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Flag football is coming to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

Flag football took a key step toward becoming an Olympic sport in 2028, a victory for the NFL and organizers in Los Angeles who will bring a distinctly American sport into the world’s largest sports festival.Two people familiar with a proposal from the Los Angeles organizing committee told The Associated Press on Monday that the committee had delivered its proposal to the International Olympic Committee, setting it up for a vote later this month at the IOC’s meeting in Mumbai, India. The people did not want to be named because the LA committee was expected to release the information later Monday.Other sports on the list included baseball and softball — which were in the Tokyo Games in 2021 but will not be played next year in Paris — lacrosse, squash and cricket, a sport with a much wider global reach that will go over well in Brisbane, Australia, which is hosting in 2032, and in India, where the vote will take place.___AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olymp...

What does the science say about the grass vs. turf debate in sports?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

Which playing surface is safer for athletes: natural grass or artificial turf?The question is important not just in football, but also for soccer, recreational sports and high school and college athletics — anywhere athletes make sudden shifts in direction that can twist joints and tear ligaments. Scientists continue to study the question, but there are challenges to getting the answer right. There are variables to take into account: the player’s age and physical shape, weather and surface conditions, the type of shoes and whether the injuries involved contact with other players. And surfaces have changed over the years with new technology.The debate was revived when Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles’ tendon during an NFL game on artificial turf. Although Rodgers’ injury may have been just as likely on grass because of the circumstances, that hasn’t stopped the wrangling.What does the science say and what are the challenges?LOOKING BACK AT INJURY RATESSome studies lo...

'Difficult to get up in the morning' for Payton after another Broncos loss

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Everyone knows there are bad days in the office, just ask the Denver Broncos after their embarrassing loss Sunday to the New York Jets with a final score of 31-21.Unfortunately, there isn’t a desk big enough to hide under.“It's difficult to get up in the morning,” said head coach Sean Payton on his Monday Zoom call. “It's unpleasant, but I think I have pretty good instincts relative to how to approach the team and guide them to the next challenge. That's what we're going to do this week.” Could Taylor Swift come to Denver when the Chiefs are in town? Not only did Denver fall to their former head coach turned Jets offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, but the Broncos sunk to 1-4. They are winless at home in three games this season. And to make that even worse, they held a lead in those home games, only to be outscored 44-21 after halftime.“With our margin for error, we’re going to have to be more patient and better at running the football,” said Payton. The Denv...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will run for president as an independent and drop his Democratic primary bid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday he will run for president as an independent and drop his Democratic primary bid, adding a wrinkle to a 2024 race heading toward a likely rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.Kennedy, a member of one of the most famous Democratic families in politics, was running a longshot primary bid and has better favorability ratings among Republicans than Democrats. It’s unclear whether GOP support would translate to a general election when Kennedy would also be running against Trump. Both Biden and Trump allies have at times questioned whether Kennedy would be a spoiler against their candidate.Biden’s allies so far have dismissed Kennedy’s primary campaign as unserious. Asked for comment on his potential independent run, a Democratic National Committee spokesman responded with an eye roll emoji.Awaiting Kennedy’s remarks Monday, hundreds of s...

SWAT standoff ends peacefully in SW Miami-Dade neighborhood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

A SWAT situation unfolded in Southwest Miami-Dade leading to one person in custody, Monday. The incident started at Southwest 178th Terrace and 152nd Avenue when police responded to a domestic dispute. A man barricaded himself inside the home, but after several hours, law enforcement successfully took the individual into custody. While the exact details of the domestic dispute remain undisclosed, authorities have yet to announce the charges the man may face.

