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Germany dithers on EIB choice

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:10 GMT

BERLIN — Germany’s ruling coalition has yet to decide whom it will support in the race to lead the European Investment Bank, but Finance Minister Christian Lindner signaled he wants continuity, stressing that the winning candidate should champion “sound banking” and preserve the bank’s cautious approach to lending.“It’s important for us that the bank retain its good rating and remain on a solid footing,” Lindner told POLITICO in an interview. “We also see scope to improve the agility of the bank and the tempo of decision making.”Lindner, the leader of Germany’s liberal Free Democrats, declined to say which of the five candidates vying to lead the EIB he would prefer or if he would endorse one of the two frontrunners — Denmark’s Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner who is currently on leave from that role to focus on her candidacy; and Nadia Calviño, Spain’s socialist finance minister. All told, five candidates are vying to lead the EIB, which was founded by EU...

Let the US in to EU arms deals, says Lithuanian minister

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:10 GMT

LONDON — European countries should not exclude American companies from defense procurement, Lithuania’s Deputy National Defense Minister Greta Monika Tučkutė told POLITICO. “Our transatlantic bond is making us strong and allows us to deter any adversary, any temptations to cross our border,” she said Tuesday, in an interview on the sidelines of the DSEI defense show in London. “We should compete with our allies and friends when it comes to innovation, but with regards to procurement in general, we need to have the defense market open not only to European actors, but also to the transatlantic allies,” she said. How to deal with companies from outside the Continent has become a thorny political issue as European countries boost defense budgets in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the European Union turns into a significant player in defense procurement.Heavyweights such as France are pushing for European countries to spend Europea...

Germany’s Lindner blasts EU over ‘enormously dangerous’ green plans

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:10 GMT

BERLIN — German Finance Minister Christian Lindner slammed politicians in Brussels for seeking to enact stricter clean energy rules for buildings, warning that such plans could spark a dangerous voter backlash and fuel the rise of the far right.Speaking to POLITICO during an interview in the garden of the finance ministry in Berlin on Monday, Lindner argued that Europeans are suffering from overregulation — or “red tape all over the place.” He urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to “pause” new EU legislation aimed at curtailing greenhouse gas emissions during a time of economic stagnation wrought in part by high energy costs.The high-level intervention by the German minister comes days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz unveiled a plan to remove “bureaucratic obstacles” to economic growth at home, while also promising to push for the same on the EU level.Lindner, the head of the&...

Astronaut Frank Rubio sets US record for longest trip in space

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:10 GMT

(CNN) — Astronaut Frank Rubio has now been in low-Earth orbit for more than 355 days, breaking the record for the longest space mission by a US astronaut.Rubio — who has been on the International Space Station since September 2022 — bested the previous record, held by retired NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, at 1:40 p.m. ET on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the space agency.What’s more, Rubio is on track to reach another significant milestone in a few weeks’ time. A Russian Soyuz capsule is not expected to return him and his two fellow crewmates — cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin — to Earth before September 27.That means Rubio will have spent at least 371 days in orbit once he completes his mission. He is on the cusp of becoming the first American to spend more than one calendar year in microgravity.Yet Rubio’s mission was not originally designed to break records.When Rubio left for the space station aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule on Septembe...

Popular OTC medicines for colds and allergies don’t work, FDA panel says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:10 GMT

(CNN) — Phenylephrine, a popular ingredient in many over-the-counter allergy and cold medicines, is ineffective in tablet form, an independent advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration unanimously agreed on Tuesday.Phenylephrine is the main ingredient used in products like Benadryl Allergy Plus Congestion, Sudafed PE, Vicks Sinex and several others.These products generated nearly $1.8 billion in sales last year alone, according to data from the FDA that was presented to the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee on Monday during the committee’s two-day meeting.On Tuesday, the committee voted no on the specific question: “Do the current scientific data that were presented support that the monograph dosage of orally administered phenylephrine is effective as a nasal decongestant.”The vote was unanimous from its 16 members and the committee all agreed that the issue doesn’t need to be studied any further.“We really should not have products on the market...

