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Barcelona loses at home for the first time this seasonKey nations raced Saturday to salvage UN climate talks after the poorest countries pushed back angrily for more than $300 billion a year in help from historic wealthy emitters. More than a day past the scheduled conclusion of two days of COP29 talks, host Azerbaijan urged bleary-eyed delegates to seek consensus to avoid failure. "I know that none of us want to leave Baku without a good outcome," COP president Mukhtar Babayev told a late-night session, urging all nations to "bridge the remaining divide". Developing power Brazil pleaded for at least some progress and said it would seek to build on it when it leads COP30 next year in the Amazon gateway of Belem. "After the difficult experience that we're having here in Baku, we need to reach some outcome that is minimally acceptable in line with the emergency we're facing," Brazil's environment minister Marina Silva told delegates. A number of nations have accused Azerbaijan, an authoritarian oil and gas exporter, of lacking the experience and will to meet the moment, as the planet again sets record temperatures and faces rising deadly disasters. Small island nations threatened by rising seas and impoverished African states on Saturday angrily stormed out of a meeting with Azerbaijan, saying their concerns had been ignored. The European Union, United States and other wealthy countries met directly with poorer nations to work out final details, with both blocs also concerned at efforts led by Saudi Arabia to water down calls from last year's summit to phase out fossil fuels. "If we don't do it, people at home -- in every home across the world -- would say, why did you not get an agreement? Because I believe we can," Irish climate minister Eamon Ryan told AFP. A draft of the final text seen by AFP proposes that rich nations raise to $300 billion a year by 2035 their commitment to poorer countries to fight climate change. It is up from $100 billion now provided by wealthy nations under a commitment set to expire -- and from $250 billion proposed in a draft Friday. That offer was slammed as offensively low by developing countries, which have demanded at least $500 billion to build resilience against climate change and cut emissions. Sierra Leone's climate minister Jiwoh Abdulai, whose country is among the world's poorest, called the draft "effectively a suicide pact for the rest of the world". As staff at the cavernous and windowless stadium began closing down, diplomats rushed to meetings with one another, some ready with food and water in preparation for another late night. Panama's outspoken negotiator, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, voiced anger at offers by rich countries but warned not to repeat the failure of COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009. "I'm sad, I'm tired, I'm disheartened, I'm hungry, I'm sleep-deprived, but there is a tiny ray of optimism within me because this cannot become a new Copenhagen," he told reporters. UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the revised offer of $300 billion was "a significant scaling up" of the existing pledge by developed nations, which also count the United States, EU and Japan among their ranks. Climate activists shouted "shame" as US climate envoy John Podesta walked the halls. "Hopefully this is the storm before the calm," he said. Wealthy nations say it is politically unrealistic to expect more in direct government funding. Donald Trump, a sceptic of both climate change and foreign assistance, returns to the White House in January and a number of other Western countries have seen right-wing backlashes against the green agenda. The draft deal posits a larger overall target of $1.3 trillion per year to cope with rising temperatures and disasters, but most would come from private sources. Ali Mohamed, the Kenyan chair of the African Group of Negotiators, told AFP: "No deal is better than a bad deal." South African environment minister Dion George, however, said: "I think being ambitious at this point is not going to be very useful." "What we are not up for is going backwards or standing still," he said. "We might as well just have stayed at home then." The US and EU have wanted newly wealthy emerging economies like China -- the world's largest emitter -- to chip in. China, which remains classified as a developing nation under the UN framework, provides climate assistance but wants to keep doing so on its own voluntary terms. The EU and other countries have also tussled with Saudi Arabia over including strong language on moving away from fossil fuels, which negotiators say the oil-producing country has resisted. "We will not allow the most vulnerable, especially the small island states, to be ripped off by the new, few rich fossil fuel emitters," said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. bur-np-sct/lth/givNATO and Ukraine to hold emergency talks after Russia's attack with new hypersonic missile
