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Winning lottery jackpot is lucky for some, tragic for others

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – Powerball lottery winners David, left, and Erica Harrig, of Gretna, Neb., speak during an interview at the law office of their attorney Darren Carlson in Omaha, Neb., on Dec. 13, 2013. (Kent Sievers /Omaha World-Herald via AP, File)

By ANITA SNOW Associated Press

Dave and Erica Harrig stayed true to their values when they won a lottery jackpot of more than $61 million in 2013. It made all the difference.

The couple from Gretna, Nebraska, a community on the outskirts of Omaha where Dave Harrig now is a volunteer firefighter, allowed themselves to buy a new home, some vintage automobiles and a few ocean cruises after they both quit their jobs.

But nine years later, they still live much as they always did, remaining in their community, keeping up with church, family and friends, and teaching their children to work hard to make a living despite any financial windfall that might come their way.

Many other winners haven’t been as lucky, suffering personal setbacks and lawsuits or becoming the victims of scams. The latest winner of a big jackpot came Friday, when a single ticket sold in Illinois matched the numbers for a $1.337 billion Mega Millions prize. Illinois is among the states where winners of more than $250,000 can choose to not reveal their names. Continue reading

Why Louvre’s Mona Lisa keeps a smile: Paris’ cooling system

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

A worker inspects machines at part of Fraicheur de Paris’ underground cooling system, in Paris, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. The system, which uses electricity generated by renewable sources, is the largest in Europe and goes unnoticed above ground. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

By THOMAS ADAMSON and NICO GARRIGA Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The Mona Lisa may maintain her famously enigmatic smile because she benefits from one of Paris’ best-kept secrets: An underground cooling system that’s helped the Louvre cope with the sweltering heat that has broken temperature records across Europe.

The little-known “urban cold” network snakes unsuspecting beneath Parisians’ feet at a depth of up to 30 meters (98 feet), pumping out icy water through 89 kilometers (55 miles) of labyrinthine pipes, which is used to chill the air in over 700 sites. The system, which uses electricity generated by renewable sources, is the largest in Europe — and chugs on around the clock with a deafening noise totally inaudible above ground.

Paris City Hall has now signed an ambitious contract to triple the size of the network by 2042 to 252 kilometers (157 miles). It would make it the largest urban cooling system in the world. The new contract intends to help the city to both adapt to and combat the threat of global warming. Many parts of Europe hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in July. Continue reading

US newspapers continuing to die at rate of 2 each week

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

Various local newspapers appear outside a convenience store in the Brooklyn borough of New York on June 30, 2022. The United States continues to see newspapers die at the rate of two per week, according to a report issued Wednesday on the state of local news. The country had 6,377 newspapers at the end of May, down from 8,891 in 2005, the report said. (AP Photo/Mark Kennedy)

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Despite a growing recognition of the problem, the United States continues to see newspapers die at the rate of two per week, according to a report issued Wednesday on the state of local news.

Areas of the country that find themselves without a reliable source of local news tend to be poorer, older and less educated than those covered well, Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications said.

The country had 6,377 newspapers at the end of May, down from 8,891 in 2005, the report said. While the pandemic didn’t quite cause the reckoning that some in the industry feared, 360 newspapers have shut down since the end of 2019, all but 24 of them weeklies serving small communities. Continue reading

Is Airbnb Responsible For High Home Prices?

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

By Justin McDevitt 

Short-term rental app Airbnb may have another banner year, but many question the ripple effect of vacation rental services on the housing market.

Communities have turned into ghost towns. The housing market has become insurmountable for new buyers. There are more listings for Airbnb than long-term rentals in major cities such as New York. A simple search of the hashtag #airbnbnightmare will yield more than just complaints about unreturned deposits and missing towels.

“Airbnb destroys communities,” tweets one user. @MeMeBoomer is no stranger to talking politics on Twitter, but her feelings for Airbnb couldn’t be more personal. She describes her community as a lonely and desolate place to live. Airbnb dominates her neighborhood, making it impossible for new tenants or potential homeowners to move in permanently.

“No long-term housing options for people who work in these towns, so businesses and services also suffer,” she tweeted on June 21. @MeMeBoomer’s is not the only story to be shared on the social media platform. Continue reading

5-letter word for fun? Hasbro & NYT create Wordle board game

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

A Wordle game is seen on a mobile phone, Friday, July 15, 2022, in Boston. Hasbro Inc. and The New York Times, which owns Wordle, announced Thursday that Wordle: The Party Game will be available for purchase in North America in October. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

By MARK PRATT Associated Press

The company that makes some of the world’s most iconic board games including Scrabble, Monopoly, and Clue is developing a new one based on Wordle, the obsessively popular digital word-guessing game.

Hasbro Inc. and The New York Times — which purchased Wordle earlier this year — announced Thursday that Wordle: The Party Game will be available for purchase in North America in October, with preorders already being accepted. Continue reading

Some schools build affordable housing to retain teachers

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

A view from the third floor of the courtyard, of a new housing complex for Jefferson Union High School District teachers and education staff, in Daly City, Calif., Friday, July 8, 2022. The school district in San Mateo County is among just a handful of places in the country with educator housing. But with a national teacher shortage and rapidly rising rents, the working class district could serve as a harbinger as schools across the U.S. seek to attract and retain educators. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

By JANIE HAR Associated Press

DALY CITY, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco Bay Area high school teacher Lisa Raskin moved out of a cramped apartment she was sharing with a roommate and into her own place this month, paying a deeply discounted $1,500 a month for a one-bedroom with expansive views within walking distance to work.

