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EU nations vote to back nature restoration plans, but tough fight in parliament still awaits

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:58:35 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union achieved a small political breakthrough Tuesday when a majority of the 27 member states backed controversial plans for restoring nature across the continent. The 27-nation EU has long been at the forefront of fighting climate change and protecting the environment but is struggling to push the latest piece of legislation through a long-winding legal procedure. Some member states and the biggest party in the legislature, the right-wing European People’s Party, turned against the proposed plans because of fear they would negatively affect the economy.“It’s been hard work from all parties involved,” said Swedish Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari, who chaired the meeting. “It is a good day for nature,” she said. The plans proposed by the EU’s executive commission set binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species, with the aim by 2030 to cover at least 20% of the region’s land and sea areas. For the next step, the file would ...

Alcaraz finds some late inspiration to rally to win in 1st match at Queen’s Club

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:58:35 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz’s first grass-court match outside Wimbledon proved to be a tricky one.Playing for the first time at the Queen’s Club Championships, the top-seeded Alcaraz came from a set down Tuesday to win 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) against lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech — a No. 83-ranked Frenchman who only found out he was playing following the withdrawal of Arthur Fils a couple of hours before the match.“It has been a really tough match,” Alcaraz said. “It was really difficult for me at the beginning to adapt my tennis, my game, to the grass.”Alcaraz faced difficulties in dealing with the tall Rinderknech’s big serve and net coverage in what was the No. 2-ranked Spaniard’s seventh career match on grass, and first away from the All England Club.Alcaraz rallied from going down a break early in the third set and dominated the tiebreaker, which started with an epic point that saw Alcaraz tumble to the ground after racing to the net to hit a cross-court winner.The fourth poi...

Taliban carry out 2nd known public execution since seizing power in Afghanistan

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:58:35 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers Tuesday carried out what is believed to be the second confirmed public execution since the religious group took power in 2021, according to the country’s Supreme Court.The court had sentenced to death a man identified only as Ajmal from the capital Kabul who was found guilty of murdering five people in two separate incidents last year. The execution was carried out with an assault rifle by the son of Siad Wali, one of five men killed by Ajmal. It took place outside a mosque near the offices of the provincial governor in eastern Laghman province according to Islamic law, the high court said in a statement.Relatives of the four other men who were killed by Ajmal witnessed the execution.The latest public execution is likely to draw criticism from the international community. It comes just a month after the United Nations in a report strongly criticized the Taliban for carrying out public executions, lashings and stonings since seizing...

What to know about Hunter Biden’s plea deal in federal tax and gun case

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:58:35 GMT

The announcement that federal prosecutors have reached a plea deal with President Joe Biden’s son Hunter over tax and gun charges marks the likely end of a five-year Justice Department investigation that has dogged the Biden family.It doesn’t, however, mean that congressional Republicans are done with their own wide-ranging probe into nearly every facet of Hunter Biden’s business dealings, including examining foreign payments and other aspects of his finances.Some of the Republican candidates hoping to face off against President Biden in the 2024 election are decrying the deal as evidence of an unfair justice system, particularly in light of the recent federal indictment of GOP front-runner Donald Trump, though there are obvious differences between the two cases.Here’s what to know about the charges, plea agreement, other probes involving the president’s son and the politics:WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?According to a letter filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware, ...

A Titanic expert, an adventurer, and a father and son are among the passengers on missing sub

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:58:35 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A renowned Titanic expert, a world-record holding adventurer and two members of one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families are facing critical danger aboard a small submersible that went missing while descending to the world’s most famous shipwreck.The submersible Titan was reported overdue Sunday night about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Center, spurring a desperate international rescue effort. As of Tuesday morning about 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometers) of the Atlantic Ocean had been searched, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.Rescuers were racing against the clock because the oxygen supply could run out by approximately 6 a.m. Thursday.The expedition was led by OceanGate, making its third voyage to the Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank in 1912, killing all but about 700 of the roughly 2,200 passengers and crew.The five people on the vessel include:HAMISH HARD...

