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Meta executive claims goal of Threads is to create a 'less angry place,' not replace Twitter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:11 GMT

(The Hill) – A top executive at Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said on Friday that the goal of the company’s new platform Threads is to create a “less angry place” and not to “replace Twitter.”“The goal isn't to replace Twitter,” Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said in a Threads post. “The goal is to create a public square for communities on Instagram that never really embraced Twitter and for communities on Twitter (and other platforms) that are interested in a less angry place for conversations, but not all of Twitter.”Threads has widely been portrayed as a direct rival to Twitter, which has undergone several controversial changes since billionaire Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk acquired the social media company last fall. Mosseri also said on Friday that while politics and hard news will likely appear on Threads, the platform is not looking to “do anything to encourage” those “verticals,” which a reporter with The Verge suggested might be needed in order to ...

MedWatch: Pickleball injuries on the rise as sport becomes more popular

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:11 GMT

With the pickle season in full swing, more people are trying out the relatively new sport that has exploded on the world scene.According to a Bloomberg report, pickleball injuries may cost American nearly $400 million in 2023.WGN's Lourdes Duarte was joined by Sports Medicine Physician from Rush Hospital Dr. Kathy Weber on Friday to discuss.

Intense heat taking a toll on Texas cotton crops

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:11 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — State agriculture leaders said weeks of extreme heat on top of already tough drought conditions could yield less cotton for Texas farmers. How Central Texas farmers are coping with days of intense heat The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service said conditions started out favorably when cotton was planted back in the spring.Josh McGinty, an AgriLife Extension agronomist, said a wet spring overall gave plants the support they needed to root and thrive.Since conditions have become considerably dry over the last three weeks, McGinty said, if more rain does not fall soon, plants that are already stressed will suffer even more.“Vegetation is starting to burn up. If you can maintain sufficient moisture for plants then they can cool with transpiration from the leaves, but the problem I see with the heat is stress and the other problems like spider mites and aphids, and everything takes its toll," McGinty said.Local cotton farmers stay optimisticAt Waterloo Cot...

Shooting deaths of northern Minnesota couple ruled murder-suicide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:11 GMT

The deaths of a married Pillager couple whose bodies were found at a residence in Sylvan Township have been ruled a murder-suicide, Cass County Sheriff Bryan Welk reported Thursday.The female victim, identified as 63-year-old Vickie O’Brien, died as a result of a gunshot wound determined to be the result of homicide, the sheriff’s office reported. The male victim, identified as 64-year-old Terrance O’Brien, died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot.The bodies of the victims were found about 10 a.m. June 26 at the residence on Brook Lane Southwest northwest of Pillager after sheriff’s deputies received a call from a family member requesting a welfare check because the couple could not be contacted.The investigation into the deaths was conducted by the sheriff’s department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office.The couple, Terry and Vickie O’Brien, are former residents of Alexandria. In the late 1990s, they owned a...

Police: Iron Range man who died in chest freezer was hiding from cops

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:11 GMT

BIWABIK, Minn. — A man who was found dead in a chest freezer last month entered the appliance on his own accord while attempting to evade police, according to preliminary findings by investigators.The body of Brandon Lee Buschman, 34, of Babbitt, was recovered from a chest freezer in the basement of a home at 304 Fourth Ave. N. in Biwabik on June 26. The residence had been unoccupied since February.Gilbert Police Chief Ty Techar indicated Friday that foul play is not suspected based on several interviews conducted with those familiar with Buschman.“The individuals revealed that Buschman was last seen by those present in the home fleeing from the upstairs area of the house due to a possible police presence near the residence,” Techar said. “Buschman had an active outstanding warrant for his arrest.”Techar did not specify when the incident occurred, and he did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Duluth News Tribune. He wrote that investigators were &...

3,000 hits is a long way away, but Twins’ Carlos Correa already in good company

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:11 GMT

When Twins shortstop Carlos Correa got his 1,000the career hit during a 9-3 victory over Kansas City on Tuesday, he reached the one-third mark on one of the most exclusive clubs in baseball.“He’s only 28 years old,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli marveled after the game. “To already have 1,000 hits, that’s a pretty amazing accomplishment.”Yet, at this rate Correa would have to play more than 25 seasons to reach the standard mark for hitting excellence. Only 33 players have at least 3,000 major-league hits, and only three eligible for the Hall of Fame have not been elected to Cooperstown — Pete Rose, Alex Rodgriguez and Rafael Palmeiro.Still, Correa already is a member of an impressive, if less elite, class — players with at least 900 major-league games who have averaged more than a hit per game. Heading into Friday night’s game against Baltimore at Target Field, Correa had 1,000 hits in 965 games, a 1.036 average.There are only 26 active major leaguers who fit that bill — Correa is No...

Vulnerable adult alert out of Schenectady canceled

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:11 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A missing vulnerable adult alert out of Schenectady has been canceled. Anthony Frisoni, 89, was last seen Friday morning on Van Vranken Avenue. The alert was canceled by Friday night. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox!

Downey man accused of killing sex worker in Tijuana may be tied to 2 other deaths

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:11 GMT

A Southern California man accused of killing a woman in Mexico and implicated in two other deaths has been compared to notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, according to a Vice News report.Bryant Rivera, of Downey, was arrested Thursday by U.S. authorities nearly two years after he began his alleged killing spree, Vice reported.Before his capture, Baja California Attorney General Iván Carpio Sánchez said the killer had “violent and psychopathic behavior,” and compared him to Bundy.Though implicated in the deaths of three women, Rivera was arrested in connection with the January 2022 killing of 20-year-old dancer and sex worker Ángela Carolina Acosta Flores, and Mexico is seeking to extradite him, according to an unsealed federal criminal complaint. Rivera, who apparently went by "Eduardo," and Acosta met at a popular strip club in Tijuana where she worked. On the night of Jan. 24, 2022, the two went into a hotel above the club, but Rivera left alone and was later seen entering the U.S...

Hundreds of goats work to prevent wildfires in Southern California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:11 GMT

To mitigate the danger of wildfire season in Southern California, local officials have brought in a large team to lend a hand — hundreds of hungry, grass-loving goats.For these hardworking goats, their entire workday is one long lunch break as they work to clear fire-prone brush.“They’ll work through and eat all the grasses and light brush down to the ground level which obviously helps us with mitigating wildfires in the area,” explained Chris Nelson, Assistant Chief with the San Manuel Fire Department.Little do the hungry goats know, they’re playing a much larger and more important role in wildfire prevention.“We started this year with this herd at 150 and because we got them so early in kidding season, the herd doubled to 300,” Nelson said.To mitigate the impending danger of wildfire season in Southern California, local officials have brought in a large team to clear fire-prone brush — hundreds of hungry, grass-loving goats.(KTLA)To mitigate the impending danger of wildfire season...

Does Threads Not Allow You To Delete Your Profile? Kind Of

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:11 GMT

The newly-minted Threads app has created a social media stir, and one of the immediate concerns was the ability to delete one’s profile.Meta Platforms abruptly released the Twitter-style app this week and users noticed that, as of this writing, one cannot delete their profile, unless they also delete their Instagram profile.The primary way of signing up for Threads was through a user’s existing Instagram profile, giving the option to import followers and those following, in the process.Account settings for deleting the Threads app.When going through the settings, the app states, “Some settings, like deleting your account, apply to both Threads and Instagram and can be managed on Instagram.”When users posted about the app-deleting terms, Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, said, “This was an edge case, we are currently fixing it.”Meta recently launched an attempt to create synergy across its platforms with its “Accounts Ce...