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Watch: Illinois stuns Rutgers, scores improbable game-winning TD with 4 seconds leftRio's Jenkins earns All-American status at NAIA nationals
Rio's Jenkins earns All-American status at NAIA nationals
Cowboys G Zack Martin, CB Trevon Diggs out vs. CommandersNatixis Advisors LLC Purchases 1,009 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)
When poverty and pet ownership intersect, what's the most humane thing to do?NoneFirefighters battle a fire on State Route 31, near Caughdenoy Road, in the town of Clay on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. Jon Moss | jmoss@syracuse.com Jon Moss | jmoss@syracuse.com Clay, N.Y. — A barn fire Sunday afternoon closed part of State Route 31 in the town of Clay. The fire was reported at about 3:40 p.m. on Route 31 just east of Caughdenoy Road. A plume of smoke could be seen for miles. The red barn had started collapsing in on itself as firefighters arrived, according to Richard Rioux, the chief of the Clay Volunteer Fire Department. It was still burning as of 5 p.m. “We’re not going to be able to put it out completely,” Rioux said. “We’re just going to monitor it all night and let it finish burning.” Rioux said he was unsure how the fire started since the barn did not have any utility connections. The abandoned barn sits on a large tract of land owned by the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency. The agency has been buying up land to develop into an industrial park across from Micron Technology’s planned computer chip manufacturing complex. Route 31 will be closed for several more hours, Rioux said. Road crews will be brought in to break up any ice formed by water used during firefighting efforts. Crime and public safety articles Fire badly damages North Side home; four people displaced Gov. Hochul orders termination of 14 employees involved in inmate death at Utica-area prison DeWitt Post Office manager accused of stealing over $80K in stamps by falsifying transactions Cicero home total loss after bathroom fire, 1 displaced Man shot in leg, abdomen on Syracuse’s South Side Staff writer Jon Moss covers breaking news, crime and public safety. He can be reached at jmoss@syracuse.com or @mossjon7 .
The women who took on organic rice growing, and patriarchy
Madhushree Ghosh launched a supper club to help build community by sharing food — and ideas.
Alex Berenguer prodded the hosts ahead after 53 minutes before Mbappe – who failed to convert a Champions League penalty against Liverpool last week – sent his kick too close to Bilbao goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala. Jude Bellingham appeared to have rescued a point for Real after scoring for the fourth successive league game 12 minutes from time. 📸 PORTERAZO. JULEN, JULEN! JULEN JULEN! #AthleticRealMadrid #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/w260s6xo79 — Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) December 4, 2024 But Federico Valverde’s mistake two minutes later gifted Gorka Guruzeta the winner in front of a delirious San Mames crowd. On a busy night of second-round Copa del Rey action, Villarreal suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at Pontevedra while there were wins for Real Betis, Rayo Vallecano and Valencia. Fiorentina went out of the Coppa Italia to Empoli on penalties on an emotional night at Stadio Artemio Franchi. Viola were back in action after Edoardo Bove’s health scare forced their weekend league fixture with Inter Milan to be abandoned during the first half. Midfielder Bove collapsed on the pitch and required emergency medical treatment. He was taken to hospital but regained consciousness in intensive care. Esposito's penalty books Empoli's place in the next round 💪 #FiorentinaEmpoli pic.twitter.com/UUxghH9l6b — Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) December 4, 2024 Empoli led at half-time through Emmanuel Ekong’s fourth-minute opener before Moise Kean and Riccardo Sottil put Fiorentina ahead. Sebastiano Esposito struck 15 minutes from time to make it 2-2 and take the last-16 tie into extra time, Empoli eventually winning 4-3 on penalties. Benjamin Sesko opened the scoring and Luis Openda struck twice as RB Leipzig brushed aside Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 in the German DFB Pokal. Second-half goals from Denis Vavro, Jonas Wind and Yannick Gerhardt saw Wolfsburg beat Hoffenheim 3-0. Cologne knocked out Hertha Berlin 2-1 after extra time with Dejan Ljubicic converting a penalty in the final seconds, while Augsburg prevailed 5-4 on penalties against Karlsruhe after a 2-2 draw.PHILADELPHIA — It’s a fine line that every organization incorporating an exciting young player into its lineup must walk. Promote that player in order to generate excitement amongst the ticket buying, TV-watching fan base, but try and do it with as little hullabaloo as possible to not add to the pressure that the player is undoubtedly feeling already. Advertisement Thus, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere pushed back on a suggestion that rookie Matvei Michkov was the franchise’s “savior” at the 19-year-old’s introductory press conference in July. “That’s certainly not what we’re putting on his shoulders,” Briere said, with Michkov sitting next to him. Coach John Tortorella did the same on