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Luxembourg election: Center-right to lead coalition talks

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:02:37 GMT

After winning a general election at the weekend, Luxembourg’s center-right Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) will lead coalition talks with outgoing Prime Minister Xavier Bettel’s liberal Democratic Party (DP), both parties announced late Monday.That puts CSV leader Luc Frieden, a former finance minister and ex-president of industry and services lobby Eurochambres, in pole position to become the country’s next prime minister.“This is obviously a great honor and a great responsibility, as it involves preparing the future of this country. I have accepted this mission,” Frieden said Monday evening after meeting with the Grand Duke of Luxembourg — the country’s head of state — who put him in charge of leading the coalition negotiations.Bettel, who has been appointed by the DP to lead discussions with Frieden, said his party was “ready to take responsibilities in the future government with Luc Frieden as prime minister.”Bettel has said he is willin...

NFL power rankings, Week 6: Ravens need to ‘wake up’ soon to get back in contention

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:02:37 GMT

Each week of the NFL season, The Baltimore Sun will rank all 32 NFL teams. The rankings will take into account not just weekly performance, injuries and roster depth, but how well each team measures up as Super Bowl contenders.Here are the rankings heading into Week 6:1. San Francisco 49ers (5-0, No. 1 last week)Last week: Win vs. Cowboys, 42-10Up next: at BrownsIt’s time to admit Brock Purdy is a good quarterback. He hardly broke a sweat in destroying the Cowboys’ stout defense, completing 17 of 24 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns. On a night when Christian McCaffrey averaged just 2.7 yards per carry, Purdy carried the offense to a statement victory. Toss in an incredible defense that makes life miserable for opposing quarterbacks, and this is your undisputed Super Bowl favorite.2. Kansas City Chiefs (4-1, No. 3)Last week: Win vs. Vikings, 27-20Up next: vs. BroncosAfter injuring his ankle, the world’s most famous tight end returned to catch a touchdown ...

Patriots-Saints film review: Mac Jones looks as broken as his offense

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:02:37 GMT

The Patriots offense is unequivocally, fundamentally, horribly, plainly and irretrievably broken.Ready for this?The Pats have scored three points in their last two games. They haven’t scored a touchdown in 34 straight drives. They’ve set up camp inside the red zone just once since Week 2.More?According to advanced metrics, the Patriots own the NFL’s worst pass offense and its worst rush offense. Mac Jones has been benched in two straight games and allowed Zach Wilson to lap him as a functioning NFL quarterback. Somehow, between the two of them, Jones is now the skittish and erratic ticking turnover bomb.Jones can’t help himself. He’s already thrown as many pick-sixes at Gillette Stadium as Tom Brady did. Not that Jones is solely responsible for the disaster around him.The Patriots’ offensive line allows the most pressure in the league. Their wideouts generate the least amount of separation, per Next Gen Stats, while star running back Rhamondre Ste...

Major downtown intersection shutdown this week for TTC streetcar track work

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:02:37 GMT

A major intersection in downtown Toronto will be closed off to traffic for the duration of the work week to allow for streetcar track work.Starting at 6 a.m. Tuesday, the intersection of Adelaide and Yonge streets will be shutdown to through traffic for TTC track replacement until 11 p.m. Friday. The City says the intersection will remain open to pedestrians and local traffic.“The City will deploy traffic Agents and paid duty officers to help manage traffic in the area,” says the City of Toronto. “Local businesses in the area will remain open as usual and pedestrian access to businesses around the work zone will be maintained.”The City says the four-day closure will help ensure the streetcar work on Adelaide between Yonge and Victoria streets will be finished by the end of the year, rather than having it extend into next spring.Adelaide will remain reduced to one shared lane once the intersection reopens on Friday evening. The city anticipates additional lane...

