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Ask Amy: Should I hide my disturbing family discovery from my cousin?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:53 GMT

Dear Amy: I had my DNA tested, as have some of my second cousins, and in one case the results are disturbing.My percent-DNA matches with six other cousins are smack in the middle of the normal range for that relationship.But with one particular second cousin — his paternal grandfather and my maternal grandmother were siblings — our percent-DNA match is above the feasible range for second cousins and centered on the range for first cousins once removed.That implies this man is actually my mother’s first cousin — that their parents were siblings.Long story short (having researched DNA results interpretation for other reasons), this cousin’s supposed grandfather is probably actually his biological father.From his online family tree, I see that the cousin was born in 1945, his father served overseas in the Navy during WWII, and his grandfather lived in the same town as his mother.Am I right in not bringing this up nor discussing it with him or anyone else?It does...

‘We want to keep people alive’: How laws across DC region can help prevent fatal overdoses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:53 GMT

This article is part of the WTOP series, “Facing Down Fentanyl: Teens Confront Drug Danger.”Even as rates of fatal drug overdoses remain alarmingly high, experts say the vast majority of deaths are preventable.More than three out of five overdose deaths involved at least one instance in which the person  could have received help before overdosing, or received lifesaving help during an overdose. That’s according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The missed opportunities are, in part, due to a fear that other drug users who seek help for someone suffering from an overdose could be prosecuted.That’s not necessarily the case in the D.C. region. Maryland, D.C. and Virginia all have so-called “good Samaritan” laws on the books that protect those who help someone in need.“Even if they’re using drugs, if they have a friend who is overdosing … if they call the police and ask for help and they stay with that person, that they won’t be prosec...

Sohu.com: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:53 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — BEIJING (AP) — Sohu.com Limited (SOHU) on Monday reported a loss of $17.9 million in its first quarter.On a per-share basis, the Beijing-based company said it had a loss of 53 cents. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring costs and stock option expense, were 37 cents per share.The operator of a popular Chinese Web portal posted revenue of $161.8 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SOHU at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SOHUSource

A new group of butterflies has been named after the ‘Lord of the Rings’ villain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:53 GMT

(CNN) — A large international team of researchers has identified nine groups of newly described butterflies, and one colorful genus broke the mold with its striking wing patterns — earning itself a name inspired by the Eye of Sauron, a blazing symbol of the main antagonist Sauron the Dark Lord in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” book series.The Eye of Sauron glows in the 2001 film “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.”The “distinctive fused orange rings” that encircle black-and-white eyespots on the hindwings of this group led the researchers to name the genus Saurona, according to a recent study published in the journal Systematic Entomology.“Naming a genus is not something that happens very often, and it’s even more rare to be able to name two at once,” study coauthor Dr. Blanca Huertas, senior curator of lepidoptera at the Natural History Museum in London, said in a news release. Huertas and a...

Ukraine aid is drying up. And the White House is under pressure to send more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:53 GMT

Move over, Treasury. You’re not the only one with an X-date.The $48 billion Ukraine aid package that Congress approved in December has about $6 billion left, meaning U.S. funding for weapons and supplies could dry up by midsummer.That’s raising fresh concerns among lawmakers about what the White House is planning next, including when the administration will ask for another major package and whether it will be enoughThe funding, many members say, needs to continue to flow without interruption, especially as Kyiv prepares to launch what’s expected to be a sweeping counteroffensive and retake ground in the east from the Russians.“It is critical that the administration provide Ukraine with what it needs in time to defend and take back its sovereign territory,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told Pentagon leaders during a hearing on Thursday. “We expect the administration not to wait until the eleventh hour if the Ukrainians need more before the end of the fiscal year.”The White House is d...

