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Moldova is voting in local elections as authorities accuse Russia of meddling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:57 GMT

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldovans are casting ballots in nationwide local elections on Sunday as authorities say that Russia has been conducting “hybrid warfare” to undermine the vote in the European Union candidate country.While local elections in Moldova, a country of about 2.5 million people situated between Romania and Ukraine, wouldn’t usually garner much international attention, ongoing accusations of Russian meddling add a geopolitical dimension to the vote.Sunday’s ballot will elect nearly 900 mayors and 11,000 local councilors for a four-year term, including key positions such as mayor of the capital, Chisinau. The ballot will be monitored by around 1,500 national and international observers.Two days before the election, Moldova Prime Minister Dorin Recean announced a ban on candidates from the pro-Russia Chance Party. On Friday, Moldova’s national intelligence agency published a report alleging that Russia was trying to “influence the electoral process” through the ...

Rams QB Matthew Stafford won’t play at Green Bay because of thumb injury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:57 GMT

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford won’t play Sunday against the Green Bay Packers because of a sprained ligament in his right thumb.Stafford was among the players the Rams (3-5) listed as inactive before Sunday’s game.The news wasn’t all bad for the Rams as rookie receiver Puka Nacua will be available after being listed as questionable because of a knee issue. The Packers will be missing linebacker Quay Walker (groin) and safety Rudy Ford (calf).Stafford hadn’t practiced all week after hurting his thumb in a 43-20 loss at Dallas. The injury to the thumb on his throwing hand occurred on a failed 2-point conversion pass in the final seconds of the first half.The Rams had listed Stafford as questionable on their Friday injury report. Rams coach Sean McVay had said he would be willing to go all the way up until right before the game to determine Stafford’s availability and noted that “you use all the time necessary for a player like him.”Stafford’s inj...

Oui Oui: NCAA first as basketball powers No. 6 South Carolina, No. 10 Notre Dame play in Paris

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:57 GMT

Women’s college basketball is starting big this year. Eiffel Tower big. No. 6 South Carolina and No. 10 Notre Dame tip off the season Monday in Paris, the first time a women’s game will be played in the City of Light. “I think it’s pretty darn cool to be trendsetters,” said Dawn Staley, the South Carolina coach. Tipoff is 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.The international start follows a year of landmark growth for the game, both in arenas and on TV. NCAA data showed four programs — South Carolina, Iowa, Iowa State and UConn — finished with season attendance averages of better than 10,000. A season ago, the Gamecocks were the only ones to surpass that mark. ESPN said after the NCAA Tournament that March Madness had the most viewers since 2009, including a record 9.9 million tuning in for the championship game between Iowa and LSU. The regular season also had its most viewers since 2014-15. “There couldn’t be a better time to do this,” said game organizer Lea Miller-Tooley a...

Untouchable Djokovic downs Dimitrov in straight sets for record-extending 7th title at Paris Masters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:57 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic will head to the ATP Finals oozing with confidence.The top-ranked Serb will take on his rivals at the year-end event starting next weekend on an 18-match winning streak, fresh from a 40th Masters 1000 tournament win.Djokovic, who has not lost a match since his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final in July, won a record-extending seventh title at the Paris Masters on Sunday with a quick and easy 6-4, 6-3 win over Grigor Dimitrov in the final.Djokovic, who had been pushed to three sets in his three previous matches, enjoyed a comfortable afternoon under the roof of the Palais Omnisports.“Incredible. To be able to win it after quite challenging circumstances for me this week,” said Djokovic, who was hampered by a stomach virus in Paris. “Basically, coming back from the brink of losing three matches in a row, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I was very close to losing those matches and somehow managed to find an extra gear when it was needed.”Djoko...

Paredes scores for Wolfsburg in 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen in Bundesliga

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:57 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — American winger Kevin Paredes scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season for Wolfsburg but couldn’t prevent Werder Bremen fighting back to draw 2-2 on Sunday.The 20-year-old Paredes scored from close range to put Wolfsburg 2-1 ahead in the 59th minute after some good work from his teammates. Joakim Mæhle pulled the ball back and Lovro Majer set up Paredes with his heel, perhaps inadvertently.But Mitchell Weiser crossed for Rafael Santos Borré to equalize with a header six minutes later.Bremen’s Marvin Ducksch had fired the visitors into a seventh-minute lead with a free kick that went over the wall of defenders and in off the top of the right post.Wolfsburg found it difficult to break through Bremen’s compact defense until Václav Černý equalized in the 37th. The Czech winger was fortunate to see his shot go through the legs of a defender and the Bremen ’keeper.Paredes rewarded Wolfsburg’s pressure only for Borré to respond.Wolfsburg defender Maxence Lacroix was sen...

