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More schools are adopting 4-day weeks. For parents, the challenge is day 5

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:55:29 GMT

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — It’s a Monday in September, but with schools closed, the three children in the Pruente household have nowhere to be. Callahan, 13, contorts herself into a backbend as 7-year-old Hudson fiddles with a balloon and 10-year-old Keegan plays the piano. Like a growing number of students around the U.S, the Pruente children are on a four-day school schedule, a change instituted this fall by their district in Independence, Missouri. To the kids, it’s terrific. “I have a three-day break of school!” exclaimed Hudson.But their mom, Brandi Pruente, who teaches French in a neighboring district in suburban Kansas City, is frustrated to find herself hunting for activities to keep her kids entertained and off electronics while she works five days a week. “I feel like I’m back in the COVID shutdown,” she said. Hundreds of school systems around the country have adopted four-day weeks in recent years, mostly in rural and western parts of the U.S. Districts cite cos...

We carry DNA from extinct cousins like Neanderthals. Science is now revealing their genetic legacy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:55:29 GMT

Neanderthals live on within us.These ancient human cousins, and others called Denisovans, once lived alongside our early Homo sapiens ancestors. They mingled and had children. So some of who they were never went away — it’s in our genes. And science is starting to reveal just how much that shapes us.Using the new and rapidly improving ability to piece together fragments of ancient DNA, scientists are finding that traits inherited from our ancient cousins are still with us now, affecting our fertility, our immune systems, even how our bodies handled the COVID-19 virus. “We’re now carrying the genetic legacies and learning about what that means for our bodies and our health,” said Mary Prendergast, a Rice University archeologist.In the past few months alone, researchers have linked Neanderthal DNA to a serious hand disease, the shape of people’s noses and various other human traits. They even inserted a gene carried by Neanderthals and Denisovans into mice to investigate i...

Commission announces almost €127 million in support of the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding with Tunisia and in line with the 10-point plan for Lampedusa

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:55:29 GMT

In support of the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a strategic and comprehensive partnership between the EU and Tunisia, the Commission is today announcing €60 million in budget support for Tunisia and an operational assistance package on migration worth around €67m, which respectively will now be disbursed in the coming days and contracted and delivered swiftly. The announcement follows yesterday's phone call between Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi (pictured) and Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar, to discuss the importance of continued delivery in the implementation of the MoU and in particular on priority actions. A delegation of Commission officials will visit Tunisia next week to discuss the implementation of the MoU, in particular the priority actions.The EU and Tunisia are committed to swiftly advance on the implementation of the MoU, prioritising actions in the field of migration the cooperation to crack down on th...

Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo checked for concussion after loss to Steelers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:55:29 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was evaluated for a concussion after Las Vegas’ 23-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.When Garoppolo was injured wasn’t clear because news of the concussion was announced after coach Josh McDaniels’ post-game news conference.However, Garoppolo was wobbly after a sack late in the first half by T.J. Watt. He also appeared to injure his ankle on that play, so it’s possible a concussion didn’t occur then.Garoppolo was never evaluated for a concussion during the game and played throughout. Garoppolo nearly rallied the Raiders from a 23-7 deficit. He passed for 324 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted three times.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflSource

Jets are sticking with Zach Wilson despite the quarterback’s struggles

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:55:29 GMT

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The weather was ugly. The New York Jets’ offense was worse.Zach Wilson couldn’t do much against the New England Patriots in a 15-10 loss on a rainy Sunday that was filled with missed opportunities, not enough plays and plenty of boos.“It’s tough,” Wilson said. “We weren’t doing anything on offense. … A lot of frustration by everybody on offense.”The Jets went 2 for 14 on third down, a week after going 1 for 10 in those situations in a 30-10 loss at Dallas. New York was outgained 358 yards to 171 by New England, and had just 12 first downs and averaged a measly 2.8 yards per play while losing its 15th straight meeting with its AFC East rival.“Overall, it just wasn’t good enough, from coaching to the players to all of it,” coach Robert Saleh said.The defense wasn’t without fault, either, especially after allowing New England to gain 358 yards and go 8 of 19 on third downs. But the Jets also held the Patriots to 15 ...