Several more people arrested over a far-right German plot to launch a coup and kidnap a minister

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:02:37 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Several more people suspected of being involved in planning a far-right coup and plotting to kidnap the German health minister were arrested in raids in a number of regions on Tuesday, authorities said.Prosecutors have said the group intended to create “conditions similar to civil war” by using explosives to cause nationwide blackouts, then kidnapping Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who was a prominent advocate of strict coronavirus measures. There were no indications the group was close to launching a coup. Five people already went on trial in May over the alleged plot by the group calling itself United Patriots. Prosecutors say the group is linked to the Reich Citizens scene, which rejects the legitimacy of Germany’s postwar constitution and has similarities to the Sovereign Citizens and QAnon movements in the United States.Authorities in several German regions carried out raids on Tuesday and detained more people. Frankfurt prosecutors said a man arrested in the ce...

Russia will only resume nuclear tests if the US does it first, a top Russian diplomat says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:02:37 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia will move to revoke the ratification of a global nuclear test ban to put itself on par with the United States but will only resume nuclear tests if Washington does it first, a senior Russian diplomat said Tuesday.Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters that Moscow will rescind the ratification of the nuclear test ban treaty to “mirror” the action by the U.S. He added that if the U.S. conducts a nuclear test, “we will be forced to mirror that as well.”The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, adopted in 1996 and known as the CTBT, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, although it has never fully entered into force. It was signed by both the Russian and U.S. presidents but was never ratified by the U.S. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow could consider rescinding its 2000 decision to ratify the bill. Putin noted that while some experts have talked about the need to conduct nuclear tests, he hasn’t yet formed ...

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy visits neighboring Romania to discuss security and boost ties

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:02:37 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to neighboring Romania on Tuesday for talks with his counterpart on regional security and strengthening bilateral ties against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of his country.Zelenskyy met with President Klaus Iohannis in the capital, Bucharest. The two are also expected to discuss security cooperation in the Black Sea region, Zelenskyy said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.After he arrived in Romania, Zelenskyy described the NATO and European Union member country as “a friend who came to our help on our darkest day and whose support gets stronger with time.”In recent weeks, Russia has carried out sustained attacks on Ukraine’s Danube River ports — located just across the river from Romania — as Moscow aims to disrupt Ukraine’s ability to export grain to world markets. Romania has confirmed drone fragment findings on its territory, the type used by the Russian army near its border wi...

Dollars and sense: Can financial literacy help students learn math?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:02:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inside a high school classroom, Bryan Martinez jots down several purchases that would require a short-term savings plan: shoes, phone, headphones, clothes, and food.His medium-term financial goals take a little more thought, but he settles on a car — he doesn’t have one yet — and vacations. Peering way into his future, the 18-year-old also imagines saving money to buy a house, start his own business, retire, and perhaps provide any children with a college fund. Martinez’s friend next to him writes a different long-term goal: Buy a private jet.“You have to be a millionaire to save up for that,” Martinez says with a chuckle.Call it a reality check or an introduction to a critical life skill, this exercise occurred in a course called Advanced Algebra with Financial Applications. The elective math class has been a mainstay in Capital City Public Charter School’s offerings for more than a decade, giving students a foundation in money management while they hone mat...

Millennial Money: 3 ways to save money in a high-cost city

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:02:37 GMT

Traditional money-saving advice may not cut it if you live in one of America’s most expensive cities or urban areas. Residents of New York City, San Francisco, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Orange County, California, among others, are paying much more than the national average for housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, health care, and other goods and services.There is a silver lining, though: High-cost cities can come with unique opportunities to save, such as housing lotteries, discounted tickets to cultural institutions for residents, and specialty grocery stores and farmers markets.STREAMLINE YOUR GROCERY ROUTINEIt can be more convenient to shop for groceries weekly at a traditional grocery store, but if you’re looking to cut costs in an expensive city, it may be worth the extra effort to shop wholesale and supplement with smaller, budget-friendly trips to the local grocery store.“Shopping at Costco has made it really stark how much of a markup I accepted ...

Tuesday Forecast: Temps near 60 with mostly sunny conditions

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:02:37 GMT

CHICAGO — Cool conditions with temperatures near 60 Tuesday. Mostly sunny, Winds: W 5-15. High: 60.Frost Advisory issued until 8 a.m. (all counties except central & northern cook and lake IL). Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Mostly clear tonight, patchy frost possible. Winds: W 0-5. Low: 40.Wednesday Forecast: Increasing Clouds, late day rain/storms, W 0-5. High: 63.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog