LIVERPOOL, England, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Liverpool came back after conceding early to beat Leicester City 3-1 at Anfield on Thursday and open a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League. Struggling Leicester took a shock sixth minute lead through Jordan Ayew but lived a charmed life until Cody Gakpo equalised on the stroke of halftime. Liverpool then put Leicester under siege straight from the break and took just four minutes into the second half to go ahead through Curtis Jones before Mohamed Salah made sure of the points with a superb 82nd-minute finish. The victory extended their unbeaten league run to 13 games and advanced Liverpool to 42 points at the top of the standings. They also have a game in hand over second-placed Chelsea, who are on 35, as well as third-placed Nottingham Forest on 34. On a misty night in Liverpool, Leicester silenced the Anfield crowd with their early goal, as Stephy Mavididi’s run down the left culminated in a square cross into the penalty area that found Ayew, who used his strength to see off the challenge of Andy Robertson and then turn to slot home. Robertson came close to atoning when his header hit the upright in the 25th minute and a curling left footed shot from Salah struck the crossbar in the 45th minute. Seconds later Gakpo cut in from the left and struck a superb curling effort beyond Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk for a deserved equaliser. Jones’ goal came after Liverpool moved the ball around in tight spaces before Alexis Mac Allister’s square pass was steered in by the Englishman. There was a lengthy VAR check before the goal was confirmed and a similarly long wait for a check when Gakpo found the net again in the 67th minute. That was eventually ruled offside. Salah’s strike was another classy finish as he marked his 100th home Premier League goal with a characteristic cut inside off the right flank, followed by an expertly placed finish across the face of the goal. Liverpool could have won by a larger margin such was their dominance. Leicester dropped into the relegation zone before kickoff after Wolverhampton Wanderers went above them earlier on Boxing Day after their 2-0 home win o ver Manchester United. Leicester remained on 14 points after a third successive league loss, two points above second from bottom Ipswich Town. Liverpool are away at West Ham United next on Sunday while Leicester host champions Manchester City the same day. Sign up here. Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Christian Radnedge Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tabThe 49ers' playoff hopes are still teetering even after get-right game against the BearsU.S. Air Force Again Selects Gulfstream for Fleet Support
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The Amazon rainforest endured a devastating year in 2024, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought marking its worst 12 months since 2005. These challenges exacerbated deforestation in a biome vital to combating climate change. Global warming fuelled severe drought, which in turn fed widespread fires. Authorities suspect many fires were deliberately set to clear land for cattle grazing, further compounding the damage. “The fires and drought experienced in 2024 across the Amazon rainforest could be ominous indicators that we are reaching the long-feared ecological tipping point,” said Andrew Miller, advocacy director at Amazon Watch. “Humanity’s window of opportunity to reverse this trend is shrinking, but still open.” Between January and October, more than 37 million acres of Brazil’s Amazon burned — an area larger than the state of Chhattisgarh. Bolivia experienced a record number of fires, while Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Guyana also saw surges. Fires linked to deforestation and pasture management were a key driver of the blazes. Smoke from fires in Brazil’s Amazon, Cerrado savannah, and Pantanal wetland blanketed large areas, a testament to the scale of destruction. For the second consecutive year, the Amazon River reached historic lows, prompting emergency declarations in some countries. One of the river’s main tributaries in Brazil dropped to its lowest level ever recorded, leaving residents in crisis. Despite the destruction, there were some gains. Forest loss in Brazil, which hosts the largest portion of the Amazon, fell by 30.6 per cent compared to the previous year, hitting the lowest levels in nine years. The improvement was attributed to the policies of leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has stressed forest protection. This contrasted sharply with his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, under whose administration deforestation surged to a 15-year high. Colombia also reported historic lows in deforestation in 2023, but by mid-2024, deforestation had risen again due to dry conditions caused by El Niño. “Illegal economies continue to drive deforestation in the Andean nation,” said Bram Ebus, a consultant for Crisis Group in Latin America. The year also saw progress in recognising the Amazon’s global significance and the role of Indigenous communities in conservation. At COP16, the United Nations biodiversity conference hosted in Colombia, nations agreed to grant Indigenous groups a greater voice in conservation decisions. “If the Amazon rainforest is to avoid the tipping point, Indigenous people will have been a determinant factor,” Miller said. The appointment of Martin von Hildebrand as secretary general of the Amazon Treaty Cooperation Organisation was seen as another step forward. “If the political will is there, international backers will step forward to finance new strategies to protect the world’s largest tropical rainforest,” Ebus said. With inputs from APBy REBECCA SANTANA WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship as soon as he gets into office to make good on campaign promises aiming to restrict immigration and redefining what it means to be American. But any efforts to halt the policy would face steep legal hurdles. Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen. It’s been in place for decades and applies to children born to someone in the country illegally or in the U.S. on a tourist or student visa who plans to return to their home country. It’s not the practice of every country, and Trump and his supporters have argued that the system is being abused and that there should be tougher standards for becoming an American citizen. But others say this is a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, it would be extremely difficult to overturn and even if it’s possible, it’s a bad idea. Here’s a look at birthright citizenship, what Trump has said about it and the prospects for ending it: During an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Trump said he “absolutely” planned to halt birthright citizenship once in office. “We’re going to end that because it’s ridiculous,” he said. Trump and other opponents of birthright citizenship have argued that it creates an incentive for people to come to the U.S. illegally or take part in “birth tourism,” in which pregnant women enter the U.S. specifically to give birth so their children can have citizenship before returning to their home countries. “Simply crossing the border and having a child should not entitle anyone to citizenship,” said Eric Ruark, director of research for NumbersUSA, which argues for reducing immigration. The organization supports changes that would require at least one parent to be a permanent legal resident or a U.S. citizen for their children to automatically get citizenship. Others have argued that ending birthright citizenship would profoundly damage the country. “One of our big benefits is that people born here are citizens, are not an illegal underclass. There’s better assimilation and integration of immigrants and their children because of birthright citizenship,” said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies at the pro-immigration Cato Institute. In 2019, the Migration Policy Institute estimated that 5.5 million children under age 18 lived with at least one parent in the country illegally in 2019, representing 7% of the U.S. child population. The vast majority of those children were U.S. citizens. The nonpartisan think tank said during Trump’s campaign for president in 2015 that the number of people in the country illegally would “balloon” if birthright citizenship were repealed, creating “a self-perpetuating class that would be excluded from social membership for generations.” In the aftermath of the Civil War, Congress ratified the 14th Amendment in July 1868. That amendment assured citizenship for all, including Black people. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” the 14th Amendment says. “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” But the 14th Amendment didn’t always translate to everyone being afforded birthright citizenship. For example, it wasn’t until 1924 that Congress finally granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. A key case in the history of birthright citizenship came in 1898, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the states. The federal government had tried to deny him reentry into the county after a trip abroad on grounds he wasn’t a citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act. But some have argued that the 1898 case clearly applied to children born of parents who are both legal immigrants to America but that it’s less clear whether it applies to children born to parents without legal status or, for example, who come for a short-term like a tourist visa. “That is the leading case on this. In fact, it’s the only case on this,” said Andrew Arthur, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports immigration restrictions. “It’s a lot more of an open legal question than most people think.” Some proponents of immigration restrictions have argued the words “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the 14th Amendment allows the U.S. to deny citizenship to babies born to those in the country illegally. Trump himself used that language in his 2023 announcement that he would aim to end birthright citizenship if reelected. Trump wasn’t clear in his Sunday interview how he aims to end birthright citizenship. Asked how he could get around the 14th Amendment with an executive action, Trump said: “Well, we’re going to have to get it changed. We’ll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it.” Pressed further on whether he’d use an executive order, Trump said “if we can, through executive action.” He gave a lot more details in a 2023 post on his campaign website . In it, he said he would issue an executive order the first day of his presidency, making it clear that federal agencies “require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their future children to become automatic U.S. citizens.” Related Articles National Politics | Trump has flip-flopped on abortion policy. His appointees may offer clues to what happens next National Politics | In promising to shake up Washington, Trump is in a class of his own National Politics | Election Day has long passed. In some states, legislatures are working to undermine the results National Politics | Trump taps his attorney Alina Habba to serve as counselor to the president National Politics | With Trump on the way, advocates look to states to pick up medical debt fight Trump wrote that the executive order would make clear that children of people in the U.S. illegally “should not be issued passports, Social Security numbers, or be eligible for certain taxpayer funded welfare benefits.” This would almost certainly end up in litigation. Nowrasteh from the Cato Institute said the law is clear that birthright citizenship can’t be ended by executive order but that Trump may be inclined to take a shot anyway through the courts. “I don’t take his statements very seriously. He has been saying things like this for almost a decade,” Nowrasteh said. “He didn’t do anything to further this agenda when he was president before. The law and judges are near uniformly opposed to his legal theory that the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States are not citizens.” Trump could steer Congress to pass a law to end birthright citizenship but would still face a legal challenge that it violates the Constitution. Associated Press reporter Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.Taxpayers picked up a tab of almost £30million to subsidise Parliament's restaurants and bars
