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Dear John, please put down the toilet seat!

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:10:36 GMT

A couple grads from Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology may have finally solved the long-lived bathroom dispute between men and women on how they should leave toilet seats after they’re done using them.The group of five graduates teamed up to form Cleana, a Boston-based technology startup that’s all about creating a cleaner bathroom experience, starting at the toilet seat.After four years of planning and testing different means to meet that mission, the company’s initial products, an automatic-lifting seat for commercial uses and one that automatically closes for residential purposes, are expected to be delivered later this year.The process started in 2019 when Kevin Tang, now the chief executive officer of the company, wanted to create a product that would solve an ‘unmet need’ in the bathroom. He turned to the toilet seat because other fixtures in a modern bathroom are much more advanced, like automatic flush valves.“The funny thing is, all of those things ...

Kremlin says Putin met with Russian mercenary leader days after abortive mutiny

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:10:36 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin days after a short-lived rebellion by the mercenary chief and his private army, the Kremlin’s spokesman said Monday.The three-hour meeting took place at the Kremlin on June 29 and also involved commanders from the military company Prigozhin founded, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.Wagner mercenaries have fought alongside Russian troops in Ukraine. Prigozhin has a long-simmering feud with Russia’s top military brass which on June 24 culminated in an armed mutiny in which he led his fighters into Russia. Prigozhin ended the mutiny after a deal was brokered for him to be exiled to Belarus.The confirmation of a face-to-face meeting with Putin, who branded Prigozhin as a backstabbing traitor, adds a new twist to the uncertainty surrounding the mercenary chief, whose fate and whereabouts have been unknown since the abortive mutiny. The rebellion severely weakened Putin’s authority.Pes...

Erdogan says Turkey could approve Sweden’s NATO membership if Europeans ‘open way’ to Turkey EU bid

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:10:36 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country could approve Sweden’s membership in NATO if European nations “open the way” to Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.Erdogan, whose country has been holding off its final approval to Sweden’s NATO membership, made the comments in Ankara on Monday before departing to the alliance’s summit meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania.“Turkey has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all of the NATO member countries are now members of the European Union. I am making this call to these countries that have kept Turkey waiting at the gates of the European Union for more than 50 years,” Erdogan said.“Come and open the way for Turkey’s membership in the European Union. When you pave the way for Turkey, we’ll pave the way for Sweden as we did for Finland,” he added.Turkey is a candidate to join the EU, but its membership bid has been stalled due to Ankara’s democratic backsliding ...

Extreme flooding overwhelms New York roadways and kills 1 person

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:10:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Heavy rain spawned extreme flooding in New York’s Hudson Valley that killed at least one person, swamped roadways and forced road closures on Sunday night, as much of the rest of the Northeast U.S. braced for potentially punishing rains.As the storm moved east, the National Weather Service extended flash flood warnings into Connecticut, including the cities of Stamford and Greenwich, before creeping into Massachusetts. Forecasters said some areas could get as much as 5 inches (12 centimeters) of rain.In New York’s Hudson Valley, rescue teams were attempting to retrieve the body of a woman in her 30s who drowned after being swept away while trying to evacuate her home. Two other people escaped.The force of the flash flooding dislodged boulders, which rammed the woman’s house and damaged part of its wall, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told The Associated Press.“Her house was completely surrounded by water,” he said.“She was trying to get through (the flo...

Man, woman in hospital after morning shooting in downtown Toronto

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:10:36 GMT

Two people are in hospital after bullets rang out during the start of the Monday morning rush in downtown Toronto.Officers responded to a shooting around 6 a.m. near Yonge and Charles streets, just south of Bloor Street.Paramedics tell CityNews a man and a woman have been taken to hospital with serious injuries.The suspects fled the area in a vehicle. Investigators believe it may have been a drive-by shooting.Charles Street is closed from Yonge to Balmuto Street for the investigation. Motorists are being asked to avoid the area.

