Today: September 24, 2024
Today: September 24, 2024

World

World

Kyle Kuzma opts out of his contract with the Wizards, AP source says

Kyle Kuzma will be a free agent when the league’s annual offseason shopping period starts next week. Kuzma has declined his $13 million player option with the Washington Wizards for next season, a person with knowledge of his decision said Tuesday, meaning he will be a free agent. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither side disclosed the move. ESPN first reported Kuzma had declined the option. The move was not a surprise: Kuzma had said to The Washington Post and The Athletic in December that he was not planning to exercise the option,

June 21, 2023
Kyle Kuzma opts out of his contract with the Wizards, AP source says
World

Utah school district returns the Bible to shelves after appeals and outcry

Bibles will return to the shelves in a northern Utah school district that provoked an outcry after it banned them from middle and elementary schools last month. Officials from the Davis School District, which educates 72,000 students north of Salt Lake City, said at a board meeting Tuesday that the district had determined the sacred text was age-appropriate for all district libraries. In allowing the Bible to be accessible to students regardless of their grade level, the board sided with 70 people who filed appeals after it was banned last month. “Based on their assessment

June 21, 2023
Utah school district returns the Bible to shelves after appeals and outcry
World

Thousands gather at Stonehenge for annual ritual marking the summer solstice

All hail the rising sun. A seemingly curious alliance of druids, pagans, hippies, local residents, tourists and costumed witches and wizards are gathering around a prehistoric stone circle on a plain in southern England to express their devotion to the sun, or to have some communal fun. They will stay and celebrate at Stonehenge for the night and greet sunrise on Wednesday, which will be the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere. All over the U.K., optimism will reign supreme as summer officially starts. It’s no coincidence that the nearby Glastonbury Festival, one of the world’s biggest

June 21, 2023
Thousands gather at Stonehenge for annual ritual marking the summer solstice
World

Dolphins star Tyreek Hill is under investigation for assault and battery

Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill is under investigation by Miami-Dade police for assault and battery after he allegedly hit a man on Sunday. The incident was first reported by WPLG-TV in Miami after the station received a tip Sunday night. Miami-Dade police spokesman Angel Rodriguez confirmed Tuesday via email that police are investigating an “assault/battery” involving Hill from Sunday. The station reported that Hill got into an argument with an employee of a charter company at Haulover Marina in Miami, which apparently ended with Hill hitting the man. “We are aware of the situation and

June 21, 2023
Dolphins star Tyreek Hill is under investigation for assault and battery
World

Angels unlikely to trade Shohei Ohtani if they stay in contention, GM says

The Los Angeles Angels are highly unlikely to trade Shohei Ohtani if they remain in playoff contention this summer, general manager Perry Minasian said Tuesday. Minasian didn’t unequivocally vow he won’t trade Ohtani, who is scheduled to enter unrestricted free agency after the season. But the GM underlined his season-long stance on the issue while strongly indicating he still intends to do everything possible to end the Angels’ eight-year playoff drought — and that includes taking the massive risk of losing their two-way superstar in free agency. “It’s pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at (in the

June 21, 2023
Angels unlikely to trade Shohei Ohtani if they stay in contention, GM says
World

Wagging his finger at the Mariners, Cole stops the Yankees' 4-game skid with a 3-1 win

Gerrit Cole stared down José Caballero and wagged a finger at the Seattle Mariners’ dugout 15 times after striking out the side in the seventh inning, a pointed response to the rookie’s repeated step-outs during the New York Yankees’ 3-1 win on Tuesday night that stopped a four-game losing streak. After Caballero stepped out with an 0-2 count in the seventh, Cole threw a 97 mph fastball to the screen. The Yankees’ ace got Caballero swinging on a full-count fastball, stared at him as he walked off the mound, then turned to the Mariners’ dugout and

June 21, 2023
Wagging his finger at the Mariners, Cole stops the Yankees' 4-game skid with a 3-1 win
World

Foreign companies are shifting investment out of China as confidence wanes, business group says

