Tyrod Taylor moved a little closer to making his third straight start for the Giants on Wednesday with Daniel Jones still not cleared to play in the New York rivalry game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday

Rookie Matt McLain hit his first career grand slam and the Cincinnati Reds extended their winning streak to three games with a 9-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night in a matchup of surprising MLB teams

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 14, 2023--

Ron DeSantis is officially running for president, having filed his statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday. The long-awaited move by the Florida governor follows a campaign announcement video released a day earlier by his wife, Casey, on Twitter. His filing was first reported by The Associated Press. Mr DeSantis is expected to address voters in his first appearance as a candidate for president later Wednesday evening in a Twitter space hosted by Elon Musk ally David Sacks. He will then appear on Fox News for an interview immediately afterwards with Bret Baier. The rising Republican star is in his second term as governor of the trending-red Sunshine State, having won reelection by double digits just last year. He previously won election to office in 2018 by a fraction of a percentage point. He enters the race with one key label tied to his campaign already: The second-place challenger, thanks to months of polling that have shown him firmly behind Mr Trump in a Republican primary matchup. That same polling has shown him consistently in the double digits, however, which is more than can be said for his other Republican rivals — Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson and others. Mr DeSantis’s official launch also signals a likely shift in strategy. Whereas for months the governor has sought to avoid a direct confrontation with Mr Trump, that now is unavoidable, even without the near-constant barrage of attacks that his now-official rival has been lobbing his way. That strategic shift has been hinted at for some time now, with a DeSantis-aligned PAC even swiping directly at the former president following his CNN town hall earlier this month. It isn’t clear whether the Jacksonville native, 44, will be successful in his bid to oust Mr Trump as de facto leader of the GOP. But he heads into the 2024 race with all the structural advantages he could possibly hope for: A sympathetic if not outright supportive GOP establishment, a national voter base that has indicated time and time again it does not wish for Mr Trump (or, for that matter, Mr Biden) to run again, and a political pedigree that seems almost lab-generated for a presidential run. He previously served in the House of Representatives as a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, and before that was a lawyer for the US military. During his service, Mr DeSantis was stationed at Guantanamo Bay before later being part of the 2007 Iraq troop surge which saw him playing legal adviser to a US commander in Fallujah. More follows... Read More Can Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump? These Florida political veterans aren’t so sure The War on Terror turned Ron DeSantis into Florida’s anti-woke warrior. Can it win him the White House? Everything we know about Ron DeSantis’ policies as he launches 2024 campaign

The 2023 New York Mets have the highest payroll in MLB history, yet they have an ugly 36-43 record. The Tampa Bay Rays are 28th in payroll, with the best record in all of baseball. What does this say about payroll?When the New York Mets transitioned from the Wilpons' ownership group to big-...

Ventura County in Southern California was hit with a 5.1 magnitude earthquake the same day as Hurricane Hilary

It was a case of "job done" for Wales after battling to a bonus-point 28-8 World Cup victory over a combative Portugal in Nice on Saturday that sets them up nicely with two wins from...

The Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates will wrap up their four-game series on Sunday afternoon.The Marlins have the 2-1 series lead heading into the finale, and they have a chance to further cement themselves in the playoff picture with another win today.Let's dive into the odds for t...

Canada on Monday accused India's government of involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader near Vancouver last June, and expelled New Delhi's intelligence...

Brazil coach Pia Sundhage was facing widespread criticism in the South American nation after the team was eliminated in the group stage at the Women’s World Cup

