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Leventhal: Sugary drink taxes slam low-income consumers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:27:00 GMT

Attempts to control what consumers choose to consume are frequent, but taxing sugary drinks to push people to make healthier choices has been a more regular one. However, this paternalistic instinct has repeatedly failed to achieve its health goals. Instead, it imposes a regressive tax without improving people’s health and can even drive small grocery stores out of business.More than 100 countries tax sugary drinks, which means for 51% of the world’s population, their soda is artificially more expensive. Despite it being a common practice, there is little evidence of health gains and strong evidence it hurts the local economy, especially lower-income households. Even in the face of limited benefits and large harms, many local governments in the United States have imposed sweetened beverage taxes. Even the World Health Organization recommends taxing sweetened drinks.Like most “sin taxes,” soda taxes tend to fall on the poorest people the most heavily. Lower-income homes spend a large...

‘New normal’ and other annoying workplace buzzwords

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:27:00 GMT

If you haven’t uttered them yourself, you’ve probably heard them spew from the mouths of co-workers or your boss. They are the most annoying business buzzwords for 2023.So what’s the most fingernail-on-blackboard phrase for workers?“New normal,” according to a survey conducted by Preply Business, a language learning platform that connects online tutors with businesses and teams. Preply collected responses from 1,551 Americans working in offices or remotely.Joining new normal as most hated buzzwords were:CultureCircle backBoots on the groundGive 110%Low-hanging fruitWin-winMove the needleGrowth hackingThink outside the box.The survey asked workers how frequently they heard buzzwords in the workplace, the most popular jargon they heard, the phrases they disliked the most and red flag words in job descriptions.Perhaps to be expected, some of the most frequently heard words also were the most annoying. Here are the 10 most used phrases:Win-winCultureASAPThink outside the boxMoving forwa...

Orioles repeat magic, come back to beat Astros, 8-7, behind Cedric Mullins’ go-ahead 3-run homer in 9th

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:27:00 GMT

After a celebration as raucous as Sunday’s, how much energy a team will have to play nine competitive innings the following day is a question.It wasn’t for the playoff-bound Orioles, who are simply too good, too scrappy and too clutch to go away when they’re supposed to.Gunnar Henderson, Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins and the rest of Baltimore’s lineup partied hard Sunday and played just as hard — OK, maybe not that hard — Monday against the Houston Astros.Henderson twice sprinted 270 feet around the bases. O’Hearn recorded the first five-hit game of his six-year career. And Mullins, whose walk-off sacrifice fly Sunday sent the Orioles into celebration mode, did it again with a go-ahead three-run home run in the ninth inning en route to a hold-your-breath 8-7 victory.Mullins was in position to play hero again after Baltimore’s bullpen blew a two-run lead in the sixth and allowed six runs in three innings after five solid frames fro...

Canada expels an Indian diplomat as it investigates a Sikh’s killing. India denies an alleged link

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:27:00 GMT

By KRUTIKA PATHI and ROB GILLIES (Associated Press)NEW DELHI (AP) — Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations its government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist, an accusation that India rejected as “absurd.”Trudeau said in Parliament on Monday that Canadian intelligence agencies have been looking into the allegations after Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a strong supporter of an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, was gunned down on June 18 outside a Sikh cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia.Trudeau told Parliament that he brought up the slaying with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Group of 20 summit last week in New Delhi. He said he told Modi that any Indian government involvement would be unacceptable and that he asked for cooperation in the investigation.Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said the head of Indian ...

Dear Abby: Bio mom doesn’t have to support adoptive parents

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:27:00 GMT

Dear Abby: Would it be wrong to reach out to my biological mother for financial help? I was adopted when I was just 2 months old. I was lucky to have wonderful parents, but they are in poor health, and it’s affecting both of them physically. I’m going into debt helping them out financially. They are on a fixed income that barely covers their expenses. Would it be wrong of me to ask my birth mother for that help? We see each other occasionally. My birth mother sold her house and isn’t hurting financially. I don’t want to sound entitled. I just need some help, and I’m prepared for a no. — Entitled to Anything?Dear Entitled: It isn’t your birth mother’s responsibility to support the couple who adopted you, particularly since the request for money would be ongoing. You stated that you see her only occasionally. (If you do what you are considering, you may be seeing her less often.) If your parents still have relatives, you might have some ...

