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With just days left before Ireland goes to the polls, the leaders of Ireland’s three largest political parties appeared on the national broadcaster for their final televised debate before the general election. The leaders of the three main political parties took part in the final debate of the campaign in a Prime Time special led by Miriam O’Callaghan and Sarah McInerney. Speaking to reporters on arrival, Mr Harris said he was ‘really looking forward to the debate’ but acknowledged that ‘things don’t always go right in campaigns’. He was questioned on contact between his team and RTE before the clip of a contentious exchange he had with a care worker went public. The Taoiseach has previously said he ‘made mistakes’ in how he handled the interaction. When asked if one his officials had alleged to RTE that the care worker was a member of Sinn Fein, Mr Harris said: ‘I don’t believe so at all.’ Later asked if he was tired, Mr Harris added: ‘Not at all, I’m really energised.’ The final leader’s debate on RTÉ came just over a week after the debate which included all ten political party leaders, which was hosted on Upfront with Katie Hannon. In the debate, the party leaders outlined their policies and briefly touched on who they would or wouldn’t go into coalition with. The debate comes also in the wake of what could potentially be the defining moment for An Taoiseach Simon Harris as he continues to deal with the fall out following a frosty interaction with a care worker while campaigning in North Cork last week. Simon Harris responds to questions about his interaction with care sector worker, Charlotte Fallon, in Kanturk, and whether his staff contacted RTÉ about coverage of it. #rtept | @RTENews pic.twitter.com/pRpAoKboNe The Taoiseach and party leader was forced to apologise to Charlotte Fallon on Saturday after a clip of him engaging with her – and walking off mid-conversation as she became emotional – went viral. In the video, which has been viewed more than 3.4million times, Mr Harris can be seen disagreeing with Ms Fallon about the work the Government has done for carers, and becoming frustrated. Asked on Monday if any member of his team had contacted RTÉ in a bid not to have the footage run , Mr Harris said: ‘I don’t believe so.’ But the Irish Daily Mail established that Fine Gael figures contacted staff in RTÉ to express their concern over the video and how it would be featured. The first question was to Simon Harris about the video from Kanturk on his interaction with a carer and whether Fine Gael communicated with RTÉ in the aftermath about coverage of the matter. Harris said he had ‘no knowledge’ of any request being made not to air the clip. Micheal Martin and Simon Harris should feel ‘very ashamed’ over the Government’s record on carers and disability, Mary Lou McDonald said. The Sinn Fein leader took aim at the heads of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael during RTE Prime Time’s televised leaders’ debate. She said the outgoing Government did not seem ‘capable’ of listening to people’s experiences. Asked if he felt ashamed, Mr Martin said he was not happy with the ‘level of progress’ but said there had been advancements in some areas. Mr Harris said the issue of disability is something he has been passionate about his entire life. He said there needed to be a radical expansion of training places for occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. As the debate moved on, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said Sinn Fein’s ‘enormous’ tax increases will destroy Ireland’s enterprise economy. Mr Martin said: ‘Sinn Fein do not get the enterprise economy, they don’t get trade.’ Meanwhile, Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said his party was proposing the least amount of spending in its manifesto, when compared to the other two parties. Mr Harris said Friday marks election day and the 14th anniversary of the bailout programme following the financial crash. He said: ‘People sitting at home tonight are still living with the scars of that financial crash, and we have to learn from that as a country.’ Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said the financial crash was instigated and driven by Fianna Fail, while austerity was brought by Fine Gael. Ms McDonald said she would agree with Mr Harris and added: ‘There are people watching this programme who still the bear the scars of your crash and of your austerity.’ Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said he “learned from” his time in Government during the financial crash. Speaking during the RTE Prime Time debate, he said: ‘I get the crash, I was in Government.’ Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald interrupted: ‘I know, sure you authored it.’ Mr Martin continued: ‘I learned from the experience, I kept with politics, I kept with public service. ‘I supported through confidence and supply the [Fine Gael] Government to get the country through Brexit. ‘One thing that people can be guaranteed with Micheal Martin is I will always put the country before party.’ Fianna Fail has taken ‘radical action’ on housing, Micheal Martin later said. He was responding to a question on the Housing Commission’s recommendation for a radical reset in housing policy. Mr Martin defended actions already taken by Fianna Fail and added: ‘It is not about some magical reset right now.’ Asked if Fine Gael had failed to make housing a top priority – as contended by former housing minister Eoghan Murphy, party leader Simon Harris said those comments came in the context of Brexit. He added: ‘Housing is the number one priority.’ Pressed on whether Fine Gael had put the party in front of the country on reforming housing policy, Mr Harris said: ‘My party never put party before country.’ He added: ‘My party’s never crashed the economy.’ "There is a need for a radical reset on housing policy..." Simon Harris responds to questions from Sarah McInerney about Fine Gael's approach to housing. #rtept | @RTENews pic.twitter.com/uwnzqydjIS Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said Government parties ‘do not recognise the scale of the problem’ around housing delivery, as she defended her own party’s policies. Pressed on whether banks would definitely lend to home buyers under a Sinn Fein scheme where people would not own the land under the house, Ms McDonald said: ‘We’ve engaged with the banks. The banks have requirements that will have to be met. ‘I don’t think anybody should be shocked by that, they’re not some kind of Robin Hood institution giving money away. ‘The bottom line is they will want to know that if they invest that they’ll get their money back. We’re absolutely confident that those requirements can be met.’ Ms McDonald said her party had done “due diligence” in relation to the policy. “At no stage has the banking Federation said that ‘we will not lend into a scheme of this nature’.” Viewers took to X to have their say on all the key moments of the final TV debate of the General Election 2024 trail. One viewer spoke about An Taoiseach’s response towards whether FG communicated with RTE over the now-viral clip and said: ‘Still dodging it basically not a black or white yes/no’. Another person wrote: ‘Simon Harris is very shifty so far, Kanturk has him absolutely rattled.’ TD for Wicklow John Brady wrote: ‘Simon Harris talks about his ‘lived experience’ and ‘since his teenage years’ the fact is Fine Gael has been in government since his teenage years and disability services have been on a downward spiral during all those years! The reality is that the longer Fine Gael are in Government the worse the lived experience is for those with disabilities.’ Michael Martin: “I get the crash, I was in government for the crash.” @MaryLouMcDonald : “I know, sure you were the author of it.” Zinger #RTEPT There’s just something about Mary Lou calmly calling Micheál Martin and Simon Harris “Gentlemen” when they try to argue with her #leadersdebate pic.twitter.com/uDygTaZDem Debate drinking game: Take a drink every time Simon Harris talks about his "lived experience " #RTEPT At the end of the day, FFers will think Michéal Martin won, SFers will think Mary Lou McDonald has won, and FGers will think Simon Harris won Beauty is in the eye of the beholder #LeadersDebate One other viewer wrote: This isn’t a debate, it is just 2 RTÉ journos asking questions of the three leaders. Rather than call it the #leadersdebate maybe it should be called the #leadersgrilling.’ Another viewer took to X to say: ‘The winner of this debate is Sarah McInerney. She’s not letting them dodge her questions.’NoneBuffalo Bills' week is already off to an interesting start thanks to latest injury update
