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Vince Gill calls Morgan Wallen controversy 'sad' and 'disappointing'
Vince Gill weighed in on the state of country music and how Morgan Wallen's recent use of a racial slur has fueled a negative perception of the genre.
Vince Gill weighed in on the state of country music and how Morgan Wallen's recent use of a racial slur has fueled a negative perception of the genre.
Catch the LIVE score and updates from the second T20I between New Zealand and Australia
ORLANDO — Bev Priestman leaves her first tournament in charge of Canada with a better idea of the young talent at her disposal but also some pressing questions still to be answered. The Canadian women exited the SheBelieves Cup on a losing note Wednesday, blanked 2-0 by Brazil to finish the four-country competition at 1-2-0. Canada was punished twice for defensive errors in the first half at Exploria Stadium before regrouping in the second to take the game to Brazil, albeit without any reward. Missing key players and bedevilled by injury during the Florida tournament, Canada managed just one goal in three matches — its first outings since last March. It has been outscored 9-3 in its last seven outings (1-4-2) dating back to February 2020. Perhaps more worrying is Canada, tied for eighth with Brazil in the FIFA world rankings, is 0-8-2 in its last 10 matches against teams currently ranked in the top 10. It has been outscored 20-3 over that stretch. Debinha and Julia scored for Brazil, which punished Canadian mistakes in the first half. After an uneven start, the Brazilians took control and showed their attacking flair against a Canadian backline that was pretty green other than centre back Shelina Zadorsky. The 28-year-old Zadorsky, who earned her 69th cap, lined up with 18-year-old Jade Rose (two caps), 20-year-old Jayde Riviere (18 caps) and 22-year-old Gabrielle Carle (23 caps). "We can't start games against a Brazil side like that," Priestman said. "I think the second half was more of a representation of what I'd expect to see from the group." Canada showed more purpose in the early going, stroking the ball around and stretching the Brazilians. But Brazil went ahead in the 14th minute after a giveaway by Rose. Adriana outmuscled Jessie Fleming for the ball and, after a nice interplay with Debinha, charged into the Canadian penalty box and slid a diagonal shot through goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe's legs from close range. The ball hit the far post and bounced back towards the shooter, with Debinha poking it into goal before Labbe and Zadorsky could corral it. The goal spurred Brazil on and Canada paid for some more sloppy defence late in the half. Julia hammered home a shot in the 39th minute after a penalty box scramble that saw Rose, Riviere and Carle all unable to clear the ball. Brazil played deeper as the second half wore on, allowing the Canadians more room on attack in the final minutes. They could not convert, although Zadorsky came close in the 84th minute, kicking out a leg twice while on the ground to force consecutive goal-line stops from goalkeeper Barbara and defender Bruna off a Janine Beckie set piece. Brazil improved its record against Canada to 9-8-7. Canada opened the tournament with a 1-0 loss to the top-ranked U.S. before defeating No. 31 Argentina 1-0. Brazil beat Argentina 4-1 and lost 2-0 to the U.S. The U.S. (3-0-0) thumped Argentina 6-0 later Wednesday to defend its tournament title. Argentina lost its third straight. The Canadians kept the U.S. scoreless until the 79th minute in their tournament opener, with the 34-year-old Priestman heartened by the gritty performance. "That gave me massive massive belief in what this group can do. And I still have that belief," she said. More clinical finishing is needed, however. "I've learned and I've seen that Canada has to score more goals. I do believe we will because again the chances and the stats tell us we're in those areas," said Priestman. "It's just that final quality." Beckie, perhaps Canada's best player in the day, says more is needed. "I think the positive is that we're creating those chances. But if I'm honest we've been saying that for a while and we've not shifted to putting those chances in the goal. I don't know what the answer is right now. I think time together is helpful, which is difficult right now." Canada went into the tournament missing injured captain Christine Sinclair (186 goals) and midfielder Diana Matheson (19 goals). Goalkeepers Erin McLeod and Kailen Sheridan and defender Bianca St-Georges subsequently were hurt and dropped out. Defenders Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence and forward Jordyn Huitema were not released by their French clubs because of pandemic-related quarantine issues. Defender Vanessa Gilles returned to her French club after the loss to the U.S. as part of a pre-tournament agreement. Allysha Chapman and Quinn, who goes by one name, were unavailable Wednesday due to injury. "There's a massive amount of players missing that could be in the starting lineup," said Priestman. "I think I worked it out today it could be seven players. So what you've seen is some new players and partnership out on the pitch. "And of those new players that were in there, there were some massive performances." The Canadian women's next game is an April 13 away friendly against No. 6 England. "I do believe that come April when we have the whole squad together, we can push forward and address some of the challenges that we've seen at this tournament,' said Priestman. "Rome wasn't built in a day," she added. "And the group knows where we need to go. I know where we need to go. We've just got to keep pushing forward." Priestman made four changes to her starting lineup, with Desiree Scott, Deanne Rose, Sarah Stratigakis and Riviere coming in against Brazil. Scott captained the team, earning her 158th ca. The starting 11 came into the match with a combined 604 caps. The missing Sinclair (296 international appearances), Matheson (206), McLeod (118), Buchanan (101), Lawrence (91) and Huitema (33) have 845 caps between them. With players missing, Priestman used the tournament to give Jordyn Listro, Evelyne Viens, Jade Rose and Samantha Chang their first senior caps. The only four Canadians to start all three games at the tournament were Zadorsky, Fleming, Beckie and Nichelle Prince. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2021 The Canadian Press
In today's thought of the day, we bring to you the words by Kareena Kapoor Khan. The Bollywood star, who had recently welcomed her second child talks about having faith in oneself. She says, "one should do what they are able to. I have never really pushed myself, I have done whatever I wanted to do, but not to the point where I am exhausted." (Video by Venkatesh)
Gavin Williamson will announce on Thursday how pupils will be graded after A-level and GCSE exams were again cancelled due to the pandemic.