Foreign companies are shifting investments and their Asian headquarters out of China as confidence plunges following the expansion of an anti-spying law and other challenges, a business group said Wednesday. The report by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China adds is one of many signs of growing pessimism despite the ruling Communist Party’s efforts to revive interest in the world’s No. 2 economy following the end of anti-virus controls. Companies are uneasy about security controls, government protection of their Chinese rivals and a lack of action on reform promises, according to the European Chamber. They

June 21, 2023
Foreign companies are shifting investment out of China as confidence wanes, business group says
World

Nate Ackenhausen shines in his first start and LSU shuts out Tennessee 5-0 at College World Series

Nate Ackenhausen pitched six innings in his first start for LSU and combined with Riley Cooper for the Tigers’ nation-leading 11th shutout of the season in a 5-0 victory over Tennessee in the College World Series on Tuesday night. LSU (50-16) beat its Southeastern Conference rival for the fourth time in five meetings and will play No. 1 national seed Wake Forest on Wednesday night. The Tigers would have to beat the Demon Deacons in that game and again Thursday to reach the CWS finals. Tennessee (44-22) was eliminated after it failed to score for the

June 21, 2023
Nate Ackenhausen shines in his first start and LSU shuts out Tennessee 5-0 at College World Series
World

Henrik Lundqvist is expected to headline the Hockey Hall of Fame's class of 2023

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is expected to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, part of the class of 2023 set to be announced Wednesday afternoon. Lundqvist backstopped Sweden to an Olympic gold medal in 2006 and led the New York Rangers to the playoffs in 11 of 12 years. That included a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and two Eastern Conference final appearances. A seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft, Lundqvist ranks fifth on the NHL career victories list with 459. He won 61 more in the playoffs before halting

June 21, 2023
Henrik Lundqvist is expected to headline the Hockey Hall of Fame's class of 2023
World

'She just wants a friend': Families push for full school days for children with disabilities

One Thursday morning in May, instead of sitting at a desk in her sixth grade classroom in the Oregon mountains, Khloe Warne sat at a table in her mother’s bakery, doing her schoolwork on a laptop and watching her favorite clips of anime. Khloe, 12, loves drawing, writing and especially reading — in second grade, she was already reading at a sixth grade level. But she only goes to school one day a week for two hours. The district said she needed shorter school days last year when Khloe threw a desk and fought with

June 21, 2023
'She just wants a friend': Families push for full school days for children with disabilities
World

Math scores plunge for 13-year-olds as pandemic setbacks persist

Math and reading scores among America’s 13-year-olds fell to their lowest levels in decades, with math scores plunging by the largest margin ever recorded, according to the results of a test known as the nation’s report card. The results, released Wednesday, are the latest measure of the deep learning setbacks incurred during the pandemic. While earlier testing revealed the magnitude of America’s learning loss, the latest test casts light on the persistence of those setbacks, dimming hopes of swift academic recovery. More than two years after most students returned to in-person class, there are still “worrisome signs

June 21, 2023
Math scores plunge for 13-year-olds as pandemic setbacks persist
World

Kershaw deals, and Dodgers get 2 big breaks in 2-0 win over Angels

Miguel Rojas doubled and scored on Michael Busch’s high-bouncing single in the eighth after Clayton Kershaw and Reid Detmers dueled through seven scoreless innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers opened the Freeway Series with a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night. Will Smith added an RBI single in the eighth for the Dodgers, who snapped their three-game skid with two fortunate breaks for a team that hasn’t had many lately. Four innings after the Angels’ Brandon Drury was ruled out at the plate on a call overturned by video review, Busch’s chopper

June 21, 2023
Kershaw deals, and Dodgers get 2 big breaks in 2-0 win over Angels
World

Underwater noises heard in frantic search for submersible with 5 aboard missing near Titanic

A Canadian military surveillance aircraft has detected underwater noises as a massive search continued early Wednesday in a remote part of the North Atlantic for a submersible that vanished while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic. A statement from the U.S. Coast Guard did not elaborate on what rescuers believed the noises could be, though it offered a glimmer of hope for those lost abroad the Titan as estimates suggest as little as a day’s worth of oxygen could be left if the vessel is still functioning. Meanwhile, questions remain about how teams could reach the