Doctors disconnect half of 6-year-old’s brain in life-changing surgery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, California (KABC) — When a doctor asked 6-year-old Brianna Bodley of San Bernardino about her headache, she tried not to move when she answered.“Tell him where your head hurts,” the girl’s mother told her while gently holding her hand.The stitches are still fresh after pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Aaron Robison at Loma Linda University Health meticulously took 10 hours to disconnect half of Brianna’s brain.“After surgery, her entire left side of her body is turned off,” said the girl’s mother, Crystal Bodley.Last year, Brianna was diagnosed with Rasmussen’s Encephalitis, a rare, chronic inflammatory disease that affects about 500 children in the U.S. every year. A vibrant young girl who used to love singing, dancing and reading had daily debilitating seizures that would eventually lead to learning disabilities and paralysis.“Her leg would bend up all the time and she would have trouble walking,” s...

Newly discovered snail in Florida Keys is named after Jimmy Buffett song

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

(CNN) — The late singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett has an unsuspecting figure to add to his legacy — a newly discovered species of sea snail found in the Florida Reef.Named Cayo margarita as a nod to Buffett’s song “Margaritaville,” the bright yellow specimen is a worm snail, a type of mollusk that sticks to hard surfaces within the coral reef and forms a tubular shell around itself, according to a study published Monday in the journal PeerJ. (Buffett died September 1 at age 76.)Biologist Rüdiger Bieler, the report’s lead author, first saw the snail while scuba diving and noted its citrusy color, which reminded him of the popular cocktail.“In some ways, our team was no stranger to the regional signature drink. And of course, Jimmy Buffett’s music,” Bieler said, calling himself “a bit of a Parrothead,” as fans of the singer are known. “So when we came up with a species name, we really wanted to allude to the color of the drink and the fact that it lives in the Florida Ke...

Graphic videos of Hamas attacks spread on X

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

Videos and images of mass shootings, kidnapped civilians and soldiers and other violence linked with Hamas’ attack on Israel are being widely shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, in violation of the company’s own rules against inciting violence.POLITICO’s review of Elon Musk’s social media platform in the wake of Hamas’ attacks, which began on October 7, discovered scores of videos that allegedly showed militants murdering civilians and Israeli soldiers; viral hashtags associated with the ongoing violence that praised Hamas’ activities; and social media posts that included graphic pictures of those killed and antisemitic hate speech.Such extremist material was also accessible on other social media platforms, most notably on Telegram. But the level at which the terrorist-related content was circulated on X was significantly higher compared to others, according to analysis by POLITICO and two outside researchers who independently reviewed the tec...

Native Americans celebrate their histories and cultures on Indigenous Peoples Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

Native people celebrated their history on Monday with events across the U.S. marking Indigenous Peoples Day, from a sunrise gathering in Minneapolis to a rally in Maine. The ceremonies, dances and speeches came two years after President Joe Biden officially commemorated Indigenous Peoples Day. At the time, he said the day is meant to “honor America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations that continue to thrive today.”In Minnesota, about 150 people, including the governor and lieutenant governor, attended a sunrise prayer and ceremony at Bde Maka Ska, a lake surrounded by parkland on the south side of Minneapolis.“Today, we recognize our ancestors and predecessors who really laid the foundation for us to stand,” said Thorne LaPointe, an indigenous organizer and Native American. “And we will always recognize our elders who are here and those who have gone on before us, who really kicked open the doors in their time nationally and internationally, and really made a place for us par...

Heavy flooding in southern Myanmar displaces more than 14,000 people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Flooding triggered by heavy monsoon rains in Myanmar’s southern areas has displaced more than 14,000 people and disrupted traffic on the rail lines that connect the country’s biggest cities, officials and state-run media said Monday.State television MRTV reported Monday evening that the number of displaced people in Bago township, about 68 kilometers (42 miles) northeast of Yangon, the country’s biggest city, had climbed to that figure, and they were taking shelter in 36 relief camps. It said almost 1,000 more people in Mon state’s township, just east of Bago, were sheltering in three relief camps, and there some evacuations in a northern part of Yangon.A senior official at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, Lay Shwe Zin Oo, said that constant rainfall in the Bago region that began last week caused the flooding in the low-lying areas of its capital, Bago township. She said there were no casualties reported so far. Bago township record...