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Flemish nationalists aren’t happy with plan for more English in Brussels

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:22:33 GMT

BRUSSELS — Language wars are back in Brussels.The topic has long been a divisive political issue in Belgium, where linguistic differences between the Dutch- and French-speaking communities — the country’s two main languages — have at times turned into bitter political conflict.Now, a proposal from the Flemish liberals aiming to turn English into the third administrative language in the country’s capital is sparking criticism from the northern region of Flanders’ nationalist party, New Flemish Alliance (N-VA).“English in Brussels can be an initial language to welcome expats,” Cieltje Van Achter, the head of the N-VA’s group at the Brussels regional parliament, told POLITICO.But, she added, “it’s important that people who decide to spend their lives here also learn French and Dutch,” to facilitate their integration.The debate — a recurring one in Brussels politics — over the importance given to English in the European capital was resusci...

Hands off our money! Parliament and top EU court resist budget cuts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:22:33 GMT

BRUSSELS — As inflation bites, EU institutions are privately fighting with the European Commission over how much public money they should be allowed to spend next year. Letters between the EU’s Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn and other EU bodies — seen by POLITICO — reveal that the Commission wants the European Parliament to rein in its 2024 spending plans by some €28 million, and the Court of Justice of the EU to slash almost €6 million.Senior players in the Parliament have pushed back on those demands, arguing that Hahn is deploying a sneaky, never-before-used budgeting trick that could force them to make painful cuts in areas outside of salaries. As Hahn prepares to defend his draft budget proposal in front of MEPs on Wednesday evening, those disagreements are teeing up a bad-tempered negotiation among EU institutions. Metsola’s miffedParliament President Roberta Metsola railed against the Commission’s request in a letter she sent to Commission ...

How a decade of sacrifice and resilience earned North Harford graduate JT Maguire a shot in Major League Baseball

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:22:33 GMT

JT Maguire slumped into his worn-out mattress on the floor of a Wofford College dorm. He was four jobs removed from graduation, bunking like a college kid working as a volunteer assistant baseball coach, asking himself if he chose the right path.Is this lifestyle sustainable? Am I ever going to be able to retire one day? Am I ever going to own a house or get married?He was in his 20s living off ramen noodles and driving a run-down 2004 Volkswagen Jetta while his peers took fancy cars to cushy jobs. Maguire even passed on dates because baseball, despite giving him exposure, wasn’t paying enough — if anything. He missed weddings, funerals, holidays and every family gathering in between.Baseball took precedence. He had a dream and refused to lose sight of it.Maguire sat outside Camden Yards’ visiting team clubhouse before the middle outing of a recent three-game homecoming series for him, ruminating on a more than decade-long sacrifice to get to this year: his first a...

Cape and Islands Sailing All-Stars

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:22:33 GMT

Cape and Islands Sailing League AwardsUrsula Budd SturgisAbigail Considine MonomoyAbbie Catalano CCAAlex Daigle CCANick Kowaleski CCA Honorable MentionWill Correia ORRElla Caesar ORREthan Martin SandwichCaroline O’Neil Sandwich Honorable MentionTyler Lippincott Sandwich Honorable MentionSophie Menyhart SJP League MVPJack Homa SJPAngelina Manchuk SJPRory Murray ACKAlice O’Banion ACKEli Fuller ACK Honorable MentionMaisy Sperry DartPheobe Murray DartSam Sperry Dartmouth Honorable MentionFinn Sperry Dartmouth Honorable MentionNate Gedraitis Dennis-YarmouthSam Riley Martha’s Vineyard League MVPJocelyn Baliunas Martha’s VineyardSimon Hammarlund Martha’s VineyardJuliet Morse Martha’s VineyarCharlie Crowell NausetRuth Drake NausetTolly Kaiser Nauset Honorable MentionMax Wesp Nauset Honorable MentionBridget Gallagher Bishop StangCaden Croquette Bishop StangGrace Robello Bishop Stang Honorable MentionClare Gallagher Bishop Stang Honorable MentionJoey Simpkins FalmouthMarcus Greco ...

CNN ousts CEO Chris Licht after a brief, tumultuous tenure

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:22:33 GMT

By DAVID BAUDER (AP Media Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — CNN ousted chief executive Chris Licht after a tumultuous year leading the struggling news network that culminated in a damning magazine profile and the growing realization that he’d lost the confidence of the network’s journalists.The change was announced at CNN’s editorial meeting Wednesday morning and came just two days after Licht said he would “fight like hell” to earn the trust of those around him.David Zaslav, CEO of CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, appointed a four-person interim leadership team, and said at the editorial meeting that he would conduct a thorough search for Licht’s replacement.Licht had a mandate to try and make CNN more palatable to both sides of the country’s political divide; Republicans had become increasingly suspicious of the network following repeated attacks by former President Donald Trump.But some at the network saw Licht’s mandate for ch...

