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Hamilton and Russell extend contracts at Mercedes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:00 GMT

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain waves to fans as he arrives for the driver's parade ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Sunday, April 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)(AP/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake) Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain waves to fans as he arrives for the driver's parade ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Sunday, April 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)(AP/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake) MONZA, Italy (AP) — Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton extended his contract at Mercedes until the end of the 2025 season.Mercedes made the announcement on Thursday ahead of the Italian Grand Pri...

Jordan Henderson keeps his place in England squad after move to Saudi Arabia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Moving to Saudi Arabia hasn’t stopped Jordan Henderson getting called up by England. The former Liverpool captain was included in the 26-man squad on Thursday for upcoming games against Ukraine and Scotland even though he plays for Al-Ettifaq as one of the growing number of top players to take lucrative sums of money in the oil-rich kingdom.Harry Maguire will also be seen as a contentious selection by England coach Gareth Southgate because the center back hasn’t played a single minute in any of Manchester United’s first three games in the Premier League.England is short of top-class alternatives in central defense, earning Maguire a reprieve for the moment.Similarly, holding midfielder Kalvin Phillips got the call from Southgate even though he remains out of favor at Manchester City.Raheem Sterling missed out for the third straight squad selection despite a return to form at Chelsea but there were first call-ups for Chelsea defender Levi Colwill and A...

Former Netherlands goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed, runner-up in 2 World Cup finals, has died at 82

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:00 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Jan Jongbloed, the Netherlands goalkeeper who was a runner-up in two World Cup finals as part of the famous “Clockwork Orange” teams in the 1970s, has died. He was 82.The Netherlands Football Association announced the death on Thursday.Despite being one of the most dominant teams of the era, the Netherlands lost back-to-back finals against the World Cup host nations — 2-1 to West Germany in 1974 and 3-1 to Argentina four years later, in what was Jongbloed’s last international appearance.Jongbloed played 24 times for his national team, often without gloves. Netherlands coach Rinus Michels selected him as a keeper who could set up moves for a team known for its “total football.” His free-spirited roaming with the ball came to epitomize a style known for fluency all over the field.He was a reserve keeper at the 1978 World Cup, but was elevated to starter after Piet Schrijvers was injured in a group match against Italy.“We are sadden...

Justice Thomas reports he took 3 trips on Republican donor’s plane last year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:00 GMT

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is acknowledging that he took three trips last year aboard a private plane owned by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.It’s the first time in years that Thomas has reported receiving hospitality from Crow. In a report made public Thursday, the 75-year-old justice said he was complying with new guidelines from the federal judiciary for reporting travel.The filing comes amid a heightened focus on ethics at the high court that stems from a series of reports revealing that Thomas has for years received undisclosed expensive gifts, including international travel, from Crow, a wealthy businessman and benefactor of conservative causes. Crow also purchased the house in Georgia where Thomas’s mother continues to live and paid for two years of private school tuition for a child raised by Thomas and his wife, Ginni.The Associated Press also reported in July that Justice Sonia Sotomayor, aided by her staff, has advanced sales of her books through colleg...

Trader Joe’s issues its sixth recall in two months

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:00 GMT

New York (CNN) — Trader Joe’s has issued another food recall — its sixth since July.Last week, the chain announced that it’s recalling its Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Black Bean Tamales because they might contain milk allergens. However, no illnesses have been reported, and the company said that “all potentially affected product” has been removed from shelves.Trader Joe’s said that the tamales with “undeclared milk” were sold in nine states, including Texas, Colorado and New Mexico, with the UPC number 717725000580. The best-before date is June 19, 2025. Nearly 1,700 packages were shipped to stores.“If you purchased Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Black Bean Tamales, please do not eat them. We urge you to discard the product or return it to any Trader Joe’s for a full refund,” Trader Joe’s wrote on its website.The Food and Drug Administration said on its website that the decision to issue a recall was “prompted by a consumer complaint that the items containing milk allergens were diss...