Ex-banker takes the reins of Greece’s leftist Syriza

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:55:29 GMT

ATHENS — In an unlikely move for a party founded on an anti-banker platform, Greece’s main opposition Syriza party elected former Goldman Sachs trader Stefanos Kasselakis as its new leader on Sunday.“I will never betray you,” Kasselakis told the supporters who gave him a rock-star welcome outside of his party’s headquarters late on Sunday.With 75 percent of the votes counted on Sunday night, Kasselakis led his rival Effie Achtsioglou on 56.69 percent to 43.31 percent.Syriza’s ballot came after the left-wing party suffered two crushing election defeats at the hands of conservative New Democracy this summer, leading Alexis Tsipras to resign after 15 years at its helm.Newcomer Kasselakis appeared virtually out of nowhere when he announced his candidacy in late August, and managed to forge ahead of ex-Labor Minister Achtsioglou, the first woman to compete for the post and until then the favorite to win the leadership.Kasselakis, the first openly gay party leader ...

Nazi-linked veteran received ovation during Zelenskyy’s Canada visit

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:55:29 GMT

OTTAWA, Ont. — A ranking Canadian parliamentarian is apologizing to Jewish communities around the world for a blunder during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit that led to lawmakers honoring a veteran accused of belonging to a Nazi division in WWII.It followed demands by Canadian Jewish organizations Sunday for an apology after it was revealed members of Parliament across party lines awarded a 98-year-old veteran on Friday with a standing ovation shortly after Zelenskyy addressed Canada’s House of Commons.Yaroslav Hunka stood and appeared to salute from the public gallery when he was recognized by House Speaker Anthony Rota, who introduced Hunka as a Canadian-Ukrainian war hero from his political district.https://021a07eb730c630a174b1ff2e2686f95.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html“We have here in the chamber today a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continu...

Cuban ‘mercenaries’ join Russia’s war on Ukraine for citizenship and a better life

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:55:29 GMT

What César really wanted was to get out of Cuba. A bartender struggling to make ends meet in Havana, he tried last year to reach Miami in a rickety boat but was forced to abandon the attempt when he was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard.He’s now preparing a second escape attempt: with a direct flight to Moscow. His ticket has been paid for by a Russian recruiter but it comes with a hefty price tag nonetheless: As part of the deal, he will have to join the Russian army and fight in Ukraine.“If this is the sacrifice I have to make for my family to get ahead, I’ll do it,”  said César, who turned 19 this year and whose name has been changed to protect his identity.“You can be a nuclear physicist and still die of hunger here,” he said. “With my current salary I can barely buy basic things like toilet paper or milk.” He said he hoped he would be allowed to work as a paramedic.The news of Cuban fighters in Ukraine splashed across global headlines earlier this month when Havana annou...

EU commissioner, in China, calls for more balanced trade and warns that Ukraine could divide them

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:55:29 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The European Union’s trade commissioner called for a more balanced economic relationship with China on Monday, noting a trade imbalance of nearly 400 billion euros ($425 billion), while also warning that China’s position on the war in Ukraine could endanger its relationship with Europe.Valdis Dombrovskis, in a speech at China’s prestigious Tsinghua University, said that the EU and China face significant political and economic headwinds that could cause them to drift apart.“The strongest, yet not the only, headwind is Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and how China positions itself on this issue,” he said, according to a prepared text of his remarks.Dombrovskis is in China to co-chair high-level economic and trade talks on Monday with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. EU leaders have expressed concern about the bloc’s growing trade deficit with China, which reached 396 billion euros last year. European Commission President Ursula von der...

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly lower after Wall St has its worst week in 6 months

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:55:29 GMT

Shares in Asia were mostly lower on Monday, with Tokyo the only major regional market to advance, after Wall Street wheezed to more losses with its worst week in six months. U.S. futures and oil prices edged higher. Worries over China’s property sector, a U.S. government shutdown and the continued strike by American autoworkers were weighing on investor sentiment. Troubled property developer China Evergrande sank 17.3% after announcing it was unable to raise further debt due to an investigation into one of its affiliates, a predicament that might imperil plans for restructuring its more than $300 billion in debt. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.5% to 17,794.49, while the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.5% to 3,116.17. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.9% at 32,689.87. In Seoul, the Kospi lost 0.5% to 2,496.65, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.1% to 7,064.30.On Friday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to 4,320.06 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.3% at...