Winner of New Jersey’s $1.13 billion jackpot finally claims prize | CNN BusinessThere's been an ACP-sized hole in many Americans' budgets for the past six months. The Affordable Connectivity Program ended in June, leaving more than 23 million homes in the US with internet bills $30 to $75 per month higher after the subsidy officially expired. The pandemic-era program was available to anyone who made less than or equal to 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, $62,400 for a family of four. Nearly half of ACP subscribers were military families , according to a White House fact sheet . Older Americans, African Americans and Latinos have also relied on the ACP at higher rates. There have been a number of bills proposed in Congress throughout the year to extend the program -- the Senate Commerce Committee voted to attach an ACP extension to an existing bill at the end of July -- but none have been brought to a vote. Locating local internet providers "The big issue with the ACP is that the longer we go without it, the harder it is to reauthorize it," Joel Thayer, president of the Digital Progress Institute, told me before the election. "In general, I don't see a political will for it." Experts are split on how Republicans' election wins could impact an ACP revival . While the party has generally supported tightening the income requirements for the ACP, some high-profile Republicans -- including Vice President-elect JD Vance -- have sponsored ACP extension bills. President-elect Donald Trump also signed the COVID-19 relief package that included the Emergency Broadband Benefit, which later became the ACP, in 2020. Locating local internet providers That's a small glimmer of hope for former ACP recipients who've had to cancel their internet or find extra money in their budgets over the past two months. "It's been the difference between choosing to have a roof over my head, whether to eat or whether to pay for the internet, which has things like virtual appointments with my psychiatrist," Kenneth Sigler, a small-business owner from Hernando, Mississippi, who used the ACP, told CNET. "It basically helps me to keep from having to choose what bills I'm going to pay." While there’s no single resource that can replace the $14.2 billion ACP, there are a variety of local and state subsidies, nonprofits and discounted plans from providers that can help ease the transition. Here's everything that's currently available. Lifeline Lifeline is a federal subsidy that provides $9.25 per month to low-income households for home internet or cellphone plans. Its eligibility requirements are a little stricter than those of the ACP. Your income must be 135% or less than the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or $40,500 for a family of four. You can also get Lifeline if you (or someone who lives with you) participates in any of the following programs: If you live in California , Oregon or Texas , you must check with your internet provider or visit your state's website to apply for the program. State and local resources Some states and cities across the country offer their own local versions of the ACP to help low-income households pay for internet. California , for example, has a website that allows you to search affordable options in your ZIP code based on various eligibility criteria, and Oregon provides an enhanced Lifeline benefit of $19.25 monthly. Cities like Chicago offer free internet to families in Chicago public schools and eligible city colleges through its Chicago Connected program . The best way for you to find these resources is by going to Google and searching for "[location] internet resources." Read more: Missing the ACP? You Still Have Options: Low-Income Internet Guide for All 50 States Low-income programs from internet providers Many internet providers have their own discounted plans available for low-income households, including AT&T , Spectrum and Xfinity . Requirements vary, but they're usually similar to the ACP: You must meet certain income requirements or participate in a federal program like SNAP or the National School Lunch Program. To help consumers navigate these discounted plans, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance created a scoring system called Grading Internet for Good , based on factors like cost, transparency and plan performance. I've included the NDIA ratings below, along with some basic information about each plan. To determine which providers are available in your area, enter your address on the Federal Communication Commission's broadband map . Nonprofit organizations There are a number of nonprofits around the country with the goal of closing the digital divide. Some help with monthly internet costs, while others provide devices that connect you to the internet. These organizations all received nonprofit status from the IRS and were vetted by watchdogs like Charity Navigator and Guidestar.org : Explore other internet plans in your area If your bill's going up dramatically with the end of the ACP, another option is to search for other internet providers in your area. Most ISPs offer plans under $50 monthly, and you can often find additional discounts for things like bundling with a cellphone plan or signing an annual contract. Purchasing your own equipment can also save you some extra money each month. It usually costs around $15 to rent a modem and router from your internet provider, while you can buy your own for as little as $100, especially if you go with refurbished equipment. That said, you'll need to ensure your modem is compatible with your provider before you purchase. More on broadband
