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France beats New Zealand 27-13 in Rugby World Cup opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:52 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France overcame conceding tries at the start of each half to beat New Zealand 27-13 in an intense opening match of the Rugby World Cup on Friday, ending the All Blacks’ run of 31 straight wins in the pool stage.Prolific right winger Damian Penaud’s try 15 minutes into the second half regained France the lead it never let go. Fullback Thomas Ramos punished All Blacks errors from the tee. He finished with 17 points from six of eight goalkicks.Mark Telea scored after just 93 seconds to give New Zealand a stunning start at Stade de France, and then again three minutes into the second half.But Penaud’s try and Ramos’ accurate boot took the score out of reach of New Zealand, and France finished with an opportunity try by replacement Melvyn Jaminet to pad the scoreline and feed the belief that Fabien Galthié’s side has real hope of a first World Cup title after losing three finals.France did a lap of honor to thumping music after stretching its ho...

Zac Gallen shines as Arizona Diamondbacks beat Chicago Cubs 1-0

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:52 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Zac Gallen pitched a three-hitter for his second career complete game, helping the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 on Friday for their third straight win.Rookie Corbin Carroll accounted for the game’s only run with a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning against Mark Leiter Jr. Seiya Suzuki nearly made a terrific catch in right field, but the ball hit the grass in front of his glove and the out call by first base umpire Stu Scheurwater was overturned in a video review.“That’s a good team. We ran into a tough situation today,” Cubs starter Jameson Taillon said. “September baseball is meant to be close games and every inch matters.”Arizona (74-68) won for the fourth time in five games and moved within two games of Chicago for the No. 2 spot in the NL wild-card standings.Gallen (15-7) struck out nine and walked one after he dropped his previous two outings. Making his 111th career start, he got a celebratory dousing from Carroll and other teammates as he...

Elon Musk’s social media site X sues California over content moderation law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:52 GMT

Elon Musk’s social media platform formerly known as Twitter has sued the state of California over a law requiring social media companies to publish their policies for removing offending material such as hate speech, misinformation and harassment. The first-of-its-kind legislation was signed into law a year ago by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. In a lawsuit filed Friday against state Attorney General Robert Bonta, X Corp. challenged the “constitutionality and legal validity” of the law, saying it violates the First Amendment. Assembly bill 587 requires social media platforms to post their content moderation policies — which they already do — and twice a year submit a report to the state on how they address hate speech, racism, misinformation, foreign political interference and other issues. The law, “compels companies to engage in speech against their will, impermissibly interferes with the constitutionally-protected editorial judgments of companies such as X Corp.” and has pressures ...

Prospects for more legalized gambling in North Carolina remain uncertain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:52 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Prospects that another large expansion of gambling in North Carolina will be included in a state government budget appeared dimmer this week as the House’s top leader said there weren’t enough Republicans on board with the idea. The GOP-controlled General Assembly is more than two months late on approving a spending plan through mid-2025. Votes on a final state budget could come next week.House and Senate Republicans are weighing whether that final budget should permit additional commercial casinos to be operated in the state, and legalize and regulate video gaming terminals. House Republicans met privately earlier this week to gauge interest for gambling options within the budget. In an email late Wednesday to those colleagues, Speaker Tim Moore wrote that there weren’t enough of them to pass a state budget on their own that includes more gambling. “To be clear, we will not pass a budget that does not have 61 Republican votes,” Moore wrote, re...

Picking Koepka from LIV Golf was easy for US Ryder Cup captain Johnson. Because everyone wanted him

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:52 GMT

ROME (AP) — When U.S. captain Zach Johnson got his Ryder Cup team together for the first time for a training camp at the Marco Simone course outside Rome on Friday, there was no need for a pep talk about team unity with Brooks Koepka coming in from the renegade LIV Golf tour.That’s because it was just about unanimous: Everyone wanted the five-time major champion. Even if he did go chase the riches of the Saudi-backed LIV circuit.“The only thing that was said about Brooks with the guys — specifically the top six that made the team on their own merit — was, ’We want Brooks Koepka to play for Team USA,” Johnson said.Nine of the 12-man American team played Marco Simone for the first time. Koepka was on hand but three players were missing.“Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay have family matters that definitely supersede what we’re doing,” Johnson said.While Spieth’s wife is about to give birth, Schauffele and Cantlay had “prior family commitments,” Julius Mason of ...

