sports running Clinton presses past University High in Hardee's openerORCHARD PARK (AP) — Josh Allen reflected on Buffalo’s many offseason critics and doubters when asked about the Bills achieving their latest milestones while sewing up the AFC’s No. 2 seed with a 40-14 rout of the unraveling and undisciplined New York Jets on Sunday. It was a the Bills quarterback’s “I told you so moment,” even though Allen elected not to use those exact words. “It speaks to the staff that we’ve got here, the guys that we’ve got in this locker room, how this team is put together and the culture that we have,” Allen said. “We didn’t really pay attention to the preseason notions, but we heard them and we saw them and we knew what people were saying. "But it had no effect on us.” Well, that might be a stretch when it comes to motivation. What’s unquestioned is how Allen and the Bills (13-3) overcame a young, patchwork roster following the offseason departure of six of eight team captains — including Stefon Diggs being traded to Houston — to run away with their fifth consecutive AFC East title and win a franchise-best 13 games for the fifth time in team history, and third since 2020. Coach Sean McDermott didn’t leave much doubt as to who deserves the most credit for leading the Bills to their sixth consecutive playoff berth, and helping them set the single-season franchise records for points (509) and touchdowns (63). “I think Josh Allen continues to show why he should be the MVP,” McDermott said. “I’ve been around this league long enough to know to see MVP every year for many years. And what he has done on this team and this organization in this community — and no offense to anybody else — but I’ve got a hard time believing that someone’s done more.” Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score to become the NFL’s first player to score 40 touchdowns in five consecutive seasons. He did so in an outing Buffalo blew the game open by capitalizing on two Jets turnovers and scoring three touchdowns over a 5:01 span in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Buffalo’s defense forced three takeaways overall and sacked Aaron Rodgers four times, including a 2-yard loss for a safety in the second quarter. Nothing went right in what became a comedy of errors for Rodgers and the Jets (4-12). New York will finish with five or fewer wins for the seventh time over a 14-season playoff drought — the NFL’s longest active streak. “It’s kind of like the season, it just got away from us. Too many games got away from us,” said Rodgers, who finished 12 of 18 for 112 yards and two interceptions before being pulled in favor of Tyrod Taylor with Buffalo leading 40-0. “We were moving the ball well and then just hit a wall. And that’s kind of been the season.” Rodgers, who entered the game with 499 career TD passes and looking to become just the fifth player to reach 500, was instead shut out and became the NFL’s most sacked quarterback. The 41-year-old has now been sacked 568 times , moving ahead of Tom Brady (565) and into first place on the career list. Taylor accounted for all of New York’s points, with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson and a 20-yarder to Tyler Conklin. Discipline was an issue for a Jets team that fell to 2-9 since Jeff Ulbrich took over as interim coach. New York finished with 16 accepted penalties for 120 yards. “It’s frustrating, it’s embarrassing, it’s maddening. It’s all of that,” Ulbrich said. Allen had a short and efficient outing, finishing 16 of 27 for 182 yards with a 30-yard TD pass to Amari Cooper and a 14-yarder to Keon Coleman before giving way to backup Mitchell Trubisky with Buffalo leading 33-0 through three quarters. And Trubisky piled on by completing a 69-yard touchdown pass to practice squad call-up Tyrell Shavers 2:23 into the fourth quarter. Shavers became the 13th Bills player to catch a touchdown pass, matching the single-season NFL record, to validate the “everybody eats” mantra Allen and the offense used to approach this season. The Bills defense enjoyed a dominating performance to snap a shaky three-game stretch in which it combined to allow 1,357 yards, 86 first downs and 107 points. “I wouldn’t say need ... and I don’t want to say reassurance, either,” said A.J. Epenesa, who sacked Rodgers for the safety. “But it just shows that this is what we can do and this is the standard that needs to be upheld.” Allen’s 1-yard score was the 65th rushing TD of his career, matching the team record held by Thurman Thomas. ... James Cook scored on a 4-yard run for his 15th TD rushing of the season, one short of the Bills' single-season record set by O.J. Simpson in a 14-game season in 1975. Cook matched Allen, who scored 15 last year. ... Wilson reached 1,000 yards receiving for the third straight year to start his career, the first Jets player to do so and the 10th player in NFL history to accomplish the feat. Jets: Close the season by hosting the Miami Dolphins. Bills: Play their regular-season finale at the New England Patriots.Israel has agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon that will take effect at 4 a.m. Wednesday. Moments after U.S. President Joe Biden announced the ceasefire deal , which Israel's Cabinet approved late Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike slammed into the Lebanese capital. Residents of Beirut and its southern suburbs have endured the most intense day of Israeli strikes since the war began nearly 14 months ago, as Israel's nationwide onslaught of bombings signaled it aims to keep pummeling Hezbollah before the ceasefire is set to take hold. At least 42 people have been killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to local authorities. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens in the country’s north. An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza. Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after Hamas’ attack. The fighting in Lebanon escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south. In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the nearly 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Here's the Latest: PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah marked a “new page” for Lebanon and called on its leaders to elect a president “without delay.” In a video message on X, Macron said restoring Lebanon’s sovereignty depends on ending the presidential vacuum. “It is the responsibility of Lebanese authorities and all those in senior political roles,” he said. BEIRUT — Ahmad Khateeb, a musician and artist who performs in a renowned theater in Beirut’s Hamra neighborhood, fled to the city’s seaside promenade with seven members of his family after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for four targets in central Beirut, including one close to his area. “This is the first time this area in Ras Beirut, Hamra, has received such a threat. This neighborhood has historically been a refuge for everyone,” Khateeb told The Associated Press. Outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Hamra, dozens of people sought refuge, hoping the hospital would not be targeted. Among them was Rima Abdkhaluk, who sat on a sidewalk with a backpack at her side. “I was at home having lunch when I received a call from (relatives) in Syria telling me they were about to hit Hamra,” she said. She quickly packed her belongings and left with her mother. She convinced the hospital’s staff to allow her mother inside while she waited outside on a piece of cardboard. Israeli jets struck Beirut’s Mar Elias neighborhood as Abdkhaluk was speaking to The Associated Press. She held her hands tightly together and prayed. “I just need to see where they hit,” she started saying frantically. Asked about the expected ceasefire, Abdkhaluk was skeptical. “I don’t believe it. Israel can’t be trusted.” BEIRUT — The Health Ministry in Lebanon says 18 more people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across the country, bringing the total death toll on Tuesday to at least 42 people. Eleven people were killed by Israeli bombing in eastern Lebanon, four were killed by strikes on border crossings between northern Lebanon and Syria, and three people were killed in southern Lebanon, the Health Ministry said early Wednesday. In the hours before a ceasefire with Hezbollah was to take effect, Israel launched its most intense wave of strikes on the capital Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict. Strikes have targeted what Israel said were Hezbollah-related targets in several other parts of the country as well. Israel’s military issued a record number of evacuation warnings in Beirut, sending people fleeing from their homes. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens across the country’s north. UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations chief welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, and hopes it can end the violence and suffering of people in both countries, the U.N. spokesman says. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Hezbollah to swiftly implement all commitments under the agreement, and take immediate steps toward fully implementing the 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said late Tuesday. Resolution 1701 called for the deployment of Lebanese forces throughout the south, which borders Israel and is now mainly controlled by Hezbollah, and it calls for all armed groups including Hezbollah to be disarmed. Neither has happened in the past 17 years. Dujarric said U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon “both stand ready to support the implementation of this agreement, in line with their respective mandates.” WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s senior national security team was briefed by the Biden administration as negotiations unfolded, according to the senior U.S. official. The official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity in a White House-organized call, added that the incoming Trump administration officials were not directly involved in the talks, but that it was important that the incoming administration knew “what we were negotiating and what the commitments were.” The official said “all fire will stop from all parties” at 4 a.m. local time. The next step would be what the official described as a “phased withdrawal” by the Israeli military. As the Israelis pull back, Lebanese national forces will occupy the territories. The process is slated to finish within 60 days. Lebanese forces is supposed to patrol the area and remove Hezbollah weaponry and infrastructure there. “Hezbollah is incredibly weak at this moment, both militarily and politically,” the official said. “And this is the opportunity for Lebanon to re-establish its sovereignty over its territory.” The official said the ceasefire agreement will strengthen what’s known as the “tripartite mechanism” by including the United States and France. The goal is to address violations of the ceasefire without a return to hostilities. UNITED NATIONS – The top U.N. envoy for Lebanon welcomed the ceasefire announcement and urged Israel and Hezbollah militants to take concrete actions to fully implement the 2006 agreement that ended their last war. U.N. Special Coordinator Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the agreement “marks the starting point of a critical process” that must see both sides fully implement U.N. Security Council resolution 1701. It called for the deployment of Lebanese armed forces in the south bordering Israel and the disarmament of all armed groups including Hezbollah – neither of which has happened in the past 17 years. “Nothing less than the full and unwavering commitment of both parties is required,” Hennis-Plasschaert said. “Neither side can afford another period of disingenuous implementation under the guise of ostensible calm.” She commended