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Youth’s energy makes difference for VM CabralWASHINGTON (AP) — A lead organization monitoring for food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north Gaza under what it called Israel's “near-total blockade,” after the U.S. asked for its retraction, U.S. officials told the Associated Press. The move follows public criticism of the report from the U.S. ambassador to Israel. The rare public dispute drew accusations from prominent aid and human-rights figures that the work of the U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning System Network , meant to reflect the data-driven analysis of unbiased international experts, has been tainted by politics. A declaration of famine would be a great embarrassment for Israel, which has insisted that its 15-month war in Gaza is aimed against the Hamas militant group and not against its civilian population. U.S. ambassador to Israel Jacob Lew earlier this week called the warning by the internationally recognized group inaccurate and “irresponsible ." Lew and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds the monitoring group, both said the findings failed to properly account for rapidly changing circumstances in north Gaza. Humanitarian and human rights officials expressed fear of U.S. political interference in the world's monitoring system for famines. The U.S. Embassy in Israel and the State Department declined comment. FEWS officials did not respond to questions. “We work day and night with the U.N. and our Israeli partners to meet humanitarian needs — which are great — and relying on inaccurate data is irresponsible,” Lew said Tuesday. USAID confirmed to the AP that it had asked the famine-monitoring organization to withdraw its stepped-up warning issued in a report dated Monday. The report did not appear among the top updates on the group's website Thursday, but the link to it remained active . The dispute points in part to the difficulty of assessing the extent of starvation in largely isolated northern Gaza. Thousands in recent weeks have fled an intensified Israeli military crackdown that aid groups say has allowed delivery of only a dozen trucks of food and water since roughly October. FEWS Net said in its withdrawn report that unless Israel changes its policy, it expects the number of people dying of starvation and related ailments in north Gaza to reach between two and 15 per day sometime between January and March. The internationally recognized mortality threshold for famine is two or more deaths a day per 10,000 people. FEWS was created by the U.S. development agency in the 1980s and is still funded by it. But it is intended to provide independent, neutral and data-driven assessments of hunger crises, including in war zones. Its findings help guide decisions on aid by the U.S. and other governments and agencies around the world. A spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry, Oren Marmorstein, welcomed the U.S. ambassador's public challenge of the famine warning. “FEWS NET - Stop spreading these lies!” Marmorstein said on X . In challenging the findings publicly, the U.S. ambassador "leveraged his political power to undermine the work of this expert agency,” said Scott Paul, a senior manager at the Oxfam America humanitarian nonprofit. Paul stressed that he was not weighing in on the accuracy of the data or methodology of the report. “The whole point of creating FEWS is to have a group of experts make assessments about imminent famine that are untainted by political considerations,” said Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch and now a visiting professor in international affairs at Princeton University . “It sure looks like USAID is allowing political considerations -- the Biden administration’s worry about funding Israel’s starvation strategy -- to interfere." Israel says it has been operating in recent months against Hamas militants still active in northern Gaza. It says the vast majority of the area’s residents have fled and relocated to Gaza City, where most aid destined for the north is delivered. But some critics, including a former defense minister, have accused Israel of carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza’s far north, near the Israeli border. North Gaza has been one of the areas hardest-hit by fighting and Israel’s restrictions on aid throughout its war with Hamas militants. Global famine monitors and U.N. and U.S. officials have warned repeatedly of the imminent risk of malnutrition and deaths from starvation hitting famine levels. International officials say Israel last summer increased the amount of aid it was admitting there, under U.S. pressure. The U.S. and U.N. have said Gaza’s people as a whole need between 350 and 500 trucks a day of food and other vital needs. But the U.N. and aid groups say Israel recently has again blocked almost all aid to that part of Gaza. Cindy McCain , the American head of the U.N. World Food Program, called earlier this month for political pressure to get food flowing to Palestinians there. Israel says it places no restrictions on aid entering Gaza and that hundreds of truckloads of goods are piled up at Gaza’s crossings and accused international aid agencies of failing to deliver the supplies. The U.N. and other aid groups say Israeli restrictions, ongoing combat, looting and insufficient security by Israeli troops make it impossible to deliver aid effectively. Lew, the U.S. ambassador, said the famine warning was based on “outdated and inaccurate” data. He pointed to uncertainty over how many of the 65,000-75,000 people remaining in northern Gaza had fled in recent weeks, saying that skewed the findings. FEWS said in its report that its famine assessment holds even if as few as 10,000 people remain. USAID in its statement to AP said it had reviewed the report before it became public, and noted “discrepancies” in population estimates and some other data. The U.S. agency had asked the famine warning group to address those uncertainties and be clear in its final report to reflect how those uncertainties affected its predictions of famine, it said. “This was relayed before Ambassador Lew’s statement,” USAID said in a statement. “FEWS NET did not resolve any of these concerns and published in spite of these technical comments and a request for substantive engagement before publication. As such, USAID asked to retract the report.” Roth criticized the U.S. challenge of the