June 21, 2023
Underwater noises heard in frantic search for submersible with 5 aboard missing near Titanic
World

Gang behind slaughter of 41 women at Honduran prison, officials say

Inmates had complained for weeks they were being threatened by gang members at a women’s prison in Honduras. The gang fulfilled those threats, slaughtering 41 women, many of them burned, shot or stabbed to death. President Xiomara Castro said Tuesday’s riot at the prison in the town of Tamara, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of Honduras’ capital, was “planned by maras (street gangs) with the knowledge and acquiescence of security authorities.” Castro pledged to take “drastic measures,” but did not explain how inmates identified as members of the Barrio 18 gang were able to get

June 21, 2023
Gang behind slaughter of 41 women at Honduran prison, officials say
World

Allies seek big-business investment to rebuild Ukraine at London conference

Diplomats from dozens of countries are meeting Wednesday in London to drum up funds to rebuild Ukraine, a mammoth task whose cost is estimated by the World Bank at more than $400 billion – a figure rising daily alongside the human toll of the 16-month war. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to announce a new package of U.S. assistance at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which is both a fundraising forum and a message to Russia that Ukraine’s allies are in it for the long haul. Blinken, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission

June 21, 2023
Allies seek big-business investment to rebuild Ukraine at London conference
World

Planned Israeli settlement threatens West Bank UNESCO site ecosystem

Generations of Palestinians have worked the terraced hillsides of this West Bank farming village southwest of Jerusalem, growing olives, fruits, beans and exquisite eggplants renowned across the region in a valley linked to the biblical King David. But residents fear their ancient way of life could soon be in danger as Israel’s far-right government moves ahead with a settlement project on a nearby hilltop. Environmental groups say the construction could devastate already strained water sources supplying the agricultural terraces and cause extensive damage to an already precarious ecosystem. Battir’s plight shines a light on how

June 21, 2023
Planned Israeli settlement threatens West Bank UNESCO site ecosystem
World

Lawsuit: Company's insufficient testing of Titanic sub put passengers in 'potential extreme danger'

The company whose submersible vanished in the North Atlantic on a tourist dive to the wreck of the Titanic was repeatedly warned that there might be catastrophic safety problems posed by the way it was developed, documents show. With five people aboard a vessel that if still functioning would have a dwindling amount of oxygen remaining, an expanding international fleet of ships and airplanes is searching for the Titan, operated by OceanGate Expeditions. The undersea exploration company based in Everett, Washington, has been making yearly voyages to the Titanic since 2021. In the first piece of good

June 21, 2023
Lawsuit: Company's insufficient testing of Titanic sub put passengers in 'potential extreme danger'
World

Campus assault suspect eludes arrest for 2 years, after 'So I raped you' Facebook message

Two years after a former Gettysburg College student finally saw charges filed over her 2013 campus sexual assault, the man suspected of sending her a Facebook message that said, “ So I raped you,” remains on the run. Shannon Keeler, 28, and her attorneys question how Ian T. Cleary has avoided capture in an age when people are tracked by their cellphones, internet connections, security cameras and credit card purchases. Investigators, led by the U.S. Marshals Service, believe the 30-year-old from Silicon Valley is likely overseas and on the move. “How is he financially supporting himself? How

June 21, 2023
Campus assault suspect eludes arrest for 2 years, after 'So I raped you' Facebook message
World

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly lower, tracking Wall Street retreat

Shares were mostly lower Wednesday in Asia after Wall Street benchmarks retreated following the S&P 500’s rise to its highest level since the spring of last year. U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices rose. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.3% to 33,575.14, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 2% to 19,217.66. The Shanghai Composite index gave up 1.3% to 3,197.90 and the Kospi in Seoul slipped 0.9% to 2,582.63. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.6% to 7,314.90. Bangkok’s SET lost 0.8% while India’s Sensex was up 0.3%. This week has few potentially market-moving

