Category Archives: Progress

Congratulations on being proactive to put your health and weight on track. Whether you're trying to lose weight or not, it's generally important to engage in clean eating. Although there are many variations to "clean eating," it basically refers to eating foods that are as close as possible to their natural state.

One of the main reasons to eat clean are the health benefits of consuming foods rich in nutrient contents that have not been overly processed. Clean eating nourishes you with healthy nutrient-dense foods, filling your body with vitamins, minerals, high-quality protein and healthy fats, all of which improve heart and brain health, assist in weight management, build a stronger immune system, and increase energy levels.

It may feel overwhelming to change your diet, but my advice to you would be to consider different categories of food and then make small pivots based on what you like, what you are comfortable cooking, and what may be in season.

Consider, for instance, the following foods:

So, for breakfast, consider a whole-grain avocado toast, drizzled with olive oil and maybe some spices. And grab a banana, too. A glass of low-fat milk or a side of yogurt can give you great protein and a calcium boost.

As for snacking, its still important to reach for clean foods that will fuel your body with good nutrients. Consider how often you reach for snacks during the day. If you know you're snacking often, plan out and prepackage snacks.

If you portion out healthy snacks and place them somewhere you will see them, it will be harder to overindulge. It can be very difficult to estimate appropriate portion sizes, which can lead to unwanted weight gain. Using these visual cues will help you get close to the actual recommended serving sizes:

Another helpful tip is to track your progress and choices. This can help motivate you to keep going. Jot down daily the number of meals and snacks you consume. Consider a menu or checklist of options. Track what you have selected, and then, at the end of the week, go ahead and indulge in a piece of chocolate or small scoop of frozen yogurt.

Be mindful also of when you snack. Its very easy to turn to food when you are feeling stressed or bored, but this can lead to overeating, which can further increase stress levels with weight gain that may result.

If you are someone who craves sweets which is a normal response to stress reach for lean protein foods, such as hardboiled eggs, tuna, cheese sticks, plain no-sugar-added yogurt, or soups made with lots of vegetables.

Before you grab a snack, ask yourself, Am I physically hungry or am I just stressed? You also can distract yourself with walks or something creative.

As you start this journey, remember that weight loss and diet changes take time. If you are going to weigh yourself, do so at the same time every day. Remember that to maintain your weight, you should be eating 10 calories per pound per day. For you, seeing your goal is to lose weight, you will want to consume fewer calories than your body is using or burning. I would consider finding an app you like to help you track eating and exercise, as well as calories, to help keep you motivated.

Be patient with yourself. Research has shown it can take up to 66 days of consistently repeating a behavior until it forms a habit. Work toward progress, not perfection. Engage in clean eating, healthy portion sizes and mindful snacking to maintain healthy lifestyle behaviors. Eileen Dutter, R.D.N., Weight Management Services, Mayo Clinic Health System, Eau Claire, Wis.

Mayo Clinic Q&A is an educational resource and doesnt replace regular medical care. Email a question to MayoClinicQ&A@mayo.edu. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org.

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Aim for progress, not perfection with dietary changes - PostBulletin.com

A pair of Americans, Coco Gauff and Sloane Stephens, took to the courts Friday to play quarterfinal matches at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, S.C. Neither won, but to assess where each of these two stood at the end of their latest matches triggers an assertion: Define winning.

Gauffs early tennis education continued today, one lesson after another coming courtesy of the seasoned and versatile Ons Jabeur. Though Gauff had won their prior two matches, on this occasion, sharp court coverage, forceful consistency, and a Jabeur trademark, the adroit drop shot, helped the 26-year-old Tunisian earn a 6-3, 6-3 victory that smoothly melded business and artistry. Still, for the 17-year-old Gauff, advancing to this stage of a tournament remains quite new, Charleston only the fifth last eight appearance of her young tennis career. Recall that less than two years ago, Gauff was entered in the qualifying at Wimbledon. She arrived in Charleston ranked No. 36.