The Jaguar Land Rover managing director is defending the British luxury car company after its recent rebranding spurred backlash on social media. Jaguar debuted its new logo and slogan, “Copy Nothing,” in a promotional video last week. The ad featured androgynous models in brightly colored, over-the-top outfits, including one man wearing a dress, along with other slogans such as “create exuberant,” “live vivid,” “delete ordinary” and “break moulds.” Notably, the ad did not feature any cars in its 30-second run. The video blew up on social media, attracting over 163 million views and over 100,000 comments. Critics accused Jaguar of abandoning its legacy as a high-performance sports car manufacturer with the marketing campaign and claimed the brand had gone “woke.” In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Jaguar Land Rover managing director Rawdon Glover defended the brand relaunch and denied the ad was meant to send a “woke” message. While Glover praised the attention around the campaign as “very positive,” he said he was disappointed by the “level of vile hatred and intolerance” shown by social media commentators towards the models in the video. He claimed the ad’s message had been lost “in a blaze of intolerance.” “If we play in the same way that everybody else does, we’ll just get drowned out. So we shouldn’t turn up like an auto brand,” Glover told the FT. “We need to re-establish our brand and at a completely different price point so we need to act differently. We wanted to move away from traditional automotive stereotypes.” The Jaguar rebrand is part of the company’s efforts to attract wealthier customers in its transition to an all-electric vehicle lineup. “This is not a depiction of how we think our future customers are,” Glover told the FT. “We don’t want to necessarily leave all of our customers behind. But we do need to attract a new customer base.” Jaguar previously defended the company’s brand relaunch in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our brand relaunch for Jaguar is a bold and imaginative reinvention and as expected it has attracted attention and debate. As proud custodians at such a remarkable point in Jaguar’s history we have preserved iconic symbols while taking a dramatic leap forward. The brand reveal is only the first step in this exciting new era and we look forward to sharing more on Jaguar’s transformation in the coming days and weeks,” the statement said. Originally published as Jaguar boss defends new ‘woke’ rebrand after ad airs featuring man in a dress, androgynous modelsUS goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher is retiring from international soccer
This article is a beautiful journey into the heart of African folk music. It features profiles of some of the most influential musicians who have dedicated their lives to preserving and sharing their unique cultural heritage. These artists are the soul of Africa , their music a vibrant reflection of the continent's diverse traditions, languages, and stories. The Griot tradition: West Africa's musical storytellers In West Africa , griots are the keepers of history. They are storytellers, praise singers, poets, and musicians who pass down oral history through generations - they are the human equivalent of Google , if you may. Mali's Toumani Diabate, a kora virtuoso, hails from a griot family with a lineage spanning 70+ generations! Sounds of Southern Africa: The mbira music The mbira , also known as the thumb piano, holds a special place in the heart of Zimbabwean music and culture. Stella Chiweshe is Zimbabwe 's most celebrated mbira player. Since the early 1960s, the "Queen of mbira" has devoted her life to mastering this instrument. Her music goes beyond mere entertainment; it's a spiritual experience that unites communities with their ancestors. East African rhythms: Taarab's fusion Hailing from the coastal regions of East Africa, taarab music is a mesmerizing fusion of Swahili poetry and Indian and Arabian musical influences. Siti binti Saad, a Tanzanian woman, was one of taarab's most influential figures in the early 20th century. She broke societal norms by becoming the first woman to record her songs and perform publicly, at a time when these opportunities were traditionally considered the domain of men. The Saharan blues: Guitar poets The desert blues or assouf style originating from the Sahara region blends traditional African rhythms with the electrifying sounds of modern guitars, resulting in mesmerizing, trance-inducing grooves. Artists such as Bombino from Niger have achieved worldwide recognition for their distinctive sound. It addresses themes of political struggle, longing for peace, and the nomadic life of the Sahara. Preserving culture through song African folk musicians are the true heroes, the beating heart of cultural preservation. They sing about social issues, yes, but they also celebrate the beauty of tradition, the richness of history, and the power of shared values. Take Angelique Kidjo from Benin, for example. Her voice has been a beacon of hope for decades, blending styles and singing about freedom, empowerment, and unity across Africa.
BEIRUT (AP) — Insurgents' stunning march across Syria gained speed on Saturday with news that they had reached the suburbs of the capital and with the government forced to deny rumors that President Bashar Assad had fled the country. The rebels' moves around Damascus, reported by an opposition war monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including two provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get the latest need-to-know information delivered to your inbox as it happens. Our flagship newsletter. Get our front page stories each morning as well as the latest updates each afternoon during the week + more in-depth weekend editions on Saturdays & Sundays.On Thursday, ( ) stock got an upgrade to its , from 79 to 87. This exclusive rating from Investor's Business Daily identifies share price movement with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The grade shows how a stock's price movement over the trailing 52 weeks compares to all the other stocks in our database. Decades of market research shows that the best stocks typically have an RS Rating of at least 80 in the early stages of their moves. Is Palo Alto Networks Stock A Buy? Palo Alto Networks stock is trading within a buying range after clearing a 380.84 entry in a . The proper buying range extends to 5% above the initial entry. Once a stock hits that benchmark, it's best to hold off investing and wait for it to set up another buying opportunity. The cybersecurity company saw both earnings and sales growth rise last quarter. Earnings-per-share increased from 5% to 13%. Revenue rose from 12% to 14%. Palo Alto Networks stock holds the No. 3 rank among its peers in the Computer Software-Security industry group. ( ) is the top-ranked stock within the group.
Lil Wayne, GloRilla, Camila Cabello to perform at College Football National Championship
The midseason four-game winning streak that lifted the Arizona Cardinals into the playoff picture seemed as though it happened fast. Their subsequent free fall has been even more jarring. The Cardinals could have moved into a tie for first place in the NFC West with a home win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Instead, they were thoroughly outplayed in a 30-18 loss and are now tied for last in the tightly packed division. Arizona has lost three straight and will face an uphill battle to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2021. The Seahawks (8-5) are in first place, followed by the Rams (7-6), Cardinals (6-7) and 49ers (6-7). Even more daunting for their playoff hopes, the Cardinals lost both of their games against the Seahawks this season, meaning a tiebreaker would go to Seattle. Four games remain. “I just told them we put ourselves in a little bit of a hole now, but all you can do is attack tomorrow, learn tomorrow and have a good week of practice,” second-year coach Jonathan Gannon said. There are plenty of reasons the Cardinals lost to the Seahawks, including Kyler Murray's two interceptions, a handful of holding penalties, a porous run defense and a brutal missed field goal. It all adds up to the fact Arizona is playing its worst football of the season at a time when