Month: December 2021

Food banks see more volunteers, but uncertainty looms

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By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer

Inside the bustling New York Common Pantry, people hustle to assemble bags of carrots, apples, potatoes and other items. Outside the food pantry, others haul deliveries or hand out produce to people lined around the block of the Manhattan-based charity.

Randi Goldstein, 43, was one of the volunteers that day, there with her co-workers from a talent and literary agency to lend a helping hand for the holidays. Like many Americans, they’ve been working from home since the pandemic first hit and had been feeling disconnected.
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Germany’s Merkel at farewell ceremony: Don’t tolerate hate

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Level : Intermediate

BERLIN (AP) — Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Germans to stand up to hatred, at a military ceremony Thursday bidding her farewell after 16 years in office.

Merkel was honored with a traditional military musical performance and march in front of almost all the country’s political elite — save for the far-right Alternative for Germany, who weren’t invited.

“Our democracy also lives from the fact that wherever hatred and violence are seen as a legitimate means of pursuing one’s interests, our tolerance as democrats has to find its limit,” said in a speech ahead of the ceremony.
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California official says women on boards law is toothless

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By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California official defending the state’s landmark law that mandates women be placed on corporate boards testified Thursday that it was essentially toothless and there are no plans to penalize companies for not complying.

Under the 2018 law, publicly held corporations based in California have to appoint up to three women to their boards of directors by January and could face hefty fines for not doing so or for failing to file the required paperwork.

But Betsy Bogart, a division chief testifying in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of her boss, the secretary of state, said the law is not enforced.

“It’s required but there’s no penalty, so it’s essentially voluntary,” Bogart said.
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Merriam-Webster chooses vaccine as the 2021 word of the year

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Level : Intermediate

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — With an expanded definition to reflect the times, Merriam-Webster has declared an omnipresent truth as its 2021 word of the year: vaccine.

“This was a word that was extremely high in our data every single day in 2021,” Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor-at-large, told The Associated Press ahead of Monday’s announcement.

“It really represents two different stories. One is the science story, which is this remarkable speed with which the vaccines were developed. But there’s also the debates regarding policy, politics and political affiliation. It’s one word that carries these two huge stories,” he said.

The selection follows “vax” as word of the year from the folks who publish the Oxford English Dictionary. And it comes after Merriam-Webster chose “pandemic” as tops in lookups last year on its online site.
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