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Officials banned for false report for Olympic qualification

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

MONACO (AP) — Two track and field officials in Albania have been banned from the sport for falsifying an athlete’s result to help him qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, the Athletics Integrity Unit said Wednesday.Long jumper Izmir Smajlaj was cleared of being part of the conspiracy to register a national record in May 2021 that gained him entry to compete at the Tokyo Games.The AIU had said Smajlaj, Albanian track federation president Gjergj Ruli and federation general secretary Nikolin Dionisi “conspired together and submitted falsified wind measurement readings” for the athlete’s 8.16-meter leap in Tirana.The jump, which was not legal by track and field rules, earned Smajlaj one of two available “universality” entries — an Olympic wild card given to lower-ranked nations — in the 32-man lineup for his event.He was Albania’s only men’s track and field athlete at the Tokyo Olympics, where Ruli traveled as his coach, the AIU said. Smajlaj also competed at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Ol...

Iran court issues $312.9M judgment against US amid tensions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian court issued a $312.9 million judgment against the United States over a 2017 Islamic State-claimed attack on Tehran, authorities said Wednesday, the latest judicial action between the nations amid their decadeslong enmity. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, in reporting the decision, offered no direct evidence to support the court’s allegation that American officials had any part in the June 2017 attack that killed at least 18 people and wounded 50 others. The assault saw gunmen attack Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s mausoleum and the country’s parliament, starting an hourslong siege. However, the court ruling comes after the United Nations’ highest court in March rejected Tehran’s legal bid to free up some $2 billion in Iranian Central Bank assets frozen by U.S. authorities. Meanwhile, U.S. judges have issued rulings that call for billions of dollars to be paid by Iran over attacks linked to Tehran, as well as thos...

Prison sex abuse must be rooted out, Justice official says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Sexual abuse in the nation’s federal prisons must be rooted out, the Justice Department’s second-highest-ranking leader told prison wardens gathered for their first nationwide training since revelations that a toxic, permissive culture at a California prison allowed abuse to run rampant.The Associated Press gained exclusive access to the training Tuesday for wardens of the country’s 122 federal prisons, the first since AP investigations uncovered deep, previously unreported flaws within the federal Bureau of Prisons, the Justice Department’s largest law enforcement agency.Teams of experts and officials will soon be fanning out to women’s prisons around the country to follow up on on reforms the agency adopted last fall, and they’ll speak to both staff and incarcerated people, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech at the training facility outside Denver.At the training, wardens sat at round conference tables dotted with quotes abo...

A look at sports gambling rules among Big 4 pro leagues

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

The Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Murphy vs. NCAA ushered in a new era of legalized sports betting in the U.S., allowing states to establish their own sports wagering laws. Despite opposition from the major sports leagues, the high court overturned a federal law – the 1992 Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act – that had barred betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states.With the ruling came a new approach to how the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL associate with the industry. Each league prohibits its employees and players from betting on their own games. But there are variations. Here’s a look at how the leagues operate:IS ANY FORM OF GAMBLING BY PLAYERS PERMITTED BY THE LEAGUES?Yes, but with caveats. In the preamble of its 2018 gambling policy the NFL states, “Gambling, particularly on NFL games or other sports, presents potential risks to the integrity of our competition and can negatively impact team cohesion.”But that same policy goes on to outl...

Jailed Russian opposition leader Navalny to face new trial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A court in Moscow held a hearing Wednesday to set the stage for imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to face a new trial on extremism charges that he has described as a Kremlin-ordered effort to extend his time behind bars.Navalny, who exposed official corruption and organized massive anti-Kremlin protests, was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. He initially received a 2 1/2-year prison sentence for a parole violation. Last year, he was sentenced to a nine-year term for fraud and contempt of court. He is currently serving time at a maximum-security prison 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Moscow.The new extremism charges against Navalny relate to the activities of his anti-corruption foundation and statements by his top associates. His ally Leonid Volkov said the accusations retroactively criminalize all the activities of Navalny’s foundation sin...

