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Appeals court halts House interview with ex-Trump prosecutor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked House Republicans from questioning a former Manhattan prosecutor about the criminal case against ex-President Donald Trump, the latest twist in a legal battle between Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office and the House Judiciary Committee.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay late Wednesday, hours after a lower court judge ruled there was no legal basis to block the Judiciary Committee’s subpoena to former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz. Committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, had sought to question him Thursday.In issuing the stay, Judge Beth Robinson noted that her order “reflects no judgment regarding the merits” of the case. A three-judge panel will ultimately weigh whether to uphold or overturn the lower-court’s decision. Robinson, a Biden appointee, set an aggressive briefing schedule, ordering Bragg’s office to file court papers detailing its appe...

Stock market today: Tesla leads Wall Street lower at open

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:29 GMT

Stocks are falling at the open on Wall Street Thursday after mixed earnings reports from Tesla, AT&T and other big companies, along with potentially discouraging reports on the economy. The S&P 500 is 0.7% lower in early trading while the Dow and Nasdaq are also down. Tesla is biggest loser in the S&P 500, dropping to a nearly three-month low after it told investors recent price cuts are hurting the electric car maker’s profit margins. Several banks are also tumbling after reporting weaker profits. Treasury yields are down. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story appears below. Shares were mostly lower in Europe and Asia on Thursday after they barely budged on Wall Street following a mixed batch of earnings reports from big U.S. companies.U.S. futures and oil prices also declined. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.9% to 15,761.62 and the CAC 40 in Paris gave up 0.4% to 7,520.78. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.3% to 7,877.39. The future for the Dow Jones Ind...

Sudan’s military rules out negotiations with rival paramilitary force to end crisis, says it will only accept surrender

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:29 GMT

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Sudan’s military rules out negotiations with rival paramilitary force to end crisis, says it will only accept surrender.Source

SpaceX launches giant new rocket on first test flight, but fails minutes later

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:29 GMT

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX launches giant new rocket on first test flight, but fails minutes later.Source

Benfica unable to extend historic Champions League campaign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:29 GMT

Benfica went into a slump at the worst time of the season, and it cost the team a spot in the Champions League semifinals.The Portuguese club couldn’t end its winless streak and was eliminated from the European competition after a 3-3 draw at Inter Milan on Wednesday. Benfica needed to reverse a 2-0 loss from the first leg at home to make it to the semifinals for the first time in more than three decades.It was the fourth straight match without a win in all competitions for Benfica, which before that poor run had lost only once all season and had won 13 of 15 matches.Benfica had been one of the surprises of the Champions League this season, going on an unbeaten run to win a difficult group that included Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus. It then cruised past Club Brugge 7-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.With a solid defense and a prolific attack, Benfica was seen as one of the teams to beat instead of one of the softer opponents ahead of the quarterfinals.But the first sign of trou...

SpaceX launches giant new rocket on first test flight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:29 GMT

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX launches giant new rocket on first test flight.Source

Sheffield United eyes FA Cup surprise before promotion push

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:29 GMT

It has been 15 years since a team from outside the Premier League reached the FA Cup final.Sheffield United is looking to end that wait, even if it’s not the priority in a defining few days for the club with plenty on its plate.On Saturday, the team nicknamed the Blades will attempt to deliver one of the biggest FA Cups shocks in years by beating Manchester City in the first of the semifinal matches at Wembley Stadium this weekend.Four days later, Sheffield United can seal a return to the lucrative Premier League with a home win over West Bromwich Albion in the second-division Championship.It’s quite the week in what has been a rollercoaster of a season for a club that is up for sale — a Nigerian billionaire wants to buy it from the current owner from Saudi Arabia — and presently under a transfer embargo for breaking financial rules.In the long term, getting back in the Premier League after an absence of two years is more important for Sheffield United, simply for financial re...

Badminton keeps barring Russia as Olympic qualifying begins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:29 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Badminton upheld its ban on Russian and Belarusian players in international competitions on Thursday, days before Olympic qualifying begins.Meanwhile, modern pentathlon said it would set up a “pathway” for athletes from the two countries to return but didn’t commit to a date.Badminton’s qualifying period for the Paris Olympics next year starts on May 1 and uses a calendar-year ranking.The Badminton World Federation cited security concerns and the need for “more clarity” on the International Olympic Committee’s “complex criteria” to admit some Russians and Belarusians as neutral athletes without national symbols but keep excluding others, such as military personnel or those who have supported the invasion of Ukraine.The IOC also recommends allowing athletes from only Russia and its ally Belarus to compete individually and not in team sports or “team events in individual sports.” That raises the prospect in badminton of players being allowed t...

NBA Playoffs: Ja, Giannis watch their teams get big wins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:29 GMT

Feel better, Ja Morant. You too, Giannis Antetokounmpo.The stars watched their teammates get big series-tying wins on Wednesday night.Memphis topped the Los Angeles Lakers without Morant, Milwaukee defeated the Miami Heat without Antetokounmpo, and those series are all knotted at a game apiece now. And Denver went up 2-0, wasting a big lead and then rallying to top Minnesota.Meanwhile, Golden State prepared Wednesday for what it’ll take to play without the suspended Draymond Green against Sacramento, with the Kings looking for their first 3-0 lead in any series since 1951 — yes, the 1951 NBA Finals, when they were the Rochester Royals.WHAT’S NEXT?The series begin to shift locations now as the run of Game 3’s begin Thursday — Philadelphia at Brooklyn, Sacramento at Golden State and Phoenix at the Los Angeles Clippers.Philadelphia and Sacramento hold 2-0 leads. The Suns-Clippers series is tied 1-1.There’s three more Game 3’s on Friday; Boston takes a 2-0 lead to Atlanta, D...

Traffic incident sidelines Czech footballer Jankto

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:29 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech Republic midfielder Jakub Jankto, who recently came out as gay, is taking time off from soccer following a traffic incident.Jankto’s Sparta Prague club said he was not with the team anymore and was given time to deal with his “personal situation.” Sparta declined to give more details and asked the public and media to respect Jankto’s privacy.Jankto said in a statement that his health didn’t make it possible to continue helping Sparta in title and cup races and thanked the club and the fans for their support.Police said he was checked by officers after they were notified by another driver on Tuesday. An alcohol test was negative but Jankto refused to be tested for other drugs.According to media reports, he also didn’t have a driver’s licence, which was taken from him previously by police. Failure to have a licence was punishable by a prison term.Jankto’s future was not clear.He was playing for Sparta Prague this season on loan from Spanish club G...