Book Review: Ruth Ware’s ‘Zero Days’ lacks the urgency of her previous books

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:58:35 GMT

“Zero Days” by Ruth Ware (Scout Press)The author of “The Woman in Cabin 10” and “In a Dark, Dark Wood” is back with another page-turning thriller. But while readers will surely turn the pages until the end, “Zero Days” doesn’t quite ascend to the level of those previous bestsellers. The star of the story is Jacintha “Jack” Cross. Jack is a penetration specialist, a “pen tester” who breaks into offices with the help of her hacker hubby to test the security of British companies. The novel begins with Jack on the job, flirting with her husband, Gabe, on a headset as she navigates a corporate headquarters. By page 34, and this is not a spoiler given it’s on the back of the book, Gabe is dead and Jack is the No. 1 suspect.Ware has a knack for creating female protagonists worth rooting for and Jack, “five foot two” and a fan of eyeliner, is no exception. It’s the plot that gets in the way. Despite chapter headings that count backwards to zero (“Minus Eight Days”) and suggest something big...

Man dies after falling out of boat in Royal Gorge

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:58:35 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A man died after falling out of his boat as it entered rapids just past the Royal Gorge Bridge on the Arkansas River.Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the incident happened around 1:30 p.m. on Monday during a three-boat commercial trip. Several passengers fell out of a boat when it entered the Boat Eater Rapid.All passengers were pulled out of the water by other boats on the trip, but CPW said a 60-year-old was unresponsive. A guide pulled a boat to shore and began CPR until an emergency vehicle arrived. CPW: Boaters watch out for car in Arkansas River The man was pronounced dead by medical personnel.“We extend our sympathies to the family and friends of the victim,” said Tom Waters, Arkansas Headwater Recreation Area park manager, noting the victim was wearing a properly sized and fitted personal flotation device as well as a helmet.The identity of the man has not been released at this time. According to CPW, this is the 12th confirmed water-related death in Colora...

Why hopscotch courses are appearing all around Colorado

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:58:35 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- If you find yourself hopping through an unexpected hopscotch course, it might be because June 21 is Generation Wild Day in Colorado.Hopscotch courses will be scattered throughout the state on Wednesday in parks, on trails and even on city sidewalks. These billboards in Denver are designed to attract birds — here’s why June 21 was proclaimed Generation Wild Day by Gov. John Hickenlooper in 2018 to emphasize the Great Outdoors Colorado campaign that strives to "inspire kids and families to get outside more often, letting their imaginations and curiosity run wild."Nine Generation Wild coalitions will scatter hopscotch courses across the state for public use on Wednesday, according to a press release. The movement promotes a trending activity called "awe walks," which are defined by The New York Times as outdoor rambles that are meant to cultivate a sense of amazement in the walker.There is not a set standard that constitutes an awe walk, it can be a quick lunch-brea...

Florida official who criticized DeSantis reaches settlement with education department

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:58:35 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A school superintendent who was criticized by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for infusing “politically charged statements” and “personal views” into his administration has reached an agreement with the state’s Department of Education.Rocky Hanna, superintendent of Leon County Schools, will receive a reprimand as part of the settlement with the education practices commission. The agreement ends an investigation tied to Hanna requiring masks for the district’s 30,000 students and thousands of employees in 2021, after DeSantis banned the mandates.“I have done nothing wrong. I absolutely have no ‘history of defying the law’ nor have I ever suggested to anyone to violate the law or not teach the Florida Standards as established by the Board of Education,” Hanna said in a statement.Hanna said he has “chosen to ignore my personal pride and remain focused on the bigger picture — helping every student in our district prepare for their next step in life.”In Apr...

Man convicted of killing North Dakota student moved from death row to Florida prison

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:58:35 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The man convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing a North Dakota student 20 years ago has been moved from death row in Indiana to a Florida prison, according to federal records.Alfonso Rodriguez, 70, was convicted of killing 22-year-old Dru Sjodin in November 2003 after abducting her from a mall parking lot in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Her body was found in April of the next year in Crookston, Minnesota.Rodriguez has been moved from a death row prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, to Coleman II, a high-security penitentiary in Sumterville, Florida, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons records, The Bismarck Tribune reported.Rodriguez was sentenced to death in 2007. His death sentence was overturned in September 2021 when a federal judge ruled that Rodriguez’s constitutional rights were violated during his trial, citing misleading testimony from the coroner, the failure of lawyers to discuss a possible insanity defense, and evidence of severe post-trau...