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How will fireworks impact air quality? DC area’s Independence Day forecast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:03 GMT

Listen to WTOP for weather updates on the 8s.Those celebrating the nation’s independence should look out for pop-up showers or storms later on Tuesday along with a drop in the air quality. Here’s what you need to know about the Fourth of July’s forecast.Air quality is expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups such as those with heart and lung disease on Tuesday, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments rating system.A “Code Orange” air quality alert is forecast until Thursday — thanks to the fireworks Tuesday and a separate pollutant, ground-level ozone that’s expected to cause issue later on this week.Pollution from fireworks will cause a decline of the air quality from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, said 7news First Alert Meteorologist Brian van de Graaff.“Once the fireworks start to go off, they add these particle pollutants in the atmosphere,” van de Graaff said. “Oftentimes, we see some of our ...

Mark Zuckerberg lanzará la nueva red social “Threads”, la nueva competencia de Twitter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:03 GMT

NUEVA YORK – El gigante tecnológico Meta, propietario de Facebook, Instagram y WhatsApp, se dispone a lanzar una nueva red social que se llamará Threads (hilos), con la que pretende hacer la competencia a Twitter, que ha impuesto nuevas restricciones a sus usuarios.Según informa la prensa estadounidense, se espera que Meta anuncie el próximo jueves el lanzamiento de Threads, que permitirá mantener conversaciones digitales en tiempo real, pero la aplicación ya está disponible en las tiendas de aplicaciones como Play Store, en la modalidad de acceso anticipado.Mark Zuckerberg, el presidente de Meta, llevaba mucho tiempo planeando el lanzamiento de una red social de conversaciones en línea en tiempo real que le hiciera la competencia a Twitter, una plataforma que, pese a los vaivenes y restricciones que ha sufrido desde su adquisición por parte del multimillonario sudafricano Elon Musk, sigue pareciendo irreemplazable. ¿El ring los espera? Mark Zuckerberg dice estar...

To fridge or not to fridge? Ketchup company clears the air on how you should store the popular condiment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:03 GMT

(CNN) — With just five words, a recent tweet from Kraft Heinz sparked a bit of a debate about how you should store your ketchup.“FYI,” began the tweet from the United Kingdom-based branch of the food and beverage company. “Ketchup. Goes. In. The. Fridge!!!”Kraft Heinz, whose ketchup is among its popular condiments, shared the heavily punctuated statement on Tuesday in a tweet that reached over 4 million people.A day later, the company asked the public via a Twitter poll whether they kept their ketchup chilled or in the pantry.“Where do you keep yours? It has to be … in the fridge!” the poll stated. The answer of “fridge” appeared to be the consensus, according to 63.2% of over 13,000 votes cast, the poll’s results showed. Meanwhile, 36.8% of respondents said they preferred their ketchup in the cupboard.Some Twitter users who voiced their distaste for cold ketchup pointed out that ketchup bottles are stored at room temperature on tables at restaurants. Other users didn’t understand t...

Florida Keys celebrate 200th birthday with giant key lime pie

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:03 GMT

MONROE, Fla. (WSVN) – In a celebration of history and culinary talent, the Florida Keys commemorated the 200th anniversary of Monroe County’s establishment with the creation of a unique key lime pie. The pie measured over 13 feet in diameter and is believed to be the largest key lime pie ever made, capturing the attention of locals and tourists alike.Monroe County contains all of the Keys and a portion of Everglades National Park.In 2006, Key lime pie was designated Florida’s official pie by the state legislature.

Sexual misconduct claims against former Tory MP to be reinvestigated

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:03 GMT

LONDON — Sexual misconduct allegations against the former Conservative MP David Warburton will be reinvestigated after his appeal against the original probe was upheld.Parliament’s Independent Expert Panel (IEP) said Tuesday that an investigation into the ex-MP’s conduct was “procedurally flawed,” and ordered a fresh look at the case.Warburton, who served as a Tory MP from 2015 to this year before quitting, had the Conservative whip withdrawn in 2022 after a Sunday Times report alleged that he harassed three women and used cocaine. Warburton later admitted using the drug, but has denied all other allegations against him.A member of staff in Warburton’s Westminster office made a formal complaint to parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) in March 2022. It opened an investigation into four sexual misconduct allegations and two bullying and harassment claims against him.The parliamentary commissioner for standards opted to uph...

Macron: ‘Peak’ of French riots has passed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:03 GMT

PARIS — The “peak” of rioting that has taken place across France in the past week has passed, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday. “I’ll still be very cautious over the coming days and weeks, but the peak we experienced in the first nights [of the riots] is over, and now it’s the lasting, republican order we all want … and that’s the absolute priority,” he told French mayors, according to BFMTV. The French president gathered at the Elysée Palace with some 250 mayors of cities targeted during the riots. The killing of a 17-year-old of North African descent by a police officer last week has thrown France into chaos, sparking violent demonstrations across the country and reigniting long-simmering tensions between the youth and the police, who have been accused of brutality and racial discrimination. In the past week, rioters have looted stores, targeted many symbols of the French Republic such as schools, police stations...

Police responding to separate crashes involving tractor-trailers on 93 southbound in Boston

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:03 GMT

Emergency crews are responding to two crashes involving a tractor-trailers on Route 93 in Boston that are tying up traffic into the city on Tuesday.Video showed traffic at a standstill as crews worked to remove a tractor-trailer from the roadway near the Greater Boston Food Bank.Another crash involving an Amazon tractor-trailer was also being cleared closer to the gas tank.The cause of both crashes remain under investigation.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Palestinian attacker wounds 8 in Tel Aviv as Israel presses on with West Bank operation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:03 GMT

JENIN, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian man drove his car into a crowded bus stop in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and then began stabbing people, wounding eight in an attack praised by the Islamist militant group Hamas as a response to Israel’s ongoing military operation in the occupied West Bank.Police chief Kobi Shabtai told reporters at the scene that an armed civilian shot and killed the assailant.The attack came as Israeli troops pressed ahead with their hunt for Palestinian militants and weapons in a refugee camp, after military bulldozers tore through alleys and thousands of residents fled to safety. The two-day Palestinian death toll rose to 10.The large-scale raid of the Jenin camp, which began Monday, is one of the most intense military operations in the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades. It bore hallmarks of Israeli military tactics during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s and came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing pressure from his ult...

Putin says Russia is ‘united as never before’ during Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:03 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that the Russian people were “united as never before,” as he sought to project confidence in the wake of a short-lived revolt, at a meeting of a rare international organization where he can find a sympathetic audience.The Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, hosted via videoconference by India, was Putin’s first multilateral summit since an armed rebellion rattled Russia and comes as he is eager to show that the West has failed to isolate Moscow over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.The Asian security grouping, founded by Russia and China to counter Western alliances, also welcomed Iran as a new member, bringing its membership to nine nations. Speaking by video link from the Kremlin, Putin praised the organization for “playing an increasingly significant role in international affairs, making a real contribution to maintaining peace and stability, ensuring sustainable economic growth of the participating states, and strengtheni...

Spain calls an end to COVID-19 health crisis and obligatory use of masks in hospitals, pharmacies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:03 GMT

MADRID (AP) — The Spanish government on Tuesday declared an end to the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and says people no longer have to wear masks in health and care centers as well as pharmacies. Over the past two years, Spain has gradually ended the mandatory mask wearing, first in public and then on public transport. The country has registered 14 million cases and 122,000 deaths from the coronavirus since 2020. The government approved the measure at a weekly Cabinet meeting. It takes effect once it’s published in the State Gazette in the coming days.The Associated Press