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Burrowing badgers threaten to undermine Dutch rail system

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:51 GMT

Badgers have built a home under a major Dutch rail line, causing delays for tens to thousands of passengers.Due to concerns that the tunnels of badgers could have caused damage to the ground beneath the tracks, train traffic between Den Bosch and Eindhoven has been stopped.The company that maintains the country’s rail network said the badgers were protected under law and had to be removed before any repairs could begin.Aldert Baas, spokesperson for ProRail, stated that "Badgers" are beautiful animals but they pose a danger to our safety on the railways.On Wednesday, the Dutch government stated that the affected train line is used by 50,000 people daily. The affected train line is being used by approximately 50,000 people per day.To get things on track again, create a new habitat for the badgers nearby and then put a metal barrier along their tracks to stop them returning.Baas stated that it wasn't clear how long this will take.Although not endangered, Badgers almost died in the Neth...

Police officer shot during raids in German Reichsbuerger probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:51 GMT

A German officer in police was wounded and shot during raids of properties across Germany. The raids were part of investigations into the far-right Reichsbuerger group, which is accused by plotting to overthrow government, prosecutors said on Wednesday (22 March).According to the prosecutors, Markus L. was taken into custody on suspicion of multiple counts of attempted murder, grievous bodily injury, and attempted murder after shots were fired in Reutlingen (south of Stuttgart).These raids follow raids that were conducted in December by German police to stop a plot organized by members of Reichsbuerger to stage a violent coup. They also wanted to install Heinrich XIII Grund Reuss national leader.Reichsbuerger (Citizens of Reich) don't recognize modern-day Germany to be a legitimate country.Five people were targeted in raids in Germany and Switzerland for being part of a terrorist organization. A further 14 people were not suspected but could have useful material.Spiegel Online repor...

Ask Amy: Can I cut my tip because of my stylist’s high prices?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:51 GMT

 Dear Amy: I wear my hair short and have had the same stylist cut it regularly for the past 10 to 12 years.The stylist was an employee at a pretty upscale salon, and their prices rose two to three times a year. I continued to go because I had built a rapport with her.Knowing the salon owner took at least half of what I was paying her (because the stylist made no secret of saying so), I always tipped my stylist 20 percent to 25 percent.Now the stylist has left the expensive salon and gone out on her own in a small rented suite. I was taken aback that she kept the same high price for a haircut as the salon was charging.Am I still required to tip this person who is the business owner and has set the prices herself?I feel that leaving the price as high as it was at the salon would be enough to cover her costs and make a profit without me adding a tip.I feel awkward not tipping the same person because she doesn’t have a boss, but on the other hand I feel taken advantage of if IR...

Harriette Cole: She publicly insulted me for opting out of these risky sports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:51 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a friend who is a bit of a daredevil. Well, that’s how I think of her. She enjoys extreme athletics.I’m happy that she loves these things, which include traveling all over the world to fulfill her dreams, but that doesn’t interest me. For several of these adventures, she has invited me to join her. I graciously declined each time.This year, something different has happened. A group of us were out for dinner, and she started jabbing at me for not wanting to participate in her most recent adventure. She accused me of not being adventurous, of being boring and old. I took great offense at this.The whole table of friends started laughing, and one by one they chimed in with their views about how I spend my time. Meanwhile, they don’t all travel with our mutual friend, either.I thought this was rude and uncalled-for. How can I address it with my friend?To Each His OwnRelated ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: My husband’s cloth...

Texas GOP Wants Citizens to Stop Migrants. Critics Say It’s a “Vigilante Death Squads Policy.”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:51 GMT

Dade Phelan, the Republican speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, sounded mostly triumphant delivering speech at a right-wing think tank in Austin earlier this month. “Eleven-hundred people come here every single day,” the fourth-generation real estate developer told a friendly audience at the Texas Public Policy Foundation as he laid out his party’s objectives in the final weeks of the state’s legislative session.“They’re voting with their feet,” Phelan said of the newcomers. “They know we’re a conservative state. They know we value the Second Amendment. They know we value life, and they know we value religious liberty.” These people are “fleeing states like California, New Jersey, New York, and Illinois for a very good reason,” the speaker argued, because Texas is “the land of opportunity.”The news wasn’t all good though. The promise of opportunity had consequences, which would require a stiff response from the state’s residents. “In southeast Texas we care about four thi...

Fairfax County zoning revamp thrown out by Virginia Supreme Court, citing virtual meeting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:51 GMT

This article was written by WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.The Virginia Supreme Court has voided a massive zoning modernization plan approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2021 because the board’s approval occurred during a virtual meeting.The court’s ruling, issued Thursday, could call into question scores of routine decisions made by local governing bodies during the first 15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of those bodies met virtually, rather than in person, as is required by Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act.Four Fairfax County residents — David Berry, Carol A. Hawn, Helen H. Webb and Adrienne A. Whyte — challenged the Board of Supervisors’ decision in March 2021 to update and modernize the county’s zoning ordinance, a process known as zMOD. The new ordinance, which replaced one that had been in place since 1978, bec...

