U.S. Soccer is making a statement with Pride Crest during World Cup in Qatar
There are many reasons to criticize FIFA for the way they’ve handled the Men’s World Cup that is about to begin in Qatar, and at the top of that list is that they chose to have it in a nation with egregious human rights violations.
UK top court gives Uber drivers benefits in landmark ruling
The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Friday that Uber drivers should be classed as workers and not self employed. The ruling that the drivers should be classed as “workers” and not self-employed is a big defeat for the ride-hailing giant. The seven Supreme Court judges who heard the case unanimously rejected Uber's appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that two Uber drivers were “workers" under British law. AdSan Francisco-based Uber, which has 65,000 active drivers and 5 million regular users in the U.K., had argued that Aslam and Farrar were independent contractors. AdThe British judges on Friday cited a number of factors in their decision: Uber sets fares and contract terms and penalizes drivers who reject or cancel rides.
Luxury car brand Jaguar to go all-electric by 2025
Struggling luxury car brand Jaguar will be fully electric by 2025, the British company said Monday Feb. 15, 2021, as it outlined a plan to phase out internal combustion engines. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, FILE)LONDON – Struggling luxury car brand Jaguar will be fully electric by 2025, the British company said Monday as it outlined a plan to phase out internal combustion engines. Jaguar Land Rover, which is owned by Indian conglomerate Tata Motors, hopes the move will help turn around the fortunes of the 86-year-old Jaguar brand, which for many epitomizes class but has struggled in recent years. Jaguar Land Rover also said that the far more profitable Land Rover brand will produce its first all-electric model in 2024 as it, too, phases out internal combustion engines. The move was welcomed by British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps as “a huge step for British car manufacturing."
Restructuring Norwegian Air to get government support
FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, June 12, 2017, showing a Boeing 787 airplane being built for Norwegian Air Shuttle is shown at Boeing Co.'s assembly facility, in Everett, Wash, USA. Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle said Thursday Jan. 14, 2021, it will focus on European destinations and close its long-haul operations as it struggles with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and debt restructuring. Trade Minister Iselin Nyboe said the government is now open to the idea of contributing money to a reconstructed Norwegian Air but expects private investors to pitch in as well. The government said the support depended on the company receiving approval for its restructuring plan and noted that Norway’s Parliament had to clear any state aid. Norwegian Air then announced it had to lay off another 1,600 staff.
Twitter blocks 70,000 QAnon accounts after US Capitol riot
The social media company Twitter said Tuesday Jan. 12, 2021, it has suspended more than 70,000 accounts associated with the far right QAnon conspiracy theory following last week's U.S. Capitol insurrection. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)LONDON – Twitter says it has suspended more than 70,000 accounts associated with the far right QAnon conspiracy theory following last week's U.S. Capitol riot. In many cases, a single individual operated numerous accounts, driving up the total number of affected accounts, the company said in a blog post. The QAnon conspiracy theory is centered on the baseless belief that Trump is waging a secret campaign against “deep state” enemies and a child sex trafficking ring run by satanic pedophiles and cannibals. Twitter has previously tried to crack down on QAnon, removing more than 7,000 accounts in July.
Damage from border wall: blown-up mountains, toppled cactus
Trump has expedited border wall construction in his last year, mostly in wildlife refuges and Indigenous territory the government owns in Arizona and New Mexico, avoiding the legal fights over private land in busier crossing areas of Texas. The work has caused environmental damage, preventing animals from moving freely and scarring unique mountain and desert landscapes that conservationists fear could be irreversible. The worst damage is along Arizona’s border, from century-old saguaro cactuses toppled in the western desert to shrinking ponds of endangered fish in eastern canyons. “Building a wall will do little to deter criminals and cartels seeking to exploit our borders,” Biden's transition team has said. Ecologists say damage could be reversed in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, where thousands of tree-like saguaros were bulldozed, with some reportedly replanted elsewhere.
Democratic super PAC is joining Trump-TV station lawsuit
That sets up a notable legal battle between Trumps financially flush Republican reelection campaign and Priorities USA, one of the biggest spending groups in Democratic politics, which paid to air the ad. Although Priorities USA actively sought to intervene in the case, the Trump campaign instead claimed credit for being the one who sued Priorities. The case was transferred to federal court at the station's request in April, and a request by Priorities USA to join as a co-defendant was granted on Tuesday, court records show. The lawsuit that Trump's campaign said it filed on Wednesday against Priorities was actually filed last week. And it was recognized instead by the court as a supplement to their prior lawsuit against the TV station not a new complaint, records show.
Black Lives Matter in Bundesliga, Bayern keeps winning
(Lars Baron, Pool via AP)BERLIN Germanys soccer league was marked by gestures against racism and support for the Black Lives Matter movement on Saturday as Bayern Munich took another step toward a record-extending eighth straight Bundesliga title. All of Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlins 22 outfield players took a knee in the center-circle together before the top tier's late game with no fans present. Bayern's players had Black Lives Matter printed on their armbands, partly covering sponsor Qatar Airways logo on the left arm. Robert Lewandowski scored Bayerns fourth to claim his 30th Bundesliga goal of the season, set up by Thomas Mller, who now has 20 assists. It also had to do without fans, as all Bundesliga games are being played without supporters amid strict hygiene measures against coronavirus.
AP Top 25 Podcast: Looking for 2020's Burrow or Baylor
Joe Burrow went from middle-of-the-pack quarterback to Heisman Trophy winner. In 2020, what teams and players have a chance to be the next Baylor or Burrow? On the latest AP Top 25 College Football Podcast, USA Todays Paul Myerberg joins APs Ralph Russo to talk about potentially surprising players and Heisman Trophy candidates not name Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields. Also, there are lots of encouraging signs college football will start on time, but the coronavirus is likely to make this a most unusual season. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and https://appodcasts.com/category/ap-top-25-college-football/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/APTop25CollegeFootballPoll and https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Boca Raton approves construction of Brightline station
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Virgin Trains USA is pulling into Boca Raton. The City Council late Tuesday unanimously approved a proposal to allow for construction of a Brightline train station downtown. Brightline, which is being rebranded as Virgin Trains USA, wants to begin construction early next year. Miami-Dade County commissioners in October approved a plan for the construction of a Brightline station in Aventura. Brightline will pay to replace any library parking spaces lost in construction and make 64 spaces available to library patrons.
Last month was the warmest October on record globally
(CNN) - As we rolled into November, scientists discovered last month was the warmest October on record globally. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, which analyzes temperature data from around the planet, said October 2019 was the warmest in their data record, which goes back to 1979. Last month narrowly edged out the previous record for October, set in 2015, by only 0.01 degrees Celsius (0.018 degrees Fahrenheit). This year has seen multiple other hottest-month records, including July, which Copernicus said was the warmest month of all on record, replacing the record set in July 2016. Every month in 2019 has ranked among the four warmest for the month in question.
These three young women just made history
One served her way to becoming the youngest tennis titlist in 15 years. Let's celebrate these remarkable young women in their respective sports. Coco Gauff just became the youngest pro tennis champion in 15 yearsGauff didn't have the best start to her WTA tournament in Linz, Austria. Nicole Vaidisova had been the youngest WTA winner since 2004, when she won her first title. Brigid Kosgei just shattered a world marathon recordKenya's Brigid Kosgei not only won the Chicago Marathon for the second year in a row, but she broke the women's world marathon record.
Driver dies after impact with high-speed train in Pompano Beach
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. - A driver died after a high-speed train crashed into the black car Sunday in Pompano Beach. The Virgin Trains USA train, formerly known as Brightline train, collided with the car about 11:30 a.m.Officers found the driver dead inside the car near the intersection of Northeast 33rd Street and North Dixie Highway. Broward Sheriff's Office deputies did not release the identity of the victim. Earlier this week, Robert Ballard, 56, of Pompano Beach, was killed when the high-speed train struck him Tuesday morning at the same intersection, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
Trump makes surprise appearance at wedding reception
Getty ImagesBEDMINSTER, New Jersey (CNN) - President Trump popped into a wedding reception at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Saturday night, prompting the bride, groom and guests to chant, "USA! Mongelli told CNN that Trump first dropped into the cocktail hour to meet bride Nicole Marie and other family members. Mongelli said he and his wife are both strong Trump supporters, as were most of the wedding guests. The President was staying at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster over the weekend and returned to Washington on Sunday. "I said to the Prime Minister of Japan, I said, 'C'mon Shinzo, let's go over and say hello,' " Trump told the crowd at that wedding.
USWNT advances to Women's World Cup final
(CNN) - For the ability to rise to the occasion, for the aptitude to turn a blind eye to pressure and produce on the grandest of stages, there is still no team quite like the US as the defending champion saw off a talented England team 2-1 to reach the Women's World Cup final. Though challenged by the world's finest teams in the knockouts, the USWNT remains firmly on its perch. Megan Rapinoe, the match winner in both the last-16 and quarterfinal ties, started on the substitutes' bench, to the surprise of many. After much of the pre-match talk centered on Lucy Bronze going head-to-head with Rapinoe it was Press the England player -- dubbed the best in the world by her manager Phil Neville -- had to shackle. Again, the US' game plan worked, though in the closing stages the USWNT had to hold on.
US beats France to reach Women's World Cup semifinals
Megan Rapinoe of the USA looks on during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France Quarter Final match between France and USA at Parc des Princes on June 28, 2019 in Paris, France. The most anticipated match of this Women's World Cup did not disappoint. In a colossal contest on a balmy summer night in Paris, the US prevailed over host France to move a step closer to successfully defending its title. The-CNN-Wire & 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
Rapinoe stands by comments about not visiting White House
The US Women's National Team forward, speaking ahead of Friday's blockbuster Women's World Cup quarterfinal match against host nation France, reiterated Thursday that she would not visit the White House. On Tuesday, Eight by Eight, a soccer magazine, released video of Rapinoe telling a reporter in January, "I'm not going to the f*****g White House" if the US wins the Women's World Cup. "I stand by the comments that I made about not wanting to go to the White House -- with the exception of the expletive," Rapinoe said in Paris on Thursday. Alex Morgan, Ali Krieger opt out of White House visitIn a series of tweets Wednesday, President Donald Trump claimed that sports teams "love coming to the White House" and attacked Rapinoe, saying she "should WIN first before she talks!" In a story released in May by Time Magazine, Alex Morgan also said she would not visit the White House.