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Georgia quarterback Carson Beck on Saturday announced his plans to enter the NFL draft, five days after having season-ending elbow surgery . Beck, a fifth-year senior, made his NFL plans official on social media. He suffered a right elbow injury in the first half of the Bulldogs’ 22-19 overtime win over Texas in the Southeastern Conference championship game on Dec. 7 in Atlanta. Beck had surgery on Monday to repair his ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow. The procedure was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. Beck is expected to begin throwing next spring. People are also reading... He could have returned for a sixth season but instead will enter the NFL draft. Beck posted on Instagram: “The past five years at the University of Georgia have been nothing short of a dream come true and I will forever cherish the memories that have been made.” Gunner Stockton, who took over for Beck in the second half against Texas, will make his first start for Georgia on Wednesday in the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. Beck has started every game of the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He was 24-3 as a starter. Beck passed for 3,941 yards with 24 touchdowns and only six interceptions in 2023 but had more difficulties with turnovers this season as he passed for 28 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. He completed 7 of 13 passes for 56 yards before his injury in the SEC championship game. Georgia coach Kirby Smart stuck with Beck despite a midseason string of eight interceptions in three games. “Obviously, you look at the stats and they aren’t the same stats as the year before,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said Saturday when reflecting on Beck's career. “The goal in this league is to win the SEC championship. And he was the quarterback of that team that got us to that game and put us in that position.” Added offensive guard Tate Ratledge: “I think Carson should be remembered as a great player. He’s who got us to this point of the season.” Stockton, a sophomore, completed 12 of 16 passes for 71 yards with one interception against Texas. He signed with Georgia as a highly recruited in-state player from Rabun County High School, where he broke Trevor Lawrence's state high school record for most career touchdown passes and Deshaun Watson's state record for combined rushing and passing touchdowns in a career. “Obviously when he was in high school, he was one of the best to ever do it in Georgia,” Bulldogs linebacker Chaz Chambliss said of Stockton before adding that he “just has that fire in him.” Georgia was preparing to start Stockton before announcing Beck's season-ending injury. Stockton will attempt to join a short list of quarterbacks who have been promoted from backup jobs to win national championships. The list includes Georgia's Stetson Bennett, who began the 2021 season as the backup to JT Daniels before taking over the starting job in October. Lawrence took over for Kelly Bryant during Clemson's 2018 championship season. The best comparison to Stockton's challenge during the CFP era may be Cardale Jones on the 2014 Ohio State national championship team. Jones' first start was the Big Ten championship game following an injury to J.T. Barrett, who began the preseason as the expected backup before Braxton Miller's injury. Stockton led Georgia to a touchdown on his first drive against Texas and has had extra practice time during the Bulldogs' break after receiving a first-round bye in the playoff. “To see his growth since he’s been here, he’s been waiting patiently, he’s been sitting and putting his time in and he’s been working while he was waiting,” Georgia safety Malaki Starks said Friday. “And now he gets a chance to go out there and prove what he can do. And, you know, I believe in him 100%.” Starks, who is from Jefferson, Ga., often faced Stockton's Rabun County teams in high school. “He’s always been, you know, that guy, you know, since I’ve been growing up,” Starks said. “He’s an easy guy to follow. I mean, Gunner is a great guy, you know, very respectful, great parents. I mean, he’s the guy that you want to lead. And a lot of guys have confidence in him. And I think you saw it during games in the SEC (championship game), how much the guys believed in him.” Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!Daniel Penny doesn't testify as his defense rests in subway chokehold trial
Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward became the all-time leader in Division I career touchdown passes during the first half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Saturday. Ward had three passing scores in the half and the first of them was a 4-yard touchdown to Jacolby George for the 156th of his career, allowing him to pass Houston's Case Keenum (2007-11). Ward also threw touchdown passes to Joshisa Trader and Elijah Arroyo in the first half as Miami led 31-28 over Iowa State in Orlando, Fla. Ward began his college career at FCS Incarnate Word and threw 71 touchdown passes over two seasons. He then transferred to Washington State and tossed 48 scoring passes over the next two seasons. He moved on for this lone season at Miami and he entered the game with a school-record 36 TD passes. Ward could see his new record threatened next month. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel has 153 career passing touchdown entering the College Football Playoff game against Ohio State on Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl. Gabriel could have multiple games left in his season. --Field Level Media
Mourning the passing of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, US President Joe Biden has called him a true statesman and credited his strategic vision and political courage for the unprecedented level of bilateral cooperation. Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Mauritius foreign minister Dhananjay Ramful paid their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh at his funeral in the capital on Saturday. The Bhutanese monarch laid a wreath at Singh’s mortal remains during the ceremony at Nigambodh Ghat. Special prayers were also held in Bhutan on Friday in memory of the late leader. In Mauritius, Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam’s office announced that the national flag would be flown at half-mast on all government buildings until sunset on Saturday. A statement from the PMO read: "Following the passing away of Dr Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of the Republic of India, the public is hereby informed that the Mauritius Flag will be flown at half-mast on all government buildings until sunset today, Saturday, the day of his funeral." The statement also urged the private sector to follow suit. The Indian Ocean nation, which recently underwent a leadership transition, highlighted its continued strong ties with India, irrespective of political changes. Bhutan’s King, who had visited New Delhi earlier this month, held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which Bhutan expressed gratitude for India’s support under the 13th Five Year Plan (2024-29) and for its assistance in Bhutan’s Economic Stimulus Programme.