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FDA warns stores to stop selling Elf Bar, the top disposable e-cigarette in the US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

By MATTHEW PERRONE (AP Health Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it has sent warning letters to dozens of retailers selling fruit- and candy-flavored disposable e-cigarettes, including the current best-selling brand, Elf Bar.It’s the latest attempt by regulators to crack down on illegal disposable vapes that have poured into U.S. stores in recent years.Last month, the FDA issued orders allowing customs officials to seize shipments of Elf Bar, Esco Bar and two other brands at U.S. ports. None of the products have received FDA authorization and they come in flavors like cotton candy, which regulators say can appeal to teenagers.In the latest action, the FDA said it issued warnings to 189 convenience stores, vape shops and other retailers.“We’re not going to stand by as bad actors are profiting off the sale of illegal products that are addicting our nation’s youth,” Brian King, the FDA’s tobacco center di...

A Titanic expert, an adventurer, a CEO, and a father and son were killed in Titan’s implosion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

By MARK PRATT (Associated Press)BOSTON (AP) — A renowned Titanic expert, a world record-holding adventurer, two members of one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families and the CEO of the company leading an expedition to the world’s most famous shipwreck were killed aboard the Titan submersible when it imploded in the Atlantic Ocean sometime this week.The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday said there were no survivors after the catastrophic implosion deep in the North Atlantic. The search for the submersible and its occupants — as well as any clues to explain what happened underwater — were ongoing Thursday after a deep-sea robot found debris near the Titanic shipwreck.The Titan was reported overdue Sunday night about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Center, spurring a desperate international rescue effort. Rescuers raced against the clock because it was feared the oxygen supply ...

George and Martha Washington were early fans of ice cream. Try this Mount Vernon recipe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

By Gretchen McKay | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)Ice cream has been a quintessential summer treat for generations, whether you prefer a twist of soft-serve chocolate and vanilla on a cake cone or two scoops of gourmet mint chip stacked on a hand-rolled waffle.But back in the 18th century, the treat brought to America by the French was a rich man’s dessert.You can’t make ice cream without three key ingredients — ice, salt and sugar — that most colonial families simply could not afford. Ice required a separate icehouse to store chunks of ice cut on a nearby river or creek in winter. Sugar and salt were expensive commodities imported from the Caribbean. Colonial home cooks would also have to own at least one cow whose milk the family didn’t need to sell to make cream.Mount Vernon’s recipe for homemade strawberry ice cream is adapted from a cookbook from the 18th century. It’s a bit fluffier than today’s hard ice cream. (Gretchen McKay/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS)Our n...

Twins’ Joe Ryan pitches complete-game shutout of Red Sox to split series

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

If you thought Wednesday night’s extra-inning loss felt like a momentum killer, your instinct was right on the money.The Red Sox’s feast-or-famine season continued on Thursday, as they continued their unfortunate habit of making losing teams look like well-oiled winning machines. The Colorado Rockies, for example, lost eight in a row after winning the series at Fenway Park last week.And after taking the first pair of the four-game set in dominant fashion, the Red Sox lost 6-0 to the Twins, to settle for a series split.Every time they seem to turn a corner, they turn back again.The Twins teed off against Justin Garza and Brandon Walter, taking an early lead they’d never relinquish.Garza opened the game (technically his first career MLB start), and allowed three earned runs on four hits. Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton got Minnesota on the board in the first with a pair of over 400-foot solo home runs.Making his major league debut, Walter struggled early on, but ultim...

Live updates | Pakistan offers condolences to family of father and son aboard imploded Titan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

By The Associated PressFollow along for live updates on the submersible that vanished while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic.___PAKISTAN OFFERS CONDOLENCES TO FAMILY OF FATHER AND SON ABOARD IMPLODED SUBMERSIBLEPakistan has offered the country’s condolences to the Dawood family after the father-and-son explorers were among five killed when the Titan submersible imploded deep in the North Atlantic waters during a trip to the Titanic’s wreckage.Pakistani nationals Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman were aboard the Titan when it went missing Sunday. Authorities on Thursday said the catastrophic implosion meant there were no survivors.The Dawoods are members of one of Pakistan’s most prominent families and their firm, Dawood Hercules Corp., based in Karachi, is involved in agriculture, petrochemicals and telecommunication infrastructure.“Our deepest condolences to the Dawood family and the family of other passengers on the sad news about the f...