Russia’s Ukraine invasion must end in failure like Afghanistan, says Estonian PM

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:53 GMT

Russia must retreat from Ukraine like Moscow did in Afghanistan in the 1980s, Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said Monday.The leader of the Baltic country, which borders Russia and has been among Ukraine’s top weapons providers, indicated that the war will come to an end when Russian troops retreat.“The war will end when Russia understands it has made a mistake, like they did in Afghanistan when they withdrew after 10 years,” Kallas said in an interview conducted by POLITICO during the Copenhagen Democracy Summit.The Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan between 1988 and 1989 after almost a decade of fighting, amid a faltering military campaign and a dire economic situation at home.  “If you think that this all started in 2014 [with Russia’s annexation of Crimea], we are almost 10 years [along],” added Kallas.The Estonian leader urged EU countries to continue supporting Ukraine “to send a message to Russia that you can’t win, and they can’t bend the will of Ukrainians eit...

‘Please help’: Mother makes desperate plea amid search for missing 4-year-old on Castle Island

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:53 GMT

A massive police presence will continue its search this morning on Castle Island in South Boston for a missing 4-year-old boy with autism who was is nonverbal and was last seen playing at a park there on Sunday.The distraught mother of Mohemed Fofena made a desperate plea to anyone who may know where her son is. “Please help me,” she said as police prepared to resume their search. Mohemed was last seen around 7 p.m.Mohemed’s mother says her father called her while she was at work to let her know he lost sight of him.He was last seen wearing blue shoes, blue pants, and a gray hooded sweatshirt.State police and other emergency responders could be seen using flashlights, boats, and a helicopter to search the area for Mohemed late into the night on Sunday.No additional information was immediately available.Anyone with information is urged to call state police.https://twitter.com/MassStatePolice/status/1657923502618361859https://twitter.com/MassStatePolice/status/165...

Let’s do it again: Celtics to face Heat in Eastern Conference finals rematch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:53 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — As the Celtics’ 112-88 Game 7 rout of the 76ers began to crystallize late in the third quarter, a Boston fan toting a neon pink inflatable flamingo held up a sign that read, “See you in Miami!”Celtics-Heat: The rematch is now officially set for the Eastern Conference finals.Last season the Celtics had a 3-2 series lead over Miami in the NBA’s version of the final four before losing in Game 6. Boston then came within a late missed jump by Miami’s Jimmy Butler of seeing its season end in Game 7 before eventually holding on to advance to the NBA Finals.Following a championship-round loss to Golden State, this season was themed “Unfinished Business” for this latest incarnation of the Celtics as they long to get another shot at the franchise’s 18th title.They’re hoping to carry the momentum and lessons from Sunday’s blowout win over Philadelphia into what they expect to be another slugfest with the Heat. The teams split their fo...

Warming Back Up… For Now

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:53 GMT

Wow! What a weekend we just had for ourselves as low humidity, sunny skies and comfortable air prevailed. Perfect timing for Mother’s Day weekend. We pick up where we left off over the weekend as sunshine and low humidity win out today. While the chill is in the air early this morning, the warm-up starts this afternoon as temps run in the mid to upper 70s for highs. A west wind will be active today, gusting 15-20mph, holding back any sea breeze from developing. Tomorrow, we’ll step it up another notch with highs pushing into the lower 80s for many. A gusty west to southwest wind runs through too, pushing 25-35mph. That, in combination with with relative humidity falling to 15-20%, will allow for the brush fire risk to be elevated. While a few light showers are possible tomorrow night with a cold front, don’t expect much rain. Any wet weather will be long gone by Wednesday morning too, and so will the warmth. Wednesday afternoon run about 20 degrees cooler than Tues...

Budget, Bears, Chicago school board and ethics: Illinois legislators face busy agenda in spring session’s final week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:53 GMT

The Illinois General Assembly heads into the final scheduled week of its spring session facing unresolved issues from the budget to a proposal to help the Chicago Bears move to the suburbs, while also coming under pressure to toughen government ethics laws in the wake of the “ComEd Four” corruption case convictions.Also on the table is the possibility of additional funding to help Chicago address its growing influx of migrants and asylum-seekers, and the need to finalize a map for the city’s new elected school board.Finalizing a state budget has been complicated by the need to fill a nearly $900 million hole in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposal due to ballooning costs of a state-funded health insurance program for adult immigrants in the country without legal permission.Ethics reform has proved over the years to be an issue that can be just as knotty as the budget. But there’s an added impetus to act this year given the bombshell bribery trial that led to g...