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In workaholic Japan, ‘job leaving agents’ help people escape the awkwardness of quitting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — In Japan, a nation reputed for loyalty to companies and lifetime employment, people who job-hop are often viewed as quitters. And that’s considered shameful. Enter “taishoku daiko,” or “job-leaving agents.” Dozens of such services have sprung up in the last several years to help people who simply want out. “Imagine a messy divorce,” says Yoshihito Hasegawa, who heads Tokyo-based TRK, whose Guardian service last year advised 13,000 people on how to resign from their jobs with minimal hassles. People often stick with jobs even when they’re unhappy, feeling as if they are “kamikaze” sacrificing their lives for the greater good, he said, comparing his clients to pilots sent on suicide missions in the closing days of World War II. “It’s the way things are done, the same way younger people are taught to honor older people,” he said. “Quitting would be a betrayal.” Founded in 2020, Guardian, a taishoku daiko service, has helped various people, mostly in their 20s and 30s...

Deep sea mining permits may be coming soon. What are they and what might happen?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The International Seabed Authority — the United Nations body that regulates the world’s ocean floor — is preparing to resume negotiations that could open the international seabed for mining, including for materials critical for the green energy transition. Years long negotiations are reaching a critical point where the authority will soon need to begin accepting mining permit applications, adding to worries over the potential impacts on sparsely researched marine ecosystems and habitats of the deep sea.Here’s a look at what deep sea mining is, why some companies and countries are applying for permits to carry it out and why environmental activists are raising concerns.WHAT IS DEEP SEA MINING?Deep sea mining involves removing mineral deposits and metals from the ocean’s seabed. There are three types of such mining: taking deposit-rich polymetallic nodules off the ocean floor, mining massive seafloor sulphide deposits and stripping cobalt crusts f...

Playwright Arthur Miller’s old studio is in a Connecticut parking lot, awaiting its next act

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

ROXBURY, Conn. (AP) — After breakfast each morning, renowned playwright Arthur Miller would walk up a grassy slope to his creative sanctuary, a modest 300-square-foot studio with a small deck overlooking a stream and woods on his beloved Connecticut property.From 1958 until his death in 2005 at age 89, it was where the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer crafted and revised numerous plays, social commentary, personal journals, his autobiography and other materials, including screenplays for the films “The Misfits” (1961) and “The Crucible” (1996). Considered one of nation’s greatest playwrights, Miller was known for his dramas with strong moral and personal responsibility that often laid bare the failings of the American dream.Today, the view from the studio is less inspiring. Unbeknownst to many locals, for the last five years, the shingled, one-room structure has been tucked away behind the Roxbury, Connecticut, town hall — next to a rusted dumpster and snow plows in a nondescript...

Quake shakes part of Indonesia’s Papua, no immediate reports of casualties

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An earthquake shook Indonesia’s easternmost province Monday, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties.The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.4 quake was centered 135 kilometers (83 miles) southwest of Abepura, a subdistrict in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province. It occurred at a depth of 13 kilometers (8 miles).Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said there was no danger of a tsunami but warned of possible aftershocks. It measured a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 for the quake. Variations in early measurements of quakes are common.With a population of just over 1 million, Papua is one of Indonesia’s least populous provinces.In February, another shallow earthquake shook the province, killing four people who were unable to escape when a floating restaurant collapsed into the sea.Indonesia is a seismically active archipelago of 270 million people that is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic e...

North Dakota university leaders fear ‘catastrophic implications’ of new Minnesota free tuition plan

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota higher education officials are deeply worried about losing students and revenue in 2024 when neighboring Minnesota makes public college and university tuition free for thousands of residents.Officials estimate around 15,000 to 20,000 Minnesota students a year will use the free North Star Promise program, and North Dakota education officials are projecting an $8.4 million loss in combined tuition and fees in the first year alone, under one scenario. Roughly 1,400 Minnesota students attending North Dakota colleges and universities might be eligible for the new program.“This has catastrophic implications,” said David Cook, North Dakota State University’s president, at a recent State Board of Higher Education meeting. “This is a very serious situation for us.”Minnesota students make up close to half the student body at North Dakota State in Fargo, their No. 1 out-of-state pick in their first year. They accounted for nearly 40% o...

