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Prince William school system makes counterproposal on salaries

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:58 GMT

This article was written by WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.With an impasse in negotiations already declared by the Prince William Education Association, the two sides in the Prince William County Schools contract negotiation are going back and forth on wages, with a significant gap in between.On Tuesday, the school division delivered its counter-proposal on wages, offering an average 6% wage increase for all division employees, both for state-certified and classified. The offers were a far cry from the union’s demand of 17% raises, a proposal the school system estimates would cost roughly $184 million or about 12% of the division’s $1.5 billion fiscal 2023 budget.Last week, the union declared an impasse in negotiations, triggering a mediation process on a series of non-wage issues like employee rights, grievances, conditions of employment and board rights. “We had a fruitful discussion wi...

Karen Khacharov wins at Zhuhai Championships for his 1st title in 5 years

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:58 GMT

ZHUHAI, China (AP) — Top-seeded Karen Khachanov won his first tour title in nearly five years by beating Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6 (2), 6-1 at the Zhuhai Championships on Tuesday.The title caps an impressive comeback for the 27-year-old Russian, who was competing in only his second tour-level event since his French Open quarterfinal run in May when he suffered a stress fracture in his back.Khachanov dropped only one set en route to the final. It was his fifth tour title and first since Paris nearly five years ago.At the Ningbo Open, third-seeded Sorana Cirstea defeated Claire Liu 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, while Kamilla Rakhimova beat sixth-seeded Arantxa Rus 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 and Valeria Savinykh eliminated fifth-seeded Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 7-5.Wang Xiyu, who won the Guangzhou Open last week, lost to Nadia Podoroska 7-6 (3), 6-4.Top-seeded Ons Jabeur played later Tuesday against Diane Parry.At the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Marta Kostyuk beat sixth-seeded Daria Kasatkina beat 6-3, 4-6, 6-3...

Descuben en Tailandia una especie de tarántula azul eléctrica

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:58 GMT

(CNN) — Según una nueva investigación, se descubrió en Tailandia una especie de tarántula azul eléctrica “hipnotizadora”.Un grupo de investigadores tailandeses encontró la araña durante una expedición a la provincia de Phang-Nga, en el sur de Tailandia, para investigar la diversidad y distribución de las tarántulas en el país.“Encontramos una nueva especie de tarántula que exhibe un fascinante tono azul-violeta, que recuerda a las chispas azules eléctricas”, le dijo a CNN Narin Chomphuphuang, investigador del Departamento de Entomología y Patología Vegetal de la Universidad de Khon Kaen.El estudio que detalla el descubrimiento se publicó en la revista de investigación ZooKeys el 18 de septiembre.Descubren nuevo tipo de tarántula y la nombran en honor a Gabriel García MárquezLa tarántula azul eléctrica es una especie recién descubierta en el sur de Tailandia. (Crédito: Cortesía de Narin Chomphuphuang)El equipo que encontró la especie en un manglar tambié...

Police confirm 10-year-old’s death after accidental shooting at home in North Miami

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:58 GMT

North Miami Police have confirmed the death of a 10-year-old boy following an accidental shooting, Monday evening. Initially, relatives stated that the boy’s death took place after an incident at the home in the area of 14050 NW 5th Place. Officials said they received a call about a single shot that was fired at the house and that a child was injured. The young boy was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital. During their preliminary investigation, police said the situation was an isolated incident and they have no one in custody or a person of interest they are looking for. “This is a very fresh scene, so very preliminary, as we get additional information then those decisions can be made at that time,” said North Miami Police Chief Cherise Gause. “Obviously, this is a tragic incident anytime a juvenile is involved. So yes, we do want gun owners to practice gun safety at all times, especially when it’s involving children. So as we get information, I...

Messi’s status for US Open Cup final on Wednesday remains unclear

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:58 GMT

Lionel Messi’s status remains unclear for Inter Miami’s U.S. Open Cup final match against Houston on Wednesday night.The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was subbed out of a match against Toronto on Sept. 20 in the first half because of a leg issue, and did not play in the team’s 1-1 tie at Orlando on Sunday. That was the third match he missed in its entirety — two for club, one for country — in the last two weeks.Messi was not on the field for the portion of a training session that was available to reporters on Tuesday. Speaking at a post-practice news conference at the team’s headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said no decision on Messi’s status will be made before Wednesday.“It’s a handicap when you don’t have the best player in the world,” Inter Miami midfielder Sergio Busquets said.The nature of Messi’s leg problem remains unclear. Fatigue was originally cited for Messi’s absences, an...

