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Great Britain have claimed a second gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics after Huw Nightingale and Charlotte Bankes won the mixed team snowboard cross event.
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Judge Bars Federal Prosecutors From Seeking The Death Penalty Against Luigi Mangione – KXL
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NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors can’t seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a federal judge ruled Friday, foiling the Trump administration’s bid to see him executed for what it called a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed a federal murder charge that had enabled prosecutors to seek capital punishment, finding it technically flawed. She wrote that she did so to “foreclose the death penalty as an available punishment to be considered by the jury” as it weighs whether to convict Mangione.
Garnett also dismissed a gun charge but left in place stalking charges that carry a maximum punishment of life in prison. To seek the death penalty, prosecutors needed to show that Mangione killed Thompson while committing another “crime of violence.” Stalking doesn’t fit that definition, Garnett wrote in her opinion, citing case law and legal precedents.
In a win for prosecutors, Garnett ruled they can use evidence collected from his backpack during his arrest, including a 9mm handgun and a notebook in which authorities say Mangione described his intent to “wack” an insurance executive. Mangione’s lawyers had sought to exclude those items, arguing the search was illegal because police hadn’t yet obtained a warrant.
During a hearing Friday, Garnett gave prosecutors 30 days to update her on whether they’ll appeal her death penalty decision. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, which is prosecuting the federal case, declined to comment.
Garnett acknowledged that the decision “may strike the average person — and indeed many lawyers and judges — as tortured and strange, and the result may seem contrary to our intuitions about the criminal law.” But, she said, it reflected her “committed effort to faithfully apply the dictates of the Supreme Court to the charges in this case. The law must be the Court’s only concern.”
Mangione, 27, appeared relaxed as he sat with his lawyers during the scheduled hearing, which took place about an hour after Garnett issued her written ruling. Prosecutors retained their right to appeal but said they were ready to proceed to trial.
Outside court afterward, Mangione attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said her client and his defense team were relieved by the “incredible decision.”
Jury selection in the federal case is set for Sept. 8, followed by opening statements and testimony on Oct. 13. The state trial’s date hasn’t been set. On Wednesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office urged the judge in that case to schedule a July 1 trial date.
“That case is none of my concern,” Garnett said, adding that she would proceed as if the federal case is the only case unless she hears formally from parties involved in the state case. She also said the federal case will be paused if the government appeals her death penalty ruling.
Thompson, 50, was killed on Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used by critics to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.
Following through on Trump’s campaign promise to vigorously pursue capital punishment, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered Manhattan federal prosecutors last April to seek the death penalty against Mangione.
It was the first time the Justice Department sought the death penalty in President Donald Trump’s second term. He returned to office a year ago with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted under his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
Garnett, a Biden appointee and former Manhattan federal prosecutor, ruled after hearing oral arguments earlier this month.
Besides seeking to have the death penalty rejected on the grounds Garnett cited, Mangione’s lawyers argued that Bondi’s announcement flouted long-established Justice Department protocols and was “based on politics, not merit.”
They said her remarks, followed by posts to her Instagram account and a TV appearance, “indelibly prejudiced” the grand jury process resulting in his indictment weeks later.
Prosecutors urged Garnett to keep the death penalty on the table, arguing that the charges were legally sound and Bondi’s remarks weren’t prejudicial, as “pretrial publicity, even when intense, is not itself a constitutional defect.”
Prosecutors argued that careful questioning of prospective jurors would alleviate the defense’s concerns about their knowledge of the case and ensure Mangione’s rights are respected at trial.
“What the defendant recasts as a constitutional crisis is merely a repackaging of arguments” rejected in previous cases, prosecutors said. “None warrants dismissal of the indictment or categorical preclusion of a congressionally authorized punishment.”