When temps rise, so do medical risks. Should doctors and nurses talk more about heat?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:10 GMT

Martha Bebinger, WBUR | (TNS) KFF Health NewsAn important email appeared in the inboxes of a small group of health care workers north of Boston as this summer started. It warned that local temperatures were rising into the 80s.An 80-plus-degree day is not sizzling by Phoenix standards. Even in Boston, it wasn’t high enough to trigger an official heat warning for the wider public.But research has shown that those temperatures, coming so early in June, would likely drive up the number of heat-related hospital visits and deaths across the Boston region.The targeted email alert the doctors and nurses at Cambridge Health Alliance in Somerville, Massachusetts, got that day is part of a pilot project run by the nonprofit Climate Central and Harvard University’s Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, known as C-CHANGE.Medical clinicians based at 12 community-based clinics in seven states — California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin...

Apple set to unveil the iPhone 15 as company tries to reverse a recent sales slump

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:10 GMT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE (AP Technology Writer)CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple is expected to take the wraps off its next iPhone on Tuesday during what has become an annual late summer rite aimed at giving more people more reasons to buy the technology trendsetter’s marquee product.The showcase at Apple’s Cupertino California, headquarters comes as the company is mired in a mild slump that has seen its sales drop from last year in three consecutive quarters — with management signaling another downturn is likely during the current quarter that will be capped with the release of its iPhone 15 lineup. The malaise is a key reason Apple’s stock price has dipped by nearly 10% since mid-July, dropping the company’s market value below the $3 trillion threshold it reached for the first time earlier this summer.As has been case with Apple and other smartphone makers, the next model isn’t expected to make any major leaps in technology. The array of iPhone 15 ...

Quick Fix: Honey Lemon Snapper easy to make with microwave

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:10 GMT

Linda Gassenheimer | Tribune News Service (TNS)I let the microwave do most of the work for this easy dinner with fresh snapper. It saves time and energy and means fewer pots to wash. The sauce for the snapper and the roast potatoes and green beans are cooked in the microwave.The snapper takes only a few minutes to saute and then the sauce is spooned on top. After the potatoes and green beans are microwaved, they are finished in the same skillet used to cook the snapper. This gives them a crispy finish.There are many types of snappers; any will work for this recipe. Whole grain mustard is part of the honey sauce. It’s made with mustard seeds that are ground just enough to form a paste but doesn’t break down all of the seeds. It gives a thick coarse texture to this sauce.Helpful Hints:— You can use any type of white, flaky fish fillet such as sole or tilapia.— You can use any type of small or baby potato. They should be about 3 to 4 inches.— You can find roasted red peppers in jars in...

Speaker McCarthy directs a House panel to open an impeachment inquiry into President Biden

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:10 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and FARNOUSH AMIRI (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday he is directing a House committee to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over his family’s business dealings, launching historic proceedings ahead of the 2024 election.McCarthy said the House Oversight Committee’s investigation so far has found a “culture of corruption” around the Biden family as Republicans probe the business dealings of the president’s son, Hunter Biden, from before the Democratic president took office. “These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption, and they warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said outside the speaker’s office at the Capitol.“That’s why today I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,” he said.The announcement comes as the Republic...

Central Massachusetts leaders picked to serve on POST Commission

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:10 GMT

A Worcester reverend and the head of YMCA Central Massachusetts will join the state’s police licensing and oversight commission, Gov. Maura Healey and Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced Tuesday.Rev. Clyde Talley and Deborah Hall will join the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission as commissioners as the body faces some scrutiny in the wake of publishing a disciplinary records database last month and as staff continue to recertify thousands of officers whose last names start with the letters I through P.Talley thanked the governor and attorney general for the appointment.“It’s clear that over the past three years the commission has laid the foundations for strengthening accountability and trust in law enforcement, and I’m eager to continue building on that work,” said Talley, who is senior pastor of Belmont A.M.E Zion Church in Worcester.Talley also serves as president and CEO of Yes We Care, Inc. and is a member of both the governor’s ...