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Galopin Des Champs wins Cheltenham Gold Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:58 GMT

CHELTENHAM, England (AP) — Galopin Des Champs stormed up the hill for a convincing victory in the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday.The pre-race favorite, at 7-5 odds, answered questions about his stamina by pulling away from Bravemansgame after the final fence to win by about seven lengths with Conflated crossing third.The victory made jockey Paul Townend and trainer Willie Mullins three-time Gold Cup champions — on St. Patrick’s Day for the Irish pair.“This race is just different. It brings winning to a different level,” Townend told iTV Racing.A Plus Tard pulled up, ending a bid for back-to-back wins.___More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Women’s March Madness: Maryland, Virginia Tech begin road to Final Four

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:58 GMT

With March Madness already underway in men’s basketball, the women’s teams will take the court Friday with a chance to go to the Final Four in Dallas, Texas.Two of the teams competing in the tournament come from the D.C. area: University of Maryland and Virginia Tech.More Sports NewsMore College Basketball NewsHere is a preview of who these teams will play in the Round of 64.MarylandGreenville 1 Bracket: No. 2 Maryland (25-6) vs. No. 15 Holy Cross (24-8) in College Park, Maryland2:30 p.m. EST on ESPNThe Maryland Terrapins come into the tournament led by head coach Brenda Freese and star player Diamond Miller. Also, they are a team filled with four transfers: Abby Meyers (Princeton), Lavender Briggs (Florida), Elisa Pinzan (South Florida) and Brinae Alexander (Vanderbilt). Their first test will be against Holy Cross, which won the Patriot League championship to make the dance for the first time since 2007.The Lady Terps hope to pull out a victory just like men’s tea...

Librarian fired for ‘unkind pushback’ at conservative event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:58 GMT

HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A library director in Tennessee has been fired after the actor and evangelist Kirk Cameron accused him of “unkind pushback” to visiting celebrities during a conservative event last month, officials said.Sumner County Mayor John Isbell told The Tennessean that the county’s library board voted 4-3 on Wednesday to fire Hendersonville library director Allan Morales. The mayor said Morales’ termination was “related to the Kirk Cameron event.” Photos of the Feb. 25 event posted by Cameron on Facebook show him reading a children’s book to a room full of dozens of kids and adults. He wrote that the event involved “praying and teaching faith in God and moral values to our kids,” as well as the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance.Also in attendance were Missy Robertson of the reality TV show “Duck Dynasty” and former University of Kentucky women’s swimmer Riley Gaines.In a video obtained by the Tennessean, Gaines can be seen recording a ...

DP World Tour SDC Championship Scores

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:58 GMT

FridayThe St. Francis LinksEastern Cape, South AfricaPurse: $1.5 millionYardage: 7,192; Par: 72Suspended Second Round for DarknessJulien Brun 69-67_136Jen Dantorp 74-63_137Albert Venter 70-67_137Matthew Baldwin 70-67_137Jean Hugo 72-67_139Sami Valimakii 70-70_140Rafa Cabrera Bello 73-67_140Richie Ramsay 73-67_140Antoine Rozner 72-68_140Tom Mckibbin 76-65_141James Kamte 71-70_141Jbe Kruger 73-69_142Thomas Aiken 72-70_142Jaco Ahlers 78-64_142Keagan Thomas 79-64_143R. Sciot-Siegrist 71-72_143Merrick Bremner 71-72_143Aaron Cockerill 77-76_143Matthew Southgate 74-69_143Jaco Van Zyl 74-69_143Daniel Van Tonder 75-68_143C.J. Du Plessis 74-69_143Dylan Naidoo 75-68_143George Coetzee 72-71_143Oliver Bekker 72-71_143Bryce Easton 73-71_144Luke Jerling 78-66_144Jac...

Biden calls for tougher penalties for execs of failed banks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday called on Congress to allow regulators to impose tougher penalties on the executives of failed banks, including clawing back compensation and making it easier to bar them from working in the industry.Biden wants the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to be able to force the return of compensation paid to executives at a broader range of banks should they fail, and to lower the threshold for the regulator to impose fines and bar executives from working at another bank. He called on Congress to grant the FDIC those powers after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank sent shockwaves through the global banking industry.“Strengthening accountability is an important deterrent to prevent mismanagement in the future,” Biden said in a statement. “Congress must act to impose tougher penalties for senior bank executives whose mismanagement contributed to their institutions failing.”Currently the FDIC can only take back the comp...

