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Miss Manners: Our porch used to be a cozy place before the neighbor’s glare

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:02 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Can you suggest a tactical and polite way to approach a neighbor we do not know, asking if he would kindly consider reducing the wattage of the lightbulb in his front lawn lamppost?The light literally outshines the entire street. More specifically, it casts a glare into the confines of our porch, where we enjoy sitting for a couple of hours at night with a few candles lit for atmosphere.This is developing into a major problem between my husband and me, and we would like to resolve it without installing a shade on the porch window or planting tall shrubs at our expense.Would an upfront approach with the neighbor seem safe, considering how touchy people are these days about their rights? How would you handle this?GENTLE READER: That you characterize this as a problem between you and your husband — rather than as your joint problem with the neighbor — suggests to Miss Manners that the spouse less concerned about the problem should be the one to approach t...

Dear Abby: My wife is furious that I kept a secret about our grandchild. Was I wrong?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:02 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My son recently confided that his fiancee is pregnant with our first grandchild. He asked me not to share this information with my wife, his mother. He knew she would be upset because he was in the process of breaking up with his fiancee.I told him I would keep his confidence for a short while, but that he should please tell Mom soon.Two weeks went by before my son finally told his mom about the pregnancy. She was shocked.On the way home, she asked if I had known about it. Well, my life flashed before my eyes. I couldn’t lie, so I admitted I knew. She became furious with me and said I should have prepared her for this news and had thrown her under the bus. A big argument followed.Was I wrong to keep my son’s confidence?IN RETROSPECT IN GEORGIARelated ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: Can I tell my son-in-law’s mother how he needs to change? Advice | Dear Abby: She defied me and hung out with this sleaze, and now she says I’m in...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, for a one-day Nordic summit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:02 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, for a one-day Nordic summit.Source

US Navy says Iran seizes Panama-flagged oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz, second ship taken by Tehran in recent days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:02 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — US Navy says Iran seizes Panama-flagged oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz, second ship taken by Tehran in recent days.Source

Pope greets Russian Orthodox envoy amid peace mission talk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:02 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Wednesday greeted the foreign envoy of the Russian Orthodox Church, just days after revealing a secret “mission” was under way to try to put an end to the war in Ukraine.Metropolitan Anthony attended Francis’ weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square and then greeted Francis at the end. He presented the pope with an icon, which Francis blessed. Anthony was later seen being led off the stage by one of Francis’ aides.Francis devoted his remarks at the audience to a recap of his weekend visit to Hungary, during which he made repeated calls for an end to the war. While in Budapest, he met with Metropolitan Hilarion, Anthony’s predecessor as the foreign envoy of Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian church who has strongly supported the Kremlin’s war and justified it on religious grounds.During a press conference en route home, Francis praised both Hilarion and Anthony as knowledgeable and his main conduits to reach Kirill. He was asked if Hila...

Zelensky dice que se enteró de la filtración de documentos del Pentágono de la guerra en Ucrania por informes de noticias

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:02 GMT

(CNN) — El presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelensky, no tuvo conversaciones con la Casa Blanca después de que se publicaran en redes sociales un tesoro de documentos clasificados de inteligencia de EE.UU., le dijo a The Washington Post este lunes.En una entrevista con The Washington Post, Zelensky dijo que se enteró de la filtración del Pentágono a través de la cobertura de noticias y afirmó que “no recibió información de la Casa Blanca o del Pentágono de antemano”.“No teníamos esa información. Yo personalmente no lo hice. Definitivamente es una mala historia”, dijo, calificándola de “no rentable” para Ucrania, además de “no beneficiosa para la reputación de la Casa Blanca, y creo que no es beneficiosa para la reputación de Estados Unidos”.Un funcionario estadounidense le dijo a CNN que EE.UU. está “en comunicación constante con nuestros homólogos ucranianos sobre una variedad de temas, incluso sobre las divulgaciones no autorizadas, pero no vamos a entrar en los detalles de ...

Thai candidate resumes campaign 2 days after giving birth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:02 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The frontrunning candidate for prime minister of Thailand said Wednesday she’s eager to get back on the campaign trail, just two days after giving birth.Speaking at a news conference at the hospital in Bangkok where she gave birth, Paetongtarn Shinawatra said her new baby boy wouldn’t affect her ability to rally support for her Pheu Thai Party with just under two weeks to go before the polls.“I believe good things come along with children,” she said, sitting beside her husband, Pidok Sooksawas. “I believe that children are my secret power to work, and to lead everyday life.”The newborn, Prutthasin Sooksawas, was brought into the room in a rolling incubator and displayed briefly to the media before being moved out again.Paetongtarn is the youngest daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, the popular but divisive former prime minister who was ousted by a military coup in 2006. She’s also the niece of Yingluck Shinawatra, whose government met a similar fate eight years later.Thak...

Arrestan a un hombre afuera del Palacio de Buckingham días antes de la coronación del rey Carlos III

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:02 GMT

(CNN) — La Policía Metropolitana de Londres arrestó a un hombre frente al Palacio de Buckingham este martes después de que supuestamente arrojó presuntos cartuchos de escopeta a los terrenos del palacio, pocos días antes de la coronación del rey Carlos III.La Policía llegó al palacio alrededor de las 7 p.m. hora local y arrestó al hombre bajo sospecha de posesión de un arma ofensiva. También tenía una bolsa sospechosa que fue destruida en una explosión controlada, dijo la Policía en un comunicado.“No ha habido informes de disparos, o lesiones a agentes o miembros del público”, dijo el superintendente jefe Joseph McDonald en el comunicado.El príncipe Harry asistirá a la coronación y Meghan Markle se quedará en EE.UU., según el Palacio de BuckinghamLas fuerzas de seguridad vigilan las puertas del Palacio de Buckingham después de que la policía arrestara a un hombre frente al Palacio de Buckingham por arrojar lo que creían que eran cartuchos de escopeta el 2 de mayo de 2023. (Cré...

Surgeon general lays out framework to tackle loneliness and ‘mend the social fabric of our nation’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:02 GMT

(CNN) — US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an advisory Tuesday addressing the “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” affecting the country and laying out a framework for a “National Strategy to Advance Social Connection.”The advisory is part of the Biden administration’s broader efforts to address mental health, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.“In recent years, about one-in-two adults in America reported experiencing loneliness,” Murthy says in the advisory. “And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic cut off so many of us from friends, loved ones, and support systems.”Research has showed that loneliness and isolation are linked to sleep problems, inflammation and immune changes in younger adults. In older people, they’re tied to symptoms such as pain, insomnia, depression, anxiety and shorter life span. In people of all ages, they may be associated with higher risks of heart diseas...

‘My job is not nearly as sexy’: The hits and misses of Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:02 GMT

State Department employees around the world have been bingeing “The Diplomat,” a new Netflix show starring Keri Russell. And many of them find it preposterous — and utterly amusing.The show — centered on a U.S. ambassador to the U.K. named Kate Wyler — is fiction. But it veers from hyper-specific accuracy (“Did you call the RSO?”) to genuinely ridiculous moments in ways that are keeping even the most jaded foreign policy practitioners coming back for more.“There’s a lot of detail in there that’s really, really smart,” said Aaron Snipe, a spokesperson with the U.S. Embassy in London. But, “as a career diplomat, I must say you’re watching it thinking, ‘Wow, my job is not nearly as sexy as Ambassador Wyler’s romps through foreign policy.’”Staff for “The Diplomat” sat down with officials from the U.S. Embassy during production to try to get details right, and Snipe said the ambassador and the rest of the team were fans of the show.“I loved the show,” said Lewis Lukens, a ...