Tropical Gardening: Global warming means palms in surprising places
We are still in Italy but soon to be home. Visiting the Amalfi Coast south of Rome made us homesick, mainly because it looks tropical with lots of palms, bananas and other plants that create a tropical ambiance. It just goes to show that one can create a feeling by the plants used in the landscape.
Frustration grows over Waipi‘o
Two groups of people with differing views of who should be allowed access to Waipi‘o Valley think an event today at the Waipi‘o lookout will remain peaceful, although disagreements have led to tension in the past two weeks.
Amid rising seas, island nations push for legal protection
APIA, Samoa — When and if an island nation fully submerges due to rising seas, what happens to the nationalities of its citizens?
Ian lashes South Carolina as Florida surveys devastation
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A revived Hurricane Ian battered coastal South Carolina on Friday, ripping apart piers and filling neighborhoods with calf-high water, after the deadly storm caused catastrophic damage in Florida and trapped thousands in their homes.
Biden vows Russia won’t ‘get away with’ Ukraine annexation
WASHINGTON — The United States and its allies hit back at Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions on Friday, slapping sanctions on more than 1,000 people and companies including arms supply networks as President Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin he can’t “get away with” seizing Ukrainian land.
US defense chief in Hawaii amid distrust after fuel spill
HONOLULU — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Hawaii this week amid lingering community frustration and distrust after jet fuel from a military storage facility last year spilled into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water, poisoned thousands of military families and threatened the purity of Honolulu’s water supply.
NFL’s handling of concussions questioned after Tua’s injury
The NFL’s handling of concussions has evolved dramatically from the days when players were given smelling salts on the bench and sent back into the game.
Charley Hull with 8 birdies posts 64 to take lead in Texas
THE COLONY, Texas (AP) — Charley Hull has forced herself to work a little harder on the putting and she saw it pay off Friday with eight birdies in her round of 7-under 64 to take the 36-hole lead in The Ascendant LPGA.
Column: Tua shouldn’t have played, but complex issues remain
There’s one thing we can all agree on: Tua Tagovailoa had no business being on the field.
NASCAR drivers fuming over concussions suffered in new car
NASCAR drivers are angry and concerned about their safety in the new Next Gen cars as the playoffs roar into one of the most chaotic and dangerous tracks on the circuit.
Putin illegally annexes Ukraine land; Kyiv seeks NATO entry
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties Friday to illegally annex more occupied Ukrainian territory in a sharp escalation of his war. Ukraine’s president countered with a surprise application to join the NATO military alliance.
Russians push baseless theory blaming US for burst pipeline
The Kremlin and Russian state media are aggressively pushing a baseless conspiracy theory blaming the United States for damage to natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in what analysts said Friday is another effort to split the U.S. and its European allies.
Biden vows US commitment to Pacific Islands at summit
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday told visiting leaders from more than a dozen Pacific Island countries that the U.S. was committed to bolstering its presence in their region and becoming a more collaborative partner as they face the “existential threat” of climate change.
Small protests appear in Havana over islandwide blackout
HAVANA — A few hundred Cubans took to the streets Thursday night in Havana demanding the restoration of electricity, protesting more than two days after a blackout hit the entire island following the passage of Hurricane Ian.
Inflation hits record 10% in 19 EU countries using euro
FRANKFURT, Germany — Inflation in the European countries using the euro currency has broken into double digits as prices for electricity and natural gas soar, signaling a looming winter recession for one of the globe’s major economies as higher prices undermine consumers’ spending power.
Justice Jackson makes Supreme Court debut in brief ceremony
WASHINGTON — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made her first appearance on the Supreme Court bench in a brief courtroom ceremony Friday, three days before the start of the high court’s new term.
Army officers appear on Burkina Faso TV, declare new coup
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — More than a dozen members of Burkina Faso’s army seized control of state television late Friday, declaring that the country’s coup leader-turned-president, Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, had been overthrown after only nine months in power.
Some officials now say monkeypox elimination unlikely in US
NEW YORK — Some U.S. health officials are conceding that monkeypox is probably not going away anytime soon.
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
Biden’s student loan reforms are a looming disaster
Amid the stir caused by President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debts, far too little attention has been paid to another far-reaching reform: the administration’s change to a lending program known as income-driven repayment (or IDR). If widely applied, Biden’s proposal would provide additional relief to millions of borrowers — and make the U.S. student loan system even costlier and more dysfunctional than it already is.
