RCMP must come forward with evidence against these two groups.Woo made the comments during a news conference with members of Montreal’s Chinese community at the office of one of the groups targeted by the police, Service à la Famille Chinoise du Grand Montreal.In mid-March the RCMP said that the organization, along with Centre Sino-Quebec de la Rive-Sud, located on Montreal’s South Shore, hosted Chinese government agents who allegedly harassed members of the city’s Chinese community.Woo, an Independent senator representing British Columbia, says neither he nor the groups under RCMP investigation know the details of what they are being accused of.Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told a parliamentary committee...

Maryland police: Attackers tried to shoot boy on school bus

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:14:51 GMT

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Three masked attackers boarded a school bus in Maryland earlier this week and tried multiple times to shoot a boy, but the attack was foiled by a malfunctioning gun, police said. The bus stopped in Oxon Hill, a suburb of the nation’s capital, to drop off students just before 5 p.m. Monday, when three people believed to be juveniles got on and began to attack the boy, who had remained on the bus, Prince George’s County Police said in a news release. One attacker tried multiple times to shoot the boy, but detectives believe the gun malfunctioned, police said. The boy suffered minor injuries in the assault. A bus driver and bus aide were on the bus at the time and weren’t injured, police said. It’s unknown if any other students were on the bus. Police found ammunition on the bus. Police said they’re investigating the attackers’ motives. No suspects were in custody Friday and a reward of up to $2,500 is being offered in the case, police spok...