Solar battery storage container catches fire in Valley Center

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:27:00 GMT

VALLEY CENTER, Calif. -- A fire that erupted Monday inside a solar battery storage container prompted nearby buildings to temporarily evacuate in Valley Center, authorities said.The blaze occurred around 5 p.m. at 29465 Valley Center Rd (Terra-Gen Energy Storage System), according to Valley Center Fire Protection District.SkyFOX was over the location where smoke could be seen spewing from the storage container. California campsite reservation bill heads to governor’s desk Around 6:39 p.m., evacuation and shelter-in-place orders were put in place for nearby residents. Those orders as of 8:32 p.m. have since been lifted, authorities said. Terra-Gen, a renewable energy developer, told FOX 5 Monday evening that the facility’s design systems was helping keep the incident contained.The blaze is the second Terra-Gen fire in Valley Center since April 2022, according to community officials.Valley Center Rd, between Cole Grande Rd and Sunset Rd, was also closed for several hours due to...

VIDEO: Actor Jason Momoa greets fans at two San Diego stores

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:27:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Actor Jason Momoa and MadeWorn creator Blaine Halvorson on Monday stopped by two stores in San Diego for a meet-and-greet with fans.Momoa, known for his roles as the superhero Aquaman in Aquaman and Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, and Halvorson promoted their drink called Meili Vodka at Total Wine in Mission Valley and Ralphs in La Jolla.Eager fans were able to take pictures with Momoa and Halvorson, as well as get their bottles signed. San Diego becomes most competitive rental market in SoCal for first time in years "Seven years ago, we embarked on the journey to create Meili together. To not only tell our story but to bring others along with us; to craft the best vodka on the planet - from spirit to bottle," the co-founders said on their website.Their San Diego visit is the first stop of the Meili Vodka California tour this week.The most recent film Momoa has starred in is Fast X, the 10th installment of the “Fast and Furious” franchise, that released in May 20...

City council to vote on water rate increase Tuesday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:27:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- City council is expected to vote on a nearly 20% increase to water rates for San Diego residents.If approved, this would increase rates 10.2% beginning Dec. 1, 2023, then up to an additional 8.7% beginning Jan. 1, 2025.Mayor Todd Gloria said this would equate to an approximate $12 increase to the average residents' monthly bill.“This is providing water and sewer services to basically 300,000 addresses in the city or running the public utilities for the 8th largest city in the country," Gloria said in an interview with FOX 5 Monday.City officials have said the reason for the hike is increased rates from the San Diego County Water Authority that are being passed down to the customers, plus treatments and infrastructure.Gloria said the water authority had initially proposed a 14% increase, but the city was able to negotiate them down to a 9% increase in rates."In this particular case the city has no better option than to pursue this rate adjustment, not doing this will cos...

Colombia’s president has a plan for ‘total peace.’ But militias aren’t putting down their guns yet

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:27:00 GMT

BUENAVENTURA, Colombia (AP) — Officers wade through rows of abandoned wooden homes teetering above a mangrove-cloaked river – one of the key channels used by gangs to move drugs and weapons through this long-neglected swath of Colombia’s Pacific coast.Each step for them is a reminder: Control here remains not with the law, but with those whose names are spoken in whispers in their city. Los Shottas and Los Espartanos.The two gangs are the latest to lay siege to Buenaventura, Colombia’s busiest port and the crown jewel of narcotrafficking routes, the jump point from which drugs pour out to the rest of the world. Now, they’re among a growing set of armed groups lining up to negotiate peace deals with Colombia’s new government. Upon his historic election last year, Colombia’s rebel-turned-president Gustavo Petro promised to cement “total peace” and end one of the world’s longest-running conflicts. But as his government moves to fulfill that bold promise, Buenaventura has grown to exemp...

Brazil’s Lula pitches his nation – and himself – as fresh leader for Global South

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:27:00 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — “Brazil is back.” That has been Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s refrain for the better part of the last year, with the president deploying the snappy slogan to cast Brazil — and himself — as a leader of the Global South no longer content to abide the world’s outdated workings.Last year, Lula thwarted the reelection bid of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, who showed little interest in geopolitics or diplomacy during his four years in office. Lula, by contrast, has crisscrossed the globe and visited 21 countries in recent months, from the United States to China, Italy to India, Argentina to Angola. He has sought to boost Brazil’s cred with each state visit and speech, one multilateral forum after another. On Tuesday, his address at the U.N. General Assembly will mark his return to that rostrum for the first time since 2009, the last year of his previous presidency’s second term.“We will see references to the ‘Brazil is back’ narrative, as Brazil seeks ...