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Today: January 24, 2025
Today: January 24, 2025
The Los Angeles Post

The Los Angeles Post

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World

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly lower after China reports weaker than expected growth in 2Q

Asian shares were mostly lower on Monday after China reported weaker growth than forecast in the last quarter. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday and Hong Kong’s market closed due to a typhoon. U.S. futures and crude oil prices were lower. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 1.2% to 3,199.17 after China reported its economy grew at a 6.3% annual pace in April-June. That’s better than the 4.5% expansion in the January-March quarter but well below forecasts of over 7%. The economy is expected to slow further in coming months, though investors will be expecting moves

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly lower after China reports weaker than expected growth in 2Q
World

South Korea's death toll from destructive rainstorm grows to 40 as workers search for survivors

Heavy downpours lashed South Korea a ninth day on Monday as rescue workers struggled to search for survivors in landslides, buckled homes and swamped vehicles in the most destructive storm to hit the country this year. At least 40 people have died, 34 others are injured and more than 10,000 people have had to evacuate from their homes since July 9, when heavy rain started pounding the country. The severest damage has been concentrated in South Korea’s central and southern regions. In the central city of Cheongju, hundreds of rescue workers, including divers, continued to

South Korea's death toll from destructive rainstorm grows to 40 as workers search for survivors
World

Oh boy! Men to compete in artistic swimming -- formerly called synchro -- at Paris Olympics

Snicker if you wish. Guffaw for good measure. Bill May and other male synchronized swimmers — now called artistic swimmers — have heard the putdowns before. But they’re getting the last laugh. Men have competed in synchro at the lower levels for decades. Now they’re being included in the Olympics, meaning next year’s Summer Games in Paris. “I think it’s a huge opportunity for the sport to grow and attract more men,” May told the Associated Press at the World Aquatics Championships. “By keeping men out you’re limiting the sport. By including men you’re going to

Oh boy! Men to compete in artistic swimming -- formerly called synchro -- at Paris Olympics
World

EU and Latin American leaders hold a summit hoping to rekindle relationship with long-lost friends

Leaders from the European Union and Latin America are gathering for a major summit of long-lost relatives starting on Monday. Whether it will be a joyful meeting of long-lost friends remains to be seen. Their last such encounter was eight years ago. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic and Brazil’s three-year departure from the 33-nation Community of Latin American and Caribbean States — or CELAC — had made the Atlantic Ocean separating the two sides seem wider. And division ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine to trade, deforestation and slavery reparations has given extra spice to a two-day

EU and Latin American leaders hold a summit hoping to rekindle relationship with long-lost friends
World

In India, G20 finance chiefs set to address global challenges like climate change and rising debt

Finance ministers from the Group of 20 nations meeting in India on Monday are poised to address critical global economic challenges, including the threats posed by climate change and rising debt among low-income countries. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the two countries were working together to further the G20 agenda. They spoke after holding talks on the sidelines of the summit, a sign of the importance of their countries’ relationship at a time of tension with China. “The world is looking to the G20 to make progress on key

In India, G20 finance chiefs set to address global challenges like climate change and rising debt
World

Russia halts wartime deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain. It's a blow to global food security

Russia halted an unprecedented wartime deal on Monday that allows grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced Russia would suspend the Black Sea Grain Initiative until its demands to get its own agricultural shipments to the world are met — even though the country has been shipping record amounts of wheat and its fertilizers also have been flowing. “When the part of the Black Sea deal related to Russia

Russia halts wartime deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain. It's a blow to global food security
World

Israel's governing coalition presses ahead with plan to overhaul courts ahead of expected protests

Israel’s governing coalition pushed ahead on Monday with its contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary, despite growing opposition from within the country’s military and a wave of mass protests expected this week. A parliamentary committee was preparing a bill that would limit judicial oversight on some government decisions, legislation that has sparked intensifying criticism from military reservists in elite units, including the air force and cyberwarfare. Many have warned they will not show up for duty if the overhaul moves ahead. Reservists, who make up the backbone of the country’s mostly compulsory military, played