It was once an impossible dream in an exorbitantly priced region hostile to new housing. But her employer, a 4,000-student school district south of San Francisco, was the rare success story in the struggle to provide affordable housing and in May, it opened 122 apartments for teachers and staff.

“I have a sense of community, which I think is more valuable than anything else,” the 41-year-old San Francisco native said. “More districts really need to consider this model. I think it shows educators that they value them.”

The Jefferson Union High School District in San Mateo County’s Daly City is among just a handful of places in the country with educator housing. But with a national teacher shortage and rapidly rising rents, the working-class district could serve as a harbinger as schools across the U.S. seek to attract and retain educators. Continue reading

Report: Europe’s banks need to raise game on climate risk

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – Residents evacuate their home in Nemours, 50 miles south of Paris, France, June 2, 2016. The European Central Bank has run a stress test on 104 banks, which concluded that Europe’s banks aren’t sufficiently considering risks from climate change and understanding the possible impact of floods, wildfires and losses on investments. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, file)

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s banks aren’t sufficiently considering risks from climate change and must “urgently step up efforts” to make sure they understand the possible impact of floods, wildfires and losses on investments.

That was a key conclusion from a climate stress test on 104 banks run by the European Central Bank and released Friday.

The ECB said that for now the climate stress test was a learning exercise that would not result in requiring banks to strengthen their financial buffers against possible losses from borrowers who can’t pay.

But the bank’s supervisory arm warned that as things stand now, 60% of the 104 surveyed banks have no framework for assessing the impact of climate risk on their financial solidity, and only 20% consider climate risk when granting loans. Continue reading

Super League clubs face UEFA in soccer’s big legal match

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – A man walks by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, Oct. 5, 2015. A group of top soccer clubs face Champions League organizer UEFA in court on Monday, July 11, 2022, for a legal match that risks the biggest upheaval in European soccer for more than 25 years. The Super League project failed at launch 15 months ago but the company formed by the 12 rebel clubs — now led by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus — has brought a case to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer

GENEVA (AP) — A group of top soccer clubs face Champions League organizer UEFA in court on Monday for a legal match that risks the biggest upheaval in European soccer for more than 25 years.

The Super League project failed at launch 15 months ago but the company formed by the 12 rebel clubs — now led by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus — has brought a case to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg.

Judges from 15 of the 27 EU member states will hear arguments over two days with a majority of those national governments supporting UEFA.

The clubs will accuse UEFA of alleged abuses of market dominance with control of soccer competitions that breach European law. Continue reading

Greece gets European assistance for summer wildfire season

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

Romanian firefighters stand in front of fire engines during a ceremony, in Athens, on Saturday, July 2, 2022. Twenty eight Romanian firefighters, the first of more than 200 firefighters from other European countries that will help their Greek colleagues in fighting wildfires, were welcomed by Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides and the leadership of Greece’s Fire Service. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

By DEMETRIS NELLAS Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece is receiving European assistance for the summer wildfire season, with the first group of firefighters arriving in Athens.

The 28 Romanian firefighters were welcomed Saturday by Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides and the leadership of Greece’s Fire Service. A total of more than 200 firefighters from six European countries will eventually be deployed to Greece.

“Romania is happy to join the pre-positioning program with a specialized firefighting force,” Romanian team leader Col. Alexandru-Adrian Csilik said. “We have a previous experience here in Greece.”

The Romanians, along with other countries, including Russia and Turkey, helped Greece fight widespread wildfires in August 2021, which broke out across the country and devastated the northern part of Evia, Greece’s second-largest island, as well as the southern Peloponnese peninsula. Continue reading

Add rent to the rising costs bedeviling small businesses

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Advanced

Martin Garcia, owner of gift and décor store Gramercy Gift Gallery, poses for a photo at his shop, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in San Antonio. Landlords were forgiving about rent during the first two years of the pandemic, but now many are asking for back due rent. Meanwhile, most of the government aid programs that helped small businesses get through the pandemic have ended. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The rent has come due for America’s small businesses and at a very inopportune time.

Landlords were lenient about rent payments during the first two years of the pandemic. Now, many are asking for back rent, and some are raising the current rent as well. Meanwhile, most of the government aid programs that helped small businesses get through the pandemic have ended while inflation has sharply pushed up the cost of supplies, shipping, and labor.

Martin Garcia, owner of gift and décor store Gramercy Gift Gallery in San Antonio, Texas, survived the first part of the pandemic in part by paying his landlord whatever rent he could each month. Then in August 2021, after the federal moratorium on evictions ended, his landlord asked for the full amount of back rent that he owed.

“I needed $10,000 in 15 days,” Garcia said. He took whatever loans he could find – often at high interest rates – and barely met the deadline. Continue reading