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““We heard they were coming but we never dreamed there’d be this many. The noise was magnificent,’’ said the Irish veteran defender Paul McGrath. ““It felt like a home game,’’ said World Cup rookie defenseman Phil Babb. McGrath, from Dublin, and Babb, from Lambeth in South London (his mother is Irish), are both black Irishmen and surely enough they looked like the Giants’ own Lawrence Taylor himself, the way they stalked New Jersey’s Meadowlands and went after Italy’s ponytailed goal-creator Roberto Baggio....

Netanyahu is the country’s longest-serving leader, having held the office for more than 13 years. This year though, has been a tumultuous one for “Bibi,” as he is colloquially known. Two inconclusive elections have left Israel in limbo, with neither Netanyahu nor main rival Benny Gantz able to form a coalition government. Netanyahu’s domestic travails come in spite of unprecedented support from the U.S., spearheaded by President Donald Trump. Washington has unquestionably stood behind Israel on thorny issues like Iran, the Gaza Strip and Israel’s illegal settlements in the Palestinian West Bank....

The news comes on the heels of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s annual State of the State address, during which the Democrat projected optimism about his state’s recovery and encouraged residents to remain patient as the COVID-19 vaccination rollout continues. Dee Dee Myers, the director of the governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, celebrated the promising economic predictions in a statement shared with Newsweek. The forecast “reiterates the strengths of California’s economy and a reason for us to have optimism as we emerge from the pandemic,” Myers said....

Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, disappeared on her walk home from a friend’s South London residence on the evening of March 3. The search for the young woman garnered global attention, spurring countless testimonies by women on fears and experiences of harassment and assault while engaging in activities as simple as venturing outdoors. Across social media networks, women described bare-bones safety precautions they take while walking alone at nighttime. Many have faked phone calls to thwart potential attackers, avoided the use of earphones so as to be fully aware of their surroundings, and held keys so they stick out between their knuckles in case self-defense is necessary....

Floyd died on May 25 while in custody of the Minneapolis Police Department. Several videos showed white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for approximately nine minutes, while Floyd repeatedly shouted he couldn’t breathe before seemingly losing consciousness. The NBA world has been unanimous in demanding justice and condemning police brutality, with Michael Jordan, LeBron James and his Los Angeles Lakers teammates, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and his Detroit Pistons counterpart Dwane Casey all speaking out....

Avoiding a brutal World Cup draw will be extremely difficult for the Americans, especially after CONCACAF teams were placed in the same pot with Asian teams, thus removing several of the easier potential opponents from the USA’s list of possible group stage options. MORE: Goal.com live blog | Google+ Hangout at 2 p.m. ET Now, the Americans are facing the strong likelihood that at least two world powers will be in their group, and there may even be three juggernauts in the USA group....

‘Barca offered Vinicius Junior more money than Madrid’ The Spain international joined the Spanish giants in 2014 after rising through Mallorca’s youth system and shining in the Segunda Division with the first-team. After loan spells at his former side and Espanyol, Asensio has been heavily involved for Zinedine Zidane’s side, featuring in 37 games in each of the last two seasons. Last month, famous Madrid supporter Nadal revealed that he told president Perez that he should sign Asensio after seeing him as a youngster at Mallorca, a claim the player has backed up....

The 27-page document–entitled “A Decade of Deception and Defiance”–made no mention of any Iraqi ties to Osama bin Laden. But it did highlight Saddam’s backing of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), an obscure Iranian dissident group that has gathered surprising support among members of Congress in past years. One of those supporters, the documents show, is a top commander in President Bush’s war on terrorism: Attorney General John Ashcroft, who became involved with the MKO while a Republican senator from Missouri....

Was it intimidating taking on a role that’s so well known? By every metric, it should have been. For some reason, it wasn’t. Perhaps for two reasons. One is that the show uses the third book as a jumping-off point. It’s very much a prequel. We get to explore what made him the person everyone knows. So we lean on the love everyone already has for the material, but we tried to take it back a few steps....