Israel's governing coalition presses ahead with plan to overhaul courts ahead of expected protests
World

Israel's governing coalition presses ahead with plan to overhaul courts ahead of expected protests

Israel’s governing coalition pushed ahead on Monday with its contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary, despite growing opposition from within the country’s military and a wave of mass protests expected this week. A parliamentary committee was preparing a bill that would limit judicial oversight on some government decisions, legislation that has sparked intensifying criticism from military reservists in elite units, including the air force and cyberwarfare. Many have warned they will not show up for duty if the overhaul moves ahead. Reservists, who make up the backbone of the country’s mostly compulsory military, played

Israel's governing coalition presses ahead with plan to overhaul courts ahead of expected protests
Science

Dozens of cats in Poland had bird flu but the risk to people is low, the UN health agency says

The World Health Organization said more than two dozen cats have been infected with bird flu across Poland, but no people appeared to have been sickened. In a statement on Monday, the U.N. health agency said it was the first time so many cats had been reported to have bird flu over such a wide geographical area in a single country, amid an unprecedented global outbreak of the latest version of the H5N1 version of the disease. WHO said that late last month, Polish authorities informed agency officials of the unusual deaths of more than 45 cats

Dozens of cats in Poland had bird flu but the risk to people is low, the UN health agency says
World

Turkey's Erdogan heads to Gulf seeking funds for ailing economy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Saudi Arabia on Monday in a three-stop tour of Gulf states to seek trade and investment opportunities for Turkey’s floundering economy. The president will arrive in Jeddah accompanied by an entourage of some 200 businesspeople, according to the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey. He is expected to meet King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Business forums have been arranged in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during Erdogan’s three-day trip. The visit comes as Turks are hit with sales and fuel tax hikes that Finance

Turkey's Erdogan heads to Gulf seeking funds for ailing economy
World

Turkey's Erdogan heads to Gulf seeking funds for ailing economy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Saudi Arabia on Monday in a three-stop tour of Gulf states to seek trade and investment opportunities for Turkey’s floundering economy. The president will arrive in Jeddah accompanied by an entourage of some 200 businesspeople, according to the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey. He is expected to meet King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Business forums have been arranged in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during Erdogan’s three-day trip. The visit comes as Turks are hit with sales and fuel tax hikes that Finance

Turkey's Erdogan heads to Gulf seeking funds for ailing economy
World

Heat wave bakes southern Europe, sparking warnings to stay inside, drink water and limit exercise

Italian health officials intensified heat warnings as southern Europe began a brutally hot week on Monday with temperatures expected to top 40 C — or 104 F — in multiple cities already overburdened by tourists. The health ministry issued 10 recommendations to protect elderly people, the sick and pets from the heat, urging people to stay indoors during the hottest hours, drink at least 1.5 liters (nearly half a gallon) of water a day and refrain from strenuous exercise at peak daylight times. The culprit was a high-pressure anticyclone dubbed Cerberus, the multi-headed dog that guards gates

Heat wave bakes southern Europe, sparking warnings to stay inside, drink water and limit exercise
World

Elton John testifies for the defense in Kevin Spacey's sexual assault trial

Elton John testified Monday for the defense in Kevin Spacey ’s sexual assault trial. John appeared remotely from Monaco to testify after his husband, David Furnish, said Spacey only once attended the annual gala the singer held at his Windsor home. One of the alleged victims accused Spacey of aggressively grabbing his crotch while he was driving with him to the ball in 2004 or 2005. Spacey testified that he only attended the event in 2001. Furnish testified earlier that he had checked photographs and that was the only year Spacey attended. John said Spacey spent the

Elton John testifies for the defense in Kevin Spacey's sexual assault trial
World

Ryan Reynolds' Wrexham is on its way to the United States after being given the Hollywood treatment