At least 300 people traveling in three boats from Senegal to Spain are missing, aid group says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:10:36 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — At least 300 people traveling in three boats from Senegal to Spain are missing, a Spanish aid group said Monday. Two boats departed from Mbour city on June 23 carrying about 100 people and a third left the southern town of Kafountine four days later with approximately 200 people, said Helena Maleno Garzon, coordinator for Walking Borders (Caminando Fronteras). “The most important thing is to find those people. There are many people missing in the sea, this isn’t normal, we need more planes to look for them,” she told The Associated Press.There has been no contact with the boats since their departure, she said. The Spanish and Senegalese authorities didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.The Atlantic migration route is one of the deadliest in the world, with nearly 800 people dying or going missing in the first half of this year, according to Walking Borders. In recent years the Canary Islands has become one of the main destinations for people ...

Israeli troops kill Palestinian suspect as West Bank violence shows no signs of slowing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:10:36 GMT

JERUSAELM (AP) — Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man during new unrest in the West Bank Monday, as a wave of violence in the occupied territory showed no signs of slowing.The Israeli military said troops stopped a motorist in Deir Nidham, a town west of Ramallah, to question him. It said the man got out of his car, threw a grenade and fired shots toward soldiers, who then opened fire. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that a 33-year-old man had been killed, but gave no further details.The death comes during a major spike in violence between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel last week concluded a fierce two-day offensive that used rare air power and hundreds of troops in what was designed as a crackdown against militants.But the operation in the Jenin refugee camp was followed by more bloodshed, including a shooting by a Palestinian assailant that killed an Israeli soldier. A Israeli military raid killed two militants while a third Palestinian was killed during...

What is a strike in baseball? Robots, rule book and umpires view it differently

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:10:36 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The education of robot umpires has been complicated by an open secret in baseball for the past 150 years: The strike zone called on the field doesn’t match the one mapped out in the rule book.Before the Automated Ball-Strike System is ready for the major leagues, there has to be agreement on what a strike is.“You go in a rabbit hole where it might not be fair for some hitters,” Minnesota Twins star Carlos Correa said. “A pitcher has big curveballs that cross the zone and end up a ball, but the zone has it as a strike. I prefer the human element of things, but who knows, maybe they can perfect it at some point.”MLB started experimenting with robots calling balls and strikes in the independent Atlantic League in 2019 and used the computer at Low-A in 2021. A challenge system was tried last season at some minor league ballparks, in which a pitcher, batter or catcher had the right to appeal a human umpire’s decision to the computer. This year, ABS is being used at all Tri...

Stock market today: World shares are mostly higher ahead of an update on US inflation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:10:36 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly higher in Europe and Asia on Monday as investors waited for an update on U.S. inflation after the latest jobs data conveyed mixed signals about the state of the economy. Benchmarks rose in Paris, London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Tokyo and Sydney declined. U.S. futures and oil prices also fell. U.S. consumer prices for June are due out on Wednesday, with forecasts calling for an annual increase of just over 3% compared with 4% the month before. Germany’s DAX gained 0.3% early Monday to 15,645.48, while the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.4% to 7,138.87. Britain’s FTSE 100 inched 0.2% higher to 7,268.25. The future for the S&P 500 was down 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged less than 0.1% lower. On Friday, the S&P 500 lost 0.3% while the Dow gave up 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite edged 0.1% lower and the Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks rose 1.2%. China reported Monday that producer prices fell 5.4% in June...

Syrian Kurdish fighters kill at least 5 Turkey-backed gunmen in nighttime attack, activists say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:10:36 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian Kurdish fighters carried out an attack early Monday in northern Syria, killing at least five members of Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces, activists said.The attack south of the northern town of Afrin, which is held by the Turkey-backed forces, took place shortly after midnight on Sunday, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.The Observatory, an opposition war monitor, said the attack was carried out by the Afrin Liberation Forces, a Kurdish faction allied with the main Kurdish militia in Syria known as the People’s Protection Units or YPG. The group has claimed scores of attacks against Turkey-backed Syrian fighters.Syria-based opposition activist Taher al-Omar said the attack took place about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Afrin. According to al-Omar, five members of the Turkey-backed faction Failaq al-Sham were killed. The Observatory said six died, but different tolls are not uncommon in the immediate aftermath of such at...