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New Zealand prop de Groot banned for 3 games for Rugby World Cup red card

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:40 GMT

BORDEAUX, France (AP) — New Zealand prop Ethan de Groot was suspended for three Rugby World Cup games on Monday for his red card against Namibia.He will miss the All Blacks’ last Pool A games in Lyon against Italy on Sept. 29 and Uruguay on Oct. 5. But if New Zealand advances to the quarterfinals, he will be available subject to him completing tackle school.De Groot made contact with the head of Namibia’s Adriaan Booysen and was yellow-carded on Friday in Toulouse. But the card was upgraded to red after a bunker review for charging Booysen without attempting to wrap him.At his judiciary hearing, de Groot admitted to foul play and didn’t think it was worthy of a red card.But the panel said de Groot could have lowered his tackle, which was dangerous and always illegal. The panel’s sanction started at six weeks and was halved because of the prop’s good disciplinary record.De Groot scored a try in the 71-3 win. Booysen suffered a shoulder injury.___AP Rugby World Cup: ...

Senior Biden administration official says 5 freed Americans and 2 US family members flying out of Iran in swap

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior Biden administration official says 5 freed Americans and 2 US family members flying out of Iran in swap.Source

Electrify America charging network must navigate patchwork of utility rates, government regulations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:40 GMT

If Jigar Shah doesn’t do his job correctly, the company with the second-highest number of fast-charging electric vehicle plugs could lose money or EV owners could have to pay more to fill up.As director of energy services at Electrify America, Shah is in charge of navigating a wide range of rates charged by more than 200 electric utilities in areas where the company has stations. Electrify America, a subsidiary of Volkswagen formed as part of the settlement for its diesel emissions cheating scandal, has more than 3,600 fast-charging plugs in the U.S. and Canada. It’s second only to Tesla with more than 22,000 ports.Shah talked about the cost of charging and regulations that vary by state and local government. His comments are edited for length and clarity.Q: Fast-charging stations often need line extensions, transformers and other things because they use a lot of electricity. How do you work all of this out?A: We have relationships with utilities to go through the line-e...

Virginia Rep. Jennifer Wexton will not seek reelection after receiving diagnosis update

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:40 GMT

Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia says she will not seek reelection and will be retiring after receiving an update on her health.She said while receiving treatment for Parkinson’s disease, she has received a modified diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy, a form of atypical parkinsonism. According to the National Institutes of Health, the neurological disorder is rare and affects body movements, walking, balance and eye movements.After receiving this diagnosis, she said that she will not be seeking reelection and will be retiring after the end of her term.She originally announced her Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in April.“When I shared with the world my diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease a few months ago, I knew that the road ahead would have its challenges, and I’ve worked hard to navigate those challenges through consistent treatments and therapies,” she said in a statement.“But I wasn’t making the progress to manage my symptoms that I had hoped, a...

Official tells AP 5 prisoners sought by US in a swap have left Tehran; flight-tracking data show Qatari plane flying out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:40 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Official tells AP 5 prisoners sought by US in a swap have left Tehran; flight-tracking data show Qatari plane flying out.Source

Chick-fil-A returns to UK after gay rights backlash forced a retreat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:40 GMT

London (CNN) — Chick-fil-A is making another foray into the United Kingdom after gay rights campaigners forced the fast-food chain to close a pop-up site in the country in 2019.The company said in a press release Thursday that it would open its first store in early 2025, with another four opening over the following two years.Each restaurant will be owned and operated as a franchise, Chick-fil-A said, and each is expected to create between 80 and 120 jobs. They will be the company’s first stores outside of North America, it added.Chick-fil-A opened a temporary store in Reading, a town west of London, in 2019, triggering protests by local LGBTQ+ rights activists. Soon after, the mall hosting the pop-up site said it would not extend the shop’s lease beyond the six-month trial period, local media outlet Berkshire Live reported.For years, the restaurant chain has faced criticism from LGBTQ+ rights activists for its past donations to Christian organizations, including the Salvation Army a...

5 prisoners sought by the US in a swap with Iran have been freed and arrived in Qatar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:40 GMT

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Five prisoners sought by the U.S. in a swap with Iran flew out of Tehran on Monday, officials said, part of a deal that saw nearly $6 billion in Iranian assets unfrozen.Despite the deal, tensions are almost certain to remain high between the U.S. and Iran, which are locked in various disputes, including over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran says the program is peaceful, but it now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.The planned exchange has unfolded amid a major American military buildup in the Persian Gulf, with the possibility of U.S. troops boarding and guarding commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of all oil shipments pass.President Joe Biden welcomed the news of the release in a statement, saying “five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home.”He urged Americans not to travel to Iran, and he demanded more information on what happened to Bob Levinson, an American who went missing years ag...

US gas prices are unusually high. Here’s why you shouldn’t worry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:40 GMT

New York (CNN) — Falling leaves typically coincide with falling gas prices as the summer driving season comes to a close and demand at the pump wanes. Instead, gasoline prices are getting more expensive and are just pennies away from their highest level so far this year.That’s because aggressive oil supply cuts in Saudi Arabia and Russia and deadly flooding in Libya have sent crude prices on a tear. Oil prices hit a 10-month high on Friday and are on pace to hit their largest quarterly increase since Russia first invaded Ukraine in the beginning of 2022.Increasing oil prices are a bad omen on Wall Street — they mean higher inflation and introduce the possibility of more economy-crushing interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. More pain at the pump also means less consumer spending elsewhere and a heightened possibility of recession.There’s already a lot to fret about this autumn: Auto workers are on strike, the federal government could face another shutdown, China’s economy is s...

Person detained in connection with the ambush killing of a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:40 GMT

(CNN) — Authorities have detained a person believed to be connected with the fatal shooting of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who was killed in his patrol car over the weekend.CNN is seeking more details on the circumstances of the detention.Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, was shot Saturday while on duty at an intersection near the sheriff’s station in Palmdale, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The deputy, who’d gotten engaged only four days earlier, was found unconscious by a civilian around 6 p.m. and pronounced dead at a hospital, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.“This coward or cowards took his life while he’s sitting at a red light, waiting to serve our community,” Luna said at a Sunday news conference.Widely circulated video captured a vehicle – described as a 2006 to 2012 dark gray Toyota Corolla – driving next to Clinkunbroomer’s patrol vehicle, Luna said, and the sheriff’s department on Sunday released photos of wh...

Hunter Biden sues the IRS over tax disclosures after agent testimony before Congress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:40 GMT

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)Hunter Biden sued the Internal Revenue Service on Monday, claiming that two agents publicly alleging tax-probe interference wrongly shared his personal information, a case that comes amid escalating legal and political struggles as the 2024 election looms. The agents “targeted and sought to embarrass Mr. Biden” with the sharing of confidential tax information in press interviews and testimony before Congress, the suit said. His lawyers argue that whistleblower protections don’t apply, but a lawyer for one agent said any confidential information released came under whistleblower authorization.The lawsuit marks the latest legal pushback from Biden as a long-running federal investigation into him unfolds against a sharply political backdrop. That includes an impeachment inquiry aimed at his father, President Joe Biden, seeking to tie him to his son’s business dealings.“Mr. Biden is the son of the President of the Uni...