Well, a group of astronauts aboard the International Space Station treated themselves to just that—a zero-gravity make-your-own pizza party—and footage of the event has been amazing people online. In a clip posted to Instagram by French astronaut Thomas Pesquet the group can be seen in the spacecraft making their own mini pizzas by adding tomato sauce, slices of cheese and pepperoni. In the 84-second-long footage the colleagues assemble their floating pizzas, as they playfully laugh and attach more food to the base of the pizza using sauce as an adhesive....

The win clinched the AL West title for the Rangers, eliminated the Angels and put the Astros in the playoffs for the first time since 2005. The Angels got off to an early 2-1 lead over the Rangers when Albert Pujols blasted his 560th career home run in the first inning, but Texas responded with two runs in the fifth inning and six runs in the seventh to blow the game open....

The Astros’ first two batters, George Springer and Josh Reddick, both knocked in dingers off Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. Six batters later, Alex Bregman (who, by the way, wears No. 2 because of Jeter), hit a grand slam to bring the score to 6-0. MORE: Jeter gives emotional speech on night of jersey retirement Springer homered in his second at-bat as well, giving him two homers on the night....

The Astros are planning a $15 million renovation for 2016 that includes removal of the flag poles from the field of play as well smoothing out Tal’s Hill. MORE: Baseball’s worst everyday players | Each team’s worst MLB Draft misses MLB.com reported the renovation project received preliminary approval from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. “We’ve submitted a plan to renovate center field and make it more fan-friendly and get more participation from the fans and really draw some more people in there,” Astros owner Jim Crane told MLB....

The fourth instalment of the series between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, but it may not go ahead due to adverse weather conditions. According to the National Weather Service, heavy showers are expected to hit the Bronx on Wednesday afternoon from about 2 p.m. ET. There is a 100 percent chance of heavy rain on Wednesday night, while precipitation amounts are expected to be between one to three inches....

The attack, which took place at a bus stop the suburb of Villeurbanne Saturday, left one person dead and others seeking medical treatment. The suspect, who reportedly was seeking asylum in France, brandished a knife and a meat skewer. Investigators believe he has psychological problems and smoked large amounts of cannabis before stabbing a 19-year-old man to death and injuring eight others outside Laurent Bonnevay metro station. “I sensed that something was not right and when I got to the lift I saw that some people had stopped someone,” one witness told Euronews....

President Joe Biden reversed that policy effective February 19, and the Homeland Security Department, the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been tasked with safely processing up to 25,000 migrants, starting with about 300 per day at two border crossings, Brownsville and El Paso in Texas, and a lesser number at San Diego’s San Ysidro crossing, according to the Associated Press. The particulars of rebuilding the asylum system, with its many moving parts, and processing up to 25,000 migrants who have open cases would have been deeply challenging in normal times, but is a herculean task during a global pandemic that has seen over 500,000 Americans die....

It’s about time. Jobs showed his first NEXT machine in 1988 with a typical media splash. The kid who helped kick off the PC revolution was starting over after being pressured out of Apple Computer. NEXT predicted $100 million in first-year sales. But the technically innovative box didn’t sell, a victim of high price and poor marketing. Times are dicey for the industry–and analysts wonder if higher sales will translate into profits at NEXT, which recently laid off 5 percent of its 600 workers....

Update: According to JSO, a man was in line for job applications at the center when two suspects, both in their 20s, exited a vehicle and shot him. Two other men were shot, but are expected to be OK. The shooting did not appear to be random. Local Jacksonville news station WJXT-TV first reported the shooting at around 2 p.m. local time, although it is unclear if the individual was shot inside or outside the facility....

Offering children free hair cuts in exchange for a glance at their school report cards certainly reinforces that reputation. According to a photo snapped this week by USA Today columnist Jarrett Bell, Lynch’s “Beast Mode” retail store in Oakland is offering free hair cuts to kids who bring their report cards. The promotion does not specify whether certain grades qualify or disqualify kids for free hair cuts — only that students from kindergarten though 12th grade are eligible....