it needed its best. “I’m sure we’ll stick to our process, but we have to tweak some things,” Gannon said. "I have to tweak some things.” It's probably faint praise, but the Cardinals did make the game interesting in the second half while trying to fight back from a 27-10 deficit. Murray's shovel pass to James Conner for a 2-yard touchdown and subsequent 2-point conversion cut the margin to 27-18. The Cardinals had a chance to make it a one-score contest early in the fourth quarter, but Chad Ryland's 40-yard field goal attempt bounced off the left upright. “I thought we spotted them a lot of points there, but then we battled back,” Gannon said. “I appreciate their effort. That was good. We battled back there, had a couple chances to even cut the lead a little more, but ultimately didn’t get it done." Murray's in a bit of a mini-slump after throwing two interceptions in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. He also didn't do much in the run game against the Seahawks, with 16 yards on three carries. The quarterback's decision-making was nearly flawless for much of the season and the Cardinals need that good judgment to return. “I’m not looking at it like I have to try to be Superman,” Murray said. “I don’t think that’s the answer. I just need to play within the offense like we’ve done for the majority of the season. Today, I didn’t. Like I said, throwing two picks puts yourself behind the eight ball.” Said Gannon: “I thought he stuck in there and made some big time throws, though, but he has to protect the ball a little bit better. That’s not just him, that’s all 11. So there’ll be a lot of corrections off those plays." The defense didn't have its best day, but it's not Budda Baker's fault. The two-time All-Pro safety is having another phenomenal season and was all over the field against the Seahawks, finishing with 18 tackles. Baker's energy is relentless and he's the unquestioned leader of a group that has been better than expected this season, even with Sunday's mediocre performance. Left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. had a tough day, getting flagged for holding three times, though one of those penalties was declined by the Seahawks. The second-year player moved from right tackle to the left side during the offseason and the transition has gone well, but Sunday was a step backward. The Cardinals remain fairly healthy. DL Roy Lopez (ankle) and P Blake Gillikin (ankle) left Sunday's game, but neither injury is expected to be long term. 9 — It looks as if the Cardinals will go a ninth straight season without winning the NFC West. The last time they won the division was 2015 with coach Bruce Arians and a core offense of quarterback Carson Palmer, running back David Johnson and receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The Cardinals are in must-win territory now for any chance at the playoffs. They'll host the New England Patriots on Sunday. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLCity at least avoided a sixth consecutive defeat but the manner in which they blew a commanding advantage will do little to settle nerves in and around the club ahead of Sunday’s trip to Premier League leaders Liverpool. City appeared in total control after a brace from Erling Haaland and another from Ilkay Gundogan had them three up seven minutes into the second half, but after Anis Hadj Moussa got one back in the 75th minute, City imploded. “It is what it is, difficult to swallow right now,” Guardiola said. “The game was good, we played well, we scored three and could have scored more. We do everything and then we give away, especially the first one, and after we are not stable enough to do it. “It’s not about no run or no commitment, but football you have to be [switched on] in certain moments to do it.” Santiago Gimenez got Feyenoord’s second in the 82nd minute and David Hancko got a dramatic equaliser in the 89th, making City the first team in Champions League history to have led 3-0 in the 75th minute of a match and fail to win. Some City fans, who suffered through Saturday’s 4-0 humiliation at home to Tottenham, made their frustrations known at the final whistle. “The last game against Tottenham, 0-4, the supporters were there, applause,” he said. “They are disappointed of course and we understand it. “People come here not to remember success of the past, they come here to see the team win and perform well. I am not the one when the situation is bad or good [to say] what they have to do. “These supporters, when we go away, our fans are amazing, travelling. There is nothing to do and they are right to express what they feel.” Guardiola’s own frustrations were apparent given the number of scratches visible on his head after the match. The Catalan had arrived at the ground with a cut on his nose, which he said he had caused himself with a long fingernail. City now face a trip to Anfield to face the Liverpool side of former Feyenoord boss Arne Slot, whose named was chanted by the visiting fans during the match. “Everybody knows the situation, I don’t have to add absolutely anything,” Guardiola said. “We are going to train tomorrow, recovery and prepare the next game. Day off and we have two or three days to prepare that and go for it. We will learn for the future and what has been has been. “It will be a tough season for us and we have to accept it for many circumstances.” Feyenoord’s late fightback brought jubilant scenes in the away end. “I think if you’re from Feyenoord it was an unbelievable evening,” head coach Brian Priske said. “A strange game which ends 3-3 which is an unbelievable result for us and also remarkable in the essence of being 3-0 down in minute 75 away from home against still, for me, the best team in the world. “Normally we don’t celebrate draws but this one is a little bit special.”Oracle Announces Fiscal 2025 Second Quarter Financial ResultsSyrian opposition fighters have reached the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, and government forces are withdrawing from the strategic city of Homs as the rebels' surprising offensive picks up speed and President Bashar Assad's whereabouts are unknown. Homs is an important intersection between Damascus and Syria’s coastal provinces that are the Syrian leader’s base of support. In Damascus, residents described a city on edge, with security forces on the streets and many shops running out of staple foods. The rapidly developing events have shaken the region. Lebanon said it was closing all its land border crossings with Syria except for one that links Beirut with Damascus. Jordan closed a border crossing with Syria, too. Eight key countries gathered with the U.N. special envoy on Syria on the sidelines of the Doha Summit for two hours of discussions Saturday night, and more will follow. The U.N. envoy seeks urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.” Here's the Latest: Two officials with Iran-backed Iraqi militias in Syria say the militias are monitoring the situation and have not made a decision to enter in support of Iran’s ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad. One of the officials said Iranian militias had withdrawn to Iraq from their positions in Syria. “All the militias are waiting to see what Bashar Assad will do in Damascus. If he resists and does not allow Damascus to fall, it is possible that the Iraqi factions will intervene for the purpose of support,” he said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. -- Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad Multi-country discussions on Syria have ended on the sidelines of the Doha Summit. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein says the countries will issue a statement, and there will be follow-up talks “taking into consideration the practical and real situation on the ground.” He said the talks, which lasted over two hours Saturday evening, focused on how to stop the fighting. Eight key countries including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran gathered with the U.N. special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen. When asked where Syrian President Bashar Assad is, Iraq's foreign minister replied, “I don’t know.” He declined to speculate on whether Assad would be overthrown. Opposition fighters have reached the Damascus suburbs. BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Health Ministry says two Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday killed six people and wounded five others. The ministry said an airstrike on the village of Beit Leif killed five people and wounded five, while a drone strike on the village of Deir Serian killed one person. Israel’s military said it was looking into the report. Despite a ceasefire that went into effect on Nov. 27 to end the 14-month fighting between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants that had escalated into all-out war, violations of the truce have continued. The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza says the facility came under heavy Israeli bombardment again on Saturday and three medical staff were killed. Dr. Hussam Abu Safia in a statement posted by Gaza’s Health Ministry said the hospital was hit by over 100 projectiles and bombs, and electricity was cut off. He said the surgery department and neonatal unit were hit, and he pleaded for “immediate coordination for repair operations.” Kamal Adwan is one of the last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza. Israeli forces are pressing an offensive that has almost completely sealed off the area from humanitarian aid for two months. Israel’s military said it wasn’t aware of any attack Saturday. The hospital director on Friday said Israeli strikes had killed at least 29 people including four medical staff. Israeli Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military is monitoring the Syrian border to make sure that “local factions do not direct actions towards us,” adding that Israel is not intervening in the events in Syria. Israel’s military has said it is reinforcing its deployment along the border with Syria. Halevi said if “confusion” arises and actions are directed toward Israel by “local factions” taking control of parts of Syria, Israel has a strong “offensive response.” The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Syria says the U.N. is relocating non-critical staff outside the country. Adam Abdelmoula in a statement Saturday called it a precautionary measure to protect U.N. teams. “Let me emphasize—this is not an evacuation and our dedication to supporting the people of Syria remains unwavering,” Abdelmoula said. The statement did not say how many U.N. staffers were leaving Syria as opposition fighters reached the suburbs of Syria’s capital, Damascus. The statement said the fighting in Syria has displaced over 370,000 people as the humanitarian situation deteriorates, “with many seeking refuge in the northeast and others trapped in frontline areas, unable to escape.” Foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran have gathered on the sidelines of the Doha Summit along with the U.N. special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, to discuss the situation in Syria. The talks continued late Saturday and no details were immediately available. Qatar, Jordan and Iraq also were part of the discussions as opposition fighters closed in on the Syrian capital, Damascus. BAGHDAD — An Iraqi government spokesperson says about 2,000 Syrian army soldiers have crossed into Iraq seeking refuge as opposition forces advance in Syria. Bassem al-Awadi said the soldiers’ equipment and weapons were registered and taken into custody by the Iraqi army. “We dealt with them according to the principle of good neighborliness and humanity,” he said Saturday. Al-Awadi also said Iraqi officials are concerned about the security of the al-Hol camp and other facilities in northeast Syria where suspected Islamic State group members and their families are detained. The facilities are guarded by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. Al-Awadi said there is “high security coordination” between Iraqi officials and those forces to “prevent the prisoners from escaping.” Syria's army says it is fortifying its positions in the suburbs of Damascus and in the country’s south, as opposition fighters close in on the capital. The army statement on Saturday also asserted that Syria is being subjected to a “terrorist” and propaganda campaign aiming to destabilize and spread chaos. The statement also said the military is continuing with operations in areas including the central provinces of Hama and Homs, and that it has killed and wounded hundreds of opposition fighters. At least two people were wounded in a car-ramming attack in the West Bank on Saturday, according to the Israeli army and rescue services. The army said the attack took place in the area of the Fawwar refugee camp, near the city of Hebron. It said a soldier was severely wounded, and security forces were looking for the attacker. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said another man in his 40s suffered light injuries from shrapnel. The West Bank has seen a surge in violence since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza sparked the war there. Israel has intensified its military raids in the West Bank, targeting what it says are militants planning attacks, and there has also been a rise in Palestinian attacks on Israelis. The Israeli military says it is helping United Nations forces to head off an attack on a U.N. position in Syria close to the Israeli border. The army said in a statement Saturday that an attack was carried out by “armed individuals” on a U.N. post near the Syrian town of Hader and it was “assisting U.N. forces in repelling the attack.” On Friday, Israel’s military said it would reinforce its forces in the Golan Heights and near the border with Syria, where civil war has reignited between the government and opposition fighters. Hamas has released a video showing Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker making an emotional plea for his release and describing the conditions he and other hostages face in Gaza after being seized in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. His mother, Einav, has become a symbol of the fight to bring back the hostages and is an outspoken critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Matan Zangauker, speaking under duress, appealed to the public to protest in front of Netanyahu’s home and “not let him sleep even for a minute.” Zangauker also referred to 420 days of being held by Hamas militants. “We want to return before we go crazy. Isolation is killing us, and the darkness here is frightening,” he said, describing having little food and medicine and “undrinkable” water. President-elect Donald Trump has made his first extensive comments on dramatic advances by opposition fighters in Syria, saying the besieged President Bashar Assad didn’t deserve U.S. support to stay in power. “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT,” Trump posted on the Truth Social platform on Saturday. Syrian opposition activists and regional officials have been watching closely for any indication from both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration of how the U.S. would handle the sudden advances against Syria’s Russian- and Iranian-allied leader. Trump condemned the overall U.S. handling of the 13-year civil war in Syria, but spoke favorably of the routing of Assad and Russian forces. ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that there was “now a new reality in Syria” following the rapid advance of rebel forces. Speaking in Gaziantep, a city less than 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the Syrian border, Erdogan said that “increasing attacks on civilians” in Syria’s northwest Idlib province “triggered the latest events like the straw that broke the camel’s back.” It was not possible for Turkey to ignore developments in a country with which it shares a lengthy border and it would not allow any threats to its national security, he added in a televised speech. “Our wish is for our neighbor Syria to attain the peace and tranquility it has been longing for for 13 years,” he told a rally of supporters. “We want to see a Syria where different identities live side by side in peace. We hope to see such a Syria in the very near future.” Erdogan claimed President Bashar Assad had erred in rebuffing Turkey’s previous efforts to establish relations, saying Damascus “could not appreciate the value of the hand Turkey extended.” Ankara has supported anti-Assad rebel groups since the early months of the conflict and hosts 3 million refugees dislodged by the fighting. While Turkey lists HTS, the group leading the latest offensive, as a terrorist organization, the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army has worked alongside it. BEIRUT — A resident of the Syrian capital of Damascus says the city is very tense as troops and members of security agencies are deployed on main streets and intersections. The