Montgomery Public Schools narrows list of superintendent candidates to six
Montgomery Public Schools narrows list of superintendent candidates to six
Montgomery Public Schools is one step closer to naming a new school superintendent after narrowing a list of potential candidates to six.
“We have highly qualified candidates who possess the vision, leadership, and experience necessary to guide our district forward,” said Arica Watkins-Smith, Montgomery County Board of Education president (District 7), during a Friday briefing.
Those candidates are:
Zickeyous Byrd – Former superintendent, Selma City Public Schools
Constance Evelyn – Former superintendent, Valley Stream 13 School District, New York
Barbara Lashley – Deputy superintendent, Rome City Schools, Georgia
Scott Schneider – Chief of schools, Duval County Public Schools, Florida
Angela Whitelaw – Deputy superintendent, Memphis-Shelby County Public Schools, Tennessee
Harold Wright – Deputy superintendent of achievement and leadership at Crowley Independent School District, Fort Worth, Texas
The six named candidates for superintendent for Montgomery Public Schools are, from left: top row — Angela Whitelaw, Barbara Lashley, Constance Evelyn; bottom row — Scott Schneider, Harold Wright, Zickeyous Byrd.
More: Here’s what Montgomery says they want in the next schools superintendent
The group was selected after what Watkins-Smith described as a thorough and rigorous process. She said this selection was better than previous ones, because it allowed for a “head-to-head” process with extensive background research. She said the group has both local national national roots.
“Thank you to the (Montgomery County Board of Education) for being unified in bringing a talented slate of candidates to engage you and the public,” Watkins-Smith said.
Watkins-Smith also offered her thanks to Jamie Wilson, who has served as interim superintendent since November 2024. She stepped into the role after then-superintendent Melvin J. Brown resigned in September 2024 after two years in the role.
“Interim superintendent Mrs. Wilson has done a phenomenal job in leading the charge as interim for all of the things that we’ve needed her to do,” Watkins-Smith said.
She also offered thanks to the community at large for the public’s engagement throughout the process.
“We conducted 32 interviews and focus groups, and had 991 people who responded to the community survey,” Watkins-Smith said.
More: What kind of superintendent does Montgomery need? Schools release public survey
The school board will begin initial interviews with each candidate during the week of March 3. Watkins-Smith said it’s important for the public to continue to be involved as interviews continue — to meet the candidates, form opinions about them, and vet the candidates for themselves.
“Leadership and education go together,” Watkins-Smith said. “We want to make sure the leader that we have is able to come in and help not only move our school district forward, but to also connect with the community.”
Learn more about the superintendent candidates and the interview process at mps.k12.al.us/page/superintendent-search-2025
Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel can be contacted at *****@*****.tld.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Who will be Montgomery Public Schools superintendent? Six make list
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Bluesky-based Instagram alternative Flashes launches publicly – TechCrunch
Bluesky-based Instagram alternative Flashes launches publicly – TechCrunch
Bluesky-based Instagram alternative Flashes launches publicly TechCrunchBluesky Photo App Flashes Launches on the App Store PetaPixelFlashes, an Instagram alternative based on Bluesky, is available for iPhones now EngadgetFlashes: A Promising Instagram Alternative Opens for Beta Testing imaging resource
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As the price of bitcoin falls, you can leverage this tax 'loophole,' experts say
As the price of bitcoin falls, you can leverage this tax 'loophole,' experts say
With the price of bitcoin down from a record high in January, there could be opportunities for a tax break, experts say.
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More than 500 patients flee clinics amid conflict
More than 500 patients flee clinics amid conflict
Dorcas Wangira
BBC Africa health correspondent
Unicef
Staff at Mugunga health centre in Goma have been unable to trace the 128 patients who fled at the end of January
More than 500 mpox patients have fled clinics in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo over the last month amid the current conflict.
Officials at Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), a leading health agency on the continent, have said they are worried as the missing patients risk spreading the highly contagious disease that is suspected to have killed at 900 people in DR Congo last year.
The patients fled from facilities in Goma and Bukavu – two cities that descended into chaos as they were seized by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels over the past weeks.
“We were looted. We lost equipment. It was a disaster,” Dr Samuel Muhindo, in charge of a clinic in Goma, told the BBC.
Mpox – formerly known as monkeypox – can cause symptoms such as lesions, headaches and fever.
According to Africa CDC, since the start of this year almost 2,890 mpox cases and 180 deaths have been reported in the country, which has been at the epicentre of several recent outbreaks.
Dr Muhindo described how 128 patients had fled Goma’s Mugunga health centre in the wake of the fighting at the end of January.
His health workers had not been able to trace them as paperwork at the clinic was destroyed, he said.
At Bisengimana, a hospital in Goma that also treats mpox, looters took medicines and personal protective equipment.
Fires were lit outside the centre and when the perpetrators departed, patients’ medical records were left strewn on the floor.