report in light of the gravity of the crisis there. “This quibbling over the number of people desperate for food seems a politicized diversion from the fact that the Israeli government is blocking virtually all food from getting in,” he said, adding that “the Biden administration seems to be closing its eyes to that reality, but putting its head in the sand won’t feed anyone.” The U.S., Israel’s main backer, provided a record amount of military support in the first year of the war. At the same time, the Biden administration repeatedly urged Israel to allow more access to aid deliveries in Gaza overall, and warned that failing to do so could trigger U.S. restrictions on military support. The administration recently said Israel was making improvements and declined to carry out its threat of restrictions. Military support for Israel’s war in Gaza is politically charged in the U.S., with Republicans and some Democrats staunchly opposed any effort to limit U.S. support over the suffering of Palestinian civilians trapped in the conflict. The Biden administration’s reluctance to do more to press Israel for improved treatment of civilians undercut support for Democrats in last month’s elections. ___ Sam Mednick and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Pep Guardiola’s side avoided the indignity of a sixth successive defeat in all competitions and looked on course for a welcome victory thanks to a double from Erling Haaland – the first from the penalty spot – and a deflected effort from Ilkay Gundogan. Yet Guardiola was left with his head in hands as Feyenoord roared back in the last 15 minutes with goals from Anis Hadj Moussa, Sergio Gimenez and David Hancko, two of them after Josko Gvardiol errors. Arsenal delivered the statement Champions League win Mikel Arteta had demanded as they swept aside Sporting Lisbon 5-1. Arteta wanted his team to prove their European credentials, and goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard got their continental campaign back on track in style following the 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan last time out. A memorable victory also ended Sporting’s unbeaten start to the season, a streak of 17 wins and one draw, the vast majority of which prompted Manchester United to prise away head coach Ruben Amorim. Paris St Germain were left in serious of danger of failing to progress in the Champions League as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Kim Min-jae’s header late in the first half was enough to send PSG to a third defeat in the competition this season, leaving them six points off the automatic qualification places for the last 16 with three games to play. Luis Enrique’s side, who had Ousmane Dembele sent off, were deservedly beaten by Bayern who dominated chances and possession. Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid were 6-0 winners away to Sparta Prague, Julian Alvarez and Angel Correa each scoring twice whilst there were also goals from Marcos Llorente and Antoine Griezmann. Barcelona ended tournament debutants Brest’s unbeaten start with a 3-0 victory courtesy of two goals from Robert Lewandowski – one a penalty – and Dani Olmo. Lewandowski’s first was his 100th Champions League goal, only the third man to reach the mark after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. A Castello Lukeba own goal saw Inter Milan go top of the standings with a narrow 1-0 win over RB Leipzig at San Siro, whilst Bayer Leverkusen were emphatic victors against Red Bull Salzburg, Florian Wirtz scoring twice to move Xabi Alonso’s side into the automatic qualification places. Atalanta continued their strong start, albeit whilst conceding a first goal in Europe this season in a 6-1 win away to Young Boys, whilst Tammy Abraham scored the decisive goal as AC Milan beat Slovan Bratislava 3-2.Terra Luna Co-Founder Do Kwon To Be Extradited To The US: ReportFOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — If Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh has given any thought to the possibility of clinching a playoff berth in his first season with the team with a win at New England on Saturday, he isn't letting it show. “Just attacking, that’s our mindset. Win the next game," he said. Harbaugh's relative silence on the topic isn't a total departure from his usual business-first approach, but there could also be something else at play. Aside from wrapping up what would be Harbaugh’s fourth postseason trip in five years as an NFL head coach, since the Chargers (9-6) have the tiebreaker over the Denver Broncos but not against the Pittsburg Steelers, Los Angeles would appear destined to be the sixth seed in the postseason. That would mean a trip to Baltimore and a possible Harbaugh Bowl 4 matchup opposite older brother and Ravens coach John Harbaugh. The Ravens beat the Chargers earlier this season 30-23. But first things first. And that's taking care of the Patriots (3-12), who have lost five straight games but showed several signs of offensive improvement during their 24-21 loss at Buffalo last week. Jim Harbaugh sees a dangerous group. And his players say they are locked in on the present. “Always one week at a time. We’ve got a lot of respect for this Patriots team," Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert said. "We know we’re going on the road and have to be prepared for everything.” If the Patriots are going to play the role of spoiler, it must start with rookie quarterback Drake Maye. He has thrown a touchdown pass in seven consecutive games, tied with Jim Plunkett (1971) for the longest such streak by a rookie in franchise history. But he has also thrown at least one interception in each of the past seven games. Overall, the Patriots have a minus-9 turnover margin. The Patriots did score 14 points in the first half during last week’s loss at Buffalo. Still, New England's offense has had trouble finishing drives, scoring touchdowns on only 47.7% of its chances in the red zone. Maye said that doesn't mean he plans to be timid over the final two games. “I think there’s definitely a way we need to cut down turnovers,” he said. “That starts with me protecting the football and throwing it incomplete or throwing it in the dirt or little things like that. I’m still going to be aggressive.” The Chargers could have a major weapon return in running back J.K. Dobbins, who has been on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury against Baltimore on Nov. 25. With Dobbins out of the lineup, the Bolts have struggled to have any consistency on offense. Los Angeles has averaged only 74.8 rushing yards in the past four games, which is quite a drop from the 118.1 they were generating before Dobbins’ injury. Dobbins was listed as questionable, while Gus Edwards — who rushed for two touchdowns and a season-high 68 yards in last Thursday’s win over Denver — was ruled out with an ankle injury. Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins would likely take over in the backfield if Dobbins also can't play. Justin Herbert, who has 20,466 career passing yards, needs 153 yards to surpass Peyton Manning for the most in a player's first five seasons in league history. Ladd McConkey is 40 yards away from becoming the first Chargers rookie receiver to reach 1,000 yards since Keenan Allen in 2013. The Chargers have won 11 of their past 13 when playing in the Eastern time zone, including last year’s 6-0 victory over the Patriots. Los Angeles has five of its nine games on Eastern time this season for the first time since 2005. They are trying to become the ninth team since 1988 on Pacific time to win at least four games when having to travel at least three time zones. The Chargers have given up two touchdowns and a field goal on the first possession in the last three games. They allowed only one touchdown on an opening drive in the first 12 games. Another cause for concern is that the Bolts have given up scores on the first two series in back-to-back games. AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Los Angeles contributed to this report. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

For Makenzie Gilkison, spelling is such a struggle that a word like rhinoceros might come out as "rineanswsaurs" or sarcastic as "srkastik". or signup to continue reading The 14-year-old from suburban Indianapolis can sound out words, but her dyslexia makes the process so draining that she often struggles with comprehension. "I just assumed I was stupid," she recalled of her early primary school education. However assistive technology powered by artificial intelligence has helped her keep up with classmates. Last year, Makenzie was named to the National Junior Honour Society. She credits a customised AI-powered chatbot, a word prediction program and other tools that can read for her. "I would have just probably given up if I didn't have them," she said. Artificial intelligence holds the promise of helping countless other students with a range of visual, speech, language and hearing impairments to execute tasks that come easily to others. Schools everywhere have been wrestling with how and where to incorporate AI, but many are fast-tracking applications for students with disabilities. Getting the latest technology into the hands of students with disabilities is a priority for the US Education Department, which has told schools they must consider whether students need tools like text-to-speech and alternative communication devices. New rules from the Department of Justice also will require schools and other government entities to make apps and online content accessible to those with disabilities. There is concern about how to ensure students using it — including those with disabilities — are still learning. Students can use artificial intelligence to summarise jumbled thoughts into an outline, summarise complicated passages, or even translate Shakespeare into common English. And computer-generated voices that can read passages for visually impaired and dyslexic students are becoming less robotic and more natural. "I'm seeing that a lot of students are kind of exploring on their own, almost feeling like they've found a cheat code in a video game," said Alexis Reid, an educational therapist in the Boston area who works with students with learning disabilities. But in her view, it is far from cheating: "we're meeting students where they are". Ben Snyder, a 14-year-old from Larchmont, New York, who was recently diagnosed with a learning disability, has been increasingly using AI to help with homework. "Sometimes in maths, my teachers will explain a problem to me, but it just makes absolutely no sense," he said. "So if I plug that problem into AI, it'll give me multiple different ways of explaining how to do that." He likes a program called Question AI. Earlier in the day, he asked the program to help him write an outline for a book report — a task he completed in 15 minutes that otherwise would have taken him an hour and a half because of his struggles with writing and organisation. But he does think using AI to write the whole report crosses a line. "That's just cheating," Ben said. Schools have been trying to balance the technology's benefits against the risk that it will do too much. If a special education plan sets reading growth as a goal, the student needs to improve that skill. AI can't do it for them, said Mary Lawson, general counsel at the Council of the Great City Schools. But the technology can help level the playing field for students with disabilities, said Paul Sanft, director of a Minnesota-based centre where families can try out different assistive technology tools and borrow devices. "There are definitely going to be people who use some of these tools in nefarious ways. That's always going to happen," Sanft said. "But I don't think that's the biggest concern with people with disabilities, who are just trying to do something that they couldn't do before." Another risk is that AI will track students into less rigourous courses of study. And, because it is so good at identifying patterns, AI might be able to figure out a student has a disability. Having that disclosed by AI and not the student or their family could create ethical dilemmas, said Luis Pérez, the disability and digital inclusion lead at CAST, formerly the Centre for Applied Specialised Technology. Schools are using the technology to help students who struggle academically, even if they do not qualify for special education services. In Iowa, a new law requires students deemed not proficient — about a quarter of them — to get an individualised reading plan. As part of that effort, the state's education department spent $US3 million ($A4.8 million) on an AI-driven personalised tutoring program. When students struggle, a digital avatar intervenes. In September, Makenzie's district rolled out chatbots to help special education students in high school. 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