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EU at the crossroads of fight for environment amid growing opposition to law to restore nature

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:49:24 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has been at the forefront of the fight against climate change and the protection of nature for years. But it now finds itself under pressure from within to pause new environmental efforts amid fears they will hurt the economy.With the next European Parliament elections set for 2024, some leaders and lawmakers are concerned about antagonizing workers and voters with new binding legislation and restrictive measures and are urging the 27-nation bloc to hit the brakes.Since Ursula von der Leyen took the helm of the powerful European Commission back in 2019, environmental policies have topped the EU agenda. EU nations have endorsed plans to become climate neutral by 2050 and adopted a wide range of measures, from reducing energy consumption to sharply cutting transport emissions and reforming the EU’s trading system for greenhouse gases.But cracks in the European united front against climate change have emerged in recent months. The first sign was earli...

CIF state track and field championships: Numerous Bay Area athletes advance to Saturday’s finals

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:49:24 GMT

It was quite an opening act for Bay Area athletes at the California Interscholastic Federation state track and field championships.Counting relays, more than 50 competitors from the Bay Area News Group’s coverage area advanced on Friday through the trials and into Saturday’s finals at Buchanan High in Clovis.Leading the way was a trio from the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League: Homestead’s Evan Gardner, Palo Alto’s Kinga Czajkowska and Los Gatos’ boys 4×400 relay team.In the boys 800, Gardner broke a personal record by more than two seconds to qualify first with a time of 1:52.47, nearly a second faster than Hughson’s Joseph Lighthall, who had the second-best time in 1:53.45. Gardner’s previous PR was 1:54.71, which he set at the Central Coast Section finals.In the girls 1,600, Czajkowska went four times around the track in a personal-best 4:49.03, the fastest in the prelims by nearly a second and more than three seconds quicker than h...

CCS baseball playoffs: Bellarmine’s phenomenal pitching, timely hitting nets D-II championship

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:49:24 GMT

SAN JOSE — Paul Montgomery was the story of the game.The senior right-hander heading to Cal Poly-SLO for college was simply dominating Friday, pitching a three-hit shutout with one walk and nine strikeouts at Excite Ballpark as Bellarmine defeated Leigh 2-0 for the Central Coast Section Division II championship.“It was nerve-wracking but I’m glad I got through it,” Montgomery said. “It was super exciting.”Montgomery improved to 7-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 0.93.“Paul was unbelievable,” Bellarmine coach Nate Sutton said. “Over 100 pitches, out there all night, hitting his spots, a tremendous job, Hats off to him. He’s been unbelievable all season.”High school baseball: Bellarmine pitcher Paul Montgomery (11), left, celebrates win team after winning 2-0 against Leigh during the Central Coast Section Division II championship at Excite Ballpark in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, May 26, 2023. (Josie Lepe for Bay ...

Oakland Section baseball playoffs: Skyline holds off Tech, wins third consecutive title

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:49:24 GMT

Skyline established itself as a dynasty on Friday afternoon, claiming its third consecutive Oakland Section title with a 3-0 victory over Oakland Tech at Laney College. Senior pitcher Joseph Salazar was phenomenal for the Titans, throwing a complete game and striking out four while allowing just five hits, all singles. Salazar was just as fearsome at the plate, where he went 3 for 3 and scored two runs. Fellow senior Michael ODonal had Skyline’s other hit, a double off Tech’s Drew Kaplan.Skyline scored one run in the first inning and two more in the bottom of the fifth.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | CCS baseball playoffs: Bellarmine’s phenomenal pitching, timely hitting nets D-II championship High School Sports | CCS baseball playoffs: Santa Teresa wins Division IV title with another shutout High School Sports | NCS softball playoffs: How California captured its first section title – ‘This was our year to be great...

Indiana visits Atlanta following Gray’s 26-point game

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:49:24 GMT

Indiana Fever (0-2, 0-2 Eastern Conference) at Atlanta Dream (1-1)College Park, Georgia; Sunday, 3 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Atlanta plays the Indiana Fever after Allisha Gray scored 26 points in the Atlanta Dream’s 83-77 win against the Minnesota Lynx.Atlanta went 5-13 in Eastern Conference games and 8-10 at home during the 2022-23 season. The Dream allowed opponents to score 81.5 points per game and shoot 43.2% from the field last season.Indiana went 2-16 in Eastern Conference games and 5-31 overall during the 2022-23 season. The Fever allowed opponents to score 89.1 points per game and shoot 47.4% from the field last season.INJURIES: Dream: Danielle Robinson: out (knee).Fever: None listed.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Chicago plays Dallas for cross-conference game