Most teenagersincluding tennis prodigiespolish themselves privately. But Gauff, so successful so early, is having this process play out on international television, in front of millions. Yet as much as her youthful rawness is intermittently exposed, its exceeded by Gauffs relentless optimism and sheer engagement in competition. To see Gauff conduct herself so positively is to turn a competitive axiom on its head. Results do not generate confidence. Better yet: Confidence generates results. Or even more, is confidence itself merely an illusion, the heart of the matter revolving around practice, study, competition?

One can see, week to week, match to match, sometimes even rally to rally, how hard Gauff is working to improveeverything from her forehand (weaker than the backhand), to court positioning, forward movement, the serve. Progress, though, is not a line forward, but a series of peaks, valleys and even tumblesliterallyevident today when Gauff fell on her right side. Later this evening, Gauff withdrew from the doubles, citing a right hip injury. One hopes this is only a short-term issue.

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For Stephens, eleven years Gauffs elder, being in the quarterfinals was familiar, but also a bit distant, the first time shed been that far since Roland-Garros 2019. As if the pressures of tennis werent enough, the pandemic has been extraordinarily painful for Stephens.

I had COVID, I lost three people that were very close to me. Im in Australia and I literally had to go to my grandparents funeral on Zoom. I just was not ready to play, Stephens said in an article written by tournament writerRichard Osbourne.The pressure of contracts and the expectation of being out there and just playing, it wasnt the right time for me. I had a lot going on.

Ranked 57th as the tournament began, Stephens played sharp tennis to earn three victories, including one over defending Volvo Car Open winner Madison Keys and another versus the dangerous Ajla Tomljanovic. In todays quarterfinal, Stephens was in large part overpowered by Veronika Kudermetova, the Russian repeatedly controlling the real estate of the court to earn a 6-3, 6-4 win in 93 minutes. But Stephens fought well. With Kudermetova serving in the second set at 3-0, 40-15, Stephens rallied, including saving one game point with a dazzling down-the-line backhand. Such is the Sloane Stephens mix on her best days: movement, consistency, shot-making.

Stephens won that game and stayed close enough to force Kudermetova to serve it out at 5-4. Brittle as Kudermetova became at the late stages of the second set, when it came time to close, she was flawless, easily holding at 15. No question, for Kudermetova, Charleston is shaping up as a peak. But given all Stephens has been through in recent times, losing a tennis match is hardly a valley. How well this one-time US Open champion builds off all she has learned off the court and can still bring inside the lines is currently shaping up as one of the more intriguing storylines of the 2021 tennis year.

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Progress not a line forwardbut a series of peaks, valleys and tumbles - Tennis Magazine

Thomas Tuchel has warned Chelsea that they will be in danger of squandering their commanding 2-0 lead over Porto if they lose themselves in dreams of winning the Champions League.

Given Tuchels history in this competition, it is unsurprising he is taking nothing for granted before returning to Seville for the second leg of his sides quarter-final against Porto on Tuesday night. Chelseas manager famously lost from this position two years ago, when his Paris Saint-Germain side went out in the last 16 to a weakened Manchester United on away goals, and knows from bitter experience the tie is not over yet.

In Tuchels view Chelsea, who are also gearing up for their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Saturday, must focus on playing their natural game after winning last weeks away leg at the same venue. The German does not want his players dwelling on the past, even though he is in a rush to collect his first piece of silverware after arriving at Stamford Bridge in January.

If you win consecutive games of course you can win titles, Tuchel said. Chelsea has the culture, history and mentality to do so. I am here to win games and titles. That is what I demand of myself, so why should we now say anything different? That we want to win in five years or three years or two years? Now is the time.

But there is no match other than the next game and no other obstacle to overcome than Porto tomorrow. We should not get lost in dreams and hopes and speeches and whatever. We are here to focus on reality and hopefully after tomorrow we can talk about the semi-final.

Although Chelsea lead Porto thanks to goals from Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell, Tuchel does not see any value in trying to be too clever against Srgio Conceios awkward side. We dont approach games like this, he said. Its important to play the best game possible again.