the parties for “seizing the opportunity to close this devastating chapter,” stressing that “Now is the time to deliver, through concrete actions, to consolidate today’s achievement.” UNITED NATIONS — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is calling for urgent international intervention to stop what he described as “an ongoing genocidal war” in Gaza. Abbas heads the Palestinian Authority which has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but not Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas. The U.S. and others want a reinvigorated Palestinian Authority to run Gaza when the war ends. In a speech on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Abbas accused Israel of repeating what happened to the Palestinians in 1948 and 1967 – displacing them and seizing their land and resources. Abbas demanded to know how long the world will remain silent and refuse to compel Israel to abide by international law. The speech to U.N. member nations was read by Palestinian U.N. ambassador Riyad Mansour. “The only way to halt the halt the dangerous escalation we are witnessing in the region, and maintain regional and international stability, security and peace, is to resolve the question of Palestine,” Abbas' speech said. This must be done in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolutions which call for a two-state solution, he said. BEIRUT -- Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the U.S.-brokered ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah, describing it as a crucial step toward stability, the return of displaced people to their homes and regional calm. Mikati made these comments in a statement issued just after U.S. President Joe announced the truce deal. Mikati said he discussed the ceasefire agreement with Biden by phone earlier Tuesday. The prime minister reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to implementing U.N. resolution 1701, strengthening the Lebanese army’s presence in the south, and cooperating with the U.N. peacekeeping force. He also called on Israel to fully comply with the ceasefire and withdraw from southern Lebanon in accordance the U.N. resolution. JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet has approved a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah, clearing the way for the truce to take effect. Netanyahu’s office said the plan was approved by a 10-1 margin. The late-night vote came shortly before President Joe Biden was expected to announced details of the deal in Washington. Earlier, Netanyahu defended the ceasefire, saying Israel has inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah and could now focus its efforts on Hamas militants in Gaza and his top security concern, Iran. Netanyahu vowed to strike Hezbollah hard if it violates the expected deal. WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump’s designate to be national security adviser, credited Trump’s victory with helping bring the parties together toward a ceasefire in Lebanon. “Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump,” he said in a post on X on Tuesday. “His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won’t be tolerated. I’m glad to see concrete steps towards deescalation in the Middle East.” He added: “But let’s be clear: The Iran Regime is the root cause of the chaos & terror that has been unleashed across the region. We will not tolerate the status quo of their support for terrorism.” BEIRUT — Israeli jets targeted a building in a bustling commercial area of Beirut for the first time since the start of the 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel. The strike on Hamra is around 400 meters (yards) from the country’s central bank. A separate strike hit the Mar Elias neighborhood in the country’s capital Tuesday. There was no immediate word on casualties from either strike, part of the biggest wave of attacks on the capital since the war started. Residents in central Beirut were seen fleeing after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for four targets in the city. Meanwhile, the Israeli army carried out airstrikes on at least 30 targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs Tuesday, including two strikes in the Jnah neighborhood near the Kuwaiti Embassy. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that 13 people were injured in the strikes on the southern suburbs. BEIRUT — Hezbollah has said it accepts the ceasefire proposal with Israel, but a senior official with the group said Tuesday that it had not seen the agreement in its final form. “After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told the Al Jazeera news network. “We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state.” of Lebanon, he said. “Any violation of sovereignty is refused.” Among the issues that may remain is an Israeli demand to reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal. The deal seeks to push Hezbollah and Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his Cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people. The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal. In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting. Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending. BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state media said Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least 10 people in Baalbek province the country’s east. At least three people were killed in the southern city of Tyre when Israel bombed a Palestinian refugee camp, said Mohammed Bikai, a representative of the Fatah group in the area. He said several more people were missing and at least three children were among the wounded. He said the sites struck inside the camp were “completely civilian places” and included a kitchen that was being used to cook food for displaced people. JERUSALEM — Dozens of Israeli protesters took to a major highway in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening to call for the return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as the country awaited news of a potential ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. Protesters chanted “We are all hostages,” and “Deal now!” waving signs with faces of some of the roughly 100 hostages believed to be still held in Gaza, at least a third of whom are thought to be dead. Most of the other hostages Hamas captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack were released during a ceasefire last year. The prospect of a ceasefire deal in Lebanon has raised desperation among the relatives of captives still held in Gaza, who once hoped that the release of hostages from Gaza would be included. Instead of a comprehensive deal, the ceasefire on the table is instead narrowly confined to Lebanon. Dozens of Israelis were also demonstrating against the expected cease-fire, gathering outside Israel’s military headquarters in central Tel Aviv. One of the protesters, Yair Ansbacher, says the deal is merely a return to the failed 2006 U.N. resolution that was meant to uproot Hezbollah from the area. “Of course that didn’t happen,” he says. “This agreement is not worth the paper it is written on.” FIUGGI, Italy — Foreign ministers from the world’s industrialized countries said Tuesday they strongly supported an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and insisted that Israel comply with international law in its ongoing military operations in the region. At the end of their two-day summit, the ministers didn’t refer directly to the International Criminal Court and its recent arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over crimes against humanity . Italy had put the ICC warrants on the official meeting agenda, even though the G7 was split on the issue. The U.S., Israel’s closest ally, isn’t a signatory to the court and has called the warrants “outrageous.” However, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said all the other G7 countries were signatories and therefore obliged to respect the warrants. In the end, the final statement adopted by the ministers said Israel, in exercising its right to defend itself, “must fully comply with its obligations under international law in all circumstances, including international humanitarian law.” And it said all G7 members — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – “reiterate our commitment to international humanitarian law and will comply with our respective obligations.” It stressed that “there can be no equivalence between the terrorist group Hamas and the State of Israel.” The ICC warrants say there's reason to believe Netanyahu used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny. BEIRUT — An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city’s downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded in Beirut, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. It was not immediately clear if anyone in particular was targeted, though Israel says its airstrikes target Hezbollah officials and assets. The Israeli military spokesman issued a flurry of evacuation warnings for many areas, including areas in Beirut that have not been targeted throughout the war, like the capital’s commercial Hamra district, where many people displaced by the war have been staying. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks in Lebanon during the final hours before a ceasefire is reached, sparked panic and sent residents fleeing in their cars to safer areas. In areas close to Hamra, families including women and children were seen running away toward the Mediterranean Sea’s beaches carrying their belongings. Traffic was completely gridlocked as people tried to get away, honking their car horns as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead. The Israeli military also issued warnings for 20 more buildings in Beirut’s suburbs to evacuate before they too were struck — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah in the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. TEL AVIV, Israel — The independent civilian commission of inquiry into the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel has found Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly responsible for the failures leading up to the attack, alongside former defense ministers, the army chief and the heads of the security services. The civil commission presented its findings today after a four-month probe in which it heard some 120 witnesses. It was set up by relatives of victims of the Hamas attack, in response to the absence of any state probe. The commission determined that the Israeli government, its army and security services “failed in their primary mission of protecting the citizens of Israel.” It said Netanyahu was responsible for ignoring “repeated warnings” ahead of Oct. 7, 2023 for what it described as his appeasing approach over the years toward Hamas, and for “undermining all decision-making centers, including the cabinet and the National Security Council, in a way that prevented any serious discussion” on security issues. The commission further determined that the military and defense leaders bear blame for ignoring warnings from within the army, and for reducing the army’s presence along the Gaza border while relying excessively on technological means. On the day of the Hamas attack, the report says, the army’s response was both slow and lacking. The civil commission called for the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack. Netanyahu has opposed launching a state commission of inquiry, arguing that such an investigation should begin only once the war is over. JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military says its ground troops have reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River — a focal point of the emerging ceasefire. In a statement Tuesday, the army said it had reached the Wadi Slouqi area in