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Jordan Vawter
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Sacramento travelers caught in nationwide flight disruptions as winter storm hits
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ALONE, AND THAT NUMBER IS LIKELY TO GO UP. LET’S GET OVER TO KCRA 3’S CORTEZ. HE’S LIVE AT SACRAMENTO INTERNATIONAL. CHECK IN ON HOW THINGS ARE SHAPING UP FOR TRAVELERS IN OUR REGION. DENTON. TRAVELERS FEELING THOSE IMPACTS TONIGHT. CECIL. AS MORE THAN 20 STATES ISSUED AN EMERGENCY DISASTER DECLARATION AS FLIGHTS DISRUPTIONS CONTINUE FROM THE SOUTHWEST TO THE NORTHEAST. ROLLING BAGS, USUALLY A SIGN FOR TAKEOFF AT SMUD. BUT TONIGHT, A SOUND OF WAITING AS A POWERFUL WINTER STORM ENGULFS MUCH OF THE U.S. WE FOUND OUT AS WE WERE RIDING TO THE AIRPORT HERE THAT IT WAS DELAYED. SO YEAH, WE’LL MISS OUR CONNECTING FLIGHT. I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN CHICAGO BY 6:00. NOW I’M LIKE EIGHT HOURS LATER. AIRLINES CANCELING AND DELAYING FLIGHTS AS CONDITIONS WORSEN FROM THE MIDWEST TO THE EAST COAST, LEAVING TRAVELERS RACING TO CHANGE PLANS IN TIME. DID YOU FIND OUT LIKE THE FLIGHT WAS CANCELED? I O AT 4 A.M. I WAS HERE SINCE 4 A.M. WOW. AND YOU CAN’T FIND A TICKET? MORE THAN 12,000 FLIGHTS CANCELED THIS WEEKEND, AS AIRLINES LIKE DELTA AND AMERICAN WARN OF DELAYS OFFERING TO WAIVE FEES TO MAJOR AIRPORTS LIKE O’HARE. I GOT TO FIND SOMEONE TO PICK ME UP AT 1:00 IN THE MORNING IN CHICAGO. I’M JUST TRYING TO GET ANOTHER TICKET, BUT IT’S SO EXPENSIVE. OR. OR THEY DON’T HAVE IT UNTIL MONDAY. MAYBE. SOUTHWEST WARNING TRAVELERS TO EXPECT DELAYS AT MORE THAN 40 AIRPORTS WITH FLIGHTS TO DALLAS FORT WORTH LEADING CANCELLATIONS, WITH MORE THAN 700. MY FLIGHT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO INTO DALLAS FROM DALLAS TO HOBBY, BUT THAT GOT CANCELED. WE’RE LEAVING ON OUR CRUISE SUNDAY, AND I’M SUPPOSED TO GET AND IT’S SHOWING ME I’M GOING TO GET AT 2:00 IN THE CRUISE LEAVES AT LIKE I THINK LIKE AT FOUR, THERE’S LIKE NO WAY I’LL MAKE IT. YOU CAN’T BLAME ANYBODY BECAUSE NO ONE CAN CONTROL MOTHER NATURE. SAC INTERNATIONAL TELLING TRAVELERS TO CHECK IN WITH THE AIRLINES DIRECTLY, AS THEY’LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION AS THESE FLIGHT DISRUPTIONS ARE EXPECTED
Sacramento travelers caught in nationwide flight disruptions as winter storm hits
More than 12,000 flights were canceled this weekend
Updated: 8:44 PM PST Jan 24, 2026
A powerful winter storm is sweeping across much of the United States, triggering widespread travel disruptions and leaving thousands of passengers stranded as airlines cancel and delay flights from the Midwest to the East Coast.More than 12,000 flights have been canceled nationwide this weekend, according to FlightAware, as heavy snow, ice and dangerous winds move through major travel corridors. The impacts are being felt locally as well, with Sacramento travelers facing delays and missed connections while trying to reach destinations in the Southwest and Northeast.“We found out as we were riding to the airport here that it was delayed,” traveler Mark Williams said. “So yeah, we’ll miss our connecting flight.”Passenger Jamie Lichter described a long and frustrating wait. “I would have been in Chicago by 6. Now I’m like eight hours later,” she said.As conditions worsen, airlines are scrambling to manage operations, and passengers are racing to rebook flights or change plans altogether. Southwest Airlines is warning travelers to expect delays at more than 40 airports nationwide. Flights to and from Texas have been hit especially hard, with Dallas-Fort Worth leading the country in cancellations, topping 700 canceled flights. Although Sacramento International Airport isn’t directly affected by the winter storm, they are urging travelers to check flight status before heading to the airport and to allow extra time as the storm system continues to impact travel nationwide.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —A powerful winter storm is sweeping across much of the United States, triggering widespread travel disruptions and leaving thousands of passengers stranded as airlines cancel and delay flights from the Midwest to the East Coast.