Jonsson Workwear Open Scores

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:51 GMT

ThursdayAt The Club at Steyn CityJohannesburgPurse: $1.5 millionYardage: 7,716; Par: 72First RoundMartin Vorster, South Africa34-30—64Darren Fichardt, South Africa33-31—64Hennie O’Kennedy, South Africa31-34—65Sebastian Soderberg, Sweden31-34—65Nick Bachem, Germany33-32—65Joakim Lagergren, Sweden33-32—65Gavin Green, Malaysia34-32—66Niklas Norgaard Moller, Denmark34-32—66Martin Simonsen, Denmark33-33—66Ewen Ferguson, Scotland34-32—66Aaron Cockerill, Canada33-33—66George Coetzee, South Africa33-33—66Calum Hill, Scotland32-34—66Jayden Trey Schaper, South Africa33-33—66Julien Brun, France34-33—67Joost Luiten, Netherlands32-35—67Wilco Nienaber, South Africa34-33—67Daniel Van Tonder, South Africa33-34—67Trevor Fisher, South Africa34-33—67Benjamin Follett-Smith, Zimbabwe33-34—67Mikko Korhonen, Finland33-34—67Andy Sullivan, England33-34—67Daniel Gavins, England36-31—67Paul Waring, England32-35—67Hurly Long, Germany34-33—67Sami Valimaki, Finland35-32—67Nicolai Von Dellingshausen, German...

Jonsson Workwear Open Par Scores

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:51 GMT

ThursdayAt The Club at Steyn CityJohannesburgPurse: $1.5 millionYardage: 7,716; Par: 72First RoundMartin Vorster, South Africa34-30—64-8Darren Fichardt, South Africa33-31—64-8Hennie O’Kennedy, South Africa31-34—65-7Sebastian Soderberg, Sweden31-34—65-7Nick Bachem, Germany33-32—65-7Joakim Lagergren, Sweden33-32—65-7Gavin Green, Malaysia34-32—66-6Niklas Norgaard Moller, Denmark34-32—66-6Martin Simonsen, Denmark33-33—66-6Ewen Ferguson, Scotland34-32—66-6Aaron Cockerill, Canada33-33—66-6George Coetzee, South Africa33-33—66-6Calum Hill, Scotland32-34—66-6Jayden Trey Schaper, South Africa33-33—66-6Julien Brun, France34-33—67-5Joost Luiten, Netherlands32-35—67-5Wilco Nienaber, South Africa34-33—67-5Daniel Van Tonder, South Africa33-34—67-5Trevor Fisher, South Africa34-33—67-5Benjamin Follett-Smith, Zimbabwe33-34—67-5Mikko Korhonen, Finland33-34—67-5Andy Sullivan, England33-34—67-5Daniel Gavins, England36-31—67-5Paul Waring, England32-35—67-5Hurly Long, Germany34-33—67-5Sami Valimaki,...

Ocean City hotel tax effort stalls after debate in Maryland Senate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:51 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.A bill that would allow counties on the Eastern Shore to hike their hotel tax rates by 1% faces an uncertain future after a debate in the Maryland Senate on Wednesday.The bill would have amounted to a nearly $5 million tax on Maryland residents who vacation in Ocean City, Montgomery County Sen. Benjamin F. Kramer (D-Montgomery) said, as he questioned the policy on the Senate floor.“This is a $5 million tax hit on every one of your constituents who saved all year long to take the opportunity to join with their families and have a little vacation time in Ocean City, Maryland,” Kramer told senators, before launching into other arguments against the bill, including talking points typically employed by Republican lawmakers. ” … I am concerned that Ocean City borders other jurisdictions. Those very tax dollars could easil...

Zebra on the loose gives zookeepers the runaround in Seoul

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:51 GMT

(CNN) — A male zebra broke loose in South Korea’s capital on Thursday, trotting down busy roads and back alleys for hours before being tranquilized and returned to a zoo.Videos on social media showed 3-year-old Sero galloping through the Gwangjin district of Seoul amid heavy traffic, strolling down narrow alleys in residential neighborhoods, and passing zebra crossings as it scuttled around the city.Firefighters dispatched to the scene later herded the mammal to an alley, where it was tranquilized and brought back to the Children’s Grand Park, its home in the east of Seoul.According to the Gwangjin-gu fire station, officers received the first report at 3:43 p.m. about a zebra roaming free around the precinct.As a team of fire officers drove to the reported location, they spotted the zebra running in the opposite direction, prompting them to give chase, an official from the station told CNN.The officers blocked its escape route from a back alley with safety fences, ...