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Florida discontinues manatee winter feeding program after seagrass conditions improve

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:32:35 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A two-year experimental feeding program for starving Florida manatees will not immediately resume this winter as conditions have improved for the threatened marine mammals and the seagrass on which they depend, wildlife officials said.Thousands of pounds of lettuce were fed to manatees that typically gather in winter months near the warm-water discharge of a power plant on Florida’s east coast. State and federal wildlife officials launched the program after pollution killed off vast seagrass beds, leading to a record of over 1,100 manatee deaths in 2021.This season, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined the seagrass has started to recover in key winter foraging areas on the east coast, and that there appear to be fewer manatees in poor physical condition going into the stressful colder months.“After careful consideration, the agencies are not providing manatees with a supplemental food so...

Young girl in Denver organizes pet drive to bring holiday joy to shelter animals

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:32:35 GMT

DENVER, Colo. (WSVN) — In the spirit of the season, a young girl in Denver made a “paw-sitive” impact on shelter animals’ lives, inspired by the memory of her beloved best friend, a border collie mix named Bella.Meet Milly Kukuczka, the 9-year-old girl behind a pet drive initiative aimed at providing toys, treats, and beds for dogs residing in shelters. “I thought it was sad that pets didn’t have owners, especially around the holidays,” she said.Milly’s journey began when her family asked her for her Christmas list. Instead of traditional requests, she surprised her parents by presenting a flier outlining her plan for a pet drive donation. “We asked her for her Christmas list, and she went into her art room and came out with a flier and wanted to do a pet drive donation,” said Milly’s mother, Ashley.Determined to ensure that shelter animals experience the joy of the season, Milly has committed to personally delivering the c...

Miami and Shanghai to host F1 sprint races for the first time in 2024

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:32:35 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Miami and Shanghai will host their first Formula One sprint races next season as two of the six sprints on the calendar take place in the United States.The calendar published Tuesday includes the first sprint race of the season in April at the Chinese Grand Prix, which is back on the F1 schedule for the first time since 2019 after being canceled for four years running amid the coronavirus pandemic.There is also a sprint race scheduled for May at the Miami Grand Prix, which will be in its third year in F1.The United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, in October gets a sprint race for the second year running. Austria, Brazil and Qatar are also returning hosts for sprint races.Exactly where the sprint races will fit into each race weekend next season is unclear amid a push to change the arrangement used in 2023, after it prompted calls for a clearer split between sprint and Grand Prix sessions.This year’s schedules saw qualifying for the main Grand Prix race held o...

A Florida lottery winner has less than a week to claim a $44 million prize before they lose it

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:32:35 GMT

(CNN) — This summer, someone walked into a Central Florida gas station and purchased a winning Quick Pick lottery ticket. That person now has less than a week to claim their prize before they forfeit a whopping $44 million.The unclaimed ticket will expire Monday, December 11, unless the ticket holder comes forward, according to the Florida Lottery.The winning numbers from the June 14 drawing are 09-13-15-46-51-52.The ticket was purchased at a Sunoco Express gas station in Kissimmee, Florida.Prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing or the ticket will expire, according to the lottery.A portion of every Florida Lottery ticket purchased goes to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, which funnels into the state’s public education system.When a ticket expires, state law requires 80 percent of the unclaimed prize go to the education fund. The remaining 20 percent is returned to the prize pool for future prizes.

European Commission to pitch three-year delay to Brexit electric vehicle tariffs

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:32:35 GMT

LONDON — The European Commission is to propose a three-year delay to new Brexit tariffs on electric vehicles, two people familiar with the plans told POLITICO.The proposal — which will be welcomed in London — is expected to be announced at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday by Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič.The measure is expected to be approved by EU member state ambassadors in a meeting next week.A package of financial support for the European battery industry is also expected to be announced to head off concerns from some member states that the rule change could increase dependence on Chinese batteries.Without the change, 10 percent tariffs are due to hit EVs traded across the English Channel from January 1 2024 when existing grace periods in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement expire.Though the TCA provides for tariff-free trade between the U.K. and EU, it only applies to goods produced in either of those countries.The rules of origin for electric vehicles mea...