The situation has been further complicated by the M23’s decision to close a network of camps in Goma where tens of thousands of people who had sought refuge from fighting in recent years.
They were given 72 hours to leave last week, although the M23 later said it was encouraging “voluntary returns”.
“Now we are afraid of an outbreak of the epidemic in the areas where the displaced people returned to,” Dr Muhindo said.
His fears have been echoed by the Africa CDC.
“Once again, we are calling really for the ceasefire and also the agency to establish a humanitarian corridor to facilitate the continuation of mpox interventions,” Dr Ngashi Ngongo, Africa CDC’s mpox incident manager, said on Thursday.
Bisengimana health workers
Looters made away with iron sheets, medicine, gloves and masks at Bisengimana hospital as fires were lit outside the facility
Over the last week, the Africa CDC says the number of missing mpox patients has risen by 100 as fighting escalates and the rebels take more territory.
Dr Ngongo added that a new variant of mpox with “high potential for higher transmissibility” had also been detected in DR Congo.
The country’s ability to respond to the disease has been hampered by the conflict, between the M23 and DR Congo’s army, as well as a lack of funding.
The mpox facility at Mugunga, funded by the UN children’s agency (Unicef) and *** Aid Direct, managed to reopen last week.
But it is already so overstretched that there are times when four or five patients have to share one bed.
Sadiki Bichichi Aristide arrived at the Mugunga clinic a week ago after falling sick at camp for people displaced by the fighting
“I first fled from Minova to Goma when the M23 rebels began to advance from there,” Sadiki Bichichi Aristide, a 23-year-old being treated at Mugunga along with two of his children, told the BBC.
“I began to fall sick in a [camp for displaced people]. It started with my fingers, and then I had lesions, which began to rupture on my hands. My neighbours told me to go to Mugunga with my children. I left my wife behind.”
He said he had seen “so many” people with mpox before he arrived at the clinic last week.
Dr Oummani Rouafi, Unicef’s Goma health specialist, told the BBC that the only reason Mugunga hospital had reopened was because staff had managed to hide some equipment and medicine from the looters.
But this had not been the case at many other treatment centres that had been completely ransacked, he said.
You may also be interested in:Getty Images/BBC
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Israel, ****** diverge on ceasefire as first phase ends
Israel, ****** diverge on ceasefire as first phase ends
An Israeli delegation in Cairo is negotiating to extend the first phase of the Gaza Strip ceasefire when it expires on Saturday rather than move to the second phase as originally planned and as ****** wants, two Egyptian security sources say.
The ceasefire agreement last month halted 15 months of fighting and paved the way for talks on ending the war while also leading to the release of 44 Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip and about 2000 ************ prisoners and detainees held by Israel.
However, Israel and ****** have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, casting doubt over the second phase of the deal meant to include releases of additional hostages and prisoners as well as steps toward a permanent end of the war.
There is no sign of agreement over the future of the Gaza Strip’s future, an uncertainty that is complicating efforts to negotiate a lasting resolution.
****** called on Friday for the international community to press Israel to immediately enter the second phase without delay.
It is unclear what will happen if the first phase ends on Saturday without a deal.
A senior official of the ************ Authority, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Varsen Aghabekian, also said on Friday that she would like the ceasefire phases to move ahead as originally planned.
“I doubt anyone in Gaza will want to go back to war,” she said in Geneva.
The Cairo talks are being mediated by Egypt and Qatar with US support.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday there were “pretty good talks going on”.
Asked whether the ceasefire deal would move into the second phase, Trump said: “Nobody really knows, but we’ll see what happens”.
The Gaza Strip war is the latest in decades of conflict between Israel and Palestinians.
It began on October 7, 2023, when fighters from the Islamist group ****** stormed border defences from Gaza and attacked Israeli communities, killing about 1200 people and seizing about 250 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The Israeli military campaign in retaliation has killed more than 48,000 people, according to ************ authorities, while destroying large swathes of the tiny, crowded territory and leaving most of its two million inhabitants homeless.
The ceasefire has mostly held during its first six weeks, although both sides have accused each other of breaches, particularly in the treatment of Israeli hostages and ************ detainees, and in the handling of releases.
The United Nations has described images of both emaciated Israeli hostages and released ************ detainees as distressing, saying they reflected the dire conditions in which they were held.
****** has staged shows of strength during hostage releases, parading them in front of cameras.
Israeli authorities have made released detainees wear clothes bearing pro-Israeli slogans.
Israel is now negotiating to extend the first phase of the ceasefire deal by 42 days, according to the Egyptian security sources.
Israeli government officials said earlier this week that Israel would attempt to extend the initial phase with ****** freeing three hostages a week in return for the release of ************ detainees.