Jamal Khashoggi: Biden faces calls to 'strike a blow' for Saudi human rightsUS administration is preparing to release intelligence assessment that reportedly names the Crown Prince as complicit in murder of journalist Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, with the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a scene from the documentary The Dissident. Photograph: Briarcliff Entertainment via AP
TORONTO — William Nylander scored his second goal of the night 1:06 into overtime as the North Division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Calgary Flames 2-1 on Wednesday. Michael Hutchinson stopped 21 shots for Toronto (15-4-2) in his second consecutive start in place of Frederik Andersen. The team's top netminder remains out with a lower-body ailment. Auston Matthews had two assists. Andrew Mangiapane replied for Calgary (9-9-2), which had lost four of its last five in regulation before Monday's 3-0 victory at Scotiabank Arena. David Rittich made 37 saves in his second straight start in place of injured No. 1 goalie Jacob Markstrom, who's day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Nylander took a pass from Matthews in the extra period and beat Rittich upstairs for his seventh of the season as the Leafs spilled over the boards to celebrate. Mangiapane finally snapped a 0-0 tie with 3:27 left in the third period when he took a pass from Matthew Tkachuk behind the Toronto net and beat Hutchinson for his seventh goal of the season. Rittich, who made 34 saves for his first victory of the season Monday, had made 70 straight stops against the Leafs, but Nylander jammed home his sixth with 1:28 remaining on the clock to tie it. Next up for the Flames is four in a row against the Ottawa Senators, including three straight in the nation's capital, starting Thursday. The Leafs, meanwhile, open a five-game road trip Saturday in Edmonton with the first of three against Oilers before two more versus the Vancouver Canucks. Apart from missing Andersen, the Leafs were without first-line winger Joe Thornton (lower body) and top-4 defenceman Jake Muzzin (facial fracture) for the second consecutive game. All three players continue to be listed as day-to-day, while backup goalie Jack Campbell (leg) and forward Wayne Simmonds (wrist) remain on injured reserve. Zach Hyman returned to the Toronto setup after missing Monday with a suspected foot injury, slotting into Thornton's spot on the top line with Matthews and Mitch Marner to start the game. Hyman also spent some time with the Leafs' 23-year-old stars earlier in the schedule when Thornton missed 10 contests with a rib fracture. Toronto's power play, which remained tied for first in the NHL entering Wednesday despite going 0 for 7 in that shutout loss to Calgary, got a chance seven minutes into the third after a disjointed 0-for-3 performance in the first, but still couldn't get anything going with Matthews, Marner, John Tavares and Nylander loaded up on the top unit. Rittich continued to shut the door on the Leafs, including a nice stop with Alexander Barabanov in alone with under five to go in regulation before the teams traded late goals. Tavares had a great chance to open the scoring in the second off a pass from Matthews, but Rittich made a terrific right-pad save at full stretch. Toronto, which hadn't been shut out this season before Monday, got another opportunity on a 2-on-1 break shorthanded later in the period only to see the Calgary netminder rob the snake-bitten Ilya Mikheyev following a great saucer pass from Alexander Kerfoot. Rittich then shut the five-hole on a partial break for Matthews, who crashed into the end boards after a shove from Rasmus Andersson and subsequently had his right wrist taped by a trainer on the bench. Hutchinson denied Johnny Gaudreau at the other end after he stepped into the slot as the teams went to the locker rooms knotted 0-0. The Leafs spent a large chunk of Tuesday's practice on special teams, but didn't get a decent look until the tail end of their third chance in the opening period when Matthews fired right at Rittich. Morgan Rielly also had a chance as the man advantage expired. Notes: Barabanov, who had an inconclusive COVID-19 test this week before producing two negatives results, was in the lineup for a second straight game after not dressing for eight of Toronto's last nine outings. ... The Leafs and Flames play five more times this season, with the next meetings set for March 19 and 20 back at Scotiabank Arena. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2021. ___ Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
According to a Gallup poll released Wednesday, 5.6% of United States adults identify as LGBT. For the first time, Gallup also asked respondents to indicate their precise sexual orientation, as opposed to responding "yes" or "no" to whether they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The poll found that more than half of LGBT adults (54.6%) identify as bisexual, about a quarter (24.5%) as gay, 11.7% as lesbian and 11.3% as transgender.
