Marta has won the world player of the year award six times but has never won the Women’s World Cup in five previous attempts with Brazil

A recession in the euro area is looking increasingly likely as the economic downturn persists in the final

A soft-spoken Republican state lawmaker in Louisiana shot down a bill that would ban affirming healthcare for transgender youth in the state, the sole southern state that has not outlawed gender-affirming care amid a wave of restrictive measures targeting LGBT+ people across the country. State Senator Fred Mills, the chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, cast the committee’s tie-breaking 5-4 vote to block the bill’s progress in the GOP-dominated state legislature on 23 May. Following the vote, Mr Mills has faced a barrage of attacks from anti-trans far-right activists on social media, his businesses have received harassing messages, and the Louisiana Republican Party is pressuring state lawmakers to sidestep the committee process and put the bill on the Senate floor for a vote. Louisiana’s House Republicans also plan to sabotage other legislation to send a message to the state Senate. Mr Mills, who is not seeking re-election and delivered congenial farewell remarks to his Senate colleagues on 25 May, appears unfazed. “Anytime you have to break a tie vote, no matter which way you vote, there’s going to be backlash, and this is a national topic,” Mr Mills told the USA Today Network. “I did like I always do. I listened to the debate and made the vote I thought was right. Why would I want to handcuff a doctor and his or her decision? I think they know more about this than politicians.” Anti-trans self-described fascist pundit Matt Walsh issued a threat to his nearly 2 million Twitter followers and claimed that Mr Mills “sided with the butchers and the groomers,” using the transphobic smear to falsely suggest that the St Martin Parish state lawmaker supports pedophilia. “He will regret it,” Walsh said. “This is the biggest mistake of his political career, and also the end of his career. He’s going to be infamous and disgraced by his own base. We’ll make sure of that.” Far-right activist Greg Price with the State Freedom Caucus Network told his followers to “let Senator Mills know how you feel about him single-handedly killing this bill to ban sex changes for kids.” Louisiana is the only state in the US South that has not banned gender-affirming care for trans youth. Nineteen states have enacted legislation to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth, and at least eight other states are considering similar legislation, against the guidance of major medical organisations, including the Americans Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, that recommend affirming treatment for trans youth experiencing gender dysphoria. House Bill 648, authored by Republican state Rep Gabe Firment, would ban health providers in the state from administering affirming care to patients younger than 18, or face the revocation of their professional licence. That care can include hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers, which are also often prescribed for cisgender or nontransgender youth, as well as social transitioning measures, mental healthcare, and affirming surgeries, which are not recommended under major medical guidelines. A statewide report from the Louisiana Department of Health found that no affirming surgeries were performed on Medicaid-enrolled minors in the state between 2017 and 2021, and the prescription of affirming medications for trans youth within that same time period was also exceedingly rare. Mr Mills said the witness testimony and reporting from the health department persuaded him to vote against the bill. “All the testimony I heard by the proponents that children are getting mutilated, I didn’t see it in the statistics,” he told the Louisiana Illuminator. “Always in my heart of hearts have I believed that a decision should be made by a patient and a physician. I believe in the physicians in Louisiana,” he added. “I believe in the scope of practice. I believe in the standard of care.” After national backlash from far-right groups, the Louisiana Republican Party issued a statement calling for “procedural action that will result in a Senate floor vote” on House Bill 648 to give “all senators” a “chance to weigh in on this pivotal piece of legislation.” “The Republican Party of Louisiana is deeply disappointed in Senator Fred Mills’ tie-breaking vote” to kill the legislation in committee, according to a statement from the party. The bill passed through the state’s House of Representatives by a vote of 71-24. Louisina Trans Advocates said the GOP’s strategy “would be a complete disrespect of the process and would be undemocratic.” The onslaught of legislation and volatile political debate surrounding the bills have also negatively impacted the mental health of an overwhelming majority of young trans and nonbinary people, according to polling from The Trevor Project and Morning Consult. A separate survey from The Trevor Project found that 41 per cent of trans and nonbinary youth have seriously considered attempting suicide over the last year. “When you prescribe hormone therapies to these kids, they get better,” Louisiana psychologist Clifton Mixon told the state Senate health committee this week. “They want to live. They go to school. They get better grades. Their relationships improve, and they can begin to live a more normal teenage life.” Read More DeSantis wants to model America after Florida. Civil rights groups are sounding the alarm on his ‘hostile’ agenda Senator who voted for anti-trans bill that passed by one vote admits she wasn’t paying attention Trans teen misses high school graduation after judge rejects plea Trans rights groups pledge Texas lawsuit over gender-affirming care ban: ‘Anti-science, discriminatory fear-mongering’