Friday, albeit in a much more Torts-like way. “When I heard the word savior — kiss my ass,” Tortorella said. “That’s so wrong to say that about him. It’s not fair to him.” Whether they like it or not, though, Michkov is the central talking point amongst Flyers fans who are hoping against hope that he will be the centerpiece of a perennial playoff team in the near-ish future. That means moments like Saturday with the Chicago Blackhawks in town have even more meaning — maybe not to those in the executive suite and behind the bench, but certainly to the public, which nearly filled Wells Fargo Center to capacity, something that hasn’t happened much in recent years. The reason was the game brought an added level of intrigue with Michkov, chosen seventh in the 2023 draft, facing off for the first time in the NHL against Connor Bedard , the No. 1 pick that year. There’s already a case to be made that Bedard and Michkov are the two most talented players in what was a deep first round, with Bedard the runaway winner for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year last season and Michkov the odds-on favorite this season. It may be a bit much to expect Bedard vs. Michkov to turn into the next Sidney Crosby vs. Alexander Ovechkin, as the Flyers and Blackhawks meet just twice each season. And, it’s much too early to project either player will reach anything close to the level of those two living legends. Instead, the discourse in the immediate future so could lean toward something like this: Who’s the better player to come out of the 2023 draft? Advertisement Is it a silly debate? A bit. Is it productive? Not especially. Is it the sort of topic that neither Briere nor Tortorella would want to touch with a 10-foot pole? Definitely. But it’s also what makes sports fun, and we got our first installment of it on Saturday. And, Michkov had the greater impact in the Flyers’ 3-2 overtime victory in which they erased a two-goal third-period deficit, scoring the game-winning goal on the power play. “If there is a moment,” Michkov said after the game through an interpreter, “then you need to (finish) it in cold blood.” MATVEI MICHKOV! GAME-WINNING GOAL! 🚨 That's his second @Energizer overtime winner of the season! pic.twitter.com/CMH1wJSDtw — NHL (@NHL) November 23, 2024 Notably, Michkov’s winner might not have happened had Bedard done a better job in overtime. Just after the Blackhawks won the opening draw, Bedard was stripped of the puck by Travis Konecny at the blue line. Chicago regained possession, but Bedard’s shot from the circle was deflected away by Travis Sanheim . The Flyers came the other way. Alex Vlasic was whistled for holding Konecny, the Flyers went on a four-on-three advantage, and Michkov completed the Flyers’ win by easily slipping home a slick saucer pass through the slot by Konecny. Although he wasn’t rewarded on the scoresheet before that, Michkov did make some plays earlier. He corralled a long stretch pass from Emil Andrae in the offensive zone with TJ Brodie draped on his back and played the puck between his legs resulting in a verbal gasp from the crowd before lifting a backhand just wide of the net. In the second period on the power play, Michkov brought the puck into the zone and spun around to feed Sean Couturier for a shot from the circle that goalie Petr Mrazek turned aside. Later in the second, Michkov’s centering pass to Couturier looked like a sure goal before an alert Ilya Mikheyev got his stick in the way at the last moment. Advertisement As for Bedard, he’s now gone 13 games without a goal, while playing his third straight game on the wing rather than his natural center spot due to his defensive struggles. But he ripped a shot off the post early in the first on a Chicago power play when the game was still scoreless, and late in the second charged past a flat-footed Joel Farabee in the neutral zone and around a lumbering Rasmus Ristolainen before a tough-angle backhand resulted in a scoring chance in front of the net by Teuvo Teravainen . At some point, both players will presumably be surrounded by better talent, and those kinds of plays will result in actual offense. Meanwhile, Michkov has an added difficulty that Bedard doesn’t — he’s still attempting to master the English language. Interestingly, Michkov said earlier this week through an interpreter that he’s stopped working with a tutor. Instead, he’s apparently decided to pick it up organically. Tortorella offered some insight on the TNT broadcast earlier in the week about the weekly meetings he’s having with Michkov and interpreter Slava Kuznetsov in order to speed along the player’s NHL process as much as possible. As reported here last week, one of the primary reasons they’re getting together on a regular basis is because of Tortorella’s in-game coaching style. The coach doesn’t have time to explain to the young winger why he’s making certain decisions on the fly. At times, that’s meant Michkov has spent more time on the bench than he’d probably like. Tortorella expanded on that on Friday. “I think he’s getting better understanding me on the bench,” Tortorella said. “That’s the hard part for me, is within the game itself, I don’t have enough time to go down there and make sure he understands.” “As far as our relationship, I don’t think we’ve had a bad relationship from the get-go. When he