Mobile sports bets booming in some states as others shy away
The stakes will be higher for March Madness this year in some states. People in Ohio, Kansas and Massachusetts will be able to cast online bets on the NCAA basketball tournament for the first time. A total of 33 states and the District of Columbia now allow at least some form of sports wagering. States have moved rapidly to enter the market since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed it almost five years ago. States with mobile betting appear to be banking bigger bucks than those that allow only in-person sports wagers. The prospects are mixed for expanding sports betting to additional states this year.
Newsom to start California tour with homelessness proposal
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom will announce plans for the state to pay to build 1,200 small homes to help house the homeless population. The governor's office says Newsom will make the announcement on Thursday in Sacramento. It's the first stop of his planned four-city tour to make major policy announcements on housing, health care and public safety. The tour is replacing Newsom's traditional State of the State address. Newsom said local governments will decide where the small homes will go. He said the homes could go on state-owned land if it is available. Newsom said the homes can quickly house people currently living in encampments.
Exhibit: 'Invisible' Monet, Leon, was key to impressionism
PARIS (AP) — Claude Monet’s older sibling is the focus of a landmark Paris exhibit illuminating the hitherto unknown role Leon Monet played in the French impressionist painter’s life and art. Leon was a color chemist and is now understood to have been critical in the emergence of Claude’s commercial success and the famed color palette that created masterpieces like the Water Lilies series. The exhibit curator says “it’s never been known before but without Leon there would not have really been a Monet the artist the world knows today." Leon financed Claude and also employed him as a color assistant. That was a pivotal moment for the painter but also possibly for the emergence of impressionism.
UN nuclear watchdog: 2.5 tons of uranium missing in Libya
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Some 2.5 tons of natural uranium stored in a site in war-torn Libya have gone missing. That's according to a statement Thursday from the United Nations nuclear watchdog. The International Atomic Energy Agency said its inspectors “found that 10 drums containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium” had gone missing from an unnamed site in Libya. Natural uranium can’t immediately be used for energy production or bomb fuel. However, each ton of natural uranium — if obtained by a group with the technological means and resources — can be refined to 5.6 kilograms (12 pounds) of weapons-grade material over time. That raises nonproliferation risks.
NBA suspends Ja Morant 8 games for video showing gun in club
MIAMI (AP) — The NBA has suspended Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant eight games without pay after determining that his holding a firearm at a club in suburban Denver earlier this month was “conduct detrimental to the league.” Morant will miss his sixth game when the Grizzlies play in Miami on Wednesday night. He will miss the next two games and be eligible to return on Monday when Memphis plays Dallas. The games he already missed will count toward the suspension. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver met with Morant in New York before announcing the league’s decision. He called Morant's conduct “irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous.”
US tribes get bison as they seek to restore bond with animal
GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — Dozens of bison from a mountain park outside Denver have been transferred to several tribes from across the Great Plains. It's the latest example of Native Americans reclaiming stewardship over animals their ancestors lived alongside for millennia. The bison were loaded after a ceremony Wednesday onto trucks for relocation to tribal lands in several states. Six of the animals will form the nucleus of a new herd for the Yuchi people south of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The herd will grow over time, restoring a spiritual and physical bond broken two centuries ago when bison were driven to near-extinction and the Yuchi were forced from their homeland.
Mets' Díaz hurts knee as Puerto Rico tops Dominicans in WBC
MIAMI (AP) — New York Mets star closer Edwin Díaz injured his right knee while celebrating a win that sent Puerto Rico into the next round of the World Baseball Classic and eliminated the Dominican Republic. Díaz was taken off the field in a wheelchair in Miami soon after pitching a perfect ninth inning to close out Puerto Rico’s 5-2 win over the Dominicans. The Mets said Díaz will have further tests on Thursday. The Puerto Rican players were jumping together in the infield when Díaz collapsed to the ground, and he quickly reached for his right leg. Díaz was in tears. Also, the United States and Cuba advanced to the next round with wins.
Beloved and debated, French bulldog becomes top US dog breed
NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in three decades, the American Kennel Club says the U.S. has a new favorite dog breed. The club announced Wednesday that the French bulldog became the nation’s most prevalent purebred dog last year. Frenchies ousted Labrador retrievers from the top spot after a record 31 years. Owners describe the push-faced, perky-eared, droll little bulldogs as comical, friendly and loving companions. Yet their popularity worries fans and critics alike. Frenchies have been targeted in thefts, and there’s concern that demand is engendering quick-buck breeders and unhealthy dogs. Besides Frenchies and Labs, the AKC's other top 10 breeds are golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles, bulldogs, Rottweilers, beagles, dachshunds and German shorthaired pointers.
Arizona governor blasted for plans to defy execution order
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is being criticized by a victim’s sister and a county prosecutor for her plans to defy a court order to execute a prisoner for his conviction in a 2002 killing. The Democratic governor vows she won't carry out the Arizona Supreme Court’s order to execute Aaron Gunches on April 6. She cited a review she ordered of death penalty protocols due to Arizona's history of mismanaging executions. Lawyers for Karen Price, whose brother Ted was the victim in Gunches’ case, say Hobbs doesn’t have the authority to disregard the order. Hobbs' attorneys said Arizona isn’t prepared to carry out an execution in a constitutionally sound manner.
Does 'Ted Lasso' end with season 3? What to ... believe
The Emmy-winning series “Ted Lasso," about an American coaching a soccer team in London, is back for its third season on Apple TV+. The big question is, does the series conclude when this season ends? The show has long been described as a three-season series but with its critical and fan support, it's uncertain whether the story will end so soon. Jason Sudeikis is an executive producer and stars as the title character. He says he's still working on finishing touches on season three's 12 episodes, so he doesn't have an answer yet. Instead he's focusing on the loving reception to the show, especially when he's recognized in public.