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HOUSTON (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn from an agreement with the city of Houston to curb illegal dumping in Black and Latino neighborhoods, part of the Trump administration’s broad dismantling of environmental justice initiatives. Federal authorities quietly ended the monitoring this year as they pulled the plug on a similar settlement over wastewater problems in rural Alabama, according to three former law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the move wasn’t made public. Without federal monitoring, advocates in Houston said city officials have become less responsive to residents afflicted by persistent dumping in…

WASHINGTON (AP) — At least two of several agreements aimed at ending global conflicts that President Donald Trump has hailed as evidence of his negotiating prowess are in trouble and at risk of collapsing. Less than a week after Congo and Rwanda signed a deal in Trump’s presence in Washington meant to halt fighting in eastern Congo and less than two months after he witnessed Cambodia and Thailand sign a ceasefire pact in Malaysia to end their border conflict, fighting has surged in both places.The developments have caused international alarm that on Tuesday resulted in urgent calls to halt the…

Bill Gates talks to CNBC at Abu Dhabi Finance Week.CNBCBill Gates has warned that some AI companies with high valuations will lose out in the “hyper competitive” AI industry, as the investors weigh up whether a bubble is about to burst.”AI is the most important thing going on,” the Microsoft founder and philanthropist told CNBC’s Tania Bryer at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, amid soaring capital expenditures and a slate of circular deals giving the market jitters.”Does it mean all of these companies with high valuations will be winners? No, it’s going to be hyper competitive,” Gates said Monday.”AI is only…

For 24 years, every time Intisar visited her son Habis Bayyoud in an Israeli prison, he told her the same thing: “My freedom will be the day I can hug you outside these walls.” The former Palestinian prisoner thought that day had finally come in October, when he was released and deported to Egypt under the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner-swap deal between Israel and Hamas. In the West Bank village of al-Mazra’a al-Gharbiya near Ramallah, Intisar, 78, was overjoyed when she saw his name on the release list. Even when an Israeli intelligence officer told her he would be sent…

Premier League clubs participating in Europe face ultra-congested fixture lists in the New Year should they fail to finish in the top eight of their respective league phases, with some facing the prospect of nine games in a 29-day period.In the Champions League, Arsenal currently sit at the top of the table after five games, with Chelsea in seventh. If they finish in the top eight, both clubs would play three games in Europe’s elite competition between now and March as a result of automatically progressing to the knockout stages – giving them two much-needed weeks off. Manchester City, Newcastle…

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has described the Israeli army as “the worst enemy of journalists” in its annual report published on Thursday, with nearly half of all reporter killings worldwide recorded in Gaza. The French-based organisation said that of the 67 media professionals killed over the past year, 43 percent were killed by Israel, making the Palestinian territories the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. According to RSF, the Israeli army is the primary perpetrator of journalist deaths, ahead of cartels and organised crime groups (24 percent) and the Russian army (four percent). “Under Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the…

Look at what Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said this year, and what Chinese tech giants and Beijing have done, and you’ll see potential hints as to how this lifting of the ban will play out.Why China might push back against the H200The H200 is one of Nvidia’s most advanced chips for training and running AI on the market, but China has been on a drive to wean itself off American technology and boost local semiconductor development for AI. “While this move reopens the door for U.S. revenue, the strategic train has already left the station,” Neil Shah, partner at…

Benjamin Sesko will be back “very soon” from his knee injury layoff at Manchester United and is “impatient” to prove himself at Old Trafford according to his agent, Elvis Basanovic.Sesko, 22, has been out of action since suffering a knee injury during United’s 2-2 draw away to Tottenham Hotspur on Nov. 8 — a period that has seen the Slovenia forward miss four Premier League games for Ruben Amorim’s team.The £74 million ($98m) summer signing from RB Leipzig has scored twice in 11 Premier League appearances for United so far, but his ongoing absence is likely to be exacerbated by…

Kylian Mbappé is a major injury doubt for Real Madrid’s Champions League game with Manchester City on Wednesday after missing training, adding to an injury crisis for the team and under pressure coach Xabi Alonso.The star forward did not join his teammates on the pitch at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground on Tuesday morning, joining an injury list of eight first team players who are expected to be unavailable to face City in the high-profile clash at the Bernabéu.A source told ESPN that Mbappé had a muscular problem and would undergo tests later on Tuesday to determine his availability.Kylian Mbappé has…

Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé and goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier will both miss Paris Saint-Germain’s trip to Athletic Club in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.PSG said Dembélé is sick while Chevalier is still recovering from a right ankle injury.It’s another setback for Dembélé, who returned from a left calf injury against Tottenham Hotspur at the end of November and only made two more appearances in Ligue 1.Before that, Dembélé had been sidelined several weeks by a right hamstring injury sustained while playing for France in September.PSG will also still be without Morocco right back Achraf Hakimi, who has a sprained…