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Sony Adds 371 New Purchaseable Cloud Games
Sony Adds 371 New Purchaseable Cloud Games
Every week we run a script for our cloud games catalog that looks for new PS5 Cloud games. In the last week, Sony added 371 new purchasable games to its cloud gaming service, significantly enhancing the PlayStation library for cloud gaming on PS5. Total PS Cloud Gaming library now above 1,800.
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‘Disgraceful’ — Trump-Zelensky row sparks US political firestorm
‘Disgraceful’ — Trump-Zelensky row sparks US political firestorm
Reactions to an extraordinary Oval Office clash between US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and visiting Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday laid bare America’s political divisions on the grinding three-year conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Democrats accused Trump and Vance of doing Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s “dirty work” after they berated Zelensky in front of the world’s media.
But Republicans said the US leaders were right to accuse pro-Western Zelensky of lacking gratitude for American support in Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
Here is a selection of political reaction:
– Democrats –
“What we saw in the Oval Office today was beyond disgraceful. Trump and Vance berating Zelensky — putting on a show of lies and misinformation that would make Putin blush — is an embarrassment for America and a betrayal of our allies. They’re popping champagne in the Kremlin.”
– Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen
“Trump and Vance are doing Putin’s dirty work. Senate Democrats will never stop fighting for freedom and democracy.”
– Senate ********* Leader Chuck Schumer
“Trump is transforming what the United States is as a country in the world into a far right, authoritarian, transactional, valueless oligarchy aligned with the world’s autocracies.”
– Ben Rhodes, deputy national security advisor to former president Barack Obama
“We cannot let President Trump rewrite history or upend proven partnerships with decades of bipartisan support. I extend my sincere apologies to President Zelensky and again reaffirm my support for our Ukrainian friends.”
– Senate ********* Whip ***** Durbin, co-chair of the Ukraine Caucus
“President Trump and his administration continue to embarrass America on the world stage. Today’s White House meeting with the President of Ukraine was appalling and will only serve to further embolden Vladimir Putin, a brutal dictator.”
– House ********* Leader Hakeem Jeffries
– Republicans –
“Zelensky is either going to have to fundamentally change or go. I can’t believe most Americans, after what they saw today, would want to be partners with Zelensky.”
– South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham
“Zelensky could have left the White House today with a peace deal for his country, ending this conflict. Instead, he chose to disrespect our President and nation. Thank you, President Trump and Vice President Vance, for standing up for our country!”
– Tennessee congresswoman Diana Harshbarger
“Ridiculous grandstanding by Zelensky in the Oval Office. The United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars to defend Ukraine. And this is the thanks the American people get? It’s time to end this war.”
– Florida congressman Greg Steube
“America First in action. Thank you, @realDonaldTrump and @JDVance for prioritizing our people first and for promoting peace!”
– Texas congressman Brandon Gill
“TOUGH and FAIR. The world is witnessing American leadership back in the White House.”
– Texas congressman Keith Self
ft/acb
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Iowa's governor signs a bill removing gender identity protections from the state’s civil rights code – The Associated Press
Iowa's governor signs a bill removing gender identity protections from the state’s civil rights code – The Associated Press
Iowa’s governor signs a bill removing gender identity protections from the state’s civil rights code The Associated PressIowa once led on LGBTQ rights. Activists say removing trans rights takes state ‘backwards’ Des Moines RegisterIowa Lawmakers Pass Bill to Eliminate Transgender Civil Rights Protections The New York TimesIowa’s governor signs a bill removing gender identity protections from the state’s civil rights code WOODTV.com
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Skype set for final call as Microsoft prioritises Teams
Skype set for final call as Microsoft prioritises Teams
Skype will ring for the last time on May 5 as owner Microsoft retires the two-decade-old internet calling service that redefined how people connect across borders.
Shutting down Skype will help Microsoft focus on its homegrown Teams service by simplifying its communication offerings, the software giant said on Friday.
Founded in 2003, Skype’s audio and video calls quickly disrupted the landline industry in the early 2000s and made the company a household name boasting hundreds of millions of users at its peak.
But the platform has struggled to keep up with easier-to-use and more reliable rivals such as Zoom and Salesforce’s Slack in recent years.
The decline was partly because Skype’s underlying technology was not suited for the smartphone era.
When the pandemic and work-from-home fuelled the need for online business calls, Microsoft batted for Teams by aggressively integrating it with other Office apps to tap corporate users – once a major base for Skype.
To ease the transition from the platform, its users will be able to log into Teams for free on any supported device using their existing credentials, with chats and contacts migrating automatically.
With that, Skype will become the latest in a series of high-flying bets that Microsoft has mishandled, such as the Internet Explorer web browser and its Windows Phone.
Other big tech firms have also struggled with online communication tools, with Google making several attempts through apps including Hangouts and Duo.
Microsoft declined to share the latest user figures for Skype and said there would be no job cuts due to the move. It added that Teams has about 320 million monthly active users.
