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POLITICO’s 2023 Backhanded Awards

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:00 GMT

Best performance by a German pretending to be president of Europe.Winner: Ursula von der LeyenFrederick Florin/AFP via Getty ImagesPoor Ursula von der Leyen.Try as she might not just to project power, but to wield it, the European Commission president runs into a brick wall. Whenever a juicy foreign policy crisis hits, Josep Borrell tries to butt in and hog it. In October, she discovered she couldn’t even hoist the Israeli flag at the Berlaymont without half the EU27 getting on her case. And then there’s the hated “le Belge,” a.k.a. European Council President Charles Michel, who has the gall to act like he’s the president of Europe. A visit to the White House in October should have been von der Leyen’s moment in the sun. She’s America’s favorite, after all. But then Michel had to tag along (at least he didn’t wear that weird turtleneck). And what’s up with the media? Constantly trying to get their grubby hands on the texts she sent to Pfizer’s CEO while negotiating for vaccines dur...

Need a late Christmas present? Try Westminster’s worst political merch

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:00 GMT

LONDON – Christmas! A time for giving.But what do you get the political nerd who has everything? Take POLITICO by the hand and see what delights you too could be scrabbling around for days after the main event in a bid to prove you definitely, 100 percent care about and understand that total dweeb who keeps banging on about something called “Playbook.”In Liz We Truss shirt“In Liz We Truss,” says this fetching T-shirt, which presumably will last you a bit longer than the 49 days Britain’s disaster-prone Conservative former prime minister managed. Far be it from us to suggest Tory HQ are offloading these on eBay en masse.“In Liz We Truss” T-shirt | ebay.co.ukSparkle with Starmer shirtHey guys, we’re not a humorless, technocratic political party led by a man Boris Johnson once described as a “human bollard.” You see, we took an embarrassing party conference protest and turned it into a T-shirt, thereby owning the joke! It’s funny! We did a funny! VOTE FOR US....

Holiday Helping: Polikseni Manxhari’s Petulla

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:00 GMT

7News Holiday Helping is back! In this edition, Polikseni Manxhari is making her Petulla.Order new 2023 recipes from the 7News team to get all of their favorite holiday recipes! Your donation will help Project Bread feed hungry families right here in Massachusetts.Check out other Holiday Helping recipes from the 7News team.

Study seems to confirm secret ingredient for better coffee

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:00 GMT

(CNN) — Coffee connoisseurs have long held the belief that adding a little water to the beans before grinding them could make a difference. A new study by researchers at the University of Oregon seems to confirm exactly why.The research explored how the technique, which started as an attempt to address the often messy coffee-making process, also affected flavor.“When you grind coffee, it goes everywhere,” said study coauthor Christopher Hendon, an associate professor of computational materials chemistry at the University of Oregon. “Dust comes out of the grinder, it’s like a plume that covers everything. But if you add a little water, it seems to not go everywhere. It’s cleaner. That was the primary reason people did it.”The mess is caused by static electricity, which is created by friction when the beans are smashed together. This static charge then makes the particles of ground coffee repel each other — like magnets of the same polarity — sending them off in ev...

King Charles III calls for compassion in Christmas address

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:00 GMT

London (CNN) — Britain’s King Charles III has used his second Christmas broadcast as monarch to call for compassion in the face of world conflict, as the war between Israel and Hamas rages in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues.The Christmas message – a royal tradition which goes back over 90 years – was filmed in the Centre Room in Buckingham Palace, which leads onto its famous balcony overlooking the Queen Victoria Memorial and The Mall.As the King reflected on the past 12 months, he leaned on the core element of the Christian faith of treating others as you would want to be treated.“At a time of increasingly tragic conflict around the world, I pray that we can also do all in our power to protect each other,” Charles said. “The words of Jesus seem more than ever relevant: ‘do to others as you would have them do to you.’”The 75-year-old sovereign, who has been a passionate advocate of green issues for much of his life and recently spoke at ...

One hurt after MTS bus crashes into multiple parked cars

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- One person was hurt Monday in a San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) bus crash in the Sherman Heights neighborhood, authorities said.The collision occurred around 5:18 p.m. at 21st and Market St., the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) confirmed with FOX 5.The MTS bus crashed into multiple parked cars, resulting in one person being taken to the hospital with an open fracture, according to police. Woman hit, killed in crash near Coronado Holiday Parade identified It is unknown what caused the crash and how many cars were involved at this time.Authorities are at the scene investigating the collision.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Biden orders strike on Iranian-aligned group after 3 US troops injured in drone attack in Iraq

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. military to carry out retaliatory strikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. servicemembers were injured in a drone attack in Northern Iraq.National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier Monday. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, under an umbrella of Iranian-backed militants, claimed credit for the attack.Biden, who is spending Christmas at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, was briefed on the attack. and ordered the Pentagon to prepare response options.Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Biden’s national security team quickly drew up plans and presented him with options in a call and Biden directed strikes against three locations utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups. The U.S. strikes were carried out at about 4:45 a.m. on Tuesday in Iraq.“Th...

Pro-Palestinian rally held in Chicago Ridge on Christmas Day

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:00 GMT

CHICAGO RIDGE, Ill. — Israel continues to bombard Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that the war will not stop.But on a gray and overcast Christmas Day, local residents with Palestinian ties held a rally in the parking lot of a mall in Chicago Ridge as they called for an end to the fighting. For more coverage of the Israel and Hamas Conflict, click here Organizers say the objective of Monday's rally was to bring an end to the bombing and overall military action by Israel in Gaza so the hungry can be fed, the sick tended and the overall suffering can end.Those who participated said they came to show their support for the people who are living amid the chaos after the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated drastically following a surprise attack on Israel by Hamas in early October."We came here as truck drivers to send our people's message there's no Christmas. We came here on Christmas Day which they can't celebrate back home, " Mwafau Jbara, who h...

Austin City Council member taking leave sparks new conversations about mental health

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- It's a decision Austin City Council Member Natasha-Harper Madison said was "one of the most difficult" she's had to make. For the first time, we're hearing from the council member about mental health challenges she's faced and the medical leave she took earlier this year to address them. Harper-Madison announced in September that she was taking a weeks-long break from City Hall and her role at the dais to seek treatment tied to mental health, something she said was the right call. But she told KXAN the decision was also hard, especially because she's the only Black Austin City Council member. She worried about the lack of representation in her absence. Natasha Harper-Madison at City Hall (KXAN photo/Grace Reader)"Being the only one comes with a whole lot of expectations and I feel very responsible for meeting those expectations as frequently as possible," Harper-Madison said. Without help, she didn't have much to give. Her cup was empty. In a sit-down interview with...

Ring doorbell from south Austin home shows sweet moment with Amazon delivery driver

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A simple gesture can make a big difference.A south Austin family is grateful for their delivery drivers, and each holiday season they leave something special on the porch for them.This year, the family's doorbell camera caught the man's reaction as he was having a conversation on the phone."God, I need a million dollars. Will you answer all my prayers? Please be a million," he could be heard saying on the doorbell camera.As he said this, he saw the candy left on the porch."Dad! Guess what they have? Twix! Oh my God. Jesus, if you are there, you answered all my prayers for me," he said.KXAN viewer Shandra Flowers shared this video with us. She said she does this every year to thank the delivery drivers who work so hard, especially this time of year.