FIFA moving 100+ jobs to Coral Gables from Zurich as legal department transfers to 2026 World Cup base

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:58 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA is moving more than 100 jobs from its Swiss headquarters to Florida, where a growing workforce is already working on organizing the 2026 World Cup.FIFA informed staff on Tuesday that its entire legal department and the audit, compliance and risk management teams will move from Zurich to Coral Gables near Miami — a city whose status on the global soccer map is growing after Lionel Messi’s move to play in MLS for Inter Miami.“The move is planned to be fully operational in August 2024,” FIFA told staff in an email seen by The Associated Press.“The FIFA office is a permanent office that will share space initially with the (FIFA 2026 World Cup) team at the Coral Gables premises in Florida,” said the email attributed to secretary general Fatma Samoura, who is leaving the world governing body at the end of the year.FIFA previously needed more staff based in the United States after making the organization of World Cups an in-house affair instead of relying on host n...

‘It’s my birthday!’: Hialeah man arrested for birthday hot tub indecency at Key Largo resort

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:58 GMT

A man from Hialeah was taken into custody after, officials said, he celebrated his birthday by exposing himself in a hot tub at a Key Largo resort.According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, 34-year-old Julio Daniel Rodriguez Coipel was taken into custody Monday and is charged with indecent exposure following an incident at the Playa Resort & Spa. Deputies responded just before 7:30 a.m. on August 20 after witnesses reportedly saw Rodriguez Coipel, in the nude, engaging in inappropriate behavior in a hot tub. His actions were within the view of a female employee, officials said.When confronted by a male employee, Rodriguez Coipel reportedly shouted, “It’s my birthday today!” before fleeing on foot toward U.S. 1. Deputies said at some point later, Rodriguez Coipel got into a vehicle and drove back to Miami-Dade County. Throughout their investigation, deputies were able to confirm that August 20 was indeed Rodriguez Coipel’s birthday. That inform...

UEFA to let Russian junior teams back into football competitions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:58 GMT

European football’s governing body UEFA on Tuesday announced it would re-admit Russian youth teams into continental football competitions during this season. Russian international and club teams have been banned by UEFA since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but that is now set to change once the governing body finds a “technical solution” for under-17 boys and girls teams.In a statement, UEFA said it is “aware that children should not be punished for actions whose responsibility lies exclusively with adults and is firmly convinced that football should never give up sending messages of peace and hope.“It is particularly aggrieving that, due to the enduring conflict, a generation of minors is deprived of its right to compete in international football,” UEFA added. “For these reasons, the UEFA executive committee has decided that Russian teams of minor players will be readmitted to its competitions in t...

US envoy says Kosovo attack ‘coordinated and sophisticated’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:58 GMT

The United States has concluded that a weekend attack by suspected Serbian militia in northern Kosovo, leaving one officer and three gunmen dead, was intended to destabilize the region and is warning of potential further escalation between the longtime enemies.  “We know it was coordinated and sophisticated,” U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey M. Hovenier told POLITICO, adding the gunmen appeared to have had military training. “The quantity of weapons suggests this was serious, with a plan to destabilize security in the region.”Kosovo police said a group of about 30 heavily armed Serbs ambushed a police patrol early Sunday, killing one officer and injuring another, before fleeing and taking refuge in a nearby Orthodox monastery. The three gunmen were killed in an ensuing shootout with police and two were arrested. Most of the Serbian gunmen managed to sneak out of the monastery and escape on foot, Kosovo authorities said.Western officials said the incident reflected heightened g...

Official: Germany will impose checks on borders with Poland and Czech Republic

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:58 GMT

BERLIN — German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser will announce temporary checks on Germany’s borders with Poland and the Czech Republic in an attempt to curb an influx of asylum seekers, a German official told POLITICO.Faeser plans to announce “temporary controls at selected border crossings” on Wednesday, according to the official. The checks, the official added, will begin “within the next days.”German leaders have come under increasing pressure to crack down on asylum seekers entering the country, many of whom are now crossing over the borders of Poland and the Czech Republic. Some 204,000 people requested asylum in Germany within the first eight months of 2023, 77 percent more than the same period last year.