Northern Ireland gangs still cast shadow of terror amid Stormont’s Brexit power vacuum

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:32:35 GMT

DUBLIN — Outlawed paramilitary groups remain an ever-present danger in Northern Ireland — and the U.K. region’s chronic lack of local government at Stormont is a big part of the reason why, according to an expert panel.The Independent Reporting Commission said repeated breakdowns of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing administration since 1999 have “had the effect of prolonging instability and mitigating against the kind of sustained, cross-party policy interventions, strategic decision-making and approaches that are needed to address the range of factors involved in continued paramilitarism.”The commission was created in 2016 by the British and Irish governments and Northern Ireland’s administration — at a time when the cross-community coalition was still functioning — to analyze the paramilitary threat and identify the best ways to end it.But as its latest 154-page report highlights, the commission said the ongoing Brexit-driven political stalemate at Stormont is “inhibiting efforts ...

Brazil’s anger over EU carbon tax infiltrates COP28

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:32:35 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Brazil has taken its green trade row with the European Union to this year’s global climate summit. The Brazilian government has been among the most vocal opponents of the EU’s new carbon border tax on imported goods, describing the measure as “discriminatory” and warning it might hinder rather than help global efforts to reduce planet-warming emissions. A fight is now brewing at the COP28 conference in Dubai as Brazil — backed by China — seeks to inject its trade concerns into international talks on how to curb climate change. In the first iteration of a draft negotiating text published Tuesday, some countries are pushing for language that would see the nearly 200 countries represented at this year’s talks criticize measures such as the EU’s carbon border tax — essentially a levy on carbon-intensive products coming into the bloc. The proposal suggests that countries adopt a COP28 declaration that “expresses serious concern&...

Pfizer sues Hungary as pandemic court cases mount

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:32:35 GMT

BRUSSELS — A court document obtained by POLITICO shows that Pfizer, together with its partner BioNTech, opened legal proceedings against the Hungarian government in January this year over COVID-19 vaccine deliveries. A spokesperson for Pfizer confirmed the case, which is unfolding in a Belgian court. “Discussions with the government in Budapest continue,” they added.The document shows that the case concerns payment for 3 million BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine doses, worth around €60 million. The dispute began when Hungary notified Pfizer in November 2022 that it did not intend to pay the pharmaceutical company, citing the conflict in Ukraine.A judge held a first hearing on the case in March and dismissed Pfizer’s request for a fast-tracked judgment. Since then the case has not progressed.Pfizer’s suit against Hungary parallels one the pharmaceutical company opened against Poland. In both instances, the countries are being sued in civil court over their refusal to take and pay fo...

Germany’s Baerbock chides Orbán and Serbia in fiery remarks

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:32:35 GMT

LJUBLJANA — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday urged Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to drop his vetoes on launching EU enlargement talks with Ukraine and approving fresh cash for Kyiv.Baerbock also lashed out at Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić for cozying up to Russia and putting his political opposition at a disadvantage ahead of upcoming elections.Baerbock reacted critically to the latest threat issued by Orbán on Monday. The Hungarian leader wrote to European Council President Charles Michel to urge him to remove talks on opening accession negotiations with Ukraine from the agenda of next week’s EU leaders’ summit.“We have no time for games at this moment,” Baerbock said in Ljubljana. “If we are in a situation where peace in Europe is under attack, then we must do everything we can every day and every hour to protect our people, and even more so the people of Ukraine, in the best possible way.”The EU had planned to a...

6 arrested in Belgium, Netherlands on suspicion of trading with rogue countries

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:32:35 GMT

BRUSSELS — Six people were arrested for allegedly exporting dual-use goods to countries sanctioned by the European Union, Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office said Tuesday after police raided companies and houses in rural Belgium and the Netherlands.“Some of the technologies traded could fall under embargo rules applicable to certain countries, such as Russia, notably because of armed conflict,” the office said in a press release.Police raided “private homes and company headquarters” in Knokke-Heist and Eeklo in Belgium’s Flanders region, and in Rotterdam and Sluis in the Netherlands, the statement said.“The investigation will have to determine whether these strategic and protected technologies may have been marketed to countries where Belgium and the European Parliament impose legal restrictions.”Four people were detained for questioning in Belgium, and two in the Netherlands. The raids are part of a joint investigation with th...