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

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:29 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 Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:29 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 Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:29 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 Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:29 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 Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:29 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 Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:29 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 Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:29 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...

School officials identify Dover-Sherborn Regional High student as victim killed in Sesuit Harbor boat crash

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:29 GMT

Officials have identified the 17-year-old girl killed in a boating crash in Dennis Friday night as a Dover-Sherborn Regional High student.In a letter to the Dover-Sherborn Public School community, Superintendent Beth McCoy informed students, families and staff that Sadie Mauro, a rising senior, had been killed in a boating accident.Mauro and several other occupants were aboard a ship when it crashed into a jetty in Sesuit Harbor late on Friday, July 21. The teenager was unaccounted for after the crash, which left five people injured, including another teen who was hospitalized for a head laceration.Massachusetts State Police later said a body was recovered from the water around 11:30 p.m. after a search and rescue operation was conducted by Cold Storage Beach.“The Dover-Sherborn community is strong and is known for its strength and resiliency in the face of unimaginable tragedy,” McCoy said. “We will continue to support each other in the days and weeks ahead as we ...

Newburyport reopens all Plum Island beaches to swimming after bacteria levels forced closures

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:29 GMT

All beaches on Plum Island are back open for swimming after elevated bacteria levels forced Newburyport officials to limit access to the water.The City of Newburyport announced that, effective 9 a.m. on Sunday, July 23, beachgoers could take to the water after recent testing showed “significantly reduced bacteria levels” compared to a week ago, when authorities found levels above the state’s allowable limit.Beaches in the area were closed to swimming on July 17 after results from routine water quality testing led to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health alerting the city. After peaking that day, officials found levels decreased significantly afterwards, dropping to a point where by Friday, the Plum Island beachfront accessed through the pathway at 55th Street was reopened to swimming.According to a news release from the Office of Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon, the health department tests Plum Island beaches at least weekly throughout the summer, with state...

Myanmar Central Bank will issue its highest denomination banknote as the economy suffers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:31:29 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The Central Bank of army-ruled Myanmar will issue a new banknote worth twice as much as the current highest denomination, state-run media reported Sunday, in a possible reaction to the economy becoming more unstable since the generals seized power in 2021. The reason for issuing a higher denomination note of 20,000 kyats (about $9.50) was not explained. Since the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, economic boycotts and sanctions imposed by Western nations have hurt both big businesses and ordinary people, many of whose lives have already been disrupted by civil war and the coronavirus pandemic. The issuance of new, higher denomination currency is associated in popular belief with a risk of inflation, though there isn’t necessarily a link. Older Myanmar residents are especially sensitive to changes affecting the currency, recalling the sudden demonetization of banknotes in 1987 during an earlier dictatorship, which reportedly affected around 80...