Month: January 2020

The Change.org petition said the funds that would normally be spent on the dazzling firework display should be redistributed towards the firefighting efforts. ### The City of Sydney has faced increasing pressure to cancel the event in recent weeks. The state of New South Wales — of which Sydney is the capital — has been the hardest hit by the prolonged fire season. Conditions are expected to deteriorate over the next two days, the state’s…

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Tens of thousands of residents and people on vacation were urged to evacuate Sunday, as authorities had forecast that several factors could make it an incredibly dangerous day in terms of fire risk. ### “The extreme fire dangers, the strong winds that were forecast, and the very hot temperatures have all come as we thought,” Andrew Tupper of the Victoria Bureau of Meteorology said at a news conference on Monday. ### Several emergency warnings have…

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It wasn’t the first time Heusler had seen koalas out and about on the roads while riding — but this koala’s reaction amazed her. ### “We stopped the bikes to help the koala get off the road otherwise they get hit by cars. But the koala walked up to me very quickly, he was obviously very thirsty,” Heusler told CNN. ### “As I was giving him a drink from our water bottles, he climbed up…

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The Pacific Island nations of Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati were the first to see in the new year — when it was still 5 a.m. on December 31 on the East Coast of the United States and 11 a.m. UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, the global standard). New Zealand was next, an hour later. ### American Samoa, just 101 miles from Samoa but in an entirely different timezone, must wait a full day before seeing in…

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The Packers will try and lock up a top seed in the NFC playoff bracket on Sunday as they travel to Detroit to take on the Lions in Week 17. Green Bay (12-3) wrapped up the division with a win on “Monday Night Football” against Minnesota in Week 16. Now, the Packers will try and clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs with a win on Sunday. Green Bay’s been on a roll as of…

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No. 9 Alabama beat No. 17 Michigan 35-16 on Wednesday to cap the 2019 season with an 11-2 record. The Crimson Tide responded well to missing the College Football Playoff for the first time, but there are even more questions heading into Nick Saban’s 14th season with the Crimson Tide. Those questions range from the Crimson Tide’s 2020 schedule, which players return for their senior season or leave for the NFL draft and what the…

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No. 17 Michigan’s 35-16 loss to No. 9 Alabama in the Citrus Bowl served as the familiar referendum on the Wolverines after five years under coach Jim Harbaugh. The Wolverines are a little more than halfway there, but that second half continues to elude a program desperate to join college football’s first class. That was true against the Crimson Tide for one game, and it will be the narrative again heading into the 2020 season…

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No. 9 Alabama and No. 17 Michigan face off in the Citrus Bowl on Wednesday, one of four college football bowls on the 2020 New Year’s Day schedule. Alabama (10-2, 6-2 SEC) makes its way to the Citrus Bowl after suffering two regular-season losses to LSU and Auburn — the first time that has happened since 2010. The Crimson Tide had College Football Playoff championship aspirations this season, so it’s on Nick Saban to keep…

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J.J. Watt is set to return for the Houston Texans in the NFL playoff game against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday after being activated off injured reserve. Watt, 30, has been sidelined since October because of a torn pectoral muscle, an injury that was expected to keep the Texans’ star defensive end out for the remainder of the season. The team, however, announced Tuesday that Watt had been activated ahead of its clash against the…

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The last truly big slate of college football games takes place on New Year’s Day, with four bowls — including two in the New Year’s Day 6 — between ranked opponents. The New Year’s Day matchups between No. 9 Alabama and No. 17 Michigan (Citrus Bowl) and No. 9 Auburn and No. 16 Minnesota (Outback Bowl) start the day off at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the Rose Bowl between No. 7 Oregon and No.…

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