For the teams left in this World Cup, there were mixed feelings when the USA went out, and not just because of the emotions that remarkable penalty shoot-out produced. There is obviously a general excitement that the champions are out, theoretically opening up the whole tournament. A few players watching on, however, have confided that the US were “underwhelming”. Many would have liked the chance to take the champions on and beat them, asserting their standards. Such sentiments would no doubt have aggravated the Americans, if they were in any mood to look back on this worst ever performance by a team that were defending champions. One frustrated argument within the US camp has been that it has largely been about a ludicrous amount of missed chances, and a bit of bad luck. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher pointing to the line as she disputed Lina Hurtig’s ludicrously tight penalty seemed the most apt symbolism of this. It really did come down to the narrowest of gaps. But, in truth, only on the night. This World Cup failure is indeed the story of margins and gaps, but in how the rest of the women’s game has caught up with the US, as it now looks a little isolated in terms of coaching culture. There are big questions for the federation here, but they come amid far bigger themes, even if there is fair criticism for manager Vlatko Andonovksi. The truth is that great football eras almost never end with close calls or that last fighting pride. There is almost always something close to collapse, as history-making teams inevitably stay wedded to trusted methods and players. In this case, it was in persisting with previous greats like Alex Morgan, who could no longer apply the finishing she used to. That is also the point when a valuable experience can evolve into a certain “arrogance” and “complacency”, two words that have been used by sources with knowledge of the camp. The ultimate in this remains the Spanish men’s team in 2014, whose unprecedented run of three successive major trophies ended with two humiliating defeats to Netherlands and Chile. The US didn’t play that badly, and actually performed better in general play than they are now being given credit for. They are still just like that Spain, however, in being responsible for the World Cup’s worst ever performance by defending champions. None had ever gone out before the quarter-finals. The US themselves had never gone out before the semi-finals. That reflects the scale of the disappointment - but also how the world has changed. This is where the biggest questions for the federation come, as distilled in one of the primary themes of this World Cup. US soccer has long had issues as a “middle-class sport”, where basic participation costs a lot. While this has for a long time been such a weakness in the men’s game, though, it has led to one of the women’s team’s main strengths. They benefited from a level of training beyond most nations, that primarily gave the side conditioning advantages. The US could often just overpower opposition. As women’s football has moved to a different level in Europe, so has the training. Many nations now benefit from complete professionalism, eroding some of the USA’s most immediate advantages. This has laid bare something else: tactical and technical development. The US have very quickly looked more rudimentary than the better European sides in terms of team approach. A lot of this does come down to Andanovski. A fundamental truth remains that this US team would likely have gone much further, and probably won it again, under a better coach. Other than the irony of the better performance of the Sweden match, this seemed a classic case of a talented squad being made less than the sum of the parts. As ever in such eliminations, though, it is impossible not to wonder whether other factors influenced. Has the US suffered from all but one of their squad staying at home, and not playing in the Women’s Champions League? The women’s game is following the men’s in that regard in terms of where the wealth is going, which is overwhelming western Europe. That brings a concentration of playing and coaching talent that gradually brings a vitality. Is this what we are starting to see? Many around the US squad might reasonably point to Germany going out. It’s also true that the bigger nations have generally come here a little undercooked, gradually finding their feet as the tournament has gone on. Some of them just slipped before they could stand at their strongest. That happens in tournaments. Evolution in football only happens, however, if you face up to the realities of the game. The US may have to have a serious discussion about talent production, even allowing for the development of a star like Sophia Smith. Her rise does touch on that other crucial tension, between old and new. There has been growing talk of a camp that isn’t fully united. This itself isn’t new, mind. Carli Lloyd’s criticism only followed a pattern of this in US World Cups, that perhaps inevitably influenced a great history-making team. The very success of the side has also played into another issue here. It has been harder to drop players because they are not just great footballers but icons - in the truest sense of an overused word. That obviously isn’t to refer to the tedious and unfair culture war that surrounds a truly progressive team. Some of the usual voices were already being raised about Megan Rapinoe in the wake of her penalty miss, and they don’t even warrant naming. This is really about pure football terms. That status will affect tactical execution and decisions, even if it is subconscious. It is why these empires always end with some ignominy, far away from the standards and identity that used to define them. It becomes almost self-fulfilling, and full circle. Take the USA’s one victory at this World Cup, that almost cost them more than any other game. In 2019, the team were widely criticised for applying their winning identity to the full, and raucously celebrating all 13 goals against Thailand. This time, the opportunity was there to cut loose against Vietnam, but they couldn’t. It set a tone, and certainly set a pace. The Netherlands showed they were much more up to speed with a 7-0 as the US avoided a humiliating elimination to Portugal by the width of a post. Another small gap. It is the story of this World Cup for the deposed champions. This US team changed women's football. They are now feeling the effects of that. Read More USA’s dominant era ends on a night of chaos, confusion and heartbreak From Megan Rapinoe’s miss to VAR drama: How the USA and Sweden’s penalty shoot-out unfolded Women’s World Cup golden boot: Who’s leading the top-scorer standings? Who is Jess Carter? England defender in profile England vs Nigeria LIVE: Women’s World Cup 2023 score and latest updates Who are the BBC World Cup commentators? Full list of pundits

Sinead O'Connor was found unresponsive on Wednesday, July 26, at her London flat