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AP PHOTOS: Rugby World Cup quarterfinals showcase the joy and despair of dramatic knockout games

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:52 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Rugby World Cup knockout games have no respect for reputations. Ireland and France, each highly ranked, highly rated and in seemingly top form, were surprisingly knocked out in the quarterfinals.Ireland was the top-ranked team in the world, rugby’s undisputed best and on a national-record winning run of 17 games before New Zealand sent it packing.Host France was No. 2, unbeaten at home for more than a year and had nearly 80,000 home fans in support at its Stade de France cauldron. The French are also out after defending champion South Africa pulled off a late surge in their last-eight matchup.Argentina beat Wales, while England was the only team to stay true to pre-match predictions by outlasting Fiji — even if Fiji produced quite the scare before ultimately bowing out.The line between joy and despair was four points in the Ireland-New Zeaand game. It was a single point between France and South Africa.The 38-year-old Ireland captain Jonathan Sexton still leaves in...

What will Virginia elections tell us about 2024?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:52 GMT

The upcoming Virginia General Assembly elections will be closely watched by Republicans and Democrats, both looking for an indication of what campaign messages will resonate during the presidential campaign.All 140 seats are up in the House of Delegates and state Senate this cycle. The election is Nov. 7.While only a fraction of the races are expected to be highly competitive, the results will be a test run for what issues resonate next year.One of the most significant issues is expected to be abortion, which had a major role in the midterm elections, following last year’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.“It’s just going to be interesting to see how that issue plays,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, with the University of Virginia Center for Politics.Kondik said, in previous races elsewhere, at times it appeared Republicans “stuck their head in the sand” and tried to avoid addressing the...

La policía de Bélgica dispara al sospechoso del asesinato de dos suecos en Bruselas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:52 GMT

(CNN) –– La policía disparó al sospechoso de matar a dos ciudadanos suecos en un atentado terrorista en Bruselas, poniendo fin a una persecución nocturna, informaron el martes medios de comunicación locales.El sospechoso, cuya identidad aún no ha sido confirmada, recibió un disparo en el pecho de la policía en Schaerbeek, al noreste de la capital, y fue trasladado al hospital, informó la cadena pública RTBF,Se encuentra en cuidados intensivos, dijo RTBF, citando a la ministra del Interior Annelies Verlinden.CNN se ha puesto en contacto con las oficinas del primer ministro, el ministro del Interior y el fiscal federal para obtener más información.El atacante dijo estar “inspirado por el Estado Islámico”El tiroteo mortal del lunes se produjo cuando Bélgica recibía a Suecia en un partido de fútbol clasificatorio para la Eurocopa 2024 en el Estadio Rey Balduino, a 5 kilómetros del centro de Bruselas, lo que obligó a suspender el partido en el entretiempo.En un video publicad...

Las Vegas looks to clinch WNBA Finals against New York in game 4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:52 GMT

Las Vegas Aces (34-6, 18-2 Western Conference) at New York Liberty (32-8, 16-4 Eastern Conference)New York; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EDTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK WNBA LINE: Liberty -3.5; over/under is 169.5WNBA FINALS: Aces lead series 2-1BOTTOM LINE: The Las Vegas Aces look to clinch the series over the New York Liberty in game four of the WNBA Finals. The Liberty defeated the Aces 87-73 in the last meeting. Jonquel Jones led the Liberty with 27 points, and Kelsey Plum led the Aces with 29 points.The Liberty are 15-5 in home games. New York leads the WNBA with 24.1 assists per game led by Courtney Vandersloot averaging 8.1.The Aces are 15-5 in road games. Las Vegas ranks second in the WNBA allowing 80.3 points while holding opponents to 42.6% shooting.TOP PERFORMERS: Vandersloot is averaging 10.5 points and 8.1 assists for the Liberty. Jones is averaging 18.3 points over the last 10 games for New York.A’ja Wilson is averaging 22.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks for the Aces. Plum is a...

MLB playoffs 2023: Rangers head home with 2-0 lead in ALCS; Phils power past D-backs in NLCS opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:52 GMT

The defending champion Houston Astros are in trouble as they head out on the road against Texas.Meanwhile, star slugger Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies are off to another powerful start at home in the NL Championship Series.Harper smashed the first pitch he saw on his 31st birthday into the seats, Kyle Schwarber hit his first homer of this postseason and Nick Castellanos went deep again to lead Philadelphia past the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 in Game 1 on Monday night.Concocting a suitable celebration on the fly, Harper held up three fingers on his left hand and one on his right and pretended to blow them out like candles on a cake as he crossed the plate. Harper, who also walked, scored twice and knocked in two runs, hit his 10th homer in two postseasons with the Phillies.Zack Wheeler struck out eight in six innings to help the reigning National League champions win their seventh Game 1 of the last two postseasons. Arizona was handed its first loss of these playoffs after ...