Wide receiver Allen Lazard signs 4-year deal with Jets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:58 GMT

Allen Lazard enjoyed everything about New York when he visited for the first time a few months ago. Now, it will be home for the Jets’ newest wide receiver. And he’ll be reunited with his former offensive coordinator in Nathaniel Hackett— and perhaps soon quarterback Aaron Rodgers.Lazard signed a four-year contract with the Jets on Friday, a deal worth $44 million and includes $22 million guaranteed, according to multiple reports.“For me, I just wanted to get to a big city,” Lazard, who is from Iowa, said during a Zoom call. “I wanted to get to a spot that especially has just a melting pot of culture and just be able to get that experience. You know, the bright lights, New York City.”The Big Apple spotlight might soon shine on Rodgers, Lazard’s former Packers teammate, who said on “The Pat McAfee Show” this week that he intends to play for New York this year after 18 seasons in Green Bay. The sides are still working on compensation details to try to complete a trad...

DP World Tour SDC Championship Par Scores

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:58 GMT

FridayThe St. Francis LinksEastern Cape, South AfricaPurse: $1.5 millionYardage: 7,192; Par: 72Suspended Second Round for DarknessJulien Brun 69-67_136   -8Jen Dantorp 74-63_137   -7Albert Venter 70-67_137   -7Matthew Baldwin 70-67_137   -7Jean Hugo 72-67_139   -5Sami Valimakii 70-70_140   -4Rafa Cabrera Bello 73-67_140   -4Richie Ramsay 73-67_140   -4Antoine Rozner 72-68_140   -4Tom Mckibbin 76-65_141   -3James Kamte 71-70_141   -3Jbe Kruger 73-69_142   -2Thomas Aiken 72-70_142   -2Jaco Ahlers 78-64_142   -2Keagan Thomas 79-64_143   -1R. Sciot-Siegrist 71-72_143   -1Merrick Bremner 71-72_143   -1Aaron Cockerill 77-76_143   -1Matthew Southgate 74-69_143   -1Jaco Van Zyl 74-69_143   -1Daniel Van Tonder 75-68_143   -1C.J. Du Plessis 74-69_143   -1Dylan Naidoo 75-68_143   -1George Coetzee ...

AP source: Eagles, QB Marcus Mariota agree on 1-year deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:58 GMT

The Philadelphia Eagles and quarterback Marcus Mariota have agreed on a one-year, $5 million contract, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Friday.The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t announced the deal, said Mariota’s contract is worth up to $8 million, including incentives.Mariota, who was released by Atlanta last month, will be the backup for Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia.Former Eagles coach Chip Kelly coached Mariota at Oregon and coveted him in the 2015 draft but couldn’t trade up to get him. Mariota went No. 2 to Tennessee.Mariota completed 61.3% of his passes last season for 2,219 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 13 starts for the Falcons. He also had a career-high 438 yards rushing and four TDs. Mariota is 34-40 as a starter with the Falcons and Titans. He played sparingly behind Derek Carr in two seasons as backup for the Raiders in 2020-21.Mariota replaces Gardner Minshew, who agreed to a deal with t...

Biden welcomes Irish prime minister on St. Patrick’s Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sporting a green tie and fresh shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, President Joe Biden on Friday voiced his support for a recent economic accord affecting Ireland as he hosted the republic’s prime minister, a longstanding meetup scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic two years in a row. Biden was presented with a bowl of shamrocks from Leo Varadkar, known as the taoiseach, a tradition that began in 1952. The shamrocks made it to the White House last year even though then-prime minister Micheál Martin didn’t. He came down with COVID-19 and had to join the meeting virtually while isolated in nearby Blair House, where world leaders often stay when they come to visit the White House. The two leaders’ first annual meeting was virtual, too, because of the pandemic. “It’s good to have you back in the Oval Office, especially on St Patrick’s Day,” Biden said as he and Varadker discussed their nations’ continued support of Ukraine and how to better deepen the...

Correction: Cloud Seeding-Funding story

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:58 GMT

DENVER (AP) — In a story published March 16, 2023, about federal funding for cloud seeding, The Associated Press erroneously reported the surname of a source at the Kyl Center for Water Policy. She is Kathryn Sorensen, not Sorenson. Source