Scandal-ridden Finnish government presents anti-racism agenda

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:00 GMT

Finland’s government has presented a new anti-racism policy — detailing measures to promote equality and fight discrimination in various aspects of Finnish life — after a series of racism scandals rocked the administration in recent months.The statement, presented to the public Thursday, includes a series of measures for the government to strengthen the legal and institutional framework for combating discrimination; improving education on human rights, equality and gender sensitivity; combating hate speech; promoting equality at work; and protecting women from violence in certain patriarchal cultures. It also criminalizes Holocaust denial.“The Government is committed to promoting equality on a broad front throughout the parliamentary term,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in a press release. “There is no room for racism in Finland. Political decision-makers must set an example in building a safe and equal society, and we need all of society to take part.”The statement ...

French data watchdog probes Worldcoin’s Paris hub

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:00 GMT

PARIS — France’s data regulator CNIL swooped by Worldcoin offices in Paris unannounced on Wednesday to quiz a top executive, amid growing scrutiny over the cryptocurrency project’s privacy practices.The watchdog delegation arrived unexpectedly at Worldcoin’s Orb center, where the company scans people’s eyeballs in order for them to access its crypto services, two employees told POLITICO at the scene.Representatives of the regulator met with the company’s manager overseeing its French operations. Paris’ Orb center is just one of many such hubs that Worldcoin has set up across Europe, including Germany, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.CNIL has expressed deep concerns over the crypto startup, telling Reuters in July that the “legality of this collection [of data] seems questionable, as do the storage conditions of biometric data.” The regulator has yet to comment on Wednesday’s visit, located in a coworking place in ParisR...

Tropical Storm Idalia swoops through Carolinas, leaves a trail of destruction in Florida and Georgia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:00 GMT

By TERRY SPENCER (Associated Press)PERRY, Fla. (AP) — Tropical Storm Idalia descended on the Carolinas on its way out to the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, leaving a trail of flooding and destruction in the Southeast stretching back to Florida, where it first roared ashore as a major hurricane.Rescue and repair efforts continued in Florida’s remote Big Bend area where Idalia made landfall Wednesday. Thus far, authorities have only confirmed only one death, that of a man hit by a falling tree in Georgia. The storm’s ferocious winds left as many as a half-million customers without power in Florida and other states as it ripped down power poles and lines. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he planned to tour the area with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday. He noted that Idalia was far less destructive than feared, providing only glancing blows to Tampa Bay and other more populated areas as it came ashore with 125 mph (201 kph) winds in rural ...

White Sox promote former player Chris Getz to general manager

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:00 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox promoted Chris Getz to general manager on Thursday, staying inside the organization for the position almost two decades after the franchise last won a playoff series.Getz is replacing Rick Hahn, who was fired by chairman Jerry Reinsdorf along with president of baseball operations Ken Williams on Aug. 22. Williams was in his 11th season as executive vice president after serving as the club’s general manager for 12 years. Hahn had been with Chicago since 2002.The White Sox have a total of three victories in three playoff appearances since winning the 2005 World Series. They began this year with postseason aspirations, but they are fourth in the AL Central with a 53-81 record after Wednesday’s 10-5 victory at Baltimore.Getz, who turned 40 on Wednesday, was hired by Chicago in October 2016 as the team’s director of player development. He was promoted to assistant general manager in January 2021. He was also promoted to senior vice preside...

U.S. envoy visits Fukushima to eat fish, criticize China’s seafood ban over wastewater release

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:00 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Japan visited a city in Fukushima on Thursday and had a seafood lunch with the mayor, talked to fishermen and stocked up on local produce to show they are safe after the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, backing Japan while criticizing China’s ban on Japanese seafood as political.Ambassador Rahm Emanuel ate flounder and sea bass sashimi with Soma Mayor Hidekiyo Tachiya, talked with local fishermen, and visited a grocery store where he sampled fruits and bought peaches, figs, grapes, flounder, sea bass and other produce from Fukushima prefecture. All of his purchases will be served when his children visit him this weekend, Emanuel said in a telephone interview from his train back to Tokyo. “We are going to all eat it. As a father, if I thought if there is a problem, I won’t serve it.”The release of the treated wastewater began last week and is expected to continue for decade...