Deja Vu: Saturday Showers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:52 GMT

We’re again talking rain in the forecast… go figure. But you know, October really hasn’t been all that bad. We of course had a dry weekend this past weekend and when we look back at the first half of the month, we only picked up measurable rain in Boston twice.Not only have we had a fair amount of dry days this month, the days that it has rained haven’t been complete and total washouts. Boston and Worcester are actually below average in the rainfall department for October so far. We haven’t had a drier than average month since June. In the two days that we did see rain in Boston, it only added up to less than two-tenths of an inch combined.We’ll keep small rain chances in the forecast both today and tomorrow but those chances are incredibly low, so it’s possible (and in Wednesday’s case, likely) that Boston, or any town for that matter, will make it through the next two days dry. Our best chance of a spot shower today will be on the co...

India’s Supreme Court refuses to legalize same-sex marriage, saying it is up to Parliament

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:52 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court on Tuesday refused to legalize same-sex marriages, passing the responsibility back to Parliament in a ruling that disappointed campaigners for LGBTQ+ rights in the world’s most populous country. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also urged the government to uphold the rights of the queer community and end discrimination against them. Earlier this year, the five-judge bench heard 21 petitions that sought to legalize same-sex marriage. Chandrachud said there were degrees of agreement and disagreement among the justices “on how far we have to go” on same-sex marriages, but a majority of the judges agreed that the court cannot grant LGBTQ+ people the right to marry as that is a legislative function. “This court can’t make law. It can only interpret it and give effect to it,” the chief justice said, reiterating that it was up to Parliament to decide whether it could expand marriage laws to include queer unions.One of the petitioners, Mario da Penha, sa...

Police shoot dead suspected extremist accused of killing 2 Swedish soccer fans in Brussels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:52 GMT

Police in Belgium on Tuesday shot dead a suspected Tunisian extremist accused of killing two Swedish soccer fans in a brazen shooting on a Brussels street before disappearing into the night.Hours after a manhunt began in the Belgian capital, Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden posted on X, formerly Twitter, that “the perpetrator of the terrorist attack in Brussels has been identified and has died.”She thanked Belgium’s intelligence and security services, as well as the public prosecutor’s office, “for their swift and decisive action last night and this morning.” The man was shot by police in the Schaerbeek neighborhood near where the rampage took place. The weapon used in the assault was recovered.Amateur videos posted on social media of Monday’s attack showed a man wearing an orange fluorescent vest pulling up on a scooter, taking out a large weapon and opening fire on people getting out of a taxi before chasing them into a building to gun them down. He was also filmed...

Russia is sending more forces to an eastern Ukraine city after its assault slows, analysts say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:52 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is throwing more units into its effort to take a key eastern Ukraine city, Western analysts say, after apparent setbacks that have slowed its dayslong onslaught.The attempt to storm Avdiivka, a heavily defended city that stands in the way of Moscow’s ambition of securing control of the entire Donetsk region, is Moscow’s most significant offensive operation in Ukraine since the start of the year, the U.K. defense ministry said Tuesday.The Kremlin’s push to claim Avdiivka comes after months of fending off Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which Kyiv launched some 16 months after Russia’s full-scale invasion.Both sides are looking for battlefield advantages ahead of winter. They are also looking to secure future weapons supplies for what is shaping up as a protracted war of attrition.The Kremlin’s forces deployed to Avdiivka are likely making slow progress and sustaining high casualties in what is proving a costly effort, the U.K. defense ministry said on X,...

Clashes again erupt on the Lebanon-Israel border after an anti-tank missile is fired from Lebanon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:52 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Clashes erupted again Tuesday on the border between Lebanon and Israel, where Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have engaged in a series of low-level skirmishes since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza. An anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon landed in the town of Metula in northern Israel Tuesday morning, injuring three people, according to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed. No group in Lebanon has immediately claimed responsibility. It was not clear if the injured were civilians or soldiers, but Israel has ordered civilians to evacuate the area near the border with Lebanon.Israel responded by striking several areas along the border in southern Lebanon with artillery fire and white phosphorus, the state-run National News Agency in Lebanon reported. The Israeli military said its tanks fired back into Lebanon after an anti-tank missile was launched across the border.Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli military said it killed four militants who had attempted to plant...