S. Carolina police charge suspect in attempted murder of survivor of house fire where 6 bodies found

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

GREEN POND, S.C. (AP) — Police in South Carolina charged a suspect with the attempted murder of the lone survivor of a house fire where authorities found six bodies late Sunday morning.Authorities found the deceased victims and one person in critical condition at a home in Green Pond around 11 a.m., the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.The survivor was airlifted to a hospital from Green Pond, about 42 miles (67 kilometers) west of Charleston.The name and ages of the survivor and the six victims were not immediately released.Ryan Lenard Manigo, 33, was charged with attempted murder and held at the Colleton Detention Center as part of the ongoing investigation. Additional charges are possible pending autopsy results, the statement said.Arson investigators from the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division are assisting with the case, the sheriff’s office said.The Associated Press

Democrats’ new primary calendar remains unresolved. The party insists that’s OK

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Hampshire is in open rebellion. Georgia is all but out. South Carolina and Nevada are on board but face stiff Republican pushback. Michigan’s compliance may mean having to cut the state legislative session short, despite Democrats controlling both chambers and the governor’s mansion. Then there’s Iowa, which is looking for ways to still go first without violating party rules. Months after the Democratic Party approved President Joe Biden’s plan to overhaul its primary order to better reflect a deeply diverse voter base, implementing the revamped order has proven anything but simple. Party officials now expect the process to continue through the end of the year — even as the 2024 presidential race heats up all around it.“Despite the fact that it looked like relatively smooth sailing for the president when he proposed it … the kind of backlash you’re hearing, the reactions, are exactly what we would have expected,” said David R...

Dog rescued from lanes of 710 Freeway by California Highway Patrol

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

An officer with the California Highway Patrol on Sunday rescued a dog running in lanes of the 710 Freeway, officials announced.  While it’s unclear exactly what time the dog was found, CHP said Good Samaritans pointed the dog out to Officer Placencia, who was able to corral the dog and get him safely into his patrol cruiser.  The officer then transported the dog to the station where it was given food and water and officials at animal control were called. Video of the dog posted to Instagram by CHP showed a well-behaved pooch that didn't appear any worse for the experience. It is unclear how the animal made its way onto the freeway. A dog, seen here, after it was rescued from lanes of the 710 Freeway on July 2, 2023. (chp_eastlosangeles)A dog, seen here, after it was rescued from lanes of the 710 Freeway on July 2, 2023. (chp_eastlosangeles)CHP Officer Placencia seen leading a dog rescued from lanes of the 710 Freeway, out of his patrol vehicle on July 2, 2023. (chp_eastlos...

Shane van Gisbergen wins his NASCAR Cup Series debut in memorable finish to series’ 1st street race

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — When Shane van Gisbergen got the call from Justin Marks, it reignited his interest in the NASCAR Cup Series. He studied the races, the drivers and the cars.Turns out he is a pretty good student.Van Gisbergen won his Cup Series debut on a rainy Sunday in downtown Chicago, chasing down Justin Haley and Chase Elliott in a memorable finish to the series’ first street race.After passing Elliott, van Gisbergen dueled with Haley in the final laps before the three-time Supercars champion moved in front for good. Haley held on for second, and Elliott was third.“The racing, the battles were really fun,” van Gisbergen said. The 34-year-old van Gisbergen, a New Zealand native, became the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.“This was so cool,” van Gisbergen said. “This is what you dream of.”Van Gisbergen got a chance to drive the No. 91 Chevrolet in Chicago as part of Trackhouse Racing’s Proj...

What to stream this week: Taylor Swift, a new animated ‘Superman,’ ‘Biosphere’ and ‘Wham!’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

Taylor Swift’s rerecording of her “Speak Now” and survivalist Bear Grylls taking Bradley Cooper and Rita Ora into the wild are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are the sci-fi comedy ”Biosphere” starring Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass, and a new spin-off series starring Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan from “The Real Housewives of New York City.”NEW MOVIES TO STREAM— Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass are the last two men on Earth in the not-too-distant-future sci-fi comedy ”Biosphere,” available in theaters and on demand on Friday, July 7 from IFC. John DeFore in The Hollywood Reporter wrote that it’s “a mysterious and hilarious pic that really can’t be discussed much without saying things a prospective viewer would be better off not hearing.” “Biosphere” is the directorial debut of Mel Elsyn, who co-wrote the script with Duplass....