resident told The Associated Press that many shops are closed and those that are open have run out of main commodities such as sugar. He added that if food products are available, some shops are selling them for a price three times higher than usual. “The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said on condition of anonymity, fearing retributions. “People are worried whether there will be a battle (in Damascus) or not.” — Bassem Mroue in Beirut DOHA, Qatar — Russia’s foreign minister says he has met his Turkish and Iranian counterparts in Doha and that all three countries were calling for an “immediate end to hostile activities” in Syria. Russia and Iran are the chief supporters of Syria’s government, while Turkey backs opposition fighters trying to remove President Bashar Assad from power. Speaking at the annual Doha Forum, Sergey Lavrov said Russia continues to help the Syrian army confront insurgents, military via airstrikes. Asked whether Assad’s rule is threatened by the fast-moving rebel offensive, he said, “We are not in the business of guessing what’s gong to happen.” He blamed the United States and the West for the events in Syria and said, “We are very sorry for the Syrian people who became a subject of another geopolitical experiment. “We are doing everything we can not to make terrorists prevail, even if they say they are not terrorists,” Lavrov said, referring to the de facto leader of the Syrian insurgents, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who says he has cut links with al-Qaida. His group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and United Nations. He said Russia, Iran and Turkey want the full implementation of a U.N. resolution, which endorsed a road map to peace in Syria. Resolution 2254 was adopted unanimously in December 2015. The measure called for a Syrian-led political process, starting with the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with U.N.-supervised elections. Lavrov also downplayed reports that Moscow had withdrawn ships from Russia’s base in Syrian city of Tartus, saying that the vessels had left to take part in naval exercises in the Mediterranean. DOHA, Qatar — The U.S. envoy who brokered the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah says the deal has created a new opportunity for Lebanon to reshape itself. Amos Hochstein told the Doha Forum that the weakness of Hezbollah after nearly 14 months of fighting along, along with blows to its Syrian and Iranian allies, give the Lebanese military and government a chance to reassert itself. “Now is the moment with this ceasefire to rebuild Lebanon again for a much more prosperous future and stronger state institutions,” Hochstein told The Associated Press on the sidelines of the conference. He said Lebanon needs “to do its part” by rebuilding its economy, choosing a president after years of delays and strengthening its central government to attract investors. “And the international community has a requirement and a responsibility to support Lebanon after this devastating conflict and after years of Hezbollah control,” he said. Hochstein told the conference that the turning point in ceasefire efforts was Hezbollah dropping its pledge to keep fighting as long as the war in Gaza continues. He said the change in position was the result of the heavy losses inflicted on Hezbollah, and Lebanese public opinion in favor of delinking the two conflicts. He said key tests for the ceasefire will be whether Israel carries out its promised phased withdrawal from southern Lebanon over the coming two months and whether the Lebanese army is able to move into those areas. BEIRUT — Insurgents and a war monitor say opposition fighters are taking over military posts evacuated by Syrian government forces in the country’s south, bringing them closer to the capital, Damascus. An insurgent official known as Maj. Hassan Abdul-Ghani posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition fighters are now in the town of Sanamein, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the southern outskirts of Damascus, President Bashar Assad’s seat of power. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said insurgents have entered the town of Artouz, which is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of Damascus. Opposition fighters have captured wide parts of Syria, including several provincial capitals, since they began their offensive on Nov. 27. BEIRUT — Lebanon’s government has approved a plan to deploy more troops along the border with Israel, part of the ceasefire deal that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war. In a rare Cabinet meeting outside of Beirut, held Saturday at a military base in the southern port city of Tyre, the government also approved a draft law to reconstruct buildings destroyed during the Israel-Hezbollah war that broke out in October 2023 and ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire last week. Information Minister Ziad Makary told reporters after the meeting that the committee whose job is to monitor the ceasefire that went into effect on Nov. 27 will hold its first meeting on Monday. The committee is made up of military officials from the U.S., France, Israel and Lebanon as well as the U.N. peacekeeping force deployed along the border. As part of the ceasefire deal, during the first 60 days Israeli troops will have to withdraw from Lebanon, while Hezbollah will have to pull its heavy weapons away from the border area to north of the Litani river. The Lebanese army said this week it will begin recruiting more soldiers, apparently to deploy them along the border with Israel. BEIRUT — The Syrian army withdrew from much of southern Syria on Saturday, leaving more areas of the country, including two provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters, the military and an opposition war monitor said. The redeployment away from the provinces of Daraa and Sweida came as Syria’s military sent large numbers of reinforcements to defend the key central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as insurgents approached its outskirts. The rapid advances by insurgents are a stunning reversal of fortunes for Syria’s President Bashar Assad , who appears to be largely on his own, with erstwhile allies preoccupied with other conflicts. His chief international backer, Russia, is busy with its war in Ukraine, and Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up his forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel. Iran, meanwhile, has seen its proxies across the region degraded by Israeli regular airstrikes. JERUSALEM — Israeli security forces killed a Palestinian man after he attacked them at a border crossing in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday morning, police said. The man shot firecrackers at security forces at the checkpoint and threatened them with a knife, the police statement said. The man wore a t-shirt emblazoned with a symbol of the Islamic State militant group, according to an Associated Press reporter Israeli fire has killed at least 700 Palestinians in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began last year, Palestinian health officials said. In that time, Palestinian militants have launched a number of attacks on soldiers at checkpoints and within Israel. DOHA, Qatar — The prime minister of Qatar says he has seen new momentum in Gaza ceasefire efforts since the U.S. presidential election, with the incoming Trump administration seeking an end to the conflict before it takes office. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a key mediator in the ceasefire efforts, declined to give specifics of the negotiations but told an international conference in Doha that the gaps between the sides are not large. Qatar, which has served as a mediator throughout the 14-month war, suspended its efforts last month in frustration over the lack of progress. But Sheikh Mohammed said his government has re-engaged in recent days after determining a new willingness by both parties to reach a deal. ’We have sensed after the election that the momentum is coming back,” he told the Doha Forum on Saturday. He said has been in touch with both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration and found that while there are some differences in approach, both are committed to the same goal of ending the war. ’We have seen a lot of encouragement from the incoming administration in order to achieve a deal, even before the president comes to the office,” Sheikh Mohammed said. He declined to discuss details, saying he wanted to “protect the process,” but expressed hope for a deal “as soon as possible.” ’If you look at the gaps and the disagreements, they are not something substantial that really affects the agreement,” he said. CAIRO — At least 29 people were killed, including four medical staff, when Israeli strikes pummeled the area around one of the last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza, Palestinian officials said. The situation in and around the Kamal Adwan hospital is “catastrophic,” according to Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of the hospital. The dead included five children and five women, according to the hospital casualty list, which was obtained by The Associated Press. Friday’s strikes also wounded 55 people including six children and the five women, according to the hospital. Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya is one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the Gaza’s northernmost province , where Israeli forces are pressing an offensive that has almost completely sealed off the area from humanitarian aid for two months. Israel’s military denied that its forces had struck the hospital or operated inside it. The army said that in the past few weeks, “coordinated efforts with international organizations have been underway in order to transfer patients, companions, and medical staff to other hospitals.” An Indonesian medical team which had been assisting in Kamal Adwan for the past week was forced to evacuate on foot after the area was surrounded by Israeli soldiers, according to a statement from the team. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the medical team’s expulsion. Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization representative in the Palestinian territories, said an Israeli tank approached the hospital at around 4 a.m. Friday. Although no official Israeli evacuation order was issued, “people started to climb the wall to escape, and this panic attracted IDF (Israeli) fire,” he said. He spoke by video from Gaza to journalists in Geneva. Kamal Adwan Hospital has been struck multiple times over the past two months since Israel launched a fierce military operation in northern Gaza against Hamas militants. In October, Israeli forces raided the hospital, saying that militants were sheltering inside and arrested a number of people, including some staff. Hospital officials denied the claim. MANAMA, Bahrain — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has reiterated the kingdom’s call for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip. Prince Faisal bin Farhan described Israel as acting with “impunity and is getting away without punishment” in its war on Hamas there. The prince said that any permanent solution requires a two-state solution, with the Palestinians having east Jerusalem as their capital. After the speech, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a prominent royal in the kingdom who led Saudi intelligence for more than two decades and served as ambassador to the U.S. and Britain, took the stage. He harshly criticized Israel’s conduct in the wars. “Israel has become an apartheid, colonial and genocidal state,” Prince Turki said. “It is about time for the world to address that issue and take the necessary steps to bring those who are thus charged by the International Criminal Court to justice.” Israeli officials could not be immediately reached for comment on Prince Turki’s remarks. The Saudis spoke at the International Institute for Security Studies’ Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.
Matt Adams is worried about the financial future of Azle ISD. The district hasn’t splurged on a new fleet of buses or taken on risky debt. It hasn’t seen an unprecedented surge of new students or hired a large group of new employees. Instead, Azle ISD, recognized by the state for its fiscal accountability , is facing a possible budgetary crisis that cropped up seemingly overnight. “It’s kind of out of our hands at this point,” Adams, the district’s assistant superintendent of finance and operations, said. Azle is one of six districts at risk of state funding cuts in 2026, according to preliminary data presented by the Tarrant Appraisal District at its Nov. 8 board meeting. That data shows taxable property values in Azle, Carroll, Castleberry, Everman, Grapevine-Colleyville and Fort Worth ISDs are well below market value in three months of sales data. That’s a trend that, if it continues through next year, could spell trouble for schools, whose state funding is largely reliant on accurate appraisals. “Those are concerning numbers, whomever they relate to, and this is serious stuff,” outgoing tax assessor-collector and board member Wendy Burgess said at the meeting. Get essential daily news for the Fort Worth area. Sign up for insightful, in-depth stories — completely free. The math behind the property value study School districts, like other taxing entities, have no control over the assessed value of a property. That role falls to the Tarrant Appraisal District, whose newly expanded board approved extensive changes to the reappraisal plan that governs property assessments. Those changes, which include freezing residential values through 2025 and switching to a two-year residential appraisal schedule, are intended to slow property value increases. While most board members have celebrated the changes as a net-positive for taxpayers, school districts across the county fear there will be negative consequences for their finances. Worst cases would see districts failing what’s known as the property value study, which governs the complicated school funding formula in Texas. Amanda Brownson, deputy executive director of the Texas Association of School Business Officials, said equal and uniform appraisals are a function of the state constitution. “The property value study is a mechanism to enforce that constitutional notion of fair uniform taxation,” she continued. The study is conducted by the state comptroller’s office every two years to determine education funding distribution. If the appraisal district’s property value estimations for a school district are outside a 10% difference threshold from the state’s, a school district immediately loses funding. Schools between a 5%-10% threshold have a two-year grace period to bring their values into line with the state’s estimates. Because of the way its deadlines work, the appraisal district wouldn’t know for sure until January 2026 — more than five months after 2025 tax rolls are certified — if a school district failed the state property value study. “They’re midway through their fiscal year before they know they fail,” Brownson said. “And it’s hard, from a budget perspective, to make the kinds of corrections you need to make at that point in the fiscal year, to adjust your revenue down.” Chief appraiser Joe Don Bobbitt has presented board members with sales data for the months since the reappraisal plan was approved in August, in an effort to keep them informed on which school districts could be in trouble. His first report, in August, flagged only Carroll ISD as a potential cause for concern. His November report, by contrast, added five more school districts to that list. “Appraisal districts, contrary to most people’s belief, we don’t like to raise values,” Bobbitt said. “It creates protests, it creates a lot of strife. ... The state has no problem doing it. So they’re going to come in after the fact and tell us that we’re wrong.” The greatest cause for concern, Bobbitt said, is Everman ISD. The southeast Tarrant County school district was already close to failing the state’s property value study in 2023 — a mere .08% from falling outside of the 95% confidence interval established by state officials. “We had basically $2 million to spare. We were that close to falling out of the confidence interval,” Bobbitt said. If Everman had failed that year, it still would’ve qualified for a grace period. But the sales data provided by Bobbitt shows the taxable value in the school district has continued to lag behind market value. When reached by email, a spokesperson for Everman ISD said they did not have any information at this time, and wouldn’t know anything until January. The president of the Everman ISD board of trustees, Gary Balch, was among the Tarrant area school officials who signed onto an August open letter describing the reappraisal plan as political theater that intentionally hurts children. Districts brace themselves