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:49:24 GMT

Dallas Wings (1-0, 1-0 Western Conference) at Chicago Sky (2-0, 0-1 Eastern Conference)Chicago; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Chicago faces Dallas in non-conference play.Chicago went 14-4 at home a season ago while going 26-10 overall. The Sky averaged 24.3 assists per game on 32.7 made field goals last season.Dallas went 10-8 on the road and 18-18 overall last season. The Wings averaged 82.9 points per game last season, 15.9 from the free throw line and 23.4 from deep.INJURIES: Sky: Ruthy Hebard: out (personal), Isabelle Harrison: out (knee).Wings: Lou Lopez Senechal: out (knee), Diamond DeShields: out (knee).___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Una secundaria rural de Texas pospone la graduación después de que solo cinco alumnos de último curso cumplieran los requisitos para graduarse

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:49:24 GMT

(CNN) — Una pequeña escuela secundaria en una zona rural de Texas decidió posponer su ceremonia de graduación después de que una revisión de fin de año revelara que solo cinco de los 33 estudiantes de último año de la escuela habían cumplido con los requisitos para graduarse, según el superintendente del distrito escolar.“Marlin High School anunció que la graduación de la escuela secundaria será reprogramada para junio”, dijo el Distrito Escolar Independiente de Marlin en una carta publicada en Facebook. “La decisión de la escuela secundaria de posponer la graduación proporcionará más tiempo para que los estudiantes cumplan con los requisitos necesarios para la graduación”.Muchos estudiantes de la escuela, que está a unos 45 km al sureste de Waco, “no cumplieron con los requisitos debido a la asistencia o las calificaciones”, decía la carta.El distrito escolar añadió en el aviso que ha “afirmado su compromiso de proporcionar los recurs...

5 things we know about Ron DeSantis’ campaign, post Twitter fiasco

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:49:24 GMT

Ron DeSantis bounced back from his glitchy launch event with a hefty fundraising haul and a flood of media appearances. The Florida governor’s first 36 hours in the race revealed a lot about what kind of candidate he’s trying to be — more conservative than Donald Trump but cautious of offending the former president’s most die-hard supporters.Here are five takeaways from the first day-plus on the trail for the newest entrant into the Republican presidential primary:He’s running to Trump’s rightA swirl of speculation leading up to DeSantis’ launch crystallized into one big, existential question: How would he handle Trump — his political benefactor-turned-primary-rival — without offending the former president’s loyal base? DeSantis began to answer that question on Thursday: Quite simply, it’s to get to Trump’s right.While largely praising Trump’s platform, DeSantis touted his signing of a six-week abortion ban that Trump said even Republicans consider “too harsh.” He questioned the ex-...

Travelers to UK face long waits amid systems problem affecting electronic gates

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:49:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The British government is working to fix a technical problem that caused electronic border gates at airports around the country to stop working late Friday, leading to hourslong waits for travelers entering the U.K. at the start of a busy holiday weekend.Travelers posted photos of long lines at airports around the country as all incoming passengers were forced to use manned passport desks, instead of the automatic gates equipped with electronic passport scanners.The Home Office, which is responsible for border control, said it was working to correct the problem.“We are aware of a nationwide border system issue affecting arrivals into the U.K.” the Home Office said. “We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible and are liaising with port operators and airlines to minimize disruption for travelers.”The Associated Press

New Mexico shooting victims mourned by their children, 64 grandchildren

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:49:24 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Gwendolyn Dean Schofield hoped to live to 100, and she was nearly there.But on May 15, in what appeared to be a final act of kindness, Schofield and her daughter pulled over on a residential street in the northwestern New Mexico city of Farmington to help a woman who was shot at random, and they, too, were hit by gunfire and died.“I guarantee they would have stopped in that situation 10 out of 10 times,” said Dallin Dean, Schofield’s grandson.Schofield, who grew up in the Great Depression and became a teacher during World War II, was a month shy of her 98th birthday. Daughter Melodie Ivie, who ran a preschool with the catchy name “Ivie League,” was 73. The woman they stopped to help, Shirley Voita, was a 79-year-old retired school nurse and regular at morning Mass who volunteered to help people file their taxes.Each of the women led active professional and civic lives, centered around their families and faith, leaving indelible marks on a city of 50,000 near th...