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AP PHOTOS: People shade, hydrate and stay indoors in scorching heat on U.S.-Mexico border

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:35 GMT

CALEXICO, Calif. (AP) — People withered in blistering heat on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, where temperatures hit a scorching highs this week and many got little relief from the sun. Maribel Padilla, part of the Brown Bag Coalition, met up with people who are homeless and particularly vulnerable to the heat in Calexico, on the border between Mexico and California, where temperatures hit 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius). She provided them with a cold, wet towel, and some refreshments to give them respite. Many placed the towels over the heads to shield themselves and rehydrated with cool bottles of water.Just across the border in Mexicali, Mexico, many plunged into indoor pools for some exercise and cool comfort. An outdoor taekwondo class waited for the sun to set before exerting themselves in the sweltering heat. But there was little choice for those working outside, who sweated through their clothes in 115-degree Fahrenheit (46-degree Celsius) temperatures. Mos...

¿Por qué Estados Unidos dejó de construir piscinas públicas?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:35 GMT

(CNN) — Al crecer en Louisville, Kentucky, Gerome Sutton esperó toda la semana la oportunidad de nadar en la piscina de Algonquin Park el fin de semana.“Era como Navidad en verano”, dijo Sutton, ahora de 66 años y ministro local. “Fue el mejor momento de la semana”.Los parques públicos de Louisville se eliminaron en 1955, un año antes de que naciera Sutton. Esto incluyó la piscina al aire libre Algonquin recientemente construida en el lado oeste de Louisville.Costaba US$ 35 centavos nadar en Algonquin en ese momento, dijo Sutton. Él y sus siete hermanos se turnaron para ir fines de semana alternos porque la familia no podía permitirse el lujo de enviar a los ocho niños al mismo tiempo.“Íbamos a nadar. Eso hace una gran declaración” contra la segregación, dijo. “Hubo un esfuerzo organizado por parte del gobierno para mantener a los niños comprometidos con una actividad”.Las piscinas públicas han jugado un papel fundamental en la cultura estadounidense durante el siglo pasado. P...

Pedro Cachin wins first career title beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Swiss Open final

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:35 GMT

GSTAAD, Switzerland (AP) — In his first tour-level final at age 28, Pedro Cachin won his first title Sunday beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 at the Swiss Open then shared victory kisses courtside with his pet dog.A tearful Cachin shared a courtside hug with his partner, then smooches with their French bulldog who also was at the match sitting in the family section.After having his service broken to lose the first set, Cachin reeled off eight straight games during which the 35-year-old Ramos-Vinolas sought treatment for his bandaged left foot. Cachin let slip a 4-3 lead with a service break up in the deciding set but broke again to lead 6-5 because of wayward forehands from Ramos-Vinolas. The 90th-ranked Argentine clinched the title at sun-bathed Gstaad in the Swiss Alps with a double-handed backhand for a cross-court winner.The victory will lift Cachin toward a career-best ranking of No. 54 he reached last year. His career was slowed by neck and ankle injuries and he enter...

Musk says Twitter to change logo to “X” from the bird. Changes could come as early as Monday.

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:35 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk said Sunday that he plans to change the logo of Twitter to an “X” from the bird, marking what would be the latest big change since he bought the social media platform for $44 billion last year.In a series of posts on his Twitter account starting just after 12 a.m. ET, Twitter’s owner said that he’s looking to make the change worldwide as soon as Monday. “And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” Musk wrote on his account.Earlier this month, the billionaire Tesla CEO put new curfews on his digital town square, a move that met with sharp criticism that it could drive away more advertisers and undermine its cultural influence as a trendsetter.The higher tweet-viewing threshold is part of an $8-per-month subscription service that Musk rolled out earlier this year in an attempt to boost Twitter revenue. Revenue has dropped sharply since Musk took over the company and laid off roughly three-fourths of the workfor...

Jamaica holds France to a 0-0 draw in a surprising Women’s World Cup opener

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:35 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Jamaica produced one of the biggest surprises of the Women’s World Cup on Sunday by holding France to a 0-0 draw.France’s Kadidiatou Diani struck the bar with a 90th-minute header, but one of the tournament favorites had to settle for a point. The draw saw Jamaica pick up its first ever point in the competition, despite ending the game with 10 players after Khadija Shaw was sent off in time added on. In a game of few chances, Diani had France’s best opportunities to score a winner, but could not find a breakthrough at the Sydney Football Stadium. She forced a save from Jamaica goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer in the first half and saw another effort deflected wide. Another header in the second half also went wide of the target before her late effort came back off the bar. France, a quarterfinalist in 2019, is ranked fifth in the world, while Jamaica is 43rd.The French were expected to be too strong for Jamaica, which is playing in the tournament for the second ti...

