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South Africa’s Malcolm Marx out of Rugby World Cup with long-term knee injury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

TOULON, South Africa (AP) — South Africa hooker Malcolm Marx was ruled out of the remainder of the Rugby World Cup on Thursday with what the team described as a long-term knee injury.Marx sustained the injury in a training session on Wednesday, the Springboks said.It’s a big blow to the defending champions’ chances of retaining their title in France, with Marx one of the form players in the team.South Africa has just one other specialist hooker in the squad in Bongi Mbonambi, who was selected to captain a second-string Springboks team against Romania on Sunday.However, South Africa also selected 36-year-old utility forward Deon Fourie in its squad, who can play hooker as well as his most recent position of flanker.Coach Jacques Nienaber said Thursday that loose forward Marco van Staden also had previous experience as a hooker and might be called on to cover that position.“We have enough cover at hooker with Bongi (Mbonambi) and Deon (Fourie) in the squad, while Marco (va...

Break out the dirndl and lederhosen! Oktoberfest returns to The Wharf

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews Oktoberfest at The Wharf (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); It’s that time of year again where D.C. breaks out the dirndl and lederhosen as The Wharf hosts Oktoberfest on the Southwest Waterfront from Sept. 15-17.“In attendance, we run about 6,000 people [per] day,” programming director Jennifer Curry told WTOP. “We’ve expanded the footprint...

Mets bring 2-1 series advantage over Diamondbacks into game 4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

Arizona Diamondbacks (76-71, second in the NL West) vs. New York Mets (67-78, fourth in the NL East)New York; Thursday, 4:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Merrill Kelly (11-6, 3.27 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 165 strikeouts); Mets: Kodai Senga (10-7, 3.07 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 181 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Mets -121, Diamondbacks +102; over/under is 7 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets host the Arizona Diamondbacks, leading the series 2-1.New York has a 67-78 record overall and a 37-34 record at home. The Mets have the ninth-ranked team on-base percentage in the NL at .318.Arizona has a 38-36 record on the road and a 76-71 record overall. The Diamondbacks have the sixth-ranked team slugging percentage in the NL at .414.Thursday’s game is the seventh meeting between these teams this season. The Mets have a 5-1 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Pete Alonso leads New York with 44 home runs while slugging .532. DJ Stewart is 11-for-37 with five home runs a...

Brewers meet the Marlins with 2-1 series lead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

Miami Marlins (75-71, third in the NL East) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (81-64, first in the NL Central)Milwaukee; Thursday, 2:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Eury Perez (5-4, 2.90 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 99 strikeouts); Brewers: Adrian Houser (0-0)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Marlins -116, Brewers -104; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Milwaukee Brewers lead 2-1 in a four-game series with the Miami Marlins.Milwaukee has a 42-29 record at home and an 81-64 record overall. The Brewers have gone 52-19 in games when they record eight or more hits.Miami is 35-39 on the road and 75-71 overall. The Marlins have a 47-8 record in games when they scored five or more runs.The teams match up Thursday for the fourth time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: William Contreras has 33 doubles, a triple, 15 home runs and 70 RBI for the Brewers. Mark Canha is 13-for-34 with two doubles and two home runs over the last 10 games.Luis Arraez leads the Marlins with a .349 batting average, and has 29 doubles, th...

Pirates meet the Nationals with 2-1 series lead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

Washington Nationals (65-81, fifth in the NL East) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (68-78, fourth in the NL Central)Pittsburgh; Thursday, 12:35 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Josiah Gray (7-11, 4.13 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 122 strikeouts); Pirates: Mitch Keller (11-9, 4.23 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 191 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Pirates -164, Nationals +140; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates host the Washington Nationals, leading the series 2-1.Pittsburgh is 68-78 overall and 36-38 at home. The Pirates have a 44-10 record in games when they scored five or more runs.Washington is 65-81 overall and 34-38 on the road. The Nationals have a 24-14 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.The matchup Thursday is the seventh meeting between these teams this season. The Pirates hold a 4-2 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Bryan Reynolds has a .272 batting average to lead the Pirates, and has 31 doubles, five triples and 21 home runs. Ke’Bryan...

