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Women’s March Madness finds foothold on national TV

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:06 GMT

With hopes of a separate television contract in upcoming negotiations, the women’s NCAA Tournament keeps gaining momentum.The national title game returns to network television for the first time since 1995, with an ABC broadcast on April 2 from Dallas and a one-hour pregame show. ABC will feature at least six games from the women’s tournament, including two first-round games Saturday and a pair of second-round contests Sunday.“Putting it on ABC, we’re giving it the best opportunity for success,” said Dan Ochs, who handles women’s basketball programming for ESPN. “This tournament continues to grow and deliver for us.”South Carolina’s 64-49 victory over Connecticut in last year’s title game averaged 4.85 million viewers on ESPN — the most-watched women’s championship game since 2004. It was also the fourth-largest audience for the title game since the network began airing the entire tournament in 1996.The 2022 women’s tournament overall averaged 634...

Virginia adds 10 new historic sites to state landmarks register

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:06 GMT

Ten new historic sites have been added to the Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR), and two of those newly labeled landmarks are in Fairfax and Loudoun counties.The new listings were approved at a meeting of the commonwealth’s Board of Historic Resources on Thursday.More Virginia NewsMore Local NewsDrover’s Rest in Fairfax County is on the new list with its construction as part of an 18th-century mill complex dating back to 1757 to 1785. The VLR says the building is “representative of the history of early milling and road development during the mid- to late 18th century.” It was built by landowner Bryan Fairfax and is located southwest of the Potomac River.Drover’s Rest in Fairfax County was added to the list of historic places. (Photo by John Gentry)The term “drover’s rest” meant that it once served as a place for workers and travelers to stay while passing through. Thomas E. Lovejoy, a biologist and environmental conservationist, purchased Dr...

Ten Hag: Several factors behind Rashford’s hot scoring form

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:06 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — With Marcus Rashford on the brink of a 30-goal season for the first time in his career, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag allowed himself a moment of satisfaction.“I think I said it in the summer. The question came several times if I believe Rashford or (Anthony) Martial, one of them could score 20 plus goals and I said yes,” the Dutchman recalled on Friday. Ten Hag is not the first United manager to put his faith in Rashford discovering his scoring touch. The England striker has had hot streaks under Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but his inconsistency raised questions over his ability to be a goal scorer of the highest level. That was until this season. His winner against Real Betis in the Europa League on Thursday was his 28th of a career-best season that is getting better by the week. His previous best was in 2019-20 when he scored 22 goals. Last season he managed just five in the entire campaign, a run that saw him droppe...

Grains higher, Livestock mixed

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:06 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Grain futures were higher Friday in early trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for May was up 7.75 cents at $7.0525 a bushel; May corn was up 2.75 cents at $6.33 a bushel; May oats gained 2.75 cents at $3.4725 a bushel; while May soybeans rose .25 cent at 14.8050 a bushel.Beef mixed and pork lower on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.Apr. live cattle was up .12 cent at $1.6172 a pound; Mar. feeder cattle fell 1 cent at $1.8832 a pound; Apr. lean hogs lost 3.52 cents at $.7905 a pound.Source

Belgium coach Tedesco drops Witsel in 1st team selection

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:06 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco dropped veteran midfielder Axel Witsel on Friday when he named his first squad since being appointed last month with a mission to rebuild.Tedesco opted not to select Witsel for upcoming matches against Sweden and Germany but insisted it wasn’t because the 34-year-old Atletico Madrid player is getting too old.“We have many possibilities in midfield,” said Tedesco, who also snubbed the experienced Leander Dendoncker and Hans Vanaken in his 24-man list but included 35-year-old Jan Vertonghen. “It’s not the age.”Witsel has made 130 appearances in his 15-year career with Belgium, scoring 12 goals. Tedesco said he traveled to Madrid to explain his decision to Witsel, insisting that the door remains open for him to return.“This is the main message,” Tedesco said. “We just decided for this camp to see some new faces, to see some new young players.”Tedesco last month replaced Roberto Martinez, who led Belgium to a third-p...

International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Russian President Putin because of his actions in Ukraine

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:06 GMT

THE HAGUE (AP) — International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Russian President Putin because of his actions in Ukraine.Source

Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis police officer serving time for George Floyd’s murder, pleads guilty to tax evasion

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:06 GMT

STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) — Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis police officer serving time for George Floyd’s murder, pleads guilty to tax evasion.Source

International court issues war crimes warrant for Putin

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:06 GMT

THE HAGUE (AP) — The International Criminal Court said on Friday it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine.The court said in a statement that Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children) and that of unlawful transfer of (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”It also issued a warrant Friday for the arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, on similar allegations.The move was immediately dismissed by Moscow and welcomed by Ukraine as a major breakthrough. Its practical implications, though, could well be negligible. Even if the court has court has indicted world leaders before, it was the first time it issued a warrant against one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. The court’s presid...

$800K worth of cocaine seized in Summit County

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:06 GMT

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — A traffic stop in Summit County led detectives to find $800,000 worth of cocaine.According to the Summit County Sheriff's Office, on March 8 at 12 p.m., their K-9 Narcotic Interdiction and Detection Team initiated a traffic stop based on information they received from law enforcement agencies that were monitoring the movement of narcotics around the state. SCSO said that during the traffic stop, K-9 Babe and her handler detected 25 kilos worth of cocaine that has an estimated street value of $800,000. Is it legal to set a booby trap at your home? According to SCSO, the cocaine tested positive for both cocaine and fentanyl."The goal of this team is to keep our community safe through combating drug trafficking. We take this mission seriously and work hard to detect illegal narcotics and prevent them from entering and being distributed in our community," Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said. The driver of the car was booked on an outstanding misd...

Officials: Man arrested in ‘ambush’ killing of Florida father; suspect is married to victim’s ex-wife

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:06 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (WESH) — Another person has been arrested in the “ambush” killing of a Florida father of four.Jared Bridegan was shot to death in front of his 2-year-old daughter in February 2022 in Jacksonville Beach.According to First Coast News, authorities announced the arrest of Mario Fernandez Saldana Thursday. He was taken into custody at his Orlando home.Fernandez Saldana is married to Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, Bridegan’s first wife, with whom he had two children.The arrest comes after a man previously charged in Bridegan’s death, Henry Tenon, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case. Tenon reportedly agreed to testify against Fernandez Saldana and anyone else who conspired in Bridegan’s murder.Fernandez Saldana has been indicted on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse.State Attorney Melissa Nelson declined to say if more arrests were coming but said ...