June 21, 2023
Stock market today: Asian shares mostly lower, tracking Wall Street retreat
World

Russia says it downed 3 drones outside Moscow, suspects it was attack by Ukraine

Two drones were brought down outside Moscow as they approached the warehouses of a local military unit, Moscow region Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said Wednesday, in what could be the latest attempt by Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia during the early stages of Kyiv’s most recent counteroffensive. The wreckage of a third drone was found about 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from the site of the crash, Russian media reported. No damage or casualties were reported. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it was “an unsuccessful attempt at a terrorist attack” by “the Kyiv regime” on its facilities in the Moscow region,

June 21, 2023
Russia says it downed 3 drones outside Moscow, suspects it was attack by Ukraine
World

Israel beefs up troop presence in West Bank after Palestinian attack that killed 4 civilians

The Israeli military on Wednesday deployed additional forces across the occupied West Bank and prepared to demolish the homes of two Palestinian gunmen who killed four Israelis in one of the worst attacks in the past year of violence. The families laid to rest the victims in the deadly shooting in the West Bank settlement of Eli, in which two Palestinian militants opened fire at a gas station restaurant. Israeli media identified the four killed as Harel Masood, 21, Ofer Fayerman, 64, and Elisha Anteman, 18, Nahman-Shmuel Mordoff, 17. An Israeli civilian killed one assailant at the

June 21, 2023
Israel beefs up troop presence in West Bank after Palestinian attack that killed 4 civilians
World

Poland's conservative ruling party leader Kaczynski is joining the government as the deputy premier

Poland’s powerful conservative ruling party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, is reentering the government on Wednesday as the only deputy prime minister in the Cabinet, a move that gives him an enhanced position as the country heads toward a general election this fall. Kaczynski is the head of Law and Justice, the party that has governed Poland since 2015. It is widely believed in Poland that he decides most of the government’s policies and appointments, guiding the country in his position as party leader. He has previously served as deputy prime minister with a focus on security issues.

June 21, 2023
Poland's conservative ruling party leader Kaczynski is joining the government as the deputy premier
World

NCAA panel imposes a 3-game suspension for Memphis' Penny Hardaway for recruiting violations

An NCAA infractions panel handed a three-game suspension to Memphis coach Penny Hardaway on Wednesday for recruiting violations tied to two in-home visits with a prospect two years ago. The penalty follows a negotiated resolution in December that allowed the school to resolve the case and begin probation while one individual challenged the level of charges from the allegations. That turned out to be Hardaway, the former Memphis and NBA star who was charged under rules governing head-coach responsibility for conduct within their programs. An assistant coach first visited the prospect from Dallas in September 2021 at his home, followed

June 21, 2023
NCAA panel imposes a 3-game suspension for Memphis' Penny Hardaway for recruiting violations
World

Windrush scandal rumbles on 5 years after UK government's apology

When Thomas Tobierre’s wife, Caroline, died in 2021, he didn’t know how he was going to pay for her funeral. That’s because he had drained his savings while caught up in a U.K. immigration crackdown that improperly targeted legal residents largely from the Caribbean and other parts of the former British Empire. While a government compensation program eventually covered the cost of his wife’s funeral, Tobierre is still fighting for reimbursement of the 14,000-pound pension ($17,891) he cashed in to make ends meet when no one would hire him because of his disputed right to work. He

June 21, 2023
Windrush scandal rumbles on 5 years after UK government's apology
World

Bruce Brown opts out of his contract with the NBA-champion Nuggets, AP source says

Bruce Brown is set to become a free agent after declining his $6.8 million player option with the NBA-champion Denver Nuggets, a person with knowledge of the decision said Wednesday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the move hasn’t been announced. The NBA free agency period opens next week. Brown signed with Denver last summer and became an integral piece off the bench for the Nuggets. He can play either guard position or small forward and averaged 12 points and four rebounds in a postseason that culminated with Denver knocking

June 21, 2023
Bruce Brown opts out of his contract with the NBA-champion Nuggets, AP source says

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