More than 12,000 flights have been canceled nationwide this weekend, according to FlightAware, as heavy snow, ice and dangerous winds move through major travel corridors. The impacts are being felt locally as well, with Sacramento travelers facing delays and missed connections while trying to reach destinations in the Southwest and Northeast.
“We found out as we were riding to the airport here that it was delayed,” traveler Mark Williams said. “So yeah, we’ll miss our connecting flight.”
Passenger Jamie Lichter described a long and frustrating wait. “I would have been in Chicago by 6. Now I’m like eight hours later,” she said.
As conditions worsen, airlines are scrambling to manage operations, and passengers are racing to rebook flights or change plans altogether.
Southwest Airlines is warning travelers to expect delays at more than 40 airports nationwide. Flights to and from Texas have been hit especially hard, with Dallas-Fort Worth leading the country in cancellations, topping 700 canceled flights.
Although Sacramento International Airport isn’t directly affected by the winter storm, they are urging travelers to check flight status before heading to the airport and to allow extra time as the storm system continues to impact travel nationwide.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
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Zanetti: Serving Inter and my mission to help the next generation
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Javier Zanetti lived out his dreams as a player, lifting 16 trophies in an Inter Milan career that spanned a record 858 appearances, winning 145 caps for Argentina, and earning a reputation as one of the best defensive players of his generation.
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Hearts sweep aside Falkirk to move six points clear
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Claudio Braga and Stephen Kingsley were on target as resurgent Hearts won 2-0 away to misfiring Falkirk to move six points clear at the top of the William Hill Premiership.
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Steph Curry exclusive: Golden State Warriors superstar opens up on free agency in 2027 and preparing for the 2025/26 season
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Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry speaks exclusively to Sky Sports to discuss 2027 free agency
Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry has opened up on his plans for free agency in 2027 after admitting situations change “really fast” in the NBA.
The prospect of Curry, a two-time league MVP and 11-time All-Star, playing for any franchise other than The Dubs is a strange one.
After being drafted with the seventh overall pick in 2009, Curry has gone on to revolutionise the game of basketball, helping himself to four championships, one finals MVP and the NBA record for most three-pointers made with 4,058 to add to his overall tally of 25,386 points.
All while wearing No 30 for the Warriors.
- 4 x NBA champion
- 2 x NBA MVP
- 2022 NBA Finals MVP
- 11 x NBA All-Star
- 2 x NBA All-Star MVP
- 11 x All-NBA Team selection
- 2024 NBA Clutch Player of the Year
- 2 x NBA Three-Point Content champion
- Most three-pointers made in NBA history
Curry signed a one-year extension with the team in 2024, worth a reported £47.5m ($62.6m) and ending growing speculation around his future in the process, keeping him in San Francisco until 2027.
Two years from now, when that deal expires, the greatest shooter of all time will be 39.
After averaging just under 25 points, six assists, and over four rebounds in his 16th season, as well as longevity being more prominent than ever in the league, it is clear to see that his time in the NBA is far from over.
But could the next chapter in his illustrious career lie away from Chase Center? Do not rule it out.
“What I have learned about this league is that things change really fast,” Curry told Sky Sports while discussing Underrated Golf, a programme set up by the point guard to break down barriers to entry and increase diversity in the game of golf.
Underrated Golf is an initiative led by Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry to create a pathway into the sport for young athletes from underrepresented communities.
The programme aims to break down barriers in the game of golf to give prospects a level playing field, in a bid to create a more inclusive and accessible environment for young golfers.