When Microsoft bought Skype in 2011 for $US8.5 billion after outbidding Google and Facebook – its largest deal at the time – the service had around 150 million monthly users; by 2020, that number had fallen to roughly 23 million, despite a brief resurgence during the pandemic.
Microsoft said on Friday: “Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications”.
“We are honoured to have been part of the journey.”
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‘******** queen of Europe’ arrested after four years on the run
‘******** queen of Europe’ arrested after four years on the run
To outsiders, Tania Gomez was the glamorous 33-year-old owner of a dog rescue centre in Stockholm, who had moved to Lanzarote for a quieter life.
But to police, she was known as the “******** Queen of Europe” and one of the Continent’s most wanted fugitives.
Now, after four years on the run, she has been captured, and is facing extradition back to her homeland on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering. If convicted, she faces a potential prison sentence of 14 years.
Charges were brought against Gomez in 2021, after a huge drugs bust led Swedish prosecutors to accuse her of smuggling consignments of cannabis into Sweden as well as handling large amounts of ********.
Credit: Lancelot Digital
In May 2020, she allegedly received 10 kilograms of ******** in the Stockholm area, transported it to her home, where the drug was examined and tested, before being sold on.
Gomez, who was included in Europol’s 50 most-wanted fugitives in 2023 and described as being 1.60m tall (5ft 2in) with brown eyes, had developed a seemingly innocent cover for her alleged criminal activities as a smiley Instagram influencer with a special interest in rescued dogs.
Gomez ran the HundGärin dog rescue charity organisation in Stockholm until she went into hiding and fled the country, and the organisation still has photographs of her posing with bulldogs and pit bull terriers on its Facebook page.
Swedish prosecutors have said they suspect that her canine charity was itself a criminal operation that “linked businesses related to stray animals and probably to a network of ******** animal ownership and their transport abroad”.
Gomez kept a lower profile since moving to the Canary Islands, with her need to blend into the surroundings made easier by her fluency in the language. Her father is Spanish.
Spain’s national police force said that they received new information about Gomez´s whereabouts on February 7 and traced her to her home in Tías, a sleepy town of 21,000 inhabitants in the hills of southern Lanzarote.
Gomez is being held in jail while Spain’s national court decides on Sweden’s extradition request. Extraditions between EU countries are virtually automatic.
Swedish prosecutors have said they suspect that her canine charity was itself a criminal operation
As well as trafficking drugs, Gomez is accused by Swedish authorities of playing a role in a major criminal organisation dedicated to laundering the proceeds from drug sales.
Specifically, prosecutors accused Gomez of handling 1.8 million kronor (£133,000) as part of a drug deal, and she is also alleged to have dropped off and picked up over four million kronor at the World Exchange currency exchange office in Stockholm.
World Exchange, which was raided by Swedish police in June 2020, posed as a normal currency exchange outlet while operating as a bank for criminal organisations to exchange money and launder funds.
Behind removable panels in the premises’ kitchen, ceiling and in secret hatches, police found bags of cash totalling 15 million kronor and marked with the names of different criminal gangs from around Sweden, although World Exchange also had contacts with organisations in other countries including Germany, Serbia, Turkey and Spain.
Surveillance images showed how a suspected criminal entered the exchange office with a bag of banknotes, which were then counted and recorded in a handwritten ledger. Twelve people were charged in connection with the raid.
Prosecutors said 220 million kronor were suspected of having been laundered through the office over 18 months.
“We suspect that this company functioned as a bank for a number of criminal networks and criminal individuals. This is organised systematic money laundering. And what has been laundered is actually drug money,” said prosecutor Ulrika Lindsö after the raid.
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Intel delays Ohio plant opening to 2030, production was to start 2026
Intel delays Ohio plant opening to 2030, production was to start 2026
US President Joe Biden, second left, tours the site of the new Intel semiconductor manufacturing facility near New Albany, Ohio, US, on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022.
Gaelen Morse | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Intel is pushing off the opening of its Ohio chip manufacturing facility, the embattled chipmaker said Friday.
The company said it won’t complete construction on the first plant until 2030, starting operations that year or the next. The second factory in the up to $100-billion complex will likely be finished in 2031 and start running the following year. The company had initially planned to begin production on the first plant in 2025.
“As we continue to invest across our U.S. sites, it’s important that we align the start of production of our fabs with the needs of our business and broader market demand,” said Naga Chandrasekaran, vice president and head of global operations officer for Intel Foundry Manufacturing, in a release. “This has always been our approach, as it allows us to manage our capital responsibly and adapt to the needs of our customers.”
Intel, long the world’s leading semiconductor maker before losing that distinction in recent years, has been on a downward slide due largely to its position on the sidelines of the artificial intelligence *****. The stock lost more than half its value last year and the company has been reckoning with slowing sales while also trying to move deeper into the capital-intensive business of chip fabrication.
