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Von der Leyen floats fiscal rule reform as ‘game changer’ for EU defense build-up

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hinted on Thursday that EU countries boosting their defense spending should have that taken into account when calculating whether they are running an excessive deficit.“Our fiscal framework can and should meet two compatible objectives: ensure sustainable public finances, while also supporting member states’ investment efforts in strategic public goods. And this applies also to defense capabilities,” von der Leyen said in a speech at the European Defence Agency. EU rules limit countries to running a budget deficit of 3 percent of GDP, with a public debt ceiling of 60 percent of GDP. But the COVID pandemic followed by the energy emergency is straining public finances at a time when countries are looking to boost their defense spending — potentially falling afoul of the bloc’s rules.“In the [European] Council, there is now broad support to consider increases in defense spending as a relevant factor w...

ECB to choose between culture and nature for new note design

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

It’s owls and the Danube vs. Mozart and Picasso in the showdown of the century.The European Central Bank said on Thursday it has boiled down its shortlist for what to put on the next generation of euro banknotes to two themes: “birds and rivers” and “European culture.”The choice, which confirms what POLITICO reported in September, was taken on the basis of two surveys of the public. In one, commissioned by the ECB and conducted by research firm Kantar, “European culture” was the most popular theme, gaining approval from 21 percent of a 23,000-strong sample, followed by rivers (18 percent) and birds (17 percent). The central bank decided to merge the two themes of birds and rivers in the final shortlist. “We wanted to reflect the preference of the survey results as broadly as possible,” an ECB spokesperson said, pointing out that both themes refer “to nature and the environment.”In a broader survey conducted online by the ECB, in which 365,000 people pa...

Fantasy Fixer: Week 13

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

7’s Morey Hershgordon has the inside scoop on who to start and sit this week in Fantasy Fixer. Go set your lineups!

Staff picks for Week 13 of 2023 NFL season: Seahawks vs. Cowboys, Broncos vs. Texans, 49ers vs. Eagles and more

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

Baltimore Sun staff writers pick every game of the NFL season. Here’s who they have winning in Week 13:Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys (Thursday, 8:15 p.m.)Brian Wacker (114-66 season; 11-5 last week): CowboysChilds Walker (116-64 season; 11-5 last week): CowboysMike Preston (106-74 season; 12-4 last week): CowboysC.J. Doon (120-60 season; 11-5 last week): CowboysTim Schwartz (108-72 season; 9-7 last week): CowboysLos Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots (Sunday, 1 p.m.)Wacker: ChargersWalker: ChargersPreston: ChargersDoon: ChargersSchwartz: ChargersDetroit Lions at New Orleans Saints (Sunday, 1 p.m.)Wacker: LionsWalker: LionsPreston: LionsDoon: LionsSchwartz: LionsAtlanta Falcons at New York Jets (Sunday, 1 p.m.)Wacker: JetsWalker: FalconsPreston: FalconsDoon: FalconsSchwartz: FalconsArizona Cardinals at Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday, 1 p.m.)Wacker: SteelersWalker: SteelersPreston: SteelersDoon: SteelersSchwartz: SteelersIndianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans (Sunday, 1 ...

Are Chicago White Sox all set up the middle? What can aid Andrew Vaughn’s growth? 3 questions for the team’s infield.

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

It has been an offseason of change in the middle infield for the Chicago White Sox.That has been the norm at second base, where the Sox have had a different starter at the position on opening day each of the last 11 seasons.But it’s a new scenario at shortstop, at which Tim Anderson was the fixture for eight seasons. The two-time All-Star became a free agent after the Sox declined his $14 million club option for 2024 on Nov. 4.The Sox took their first steps to address second base and shortstop by acquiring middle infielders Nicky Lopez and Braden Shewmake on Nov. 16 as part of a six-player deal that sent reliever Aaron Bummer to the Atlanta Braves.They signed veteran shortstop Paul DeJong to a one-year deal announced Tuesday.“What attracted me to the White Sox was just being from the Chicago area, growing up in Antioch,” DeJong said during a videoconference call Wednesday. “Having that major-league deal really helped me decide to come here, and having family ...