Turkish president cancels campaign stops over health issue

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced he was canceling a day of election campaigning on Wednesday to rest at home, a day after he was forced to briefly interrupt a television interview over a stomach complaint.Erdogan was being interviewed live by Turkey’s Ulke TV and Kanal 7 stations late on Tuesday when the program was suddenly stopped. When the interview resumed around 20 minutes later, Erdogan, 69, explained that he had developed a serious “stomach flu” while campaigning and apologized for the interruption.The president, who was scheduled to make a series of appearances in the cities of Kirikkale, Yozgat and Sivas on Wednesday, announced on Twitter that he would rest at home on the advice of his doctors and that Vice President Fuat Oktay would represent him at the events. He would resume his duties on Thursday, he tweeted. Erdogan, who is seeking a third term in office as president, has been campaigning hard in the run up to the May 14 presidenti...

US to send nuclear ballistic submarines to Korean Peninsula

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidents Joe Biden and Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday will sign an agreement that includes plans to have U.S. nuclear-armed submarines dock in South Korea for the first time in more than 40 years, a conspicuous show of support to Seoul amid growing concern about nuclear threats by North Korea, according to senior Biden administration officials.The planned dock visits are a key element of what’s being dubbed the “Washington Declaration,” aimed at deterring North Korea from carrying out an attack on its neighbor. It is being unveiled as Biden is hosting Yoon for a state visit during a moment of heightened anxiety for both leaders over an increased pace of ballistic missile tests by North Korea over the last several months.The three senior Biden administration officials, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement, said that Biden and Yoon aides have been working on details of the plan for months and agreed that “occasion...

Biden vs Trump would not be the first presidential rematch

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

(The Hill) - With President Biden officially declaring his candidacy for reelection in 2024, the country could be gearing up for a rematch of the 2020 presidential election. Biden released his long-anticipated announcement in a video early Tuesday morning, criticizing what he has branded as “MAGA Republicans,” including images of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and protesters opposing the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Despite the election season being in an early phase, Biden appears poised to win the Democratic nomination with only two long-shot opponents, self-help author Marianne Williamson and environmental attorney and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., opposing him. Trump also appears to be in a strong position to win the Republican nomination with him leading in most polls by double digits. If a Biden-Trump rematch does happen, it would be the first time in more than half a century that a presidential rematch happened but far from t...

Overnight severe weather threat brings hail, wind threat

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Our next threat of severe weather arrives tonight, not much more than 24 hours after yesterday's severe storms.Tonight's severe storms risk comes along an incoming cold front diving in from the north. The highest risk currently appears to be in our northern tier of counties, where hail, wind damage and an isolated tornado will be possible.Slight risk (2 out of 5) of severe storms in northern counties late Wednesday night into early ThursdayAll severe modes will be possible with initial development (8PM-12AM) before primarily turning more into a wind concern as the line progress further south.Primary concerns Wednesday night will be large hail and damaging windsA few storms may linger early Thursday morning before clearing by early afternoon. Dry skies and comfortable temperatures will briefly fill in late Thursday through midday Friday before our next risk of severe weather arrives. Saturday night storms bring tennis ball size hail to Hill Country A separate stor...

Cedar Park Police Department starting 'Citizens on Patrol' program

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) -- A black and white truck, equipped with blue and yellow lights on top and marked with an emblem depicting a handshake, is the newest vehicle in the Cedar Park Police Department's fleet, but it's not for police officers. The department is preparing to start its Citizens on Patrol (COP) program. The program consists of citizen volunteers and acts like a "mobile neighborhood watch," as Sergeant Jessie Campbell explained. Citizens on Patrol program The idea of a COP program is not a new one. Pflugerville, Round Rock, and Leander police departments all have a COP program. Sgt. Campbell says it gives the police department an extra set of eyes and ears in the community. Here's how it works: A team of two volunteers will patrol neighborhoods and shopping centers in the specifically marked COP trucks with the job of looking for any suspicious activity. The team cannot take any police action, only observe and report. The trucks are equipped with radios connected to ...