“What you might feel like in two years from now could be totally different. I try to stay in the moment as much as possible; it’s not the glitziest answer but it allows me to enjoy what is happening now.
“I do want to play for only one team, let’s keep that pretty clear. Being at the Warriors has been unbelievable and I feel blessed to have only played for one franchise and to have accomplished what we have.
“So if I could have the best of both worlds and continue to be championship relevant over the next couple of years, that would be great but this league is wild. You kind of just stay in the moment.”
Despite a decision on his future looming as we approach 2027, Curry’s full focus remains on securing more success with the team he holds so dear to his heart in the upcoming 2025/26 season.
The arrival of six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler in February has shown early signs of promise after the Warriors reached the Western Conference semi-finals last time out, only to be denied the opportunity to show their title-winning credentials following a Grade 1 hamstring strain for Curry in game one against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A 4-1 defeat in the series would follow but heading into 2025/26, the roster has been bolstered by a new two-year deal for Jonathan Kuminga, as well as the arrival of 2024 NBA champion Al Horford,to run alongside long-term teammate Draymond Green in the frontcourt.
Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler (left) Stephen Curry (centre) and forward Draymond Green (right)
With Curry now back to full fitness and fresh depth surrounding him, the intentions from the Warriors have been clear from pre-season.
The Dubs are 3-1 in games Curry has featured in, beating the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers twice, with attention now turning to the season opener against the Lakers on October 21, live on Sky Sports.
When asked what aspects of the game still motivate a player who has already achieved so much in the sport as we approach a new 82-game season, Curry added: “I talk about championships, and that drive – it allows every part of the journey to matter.
“Even in the off-season, how you prepare for the year, come in and try and build chemistry with your teammates and how you get through the emotional rollercoaster of an 82-game season.
“All of that is built into being at your peak come playoff time in April.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the pre-season game against the Los Angeles Clippers
“Individual accolades take care of themselves. When you win, everybody is rewarded. As long as I’m taking care of championship motivation, everything else takes care of itself. Whether you win or not, you just lay it all out there.
“We have a brand new team again. We’ll all try and stay healthy and try and get to the finish line. That’s our goal.”
The Warriors have won seven championships in total across their 78-year history, with Curry leading them to more than half of that total.
If the franchise is to add an eighth banner to the rafters in 2026, their point guard will be the man to lead them there.
His powers at the highest level are showing no signs are waning, with the 37-year-old looking to replicate the successes of the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant by “redefining” what it is to be playing at a high level towards the latter stages of their respective careers.
“I feel like I’ve got some good basketball ahead of me. I’m trying to redefine what it is to be playing at a high level at this age,” said Curry when the question of his timeline leading the roster was posed.
“I still love the work that goes into it and playing the game; hopefully, that will carry me. I don’t want to put any limits on it.”
Watch the Golden State Warriors against the Los Angeles Lakers live on Sky Sports + on October 21, tip-off 3am UK time.
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Surging DC United, Jackson Hopkins earn point with draw vs. Orlando
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(Photo credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images)
Jackson Hopkins scored his third goal in four games and 10-man D.C. United held on for a 1-1 draw against visiting Orlando City on Saturday night in Washington.
Luis Barraza made a career-best 10 saves for D.C. (5-15-10, 25 points), whose numbers were reduced upon Lukas MacNaughton’s 57th-minute dismissal.
Those performances helped the Black-and-Red remain unbeaten in four matches (1-0-3) under new manager Rene Weiler despite having already been eliminated from postseason contention.
Defender Alex Freeman pulled Orlando level in the 53rd minute with his fifth goal of the season. But the Lions were otherwise a combination of wasteful and the victim of Barraza’s excellent night, failing to take three points despite leading 26-6 in shots and 11-3 in efforts on target.
Orlando (13-7-9, 48 points) dropped one spot into sixth in the Eastern Conference via Columbus’ victory at Atlanta.
Hopkins put D.C. ahead against the run of play in the run of play in the 33rd minute on one of D.C.’s rare forays forward.
Conner Antley did the most impressive work in the buildup, taking Joao Peglow’s pass, making a hard cut to evade a defender on the right side of the box, and then picking out Hopkins in front of goal.