southern Lebanon and clashed with Hezbollah forces. Under a proposed ceasefire, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border. The military says the clashes with Hezbollah took place on the eastern end of the Litani, just a few kilometers (miles) from the border. It is one of the deepest places Israeli forces have reached in a nearly two-month ground operation. The military says soldiers destroyed rocket launchers and missiles and engaged in “close-quarters combat” with Hezbollah forces. The announcement came hours before Israel’s security Cabinet is expected to approve a ceasefire that would end nearly 14 months of fighting. BEIRUT — Israeli jets Tuesday struck at least six buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs Tuesday, including one that slammed near the country’s only airport. Large plumes of smoke could be seen around the airport near the Mediterranean coast, which has continued to function despite its location beside the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah’s operations are based. The strikes come hours before Israel’s cabinet was scheduled to meet to discuss a proposal to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The proposal calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. There were no immediate reports of casualties from Tuesday’s airstrikes. FIUGGI, Italy — EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. “The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.” It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. “Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said. Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. “The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.” It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. “Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said. (edited)Some Democrats are frustrated over Joe Biden reversing course and pardoning his son Hunter

Germany is to vote in an early election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalise the country’s stagnant economy. Mr Musk’s guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag – a sister publication of Politico owned by the Axel Springer Group – published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month that he has supported the Alternative for Germany, or AfD. “The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” he wrote in his translated commentary. He went on to say that the far-right party “can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality”. The Tesla Motors chief executive also wrote that his investment in Germany gives him the right to comment on the country’s condition. The AfD is polling strongly, but its candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no realistic chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the far-right party. Billionaire Mr Musk, an ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, challenged in his opinion piece the party’s public image. “The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” Mr Musk’s commentary has led to a debate in German media over the boundaries of free speech, with the paper’s own opinion editor announcing her resignation, pointedly on Mr Musk’s social media platform, X. Eva Marie Kogel wrote: “I always enjoyed leading the opinion section of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I handed in my resignation yesterday after it went to print.” A critical article by the future editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Jan Philipp Burgard, accompanied Mr Musk’s opinion piece. “Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally wrong,” he wrote. Responding to a request for comment from the German Press Agency, dpa, the current editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Ulf Poschardt, and Mr Burgard – who is due to take over on January 1 – said in a joint statement that the discussion over Mr Musk’s piece was “very insightful. Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression.” “This will continue to determine the compass of the ‘world’ in the future. We will develop ‘Die Welt’ even more decisively as a forum for such debates,” they wrote to dpa.

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MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin public worker and teachers unions scored a major legal victory Monday with a ruling that restores collective bargaining rights they lost under a 2011 state law that sparked weeks of protests and made the state the center of the national battle over union rights. That law, known as Act 10, effectively ended the ability of most public employees to bargain for wage increases and other issues, and forced them to pay more for health insurance and retirement benefits. Under the ruling by Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would have it restored to what was in place prior to 2011. They would be treated the same as the police, firefighter and other public safety unions that were exempted under the law. Republicans vowed to immediately appeal the ruling, which ultimately is likely to go before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. That only amplifies the importance of the April election that will determine whether the court remains controlled 4-3 by liberal justices. Former Gov. Scott Walker, who proposed the law that catapulted him onto the national political stage, decried the ruling in a post on the social media platform X as “brazen political activism.” He said it makes the state Supreme Court election “that much more important.” Supporters of the law have said it provided local governments more control over workers and the powers they needed to cut costs. Repealing the law, which allowed schools and local governments to raise money through higher employee contributions for benefits, would bankrupt those entities, backers of Act 10 have argued. Democratic opponents argue that the law has hurt schools and other government agencies