Social media is a poor source for young adults to cope with anxiety, study finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for mental health information was and still is staggeringly high, especially among young adults struggling with anxiety.But a pilot study conducted by Florida International University shows many may be seeking anxiety information in the wrong place: social media.Researchers found that, among those surveyed, only 18% reported their go-to social media accounts for anxiety information were run by health professionals.“It didn’t align with my original hypothesis, but it’s not shocking,” said FIU Ph.D student and a lead researcher Rebecca Wolenski. “Because I was feeling hopeful, I thought folks using social media as an information source would be positive, and the more you use the information source, the better your understanding would be. But it was just the opposite.”The study not only showed young adults were receiving unreliable information, but it also suggested social media users are unable to discern the difference between useful and harmful...

A starry, starry night in San Diego offers a summer salutation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A local photographer who's been known to let his creative instincts lead the way was guided by the Milky Way on Wednesday night, capturing another standstill moment.As the Summer Solstice came to an end at nightfall in San Diego County, the first night of the season brought with it a glitter-filled sky in the rural area of Santa Ysabel. Sea lion dances with bait ball near La Jolla shores Though usually called to the coast to snap marine activity or to capture the wonder of bioluminescent waves, Vishwas Lokesh grabbed his camera and headed east. He found himself gazing up at the summer sky from the Lake Henshaw View Point.This scenic overlook is a stopping point for many looking to take in the blues of the lake and greenery surrounding it. On the first night of summer, however, it proved to be a dim yet sparkling spectacle for this sky gazer with an artists' eye."I love Lake Henshaw, because of it's proximity to the city yet sustains the feeling of being in the woods a...

Writer’s lawyers say Trump is wrong about $5 million sex abuse-defamation jury award

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s claim that a jury sided with him when it agreed he didn’t rape an advice columnist in a luxury Manhattan department store in the 1990s was an erroneous interpretation of the jury’s $5 million award and its finding that he sexually abused her, her lawyers said Thursday.The lawyers urged a federal judge to reject a request by Trump’s attorneys that he lower the amount for sexual abuse and defamation awarded to the writer, E. Jean Carroll, to less than $1 million or let another jury hear evidence about damages and make its own determination.In doing so, the attorneys said Trump’s lawyers had unjustly tried to mischaracterize the May verdict, which resulted from a two-week trial. Trump did not attend the trial, though extensive excerpts of his recorded October deposition were shown to jurors.Carroll, 79, testified that Trump, 77, turned a flirtatious and fun chance encounter between the two into a violent sexu...

In ‘Every Body,’ a galvanizing moment – and celebration – for the intersex community

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Like some 260,000 Americans, Sean Saifa Wall was born with significant intersex traits. The sex on the birth certificate was checked “ambiguous” and then crossed out. Wall was instead labeled female on the document and, at the age of 13, after his mother was inaccurately warned of a cancerous threat, his testes were removed. Doctors told his parents to raise him as a girl, though Wall later developed masculine features and now identifies as a man. “They literally stopped my development — I was starting to develop as male. And they stopped it right there and changed course. It was a hard left,” says Wall. “It was disappointing and almost devastating that what I wanted could never be achieved. I wanted to pass. I wanted to be read as cis.”“I had to tap into something else because it was hard being misgendered all the time and people not seeing me the way I saw myself,” Wall adds. “That’s when I was like: I need to really fight back.”Wall, co-founder of the Intersex Jus...

Qatar sovereign wealth fund buys stake in Washington’s NBA, NHL and WNBA teams, AP source says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is buying a roughly 5% stake in the parent company of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, NHL’s Washington Capitals and WNBA’s Washington Mystics as part of a $4.05 billion deal, a person with knowledge of the sale said Thursday.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement between the Qatar Investment Authority and Monumental Sports & Entertainment had not been announced.It is believed to be the first time the government of Qatar is investing in U.S. professional sports. Sportico first reported the transaction, saying it is the first time any sovereign wealth fund has bought into ownership of an American team.It is not Qatar’s first big foray into major sports. The Middle Eastern country last year hosted soccer’s World Cup for the first time, helping FIFA reach a record revenue level because of booming ticket and hospitality sales.Qatar Sports Investments, a subsidiary of the state-run fund, has owne...