In terms of adapting to the result, its easier for Porto because they know what they need to do to go through. If we start adapting we could easily lose our heads. What does it mean? That its enough to lose one-zero? Its good to have a draw, or better to have one-zero for us. Why should we enter into this thinking?

This is the challenge to not lose your head. Forget the result, we have to deliver. If we dont deliver, you cannot expect any results. We have to be free in our minds to react to the situations on the pitch.

Tuchel has already moved on from Chelseas outstanding 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, urging his side to keep standards high against Porto and City. This is a pivotal week for Chelsea, who are also battling to finish in the top four in the Premier League.

If you want to finish the season with a trophy wed better win both matches, otherwise it could be difficult, Tuchel said. Its most important for me to be fully focused on what we do and forget what we did at Palace because its the past.

Theres nothing less interesting in football than the past. Everything that counts in football is the next match, the next competition. We can be self-confident because we have a strong squad. The squad can rely always on their work rate, their intensity. We are always a tough team to play against. We play in three competitions and hopefully well still be in three competitions.

Tuchel is yet to decide whether to start NGolo Kant in central midfield. The France midfielder picked up a hamstring injury on international duty last month and needs to be managed carefully.

I was unbelievably happy when he told me he will travel with us last week to Seville, Tuchel said.

The plan was that he returns against Crystal Palace. He was strong enough to help us in the last 15 or 20 minutes. The downside was he lost a bit of sleep after the travel issues back from Seville. He lost workload in training.

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The next day he suffered from travelling. We decided to bring him from the bench against Palace. Normally it is hard to imagine a game like this without NG. At the same time we need to be absolutely carefully about him, that we dont take risks with his injury situation. The question is do we want him to start or do we want him to finish the game? There is also the possibility of 120 minutes.

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Thomas Tuchel tells Chelsea to focus on the present and seal progress past Porto - The Guardian

Although the abbreviated 2020 season was technically Chattanooga Red Wolves coach Jimmy Obleda's first in charge, nobody associated with the professional soccer team is looking at it that way.

His first year with the club was marred by the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed the USL League One schedule back to a late July start and led to the postseason being limited to a championship match that was ultimately canceled because of coronavirus protocol. In addition, with Tim Hankinson having coached the Red Wolves during their inaugural season, there was a roster in place last year that didn't necessarily represent Obleda's vision or that of the club.

Couple all of that with the fact the Red Wolves, after playing home games at Chattanooga Christian School in 2019, were opening a brand-new venue in East Ridge the first stadium in the state of Tennessee built specifically for a professional soccer team that may have been, at best, about 15% complete last season.

Now fast forward to what the organization considers year one for Obleda.

CHI Memorial Stadium has made a lot of progress, with a jumbotron about to be put up that will be visible from Interstate 75. The large display screen will most likely be in place by the time the Red Wolves play their regular-season home opener May 22 against Fort Lauderdale CF after beginning with back-to-back road matches against North Texas SC (May 8) and New England Revolution II (May 16).

Also by then, more progress will be visible on the club suites and executive suites that will overlook the stands. After that will be the construction of locker rooms across from the team benches and the suites, plus the installation of lights that will allow the Red Wolves the chance to hold home matches in the evening.

As for the team itself, 16 new players found their way on the field in Saturday's preseason match against 2018 MLS champion Atlanta United FC's second club, which plays in the USL Championship division. Chattanooga won 1-0, with the goal coming from Facundo Coelho, who didn't even have a number on his jersey because he was a trial player who just arrived in town.

The exhibition featured those expected to be primary contributors for the Red Wolves playing in the first half and those fighting for roster spots taking the field after intermission, but it was enough to show why team owner Bob Martino, general manager Sean McDaniel, Obleda and others are excited about this year.

"When Bob and Sean brought me in a year ago, it was to build the type of team and environment where people want to go watch," Obleda said. "You can see everything around is kind of personifying that. People want to be at the stadium; people want to be here for these games. I wouldn't be able to do this without their support, but just seeing it and seeing this group and what it's building the guys, the culture little by little? I couldn't be happier.