for impact Azle ISD is in a relatively unique position compared to its peers across Tarrant County. The school district spans three counties — Parker, Tarrant and Wise. The majority of its property lands in northeastern Parker and northwestern Tarrant. The Parker Appraisal District has done biennial appraisals for as long as Adams can remember, so the idea of reducing appraisal frequency wasn’t unheard of for the school district. But because Parker was already appraising once every two years, the revenue generated from Tarrant’s annual reappraisals became even more important for Azle ISD. Adams estimated the district could lose anywhere from $1.4 million to $4 million in state funding, depending on how far off they are from state property values. “That makes us as an admin team, and as the board of trustees, go, ‘Look, OK, we know revenue is going to be this much less,’” he said. “‘What do we do? Do we freeze salaries? Do we cut personnel? Do we cut programs?’” Brownson said to some degree, the impact of a biennial appraisal plan will vary from district to district. “In a place where the tax base is more dynamic and more changing, then you’re going to have more errors in the off years than you would in a place where the tax base is more stable,” she said. Azle ISD Superintendent Todd Smith himself lives in Parker County, and he’s intimately familiar with how a biennial appraisal cycle affects both school district revenues and residents’ property taxes. “When it goes up, when they’re catching up every other year, you’ve got a bigger jump (in your tax bill),” Smith said. That hike could be significant for Tarrant taxpayers as well. Because residential values are frozen for 2025, and the next reappraisal isn’t scheduled until 2027, it will be three years before homeowners without a homestead exemption see a value increase. Some of the schools at risk of funding cuts are currently sending money to the state under what’s known as the Robin Hood law. The law mandates that property-rich districts pay excess local tax revenue to the state, which redistributes those funds to poorer districts. Fort Worth ISD is one of the districts on Bobbitt’s list that is undergoing recapture. Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria, the district’s chief financial officer, told the Report in July that the reappraisal plan could actually result in the district sending less money to the state. But that was before the most recent sales data — and the district now has significant concerns. “We will engage with the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) to understand the steps they plan to take to help the district return to compliance,” Fort Worth ISD wrote in a statement. “Additionally, any financial implications this may have on the district’s assessed valuation and corresponding state revenues will need to be thoroughly analyzed to determine the best course of action for the upcoming year and beyond.” The other school districts flagged by Bobbitt did not respond to requests for comment. Eyes on Tarrant amid board member election At the Nov. 8 meeting, Tarrant Appraisal District board member Gary Losada said fears that school districts will lose millions of dollars are not accurate. He pointed to a clause in the reappraisal plan, called the management review process, that gives the board the authority to amend the plan if any ISDs look likely to fail the property value study. “If I read this correctly, that means we have a safeguard in the reappraisal plan, that in the event a school district, ISD, wherever we’re in danger of failing and possibly losing funding, that this clause would kick in,” Losada said. While the appraisal district board has the authority to amend the reappraisal plan, it isn’t required to do so. An initial version of the reappraisal plan explicitly stated that school districts that failed the state property value study would have their properties reappraised the next year. That language was struck from the final reappraisal plan approved in August, prompting fears that when Bobbitt presents final data in March, the board won’t help school districts. Five seats on the board are currently up for election by taxing entities , making it even more difficult to tell how things will shake out in the spring. Whoever wins those seats will join the three board members elected by taxpayers in May . That election, enabled by a constitutional amendment, expanded the board to nine members and gave taxpayers a direct say on its membership for the first time in Texas history. Smith said he was frustrated that Losada, one of the board members Azle ISD previously voted for, wouldn’t listen to the district’s concerns about the reappraisal plan. “It was really frustrating to think that they made such a huge decision without any input from the entities that they were put there to represent,” he said. School districts who do fail the property value study can file appeals with the comptroller’s office, aided by the appraisal district. They must explain why the state’s values are incorrect, and there’s no guarantee an appeal will be successful. “Sometimes they’ll agree on a value that’s in-between what the appraisal district originally said and what the comptroller said,” Brownson said. “Sometimes the appraisal district will win outright, sometimes they won’t, but there are successes every year.” Bobbitt said over the years, the number of school districts reporting invalid values under the property value study has risen dramatically. In 2023, 106 school districts across Texas automatically failed the study, losing a collective $120 million as a result. That trend reflects the hot property market in Texas, which many appraisal districts have been unable to keep up with. “Most of these appraisal districts ... fell out because the market moves faster than they were expecting,” Bobbitt said. When the Tarrant Appraisal District’s board of directors passed the reappraisal plan in August, it did so with the understanding that the housing market would remain relatively flat over the next year. Whether that assumption will hold true remains to be seen. Eyes from across the state will be on Tarrant, which is one of the first appraisal districts to pass sweeping reappraisal changes following the passage of a 2023 law allowing voters to elect board members. “As much as we’ve been in the news, the comptroller is fully aware of our board and our reappraisal plan,” Bobbitt said. “And so I would suspect they look at us very closely.” Your support makes TWICE the impact today. As November draws to a close , time is running out to double your impact. Thanks to the generosity of the Nicholas Martin Jr. Family Foundation, every dollar you give will be matched—up to $15,000. Will you give today to help trusted, local reporting thrive in Fort Worth and Tarrant County? 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One of my top shows of 2024 actually premiered in 2021. That’s because it took a couple of years for the Australian series “The Newsreader” to make its way Stateside. Alas, it was only legal to stream in the U.S. for a handful of weeks in September and then — pffft! — it was gone before most people had even heard of it. Well, I have great news. The show will be available once again, this time via Sundance Now (accessible through the AMC+ streaming platform), which has licensed the first season. Premiering Dec. 19, it stars Anna Torv (“Fringe”) and Sam Reid (“Interview with the Vampire”) as TV reporters in Melbourne, circa 1986. At the outset, Reid’s character exudes big loser energy, which is such an amusing contrast to his work as Lestat. The show is unexpectedly funny and terrifically Machiavellian in its portrayal of small-time office politics, and I’m thrilled audiences in the U.S. will get another shot at watching it. Overall, 2024 offered a modestly better lineup than usual, but I’m not sure it felt that way. Too often the good stuff got drowned out by Hollywood’s pointless and endless pursuit of rebooting intellectual property (no thank you, Apple’s “Presumed Innocent” ) and tendency to stretch a perfectly fine two-hour movie premise into a saggy multi-part series (“Presumed Innocent” again!). There were plenty of shows I liked that didn’t make this year’s list, including ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and CBS’ “Ghosts” (it’s heartening to see the network sitcom format still thriving in the streaming era), as well as Netflix’s “A Man on the Inside” (Ted Danson’s charisma selling an unlikely premise) and