sits, things happen — I have to make decisions, but then just like any other player, I move right by it. ... He’s been very receptive as far as all the things we’re doing with him.” Advertisement And Tortorella is receptive to putting him on the ice at important times in the game, too. After Couturier lost the opening draw in overtime on Saturday, the captain immediately went to the bench and Michkov hopped on. When the Flyers went on the power play, Tortorella jumped at the opportunity to put Michkov and Konecny together, something that doesn’t quite work at five-on-five but seems to when there is more open ice. “That’s why it’s nice that we have him now, right?” Tortorella said, referring to Michkov’s arrival to the Flyers two years earlier than expected. “We knew it was going to be a little bit of a gong show as far as away from the puck. We’re going to slowly (try) to teach him that, (without getting) in the way of allowing him to play. As we’re building, this is a good year (to) have these games to teach, but not be overbearing with it to allow him to experience some success.” Seven goals and 16 points in his first 19 career games, including two overtime winners, would certainly qualify as success. The Flyers and Blackhawks will meet once more this season, on March 23 in Chicago. It’s probably safe to assume that the focus will again be on the two potential superstars, especially if both teams are out of the playoff race by then. For his part, Michkov, who has a relationship with Bedard dating back to their time competing against one another before they were drafted, didn’t shy away from a question about what could be a budding rivalry between the two. In fact, he seemed to welcome it. “We haven’t played together against each other for a long time. I hope this is just the beginning,” Michkov said. “I think he’ll try to get it back (next game). I need to be ready for it.” Respect. 🤝 #CHIvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/YluFlLiQts — Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) November 23, 2024 (Photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
NEW YORK (AP) — A gunman killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO on Wednesday in a “brazen, targeted attack” outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding its investor conference, police said, setting off a massive search for the fleeing assailant hours before the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting nearby. Brian Thompson, 50, was shot around 6:45 a.m. as he walked alone to the New York Hilton Midtown from a nearby hotel, police said. The shooter appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching Thompson from behind and opening fire , New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Police had not yet established a motive. “Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” Tisch said, adding that the shooting "does not appear to be a random act of violence.” Surveillance video reviewed by investigators shows someone emerging from behind a parked car, pointing a gun at Thompson’s back, then firing multiple times from several feet away. The gunman continues firing, interrupted by a brief gun jam, as Thompson stumbles forward and falls to the sidewalk. He then walks past Thompson and out of the frame. “From watching the video, it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. Thompson was shot at least once in the back and once in the calf, Tisch said. The shooter, who wore a jacket, face mask and large backpack, fled through Midtown on foot before pedaling an e-bike into Central Park a few blocks away, police said. The assailant remained at large Wednesday afternoon, sparking a search that included police drones, helicopters and dogs. “Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” the insurer’s Minnetonka, Minnesota-based parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., said in a statement. "We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.” Police issued a poster showing a surveillance image of the man pointing what appeared to be a gun and another image that appeared to show the same person on a bicycle. Minutes before the shooting, he stopped at a nearby Starbucks, according to additional surveillance photos released by police on Wednesday afternoon. They offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he told her “there were some people that had been threatening him.” She didn’t have details but suggested the threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage. Eric Werner, the police chief in the Minneapolis suburb where Thompson lived, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive. The killing shook a part of New York City that's normally quiet at that hour, happening about four blocks from where tens of thousands of people were set to gather for Wednesday night’s tree lighting. Police promised extra security for the event. The hotel is also a short walk from other tourist sites, including the Museum of Modern Art and Radio City Music Hall, and is often dense with office workers and visitors on weekday mornings. Many security cameras are nearby. “We’re encouraging New Yorkers to go about their daily lives and their daily business but to be alert,” NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said. Investigators recovered several 9 mm shell casings