Liam Kelly reflected on the “best moment” of his life after eventually making his Scotland debut in the 4-1 defeat by France in Lille on Tuesday night. The 27-year-old Motherwell goalkeeper was first called up to the senior squad four years ago and had to patiently await his chance, which came when Steve Clarke rested number one Angus Gunn and started with Kelly before bringing on Hearts keeper and fellow debutant Zander Clark at the interval. It was a sore night for the Scots however, despite taking an early lead through Billy Gilmour’s first goal in senior football. France defender Benjamin Pavard scored twice with headers as a star-studded home side fought back. Skipper Kylian Mbappe added a third from the spot before the break and substitute Kingsley Coman hammered a fourth past Clark in the 70th minute to seal a convincing friendly win for the superior hosts. “The best moment of your life, isn’t it?” said Kelly when asked about his first appearance for his country. “I played for every age group with Scotland up until now and I have been in a lot of squads along with big Zander so I was just delighted to get that moment eventually. “I’m so grateful to the manager to get that chance and I am delighted for big Zander as well because we have been in this together from the start. “During the game you can’t think about anything else or else you get punished, so maybe now and over the next few days it will start to sink in a wee bit but yes, the best moment of your life playing for your country. “Me and Zander have been in the squad a long time, you take any chance you can get. “As I said I am really grateful to the manager to give me that chance. As a kid you always dream of that moment and it was a great feeling and a special occasion as well Zander Clark “He didn’t have to do it, he could have played big Angus again so I am over the moon and thankful he gave me that opportunity. “I think I done OK in the game so it all went to plan, apart from the scoreline.” Clark, 31, was similarly delighted to make his debut as replacement for long-time buddy Kelly. He said: “As a kid you always dream of that moment and it was a great feeling and a special occasion as well. “I am buzzing for Liam as well, I have known him since we were kids and a lot of hard work has gone into it. “For us to get the first on the same night is a special moment. “It was tough, they had stars all over the place. “But we had good spells and a great finish by Billy and it was unfortunate to come away with such a heavy defeat but pleased with the effort we put in.” Read More South Africa’s Handre Pollard expecting to face ‘ruthless’ England in semi-final Four out of five players want more done to keep them safe on the pitch Leeds sign Salford duo Brodie Croft and Andy Ackers on three-year deals Australian cricketers go into bat for netballers with ‘fighting fund’ Gareth Southgate savours win and says England are ‘capable of winning’ Euro 2024 Michael O’Neill wants Shea Charles to learn from dismissal on frustrating night

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 14, 2023--

Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson was inactive with a groin injury for Sunday’s game against Buffalo

'We’ve all had people we’ve lost. The world really lost him. In a way, it’s nice to have the world sort of sharing with you,' said Hank Azaria

New Rangers boss Philippe Clement is determined to build a dressing room of winners at Ibrox but acknowledges that he is no football magician. The 49-year-old became the 19th permanent manager of the Govan club following the departure of Michael Beale at the start of the month. After playing at Genk and Club Brugge, Clement won the Belgian Pro League as a manager with both teams but he inherits a Light Blues side who are currently seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders and defending champions Celtic. Speaking at Ibrox, Clement said: “I want to win everything. That’s the mentality when I step into a building, I want to give this mentality also towards the dressing room and create more and more winners in this dressing room. “So we’re going to work really hard to get silverware as fast as possible and to make this story step by step, bigger and bigger. “How fast it comes? You never know I don’t have this crystal ball. “Also I’m not a magician that suddenly can totally change players. But I know if we can work a long time with players that we can make them better.” Clement will give players a chance to impress before he considers changes in the January transfer window. He said: “I’m also somebody who likes to see first, what is the potential that is there already. “I’m not somebody who wants 10 new players every year and say, ‘OK, this one and this one is not good enough’. “I’m somebody who likes to invest in people, who wants to find the key to get the best out of them. “So we need to use the next weeks, months to do that in the best way. “So all the players with me – maybe not with some fans, and that’s a little bit pity maybe – everybody starts with a white page. “Everybody has the chances also until January to prove themselves, to show that they are really good players that they want to be on the pitch, that they want to make the difference for the club, that they want to give everything. And then we will see.” Chief executive James Bisgrove’s next job will be to appoint a director of football. He said: “Certainly in the next few weeks, if not months, we’re having live conversations at the moment. “There are variables in that depending on the individuals that the board believes and the football board and Philippe feel has the best fit. But I believe it will be imminent. “It’ll be a club board appointment that Phillipe will absolutely be part of that process and will meet whoever we bring in before we take that decision. “And that person when they come in will add additional value, expertise and leadership to the recruitment function. “We’ve currently got John Park as the chief scout at the top of that division. “We’ve made some changes to the scouting function recently. We’ve modernised that in terms of some of the processes, additional emphasis on data and video analysis. “And we’ve been I think, more strategic and focused on how we’ve set that up. “Phillipe would have some strong views on that as well. But it’s a decision that the board will take in terms of the long-term football strategy and someone to complete that football board that’s already in existence to make sure we’ve got really robust processes around the decision-making that we take right across the football department.” Read More Shaun Wane urges England to learn lessons from World Cup ahead of Tonga series Wigan captain Liam Farrell returns to England squad for Tonga Test series Mikey Johnston issues Netherlands warning as Ireland look to finish on high On this day in 2018: Shahid Khan withdraws £900m offer to buy Wembley from FA Dallas Cowboys bounce back to edge past Los Angeles Chargers Stephen Kenny focused on fixtures instead of future after Ireland beat Gibraltar

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 29, 2023--

Taiwan People’s Party leader Ko Wen-je, running second in most polls ahead of January’s presidential election, said there

As temperatures soar around the world, US Climate Envoy John Kerry arrives in China today for three days

Britain’s soggy summer and sticky inflation failed to deter shoppers from splashing out on fashion. Clothing retailer Next,