IHSAA girls basketball scores | Saturday, Nov. 30
4. Austin, TexasKey posts 3.51am Labor eyes last chance of 2024 to tick policy boxes 3.40am Here’s what to know about the new COP29 funding deal 3.29am What’s making headlines Hide key posts Posts area Latest 1 of 1 Latest posts Latest posts 3.51am Labor eyes last chance of 2024 to tick policy boxes By David Crowe Labor will harden its demands on the Greens to pass more than a dozen bills through parliament in the next four days in the belief that voters will blame the smaller party at the next election for blocking the government’s agenda. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seeking to have the draft laws passed without a single deal with the Greens after months of argument over housing, the environment, university fees, school funding and other reforms. Loading The approach reflects a crucial calculation that the Greens have lost ground in recent state and local government elections and are at risk of losing federal seats because voters think the party has moved too far to the left on economic policy and the Middle East. But in two significant retreats, Labor shelved a bill on Sunday that sought to crackdown on misinformation and did not put forward a long-awaited ban on gambling advertising after earlier saying it would unveil the package before the end of the year. Read more about the bills before the parliament in the final sitting week of the year here. 3.40am Here’s what to know about the new COP29 funding deal In the wee hours Sunday at the United Nations climate talks, countries from around the world reached an agreement on how rich countries can cough up the funds to support poor countries in the face of climate change. It’s a far-from-perfect arrangement, with many parties still deeply unsatisfied but some hopeful that the deal will be a step in the right direction. An attendee reacts during a closing plenary session at the COP29 UN Climate Summit. Credit: AP Here’s how they got there: What was the finance deal agreed at climate talks? Rich countries have agreed to pool together at least $300 billion a year by 2035. It’s not near the full amount of $1.3 trillion that developing countries were asking for, and that experts said was needed. But delegations more optimistic about the agreement said this deal is headed in the right direction, with hopes that more money flows in the future. What will the money be spent on? The deal decided in Baku replaces a previous agreement from 15 years ago that charged rich nations $100 billion a year to help the developing world with climate finance. The new number has similar aims: it will go toward the developing world’s long laundry list of to-dos to prepare for a warming world and keep it from getting hotter. That includes paying for the transition to clean energy and away from fossil fuels. Countries need funds to build up the infrastructure needed to deploy technologies like wind and solar power on a large scale. Loading Why was it so hard to get a deal? Election results around the world that herald a change in climate leadership, a few key players with motive to stall the talks and a disorganized host country all led to a final crunch that left few happy with a flawed compromise. Developing nations also faced some difficulties agreeing in the final hours. Meanwhile, activists ramped up the pressure: many urged negotiators to stay strong and asserted that no deal would be better than a bad deal. But ultimately the desire for a deal won out. AP 3.29am What’s making headlines By Josefine Ganko Good morning and welcome to the national news blog from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. My name is Josefine Ganko, I’ll be with you on the blog for the first half of the day. It’s Monday, November 25. Here’s what’s making headlines this morning. Pressure is on the Albanese government to make headway on its long list of stalled legislation during the final sitting week of 2024. Peter Dutton will use a private Coalition meeting to calm MPs who are fearful that Labor’s teen social media ban is a Trojan Horse for government control of the internet. A media storm threatens to thwart plans to transfer five of the Bali Nine drug traffickers to Australia by the end of the year after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese asked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to approve the transfer during a meeting in Peru last week. Overseas, countries at the COP29 summit in Baku adopted a $460 billion a year global finance target on Sunday to help poorer nations cope with impacts of climate change. Latest 1 of 1 Latest Most Viewed in National Loading
In addition to its user-friendly interface and powerful features, Exa places a strong emphasis on data privacy and security. With end-to-end encryption and strict privacy controls, users can rest assured that their information is safe and protected at all times.Trump's lawyers rebuff DA's idea for upholding his hush money convictionATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Senate Republicans recommended on Friday that the state write laws banning transgender girls and women from participating in high school and college sports, setting the stage for action in the 2025 legislative session. The vote by a committee that was studying the issue is hardly a surprise. — a possible Republican contender for governor in 2026 — announced almost identical goals at the . It’s an issue that’s already been addressed in Georgia. Legislators in 2022 empowered the Georgia High School Association to regulate transgender students’ participation in sports. The association, which regulates sports and activities for all public schools and some private schools, transgender boys and girls from playing on the school sports teams matching their gender identity. Jones and others argue that doesn’t go far enough and that lawmakers themselves need to act. It’s a sign Republicans believe there is more political gain in fears about transgender women playing women’s sports or using women’s bathrooms. At least have passed laws or rules to restrict transgender girls from participating high school sports and, in some cases, transgender women from , according to the Movement Advancement Project, a gay rights group. In Georgia, additional action appears more likely now after House Speaker Jon Burns and Gov. Brian Kemp, both Republicans, have voiced support for further legislation. Jeff Graham, executive director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Georgia Equality, said his group is playing defense, concerned about the possibility of other bills that could or ban transgender people that match their gender identity. “We’re expecting that it’ll be at least what we saw in 2023 and 2024, with the number of bills and more than likely laws,” Graham told reporters Friday. But Burns, from Newington, has said he’s not interested in other bills dealing with transgender people besides those dealing with girls’ and women’s sports. Republican State Sen. Greg Dolezal, of Cumming, who led the Senate study committee, said Friday that he, too, is not interested in a broader bill regulating bathroom usage, although his committee recommended that schools that host