Do you remember what you were doing on 9/11?
Sept. 11, 2021, marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Do you remember where you were and what you did that day? The Daily News is working on a special edition of the paper featuring a number of stories looking back at that moment in history. Were you watching the tragedy unfold live on TV or did you first hear about it from a friend or loved one? Please include your first and last name, the city/town where you live and a telephone number where you can be reached.
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 18:45 UTC
Haiti quake leaves small businesses in ruins, compounding woes
LES CAYES (Reuters) – Days before a powerful earthquake struck, Rosemond Clermont paid the $1,554 rent on the office of his construction business in southern Haiti for the rest of the year. On Saturday morning, the investment vanished when his small shop collapsed along with hundreds of other buildings in his home town as the coastal city of Les Cayes began crumbling. Dozens of businesses ranging from hotels, restaurants to corner shops in downtown Les Cayes and surrounding areas suffered a similar fate, with premises either badly damaged or flattened. The loan saddled Clermont with a monthly debt of $207 that he is struggling to pay off. Haitian economist Etzer Emile told Reuters that in the past, small businesses have been overlooked in post-disaster responses.
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 17:48 UTC
Republican bill would ban schools in Michigan from mandating masks as COVID-19 cases increase among children
click to enlarge ShutterstockState bill would ban schools from requiring masks for students. As an alarming number of children are getting infected with COVID-19, a Republican lawmaker on Tuesday introduced a bill that would bar local school districts in Michigan from requiring students to wear masks.Rep. I think traditionally people kind of considered, ‘Well, you know, kids aren't going to get that sick with this.’ More than 400 children have died of COVID-19. And it's up to all of us to do everything we can to protect them, as well as we're trying to protect everybody else at the same time.”Many school districts haven't yet decided whether they're going to require masks. Detroit Public Schools Community District was one of the first to require students and staff to wear masks.
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 14:26 UTC
Marijuana consumers and connoisseurs called to choose Cannabis Cup champions
But that's always led to disappointment among cannabis connoisseurs who wanted to put their palate to use, Mark Kaz, High Times' director of competitions, said. The winners could get more out of it than the High Times trophy and bragging rights within the cannabis industry, Kaz said. "We've even had people claim that they've gotten better commercial space and leasing deals because they were a Cannabis Cup winner." The Cannabis Cup is not the first competition held to discern the best marijuana products from the Bay State. High Times runs similar events in other states around the country, including upcoming Cannabis Cups in Oklahoma, Arizona, Northern California, Illinois and Nevada.
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 14:15 UTC
UAE says Afghanistan’s Ghani is in Gulf Arab state
DUBAI (Reuters) – Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf state’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after he left as Taliban fighters seized control. “The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds,” it said in a statement. (Reporting by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 14:00 UTC
Middlesex County COVID-19 vaccine tracker: 67% of people fully vaccinated
Chastity Laskey, USA TODAY NETWORKAbout 67% of people living in Middlesex County are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC considers someone fully vaccinated two weeks after they've been given a single-dose shot (Johnson & Johnson) or a second shot of either Pfizer or Moderna. Middlesex County has the highest percentage of its population fully vaccinated in Massachusetts as of Tuesday. The others in the top five are Norfolk County (66%), Essex County (61%), Suffolk County (61%) and Plymouth County (58%). For a county-by-county look at the vaccination rollout, see our COVID-19 vaccine tracker, which is updated daily.
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 11:26 UTC
UK lawmakers condemn PM Johnson and U.S. President Biden over Afghanistan
LONDON (Reuters) -British lawmakers vented their anger on Wednesday at Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. President Joe Biden over the collapse of Afghanistan into Taliban hands, calling it a failure of intelligence, leadership and moral duty. “There’s been a major miscalculation of the resilience of the Afghan forces and staggering complacency from our government about the Taliban,” Starmer said. Several lawmakers on Wednesday focused on the U.S. decision to withdraw – a move which Johnson admitted left Britain with no choice but to pull out its own forces – and Biden’s subsequent criticism of Afghan forces’ surrender. “To see (Biden) call into question the courage of men I fought with, to claim that they ran, is shameful. Labour lawmaker Chris Bryant called for the programme to be accelerated, asking: “What are the (other) 15,000 meant to do?
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 10:40 UTC
'I was basically left for dead:' Natick couple recount horrific hit-and-run crash
NATICK — One year ago Wednesday, Kimberly Gunner and her husband, Andy Colbert, experienced a harrowing moment that changed their lives forever. They suffered severe injuries in the hit-and-run accident; Gunner is still on the mend after numerous surgeries. 'Saw it coming'When asked about the details of the accident — Colbert didn’t hesitate. Gunner and Colbert didn’t dodge the issue, but didn’t want to dwell on it. The irony in this story is that Gunner and Colbert took leisurely walks all over Natick, always without incident.
