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EU policymakers face a challenge in agreeing the political ads regulation

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:26:02 GMT

Digital advertising has allowed political parties, trade unions and civil society organisations to run cost-effective advocacy and communication campaigns and reach millions of people who would otherwise not be reached with effective, professionalised messages, writes Sebastián Rodríguez.But despite being a valuable tool, growing concerns around misinformation, voter manipulation, foreign influence and lack of transparency have turned the spotlight onto who advertises to European citizens and how.With the next European elections just a year away, the EU’s proposal for regulating political ads is extremely timely.Yet the current proposal – which is set to be debated in trilogues starting this week – could have a number of unintended consequences for both civil society and political parties.The proposal is unlikely to be effective and will quickly be out of dateThe so-called trilogue is the next step in the process, bringing together representatives of the Parliament, Council and the ...

Ask Amy: My husband won’t say why he contacted these women

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:26:02 GMT

Dear Amy: I am 50, and my husband of 28 years is 62. We recently moved to a new country for his job. Our kids are attending university in another country.This has been a huge change for me as I have no kids at home to look after. For legal reasons I can’t work here, but I do volunteer at the local homeless shelter.My husband recently started reaching out to all of his ex-girlfriends, and when I asked why he said he can’t explain it.I am hurt, menopausal, lonely and sad. I honestly don’t know what to do.Should I return to my home country and start my life over?I can’t speak to him or look him in the eyes because it hurts me so much.To add to the misery, we are having his sisters visit soon for a two-week stay.I feel like my spirit is crushed.– Crushed WomanDear Crushed: Your husband can explain his actions – he just doesn’t want to. And now you two are engaged in a silent and lonely battle.As hard as it is for you, I would suggest looking him in the eye and pr...

Harriette Cole: Was committing to this Midwestern university a mistake?

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:26:02 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: Do you think that I should’ve gone to a university out of state?I am going into my junior year at a state school in the Midwest, which is where I’ve lived all my life. I got really good financial aid, and it’s conveniently close to my home, which also reduces travel costs, but I feel like going to school in a state where there is more diversity would benefit my mental health and social well-being.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: How could I have kept this dorm situation from escalating? Advice | Harriette Cole: Should I cut my parents off because they can’t shut up about my life? Advice | Harriette Cole: This clumsy woman wrecks my house and acts like it’s a joke Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m afraid this exciting job will make me faint frequently Advice | Harriette Cole: I don’t want to falsely accuse them but I can’t shake this bad feelin...

Firefighters extinguish blaze at concrete plant in Miami Gardens

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:26:02 GMT

Three cement trucks were severely damaged after a blaze broke out at a concrete plant in Miami Gardens.On Friday morning, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to Ozinga Golden Glades Plant, located at 17301 N.W. 2nd Ave., and quickly extinguished the flames. It remains unclear what caused the fire. Investigators remained on the scene as they determine the cause.Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:26:02 GMT

Happy Friday, South Florida!Hopefully everyone has had a great week despite the countless rounds of rain and thunderstorms that we have been seeing. Yesterday was quite the afternoon across South Florida as downpours continued to develop over the same areas of Miami, Dade and Broward County.  Tropical moisture has been funneled into our area each day this week while an upper level disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico kept the possibility of rain and storms in the forecast. And while the weather pattern is forecast to begin to change soon, there are more showers and storms for South Florida. This morning, though, South Florida got to enjoy a break from the rain as we enjoyed mostly sunny skies.Today will be a transitional day across South Florida as scattered showers and thunderstorms linger across our area.  But as drier air begins to move into our area so we can also expect some quiet time as well. Today showers and thunderstorms will be possible at any given time although the best ti...

Largest ruby ever to come to auction sells for record-breaking $34.8 million

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:26:02 GMT

(CNN) — A 55.22-carat ruby has become both the largest and most valuable gem of its kind ever to sell at auction, netting $34.8 million on Thursday.The stone went under the hammer in New York in June, less than a year after Canadian firm Fura Gems discovered it at one of the company’s mines in Mozambique.Ahead of the sale, Sotheby’s described the jewel as “exceedingly rare” and “the most valuable and important” ruby ever to come to market. It was named Estrela de Fura — or Star of Fura in Mozambique’s official language, Portuguese.Although record gemstone sales are dominated by diamonds — colored ones, in particular — rubies are also considered among the world’s rarest and most valuable gemstones. The previous auction record for a ruby was set by the Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59-carat stone found in Myanmar that fetched $30.3 million in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2015.Estrela de Fura was cut from a rough stone that made headlines when it was unearthed by miners last July. Originally weighing ...