sporting events require athletes to use locker rooms based on their assigned sex at birth. Dolezal said senators would seek to write legislation that regulated public schools and colleges, as well as private institutions that compete against public schools and colleges. The committee also recommends that people be able to sue or file grievances if schools break the rules, and that state money be withheld from schools that break the rules. Supporters of more action have focused on the 2022 NCAA women’s swimming championships at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, swam for the University of Pennsylvania and . The NCAA has since revised its policy on transgender women’s participation, saying it will follow the rules of respective athletics federations. World Aquatics, the swimming governing body, who have been through male puberty from competing in women’s races. That means Thomas wouldn’t be allowed to swim in NCAA events today. “My basic contention that this is a solution in search of a problem remains,” Graham said. He said he fears that many people who oppose laws that seek to restrict transgender people will be afraid to testify and lobby at the Georgia Capitol, against a man accused of shaking U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in a Capitol office building in Washington, D.C. Dolezal repeatedly tried to turn down the emotional temperature of the issue on Friday. “I think that there’s a group of people that wants to be respected and I think that they deserve respect,” Dolezal told reporters. “But I also think that you can be respectful, but also recognize that in the sporting arena, fairness and competition is important.” Jeff Amy, The Associated Press
Community First Housing is the name chosen by a group of interested Southgate residents. So, it’s no surprise that member Nola Marion told a regional housing forum that “the fix” for the housing crisis will work best by taking an approach specific to each community. At the same time, she is herself a member of the Institute of South Georgian Bay. The forum aimed to share approaches to making progress on housing, and see the place of residents in making a change. SOUTHGATE SPEAKER Housing staff from Simcoe, Bruce and Grey county were on the call and also three community speakers, including Ms Marion. “Housing for everyone is vital to rural economics,” Ms Marion said, adding that across the region, almost 40 percent of working residents live in unaffordable housing. She said that reality has changed a lot, and most people’s picture of who needs affordable housing hasn’t changed. But the average maximum affordable housing payment is $1,575, she said, and the average rent is $1,866. “So, the numbers simply don’t work.” Under that pressure, housing costs can “quickly translate to housing precarity and increased food bank use”. Affordable housing is often considered to be a maximum of 30 percent of your income, not including utilities. The online forum on Nov. 13 was attended by about 70 people, including staff, municipal councillors, institute members and other members of the public. Ms Marion encouraged going to the community to address the shortfall of housing. “Consider the cost of doing nothing,” she said. Chair of the local residents group, Community First Housing, Gerry McNalty said later that it was heartening to hear about the work being done at the County level and the collaborative efforts of the Institute of South Georgian Bay. “Locally, there are glimmers of hope,” he said. “Nola Marion’s message was clear. It’s about the community we would like to have and we will all have to work together to solve this complex housing crisis.” Mr. McNalty said, “I have faith that when the right time comes, those who need to make the right decisions will do just that.” LUTHERAN HOUSING A representative from Lutheran not-for-profit housing spoke about their builds. The first, St. Francis Place, was done in the 1980s, when there was federal and provincial money available, she said. It’s almost 80 units are offered at different rates: 70 percent of units are rent geared to income, and 30 percent are at market rents, which is $1,700 for a two bedroom and $1,450 for a one bedroom. (Rent geared to income means that the rent is set at 30 percent of the person or household’s income.) The average income of someone in the rent geared to income apartments is $23,000, she said. Another larger project was 10 years ago, Corbet Place, which uses the “life lease” approach. It has 24 units and is self-funding. The next project of the Lutheran housing group has been taking a lot of work and patience. That’s St. Clare place, to have about 40 units, where the split will be 50/50 between market rents and rent geared to income. The project received some funding that Grey County had set aside for affordable housing in 2021. Still, presenter Sylvia Statham, the executive director, encouraged people to step up and get involved with trying to provide affordable housing for people. “It’s a lot of fun,” she said. An Owen Sound city councillor, Carol Merton, said that it was important to ask whose voices are missing from the conversation. How will those people be offered the opportunity to contribute, she asked. GREY COUNTY Liz Buckton of Grey County spoke on “non-market” (not privately built) rentals with a mix of market and affordable units is being tried and working. It’s even more viable with access to municipal surplus lands, she said. Another approach to the financial challenges is to use social financing, and for municipalities to support such builds with their Community Improvement Fund grants and incentives. To talk about the co-operation needed, she used the image of drops of water flowing together in the same direction, “they really have the power to shape the landscape,” she said. She mentioned three upcoming projects in Grey that are related to housing. In 2025 Grey County will update its growth management strategy, she said, looking at the amount of growth. As well there will be a county-wide housing needs study and a housing strategy. That strategy will include other approaches such as groups like the Institute of Georgian Bay, and build co-ordination. It will look at when and how government and community groups will work together, and make sure information is shared. The Simcoe County spokesperson looked to changes on the administrative side to make builds easier, mentioning pre-approved housing design catalogues that the province and the federal government are developing, and combining zoning changes, site plans and other applications into one in a new planning permit system.Ancient siege strategies: From towers to tunnels
Sinn Fein actively pursuing route into government, insists leader McDonaldAs Sun Yingsha continues to make headlines and break barriers, her journey serves as an inspiration to young athletes and aspiring fashion icons everywhere. With her unparalleled talent, beauty, and charisma, she is poised to take the world by storm and leave a lasting legacy in both the sports and fashion worlds. Keep an eye on Sun Yingsha, as this young dynamo is just getting started on her path to greatness.
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