from outside the hotel and a cellphone from the alleyway through which the shooter fled. They were also searching Thompson's hotel room, interviewing his UnitedHealthcare colleagues and reviewing his social media, Kenny said. Police said the e-bike that the shooter used to ride into Central Park came from the city’s bike-share program, CitiBike. A spokesperson for Lyft, which operates the program, said police had not yet contacted the company. Health care giant UnitedHealth Group was holding its annual meeting with investors to update Wall Street on the company's direction and expectations for the coming year. The company ended the conference early in the wake of Thompson's death. “I’m afraid that we — some of you may know we’re dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members,” a company official told attendees, according to a transcript. “And as a result, I’m afraid we’re going to have to bring to a close the event today. ... I’m sure you’ll understand.” Thompson, a father of two sons, had been with the company since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years. UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the U.S. and manages health insurance coverage for employers and state-and federally funded Medicaid programs. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz posted on the social platform X that the state is “sending our prayers to Brian’s family and the UnitedHealthcare team.” “This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota,” the Democrat wrote. Associated Press writers Tom Murphy in Indianapolis, Steve Karnowski in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York, contributed to this story.
Sugar addiction is on the rise. Globally, sugar intake has quadrupled over the last 60 years, and it now makes up around 8% of all our calories. This sounds like sugar’s keeping us fed, but added sugars are actually empty calories – they are bereft of any nutrients like vitamins or fibres. The result is massive health costs , with sugars linked to obesity around the world. Some estimates suggest that half the global population could be obese by 2035. A limited 20% reduction in sugar is estimated to save US$10.3 billion (£8.1 billion) of health costs in the US alone. Yet, sugar’s impacts go far beyond just health and money. There are also many environmental problems from growing the sugar, like habitat and biodiversity loss and water pollution from fertilisers and mills . But overall, sugar hasn’t received a lot of attention from the scientific community despite being the largest cultivated crop by mass on the planet . In a recent article , we evaluated sugar’s environmental impacts and explored avenues for reducing sugar in the diet to recommended levels either through reducing production or using the saved sugar in environmentally beneficial ways. By phasing out sugar, we could spare land that could be rewilded and stock up on carbon. This is especially important in biodiverse tropical regions where sugar production is concentrated such as Brazil and India . But a different, more politically palatable option might be redirecting sugar away from diets to other environmentally-beneficial uses such as bioplastics or biofuels. Our study shows that the biggest opportunity is using sugar to feed microbes that make protein. Using saved sugar for this microbial protein could produce enough plant-based, protein-rich food products to regularly feed 521 million people. And if this replaced animal protein it could also have huge emission and water benefits. We estimate that if this protein replaced chicken, it could reduce emissions by almost 250 million tonnes, and we’d see even bigger savings for replacing beef (for reference, the UK’s national fossil fuel emissions are around 300 million tonnes ). Given sugar has a far lower climate impact than meat, this makes a lot of sense. Another alternative is to use the redirected sugar to produce bioplastics, which would replace around 20% of the total market for polyethelyne, one of the most common forms of plastic and used to produce anything from packaging to pipes. Or to produce biofuels, producing around 198 million barrels of ethanol for transportation. Brazil already produces around 85% of the world’s ethanol and they produce it from sugar, but instead of having to grow more sugar for ethanol we could redirect the sugar from diets instead. This estimation is based on a world where we reduce dietary sugar to the maximum in dietary recommendations (5% of daily calories). The benefits would be even larger if we reduced sugar consumption even further. Supply chain challenges This sounds like a big win-win: cut sugar to reduce obesity and help the environment. But these changes present a huge challenge in a sugar supply chain spanning more than 100 countries and the millions of people that depend on sugar’s income. National policies like sugar taxes are vital, but having international coordination is also important in such a sprawling supply chain. Sustainable agriculture is being discussed at the UN’s climate summit, Cop29, in Azerbaijan this week. Sustainable sugar production should factor into these global talks given the many environmental problems and opportunities from changing the way we grow and consume sugar. We also suggest that groups of countries could come together in sugar