Greta Thunberg marks final school strike for climate: ‘The fight has only just begun’

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:26:02 GMT

Greta Thunberg went on a school strike for the climate for the last time on Friday, nearly five years after first sitting down in front of Sweden’s parliament with a hand-drawn sign.Her protest went on to inspire the Fridays for Future movement, which at its peak saw millions take to the streets to call for more climate action. The Swedish activist wrote on Twitter that Friday was her graduation day, “which means I’ll no longer be able to school strike for the climate.” But the movement isn’t done, she added. “We’re still here, and we aren’t planning on going anywhere. Much has changed since we started, and yet we have much further to go. We are still moving in the wrong direction.”Thunberg started skipping class to protest outside Stockholm’s Riksdag in August 2018, holding a sign with the slogan Skolstrejk för klimatet — “school strike for climate.”“When I started striking in 2018 I could never have expected that it would lead to anything,” she wrote on ...

Red Sox comfortable with handling of pitcher Matt Dermody after learning of 2021 homophobic tweet

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:26:02 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Boston Red Sox believe they took the proper steps after learning about a homophobic tweet made by pitcher Matt Dermody two years ago.Dermody, who was brought up from Triple-A Worcester to make his first major league start Thursday night against the Guardians, made the social media post in 2021. It has since been deleted, but captured screenshots continue to circulate.The Red Sox said they were unaware of Dermody’s tweet when the 32-year-old signed with the club in January. Once they learned of it, team officials met with Dermody, who went through mandatory anti-discrimination and harassment training in March.“What Matt posted in 2021 was hurtful — and we addressed this with him when we learned about it after he joined the Red Sox in 2023,” team president and CEO Sam Kennedy said in a statement. “We cannot dictate the religious beliefs or political views of our players and employees, but we do require they treat people in our organization ...

Baltimore native Haywood Highsmith Jr. would not take no for an answer on path from Curley to NBA Finals

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:26:02 GMT

Even as he watched Nikola Jokic carve the court with surgical passes and Bam Adebayo float in jumper after jumper, Jeff Van Gundy made a point of talking about Haywood Highsmith Jr.“I like Highsmith,” said the ESPN analyst and former NBA coach, not known for dispensing empty praise. “I like his readiness. I like his ability to make shots. And defensively, he’s active and solid.”If only the NBA Finals audience watching Game 1 between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets knew how improbable it was that Highsmith, a Baltimore native, was raining buckets — 18 points in 23 minutes — against the best players in the world.“It gives me chills every time I think about it,” said Danny Sancomb, Highsmith’s college coach. “Because I know his journey. It hasn’t been an easy path.”“No one believed in me” ranks among our most hackneyed sports cliches. But it’s literally true that no one watching Highsmith ...

Howie Carr: Dems fume because they can’t blame Trump for wildfires

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:26:02 GMT

There’s only one thing missing from this week’s climate apocalypse that would make it 100% perfect for Democrats.That missing ingredient is… Donald J. Trump.God knows the Democrats and state-run media (but I repeat myself) are thrashing about, trying to find some possible way, no matter how far-fetched, to blame Bad Clouds on POTUS. Thus far they appear to be flailing.What Trump says in all those Internet memes to Republicans now applies to Democrats as well:“Do you miss me yet?”Having a crisis – especially a “climate crisis” – without Trump to blame it on is like having a mocktail instead of a cocktail, a near beer instead of a real beer. For the media, a Trump-less catastrophe is as unsatisfying as “mostly-peaceful rioting” without looting or Molotov cocktails.The smoke is bad, but seriously, is it any worse than the weed odors wafting up from every bleeping street corner in blue America, puffed out by all the student-loan deadbeats and illegal immigrants loitering while awaiting ...