Ryan Reynolds has already taken Hollywood to Wrexham. Now the Welsh soccer team is on its way to Tinseltown. The club, which was down on its luck and languishing in the fifth tier of English soccer before being given the A-list treatment by Reynolds and co-owner Rob McElhenney, is embarking on a U.S. tour this month, when fans of the globally-streamed docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham” will get to see its unlikely stars in the flesh. The series has made household names of the likes of manager Phil Parkinson, a coach who has spent his entire career

Ryan Reynolds' Wrexham is on its way to the United States after being given the Hollywood treatment
World

The pope's Ukraine peace envoy heads to Washington with the plight of children top of his agenda

Pope Francis’ peace envoy was traveling to Washington on Monday as part of the Holy See’s peace initiatives for Ukraine, hoping to support humanitarian operations especially concerning children, the Vatican said Monday. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi’s visit, which lasts through Wednesday, follows his recent mission to Moscow and an earlier stop in Kyiv, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zuppi is a veteran of the Catholic Church’s peace initiatives and has been tasked by Francis to try to find “paths of peace” between the warring sides. In Moscow, Zuppi met with Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s

The pope's Ukraine peace envoy heads to Washington with the plight of children top of his agenda
World

Flying Russian flags, more Wagner troops roll into Belarus as part of deal that ended their mutiny

More mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner military contractor rolled into Belarus Monday, a monitoring group said, continuing their relocation to the ex-Soviet nation following last month’s short-lived mutiny. Belaruski Hajun, a Belarusian activist group that monitors troops movements in Belarus, said that a convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying Russian flags and Wagner insignia entered the country Monday heading toward a field camp that Belarusian authorities had offered to the company. The group said it was a third Wagner convoy entering the country since last week. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who brokered a deal that ended last month’s rebellion launched by

Flying Russian flags, more Wagner troops roll into Belarus as part of deal that ended their mutiny
World

Japan's prime minister visits the UAE as part of a Gulf trip focused on energy and commerce

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the United Arab Emirates on Monday as part of a swing through the Arab Gulf states focused on energy and commerce. He met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the president of the UAE, which will be hosting the COP28 U.N. climate summit later this year. Kishida visited Saudi Arabia over the weekend, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The two launched a joint initiative aimed at promoting clean energy. He will visit gas-rich Qatar on Tuesday. Japan is the fifth-largest oil consumer in the

Japan's prime minister visits the UAE as part of a Gulf trip focused on energy and commerce
Arts

Child star Mia Armstrong is working on a picture book about her experiences with Down syndrome

Child star and activist Mia Armstrong has a picture book coming out next year about her experiences with Down syndrome, what her publisher calls “all the joys and challenges.” Random House Children’s Books announced Monday that Armstrong’s “I Am a Masterpiece!” will be released next January. Illustrated by Alexandra Thompson and co-written by Armstrong and author Marissa Moss, the book is Armstrong’s way of helping kids see the world as she sees it. Armstrong has spoken often about Down syndrome, and has called it her “superpower.” “I wrote this story because I want to inspire other

Child star Mia Armstrong is working on a picture book about her experiences with Down syndrome
World

Freight train derails in southeast Pennsylvania, but no known injuries or hazards

A freight train derailment in southeast Pennsylvania early Monday spurred precautionary evacuations, but officials said no injuries were reported and there was no known hazard to the public. The 40-car CSX train, which was operating on tracks owned by Norfolk Southern, derailed around 4:50 a.m. in Whitemarsh Township. More than a dozen cars appeared to be off the tracks. Silicone pellets were leaking from at least one train car, Whitemarsh police said, but they posed no risk to the public. It wasn’t immediately known what was inside the other derailed cars, and hazmat teams were

Freight train derails in southeast Pennsylvania, but no known injuries or hazards
Health

As a summer heat wave pummels the US, an expert warns about the dangers of humidity – particularly for toddlers, young athletes and older adults