An Australian summer of tennis that promised so much for Ash Barty has ended in disappointment with the local hero falling at the first hurdle of the Adelaide International a week after blowing a golden chance to win her home Grand Slam. World number one Barty exited Memorial Drive on Wednesday after a 6-3 6-4 loss to Danielle Collins and took a defensive swipe at the Australian public for having unrealistic expectations of her. "You know that there are no easy matches going into any tournament," Barty told local media.
Four former service personnel told the PA news agency about coping with PTSD and depression, and said professional help turned their lives around.
A tribute to the late actor has been organised by the Vision Foundation.
Annual energy costs would only have to increase by £85 typically to tip households with children at home into financial difficulty.
The prime minister had asked for examples of Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror when the Gulf War broke out in 1990.
Who are the teams and players to watch in Union County? And see our preseason all-county team
Watch the Game Highlights from Long Island Nets vs. Agua Caliente Clippers, 02/24/2021
NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/WINNIPEG, MB, Feb. 24, 2021 /CNW/ - Farmers Edge Inc.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The hand-picked successor to former House Speaker Michael Madigan's seat abruptly resigned Wednesday, under pressure from his sponsors, who accused him of unspecified “questionable conduct." Edward Guerra Kodatt submitted his resignation to the House clerk Wednesday morning, according to Democrat Emanuel “Chris” Welch of Hillside, citing a spokesman for the new House speaker. Kodatt quit just three days after he was chosen from among 10 candidates to replace Madigan, a Democrat from the Southwest Side of Chicago who had held the post for more than 50 years. “After learning of alleged questionable conduct by Mr. Kodatt, it was suggested that he resign as state representative for the 22nd District. We are committed to a zero tolerance policy in the workplace,” Madigan and Chicago Alderman Marty Quinn, who share office space, said in a statement. They did not elaborate on the allegations against Kodatt, who was previously a bilingual outreach and budget assistant in Madigan and Quinn's constituent services office. Technically, Madigan's replacement is chosen by ward committee members for the 22nd House district — volunteer Democratic Party officials responsible for organizing elections and boosting turnout. But Madigan, committeeman for the 13th Ward since 1969, controls 56% of the weighted vote, based on the number of ward votes cast for the seat in the 2020 election. So, he single-handedly chose Kodatt and retains that control for another selection hearing scheduled Thursday morning. The 26-year-old Kodatt's rise and demise marked another curious turn in the meteoric crash of Madigan's own career. The product of the old-style Chicago political machine, Madigan was head of the House for all but two years since 1983, the longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history. But utility company ComEd admitted in a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors last summer that it engaged in a yearslong bribery scheme to influence Madigan for favourable legislation. After that, support for Madigan, 78, began to peel away, with 19 formerly loyal Democrats announcing they would not support him for a 19th term at the helm. He failed to collect the necessary 60 votes in January and suspended his campaign while the caucus coalesced around Welch. Madigan then resigned his job as state representative last week and relinquished control of the state Democratic Party by stepping aside as its chairman on Monday. Enthusiasm for Madigan had been deteriorating since the resurgence of the #MeToo movement more than three years ago, with critics questioning his handling of reported incidents of sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation by campaign workers, lawmakers, and legislative staff, including Madigan's longtime chief of staff, Timothy Mapes, who was forced to resign in June 2018. One highly publicized case involved Kevin Quinn, a Madigan political consultant and Marty Quinn's brother. Veteran campaign worker Alaina Hampton complained in early 2018 that Madigan and party officials had reacted too slowly after she reported that Quinn had sent her unwanted text messages commenting on her appearance and asking her for dates, beginning in 2016 and continuing despite her requests that he stop. She reported Quinn to Marty Quinn, his supervisor, in February 2017 and later wrote Madigan a letter, but Kevin Quinn was not fired until after Hampton quit her campaign job and was about to go public. In November 2019, Hampton received $275,000 in settling a federal lawsuit against several Madigan political committees alleging her complaints about Quinn halted her career advancement. ___ Follow Political Writer John O’Connor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor John O'Connor, The Associated Press
