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Slipper’s versatility and resilience gets him to fourth Rugby World Cup for Australia

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:46:32 GMT

SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) — James Slipper wanted to retire from rugby at age 30.He’s 34 and set to anchor Australia’s front row in the Rugby World Cup on Sunday.“I’ve gone a bit over time,” he said.What’s happened is he’s maximizing a second chance he received in his 30th year, 2019.Back then, Slipper had suffered depression for a year while coming to grips with his mother’s terminal cancer. He tested positive for cocaine twice but Rugby Australia took them in context and was lenient with the punishment while giving him specialist mental health help. He didn’t play for the Wallabies in 2017 and 2018 and left the Queensland Reds in 2019 to try and restart his career with the ACT Brumbies.He helped the Brumbies reach the Super Rugby semifinals, and Wallabies coach Michael Cheika picked him to resume his test career against South Africa at Ellis Park just two months before the World Cup in Japan. Slipper was a mainstay in the front row again.T...

Verstappen’s winning run in F1 is in doubt after qualifying 11th in Singapore with Sainz on pole

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:46:32 GMT

SINGAPORE (AP) — Max Verstappen’s historic run of 10 Formula One wins in a row looks set to end after he qualified down in 11th place on Saturday for the Singapore Grand Prix.Carlos Sainz Jr. took pole for the race for Ferrari on Sunday ahead of George Russell of Mercedes and the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc as Verstappen’s Red Bull team had its worst qualifying results of the season.“It’s the best opportunity since the beginning of the season, for sure” for other teams to stop a Red Bull sweep of winning every race in 2023, Leclerc said.Verstappen, the runaway championship leader after his record-breaking 10th straight win at the Italian Grand Prix, was eliminated by .007 seconds in the second session by rookie Liam Lawson of sister team AlphaTauri. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez was 13th after a spin. The two drivers have won every race this season between them.Verstappen told his team over the radio that it was an “absolutely shocking experience.”...

Browns WR Amari Cooper leaves practice with groin injury, questionable for Steelers on Monday night

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:46:32 GMT

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns top wide receiver Amari Cooper had to leave Saturday’s practice early with a groin injury and is listed as questionable for Monday night’s game at Pittsburgh.Coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t have much information on Cooper, who underwent surgery to repair a core muscle injury during the offseason. Cooper was on the field during the portion of practice open to the media.“We’ll see how he does over the next 48 hours,” Stefanski said.Cooper led the Browns with 78 catches for 1,160 yards and nine touchdowns last season, his first in Cleveland after four with the Cowboys and four with the Raiders. He played the final weeks despite the core muscle injury.Cooper briefly came into the locker room following practice but didn’t talk to reporters before leaving.The 29-year-old Cooper is a major part of Cleveland’s offensive attack and not having him in Pittsburgh would be a huge blow to the Browns (1-0), who are coming off a 24-3 wi...

GOP Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is acquitted of 16 impeachment charges following years of corruption allegations

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:46:32 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — GOP Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is acquitted of 16 impeachment charges following years of corruption allegations.Source

Angels star Shoehei Ohtani out for rest of season because of oblique injury

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:46:32 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani will miss the rest of the season because of an oblique injury, the team announced.Ohtani was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday. He has not played since Sept. 3 because of the oblique injury and his season as a pitcher ended Aug. 23 because of a torn elbow ligament.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLBSource

Denver officer cited for alleged indecent exposure while in uniform

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:46:32 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A Denver Police technician was cited for indecent exposure for an incident Tuesday where he allegedly touched himself inappropriately while in uniform and on duty.Police confirmed to FOX31 that Gabriel Jordan was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday, the same day he was cited.This is standard practice for alleged misdemeanor offenses, according to DPD.The specific citation was "indecent exposure - masturbation," according to police.Police told FOX31 that it will conduct an internal affairs investigation once the case is decided in court.

2 Las Vegas casinos fell victim to cyberattacks, shattering the image of impenetrable casino security

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:46:32 GMT

AS VEGAS — A persistent error message greeted Dulce Martinez on Monday as she tried to access her casino rewards account to book accommodations for an upcoming business trip.That’s odd, she thought, then toggled over to Facebook to search for clues about the issue on a group for MGM Resorts International loyalty members. There, she learned that the largest casino owner in Las Vegas had fallen victim to a cybersecurity breach.Martinez, 45, immediately checked her bank statements for the credit card linked to her loyalty account. Now she was being greeted by four new transactions she did not recognize — charges that she said increased with each transaction, from $9.99 to $46. She canceled the credit card.Unsettled by the thought of what other information the hackers may have stolen, Martinez, a publicist from Los Angeles, said she signed up for a credit report monitoring program, which will cost her $20 monthly.“It’s been kind of an issue for me,” she said, “but I’m now monitori...

UAW walkout could lead to car sticker shock, but not quite yet

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:46:32 GMT

Car shoppers are heading for a new round of sticker shock if the strike by the United Auto Workers doesn’t end soon, particularly for popular vehicles that are already in short supply.The number of vehicles on dealer lots will shrink the longer the walkout goes on. Dealers are likely to lose incentives that the manufacturers pay them to boost sales by cutting prices.And consumers might make things worse with panic-buying.Many analysts think it will take several weeks before dealer lots start to look a bit empty. Ford, General Motors and Stellantis built up inventories of vehicles ahead of Thursday night’s strike, and the UAW decided to limit the walkout to just three plants — at least for now.“Guys at the dealerships are going to tell you, ‘The UAW this and that,’ but their lots are full of cars now,” says Ivan Drury, the director of insights at Edmunds, a provider of information about the auto industry. He estimates that at current inventory levels and the pace of vehicle sales, mo...

Ticker: S&P 500 has 2nd losing week in a row on Wall Street

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:46:32 GMT

Stocks closed lower on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 benchmark index losing 1.2% Friday for a second losing week in a row.The Dow fell 288 points and the Nasdaq composite gave back 1.6%. The market had posted some gains this week following several healthy indicators on the economy ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week, where it’s expected to hold interest rates steady. Tech stocks were the biggest drag on the market. Automaker stocks proved resilient after the United Auto Workers union walked off the job at several plants overnight. Treasury yields mostly rose.The market posted some gains earlier this week following several healthy indicators on the economy. Wall Street has been watching economic updates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy meeting next week.Russia raises key interest rate again as inflation and exchange rate worries continueMOSCOW — Russia’s central bank has raised its key lending rate by one percentage point to...

Volume up: San Diego musicians collaborate to revive the mystic saints of India

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:46:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO --Described as a sublime meeting of East and West, a sacred "love story" is being told within the walls of Big Fish Recording Studio in Encinitas.Though produced in the same studio where multi-platinum albums by iconic artists like Blink 182 and Jimmy Eat World were created, a different kind of masterpiece is being collaborated by a group of San Diego musicians. Inspired by the sounds of her childhood, Vineetha Menon, a North County business owner and creator, pointed to her time in Kerala, India while drawing in a breath of creativity. She explained that "compositions from the mystic saints of India" are being retold through an album that's in the making.According to Vineetha, most of the recreated songs on the album are not available in the public domain. Many come from her memory -- an evocation of her mother's singing. "Exquisite melodies and poetic lyrics" she hopes to revive. "Something within me spoke to say it was my responsibility, my duty to preserve this music,"...