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Fast fashion may seem cheap, but it’s taking a costly toll on the planet − and on millions of young customers

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Fast fashion is everywhere – in just about every mall, in the feeds of influencers on social media promoting overconsumption, and in ads constantly popping up online.

Its focus on the continual production of new clothing is marked by speedy fashion cycles that give it its name. Fast fashion is intended to quickly copy high-end ...Read more

Doctor’s bills often come with sticker shock for patients − but health insurance could be reinvented to provide costs upfront

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You have scheduled an appointment with a health care provider, but no matter how hard you try, no one seems to be able to reliably tell you how much that visit will cost you. Will you have to pay US$20, $1,000 – or even more?

Patients are increasingly on the hook for health care costs through deductibles, co-pays and other fees. As ...Read more

Red flag laws are still used in Colorado’s Second Amendment sanctuaries, just less frequently

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Over a three-year period beginning in 2021, 353 petitions were filed under Colorado’s red flag law, and 39% of those petitions led to firearms being relinquished, according to research our group published in Preventive Medicine Reports.

Red flag laws are also known as extreme risk protection orders. These orders temporarily bar ...Read more

Americans agree more than they might think − not knowing this jeopardizes the nation’s shared values

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The United States presents a paradox: Though the media and public opinion suggest it is a nation deeply divided along partisan lines, surveys reveal that Americans share significant common ground on many core values and political issues.

As a political philosopher, I am deeply concerned about the perceived contrast between the public�...Read more

Why you should get to know Thomas Aquinas, even 800 years after he lived

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Some years ago, I was rushing past the treasures of the Louvre in Paris, on the way to the “Mona Lisa,” when a painting stopped me in my tracks.

Massive and unusually elongated, “The Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas” depicts the 13th-century saint throned in a golden sun, with Aristotle and Plato standing reverently on either ...Read more

Crypto is soaring after Trump’s election − but is it a good ethical investment?

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An estimated 18 million Americans are invested in cryptocurrency, according to the Federal Reserve. And the United States just elected a pro-crypto president.

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have become a trendy digital asset. Supporters claim that crypto subverts capitalism because it bypasses traditional bankers. Crypto can offer ...Read more

Former LA City Councilman Ridley-Thomas' ultimate campaign: To clear his name

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LOS ANGELES — For more than three decades, Mark Ridley-Thomas never lost an election, tapping a well-organized network of supporters to secure victory after victory.

Now, the former Los Angeles City Council member and county supervisor is in a different sort of campaign with far greater stakes: a fight to clear his name and avoid prison.

The...Read more

Leo Correa/Pool/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

ICC issues arrest warrant for Israeli leader on 'war crimes'

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The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes, adding to pressure on the country’s leadership over the conduct of its military campaign against Hamas.

The Hague-based court’s announcement on Thursday followed an application by the ICC’s chief prosecutor in ...Read more

Ukraine says Russia used an ICBM as war ratchets up further

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Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile at the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, according to Ukraine’s Air Force command, in what would be a further major escalation of hostilities and an alarming signal to Kyiv’s Western backers.

The strike, if confirmed, would mark the first use of an ICBM in combat since the weapon was ...Read more

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images North America/TNS

Graphic details revealed in Monterey sexual assault claim against Pete Hegseth, Trump Cabinet pick

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LOS ANGELES — A woman told Monterey police that Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Defense secretary, took her phone, blocked her from leaving his hotel room and sexually assaulted her, according to a newly released police report.

On Wednesday evening, the Monterey Police Department released a 22-page report revealing ...Read more

Democrats push judicial nominations through GOP delays

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WASHINGTON — While Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer pushes to confirm many of Joe Biden’s judicial nominees through the lame-duck session, Republicans have employed a series of procedural tactics to slow down the process as much as possible.

When Schumer attempted to file cloture on nominees Monday evening, a procedural step ...Read more

Modi's ties to Adani will face tougher scrutiny this time around

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will find it increasingly difficult to distance himself from the latest controversy erupting around Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest businessmen who’s widely seen as having close ties with the Indian leader.

Hours after U.S. prosecutors charged Adani with helping direct a massive bribery scheme, ...Read more

Nearly half of LA's record homelessness budget went unspent, city controller finds

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LOS ANGELES — Nearly half of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' record $1.3-billion homelessness budget for fiscal 2023-24 went unspent, an analysis by the city controller found.

Controller Kenneth Mejia found that only $599 million had actually been spent. An additional $195 million was encumbered, leaving at least $513 million unspent.

Mejia ...Read more

Madagascar’s huge ocean algae bloom was caused by dust from drought-stricken southern Africa

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Scientists have found new evidence that desertification, potentially linked to global warming, leads to large amounts of nutrient-rich dust landing in the sea, causing ocean algae to grow rapidly. Biological oceanographer John A. Gittings and an international group of researchers have found an example of this phenomenon in the Indian Ocean ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Maryland student transportation director says school buses are safe, after several accidents this year

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BALTIMORE — During the first two months of the school year, there have been 13 traffic accidents involving Carroll County school buses, according to Transportation Services Director Michael Hardesty. No accident-related injuries were reported.

“With over 250 to 300 busses on the road every single day, doing 5.2 million miles annually, we ...Read more

Brandon Bell/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump's first week in office may set tone on abortion policy

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WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s first actions upon taking office in January could set the tone for how much he plans to leave the issue of regulating abortion to the states.

Presidents typically make two key global family planning decisions during their first week in office: whether to fund the United Nations Population Fund, ...Read more

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Cities, states say they'll need more help to replace millions of lead pipes

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A new federal rule will require water utilities across the country to pull millions of lead drinking water pipes out of the ground and replace them, at a cost of billions of dollars.

States, cities and water utilities agree that the lead pipes need to go to ensure safe water for residents. But they say they may struggle to do so in the 10-year ...Read more

Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

A clever wolf repeatedly snuck into a Minnesota ranch. Biologists figured out its MO.

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ORR, Minn. — Nothing seemed to stop Wolf 04D.

The wildlife biologists thought they had ended a decades-long struggle between rancher and wolf when they built a 7.5-mile fence in the heart of Minnesota’s wolf territory. Even the rancher, Wes Johnson, had high hopes when he came across a wounded deer on his land and saw that the wolves ...Read more

Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

San Diego will soon charge homeowners for trash pickup. Prepare for a bigger tax bill -- and more options

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SAN DIEGO — San Diego officials are busy working out details of how they’ll begin charging nearly 300,000 city households for trash pickup next summer, and they have recently decided to add the trash fees onto twice-a-year property tax bills.

Other crucial decisions will come soon on how much to charge, whether to subsidize low-income ...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

California's protections for transgender care could be tested under Trump

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LOS ANGELES — When Mars Wright saw that Donald Trump had been elected again as president, the 29-year-old Los Angeles artist and streetwear designer felt relieved he had already undergone surgeries for his gender transition.

Wright, a transgender man, has chronicled his medical journey online, flexing and dancing to show how his body ...Read more