Orioles roundtable: Four questions heading into MLB winter meetings

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

Next week, the movers and shakers of MLB will convene in Nashville, Tennessee, for the apex of the offseason.Whether the Orioles are among the teams that make a splash remains to be seen, but this year’s meetings will see Baltimore in a vastly different spot than in previous years of executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias’ tenure. His first few offseasons were spent as the leader of one of baseball’s worst teams, and while the Orioles were buyers this time last year, the upcoming meetings will bring more pressure for the club to upgrade its roster after a 101-win season that ended with a thud in the playoffs.Ahead of the winter meetings, Baltimore Sun beat reporters Nathan Ruiz and Jacob Calvin Meyer and editor Tim Schwartz give their thoughts about how the next week might progress.What is the Orioles’ top winter meetings priority?Ruiz: Making headway on a significant starting pitching acquisition, whether it be through free agency or trades....

Sanders wins Sportsperson of Year award from Sports Illustrated for starting turnaround at Colorado

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Deion Sanders reinvigorated a fanbase and put a downtrodden football program back on the map in his first season at Colorado.For that, the Buffaloes coach was named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated.It was a roller-coaster inaugural season as Sanders took over a 1-11 Colorado team. But it was an entertaining ride, complete with sellouts, celebrities showing up on the Folsom Field sideline, media visits from major networks and of course progress on the field.The Buffaloes sprinted out of the gate, going 3-0 and becoming the the talk of college football. They finished by losing eight of their last nine to wind up 4-8.Sanders did things his way, too. He overhauled his roster after his arrival from Jackson State and turned to the transfer portal in order to quickly rebuild. That rubbed some the wrong way.Not that Sanders cared. He once quipped, “Your opinion of me is not the opinion that I have for myself.” Sanders frequently wears a Colorado sweatshirt that r...

Human rights of Danish sub killer were not violated when prison banned letters, visits, court says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The human rights of a self-taught Danish engineer who was convicted five years ago of murdering a Swedish journalist on his homemade submarine, were not violated as he had claimed, a Danish court ruled Thursday.Peter Madsen was sentenced to life in prison in 2018 for killing Kim Wall, a 30-year-old freelance reporter, after bringing her aboard his self-built submarine with the promise of an interview. There he tortured and killed her before dismembering her body and dumped it at sea in a case that gripped Scandinavia.Madsen had sued the southern Denmark prison where he is incarcerated over a ban on getting visits, exchanging letters and making telephone calls without permission. In its ruling, the district court in Nykoebing Falster said that the ban was not a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, the court said that Madsen may receive visits, phone calls and write letters with a vetted person but needs permission each time. On Aug. 1...

GOP Rep. George Santos warns his expulsion from Congress before conviction would set a precedent

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A defiant Rep. George Santos warned on Thursday that his expulsion from Congress before being convicted in a court of law would establish a new precedent that “is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body.”The first-term Republican congressman from New York could well become just the sixth member of Congress to have been expelled by colleagues. Republicans and Democrats have offered resolutions to remove him, and the House is expected to vote on one of them Friday.While Santos survived two earlier expulsion efforts, a critical House Ethics Committee report released on Nov. 16 has convinced more members that his actions merit the House’s most severe punishment.Santos preempted the vote with a press conference just outside the Capitol early Thursday. He noted that, of the previous expulsions, three were for disloyalty to the Union during the Civil War and two were for lawmakers who had been convicted in federal court. In short, he presented himse...

Scotland bids farewell to its giant pandas that are returning to China after 12-year stay

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Visitors to the Edinburgh Zoo had their final chance to see and bid farewell Thursday to a pair of popular giant pandas who are returning home to China after more than a decade in Scotland. Yang Guang and Tian Tian are leaving in early December after a 12-year stay. They have been a popular attraction since people lined the road outside the zoo to greet them when they arrived in 2011.They are the latest pandas to leave the West after exchange agreements have expired and not been renewed by China.The only U.S. zoo with pandas is in Atlanta and its agreement expires next year. Washington’s National Zoo sent its three pandas — Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji — to China earlier in November. The black and white bears at the San Diego Zoo were sent home in 2019 and the remaining panda at the Memphis, Tennessee, zoo returned earlier this year. Veteran China-watchers have speculated that the People’s Republic is gradually pulling its bears from Amer...