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 09:22 UTC
Single-family home sales took a pause in Massachusetts last month
The Warren Group reported Wednesday that sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts totaled 6,327 last month, a 7.6% decline from the same month a year ago and down 1.5% from July 2019. The median single-family sale price for a home sold in Massachusetts last month was $540,000, an all-time high and up 17.4% from the July 2020 median of $460,000. Two years ago, the median sales price was $425,000Last month's median home sale price marked the fourth straight month that the state's median single-family home price was above $500,000. In Framingham, the median sales price for a single-family home reached $600,000 last month, up 22.2% from a year earlier, while Natick's median sales price rose 10.9% to $755,000. Meanwhile, the median sales price for a condominium sold in the Bay State last month was $470,000, up 9.3% from the same month a year ago.
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 09:00 UTC
Baidu says 2nd-gen Kunlun AI chips enter mass production
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese tech giant Baidu said on Wednesday it had begun mass-producing second-generation Kunlun artificial intelligence (AI) chips, as it races to become a key player in the chip industry which Beijing is trying to strengthen. The new generation of Kunlun AI chips, using 7 nm process technology, achieved a top computational capability two-to-three times the previous generation, Baidu said in a statement. Kunlun chips, whose first generation entered mass production in early 2020, have been used mostly by Baidu in smart electric vehicles and cloud computing. Beijing-based Baidu is considering commercialising its AI chip design capabilities, with the aim of making the Kunlun unit a standalone company, Reuters has reported. Baidu also operates another chip unit called Honghu.
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 06:11 UTC
Deadly Jalalabad protests as Taliban consolidate Islamist rule
More than a dozen people were injured after Taliban militants opened fire on protesters in the eastern city, two witnesses and a former police official told Reuters. A Taliban official said leaders would show themselves to the world, unlike in the past when they lived in secret. “Slowly, gradually, the world will see all our leaders,” the senior Taliban official told Reuters. “We are continuing at a very fast momentum, logistics show no glitches as of now,” the Western security official told Reuters. ‘TIME WILL TELL’British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, echoing leaders of other Western countries, said the Taliban would be judged on their actions.
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 05:26 UTC
Over 2,200 people evacuated on Kabul military flights
KABUL (Reuters) – Over 2,200 diplomats and other civilians have so far been evacuated on military flights out of Kabul, a Western security official in the Afghan capital told Reuters on Wednesday. There was no clarity yet on when civilian flights will resume from Kabul, the official said. (Reporting by Rupam Jain, Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 04:07 UTC
Second-half surge: How to maximize life’s later chapters
That is why he penned the new book “Roar: Into the Second Half of Your Life (Before It’s Too Late).” Clinton talked with Reuters about making life’s second half as fruitful, or more so, than the first. A: If you are 60 and healthy these days, you have a good shot of living another 30 years. So you have a real opportunity to have a second career, or a new lifestyle, or new relationships. Q: Did COVID-19 affect this debate, about how to get the most out of life’s second half? The next thing for me is doing entrepreneurial things: “Roar” has an opportunity to become a platform, for people moving into the second half of life.
Source:MetroXpress
August 18, 2021 03:56 UTC
Flexible Fitness: Fight cancer-related fatigue with physical therapy
One of the most reported side effects of cancer treatment is cancer-related fatigue. The American Cancer Society reports that between 80%-100% of patients going through cancer treatment experience cancer-related fatigue. Fatigue experienced during cancer treatment can be related to side effects of medications or other treatments used. Completing a physical therapy evaluation with an experienced physical therapist can help to identify what exercises would be appropriate and safest for you. Cancer-related fatigue can have a varying degree of impact on patients undergoing cancer treatment.
Source:MetroXpress
August 17, 2021 22:30 UTC
Arkansas man receives 50-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to killing transgender teen
An Arkansas man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing a transgender teen with whom he was involved romantically, in what authorities claim was an attempt to cover up their relationship. Police arrested Miller within a week of Stone’s killing, and never identified any other suspects publicly. The charge of first-degree murder was reduced from a charge of capital murder, which could have potentially carried a death sentence or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He never ultimately testified because the two co-defendants later pleaded guilty to charges of murder. He had also been charged with identity theft and firearms possession just three months prior to Stone’s murder, but was released shortly after his arrest.
Source:MetroXpress
August 17, 2021 22:07 UTC