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Australian prime minister to protest blogger’s detention conditions while meeting China’s leader

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:54:56 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Saturday he would protest a lack of transparency in China’s treatment of a detained Australian democracy blogger when meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing during a trade-focused state visit.The detention of Yang Hengjun without conviction for almost five years will be one of the topics raised with Xi when they meet in the Great Hall of the People on Monday.Yang is being held in a Beijing detention center awaiting the verdict of a 2021 closed-door trial on espionage charges. The 58-year-old’s family fears he is dying.“I’ll be saying that Dr. Yang’s case needs to be resolved and I’ll be speaking about his human rights, the nature of the detention and the failure to have transparent processes,” Albanese told reporters in the northern Australian city of Darwin hours before he flew to Shanghai.The Chinese Foreign Ministry this week defended Yang’s prosecution, saying his case had been handled in strict accordance wit...

Kentucky bowl-eligible after 24-3 victory over Mississippi State

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:54:56 GMT

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Kentucky became bowl eligible by holding Mississippi State to 218 yards of offense in a 24-3 victory on Saturday night, beating the Bulldogs on the road for the first time since 2008.It was the first time in the history of the series that the Bulldogs scored in the single digits against the Wildcats at home. Mississippi State (4-5, 1-5 Southeastern Conference) continued a trend of poor performances on the offensive side of the ball since the loss of quarterback Will Rogers in the fourth quarter of the Western Michigan game on October 7. With Mike Wright at quarterback, the Bulldogs scored seven points in a win over Arkansas, 13 in a loss to Auburn and three points in three quarters of action against the Wildcats.The only score of the game for MSU came on its third possession when the Bulldogs went 88 yards on an incredible 20-play drive that took 12:29 off the clock. Despite that long drive, MSU couldn’t get in the end zone as the Wildcats held them to a 25-...

Young runs for 139 yards, 2 TDs to help W. Kentucky beat UTEP 21-13

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:54:56 GMT

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Elijah Young ran for 139 yards and two second-half touchdowns to help Western Kentucky beat UTEP 21-13 Saturday night. Buzz Flabiano kicked a 22-yard field goal in the second quarter and UTEP (3-7, 2-4 Conference USA) took a 3-0 lead into halftime but after the Miners failed to convert a fourth-and-6 from the WKU 34 on the first possession of the second half and Young ripped off a 64-yard touchdown run to make it 7-3 and the Hilltoppers led the rest of the way. Austin Reed threw a 10-yard TD pass to Malachi Conley to give Western Kentucky (5-4, 3-2) a 14-3 lead with 14 seconds left in the third quarter. Cade McConnell threw a deep pass to a wide-open Kelly Akharaiyi at the Hilltoppers 30 and he raced the rest of the way for a 62-yard TD that made it a four-point game early in the fourth but Western Kentucky responded with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that culminated when Young scored on a 1-yard run with 9:34 to play. Akharaiyi finished with five receptions for...

Maine considers electrifying proposal that would give the boot to corporate electric utilities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:54:56 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Taking a page from the “throw-the-bums-out” script in politics, Mainers are poised to vote on an unprecedented plan to rid themselves of the state’s two largest electric utilities and start with a clean slate.The proposed takeover of two investor-owned utilities that distribute 97% of electricity in the state would mark the first time a U.S. state’s utilities were forcibly removed at the same time. The referendum calls for dismantling Central Maine Power and Versant Power and replacing them with a nonprofit utility called Pine Tree Power to operate 28,000 miles (45,000 kilometers) of transmission lines.Across the country, ratepayers who are unhappy with their utilities are watching what happens when Mainers vote on Nov. 7 in the off-year election.“What we say about state policy and trends is that it could become contagious,” said Timothy Cox, from Washington-based Clear View Energy Partners.The referendum calls for creation of a nonprofit utility w...

U.S. regulators will review car-tire chemical that kills salmon, upon request from West Coast tribes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:54:56 GMT

U.S. regulators say they will review the use of a chemical found in almost every tire after a petition from West Coast Native American tribes that want it banned because it kills salmon as they return from the ocean to their natal streams to spawn.The Yurok tribe in California and the Port Gamble S’Klallam and Puyallup tribes in Washington asked the Environmental Protection Agency to prohibit the rubber preservative 6PPD earlier this year, saying it kills fish — especially coho salmon — when rains wash it from roadways into rivers. Washington, Oregon, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut also wrote the EPA, citing the chemical’s “unreasonable threat” to their waters and fisheries. The agency’s decision to grant the petition last week is the start of a long regulatory process that could see the chemical banned. Tire manufacturers are already looking for an alternative that still meets federal safety requirements.“We could not sit idle while 6PPD kills the fish that susta...