"We have an amazing group and we're just starting out. We didn't win the championship today, but you take one little step of getting to the championship, so with humility and hard work and perseverance and dealing with all the stuff that comes, we're going to get there."

The Red Wolves finished last season 6-5-4 two of the losses were 1-0 results against Greenville Triumph SC, the eventual league champion and wound up fifth out of 11 teams in the league at the time. Four of the top five scorers from that Chattanooga team are gone, the exception being Marky Hernandez.

Even with the newness to the 2021 roster, a couple hundred or so season ticket holders made their way to CHI Memorial Stadium on Saturday to see the product in the rain, no less both on and off the field.

"The best way to define this is it's like a NASCAR crash, and there's a pileup and smoke and you just don't know what's on the other side," McDaniel said. "It's great when you can come through it, and I feel like we're coming out of that, that pileup, that wreckage that was COVID, and now as we emerge from this, everything that was gripping us last year, it is so great to see the energy the players have, even today on a rainy preseason match.

"We've got hundreds of season ticket holders here. It's just a glimpse of what we expect to happen in 2021."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.

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Chattanooga Red Wolves offer glimpse of progress expected for third season - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Reuters

US stocks slipped from record highs as investors digest Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's recent comments and prepare for a busy week ahead for economic data and earnings.

In an interview with CBS, which aired on Sunday, Powell said that the US is at an "inflection point" and is likely to see a boom in growth and hiring, but still faces threats from COVID-19.

"The outlook has brightened substantially," he told CBS's "60 minutes." Yet he said there was a risk that coronavirus starts spreading again.

He also discussed the outlook for a digital dollar, and said the the US central bank is working hard on researching one as nervousness grows in some quarters about China's rapid development of its own digital currency.

As the economy continues to recover from the pandemic, investors are focused in on inflation data that is due Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters expect the consumer price inflation index to jump 2.5% from 1.7% year on year in February.

On the earnings front, Wall Street behemoths Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo are due to report on Wednesday.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Monday:

Bitcoin rose as much as 2.6% to $61,229 as the crypto world prepares for Coinbase's direct listing on Wednesday. The surge took the coin close to its all-time high of $61,742 reached on March 1.

West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 1.7%, to $60.31 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, rose 1.6% to $63.97 a barrel.

Gold slipped 0.5%, to $1,737 per ounce.

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US stocks retreat from records as investors mull economic-recovery progress and new Powell comments - Markets Insider

PA Ranks 11th Among 50 States for First Dose Vaccinations

As Pennsylvanias vaccination plan accelerates and more than a third of the states eligible population is vaccinated, Governor Tom Wolf today visited a new vaccination clinic in McKeesport to talk about vaccine equity and progress.

Since Pennsylvania providers began receiving vaccine in late December, our state has made immense progress, Gov. Wolf said. Pennsylvania has moved up in state rankings for vaccine distribution over the past several weeks, and we now regularly rank in the top 15 of states for first-dose vaccinations.

The clinic in McKeesport at the Bethlehem Baptist Church, focused on serving a population that may have barriers to vaccine access, is essentially a neighborhood clinic with plans to vaccinate between 100 and 200 people each day.

It is the fourth clinic to be opened by Allegheny County in conjunction with its health department and a local community two larger clinics and now two community clinics.

The governor was joined by County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Rev. Earlene Coleman of Bethlehem Baptist, Sen. Jim Brewster, Rep. Austin Davis, and McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko.

Throughout this pandemic, we have been grateful to so many partners, big and small, whose help has been instrumental in allowing us to control the spread of the virus and reach those who are most vulnerable in our community with vaccine, said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Thanks to Governor Wolf and the PA Department of Health, we have more vaccine for those in our community. And thanks to Rev. Coleman and Bethlehem Baptist, we are able to reach the members of this community where they are, ensuring they are protected against the virus.

While demand for vaccine still outweighs the supply that the state is receiving from the federal government, Pennsylvania has moved forward with eligibility for those in Phase 1B, while still vaccinating anyone in 1A who wants to be vaccinated and hasnt been, and while completing special initiatives such as vaccinations for teachers and school staff. Vaccination progress has warranted opening up availability to more populations and mirrors the vaccination goals of President Biden.