Symptoms of heatstroke include a throbbing headache, dizziness, confusion and nausea. milan2099/E+ via Getty Images Because of climate change, summers are getting hotter and more humid – much more humid. SciLine interviewed Dr. W. Larry Kenney, professor of physiology and kinesiology at Penn State University, who discussed why humid heat can be dangerous to human health and, in some cases, life-threatening; how heat stresses the body, particularly the cardiovascular system; and why infants, athletes and older adults are especially susceptible. W. Larry Kenney discusses the dangers of high heat and humidity. Below are some highlights from the discussion. Answers have

As a summer heat wave pummels the US, an expert warns about the dangers of humidity – particularly for toddlers, young athletes and older adults
World

The bridge that links Russia to Crimea is key to supplying the Ukraine war and for asserting control

The bridge connecting Russia-annexed Crimea and Russia carries heavy significance for Moscow both logistically and psychologically, as a key artery for Russian military and civilian supplies bound for Crimea and as an assertion of Russia’s control of the peninsula. An explosion that hit the bridge before dawn on Monday, killing a couple and seriously injuring their daughter, left a span of the roadway hanging perilously. The damage initially appeared to be less severe than that caused by a blast in October, but highlighted the bridge’s vulnerability. Russia blamed Ukraine for both Monday’s blast and the October explosion. A spokesman for

The bridge that links Russia to Crimea is key to supplying the Ukraine war and for asserting control
Arts

Embracing Barbie: A Feminist Philosopher's Path to Liberation and Acceptance

The film’s cast includes lesbian icon Kate McKinnon. As a mama trying to raise a daughter free from the gendered stereotypes of my own childhood, I steered her clear of Barbie dolls. I felt compelled to nudge my now 11-year-old away from the Mattel mainstay for the same reasons I tried to avoid the shallow frivolity of all those Disney princesses waiting around to be rescued. True, I’d enjoyed plenty of afternoons with these dolls of anatomically impossible proportions myself as a kid growing up in the 1980s – jamming those long spindly limbs into impossibly tiny outfits, scissoring them

Embracing Barbie: A Feminist Philosopher's Path to Liberation and Acceptance
Political

Impunity over Wagner mutiny signals further degradation of rule of law in Russia

Face masks depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and owner of private military company Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin. AP Photo When mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin led his rebels in a short-lived mutiny, many observers focused on how it would challenge the Kremlin politically – few looked at how the episode and the reaction of the Russian authorities undermine the country’s legal system. On June 24, 2023, as the Wagner Group looked set to march on Moscow, the Russian Federal Security Bureau officially announced the opening of an investigation under Article 279 of the Criminal Code, which prosecutes armed mutiny. The crime

Impunity over Wagner mutiny signals further degradation of rule of law in Russia
Political

International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., pays new respect to the enslaved Africans who landed on its docks

One of the exhibits of notable Black people on display at International African American Museum. courtesy of v2com/International African American Museum T Before Congress ended the transatlantic slave trade in 1808, the Port of Charleston was the nation’s epicenter of human trafficking. Almost half of the estimated 400,000 African people imported into what became the United States were brought to that Southern city, and a substantial number took their first steps on American soil at Gadsden’s Wharf on the Cooper River. That location of once utter degradation is now the hallowed site of the International African American Museum. Pronounced “I

International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., pays new respect to the enslaved Africans who landed on its docks
Education

What the US can learn from affirmative action at universities in Brazil

Affirmative action for college students in Brazil led to better employment prospects for those who benefited from the policy. Cesar Okada via Getty Images When Brazil implemented affirmative action at its federal universities in 2012, the policy prompted a public debate that largely resembles the debate over affirmative action in the United States. Brazil’s affirmative action policy requires every federal university to reserve at least half of all seats for students from certain groups. Out of that half, about half of the seats go solely to Black, mixed and Indigenous Brazilians. The other half go to low-income public-school students. Other

What the US can learn from affirmative action at universities in Brazil

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