Dallas tops Sounders 3-1, forces rubber match in first-round series

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:54:56 GMT

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Paul Arriola and Jesús Ferreira scored in the first 18 minutes and FC Dallas cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday, forcing a third match to settle the first-round playoff series.Arriola needed just six minutes to give Dallas (12-10-13) the lead, using assists from Bernard Kamungo and Paxton Pomykal. Ferreira scored on a penalty kick 12 minutes later and Dallas took a 2-0 lead into halftime. Ferreira took the PK after Kamungo drew a foul on Seattle defender Nouhou Tolo.Jordan Morris scored unassisted three minutes into the second half to get the Sounders (14-10-11) within a goal.Jáder Obrian sealed the win for Dallas with an unassisted goal in the 89th minute.Maarten Paes finished with three saves for Dallas. Stefan Frei, who led the league with 14 clean sheets during the regular season, did not have a save for the Sounders.Dallas improves to 9-1-4 in its last 13 home matches against Seattle.Seattle saw a six-match unbeaten streak (3-0-3...

Towns takes over in 3rd quarter as Timberwolves beat Jazz 123-95

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:54:56 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns scored 15 of his season-high 25 points in a dominant third-quarter stretch, and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away to beat the Utah Jazz 123-95 on Saturday night.Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 31 points: 19 in the first half and 12 in the fourth quarter. Rudy Gobert had 11 points and a team-best 10 rebounds against his former team for his fourth double-double in the first five games.“There’s things we could do better, obviously, but it’s good to know that we’re at a point right now, five games in, where we got something flowing. Just got to keep building off it,” Towns said.Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 22 points and eight rebounds. He was 4 of 11 on 3-pointers after making a franchise-record 25 through the first six Utah games. Talen Horton-Tucker and John Collins added 14 points apiece.Utah, which opened a four-game trip, has lost four of five. In seven games, the Jazz have lost three times by at least 16 points.“A night of a combi...

No. 2 Michigan routs Purdue 41-13 despite potential distractions of NCAA sign-stealing investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:54:56 GMT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — No. 2 Michigan is seemingly unfazed by an NCAA investigation into allegations that they broke rules with a sign-stealing scheme that could potentially penalize the program and coaching staff.Blake Corum matched his season high with three touchdowns and Semaj Morgan ran for a 44-yard score, leading the third-ranked Wolverines to a 41-13 victory over Purdue on Saturday night.“All that outside noise is just noise,” said Michigan’s Heisman Trophy-candidate quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was 24 of 37 for a season-high 335 yards.The Wolverines (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) routed another overmatched opponent as they have each game this season.“We were already super close as a unit, but with more stuff coming in — the noise — we just think of it as us against the world,” McCarthy said.Purdue coach Ryan Walters said two days before the game that he knew “for a fact” that Michigan was at number of his team’s games, forcing his players to learn a new language.“I was j...

West Virginia gets strong rushing efforts from Jahiem White and CJ Donaldson in a 37-7 win over BYU

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:54:56 GMT

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — The muscle of 240-pound CJ Donaldson and quick bursts from freshman Jahiem White proved to be too much for BYU.White rushed for a season-high 146 yards, Donaldson ran for 102 yards and two short touchdowns, and West Virginia used a dominant ground attack to become bowl eligible with a 37-7 victory over BYU on Saturday night.Garrett Greene threw two touchdown passes for the Mountaineers (6-3, 4-2 Big 12), who jumped to a 27-0 halftime lead and cruised from there.“Tonight was our most complete game,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. “We’re starting to hit our stride.”White had five runs of at least 10 yards, including a pair of 32-yarders. It was White’s second 100-yard rushing effort of the season. “I think this game’s really hard to play as a true freshman,” Brown said. “He’s got a chance to be special. He’s a long way. If he continues to do the things that it takes to be great, then he is going to be a great one. He can break tackles. ...

Today in History: November 5, Fort Hood shooting kills 13

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:54:56 GMT

Today in History Today is Sunday, Nov. 5, the 309th day of 2023. There are 56 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Nov. 5, 2009, a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas left 13 people dead; Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was later convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He has not yet been executed. On this date: In 1605, the “Gunpowder Plot” failed as Guy Fawkes was seized before he could blow up the English Parliament. In 1872, suffragist Susan B. Anthony defied the law by attempting to cast a vote for President Ulysses S. Grant. In 1912, Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected president, defeating Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt, incumbent Republican William Howard Taft and Socialist Eugene V. Debs. In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term in office as he defeated Republican challenger Wendell L. Willkie. In 1964, NASA launched Mariner 3, which was supposed to fly by Mars, but the spacecraft...