by taking away the ability of employees to collectively bargain for their pay and working conditions. Union leaders were overjoyed with the ruling, which affects tens of thousands of public employees. “We realize there may still be a fight ahead of us in the courts, but make no mistake, we’re ready to keep fighting until we all have a seat at the table again,” said Ben Gruber, a conservation warden and president of AFSCME Local 1215. The law was proposed by Walker and enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature in spite of massive protests that went on for weeks and drew as many as 100,000 people to the Capitol. The law has withstood numerous legal challenges over the years, but this was the first brought since the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped to liberal control in 2023. The seven unions and three union leaders that brought the lawsuit argued that the law should be struck down because it creates unconstitutional exemptions for firefighters and other public safety workers. Attorneys for the Legislature and state agencies countered that the exemptions are legal, have already been upheld by other courts, and that the case should be dismissed. But Frost sided with the unions in July, saying the law violates equal protection guarantees in the Wisconsin Constitution by dividing public employees into “general” and “public safety” employees. He ruled that general employee unions, like those representing teachers, can not be treated differently from public safety unions that were exempt from the law. His ruling Monday delineated the dozens of specific provisions in the law that must be struck. Wisconsin Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he looked forward to appealing the ruling. “This lawsuit came more than a decade after Act 10 became law and after many courts rejected the same meritless legal challenges,” Vos said in a statement. Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's largest business lobbying organization, also decried the ruling. WMC President Kurt Bauer called Act 10 “a critical tool for policymakers and elected officials to balance budgets and find taxpayer savings." The Legislature said in court filings that arguments made in the current case were rejected in 2014 by the state Supreme Court. The only change since that ruling is the makeup of Wisconsin Supreme Court, attorneys for the Legislature argued. The Act 10 law effectively ended collective bargaining for most public unions by allowing them to bargain solely over base wage increases no greater than inflation. It also disallowed the automatic withdrawal of union dues, required annual recertification votes for unions, and forced public workers to pay more for health insurance and retirement benefits. The law was the signature legislative achievement of Walker, who was targeted for a recall election he won. Walker used his fights with unions to mount an unsuccessful presidential run in 2016. Frost, the judge who issued Monday's ruling, appeared to have signed the petition to recall Walker from office. None of the attorneys sought his removal from the case and he did not step down. Frost was appointed to the bench by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who signed the Walker recall petition. The law has also led to a dramatic decrease in union membership across the state. The nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum said in a 2022 analysis that since 2000, Wisconsin had the largest decline in the proportion of its workforce that is unionized. In 2015, the GOP-controlled Wisconsin Legislature approved a right-to-work law that limited the power of private-sector unions. Public sector unions that brought the lawsuit are the Abbotsford Education Association; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Locals 47 and 1215; the Beaver Dam Education Association; SEIU Wisconsin; the Teaching Assistants’ Association Local 3220 and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 695.

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Tiny fragments of microplastics are making their way deep inside our bodies in concerning quantities , significantly through our food and drink . Scientists have recently found a simple and effective means of removing them from water. A team from Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University in China ran tests on both soft water and hard tap water (which is richer in minerals). "Tap water nano/microplastics ( NMPs) escaping from centralized water treatment systems are of increasing global concern, because they pose potential health risk to humans via water consumption," write the researchers in their paper, published in February. They added in nanoplastics and microplastics before boiling the liquid and then filtering out any precipitates. In some cases, up to 90 percent of the NMPs were removed by the boiling and filtering process, though the effectiveness varied based on the type of water. Of course the big benefit is that most people can do it using what they already have in their kitchen. "This simple boiling water strategy can 'decontaminate' NMPs from household tap water and has the potential for harmlessly alleviating human intake of NMPs through water consumption," the team writes . A greater concentration of NMPs was removed from samples of hard tap water, which naturally forms a build-up of limescale (or calcium carbonate ) as it is heated. Commonly seen inside kitchen kettles, the chalky substance forms on the plastic's surface as changes in temperature force the calcium carbonate out of solution, effectively trapping the plastic fragments in a crust. Even in soft water, where less calcium carbonate is dissolved, roughly a quarter of the NMPs were snagged from the water. Any bits of lime-encrusted plastic could then be removed through a simple filter like the stainless steel mesh used to strain tea, the researchers say. Past studies have