Death investigation underway following possible electrocution in NW Miami-Dade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

Miami-Dade Police officers and fire rescue crews responded to a neighborhood in Northwest Miami-Dade after a person was found dead near a cement truck lot following reports of a possible electrocution. The incident occurred on Thursday morning at 830 NW 73rd St. after a loud boom was reported. Although it is not clear what occurred, initial calls were received about an electrocution in the area. As a result of this incident, the power went out temporarily in the vicinity. Florida Light & Power officials were also on the scene as they investigated the outage that has reportedly affected 1,496 customers. Live video footage showed the body, covered by a yellow tarp, near the lot and water leaking from a nearby building. Police officers on the scene said there appeared to be an electrical issue in the neighborhood. Commuters in the area are urged to avoid Northwest 73rd Street near Northwest Seventh Avenue as authorities have blocked off the street to investigate the situation. Offi...

Wetter Weather Ahead by this Weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

A sweltering and record-breaking day of heat was endured on Wednesday and more record heat will be possible this Thursday with highs back into the mid 90s at many South Florida locations.This Thursday will feature morning sunshine, then the chance for a few late-day showers and storms. Feels-like temperatures will top off near 100F across much of the mainland and closer to the 105-110F range in the Florida Keys.Now while temperatures will go down by a few degrees this weekend, rain chances will go up because of a weakening cold front moving in from the north. This front will essentially stall across central Florida, trapping plenty of moisture across the peninsula. This will lead to the daily risk of seeing showers and thunderstorms, especially during the afternoon and evening hours.With that daily risk of rain, which could be heavy, the risk for flooding exists for areas that receive several inches of rainfall in a short period of time. A widespread 2-4 inches of rainfall is foreca...

Hunter Biden sues former Trump White House aide over alleged efforts to hack devices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

(CNN) — Attorneys for Hunter Biden have filed a civil lawsuit against former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler, alleging illegal hacking in violation of federal computer privacy laws.The suit, filed in federal court in California, accuses Ziegler of “accessing, tampering with, manipulation, altering, copying and damaging computer data that they do not own and that they claim to have obtained from hacking into Plaintiff’s iPhone data and from scouring a copy of the hard drive of what they claim to be Plaintiff’s ‘laptop’ computer.”Ziegler worked in the Trump White House from February 2019 until January 2021 as a policy analyst and later in the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy under the supervision of former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro.The lawsuit is part of a more aggressive strategy Hunter Biden’s team is taking against his detractors. As part of this strategy, Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, has added attorney Abbe Lowell to his defense team. Lowell...

French prosecutors probe Champagne grape-pickers’ deaths in extreme heat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

Public prosecutors in France’s northeastern Champagne region are investigating the deaths of at least four grape-pickers who died while working in extreme heat, according to local media reports.One casualty was a 19-year-old seasonal worker in the Reims region, who died last Friday as the temperature climbed to at least 32 degrees Celsius in the shade, France Bleu Champagne-Ardenne reported, as France was hit by a late summer heat wave that led to record temperatures across the country in early September.“With climate change, the situation is bound to get worse,” Anthony Smith, union representative at the French Labor Ministry, told radio broadcaster RMC. “In France, labor inspectors don’t have the power to stop an activity during severe heat or heat waves.”Around 120,000 seasonal workers head to the Champagne region every year at the end of the summer to pick the grapes used to produce the iconic French bubbly.Another two workers died while harve...

Classes set to resume in Leominster as community cleans up from historic flooding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

Students are set to return to class in Leominster on Thursday as cleanup efforts continue following severe flash flooding in the area earlier this week. More rain on Wednesday sent water cascading down already washed out roadways and triggered a flood watch for much of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island as well as parts of southern New Hampshire. And as kids head back to class and the community looks to return to a sense of normalcy, officials say the recovery from flooding may still take months. “It’s going to take a long time to have this all fixed up,” said Leominster resident Ann Godfrey.Floodwaters rose fast on Monday, ultimately washing out roads and damaging homes, businesses and city facilities. First responders from numerous state and local agencies rescued residents from flooded homes. As the sun then rose on Tuesday morning, several roads remained closed due to sinkholes and other damage.Near Hamilton Street in Leominster, railroad tracks still hung over a w...