Titmus breaks women’s 400-freestyle world record at world championships in Japan

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:35 GMT

FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — Ariarne Titmus has broken the world record in the women 400-meter freestyle in a star-studded race that featured three women who have held the mark.Titmus swam the distance in 3 minutes, 55.38 seconds to top the record set four months ago by Summer McIntosh of Canada of 3:56.08.The record fell on Sunday on the first day of eight in the pool at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka in southwestern Japan. Some billed it as the most compelling race of the entire championships.American Katie Ledecky finished second in 3:58.73 with bronze for Erika Fairweather of New Zealand in 3:59.59. Canadian McIntosh was fourth in 3:59.94.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

One year old, US climate law is already turbocharging clean energy technology

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:35 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — On a recent day under the July sun, three men heaved solar panels onto the roof of a roomy, two-story house near the banks of the Kentucky River, a few miles upstream from the state capitol where lawmakers have promoted coal for more than a century.The U.S. climate law that passed one year ago offers a 30% discount off this installation via a tax credit, and that’s helping push clean energy even into places where coal still provides cheap electricity. For Heather Baggett’s family in Frankfort, it was a good deal.“For us, it’s not politically motivated,” said Baggett. “It really came down to financially, it made sense.”On August 16, after the hottest June ever recorded and a scorching July, America’s long-sought response to climate change, the Inflation Reduction Act, turns one year old. In less than a year it has prompted investment in a massive buildout of battery and EV manufacturing across the states. Nearly 80 major clean energy manufactur...

Raspberry Chocolate Clusters / Belkys

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:35 GMT

Ingredients: 2 cups fresh raspberries1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt2 cups chocolate chips3 tbs. vegetable oilFlaky sea salt to tasteMethod of Preparation:Add Greek yogurt to a bowl and stir in fresh raspberries. Mix gently so the berries don’t break apart.Form clusters with a spoon and put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Put them in the freezer overnight (or at least two hours, until they get hard.)Once the clusters are frozen, melt the chocolate chips, using a double boiler or the microwave. Be careful not to burn the chocolate! When the chips are melted, add vegetable oil and mix well to help make it nice and smooth.Take the yogurt clusters out of the freezer and dip them in the melted chocolate. Put them on parchment paper and sprinkle with flaky sea salt then place them back in the freezer until they harden again. This doesn’t take long- just a few minutes. Take them out when you’re ready to serve. Note: they will begin to melt if not eaten soon.Enjoy!

Increased turnout in Spanish elections

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:35 GMT

MADRID — Some 40.48 percent of registered voters had cast their ballots in Spain’s national elections as of 2 p.m., Spain’s national electoral commission reported, an increase of two percentage points compared to the turnout registered at the same hour during the elections in November of 2019.That turnout figure does not include mail-in ballots, which could boost the final figure substantially. Spaniards have opted to vote by mail in record numbers in these elections, the first to be held in the middle of summer, when over a quarter of registered electors are on holiday. Some 2.47 million votes have been processed by the country’s state-owned postal service; those ballots are already at polling stations but will only be counted at the end of the day.Over 37 million Spaniards are registered to vote in these elections, which will determine if the country continues to be run by a left-wing coalition led Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, or if instead t...

Ukrainian offensive was delayed by lack of munitions, Zelenskyy says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:35 GMT

WASHINGTON — Ukraine had hoped to start its highly anticipated counteroffensive earlier in the spring, but held off because it lacked the necessary weapons, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.“We did have plans to start it in spring. But we didn’t, because, frankly, we had not enough munitions and armaments and not enough brigades properly trained in these weapons, still, more, that the training missions were held outside Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said during an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.”Because the counteroffensive began later, Zelenskyy said, speaking through a translator, “it provided Russia with time to mine all our lands and build several lines of defense. And, definitely, they had even more time than they needed. Because of that, they built more of those lines. And, really, they had a lot of mines in our fields.”“Because of that, a slower pace of our counteroffensive actions. We didn’t want to lose our people, our personnel. And our servicem...