| | | | | | The next House speaker could very well hail from California, but if Republicans take control, that leader won't come from the part of the state represented by the current speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is a son of California's Central Valley, a farming and oil-pumping heartland. It's a swath of rural conservatism amid California's progressive politics. McCarthy is depending on Donald Trump's support to win back the House in November and seize the speaker's gavel. But this past week, McCarthy's future as GOP leader was thrown into jeopardy after audio was released of him telling fellow Republicans in the aftermath of the Capitol riot that Trump should resign. | | | | | | A jaunt through the woods can boost your fitness, your balance and your mood. | | | | | | Rio de Janeiro's samba schools have begun putting on this year's delayed Carnival parades, the first after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19-pandemic. The schools' colorful floats and flamboyant dancers began entering the Sambadrome grounds late Friday to parade before tens of thousands of fans on the first evening of the two-night spectacle. Rio's Sambadrome has been home to the parade since the 1980s, and is a symbol of Brazil's Carnival festivities. During the pandemic, it was a shelter for more than 400 homeless people and also served as a vaccination station. Sao Paulo also kicked off its Carnival parade Friday evening. Both cities put off this year's parades for two months due to concerns about the proliferation of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. | | | | | | Coal mining authorities say contact has been lost with 10 miners following an underground tremor and methane gas discharge at a second mine in southern Poland. The accident early Saturday took place at the Borynia-Zofiowka mine. It was the second in just four days in the coal mining region near the Czech border. Authorities were assembling a rescue team to search for the 10 missing miners. Repeat methane blasts since Wednesday at the nearby Pniowek mine have killed five miners, left seven miners and rescue workers missing and injured dozens. Searches for the seven missing there were suspended Friday due to unsafe conditions. Both mines are operated by the JSW company. | | | | | | For the first time in the 127-year history of the Venice Biennale, the world's oldest and most important contemporary art fair features a majority of female and gender non-conforming artists, under the curatorial direction of Cecilia Alemani. The result is a Biennale contemporary art fair that puts the spotlight on artists who have been long overlooked despite prolific careers, while also investigating themes including gender norms, colonialism and climate change. Alemani's main show, titled "The Milk of Dreams," alongside 80 national pavilions opens Saturday, after a one-year pandemic delay. The art fair runs through Nov. 27. It is only the fourth of the Biennale's 59 editions under female curation. | | | | | | Cuba and the United States have taken a tentative step toward thawing relations and resuming joint efforts to address irregular migration. That's according to a senior Cuban official who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday following the highest-level talks between the two countries in four years. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio says there were no major breakthroughs, but the mere fact that the U.S. was holding substantive talks was a sign relations might be looking better under President Joe Biden after going into deep freeze under his predecessor. | | | | | | Rio de Janeiro's Carnival parade have returned after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19-pandemic. The top samba schools' colorful floats and flamboyant dancers began entering the Sambadrome grounds late Friday to parade before tens of thousands of fans on the first evening of the two-night spectacle. Rio's Sambadrome has been home to the parade since the 1980s, and is a symbol of Brazil's Carnival festivities. During the pandemic, it was a shelter for more than 400 homeless people and also served as a vaccination station. | | | | | | Some airlines say they will consider refunds or credits for passengers who don't want to fly now that the mask mandate has been dropped. But the airlines aren't giving many details. The best advice seems to be, if you're worried about traveling with other passengers who aren't wearing masks, call your airline. Customers could find themselves at the mercy of workers at airline customer-service centers. Many people who will be flying in the next few weeks bought their tickets before a federal judge in Florida struck down the pandemic-related requirement to wear a mask in airports and during flights. | | | | | | |