To date, Pennsylvania has administered over 5.7 million doses of vaccine and fully vaccinated more than 2 million people. According to the CDC, as of Wednesday morning, April 7, Pennsylvania has administered first doses of vaccine to 35.4% of its eligible population, and the state ranks 11th among all 50 states for first doses administered by percentage of population.

Allegheny County has administered 456,952 vaccine doses with more than 240,000 people fully vaccinated. As of April 2,76% of those in the county who are 65+ are at least partially vaccinated; 44% of those 50-64 are at least partially vaccinated. The Allegheny County Health Department has administered 87,386 vaccines to date.

The site in McKeesport focuses on equity, a top priority throughout the states vaccine rollout.

Equity means not only identifying which populations are at greatest risk from COVID-19, but proactively working to get vaccine into those communities, and breaking down barriers that make it harder for vulnerable Pennsylvanians to access the vaccine, Wolf said. Local providers like those right here in Allegheny County know their communities best and can put in place targeted efforts to ensure vaccine equity. Thats exactly what will happen at this site.

Serving as a vaccination site for the community stands on my calling, and that of Bethlehem Baptist Church, said Reverend Earlene Coleman. God spoke to me to pastor not just inside the building, but in the community as well as in the church. If life is rough in the community, how will they hear when they come inside?

We are happy to welcome Governor Wolf to the district to highlight this collaboration between the state, the Allegheny County Health Department, the City of McKeesport, and the Bethlehem Baptist Church to continue our effort to get everyone vaccinated and end this pandemic, said Sen. Brewster. I commend the hard work and dedication to ensuring a fair and equitable vaccine distribution process.

I want to thank Governor Wolf for coming to McKeesport and bringing attention to the amazing work being done at Bethlehem Baptist Church by Pastor Earlene Coleman and her entire congregation, Rep. Austin Davis. Given the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on people of color, ensuring equity in the vaccination process is crucial, and Im grateful that the McKeesport community is contributing so much to our efforts to support the health and well-being of all Western Pennsylvania residents.

The Wolf Administration has worked with vaccine providers to make it easier for Pennsylvanians to get vaccine appointments including:

Innovative and flexible approaches like the ones on display at this clinic will continue to be necessary to ensure equity during every phase of Pennsylvanias vaccine rollout, Wolf said. This is a great example for counties and health departments throughout the commonwealth.

Thank you to Dr. Bogen and the Allegheny County Health Department, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Rev. Coleman and the staff at Bethlehem Baptist, and every person who has had a hand in setting up this site.

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Gov. Wolf Discusses Vaccine Equity and Progress on Visit to McKeesport Vaccination Clinic - pa.gov

If theres a theme song for this season, its Get Here (If You Can) by Oletta Adams. Just picture her standing at the fourth spot in the standings singing...

You can reach me by starting Time Lord, you can reach me with offensive boardsYou can reach me with a switching scheme, you can reach me with some zoneYou can reach me playing Tacko Fall, sit on your timeouts or use them allI don't care how you get here, just get here if you can.

And so the Celtics, facing an explosive but not very good Minnesota Timberwolves team, managed to climb out of their own filth and folly to scrape together an overtime win, taking another small, sloppy step towards the overall goal.

I didnt think our starters played great out of the gate ... I dont think our full starting five has played as well as they want, Brad Stevens said after the game. But I think obviously Tristan (Thompson) has given us a lot off the bench. I think Grant (Williams has) been good off the bench. Payton (Pritchard) made a couple big plays. So we were going to mix it up

Thankfully for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum was able to get himself going to drop a 53-piece to bail them out. They ended up winning four out of seven games in this crucial homestand, neither seizing an opportunity to separate themselves in the standings nor tripping their way further down.

The Celtics, perhaps the unluckiest team in the league, are actually fortunate when it comes to the standings. Throughout this all, they are still only a game out of fourth. Somehow, with 19 games left, nothing has changed in the standings.