Patriots seemingly bench cornerback Jack Jones in first quarter vs. Commanders

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:57 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots deployed an expected starter Sunday against the Commanders.The Patriots started cornerback Shaun Wade over J.C. Jackson and Jack Jones in Week 9. Wade played opposite Jonathan Jones as an outside cornerback for the first two series while Myles Bryant entered the field when the Patriots went with three cornerbacks.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Trent Brown, rookie wide receiver among Patriots’ inactives vs. Commanders New England Patriots | Patriots-Commanders preview: Bill Belichick could start to U-turn the season Sunday New England Patriots | Patriots sign ex-USFL defensive tackle to 53-man roster New England Patriots | Patriots extra points: Bill Belichick says rookie WR had best practices this week New England Patriots | Demario Douglas one of the 4 Patriots most important to beating Washington Jackson replaced Wade on the third defensive series. Jack Jones ...

Luis Diaz sends a message for his kidnapped father after scoring for Liverpool

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:57 GMT

Luis Diaz lifted his jersey to reveal a T-shirt with the words “Libertad Para Papa” (“Freedom for Papa”) after scoring a late equalizer Sunday in his first appearance for Liverpool since his parents were kidnapped in his native Colombia.Diaz bundled home a goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time to earn Liverpool a 1-1 draw at Luton in the Premier League and immediately sent a message for his father, who is still missing after the kidnapping by a guerrilla group, National Liberation Army, known as ELN.Both of Diaz’s parents were taken in the small Colombian town of Barrancas last weekend, though his mother was rescued within hours by police.Diaz returned to training on Thursday after missing two Liverpool games and said he was ready to play against Luton, with manager Jurgen Klopp selecting him on the bench. He came on in the 83rd and spared Liverpool from embarrassment with a goal off Harvey Elliott’s cross.Klopp said before the game that “positive” negotiations were taking place...

Man arrested after woman’s body found in Whitby

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:57 GMT

A man is in custody after a woman’s body was found inside a home in Whitby.Durham police were called to a home on Kressman Court in the area of Country Lane and Taunton Road West around 9 p.m. Saturday night.When they arrived they discovered the body of a woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene.A man was taken into custody at the scene.Police did not say what the relationship was between the victim and the suspect.“This was an isolated incident and there is no threat to public safety,” police said.

Sex offender in 2011 B.C. child abduction wanted Canada-wide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:57 GMT

A high-risk sex offender who abducted a three-year-old boy in 2011 is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant after failing to return to his halfway house in Vancouver.Police say 58-year-old Randall Hopley was last seen Saturday at 3 p.m. and has a history of convictions for assault, property and sexual crimes, including three sex offences against children.Hopley was convicted of the 2011 abduction of a three-year-old boy in southeastern British Columbia, which touched off a Canada-wide search for the child.Hopley, who took the boy from his family home, held the victim captive in a cabin for four days before returning him apparently unharmed.Hopley served his full term for the abduction and was released in October 2018, but the National Parole Board said in January that the man violated his supervision orders after allegedly being caught using a computer at a public library — less than a metre from a group of children.At the time, the parole board recommended charges against Hopley and said...

Human skull found for sale in Florida thrift store's Halloween section

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:57 GMT

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WFLA) — Skulls are common decorations in stores during Halloween, but usually they're made in a factory.A thrift store in Fort Myers, Florida, learned it was selling an unusual item when one of its shoppers noticed that one of the skulls in the Halloween section was actually real, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office. Man’s body mistaken for Halloween prop; lawn mowed around him The shopper, an anthropologist of all things, recognized the skull was, in fact, human, prompting detectives to come and pick it up. While some anthropologists focus more on cultural studies, others are experts in recognizing and analyzing human remains, like forensic anthropologists.Detectives agreed that the skull appeared to be human and sent it to the District 21 Medical Examiner's Office.(Lee County Sheriff's Office)(Lee County Sheriff's Office)Deputies said the store owner told them that the skull was found inside a storage unit that was purchased years ago and had been left...