EXPLAINER: Challenges from intense summer heat raise questions about Texas power grid’s reliability

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:52 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas’ power grid has been under tremendous stress during this summer’s sweltering heat, with the state setting 10 new records for electricity demand.The grid’s reliability has been questioned by residents and lawmakers since a deadly winter blackout in 2021 knocked out power to millions of customers for days and resulted in hundreds of deaths.Concerns were renewed this week after Texas’ power grid manager issued an emergency alert due to low reserves and high demand. Following the alert, the U.S. Department of Energy granted an emergency order allowing Texas to temporarily suspend emissions rules so power plants could produce enough electricity to prevent outages.The summer heat isn’t subsiding as high temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) were expected in much of Texas through the weekend. This summer’s challenges have raised more questions about the power grid’s reliability and what more the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid m...

UN report on Ecuador links crime with poverty, faults government for not ending bonded labor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:52 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A U.N. envoy urged Ecuador’s leaders Friday to boost enforcement of labor laws and end popular fuel subsidies as part of key policy changes needed alongside their continuing efforts to combat the drug-related crime that has undermined the country’s peaceful image.The report issued Friday by the U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights faulted the government for failing to crack down on slavery-like bonded labor, especially among minorities, and pointed to a lack of economic opportunity that has allowed criminal gangs to recruit members. It said money that goes to fuel subsidies should instead be spent on social programs.“My message to the government is we need to treat insecurity as a problem of poverty and lack of economic opportunities,” Olivier De Schutter, the special rapporteur, told The Associated Press ahead of the report’s release. “The answer cannot be just law enforcement.” De Schutter’s report stressed that about 34% of Ec...

Trump lawyers move 'insurrection' clause lawsuit to federal court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:52 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Attorneys for former President Donald Trump moved a lawsuit seeking to bar him from running again for the White House from state to federal court in the first step of what promises to be a tangled legal battle that seems destined for the U.S. Supreme Court.The liberal group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed the initial lawsuit on Wednesday in Colorado state court, arguing a Civil War-era clause prohibiting higher office for those who once swore an oath to the Constitution and then engaged in “insurrection” prevents Trump from running in 2024. Polis signs executive order to bolster state’s workforce The initial state judge in Denver assigned the case recused himself for an unspecified conflict of interest, and then Trump’s attorneys on Thursday moved the case to federal court — asserting that the matter should be adjudicated at the federal level since it raises a constitutional issue. The plaintiffs in the case will argue it should first go ba...

Infrequent inspection led to United jet engine breaking up over Denver: report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An engine on a United Airlines jet broke up over Denver in 2021 because of wear and tear on a fan blade that was not adequately inspected for signs of cracking, federal investigators said Friday.The National Transportation Safety Board said manufacturer Pratt & Whitney did not call for inspections to be done frequently enough, which allowed tiny cracks to grow undetected until the fan blade broke. Trump lawyers move ‘insurrection’ clause lawsuit to federal court The NTSB said the design and testing of the engine inlet contributed to the severity of the situation, and other factors made the engine fire worse than it should have been.The right-side engine of the Boeing 777 broke apart shortly after takeoff from Denver International Airport, raining parts over suburban neighborhoods. The pilots declared an emergency and landed the plane safely 24 minutes after takeoff.Pieces of the engine inlet, fan cowls and thrust reversers broke off and fell on a public park ...

3 teens charged in rock-throwing death get court delay

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:52 GMT

GOLDEN, Colo. (KDVR) -- The three teenagers charged with throwing a rock at a moving car and killing a 20-year-old woman were granted a delay Friday afternoon at their preliminary hearing.Nicholas "Mitch" Karol-Chik, Joseph Koenig and Zachary Kwak each face 13 counts, including first-degree murder for the death of Alexa Bartell. Parent group demands removal of 3 Denver Public Schools administrators Bartell was killed on the night of April 19 when a rock was thrown through the windshield of her car while she was driving through Jefferson County. At least four other rock-throwing incidents were reported that night.Detectives with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department used cell phone tracking data to find their suspects.Earlier this week, Jefferson County prosecutors added additional charges of attempted murder and assault against Karol-Chik and Koenig, after investigators say they threw a statue-like object at a moving car on April 1. 2 suspects in rock-throwing spree face mor...