transition partnerships between producers and consumers that encourage a diversion of sugar away from peoples’ diets to more beneficial uses. This could be coordinated by the World Health Organization which has called for a reduction in sugar consumption . Some of the money to fund these efforts could even come from part of the health savings in national budgets. We can’t hope to transition the way we produce and eat sugar overnight. But by exploring other uses of sugar, we can highlight what environmental benefits we are missing out on and help policymakers map a resource-efficient path forward to the industry while improving public health. Paul Behrens is British Academy Global Professor, Future of Food, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford . Alon Shepon is Principal Investigator, Department of Environmental Studies, Tel Aviv University. This article was first published on The Conversation .( MENAFN - Gulf Times) Groundbreaking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have understandably generated a lot of excitement, bringing hope to the hundreds of millions of people grappling with obesity. When combined with a healthier diet and exercise, these drugs, which work by suppressing appetite, deliver an average 10% reduction in body weight that can be sustained for years. With more than two-thirds of adults in the United Kingdom and nearly three-quarters in the US classified as overweight or obese – a health crisis that costs national economies billions of dollars annually – physicians and policymakers could be forgiven for embracing these drugs as a panacea. US President Joe Biden's administration, for example, recently proposed requiring Medicare and Medicaid to cover the costs of weight-loss drugs, offering access to millions of Americans. But addressing obesity requires much more than a technological fix. To be clear, I am not suggesting these drugs are unnecessary or that medical professionals should avoid prescribing them. But they do not address the problem fuelling the global obesity crisis (and contributing to the climate crisis as well): our broken food system. The alarming rise in obesity over the past 30 years is not simply a byproduct of higher living standards or more sedentary lifestyles, though these factors play a pivotal role. The primary factor appears to be the transformation of our food environment, which has fundamentally altered both the types of food we consume and our eating habits. In recent years, scientists and health experts have increasingly focused on the high-fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) foods driving unhealthy dietary habits. This trend can be attributed to companies reshaping the food system to produce ultra-processed, hyper-palatable, and highly profitable foods. Consequently, people are snacking more, eating larger portions, and preparing fewer meals themselves. In the UK, for example, the snack market has boomed while the time spent preparing meals has sharply declined. These changes haven't just fuelled the rapid increase in HFSS food consumption. They have also led to a surge in meat consumption, especially in Europe and North America, where meat-heavy diets have become all too common. Beyond the heightened risk of heart disease and related health conditions, excessive meat consumption has had devastating effects on the climate and biodiversity. Research shows that animal-based foods generate twice the greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions of plant-based alternatives. Just as health experts urge us to reduce our HFSS intake, climate scientists consistently emphasize the importance of cutting meat and dairy consumption to keep global warming within safe limits. In an effort to prevent a lasting change in people's eating habits, the meat industry is seeking techno-fixes to cut GHG emissions. For example, funding for research on cutting farm emissions – such as feed additives designed to reduce methane levels in cows' burps – has increased markedly. Such solutions are particularly attractive to governments reluctant to introduce measures that influence consumer behaviour. Fearful of opposition from the Big Food lobby and wary of accusations of overreach, policies like sugar taxes or meat taxes are deemed political hot potatoes to be avoided at all costs. But the overlapping crises our broken food system is fuelling – from the billions of dollars spent each year on diet-related health problems to the environmental degradation pushing our planet to its limits – cannot be wished away or fixed with technological band-aids. Instead, what is needed is a major shift in dietary habits toward foods that nourish both people and the environment. To this end, the EAT-Lancet Commission – comprised of the world's leading nutrition and sustainability experts – advocates a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and plant-based proteins while reducing consumption of animal proteins, dairy, and sugars. Taken together, these recommendations offer a clear blueprint for ensuring health and sustainability. Admittedly, it is unrealistic to expect consumers – conditioned by food environments designed for profit rather than human or environmental health – to drive this transition on their own. With unhealthy foods widely available and aggressively marketed, many consumers