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North Carolina lawmakers approve sports and horse-race gambling, bill now heading to governor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina General Assembly finalized legislation Wednesday to authorize statewide and regulate sports and horse-race wagering, a decision poised to open the nation’s ninth-largest state to more legal gambling options. The House voted 68-45 for changes completed last week by the Senate to the bill. It now goes to Gov. Roy Cooper, who again this week expressed support for legalized sports gambling. The Democrat is expected to sign the measure, which would offer online betting on professional, college and Olympic-style sports and some in-person betting to adults 21 and over starting in the next six to 12 months.House members tentatively voted for the Senate version of the bill on Tuesday after no debate. Anti-gambling forces made one last stand Wednesday seeking to block the proposal, which they were successful in doing to a similar bill nearly a year ago in the chamber. But lawmakers who opposed the bill in 2022 were no longer in the House as the ne...

Bronze statue of noted American author Willa Cather unveiled in US Capitol

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Willa Cather, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American author renowned for her portrayal of the lives of pioneer settlers in the U.S. Heartland, was honored Wednesday with the unveiling of a bronze statue in her likeness in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall.The statue’s creator, Littleton Alston, a professor of sculpture at Creighton University, is the first Black artist to have work represented in the national collection.Cather, whose works include “My Ántonia” and “O Pioneers,” spent her young years in Red Cloud, Nebraska, and graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1895. She won the Pulitzer Prize for the novel “One of Ours.”U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, a Republican from Nebraska, noted that Cather was a trailblazer in the literary world who has earned a lasting place among the great American writers.And U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska said Cather’s fiction “truly feels like it grew from the soil of Nebraska.”“For decades until her death i...

BBC, British Airways, Novia Scotia among first big-name victims in global supply-chain hack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

U.S. and British cybersecurity officials warned Wednesday that a Russian cyber-extortion gang’s hack of a file-transfer program popular with corporations could have widespread global impact. Initial data-theft victims include the BBC, British Airways and Nova Scotia’s government.“This is potentially one of the most significant breaches of recent years,” said Brett Callow, an analyst at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft. “We’ll have a better sense of how significant it is as more details emerge about the number and type of organizations impacted.”The Cl0p ransomware syndicate announced on its dark web site late Tuesday that its victims — who it suggests number in the hundreds — had until June 14 to get in touch to negotiate a ransom or risk having sensitive stolen data dumped online. The exploited program, MOVEit, is widely used by businesses to securely share files. The parent company of its U.S. maker, Progress Software, alerted customers to the breach on May 31 and issue...

No longer the ‘sport of kings,’ horse racing is facing challenges in its long evolution

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

When the crowd roared to a fever pitch at the 2015 Belmont Stakes to celebrate American Pharoah becoming the first Triple Crown winner in nearly four decades, the scene was a throwback to the days when it was common for the grandstand to be full and horse racing was squarely in the spotlight.The moment was fleeting, as it was when Justify won the Triple Crown three years later. The joy of such a lofty accomplishment — the Triple Crown has been just 12 times since the first one in 1919 — was soon replaced by headlines mostly for the bad: Bob Baffert’s 2021 Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, failing a postrace drug test and the Hall of Fame trainer being suspended. Disturbing clusters of horse deaths — at Santa Anita in 2019 and most recently 12 more at Churchill Downs, prompting the storied track to close to investigate.Known in its heyday as the “Sport of Kings” when the likes of Seabiscuit, Man o’ War and Secretariat were stars featured first newspapers and radio rep...

County leaders in Georgia reject election board nominee who challenged voters’ eligibility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Elected leaders in Georgia’s most populous county — a Democratic stronghold — on Wednesday rejected a Republican nominee for the county elections board who had challenged the eligibility of thousands of voters.The Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to reject Jason Frazier, one of two nominees put forth by the county Republican Party for a seat on the county Board of Registration and Elections. The commissioners voted 7-0 to approve the appointment of the other Republican nominee, Mike Heekin, as well as the reappointment of two Democratic nominees, Teresa Smith Crawford and Aaron Johnson, for two-year terms that begin July 1.Fulton County has a history of election problems, including long lines to vote and delays in reporting results. After a particularly troubled primary in 2020, an independent monitor was appointed to observe the general election that year as part of a consent agreement between the county and the State Election Board. The monitor s...

Man convicted in 2018 California state park killing sentenced to 119 years to life in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man convicted last month in the shooting death of a father who was camping with his daughters at a Southern California park was sentenced on Wednesday to 119 years to life in prison. A jury found Anthony Rauda guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Tristan Beaudette and of the attempted murders of the two young girls. Rauda fatally shot Beaudette in the head while the 35-year-old father camped in a tent with his daughters on June 18, 2018 in Malibu Creek State Park, roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of downtown Los Angeles. He was taken into custody in late 2018 in a ravine near the park with a rifle in his backpack.Rauda’s attorney, Nicholas C. Okorocha, declined to comment on Wednesday’s sentencing but said he appreciated the “deeply moving” victim impact statement delivered by Beaudette’s wife, Erica. Beaudette’s daughters, then ages 2 and 4, were not injured in the shooting but were considered victims of attempted murder. The jury con...

World Cup winner Lionel Messi says he has chosen Inter Miami of MLS after 2 seasons at Paris Saint-Germain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — World Cup winner Lionel Messi says he has chosen Inter Miami of MLS after 2 seasons at Paris Saint-Germain.Source

Ranked choice voting in Arlington: What to know for the June primary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

<p>Privacy screens displaying American flags stand near a voter casting a ballot at a polling station in McLean, Virginia, U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Today’s midterm elections will determine whether Republicans keep control of Congress and will set the stage for President Donald Trump’s bid to win re-election in 2020. </p> <p>Privacy screens displaying American flags stand near a voter casting a ballot at a polling station in McLean, Virginia, U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Today’s midterm elections will determine whether Republicans keep control of Congress and will set the stage for President Donald Trump’s bid to win re-election in 2020. </p> Arlington Count...

What kind of surgery did Pope Francis have, and why?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Pope Francis emerged from a three-hour abdominal surgery at a Rome hospital on Wednesday evening, with no known complications, the Vatican said. The procedure was necessary to repair a painful hernia the pontiff developed, linked to a 2021 operation to remove a significant portion of his large intestine. Here’s a look at what we know about the operation and what potential complications doctors will be watching for in the 86-year-old pontiff.WHAT KIND OF SURGERY DID THE POPE HAVE?Pope Francis had a laparotomy, a surgery that involves opening up the abdomen, and doctors also inserted some prosthetic mesh to strengthen his colon.“The surgery and general anesthesia were carried out without complications,” the Vatican said in a statement. Authorities said Francis was alert and responsive and that he had “responded well.”Doctors not linked to the pope’s care said hernias were a known risk after previous operations and typically only become problematic when patien...

Suspect shot, killed by deputies in Conifer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:21 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Police have shot and killed a person in Jefferson County Wednesday afternoon and an investigation is now underway into the use of force.According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, the shooting happened near Callae Drive and Piano Meadows Drive in Conifer.It's unclear what the initial police response was for, but the sheriff's office said the suspect shot at deputies before they returned fire and killed him.Roads were closed nearby but there was no threat to the public as of 1:44 p.m. Wednesday.Police were on the scene investigating a police shooting in Jefferson County on Wednesday afternoon. (KDVR)Police were on the scene investigating a police shooting in Jefferson County on Wednesday afternoon. (KDVR)Police were on the scene investigating a police shooting in Jefferson County on Wednesday afternoon. (KDVR)A spokesperson for the sheriff's office told FOX31 that no deputies were injured.A critical incident response team from the First Judicial District will...