In August, shares suffered their worst one-day drop on the stock market in 50 years after the company announced disappointing quarterly results. Intel also said it would axe 15% of its employees. That’s made the company a potential takeover target as of late, while also leading to the firing of CEO Pat Gelsinger in December.
Intel was a central beneficiary of former President Joe Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act office. The government most recently awarded the company a roughly $8 billion grant in November in an effort to boost semiconductor production on U.S. soil.
WATCH: Intel needs to get rid of the foundry business
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Giants shift interest to Aaron Rodgers after Rams retain Matthew Stafford: Sources – The Athletic
Giants shift interest to Aaron Rodgers after Rams retain Matthew Stafford: Sources – The Athletic
Giants shift interest to Aaron Rodgers after Rams retain Matthew Stafford: Sources The AthleticSources: Giants talk possible addition of Rodgers ESPNNFC Team Reportedly Eyeing Jets’ Aaron Rodgers After Matthew Stafford Miss Sports IllustratedQB Matthew Stafford gets a restructured contract and agrees to stay with the Los Angeles Rams The Associated PressWith Matthew Stafford staying put, will the Giants sign Aaron Rodgers? NBC Sports
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Injured Short set to miss Aussies’ Champs Trophy semi
Injured Short set to miss Aussies’ Champs Trophy semi
Matt Short looks set to miss Australia’s Champions Trophy semi-final against either India or New Zealand after his injury proved the only downside to their rain-helped rush into the last-four in Pakistan.
After the in-form opener suffered a quad injury in the field and hobbled his way to a brisk 20 off 15 ****** in the washout against Afghanistan in Lahore on Friday, captain Steve Smith said he didn’t think the Adelaide Strikers star would be fit to play in next week’s semis.
Smith told Prime after Friday’s match, which Australia had dominated before the downpour: “I think he’ll be struggling.
“I think we saw tonight he wasn’t moving very well. I think it’s probably going to be too quick between games for him to recover.”
Australia will play their semi either against India in Dubai on Tuesday or against New Zealand on Wednesday in Lahore, but they won’t know their opponents until Sunday night.
Smith’s side currently lead group B by a point from South Africa, who can knock them down to second with victory over England in Saturday’s final group match in Karachi.
There’s even an outlandish possibility Afghanistan could still finish second behind Australia and qualify, but only if England hand the Proteas a thrashing that, statistically, looks wholly unlikely.
But no match-ups can be decided anyway until after Sunday’s group A shootout between favourites India and New Zealand in Dubai, with the victors of that one set to top the group and play the second-placed side in the other pool.
Either way, Short’s absence would necessitate a change at the top of the order, with Smith suggesting: “We’ve got a few guys there to come in to fill a job.”
Big-hitting Jake Fraser-McGurk is in the squad and could come in as a like-for-like replacement if it’s felt he’s not too much of a risk after his two failures in the recent ODI series in Sri Lanka.
The 29-year-old Short had impressed in the opening match against England, setting the tone in their record-breaking chase with 63 off 66 ******, before Josh Inglis and Alex Carey carried Australia to victory.
As his team chased down Afghanistan’s 273 on Friday and set out with real intent to try to beat the rain on Friday, he also started well, taking advantage of a spilt catch as he smacked a six and three fours.
At the other end Travis Head, who also got away with being dropped early, raced to an unbeaten 59 before the rains came at 1-109 with the Australians in charge.
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The federal government is begging people to eat this massive, harmful rodent species
The federal government is begging people to eat this massive, harmful rodent species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is urging Americans to fill their bellies with invasive species that are wreaking havoc on habitats across the country.
As part of its National Invasive Species Awareness Week, which ends Friday, the agency released a list of five invasive creatures that they’re encouraging people to hunt and eat as a way to protect native species.
“Some of the biggest ecological nightmares are critters that don’t belong here,” the USFWS wrote in a public advisory released late last week. “Invasive species outcompete native wildlife, destroy habitats, and mess up ecosystems. But rather than just complaining about them, let’s put them on the menu.”
‘Something out of a disaster movie’
At the top of the list is the nutria, a large, water-loving rodent that resembles a beaver without the trademark flat tail. Nutria are native to the swamps of South America. They were brought to the U.S. by fur traders in the 1930s, and many were released into the wild after the market for nutria fur dried up. Since then, nutria have been a menace in marshlands in several regions of the country — particularly along the Gulf Coast, but also on the Atlantic coast and in the Pacific Northwest and parts of California.
Nutria are a perfect example of how the introduction of an invasive species can throw off the delicate balance that has developed inside vulnerable ecosystems over centuries of evolution. They are voracious herbivores that can consume up to a quarter of their body weight in a single day. They eat so much that they can devastate the local plant species that keep marshlands stable.
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“Their nonstop munching and burrowing destroy the plants that keep marshes stable, leading to erosion, loss of habitat, and wetlands that look like something out of a disaster movie,” the USFWS wrote in a Facebook post.
