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A lonely nation: Has the notion of the ‘American way’ promoted isolation across history?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:00:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — At the end of “The Searchers,” one of John Wayne’s most renowned Westerns, a kidnapped girl has been rescued and a family reunited. As the closing music swells, Wayne’s character looks around at his kin — people who have other people to lean on — and then walks off toward the dusty West Texas horizon, lonesome and alone.It’s a classic example of a fundamental American tall tale — that of a nation built on notions of individualism, a male-dominated story filled with loners and “rugged individualists” who suck it up, do what needs to be done, ride off into the sunset and like it that way.In reality, loneliness in America can be deadly. This month, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared it an American epidemic, saying that it takes as deadly a toll as smoking upon the population of the United States. “Millions of people in America are struggling in the shadows,” he said, “and that’s not right.”He cited some potent forces: the gradual withering of l...

Stars edge Kraken 2-1 in Game 7, advance to West final

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:00:14 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Wyatt Johnston is no longer a teenager, not that he’s played like one at all during his rookie season with a Dallas Stars team that is headed to the Western Conference final.A day after his 20th birthday, Johnston scored a crucial goal for the Stars off a hard ricochet in their 2-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken in Game 7 in the second-round NHL playoff series Monday night. “It’s a world-class play by one of the youngest players in the league,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “He’s been fantastic all year. He’s a big part of our group. It feels like the deeper we get, the more we rely on him, the more responsibility he wants.”Roope Hintz also scored for the Stars and 24-year-old goalie Jake Oettinger had 22 saves while again bouncing back after a loss. Dallas moves on to play first-year Stars coach DeBoer’s former team, the Vegas Golden Knights. Game 1 of the West final is Friday night in Las Vegas. DeBoer improved to 7-0 in Game 7s, this being the fourth di...

Why a drug decriminalization crisis looms for Washington state lawmakers

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:00:14 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — After voting down a bill last month to keep drug possession illegal and boost services for people struggling with addiction, Washington lawmakers are entering a special legislative session to find a compromise before a temporary law keeping the possession of small amounts of drugs outlawed expires. If a new law is not passed, Washington would become the second state in the U.S., after Oregon, to decriminalize possession of personal-use amounts of drugs, even as widely available and cheap fentanyl worsens an opioid crisis defined by open drug use and soaring overdose deaths.Here’s what to know about the crisis.HOW WE GOT HEREThe Washington Supreme Court in 2021 struck down a state law making drug possession a felony. It was unconstitutional, the court said, because it did not require prosecutors to prove that someone knowingly had the drugs. Washington was the only state in the country without that requirement.In response, lawmakers passed a temporary measure giv...

Stock market today: Asian shares advance though China economic data weaker than expected

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:00:14 GMT

NEW YORK — Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday even though the latest data showed China’s economy is weaker than expected, with domestic demand failing to bounce back as much as hoped for after the pandemic. Benchmarks advanced in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul but fell in Shanghai and Sydney.China’s industrial output rose 5.6% year-on-year in April while investment crept up 4.7% from the year before in January-April. But those increases also reflected a big gap from the slow activity at the height of China’s “zero-COVID” restrictions, which Beijing abandoned late in 2022. “While the boost from reopening should still underpin a further recovery in the near-term, the bulk of China’s rebound is now behind us,” Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a report. He said the post-pandemic recovery was likely to “fizzle out” in the second half of the year. “Meanwhile, the challenging global picture will prevent much pick-up in Chinese exports,” he said. Tokyo’s N...

Cannes Film Festival kicks off Tuesday with Johnny Depp and ‘Jeanne du Barry’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:00:14 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — The Cannes red carpet springs to life again Tuesday as the 76th Cannes Film Festival gets underway with the premiere of the Louis XV period drama “Jeanne du Barry,” with Johnny Depp. This year’s festival promises a Cote d’Azur buffet of spectacle, scandal and cinema set to be served over the next 12 days. It’s unspooling against the backdrop of labor unrest. Protests that have roiled France in recent months over changes to its pension system are planned to run during the festival, albeit at a distance from the festival’s main hub. Meanwhile, an ongoing strike by screenwriters in Hollywood could have unpredictable effects on the French Riviera festival. But with a festival lined with some much-anticipated big-budget films, including James Mangold’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of the Destiny” and Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the party is sure to go on, regardless. Stars set to hit Cannes’ red carp...