What is changing is how the Celtics look and how they react. They were beaten up by the New York Knicks but still won. They soiled themselves against a bad team again but they managed to win that game too. Its the most incremental progress, but its progress nonetheless.

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Karalis: Celtics' progress is frustrating and slow, but it's still progress - bostonsportsjournal.com

One of the more intriguing names that has been involved in trade speculation as of late is Kings forward Alex Iafallo. A few days ago, it looked as if the two sides werent going to be able to agree on a contract extension but that may be changing, as Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the two sides have closed the gap and are making progress on getting a new deal done.

The 27-year-old has largely gone under the radar but has been one of the top college free-agent signings in recent memory. After spending his first two seasons in a middle-six role, Iafallo spent most of 2019-20 on the top line and that has continued this year. As a result, hes averaging over 20 minutes a night for the first time in his career while picking up 11 goals and 14 assists in 39 games to be tied for third in team scoring.

Iafallo is in the final season of a two-year, $4.85M contract and is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer which has made Monday somewhat of a deadline to get a deal done as if it doesnt happen, Los Angeles may be inclined to turn around and trade him. With his emergence as a key cog for the Kings, hes certainly well-positioned to land a considerable raise on his $2.425M AAV.

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Kings making progress on extension with Alex Iafallo - Yardbarker

United States coronavirus cases have increased again after hitting a low point late last month, and some of the states driving the upward trend have also been hit hardest by variants, according to an analysis of data from Helix, a lab testing company.

The countrys vaccine rollout has sped up since the first doses were administered in December, recently reaching a rolling average of more than three million doses per day. And new U.S. cases trended steeply downward in the first quarter of the year, falling by almost 80 percent from mid-January through the end of March.

But during that period, states also rolled back virus control measures, and now mobility data shows a rise in people socializing and traveling. Amid all this, more-contagious variants have been gaining a foothold, and new cases are almost 20 percent higher than they were at the lowest point in March.

It is a pretty complex situation, because behavior is changing, but youve also got this change in the virus itself at the same time, said Emily Martin, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Michigan has seen the sharpest rise in cases in the last few weeks. B.1.1.7 the more transmissible and more deadly variant of the coronavirus that was first discovered in the United Kingdom may now make up around 70 percent of all of the states new cases, according to the Helix data.

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As Variants Have Spread, Progress Against the Virus in U.S. Has Stalled - The New York Times

ISTANBUL - European Council President Charles Michel and EUCommission PresidentUrsula von der Leyen met with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday for talkson a reset in relations. After meeting Erdoganin Ankara, Michel spoketo reporters about the EU's deep concern over human rights in Turkey.

The rule of law and respect of fundamental rights are core values of the European Union, and we shared with President Erdogan our deep worries on the latest developments in Turkey in this respect,in particular on the freedom of speech and the targeting of political parties and media, Michel said.

State prosecutors last month opened a closure case against Turkey's second-largest opposition party. While Ankara withdrew in April from the IstanbulConvention,a European treaty that legally protects women.

Emma Sinclair of the New York based Human Rights Watch has been calling for a tougher stance by the EU.

The EUhas to start believing in its own capacity to speak out on what is going on and to look at the crisis to actually condemn what's going on in much stronger terms, Sinclair said.

But Michel and von der Leyen did welcome Turkey's talks with EU member Greece to resolve territorial disputes over the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, which are believed to have vast energy reserves. The EU officials said talks with Turkey would start on modernizing a customs union agreement, a key Ankara demand.

Sinan Ulgen of the Istanbul-based Edam research institute says the custom union talks will give the EU new leverage, which is important as Turkey's EU membership bid is all but dead.

The accession track has remained stalled, dormant and dysfunctional in the last few years and the EU has very little leverage given that there are veryfewavenues of positive engagement, Ulgen said.

The EU officials also said they expect Turkey to fully honor its commitment to a migration deal, including accepting migrants and refugees back from Greece. Ankara is pressing for more EU funds to help accommodate nearly four million Syrian refugees, a demand that von der Leyen said the European Union was ready to consider.

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EU Leaders Warn Erdogan on Human Rights Amid Progress in Talks - Voice of America