measured fragments of polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate in potable tap water, which we're consuming daily in varying quantities. To put the strategy to the ultimate test, the researchers added even more nanoplastic particles, which were effectively reduced in number. "Drinking boiled water apparently is a viable long-term strategy for reducing global exposure to NMPs," write the researchers. "Drinking boiled water, however, is often regarded as a local tradition and prevails only in a few regions." The research team hopes that drinking boiled water might become a more widespread practice as plastics continue to take over the world. While it's still not certain exactly how damaging this plastic is to our bodies, it's clearly not the healthiest of snacks. Plastics have already been linked to changes in the gut microbiome and the body's antibiotic resistance. The team behind this latest study wants to see more research into how boiled water could keep artificial materials out of our bodies – and perhaps counter some of the alarming effects of microplastics that are emerging. "Our results have ratified a highly feasible strategy to reduce human NMP exposure and established the foundation for further investigations with a much larger number of samples," write the authors. The research has been published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters . An earlier version of this article was published in March 2024.Sydneysiders who want to live in a suburb along the Metro line for the convenient commute will have to pay top dollar to either rent or buy. The fast-rail system stretches from Sydenham to the CBD, lower north shore, Hills district and Tallawong, with a journey from North Sydney to Barangaroo in just three minutes. Castle Hill residents can get to Martin Place in 35 minutes. But convenience comes at a premium. Bella Vista residents can get to the CBD in 41 minutes, but face a median house price of $2,477,500, while a house will set renters back around $975 per week. Waterloo’s median unit price is $925,500, and median unit rent $935, for a commute of just six minutes to Martin Place. Rents are also high at $780 for a unit in Chatswood (11 minutes to Martin Place) and $720 for Castle Hill (35 minutes). Castle Hill house buyers would pay a median of $2,312,500. Ray White agent Peter Iann said the Metro had driven greater demand for Bella Vista and that he could not limit the buyer pool to one specific region of Sydney. “We are now seeing interest from all over Sydney,” he said. “There is not enough stock for the demand and sellers now have higher price expectations.” Geoffrey Clinton, senior lecturer in transport and logistics management at the University of Sydney Business School, said that while the Metro had a significant impact on social cohesion, it was just one piece of the puzzle. “Just building train lines alone is not going to create nirvana for Sydneysiders,” he said. “In the next five to ten years we will see mini CBDs pop up. People will be living in fairly small apartments, and they’ll be more likely to dine and go out, similar to what happens in other high-density areas like Singapore.” Sydneysiders who want to live along the Metro line in suburbs such as Bella Vista, pictured, will need to pay top dollar. Credit: Nick Moir Clinton said that while people wanted to live near public transport, pricing came down to the timing of developments. “If apartments are built ahead of demand, prices may be softer. But if they’re slow to be built, then prices will be higher.” He suggested the Metro and its surrounding high-rises are part of the solution to the housing crisis, but that we also need standalone houses and townhouses. “By opening up transport opportunities, it makes it easier to develop density around these areas.” Professor of civil engineering at the University of Technology Sydney, Buddhima Indraratna, said that while he would like to see young professionals living closer to the Metro, there was a lot of wishful thinking about how much the train line could improve housing affordability. “With the high cost of living, people are living further away from the CBD because they can’t afford it. Even a two-bedroom [CBD] apartment can cost up to $3 million,” he said. “Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world. We might not see the advantages of the Metro yet, but they will be there for the next generation.” Marriott Lane Crows Nest agent Stephen O’Sullivan said that while the Metro has enhanced the appeal of the suburb, it hasn’t changed the buyer pool. “There’s more appetite, but the buyers tend to be locals or downsizers from the upper north shore that are seeking convenience to the CBD,” he said. O’Sullivan said buyers are limited by price. However, the Metro allows for more choice when priced out of Crows Nest, as residents of nearby St Leonards and Wollstonecraft can walk to the station. O’Sullivan said we are yet to see an uptick in prices for Crows Nest since the introduction of the Metro, as there are few homes for sale and prices are high. An extension from Sydenham to Marrickville, Lakemba and Bankstown, will open in 2025, further connecting Sydney’s suburbs. BresicWhitney Lower North Shore agent Louise Barton said buyers from the eastern suburbs have moved to North Sydney in the past few months, but not because they’re priced out. “They’re just interested to explore North Sydney, and it makes a lot of sense as you’re just over the other side of the bridge,” she said. Barton said sellers are not driving up their prices due to the Metro. “Sellers remain realistic about the market. But given how the Metro has impacted other suburbs such as North Ryde, we’ve seen prices increase over time. Sellers are excited about what it means for them.” North Ryde’s median house price rose 10.9 per cent to $2,495,000 in the year to September on Domain data.

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