Bay State Conference Rugby All-Stars

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:22:33 GMT

Austin Colantonio, Will MacDonald, Jack Presuti, Brian Rizzo (Braintree); Matt Marmai, Nate Lockwood, Jamie Leslie (Brookline); Danny Treistman, Matt Stockbridge, Jack Dennehy, Griffin White (Milton); Andrew Miskell (Needham); Adam Elin, Michael Mastrocola, Naheem Ridore, Will Savage, Josh Cullivan,  AidenHenderson, Tyler Ahern, Christian Laeman, Toni Dumont-Gonzalez (Weymouth)

Man stabbed during fight outside Ocean Beach bar

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:22:33 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A man was stabbed Tuesday in Ocean Beach after he and two other men got into a fight with a group of bikers outside a bar, San Diego police said.According to SDPD, the incident happened around 8:30 p.m. in the 5000 block of Newport Avenue when three men, ages 19, 20 and 21, got into an argument with a group of bikers.The argument eventually escalated to a physical altercation involving several more bikers, police said. The 21-year-old was stabbed in the chest and the 19-year-old was knocked unconscious during the fight.Their injuries were not considered to be life-threatening, police said. The 20-year-old man reportedly fled the scene during the fight. Motorcyclist dies at X Games freestyle motocross track in East County The group of bikers left the scene after the incident.Some time later, SDPD officers spotted a group of three or four Harley Davidson motorcycle riders traveling eastbound on Interstate 8 at 70th Street.Officers attempted to stop the motorcycles, leadi...

These restaurants coming to new Terminal 1 at San Diego International Airport

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:22:33 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Construction is well underway on the new Terminal 1 at San Diego International Airport (SAN) and while it'll be some time before it opens to travelers, details about what the new building will feature are slowly starting to be announced.On Tuesday, SAN revealed the first handful of new concessionaries that will be coming to the airport's new building alongside the anticipated phased opening of the travel hub in late 2025 and early 2028.During the first phase of Terminal 1's opening in 2025, four San Diego-based flavors will become available for travelers. What to know about the summer travel season at San Diego International Airport Popular coffee chain, Better Buzz Coffee Roasters, will be the one of these concessions opening with the first phase. The location will be located just opposite the airside security checkpoint, perfect for early morning passengers to grab a coffee or a pastry before their flight.Parakeet Café will also be coming to Terminal 1, offering tra...

Shell’s clean energy advertising campaign is misleading, UK watchdog says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:22:33 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A marketing campaign by oil major Shell has been banned by the U.K.’s advertising watchdog Wednesday for implying a big proportion of its business was in low carbon energy even though fossil fuels make up the “vast majority” of its operations.A television commercial, a YouTube video and a poster campaign in Bristol, England, variously described providing large numbers of British homes with 100% renewable energy, installing electric vehicle charging points and driving the energy transition.In its written ruling the Advertising Standards Authority found consumers would interpret the marketing materials as making a “broader claim about Shell as a whole providing cleaner energy.”Although Shell does have a clean energy business, the company estimates its operations released almost 1.4 billion tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in 2021.In a statement, Shell spokesperson Tara Lemay said the company “strongly” disagrees with the ASA’s decision, “which could slow the U....

Jags unveil ‘stadium of future’ with covered seats, a proposal critical to team’s future

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:22:33 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars unveiled conceptual designs for their “stadium of the future” on Wednesday, providing an initial glimpse into a billion-dollar-plus project that could determine the fate of the small-market franchise.The renderings showed covered seating throughout a 62,000-seat, open-air stadium that includes a 360-degree concourse, which is four times wider than the current space. Capacity could be expanded to 71,500 for the annual Florida-Georgia rivalry, the Gator Bowl or a College Football Playoff game. The project also would include major improvements around the stadium, including a University of Florida satellite campus.The Jaguars believe the proposal would create more opportunities to host major concerts, music festivals and the NFL draft. They stopped short of suggesting a second Super Bowl, clearly aware that the city’s lack of nearby hotels remain an obstacle.“We have reached the end of this important and initial phase of this project — ...