After a series of attacks on Asian Americans, including a 91-year-old man in California, activists say more must be done to curb violence and racism.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday formally revoked a series of presidential orders and memorandum signed by Donald Trump, including one that sought to cut funding from several cities the 45th president deemed “anarchist” havens and another mandating that federal buildings should be designed in a classical esthetic. Since taking office last month, Biden has revoked dozens of Trump orders and issued dozens more of his own as he’s sought to target foundational aspects of Trump's legacy and promote aspect of his own agenda without going through Congress. The latest slate of revocations targeted a grab-bag of issues, including a few that Trump signed in his last months in office. Trump issued a memorandum in September that sought to identify municipal governments that permit “anarchy, violence and destruction in American cities.” The memorandum followed riots during anti-police and anti-racism protests over George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police. The Justice Department identified New York City, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle as three cities that could have federal funding slashed. Those cities in turn filed a lawsuit to invalidate the designation and fight off the Trump administration’s efforts to withhold federal dollars. Seattle city attorney Pete Holmes welcomed the Biden revocation, saying he was “glad to have this nonsense cleared from the decks." Trump in his “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture” intoned that America’s forefathers “wanted public buildings to inspire the American people and encourage civic virtue." The memorandum added that architects should look to “America’s beloved landmark buildings” such as the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Department of the Treasury and the Lincoln Memorial for inspiration. Another order halted was one Trump issued in the final days of his presidency dubbed the “Ensuring Democratic Accountability in Agency Rulemaking." It called for limiting the ability of federal agency employees in making regulatory decisions. Biden also revoked a 2018 order that called for agency heads across the government to review welfare programs — such as food stamps, Medicaid and housing aid — and strengthening work requirements for certain recipients. ___ Associated Press writer Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed to this report. Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press
CAMEROON, Cameroon — Russian supermodel and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova became a United Nations goodwill ambassador on Wednesday, pledging to promote the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls and tackle stigmas surrounding their bodies. She will be a campaigner for the U.N. Population Fund, which now calls itself the U.N.’s sexual and reproductive health agency, known as UNFPA. UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem, who announced her appointment, called Vodianova “above all a passionate, longtime advocate for the rights and the needs of women and girls and in particular people living with disabilities.” Working with UNFPA for the last three years, Kanem said, Vodianova has focused on “breaking harmful taboos and tackling the stigmas that surround women’s bodies and health, including menstrual health even during humanitarian crises, and all forms of gender-based violence.” Vodianova, who will celebrate her 39th birthday on Sunday, said she was honoured by her new role and told a U.N. press conference by video link: “I look forward to continuing my work to tackle the myths and taboos that billions of women, girls and vulnerable young people have to live with and raise the standards of women’s health and dignity.” Vodianova was raised in poverty by a single mother with a half-sister who has cerebral palsy and autism. She signed with Viva Model Management at the age of 17 and has worked for fashion companies including Calvin Klein, Balmain, Stella McCartney and Louis Vuitton and appeared on many magazine covers, including Vogue. She made the Forbes top models list in 2012 and is nicknamed Supernova. Vodianova founded the Naked Heart Foundation to help children with special needs and their families in 2004 and is a member of the Special Olympics International board of directors. She told reporters that one focus of her work as a goodwill ambassador will be on the taboo and stigma surrounding menstruation, a monthly challenge for girls and women. On any given day, UNFPA said more than 800 million girls and women between ages 15 and 49 are menstruating, and may face exclusion from public life, barriers to opportunities, lack of proper sanitation and health, and neglect. “These stigmas and taboos are deeply rooted in our cultures and held there with such an overwhelming power,” Vodianova said. “And it doesn’t matter where you’re born ... you will face these issues growing up in one way or another.” She said a good example is that “period products, something that is a right for women, not just something nice to have” are still not widely publicly available in many countries. “It is now our responsibility to culturally redefine what is normal,” Vodianova said. “As UNFPA goodwill ambassador, I want to work to build a world where we no longer need to explain this.” Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press
The next project for Russell Westbrook's Why Not? Foundation is opening schools in Los Angeles.