Offering patients an injection is more effective than the current care of steroid tablets and cuts the need for further treatment by 30%, according to a study. Benralizumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets specific white blood cells, called eosinophils, to reduce lung inflammation. It is currently used as a repeat treatment for severe asthma at a low dose, but a new clinical trial has found that a higher single dose can be very effective if injected at the time of a flare-up. The findings, published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine, included 158 people who needed medical attention in A&E for their asthma or COPD attack (COPD is a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties). Patients were given a quick blood test to see what type of attack they were having, with those suffering an “eosinophilic exacerbation” involving eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) being suitable for treatment. Around 50% of asthma attacks are eosinophilic exacerbations, as are 30% of COPD ones, according to the scientists. The clinical trial, led by King’s College London and carried out at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, saw patients randomly split into three groups. One group received the benralizumab injection and dummy tablets, another received standard care (prednisolone steroids 30mg daily for five days) and a dummy injection, and the third group received both the benralizumab injection and steroids. After 28 days, respiratory symptoms of cough, wheeze, breathlessness and sputum were found to be better in people on benralizumab. And after 90 days, there were four times fewer people in the benralizumab group who failed treatment compared with those receiving steroids. Treatment with the benralizumab injection also took longer to fail, meaning fewer visits to a GP or hospital for patients, researchers said. Furthermore, people also reported a better quality of life on the new regime. Scientists at King’s said steroids can have severe side-effects such as increasing the risk of diabetes and osteoporosis, meaning switching to benralizumab could provide huge benefits. Lead investigator Professor Mona Bafadhel, from King’s, said: “This could be a game-changer for people with asthma and COPD. “Treatment for asthma and COPD exacerbations have not changed in 50 years, despite causing 3.8 million deaths worldwide a year combined. “Benralizumab is a safe and effective drug already used to manage severe asthma. “We’ve used the drug in a different way – at the point of an exacerbation – to show that it’s more effective than steroid tablets, which is the only treatment currently available.” Researchers said benralizumab could also potentially be administered safely at home or in a GP practice, as well as in A&E. First author Dr Sanjay Ramakrishnan, clinical senior lecturer at the University of Western Australia, said: “Our study shows massive promise for asthma and COPD treatment. “COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide but treatment for the condition is stuck in the 20th century. “We need to provide these patients with life-saving options before their time runs out.” Dr Samantha Walker, director of research and innovation at Asthma and Lung UK, welcomed the findings but said: “It’s appalling that this is the first new treatment for those suffering from asthma and COPD attacks in 50 years, indicating how desperately underfunded lung health research is.” AstraZeneca provided the drug for the study and funded the research, but had no input into trial design, delivery, analysis or interpretation.CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — A Ukrainian girls’ hockey team is in Canada for a few days of peace and hockey in an arena that doesn’t have a missile-sized hole in its roof. After 56 hours of travel to Calgary, including a 24-hour bus ride from Dnipro to Warsaw, Poland, that required army escort for a portion of it, the Ukrainian Wings will join Wickfest, Hayley Wickenheiser’s annual girls’ hockey festival, on Thursday. The squad of players aged 11 to 13 was drawn from eight different cities in Ukraine, where sport facilities have been damaged or destroyed since Russia started its invasion in February 2022. “They all have a personal story of something awful happening,” said Wickenheiser. “We give them a week of peace and joy here, and I hope they can carry that with them. “We know full well they’re going back to difficult circumstances. It’s tough that way.” Nine players are from Kharkiv, where pictures show a large hole in the roof of the Saltovskiy Led arena where the girls’ team WHC Panthers once skated. “It was our home ice arena, and we played all our national team championships in this ice arena,” said Kateryna Seredenko, who oversees the Panthers program and is the Wings general manager. RELATED COVERAGE Minnesota Frost rookie Claire Thompson trades stethoscope for hockey stick to resume playing career PWHL New York Sirens’ trajectory points up with addition of rookie star Sarah Fillier and new home PWHL releases neutral-site schedule with games ranging from North Carolina to the Pacific Northwest Ukraine’s Olympic Committee posted photos and wrote in a Facebook post Sept. 1 that Kharkiv’s Sport Palace, which was home to multiple hockey teams, was also destroyed in an attack on the city. Seredenko says the Wings’ arduous journey to Calgary was worth it because it gives the girls hope. “It’s not a good situation in Ukraine, but when they come here, they can believe that everything will be good, everything will be fine, of course we will win soon and we must play hockey. We can’t stop because we love these girls and we will do everything for them,” she said. “So many girls on this Ukrainian team are future players of the national team.” Wickenheiser, a Hockey Hall of Famer , is the assistant general manager