Hopkins then used his back to spin his defender before firing a low finish past Pedro Gallese.
Freeman leveled 20 minutes later during a sequence that also eventually resulted in MacNaughton’s ejection.
Pasalic forced Barraza into an initial save after he was played down the right. Freeman was first to the rebound to poke it over the line. And after referee Chris Penso was summoned to the replay monitor, he ruled that MacNaughton had made a dangerous enough challenge on Freeman in his attempt to deny the rebound effort to warrant a red card.
Barraza could have done better to push that rebound to a less dangerous area. But he made up for it in the late stages with two late denials of Marco Pasalic and another of Eduard Atuesta.
–Field Level Media
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World Athletics Championships: Team GB target top-eight finish in Tokyo, while new ‘sex test’ is introduced in world first
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Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson is in good form going into the World Athletics Championships
The world’s best athletes will take to the track and field this weekend when the World Athletics Championships get under way in Tokyo from September 13-21.
Many of the stars who shone at Paris 2024 will be there, including Britain’s 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and USA’s 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles.
One of the major talking points away from the sport has been the introduction of a mandatory SRY or sex test for athletes who intend to compete in female categories.
All athletes in female category take new ‘sex test’
World Athletics, led by their President Seb Coe, have taken an unambiguous stance for several years when it comes to talking about and defining new rules around the sensitive issues of the protection of female categories, transgender and DSD (Difference of Sexual Development).
They became the first global sporting federation to announce they would introduce a mandatory, once-in-a-lifetime gene test, known as an SRY Test earlier this year.
The test identifies the Y chromosome which causes male characteristics to develop. If an athlete returns a negative result, they are eligible to compete in female categories at world ranking events, including these World Championships.
World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female
Coe told Sky Sports he expected every athlete required to take an SRY Test will have done so by the time track and field events get under way in Tokyo, including all French athletes.
In France, the process has been complicated by French law where the SRY gene test is illegal in France due to a 1994 law banning DNA testing for non-medical, non-judicial purposes to protect family integrity, so French athletes have had to undertake the SRY test by travelling outside of France.
Coe confirmed that while it is World Athletics’ stated aim to have all athletes tested by the start of the World Championships next month, the results do not have to be known due to the tight time frame.
For athletes whose national federation hasn’t been able to offer an SRY test yet, World Athletics will step in and offer the test at holding camps in Japan used by athletes prior to competing in Tokyo.
“By and large, the process has gone pretty smoothly, but it’s not been without its challenges,” Coe said. “The vast majority have been pretty straightforward and we’ve (World Athletics) made a contribution of about US$100 per test.”
How important are championships for Coe?
Very.
He has transformed the athletics governing body since his election in Beijing in 2015 from the tarnished old IAAF to the new World Athletics.
He’s serving his third and final term as president and while no doubt still pondering his defeat in March’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency election to Kirsty Coventry, his first love has always been track and field, and during his term as president he has tackled controversial issues like banning Russia and bringing in updated rules on gender eligibility.
Lord Coe accepts defeat to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC Presidential vote and says he welcomes the fact it’s a former Olympic athlete who will take up the role Lord Coe accepts defeat to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC Presidential vote and says he welcomes the fact it’s a former Olympic athlete who will take up the role
While those issues can be divisive, the progress of time has shown that many, if not most, sporting federations have followed athletics’ lead by watching and then following.
It’s interesting to note that the new IOC President, whom he lost out to, is preparing the IOC to greater understand and perhaps even lead on gender eligibility and protections for female sports stars.
He also wants athletics firmly in the position of the world’s second most popular sport behind football by showing off packed out stadia in Tokyo.
The World Championships take place in the 70,000 capacity Olympic Stadium where during the 2020 Olympics not one fan was able to watch the sport on offer due to a strict Covid-19 lockdown in Japan.
Many of the sessions during the nine days of competition are sell-outs and, according to Coe, no session will have fewer than 50,000 people in attendance.