Hulu’s “Interior Chinatown” (a high-concept parody of racial stereotypes and cop show tropes, even if it couldn’t sustain the idea over 10 episodes). Maybe it just felt like we were having more fun this year, with Netflix’s “The Perfect Couple” (Nicole Kidman leading a traditional manor house mystery reinterpreted with an American sensibility) and Hulu’s “Rivals” (the horniest show of 2024, delivered with a wink in the English countryside). I liked what I saw of Showtime’s espionage thriller “The Agency” (although the bulk of episodes were unavailable as of this writing). The deluge of remakes tends to make me cringe, but this year also saw a redo of Patricia Highsmith’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley” on Netflix that was far classier than most of what’s available on the streamer. Starring Andrew Scott, I found it cool to the touch, but the imagery stayed with me. Shot in black and white, it has an indelible visual language courtesy of director of photography Robert Elswit, whether capturing a crisp white business card against the worn grain wood of a bar top, or winding stairways that alternately suggest a yawning void or a trap. As always, if you missed any of these shows when they originally premiered — the aforementioned titles or the Top 10 listed below — they are all available to stream. Top 10 streaming and TV shows of 2024, in alphabetical order: The least cynical reality show on television remains as absorbing as ever in Season 4, thanks to the probing questions and insights from the show’s resident therapist, Dr. Orna Guralnik. Everything is so charged. And yet the show has a soothing effect, predicated on the idea that human behavior (and misery) isn’t mysterious or unchangeable. There’s something so optimistic in that outlook. Whether or not you relate to the people featured on “Couples Therapy” — or even like them as individuals — doesn’t matter as much as Guralnik’s reassuring presence. Created by and starring Diarra Kilpatrick, the eight-episode series defies categorization in all the right ways. Part missing-person mystery, part comedy about a school teacher coming to grips with her impending divorce, and part drama about long-buried secrets, it has tremendous style right from the start — sardonic, knowing and self-deprecating. The answers to the central mystery may not pack a satisfying punch by the end, but the road there is as entertaining and absorbing as they come. We need more shows like this. A comedy created by and starring Brian Jordan Alvarez (of the antic YouTube series “The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo”), the show has a sensibility all its own, despite a handful of misinformed people on social media calling it a ripoff of “Abbott Elementary.” There’s room enough in the TV landscape for more than one sitcom with a school setting and “English Teacher” has a wonderfully gimlet-eyed point of view of modern high school life. I’m amused that so much of its musical score is Gen-X coded, because that neither applies to Alvarez (a millennial) nor the fictional students he teaches. So why does the show feature everything from Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” to Exposé’s “Point of No Return”? The ’80s were awash in teen stories and maybe the show is using music from that era to invoke all those tropes in order to better subvert them. It’s a compelling idea! It’s streaming on Hulu and worth checking out if you haven’t already. A one-time tennis phenom accuses her former coach of coercing her into a sexual relationship in this British thriller. The intimacy between a coach and athlete often goes unexplored, in real-life or fictional contexts and that’s what the show interrogates: When does it go over the line? It’s smart, endlessly watchable and the kind of series that would likely find a larger audience were it available on a more popular streamer. There’s real tenderness in this show. Real cruelty, too. It’s a potent combination and the show’s third and strongest season won it an Emmy for best comedy. Jean Smart’s aging comic still looking for industry validation and Hannah Einbinder’s needy Gen-Z writer are trapped in an endless cycle of building trust that inevitably gives way to betrayal. Hollywood in a nutshell! “Hacks” is doing variations on this theme every season, but doing it in interesting ways. Nobody self-sabotages their way to success like these two. I was skeptical about the show when it premiered in 2022 . Vampire stories don’t interest me. And the 1994 movie adaptation starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt wasn’t a persuasive argument to the contrary. But great television is great television and nothing at the moment is better than this show. It was ignored by Emmy voters in its initial outing but let’s hope Season 2 gets the recognition it deserves. Under showrunner Rolin Jones, the adaptation of Anne Rice’s novels is richly written, thrillingly inhabited by its cast and so effortlessly funny with a framing device — the interview of the title — that is thick with intrigue and sly comedy. I wouldn’t categorize the series as horror. It’s not scary. But it is tonally self-assured and richly made, rarely focused on the hunt for dinner but on something far more interesting: The melodrama of vampire existence, with its combination of boredom and lust and tragedy and zingers. Already renewed for Season 3, it has an incredible cast (a thrilling late-career boost for Eric Bogosian) and is well worth catching up with if you haven’t already. It’s been too long since the pleasures of banter fueled a romantic comedy in the spirit of “When Harry Met Sally.” But it’s all over the place in “Nobody Wants This,” one of the best shows on Netflix in recent memory. Renewed for a second season, it stars Kristen Bell as a humorously caustic podcaster and Adam Brody as the cute and emotionally intelligent rabbi she falls for. On the downside, the show has some terrible notions about Jewish women that play into controlling and emasculating stereotypes. You hate to see it in such an otherwise sparkling comedy, because overall Bell and Brody have an easy touch that gives the comedy real buoyancy. I suspect few people saw this three-part series on PBS Masterpiece, but it features a terrific performance by Helena Bonham Carter playing the real-life, longtime British soap star Noele “Nolly” Gordon, who was unceremoniously sacked in 1981. She’s the kind of larger-than-life showbiz figure who is a bit ridiculous, a bit imperious, but also so much fun. The final stretch of her career is brought to life by Carter and this homage — to both the soap she starred in and the way she carried it on her back — is from Russell T. Davies (best known for the “Doctor Who” revival). For U.S. viewers unfamiliar with the show or Gordon, Carter’s performance has the benefit of not competing with a memory as it reanimates a slice of British pop culture history from the analog era. The year is 1600 and a stubborn British seaman piloting a Dutch ship washes ashore in Japan. That’s our entry point to this gorgeously shot story of power games and political maneuvering among feudal enemies. Adapted from James Clavell’s 1975 novel by the married team of Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, it is filled with Emmy-winning performances (for Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada; the series itself also won best drama) and unlike something like HBO’s far clunkier “House of the Dragon,” which tackles similar themes, this feels like the rare show created by, and for, adults. The misfits and losers of Britain’s MI5 counterintelligence agency — collectively known as the slow horses, a sneering nickname that speaks to their perceived uselessness — remain as restless as ever in this adaptation of Mick Herron’s Slough House spy novels. As a series, “Slow Horses” doesn’t offer tightly plotted clockwork spy stories; think too deeply about any of the details and the whole thing threatens to fall apart. But on a scene-by-scene basis, the writing is a winning combination of wry and tension-filled, and the cumulative effect is wonderfully entertaining. Spies have to deal with petty office politics like everyone else! It’s also one of the few shows that has avoided the dreaded one- or two-year delay between seasons, which has become standard on streaming. Instead, it provides the kind of reliability — of its characters but also its storytelling intent — that has become increasingly rare. Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.