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Today’s high tales

London’s High Court begins a two-day listening to to resolve whether or not Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can attraction his extradition to the U.S. on spying costs. In America, Assange faces as much as 175 years in jail if convicted on costs associated to his web site’s publication of categorised U.S. paperwork leaked by Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. Assange’s case at present may mark his final likelihood in his decade-long authorized battle in opposition to extradition.

Julian Assange supporters maintain up a banner that claims “Free Assange No U.S. Extradition” exterior the Royal Courts of Justice in London in Dec. 2022.

Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

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Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Julian Assange supporters maintain up a banner that claims “Free Assange No U.S. Extradition” exterior the Royal Courts of Justice in London in Dec. 2022.

Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

• Reporters with out Borders and different press freedom teams say Assange’s case may set a harmful precedent for journalists to be charged with espionage for work they do within the public curiosity, NPR’s Lauren Frayer tells Up First. But the U.Ok. court docket is not deciding whether Assange is a journalist at present — they’re solely weighing whether or not he will be extradited safely. Assange’s spouse tells Frayer she’s not optimistic, and she or he thinks he may very well be on a aircraft to the U.S. inside days.

Egypt is clearing land and constructing a walled-off safety zone that might soak up as much as 150,000 Palestinians on its facet of the border with Gaza, Egyptian safety officers inform NPR. This comes forward of a deliberate Israeli invasion into the border metropolis of Rafah, the place greater than 1 million Palestinians have been instructed to flee.

• Relations between Egypt and Israel are tense, NPR’s Aya Batrawy experiences. Egypt is “very concerned” that any displacement of Palestinians over the border can be everlasting and drag the country into the war. Mediators are pushing for a truce earlier than the Muslim vacation of Ramadan, which begins March 10. Still, Israeli warfare cupboard member Benny Gantz says combating would proceed if all hostages aren’t freed by Ramadan. “There was hope Rafah would be a safe zone, but it’s not,” Batrawy says. “There’s no safe place in Gaza for civilians.” 
• See photographs from this previous week in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon. 

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear in April a case that might reshape how cities handle homelessness. The authorized situation is whether or not cities can fine or arrest people for sleeping outside if they’ve nowhere else to go. A U.S. appeals court docket beforehand deemed this merciless and strange punishment. States and cities — together with California and Seattle — say the ruling has contributed to the expansion of tent encampments that pose a menace to well being and public security.

Capital One introduced yesterday it’s buying Discover Financial in a $35.3 billion deal. Discover has the smallest attain out of the U.S.’s 4 main bank card networks, which embody Visa, MasterCard and Express. Its bank cards are accepted by 70 million retailers throughout 200 nations.

Deep dive

As a part of his pediatric follow, Dr. Safdar Medina treats opioid use dysfunction. During a latest appointment at a clinic in Uxbridge, Mass., Medina switched a teenage affected person’s buprenorphine prescription to an injectable type and checked in about his college and social life.

Martha Bebinger/WBUR

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Martha Bebinger/WBUR

As a part of his pediatric follow, Dr. Safdar Medina treats opioid use dysfunction. During a latest appointment at a clinic in Uxbridge, Mass., Medina switched a teenage affected person’s buprenorphine prescription to an injectable type and checked in about his college and social life.

Martha Bebinger/WBUR

Buprenorphine, which curbs opioid cravings, generally is a highly effective software to deal with youngsters hooked on opioids however is not at all times prescribed. Dr. Safdar Medina at UMass Memorial Health has seen firsthand how a lot this drug has helped one among his sufferers. Here’s what the most recent surveys say about teen drug use and how pediatricians can better help their young patients:

• ⚕Drug use amongst teenagers is declining, however drug-associated deaths are up. The most important wrongdoer is Xanax, Adderall or Percocet capsules laced with fentanyl.
• ⚕Many pediatricians say they do not have the precise coaching or employees for drug habit care.
• ⚕Buprenorphine is not a well-liked alternative for habit therapy. Only 1 in 4 residential packages for youth supply it. Pediatricians who prescribe it weigh the doable unwanted effects — together with long-term dependence — in opposition to the specter of a fentanyl overdose.

This story comes from NPR’s well being reporting partnership with WBUR and KFF Health News.

Picture Show

Bate-bola crew Bem Feito goes out throughout Carnival celebrations in Pedra de Guaratiba, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, on Feb. 11.

María Magdalena Arréllaga for NPR

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María Magdalena Arréllaga for NPR

Bate-bola crew Bem Feito goes out throughout Carnival celebrations in Pedra de Guaratiba, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, on Feb. 11.

María Magdalena Arréllaga for NPR

On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, residents have a good time Carnival with the custom of bate-bola— translated as ball-beaters. Crews don colourful, clown-inspired costumes and race by way of the streets whereas bashing giant balls on the bottom to a frenetic mixture of funk, fireworks and enjoyable. In latest years, extra girls have joined within the traditionally male-dominated custom.

See photographs of the ladies within the Bem Feito crew and study extra about how they’re breaking through bate-bola’s masculine culture.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

An Apple TV+ animated particular exhibits how Franklin, the primary Black Peanuts character, meets Charlie Brown and buddies in Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin.

ApplyTV+

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An Apple TV+ animated particular exhibits how Franklin, the primary Black Peanuts character, meets Charlie Brown and buddies in Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin.

ApplyTV+

1. Franklin, the primary Black Peanuts character, is getting his personal origin story. Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin is streaming on AppleTV+. It tells the story of how Charlie Brown and his buddies met Franklin. 
2. Odysseus, the lunar lander from Houston firm Intuitive Machines, is scheduled to land near the moon’s South Pole on Thursday. If its mission is profitable, Intuitive Machines can be the primary personal firm to achieve the moon. 
3. Former President Donald Trump has unveiled a line of golden sneakers known as the Never Surrender High-Top Sneaker. They sell online for $399 a pair. 

This publication was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi. Mansee Khurana contributed.