A net negative: Haddock, a staple Atlantic fish, is in decline off New England, regulators say

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:00:14 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A staple seafood species caught by East Coast fishers for centuries is experiencing overfishing, and regulators have cut catch quotas by more than 80% to prevent the fish’s population from collapse.Haddock are one of the most popular Atlantic fish, and a favorite for fish and chips and other New England seafood dishes. But fewer haddock will be caught in New England this year after regulators cut fishing quotas. A recent scientific assessment found that the Gulf of Maine haddock stock declined unexpectedly, and that meant the catch quotas for the fish were unsustainably high, federal fishing managers said.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration added the Gulf of Maine haddock stock to its overfishing list last month. The New England Fishery Management Council, a regulatory board, has lowered catch limits of the fish in an attempt to halt the overfishing, said agency spokesperson Allison Ferreira.However, numerous fishers said the assessment d...

Kentucky Republicans pick nominee to challenge Democratic Gov. Beshear

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:00:14 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s crowded Republican primary campaign for governor comes to a close Tuesday, wrapping up a bitter competition between two rivals with ties to former President Donald Trump who dominated the race. Only one of 12 contenders will remain standing to challenge the red-leaning state’s popular Democratic governor.Attorney General Daniel Cameron and former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft are considered the frontrunners for the GOP nomination. Although Craft was nominated to her post by Trump, it was Cameron who won the former president’s coveted endorsement early in the campaign.Whoever gets the most votes in Tuesday’s primary will be the GOP nominee because there is no runoff rule.Incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who is seeking reelection to a second term, awaits the winner of the GOP primary for what’s sure to be a tumultuous general election bid. The November race, one of just a few top contests nationally during an off-year electi...

Washington state lawmakers seek to avoid decriminalizing drugs

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:00:14 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington lawmakers are considering a major new drug policy in a special session that begins Tuesday, a day after reaching a compromise that Democratic and Republican leaders say strikes a balance between public order and compassion for those with substance abuse issues.The bipartisan agreement would avoid making the state the second in the U.S. to decriminalize the possession of controlled substances. Gov. Jay Inslee called lawmakers back to the Washington Statehouse for a special session after they failed to pass one before adjourning late last month.Under a tentative deal, intentional possession or public use of small amounts of illegal drugs would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail for the first two offenses and up to a year after that.But police and prosecutors would be encouraged to divert cases for treatment or other services, and the measure provides millions of additional dollars for diversion programs and to provide short-term ho...

3 judges who chipped away abortion rights to hear federal abortion pill appeal

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:00:14 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Three conservative appeals court judges, each with a history of supporting restrictions on abortion, will hear arguments May 17 on whether a widely used abortion drug should remain available.The case involves a regulatory issue — whether the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, and subsequent actions making it easier to obtain, must be rolled back. The appellate hearing follows an April ruling by a federal judge in Texas, who ordered a hold on federal approval of mifepristone in a decision that overruled decades of scientific approval. His ruling was stayed pending appeal. The case was allotted to a panel made up of Jennifer Walker Elrod, James Ho and Cory Wilson.The three judges of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals won’t rule immediately. Their decision, whatever it is, is also unlikely to have an immediate effect pending an expected appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.Here’s a look at who the judges are and thei...

Debt ceiling showdown: Biden and congressional leaders to meet as McCarthy pushes for faster deal

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:00:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is ready to discuss the debt ceiling with congressional leaders at the White House in a high-profile session with reverberations across the globe as early outlines of a potential deal begin to emerge despite painstakingly slow negotiations.Raising the stakes, the Tuesday afternoon session comes as Biden is preparing to depart for the Group of Seven summit in Japan where the U.S. leadership will be on the world stage later this week. The president and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are trying to strike a budget deal before the U.S. Treasury runs out of cash to keep paying the nation’s bills, which could occur as soon as June 1. While Biden has remained upbeat that “we’ll be able to do this,” McCarthy is prodding the president to move faster to avert a crisis. The Republican speaker says they need an agreement soon to avoid default. Expectations are low that a deal is that close at hand. Instead, it is more likely that staff talks will c...