Tokyo heat, humidity and typhoons
World Athletics deliberately scheduled the start of their marquee championships later than they would normally. Two years ago in Budapest, for example, the schedule ran during August.
High temperatures and humidity can be exceedingly high in Japan during the months of July and August, as many athletes who competed at the Tokyo Olympics four years ago will testify to.
The 2025 World Athletics Championships will be held at the National Stadium in Tokyo from September 13-21
However, heat mitigation measures will again be in place as Japan has experienced temperatures 2.36 Degrees Celsius above average between June and August, with local temperatures in Tokyo this week reaching 33 Degrees Celsius.
World Athletics president Seb Coe is of the belief that climate change is not temporary and is here to stay; at these championships, decisions on whether competition will go ahead will not be in the hands of local organisers, but World Athletics.
Information on drinks, ice baths and cooling techniques has been shared widely with athletes and their federations, while plenty of provision will be in place for spectators.
Tokyo and Japan, in general, is prone to typhoons at this time of year, indeed many British and Northern Irish athletes were confined to their hotel at their training camp for a few days due to a typhoon. If such a weather system hits Tokyo during the championships, it will again be a decision for World Athletics to make as to whether to postpone or cancel events.
Where could GB medals come from?
Great Britain and Northern Ireland haven’t been set a medal target, but a top-eight finish in the medal table is the challenge, with an expectation of several of their world-leading track stars to medal and all relay squads to medal.
So who are the stars? The women’s 800m final has been scheduled for the last session of the last day of the championships, as it’s been viewed as being a hot ticket in town. Two Brits could well end up on the podium, both friends and training partners coached by husband and wife duo Jenny Meadows and Trevor Painter – Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter-Bell.
Hodgkinson was one of the stars of Paris last year, streaking home to become Olympic champion and, although she has suffered hamstring injuries this year, she has come back to racing in time and is running ferociously quickly.
Keely Hodgkinson says she is in a good place after receiving her MBE and is fully focused on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo Keely Hodgkinson says she is in a good place after receiving her MBE and is fully focused on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo
While perhaps not quite the right time for a tilt at the 800m world record, if Hodgkinson feels it, she’ll go for it.
Elsewhere, medals could come in men’s middle distance, with 1500m runner Josh Kerr defending his world title he won in 2023.
His battles with Norway’s Jacob Ingebrigtsen have already become legendary, with the two not the best of pals. At the Paris Olympics, one of the two should have taken the gold medal, but their attention on one another allowed the USA’s Cole Hocker to shock them both and cross the line first.
George Mills, son of Danny – the former Leeds, Manchester City and England defender – is a serious contender for medals in the men’s 5000m. This season he’s beaten Sir Mo Farah’s long-standing British 5000m record and ran the second fastest 1500m by a Brit, so the 26-year-old is well warmed up.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson is always a threat at major championships, and at Tokyo she will defend the heptathlon world title she won two years ago. She was also crowned world champion in 2019, and took Olympic silver in Paris.
Dina Asher-Smith will make her seventh appearance at a World Championship and, while the competition is fierce in both the 100m and 200m, she is running quickly this season.
“I’m just really happy,” she told Sky Sports. “I think the other week in Zurich is testament to what kind of shape I’m in because, honestly, I knew that I’ve been in good shape for a very long time and I know that I’ve been putting together some great races in the past few months, but to run a 10.90!
!I was picking it out because I know I could have had faster in me that day, but still obviously I’m very happy.”
Could Dina Asher-Smith medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo?
Also very quick is Daryll Neita, who finished fourth in the women’s Olympic 100m final in Paris, narrowly missing out on a medal. She did, however, take home an Olympic Silver medal from the 4x100m women’s relay and in Tokyo it is expected that Great Britain and Northern Ireland medal in all five relay disciplines.
Individually, in the men’s sprint events (100m and 200m), Zharnel Hughes should at the very least make finals, as the qualified pilot has run sub-10 seconds in the 100m and sub-20 seconds in the 200m. With age, Hughes seems to get faster, as he broke both British 100m and 200m records in 2023, the same year he took his first ever global medal, a bronze at the last World Athletics Championships.