Along with the federal government, at least five states have launched nutria eradication programs over the past 25 years that have significantly reduced the damage these creatures cause. In the year 2000, nutria were estimated to be destroying 100,000 acres of Louisiana wetlands per year, according to the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Last year, that figure had dropped to just 5,500 acres.
Government conservationists are hoping that the appeal of a tasty meal might encourage local hunters to help support their anti-nutria campaign. The USFWS describes nutria meat as lean and mild, with a flavor similar to “rabbit or even the dark meat of a turkey.”
A cookbook published in 1963 lists nearly two dozen nutria recipes, including Chicken Fried Nutria and Macaroni-Nutria Casserole. The state of Louisiana has even shared a recipe for Smoked Nutria and ********** Sausage Gumbo.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recognizes more than 200 invasive species that exist throughout the country. That list includes land animals, sea creatures, bugs, plants and even viruses. Most of the entries are either inedible or unappealing to eat.
The other edible, or even downright tasty, creatures on the USFWS list are the northern snakehead fish, the green iguana, several species of invasive carp and feral hogs.
The agency urges anyone considering embarking on an invasive species hunt to check with local authorities to ensure that it’s legal where they live and to take special care when preparing the meat to avoid any risk of foodborne illness that is inherent any time you’re dealing with wild game.
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Opinion | Here’s the real threat to ‘personal liberties and free markets’ – The Washington Post
Opinion | Here’s the real threat to ‘personal liberties and free markets’ – The Washington Post
Opinion | Here’s the real threat to ‘personal liberties and free markets’ The Washington PostBezos Orders Washington Post Opinion Section to Embrace ‘Personal Liberties and Free Markets’ The New York TimesTrump says he had dinner with Bezos week of Washington Post changes Axios
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'Not my arm': hard medicine brings doctors to the bush
'Not my arm': hard medicine brings doctors to the bush
The chance to travel the outback and help country Australians facing extreme medical emergencies is luring more doctors to the bush.
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Billionaires earning $10 billion per day in January are suddenly watching their net worth get wiped out—Elon Musk has lost $90 billion alone
Billionaires earning $10 billion per day in January are suddenly watching their net worth get wiped out—Elon Musk has lost $90 billion alone
Billionaires were getting $10 billion richer every day in January. Just one month later, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Mark Zuckerberg have lost a combined total of $138 billion.
This January felt like the honeymoon ******* for billionaires, who saw their wealth surge by $10 billion every day. One month later, the daydream is over, and their net worth is tanking.
Throughout the month of January, it’s estimated that the world’s richest people saw their fortune swell by $314 billion—a figure that’s about the collective salary of 15 million workers. But for many billionaire businessmen, from Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg to Jeff Bezos and Larry Ellison, that high didn’t last. Their gains are already slipping away.
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index is heaving with numbers in the negatives—all of the world’s richest technology, consumer, and industrial leaders are being hit hard.
At the beginning of February, Musk’s net worth rested around $433 million; today, that number is $349 billion. Meta CEO Zuckerberg slipped from $243 billion to $232 billion in the same time *******, and Larry Ellison lost about $9 billion.
Tech billionaires in particular—who make up many of the world’s richest people—are watching their wealth take a tumble. It follows DeepSeek’s breakout success. The ******** tech underdog rocked the market, startling competitors like Meta and spurring praise from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. DeepSeek’s revolutionary, low-cost R1 model has wiped billions off the stock market.
DeepSeek triggered a tsunami throughout the AI industry, and CEOs are caught up in the tidal wave.
The billion-dollar AI company’s rise to dominance hit Nvidia the hardest—Jensen Huang witnessed $600 billion in his company’s market value vanish. Bloomberg noted it as one of the biggest drops of U.S. stocks in the market’s history, as DeepSeek products triggered a selloff in Nvidia. Huang himself lost over $20 billion, dropping to a net worth of $103 billion. It triggered a domino effect across the 1%.
Collectively, it’s estimated DeepSeek wiped a total of $94 billion from the pockets of the world’s richest people: tech leaders. Chairman Ellison recorded a personal loss of $27.6 billion—dropping from third- to fifth-richest person in the world—after Oracle’s stock plummeted 14%. Michael Dell also lost a cool $12.4 billion from the Nvidia sell-off, alongside Musk bleeding $5.3 billion, Google founder Larry Page’s net worth dropping $6.3 billion, and Google investor Andreas von Bechtolsheim suffering a $5.4 billion ******.
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While these numbers are eye-watering to the average person, for the wealthiest few it represented a small dent in their wealth. Even though Elon Musk—the world’s richest man—has lost nearly $90 billion this year, he still takes the throne of global net worth. And the leaders most implicated in this ****** still keep their chin up; Huang might have a bone to pick for his personal and company losses, but in Nvidia’s most recent earnings call, he praised DeepSeek.
