Coote was sacked earlier this month after the emergence of a video in which he made derogatory remarks about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp. Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said that a thorough investigation had concluded he was “in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract, with his position deemed untenable”. “Supporting David Coote continues to be important to us and we remain committed to his welfare,” PGMOL’s statement on December 9 added. Coote had the right to appeal against the decision but PA understands the Nottinghamshire referee has decided not to. The video which triggered PGMOL’s investigation into Coote’s conduct first came to public attention on November 11. In it, Coote is asked for his views on a Liverpool match where he has just been fourth official, and describes them as “s***”. He then describes Klopp as a “c***”, and, asked why he felt that way, Coote says the German had “a right pop at me when I reffed them against Burnley in lockdown” and had accused him of lying. “I have got no interest in speaking to someone who’s f****** arrogant, so I do my best not to speak to him,” Coote said. Later in the video, Coote again refers to Klopp, this time as a “German c***”. The Football Association opened its own investigation into that video, understood to be centred on that last comment and whether Coote’s reference to Klopp’s nationality constituted an aggravated breach of its misconduct rules. The investigation by PGMOL which led to Coote’s contract being terminated is also understood to have looked at another video which appeared to show Coote snorting a white powder, purportedly during Euro 2024 where he was one of the assistant VARs for the tournament. European football’s governing body UEFA also appointed an ethics investigator to look into the matter.Green and Louisiana Tech win 85-79 in OT over Southern Illinois at Gulf Coast Showcase
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden kicked off his final holiday season at the White House on Monday by issuing the traditional reprieve to two turkeys who will bypass the Thanksgiving table to live out their days in southern Minnesota. Biden welcomed 2,500 guests to the South Lawn under sunny skies as he cracked jokes about the fates of “Peach” and “Blossom” and sounded wistful tones about the last weeks of his presidency after a half-century in Washington power circles. “It’s been the honor of my life. I’m forever grateful,” Biden said, taking note of his impending departure on Jan. 20, 2025. That's when power will transfer to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, the man Biden defeated four years ago and was battling again until he was pressured to bow out of the race amid concerns about his age and viability. Biden is 82. Until Inauguration Day, the president and first lady Jill Biden will continue a busy run of festivities that will double as their long goodbye. The White House schedule in December is replete with holiday parties for various constituencies, from West Wing staff to members of Congress and the White House press corps. Biden relished the brief ceremony with the pardoned turkeys, named for the official flower of the president's home state of Delaware. “The peach pie in my state is one of my favorites,” he said during remarks that were occasionally interrupted by Peach gobbling atop the table to Biden's right. “Peach is making a last-minute plea,” Biden said at one point, drawing laughter from an overflow crowd that included Cabinet members, White House staff and their families, and students from 4H programs and Future Farmers of America chapters. Biden introduced Peach as a bird who “lives by the motto, ‘Keep calm and gobble on.’” Blossom, the president said, has a different motto: “No fowl play. Just Minnesota nice.” Peach and Blossom came from the farm of John Zimmerman, near the southern Minnesota city of Northfield. Zimmerman, who has raised about 4 million turkeys, is president of the National Turkey Federation, the group that has gifted U.S. presidents Thanksgiving turkeys since the Truman administration after World War II. President Harry Truman, however, preferred to eat the birds. Official pardon ceremonies did not become an annual White House tradition until the administration of President George H.W. Bush in 1989. With their presidential reprieve, Peach and Blossom will live out their days at Farmamerica, an agriculture interpretative center near Waseca in southern Minnesota. The center's aim is to promote agriculture and educate future farmers and others about agriculture in America. Separately Monday, first lady Jill Biden received the official White House Christmas tree that will be decorated and put on display in the Blue Room. The 18.5 foot (5.64 meters) Fraser fir came from a farm in an area of western North Carolina that recently was devastated by Hurricane Helene . Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm lost thousands of trees in the storm “but this one remained standing and they named it ‘Tremendous’ for the extraordinary hope that it represents,” Jill Biden said at the event. The Bidens were also traveling to New York City on Monday for an evening “Friendsgiving” event at a Coast Guard station on Staten Island. Biden began his valedictory calendar Friday night with a gala for hundreds of his friends, supporters and staff members who gathered in a pavilion erected on the South Lawn, with a view out to the Lincoln Memorial. Cabinet secretaries, Democratic donors and his longest-serving staff members came together to hear from the president and pay tribute, with no evidence that Biden was effectively forced from the Democratic ticket this summer and watched Vice President Kamala Harris suffer defeat on Nov. 5. “I’m so proud that we’ve done all of this with a deep belief in the core values of America,” said Biden, sporting a tuxedo for the black-tie event. Setting aside his criticisms of Trump as a fundamental threat to democracy, Biden added his characteristic national cheerleading: “I fully believe that America is better positioned to lead the world today than at any point in my 50 years of public service.” The first lady toasted her husband with a nod to his 2020 campaign promise to “restore the soul of the nation,” in Trump’s aftermath. With the results on Election Day, however, Biden’s four years now become sandwiched in the middle of an era dominated by Trump's presence on the national stage and in the White House. Even as the first couple avoided the context surrounding the president's coming exit, those political realities were nonetheless apparent, as younger Democrats like Maryland Gov. Wes Moore , Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Biden's Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg not only raised their glasses to the president but held forth with many attendees who could remain in the party's power circles in the 2028 election cycle and beyond. ___ Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
Pinion has 22 points as Arkansas State beats No. 16 Memphis 85-72
The Tampa Bay Rays have had six of their 2025 regular-season games shifted to the early season due to weather issues from playing outside, Major League Baseball announced Monday. The Rays' usual home, domed Tropicana Field, was damaged by Hurricane Milton last month with almost all of its roof shredded and no possibility of playing there next year. As a result, the Rays moved their 2025 home games from St. Petersburg to the New York Yankees training complex at nearby Tampa, which has an 11,000-seat outdoor stadium. An April series scheduled against the Los Angeles Angels that had been set for California will instead be played April 8-10 in Florida. A series between the two which had been set for August in Florida will now be hosted by the Angels on August 4-6. A Rays series against the Minnesota Twins planned in Minneapolis from May 26-28 will instead be played on the same dates in Tampa while a series that had been set for Tampa on July 4-6 will now be played in Minnesota. Florida summers can bring extreme heat and rain. js/bsp
The Trudeau government’s two-pronged announcement of a goods and services tax holiday on certain “essential” items and its pledge to dole out $250 to millions of people in the country have left economists scrambling to gauge the impact of Ottawa’s $6.3-billion, election-style splurge. With Canada’s economy facing several headwinds, the stimulus cheques and the sales tax break on items such as groceries, children’s clothing, beer and Christmas trees are expected to spur consumers to open their wallets, boosting economic growth in the near term. However, the sugar high could fade quickly, as shoppers simply shift around the timing of their purchases. And the jolt of spending – coming on top of recent hotter-than-expected inflation data – may help convince the Bank of Canada to slow its pace of interest-rate cuts. The new big-ticket spending proposals also raise questions about Ottawa’s ability to stay within its self-imposed deficit guardrails, especially if, as some economists think, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decides to make the sales tax changes permanent as a way to placate angry voters. “Once politicians get the idea that, ‘Oh, playing with the GST, playing with things that are taxable or not,’ is a political winner, they’re never going to stop. And that is not good for the budget and it’s not good for tax policy,” said Stephen Gordon, an economics professor at Laval University. Coming in at around 0.2 per cent of gross domestic product, Ottawa’s package will ripple through the economy – but it’s hardly a game-changer. The economics team at Bank of Montreal boosted its GDP growth estimate for the first quarter of 2025 to 2.5 per cent from 1.7 per cent, but trimmed its GDP growth forecast for the third quarter, when the effect of the stimulus fades. Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said that the tax rebates could theoretically increase GDP by as much as a quarter-percentage-point next year, especially because fiscal stimulus has a bigger impact when there is slack in the economy, as is currently the case. “But that’s only if these cheques are permitted to raise the federal deficit,” Mr. Shenfeld wrote in a client note. “If Ottawa is merely shifting funds from what it otherwise would have spent elsewhere, in order to stick to a given deficit target, the impact could be negated.” It’s also unclear how much the stimulus cheques will increase consumer spending, with people potentially pocketing the money or using it to pay down debt, rather than going shopping Mr. Shenfeld said the overall package would likely have a “very marginal” impact on upcoming Bank of Canada interest-rate decisions. This view was shared by other Bay Street economists, although there was a broad agreement that Ottawa’s stimulus essentially seals the deal for a quarter-point rate cut at the next Bank of Canada meeting in December, rather than another half-point cut, as happened in October. “On its own, this probably doesn’t move the needle so significantly because of the fact that it’s not massive and it is temporary,” said Taylor Schleich, director of economics and strategy at National Bank Financial. However, complicating that is the fact the measures come at the same time as stimulus is rolling out from other levels of government, inflation has picked up and housing markets are potentially reaccelerating, he said. “If the Bank of Canada was on the fence about cutting 25 or 50 basis points, perhaps all of this data taken together leads them more towards a more gradual easing approach in the near term,” he said. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said last month that the bank is less concerned than it was about government spending fuelling inflation and working at cross purposes to the bank’s still-restrictive monetary policy now that inflation is largely under control. “We’re no longer trying to get inflation down. Government spending is not pushing against us getting inflation down, we’ve got it down,” he told the Senate Banking Committee. It’s so far impossible to say how the two measures will impact the federal government’s bottom line, because Ottawa has yet to produce its final spending and revenue picture for the past fiscal year. However, in an Oct. 17 report , the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Canada’s budgetary watchdog, estimated the deficit for 2023-24 would come in at $46.8-billion, deeper than the $40-billion deficit laid out in the government’s 2024 budget. The government’s own fiscal guardrail aims to maintain the 2023-24 deficit at or below $40.1-billion. The stimulus cheques and GST changes will likely erode the government’s fiscal standing in the coming months, according to Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Bank of Nova Scotia, who speculated in a Friday note to clients that the planned two-month GST holiday “is very likely to turn permanent and blow through Ottawa’s finances.” In a separate report, Mr. Holt estimated if the GST changes were made permanent, along with the stimulus cheques, the changes would result in a $14-billion hit to federal finances in fiscal 2025-26 and $10-billion a year in subsequent years. Over a five-year horizon, if the GST changes remained permanent, “the cumulative deficit would balloon by about an extra $52-billion,” he wrote. Even if the changes remain temporary, economists tend to view these types of stimulus measures dimly, thinking of them as inefficient and poorly targeted. “If they wanted to beef up the income support at lower income levels then you either increase the GST rebates or the Canada Child Benefit, things like that. Just across the board $250 to everybody, that’s clearly electoral,” Prof. Gordon said. Luc Godbout, an economics professor at the Université de Sherbrooke, said the temporary nature of tax cuts will cause consumers to shift the timing of their consumption and complicate things for retailers. And higher-income individuals may also benefit disproportionately from the GST break on things such as restaurant meals. “These are not measures that were thought out from an economic perspective, but from a political perspective,” he said in an e-mail. Nor do the stimulus cheques or GST changes do anything to “impact our long-term growth trajectory or close the competitive gap we have with the U.S.” when it comes to attracting business investment, said Kevin Milligan, a professor of economics at the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia. “When you’re in a world of being in deficit and there’s not a macroeconomic need for it, I don’t see these as economically defensible measures,” he said.Why Super Micro Computer Stock Rocketed Nearly 30% This Week