often struggle to moderate their food intake and, in some cases, develop addictive behaviours. Governments and food manufacturers must take proactive measures to reshape these environments, such as expanding initiatives aimed at reducing the consumption of HFSS foods to include meat, thereby encouraging people to eat more plant-based whole foods and meat alternatives. Another potential solution would be to extend bans on promotional deals for unhealthy foods to cover meat products. Requiring food companies to report on the types of food they sell, including HFSS foods and the ratio of plant-based to animal proteins, would also help. These measures would incentivise businesses to prioritise healthier, more sustainable options over less nutritious ones. None of this is to suggest that the new generation of weight-loss drugs cannot benefit individuals living with obesity. For those trapped in a cycle of poor health, Ozempic and Wegovy could even save lives, and efforts to make these treatments widely available are a welcome step. But it is essential that we recognise that this approach treats the symptoms rather than the underlying pathology. Defusing the time bombs of ill health and environmental catastrophe requires fast, decisive action to remake our dysfunctional food system. – Project Syndicate lEmily Armistead is Interim Executive Director of Madre Brava. MENAFN22122024000067011011ID1109022142 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.Luke Kromenhoek throws 3 TD passes as Florida St. ends six-game skid vs. Charleston Southern
WARSAW, Poland -- Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski has been selected by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition as its candidate in next year's presidential election, beating out Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski. Tusk announced the decision at a party gathering on Saturday, a day after more than 22,000 party members voted in a primary to select who should run to replace the incumbent, Andrzej Duda. Tusk said Trzaskowski won nearly 75% of the votes, and Sikorski slightly over 25%. Political observers in Poland say Tusk's pro-European Union party has already put itself in a strong position ahead of the presidential election by showing that it had two strong candidates, generating a buzz around them and allowing party members to choose in a democratic process. “We are responsible people, we are responsible for the fate of our homeland today,” Tusk told supporters at the party event. He said it was only the start of what is expected to be a difficult campaign. The primary process distinguishes Tusk's party from its main rival, the national conservative Law and Justice party, known by its acronym PiS, whose candidate will be handpicked by leader Jarosław Kaczyński. The candidate is expected to be announced at a party convention in Krakow on Sunday. “In PiS, one vote matters, while we value every vote, and that’s how we differ,” Trzaskowski told party members in his acceptance speech. “I’m convinced that we’re coming out of this primary stronger, we’re all stronger, and I have a very strong mandate and a lot of energy, determination and courage to beat PiS.” Sikorski congratulated Trzaskowski and promised his support. Trzaskowski has long been considered the obvious candidate for Tusk’s party but was recently challenged by Sikorski, who argued that his experience in security and defense issues made him the better choice at a time of war in neighboring Ukraine and political change in the United States. But party members overwhelmingly stuck with Trzaskowski — and were in a good mood as they gathered over coffee and cookies after cheering the outcome. One, Małgorzata Kobus, told The Associated Press that she voted for Trzaskowski because he has been an excellent mayor, preserving green spaces and historical monuments in the capital. She also appreciates that he is highly educated and fluent in several foreign languages. Another, Hanna Szulczewska, thinks Trzaskowski is well suited to the difficult times in a region near Ukraine. She was persuaded by polls that show Trzaskowski would have a better chance of beating out candidates from other parties. “I am really convinced that he will make a fantastic president,” she said. “And strategically we really need a strong candidate.” Trzaskowski, 52, has been mayor since 2018 and has overseen a rapidly changing city of nearly 2 million people that has absorbed large numbers of Ukrainian refugees. He ran for president in 2020, barely losing to Duda. A first round of the presidential election is due to be held in May, and a possible runoff two weeks later if no candidate gets an outright majority in the first round. President Duda will complete his second five-year term in August 2025 and is prevented by the constitution from running again. It is a priority for Tusk to have an ally win the presidency because it will determine whether he can fulfill his agenda. He is currently unable to complete some of his campaign promises because Duda wields veto power over legislation, but also because of opposition within his own three-party coalition. The Civic Coalition is led by Tusk’s party Civic Platform and also includes smaller parties including the Greens.Bo Sheptock’s 3 TD’s help lift Danville to PIAA 3A quarterfinal victory over Bermudian Springs