“It’s an excellent innovation, but even more importantly, it has open-sourced a world-class reasoning AI model,” Huang said, adding that DeepSeek has “ignited global enthusiasm.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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Pope had a bronchial spasm and his prognosis remains guarded, ******** says
Pope had a bronchial spasm and his prognosis remains guarded, ******** says
Candles are laid at the statue of John Paul II at the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on February 28, 2025.
Tiziana Fabi | Afp | Getty Images
Pope Francis suffered a bronchial spasm on Friday that resulted in him breathing in vomit, requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation, the ******** said in relaying a setback in his two-week long battle against double pneumonia.
The 88-year-old pope responded well, with a good level of gas exchange, and remained conscious and alert at all times, the ******** said in its late update.
The development marked a setback in what had been two successive days of increasingly upbeat reports from doctors treating Francis at Rome’s Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14.
The episode, which occurred in the early afternoon, resulted in a “sudden worsening of the respiratory picture.” Doctors decided to keep his prognosis as guarded.
The ******** has already made alternative plans for Ash Wednesday next week, making clear Francis still had a long road ahead. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, a ******** official and former vicar of Rome, will preside over the March 5 ceremony and procession that inaugurates the church’s solemn Lenten season leading up to Easter in April.
Earlier Friday, Francis had spent the morning alternating high flows of supplemental oxygen with a mask and praying in the chapel. He had had breakfast, read the day’s newspapers and was receiving respiratory physiotherapy, the ******** said.
Doctors did not resume referring to Francis in “critical condition,” which has been absent from their statements for three days.
Prayers continued to pour in
In Mexico City, a few dozen people gathered Thursday night at the cathedral to pray for Francis’ recovery.
“He is like part of the family,” said Araceli Gutiérrez, who treasures the time she saw the pope during his trip to the country of nearly 100 million Catholics in 2016. “That’s why we feel so concerned for him.”
María Teresa Sánchez, who was visiting from Colombia with her sister, said that she has always felt close to Francis — the first Latin American pope.
“That’s like having a relative within the higher-ups, with God,” she said. “He has done so much for religion; he’s such a humble person.”
A view shows the statue of late Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli Hospital where Pope Francis is admitted to continue treatment for his ongoing respiratory tract infection, in Rome, Italy, Feb. 19, 2025.
Yara Nardi | Reuters
Upcoming calendar in question
Despite his improvements, Francis’ near-term upcoming calendar of events was being changed: The ******** canceled a Holy Year audience scheduled for Saturday, and it remained to be seen if Francis would skip his Sunday noon blessing for the third week in a row. With Ash Wednesday now delegated to a cardinal, the next major events come during Holy Week and Easter, which this year falls on April 20.
In past years, when Francis has battled bronchitis and influenza in winter, he curbed his participation in Ash Wednesday and Holy Week events, which call for the pope to be outdoors in the cold leading services, participating in processions and presiding over prayers in the solemn ******* in which the faithful commemorate Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.
Beyond that, Francis has a few major events coming up that he presumably would hope to keep if well enough. On April 27, he is due to canonize Carlo Acutis, considered to be the first millennial and digital-era saint. The ******** considers the Italian teenager, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, an inspiration for young Catholics.
Another important appointment is the May 24 commemoration of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity’s first ecumenical council. The spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew I, has invited Francis to join him in Iznik, Turkey, to commemorate the anniversary, which he has called an important sign of reconciliation between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Before he got sick, Francis said he hoped to go, though the ******** hasn’t confirmed the trip.
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Trump says he had dinner with Bezos week of Washington Post changes – Axios
Trump says he had dinner with Bezos week of Washington Post changes – Axios
Trump says he had dinner with Bezos week of Washington Post changes AxiosBezos Orders Washington Post Opinion Section to Embrace ‘Personal Liberties and Free Markets’ The New York TimesWashington Post loses 75K subscribers after Bezos-ordered Op-Ed pivot The Hill
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The scandal sinking an Oscars campaign
The scandal sinking an Oscars campaign
Offensive posts by Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón have caused controversy.
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World reacts to Zelenskiy-Trump Oval Office clash
World reacts to Zelenskiy-Trump Oval Office clash
REACTION TO WHITE HOUSE TALKS ACROSS THE GLOBE:
ZELENSKIY ON X
“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
******* CHANCELLOR OLAF SCHOLZ
“No one wants peace more than the citizens of Ukraine! That is why we are jointly seeking the path to a lasting and just peace. Ukraine can rely on Germany – and on Europe.”
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON TO REPORTERS IN PORTUGAL:
“Russia is the aggressor, and Ukraine is the aggressed people. I think we were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago, and to continue to do so. We, that is the United States of America, the Europeans, the Canadians, the Japanese and many others. And we must thank all those who have helped and respect those who have been fighting since the beginning. Because they are fighting for their dignity, their independence, their children and the security of Europe. These are simple things, but they’re good to remember at times like these, that’s all.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN ON X
“Your dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President.