Ousted Syrian leader Assad flees to Moscow after fall of Damascus, Russian state media say DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Russia media say ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad has fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally. The reports came hours after a stunning rebel advance swept into Damascus to cheers and ended the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule. Thousands of Syrians poured into streets echoing with celebratory gunfire, joyful after a stifling, nearly 14-year civil war. But the swiftly moving events raised questions about the future of the country and the wider region. The rebels face the daunting task of healing bitter divisions in a country still split among armed factions. One rebel commander said “we will not deal with people the way the Assad family did." Analysis: Collapse of Syria's Assad is a blow to Iran's 'Axis of Resistance' MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — For Iran’s theocratic government, it keeps getting worse. Its decadeslong strategy of building an “Axis of Resistance” supporting militant groups and proxies around the region is falling apart. Hamas has been batttered by Israel's campaign in Gaza. In Lebanon, Israeli bombardment has crippled Iran’s most powerful ally, Hezbollah, even as Israel has launched successful airstrikes openly inside of Iran for the first time. And now Iran’s longtime stalwart ally and client in Syria, President Bashar Assad, is gone. Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syria's Assad? BEIRUT (AP) — Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader who led the stunning insurgency that toppled Syria’s President Bashar Assad, has spent years working to remake his public image and that of his fighters. He renounced longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicts himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance. The extent of that transformation from jihadi extremist to would-be state builder is now put to the test. The 42-year-old al-Golani is labeled a terrorist by the United States. He has not appeared publicly since Damascus fell early Sunday. But he and his insurgent force, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, stand to be a major player in whatever comes next. Trump says he can't guarantee tariffs won't raise US prices and won't rule out revenge prosecutions WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump says he can’t guarantee his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers. And he's suggesting once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned. The president-elect made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday. He also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere. Trump often mixed declarative statements with caveats, at one point cautioning “things do change.” The hunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO's elusive killer yields new evidence, but few answers NEW YORK (AP) — Police don’t know who he is, where he is, or why he did it. As the frustrating search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer got underway for a fifth day Sunday, investigators reckoned with a tantalizing contradiction: They have troves of evidence, but the shooter remains an enigma. One conclusion they are confident of, however: It was a targeted attack, not a random one. On Sunday morning, police declined to comment on the contents of a backpack found in Central Park that they believe was carried by the killer. Thompson was shot and killed Wednesday outside of a hotel in Manhattan. Trump calls for immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and says a US withdrawal from NATO is possible WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is pushing Russian leader Vladimir Putin to act to reach an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine. Trump describes it as part of his active efforts as president-elect to end the war despite being weeks from taking office. Trump also said he would be open to reducing military aid to Ukraine and pulling the United States out of NATO. Those are two threats that have alarmed Ukraine, NATO allies and many in the U.S. national security community. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says any deal would have to pave the way to a lasting peace. The Kremlin's spokesman says Moscow is open to talks with Ukraine. Gaza health officials say latest Israeli airstrikes kill at least 14 including children DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian health officials say Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza have killed at least 14 people including children, while the bombing of a hospital in northern Gaza has wounded a half-dozen patients. Israel’s military continues its latest offensive against Hamas militants in northern Gaza, whose remaining Palestinians have been almost completely cut off from the rest of the territory amid a growing humanitarian crisis. One airstrike flattened a residential building in the urban Bureij refugee camp Sunday afternoon. That's according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken. South Korea's democracy held after a 6-hour power play. What does it say for democracies elsewhere? SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A short-lived martial law decree by South Korea's leader last week raised worries about budding authoritarianism around the world. In the end, though, democracy prevailed. President Yoon Suk Yeol announced that he was declaring martial law and giving his government sweeping powers to crack down on protesters, ban political parties and control the media. Members of the military blocked lawmakers from using the legislature's constitutional power to cancel the power grab. But the National