of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs and a doctor who works emergency room shifts in the Toronto area. The six-time Olympian and four-time gold medalist organized her first Wickfest after the 2010 Winter Games. She’s had teams from India, Mexico and the Czech Republic attend over the last decade and a half, but never a team that ran the Ukrainians’ gauntlet of logistics. The Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health took on the task of arranging visas and paying for the team’s travel. “We care about women and children’s health. Sport is such a symbol. When you see a group of girls coming off the ice all sweaty and having worked hard on the ice, it’s a symbol of a healthy girl,” said chief executive officer Julia Anderson. “That’s a healthy kid that’s able to participate in sport. We really believe if we can get girls there, whether they’re in an active war zone, or here in Canada, those girls will change the world.” The Wings aren’t the first Ukrainians to seek a hockey haven in Canada since the war began. An under-25 men’s team played four games against university squads in early 2023 to prepare for that year’s world university games. Ukrainian teams have also twice played in the Quebec City International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. “It’s the first time in Ukrainian history where a girls’ team is coming to Canada to a very good tournament,” Seredenko said. “They can see how they can play in their future. And they can see how it is to play hockey in Canada.” ___ AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Toto Wolff is set to salvage the F1 future of his former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas . The Finn has been left without a seat for 2025 with his current team, Sauber who will turn into Audi in the future, dropping him. Although the German car manufacturer won’t be officially involved until 2026, they announced this month that Gabriel Bortoleto will partner Nico Hulkenberg for next season. Red Bull 's sister team VCARB are now the only team yet to finalise their line-up, but the 35-year-old is not thought to be in the running given his age and strong links with the Silver Arrows. Indeed, it seems it’s his former team where the man that Lewis Hamilton once crowned his “greatest ever team-mate” will head to next. Bottas drove alongside the British icon from 2017 to 2021, winning 10 Grand Prix races and helping the team to five consecutive constructors’ titles. He left following the controversial season-ending 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix , joining Alfa Romeo before they rebranded to Kick Sauber this year. But he’s yet to score a single point in this campaign, and has just three races left to get off the mark. But Wolff has now claimed a deal to re-sign Bottas is close, which will see him made a reserve driver for 2025. “Nothing is signed, nothing is done,” he told Viaplay . “But if we were to have him back in the family, we would be all full of joy. “What you can say is that if you have the opportunity to have a driver like Valtteri back in the Mercedes family, with his ability, with his most recent experience of these modern cars, you can deem yourself super lucky.” There has also been speculation that Bottas will combine his driving with an advisory role at Mercedes . And when asked if he was excited at the prospect of utilising the experience of the F1 veteran, Wolff answered emphatically. “Very much,” he said, before offering a more humorous update. “You know how negotiations unfold at the end, lawyers always want to make contracts fail....I’m joking, they are great lawyers and it’s a matter of time.” Last year, Bottas confirmed that Wolff had rejoined his management team, an arrangement that had previously been scrapped when he left the Silver Arrows. The team principal had previously signed him from Williams for the 2017 season, following the shock retirement of Nico Rosberg . There’s been little indication this weekend that Bottas is about to embark on a successful farewell with his current team. He’ll start the Saturday night race 19th on the grid despite having made it through to Q2. He’s been hit with a five-place grid drop after the team exceeded the limit of power unit components by introducing a new energy store. Each driver is allowed two energy stores per season, but this will be the Finn's fourth, breaching the FIA's sporting regulations.Ricks 1-4 2-2 4, Hutchins-Everett 8-15 0-0 17, Brown 5-12 3-4 18, Freeman 6-10 2-3 16, Smith 1-3 3-4 5, Lindsay 3-8 2-3 11, Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Dowuona 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 12-16 71. Brigham 4-6 0-0 9, Nicholson 6-9 3-6 15, Cotton 1-5 0-2 3, Franklin 3-5 0-0 7, Pierre 8-21 7-9 24, Houge 2-3 0-0 4, Ituka 1-1 1-1 3, Niagu 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 11-18 65. Halftime_James Madison 40-29. 3-Point Goals_James Madison 11-27 (Brown 5-9, Lindsay 3-7, Freeman 2-3, Hutchins-Everett 1-3, Williams 0-1, Ricks 0-2, Smith 0-2), Jacksonville St. 4-17 (Brigham 1-1, Franklin 1-3, Cotton 1-4, Pierre 1-8, Niagu 0-1). Rebounds_James Madison 29 (Smith 9), Jacksonville St. 29 (Nicholson 8). Assists_James Madison 15 (Brown 4), Jacksonville St. 15 (Pierre 7). Total Fouls_James Madison 14, Jacksonville St. 15.Limited again, 49ers QB Brock Purdy still fighting sore shoulder
Keir Starmer says he will be looking towards 'better, brighter future' in Christmas message
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