“Obviously the experience has been taking me into finals and stuff like that,” he said. “I’ve always been one to be reckoned with when it comes to the championships. I’ve always been able to position myself into the finals at every major championship.
“Unfortunately, last year it didn’t get to happen due to injury, but I’m feeling confident and I’m looking forward to getting myself on that podium for sure. I’ll be giving it my very best, I’m filled with determination and I’m quite confident in my ability that I can always catch you at the very end.
“I’m trusting myself and trusting my speed. The work that I’ve put in leading up to this championship has been tremendous. It’s going to be great.”
While the British team is medal heavy on expectation from the track, also keep an eye on pole-vaulter Molly Caudery. She won the 2024 World Indoor title and won the Diamond League meeting in Doha in May.
The Cornishwoman is a huge talent was expected to challenge for the gold at the Olympics last year, but had a shocker and failed to even qualify for the final. The 25-year-old is determined to learn the mental lesson from a year ago.
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Thousands march against Gaza war in Frankfurt after ban overturned
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Thousands of people gathered in Frankfurt to protest against the Gaza war on Saturday after courts overruled the western German city’s ban on the demonstration.
Police reported approximately 11,000 attendees at the starting point in Hafenpark, surpassing the 5,000 originally registered.
The demonstrators, carrying Palestinian flags and protest posters, chanted slogans such as “Freedom for Palestine” and “From the River to the Sea – Palestine will be free.”
The latter phrase has been the source of legal disputes in Germany, with some cities prosecuting activists for using it, while some courts have overturned convictions.
The march, held under the banner “United4Gaza – Stop the Genocide Now!” was due to proceed from the east of Frankfurt to the Rossmarkt square in the city centre.
Police reported no major incidents or riots by the afternoon.
However, one speaker at the demonstration was detained after making comments trivializing the Holocaust and the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel, police said.
Officers arrested the man after he refused to comply with their order for him to end his speech.
According to the police, some people were also made aware of the ban on wearing masks. A small number of criminal offences were identified, including suspected incitement to hatred.
City authorities had previously attempted to ban the demonstration, citing it as a “potentially anti-Semitic gathering.”
The city said it was concerned about escalating tensions between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli activists.
However, the organizer challenged the ban and won the case at the Frankfurt Administrative Court on Thursday.
The court ruled that the ban was unjustified based on the current police risk assessment, stating that a ban requires an immediate danger to public safety.
The Administrative Court in Kassel also reviewed the demonstration and decided on Friday that it could proceed. The court noted that police could focus on individual troublemakers to uphold the fundamental right to freedom of assembly for other participants.
Thousands take part in the “United 4 Gaza” demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians in downtown Frankfurt. Boris Roessler/dpa
Thousands take part in the “United 4 Gaza” demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians in downtown Frankfurt. Boris Roessler/dpa
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Los Angeles approves plan to spend nearly $425 million in ‘mansion tax’ money
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The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a plan to spend nearly $425 million collected from Measure ULA, directing the money to a series of affordable housing and homelessness programs.
The spending plan for the 2025 fiscal year that started Tuesday is the largest yet under Measure ULA, also known as the mansion tax.
The voter-approved measure, which taxes property sales above about $5 million, has drawn criticism from the real estate industry for years and recently been the subject of several reports that found it has limited property sales and thus reduced property tax revenue and the construction of new housing.
Backers, however, tout the measure as providing crucial dollars to affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs at a time when the state and county have cut funding.
In all, the 2025 ULA spending plan is greater than all other years combined.
“Don’t believe the hate from big-money real estate or their lies appearing all over the media,” Joe Donlin, director of United to House LA, said in a statement. “Measure ULA is doing the steady work to create stable homes and good jobs for Angelenos.”
Under the plan approved Tuesday, more than $100 million is set to flow to homelessness prevention programs, including income support for at-risk tenants and eviction defense.
The majority of the 2025 funds, more than $288 million, is to be spent on the production and preservation of affordable housing.
Since voters passed the measure in late 2022, the tax has collected more than $702 million, according to the city’s Housing Department.
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Andrew Khouri
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