“We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace.”
SPANISH PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ ON X
“Ukraine, Spain stands with you.”
NORWEGIAN PRIME MINISTER JONAS GAHR STOERE IN STATEMENT TO TV2
“What we saw from the White House today is serious and disheartening. Ukraine still needs the US’s support, and Ukraine’s security and future are also important to the US and to Europe. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has strong support in Ukraine, broad support in Europe, and he has led his people through a very demanding and brutal time, under attack from Russia. That Trump accuses Zelenskiy of gambling with World War III is deeply unreasonable and a statement I distance myself from. Norway stands with Ukraine in their struggle for freedom. We hope that the Trump administration also understands the importance of a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
CZECH PRESIDENT PETR PAVEL ON X
“We stand with Ukraine more than ever. Time for Europe to step up its efforts.”
DUTCH PRIME MINISTER ***** SCHOOF
“The Netherlands continues to support Ukraine. Especially now. We want lasting peace and an end to the war of aggression that Russia has started. For Ukraine, for all its inhabitants and for Europe.”
ESTONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MARGUS TSAHKNA ON X
“The only obstacle to peace is (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s decision to continue his war of aggression. If Russia stops fighting, there will be no war. If Ukraine stops fighting, there will be no Ukraine. Estonia’s support to Ukraine remains unwavering. Time for Europe to step up.”
POLISH PRIME MINISTER DONALD TUSK ON X
“Dear @ZelenskyyUa, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone.”
JOHANN WADEPHUL, DEPUTY OF CONSERVATIVE PARTY-GROUP IN ******* PARLIAMENT, THE PARTY OF INCOMING CHANCELLOR FRIEDRICH MERZ, ON X
“The scenes from the White House are shocking. How can you stab the president of an invaded country in the back like this? Free Europe will not betray Ukraine!”
FORMER RUSSIAN PRESIDENT DMITRY MEDVEDEV, DEPUTY HEAD OF THE RUSSIAN SECURITY COUNCIL, ON TELEGRAM
“For the first time, Trump told the ******** clown the truth to his face: the Kyiv regime is playing with the third world war. And the ungrateful pig received a strong slap on the wrist from the owners of the pigsty. This is useful. But it’s not enough – we must stop military aid to the Nazi machine.”
ITALIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER MATTEO SALVINI, LEADER OF THE FAR-RIGHT LEAGUE PARTY ON X
“Aim for PEACE, stop this war! Come on @realDonaldTrump”.
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Kash Patel Wants to Work From Home for FBI. But Who Does He Live With?
Kash Patel Wants to Work From Home for FBI. But Who Does He Live With?
Kash Patel’s appointment as FBI director seems to be coming with conditions: He wants to live part-time in Las Vegas and work remotely, far away from FBI headquarters in Washington.
Why Las Vegas? Patel has long called the city home, but what’s most intriguing is his actual place of residence. The FBI director lives at a home owned by Robert Muldoon, a Republican Party megadonor who runs shady time-share companies, reported the Nevada Independent earlier this month. Muldoon has been sued over allegations of running a “bait and switch” scheme in his time-shares, where “owners” didn’t actually own their properties and were gouged for fees at the same time.
Muldoon appears to have a history of cozying up to law enforcement officials. He has donated a lot of money to the political campaigns of former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, whose office received multiple complaints about Muldoon’s businesses but never pursued them. And apart from sharing an address with Patel, Muldoon also has intricate business dealings with him, utilizing the same incorporation and legal services.
Patel and Muldoon even took a golf trip together to Scotland back when the FBI director was a federal employee on the National Security Council, which could be an ethics violation. Patel at the time was barred from accepting gifts, and the NSC at the time wasn’t approving any trips. He also would have had to report the trip, and records aren’t available from that time to confirm whether he did or did not.
All of this raises questions as to how Patel is going to run not one, but two, prominent federal law enforcement agencies (he is also head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) with such extensive ties to someone with questionable practices, living in Las Vegas part-time. It seems that the appearance of corruption is not a barrier to working in the Trump administration, even if you’re in charge of enforcing the law.
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Aaron Rodgers becoming very real Giants possibility after Matthew Stafford rejection – New York Post
Aaron Rodgers becoming very real Giants possibility after Matthew Stafford rejection – New York Post
Aaron Rodgers becoming very real Giants possibility after Matthew Stafford rejection New York Post Sources: Giants talk possible addition of Rodgers ESPNDoes Aaron Rodgers to the Giants make sense? | Inside Coverage Yahoo SportsWith Matthew Stafford staying put, will the Giants sign Aaron Rodgers? NBC SportsAaron Rodgers has a preferred landing spot: QB wants to play for this NFC team with Davante Adams, per report CBS Sports
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