Assembly within hours unanimously voted to do so. Trump's return may be a boon for Netanyahu, but challenges abound in a changed Middle East TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is jubilant about President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House. Trump's first term policies skewed heavily in favor of Israel, and he has picked stalwart Israel supporters for key positions in his administration. But much has transpired since Trump left office in early 2021. The turmoil in the Middle East, the lofty ambitions of Netanyahu’s far-right governing coalition and Netanyahu’s own personal relationship with the president-elect could dampen that enthusiasm and complicate what on the surface looks like a seamless alliance. First 12-team College Football Playoff set, Oregon seeded No. 1 and SMU edges Alabama for last spot SMU captured the last open spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, bumping Alabama to land in a bracket that placed undefeated Oregon at No. 1. The selection committee preferred the Mustangs (11-2), losers of a heartbreaker in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, who had a far less difficult schedule than Alabama (9-3) of the SEC but one fewer loss. The first-of-its-kind 12-team bracket marks a new era for college football, though the Alabama-SMU debate made clear there is no perfect formula. The tournament starts Dec. 20-21 with four first-round games. It concludes Jan. 20 with the national title game in Atlanta.THE 240 GUESTS at the 65th Santa Fund luncheon — a holiday fundraiser for the Manchester Salvation Army — included a battalion of children, now grown, whose lives were transformed by the Christian charity at a time when school, daily life and family were uncertain and unstable. At the Salvation Army’s Kids’ Cafe, staff and volunteers provided joy and hope, they said — proof that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. “It made me grow up in a lot of ways,” said Ezra Twahirwa, who arrived in Manchester at age 9 with his family from Uganda, speaking no English and plunging straight into public school. “When I first went into Kids’ Cafe they immediately took my family in as their own. It made me realize there are people out there who care about others even if they don’t know them,” said Twahirwa, who is now a marketing student at Southern New Hampshire University and a Salvation Army volunteer. Major Jessie Irwin of Lewiston, Maine, and Soldier Ian Anderson of Scarborough, Maine, perform with the The Salvation Army Band Ensemble at the Union Leader Santa Fund Luncheon at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown on Nov. 25, 2024. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year, the Union Leader’s Santa Fund raises money to support the Salvation Army’s yearlong mission to help struggling children and families in greater Manchester — a charge that becomes more critical each year as children’s needs strain more families and outpace available resources. “If I could shout from the mountaintops everything that Bob and Kaisy, (the longtime leaders of the Kids’ Cafe) and the Salvation Army did for me, I’d have no voice left,” said Franchesca Alcala-Coston, who is now 29. She started going to Kids’ Cafe at age 5 and continued through her teenage years. For herself and the friends she made there, the Cafe’s midweek evening meal and activity program from 5 to 7 p.m. was a lifesaver and a trajectory changer. “It’s part of who I grew into,” said Alcala-Coston, who now works in social services because of the invisible, lasting gifts she received — friendship, opportunity, new experiences, hope and purpose. “I think about this all the time,” she said. “I think about where I would be now if the doors weren’t open and the lights weren’t on at Kids’ Cafe.” Kid's Cafe member Erza Twahirwa and Marissa Barrientos, take a look at Manchester Officer Nathan Linstad's birdhouse he made to be auctioned after at the Union Leader Santa Fund Luncheon at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown on Nov. 25, 2024. Also pictured is Brittany Neuman, at left, of the Kid's Cafe. Each year the Salvation Army kicks off its largest fundraising efforts, which include donations to the red kettles outside stores and to the Union Leader Santa Fund. Monday’s luncheon at the DoubleTree by Hilton honored Bob Champagne, long-serving director of the Kids’ Cafe, who has functioned as mentor and auxiliary father to generations of Manchester youth. The event featured an auction of art made by a dozen Kids’ Cafe children, ages 9 to 14. “They’re proud of their artwork,” said Kaisy Kourcoulis, the charity’s assistant community center director. “They can’t wait to see how much money they raise for their programs.” Kelley Hobbs, director of community engagement at SNHU, came to celebrate Champagne and support the Army’s mission. She volunteers yearly for its Christmas toy drive, which helps families who can’t afford to buy gifts for their children, including necessities like coats and boots. Franchesca Alcala-Coston, Luis Lopez and Julie Lopez, Kids Cafe alums, came to the Union Leader Santa Fund Luncheon to honor Champagne. “Regardless of religion and identity,” the Salvation Army “values someone as a human and wants the best for them,” said Hobbs, a Manchester native. “Their programs serve everybody with the purpose of uplifting the whole community. It’s amazing how selflessly they give. I know many lives that have been touched by Kids’ Cafe. The kids all tell me the same thing: They feel seen. They feel valued. They feel safe. That’s a lot for a lot of kids.” Marissa Barrientos, a Kids’ Cafe alum, now studies nursing. She became tearful when addressing the luncheon crowd. “Kids’ Cafe made me grow as a person and come out of my shy little bubble. Bob and Kaisy included me in everything. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if Kids Cafe wasn’t there for me when I was so young.” Julie Lopez of Manchester works as an emergency dispatcher for a utility company in Londonderry. She joined Kids’ Cafe at age 7 or 8, after moving here from Puerto Rico. She said the Salvation Army’s programs for teens and children, which include Teen Night on Fridays and summer day camp, started a cascade of opportunities and gave her an extended family, close friends that endure and a desire to give back. Siena Muccioli, 17, of Nashua, Miss New Hampshire Teen Volunteer with Volunteer America, sang the national anthem in a pin-drop-silent room. Siena Muccioli, a Miss New Hampshire Teen Volunteer, sings the national anthem at the Santa Fund kickoff event. Giving to the Salvation Army matters so much now, she said, “because a lot of children don’t have access to a lot of things that other kids in New Hampshire have and do. A lot of people overlook that.” “It helps many of the kids who have nothing to have something,” said Peter Perich, a former assistant principal at Memorial High School, who has volunteered at Kids Cafe for 15 years and counting. “Kids are the future,” said Alcala-Coston, who is a steadfast volunteer at Kids’ Cafe. “If you invest in youth, there will be a brighter tomorrow.” Donations can be made online at unionleader.com/santafund or by check to the Union Leader Santa Fund, c/o New Hampshire Union Leader, P.O. Box 9555, Manchester, NH 03108. Donations also can be dropped in the Santa Fund box in the lobby of the newspaper at 200 Bedford St., Manchester, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Bigg Boss 18: Farah Khan warns Rajat Dalal saying, ‘If one more time there is a physical fight you will be out’
NoneBoxing Day travellers are being urged to reconsider their plans, with much of Victoria facing extreme and unpredictable bushfire risks and other states bracing for outbreaks. or signup to continue reading Catastrophic conditions are forecast in Victoria on Thursday and Friday, with temperatures likely to reach 40C. "Our state will have all areas ... in extreme fire danger rating, except for East Gippsland on Thursday," Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said on Monday. "Please only travel through these areas if you have to." Across the country millions of people are being warned to stay alert as the risk of Christmas-week outbreaks intensify. Several states are battling dangerous blazes or warning of potential threats, with a significant part of NSW on high fire alert. South Australia's Country Fire Service issued a Leave Now alert with an out-of-control blaze burning at Onkaparinga Hills near Woodcroft in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges on Monday evening. Regional areas in the state are expecting hot conditions on Boxing Day, with Adelaide facing a peak of 36C after a predicted 37C on Christmas Day. High to extreme fire danger remains across parts of WA but conditions are forecast to east slightly in coming days. The most concern is in Victoria, where strong, dry winds of up to 100km/h are forecast to filter throughout from the northwest, extending danger into Friday. "These conditions will make it far easier for fires to start and to spread and for existing fires to race off in the direction of the wind," Mr Nugent said. Country Fire Authority chief executive Jason Heffernan warned single-digit moisture levels in the air mixed with the bone-dry bush were a recipe for disaster. "It is ready to burn," he said. Heavy rain in Melbourne has done little to quell major fires burning across 41,000 hectares in the Grampians in Victoria's west which is being tackled by 18 aircraft and about 300 firefighters. "It's a lot of fire in the landscape and when that weather changes on body, that fire is going to move and it's going to move rapidly," Forest Fire Management Victoria chief fire officer Chris Hardman said. Another blaze in Bullengarook, northwest of Melbourne, has burned more than 144 hectares and is out of control with the potential to spread into Ballarat's northern suburbs on Thursday. Several sheds and outbuildings have been destroyed in another fire at the Gurdies in western Gippsland, with Mr Hardman warning it had "enormous potential" to grow on Boxing Day because of strong winds. "Be very clear of where you are in proximity to those fires," Mr Hardman said. Deputy Premier Ben Carroll urged people to continue to heed warnings. "This is the beginning of what will be a long, hot and dangerous bush fire season," he said. Ballarat will transform into base camp for about 200 firefighters as 100 personnel from NSW, the ACT, Queensland and Tasmania arrive to help. Mr Heffernan urged those who needed to travel to have the VicEmergency app, a plan on where they were going and up-to-date information. "If you are thinking of travelling for the Christmas break and you can avoid doing so and it is safe to do so, then perhaps that is a consideration you should give," he said. The federal government is working on activating disaster recovery payments. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily!MONTREAL — Mikyla Grant-Mentis scored twice and the Montreal Victorie wrapped up their Professional Women's Hockey League pre-season with a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Charge. Gabrielle David, Maureen Murphy, Alexandra Labelle and Kati Tabin, into an empty net, also scored for Montreal. Elaine Chuli and Marlène Boissonnault combined to make 23 saves on 26 shots for the Victoire, who finished 1-1 in pre-season action. Danielle Serdachny, Rebecca Leslie and Tereza Vanisova scored for Ottawa (1-1) while Gwyneth Philips made 28 saves. The two teams meet Nov. 30 in Montreal on the opening night of the PWHL's second regular season. --- SIRENS 5 SCEPTRES 2 At Toronto, Sarah Fillier scored three goals as the New York Sirens downed the Toronto Sceptres. Noora Tulus and Kayla Vespa also scored for New York (1-1) while Kayle Osborne and Abigail Levy combined for 29 saves on 31 shots. Blayre Turnbull and Victoria Bach scored for Toronto (0-2) while Kristen Campbell made 26 saves. Toronto opens its season Nov. 30 against visiting Boston while New York kicks off Dec. 1 at Minnesota. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov, 22, 2024. The Canadian Press
France's Macron vows to stay on, promises PM to be named in 'coming days'
By the time our AOL 5.0 calendars or Palm Pilot devices reached the date of Dec. 31, 1999, most of our fears about a worldwide Y2K meltdown had been alleviated, in large part because technology companies and the government had taken preemptive measures. Still, we weren’t certain until we were certain. It was all hands on deck in most newsrooms; in my capacity as a news columnist for the Sun-Times, I spent New Year’s Eve 1999 bouncing around the city, spending time with families, churchgoers, revelers and police, just in case chaos erupted. I later wrote, “New Years Eve 1999 was destined to be a night of colorful merriment, marred by only the occasional glitch,” and “In the real-life movie of Y2K ... we survived the big doomsday scenario with our computerized society intact.” Now comes the movie-movie of Y2K. Some 25 years (!) later, “SNL” alum Kyle Mooney directs, co-writes and plays a supporting role in the disaster comedy “Y2K,” which re-imagines a world in which the Year 2000 problem not only became a reality but threatened to end humanity. It’s a clever premise — basically, Skynet invades a “Booksmart” storyline — and for a while, the affectionate satire and the steady stream of pop-culture references and the grisly shocks carry the day. Unfortunately, “Y2K” fizzles out somewhere around the halfway point, in part because the characters aren’t fleshed out much beyond familiar tropes, and the screenplay seems not quite finished. It’s as if the filmmakers ran out of fresh ideas at some point but just plowed ahead anyway. Popping with the images and sounds of pixilated videos, dial-up modem ringtones, “The Macarena” and “Tubthumping,” camcorders and mix tapes, “Y2K” instantly establishes the time period as the story kicks off on New Year’s Eve 1999, with a cast of talented young actors doing fine work playing familiar types. Jaeden Martell is the sweet and shy Eli and Julian Dennison is Eli’s best buddy Danny, with a sly sense of humor and no shortage of self-confidence. Rachel Zegler, who continues to demonstrate movie-star talent and presence, is Laura, who is gorgeous and popular and a secret computer nerd, and of course Eli is in love with Laura and of course Eli can barely muster the courage to say two words to her. Add some bullies and a dumb jock and a few other tropes and let’s get this party, i.e., a house party in the suburbs, started. At the stroke of midnight, it appears as if technology has indeed crashed — but then the machines come to “life” and start slicing and dicing up the humans, in gruesomely comedic fashion. The crude and ridiculous killing devices are initially amusing, though the joke wears thin as “Y2K” segues into a “Cabin in the Woods”-type horror film. Fred Durst has an extended, one-joke cameo as Fred Durst, which might have seemed original if we hadn’t already seen Bill Murray as himself in “Zombieland,” and Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, et al., playing themselves in “This Is the End.” In another bit of miscalculation, arguably the most likable and interesting character in the film is dispatched far too early. Like a slow-loading image on a home computer in the late 1990s, “Y2K” seems kinda cool, but the payoff isn’t worth the wait.