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France turn focus to 'unique' New Zealand tour after Six Nations success
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U.S. Soccer's Parlow Cone voted onto FIFA council
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Draper stuns two-time defending champ Alcaraz to reach Indian Wells final
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At least 27 dead as tornadoes ravage central US
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'Disney's Snow White' gets muted Hollywood premiere
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Spaun clings to one-stroke Players lead with McIlroy four back
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Pogba watches LAFC fall to MLS defeat
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France sweep to Six Nations title as England hand Wales record humiliation
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Edwards hails defensive effort as France clinch Six Nations crown
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Rune shocks Medvedev to reach Indian Wells ATP final
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Borthwick backs England's Itoje for Lions captaincy after Wales rout
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Three takeaways after France beat Scotland for the Six Nations title
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Ramos guides France to Six Nations title with Scotland demolition
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Wales boss Sherratt 'devastated' for his players after England humiliation
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Trump freezes VOA, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe
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Real Madrid will never play with under 72 hours rest again: Ancelotti
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Teen sensation Andreeva takes aim at top-ranked Sabalenka in Indian Wells
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Macron wants 'clear pressure' on Moscow to accept ceasefire
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Reijnders saves Milan as Dele Alli sent off on Como debut
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Shein says US tariff hit won't stop fast-fashion flood
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US strikes Yemen's Huthis as Trump vows end to shipping threat
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France face win-or-bust Six Nations duel with Scotland after England rout Wales
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Francis still requires therapy, Vatican says, as pope looks ahead to 2028
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Mbappe double at Villarreal takes Real Madrid top
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Mumbai beat Delhi to clinch second WPL title
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England stay in Six Nations title hunt with Wales rout
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Guardiola backs Man City to overcome anxiety in European race
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Marc Marquez beats brother in Argentina MotoGP sprint
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Latest power outage leaves Cubans struggling to get by
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US Democrats fume as some in party cave to Trump on spending bill
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Ireland squeeze past Italy to stay in Six Nations title hunt
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Oil spill in Ecuador river brings emergency declaration
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Man City stumble, Forest soar in Champions League chase
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Man City held by Brighton to leave Champions League hopes in balance
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Ireland keep Six Nations title hopes alive as focus switches to Cardiff and Paris
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Bayern held at Union Berlin to leave title door ajar
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Amid tensions, Canada says reviewing purchase of US jets
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Major storm in central US leaves at least 14 dead: officials
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Deadly Israeli strikes mar fragile Gaza truce
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Ratcliffe would walk away from Man Utd if abuse reaches Glazer level
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Telegram founder Durov allowed to temporarily leave France
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UN considering humanitarian channel from Bangladesh to Myanmar
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Brazilians sentenced in beating death of Congolese migrant
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Australian Storer wins penultimate Paris-Nice stage in the snow
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Romania excludes second far-right poll hopeful
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Marc Marquez storms to record Argentina MotoGP pole
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Tens of thousands rally in Serbia's capital for anti-graft rally
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Telegram founder Durov allowed to temporarily leave France: sources
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Pope Francis receiving 'surge' in mail, says Italian post
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Paris-Nice contender Skjelmose hospitalised after fall

Relief as US Congress averts government shutdown
The United States averted a government shutdown with hours to spare Friday as lawmakers already reeling from President Donald Trump's radical federal spending cuts voted to keep the lights on through September.
Facing a midnight deadline to fund the government or allow it to start winding down, Democrats dropped plans for a blockade on a Trump-backed bill passed earlier this week by the House -- clearing its path for approval by the Republican-led Senate.
"In their typical fashion, Senate Democrats engaged in political theater to delay the inevitable and cause instability," said Ted Cruz, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
"Americans voted for change under President Trump and Republican leadership after four years of chaos. The government is funded, let's get back to work."
Democrats had been under immense pressure from their own grassroots to defy Trump and reject a text they said was full of harmful spending cuts.
But Chuck Schumer, their leader in the upper chamber, shocked his rank-and-file ahead of the crunch vote by announcing he would back the Republican-drafted proposal.
Ten Democrats -- worried that they would be blamed over a stoppage with no obvious exit ramp -- backed down from a showdown with Trump and allowed the bill to advance to a final floor vote, where it only needed Republican support.
The week's action in Congress marked a big victory for Trump, who turned the political thumbscrews on some holdouts among the fractious House Republicans -- effectively stamping out a rebellion that could have ushered in a shutdown.
The funding fight was focused on opposition to Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by tech billionaire Elon Musk, which is working to dramatically downsize the government.
DOGE aims to cut federal spending by $1 trillion this year and claims to have made savings so far of more than $100 billion although its verified cost savings come to less than a tenth of that figure.
- 'Betrayal' -
Grassroots Democrats, infuriated by what they saw as Musk's lawless rampage through the federal bureaucracy, wanted their leaders to stand up to DOGE and Trump.
Schumer warned, however, that a shutdown could play into Trump and Musk's hands, distracting from DOGE's most unpopular actions, which now include firing half the Education Department's workforce.
The veteran campaigner published an op-ed in The New York Times defending his decision to support the package, a U-turn that sparked an angry backlash from grassroots critics and House Democrats who accused him of "betrayal" and of "caving."
Schumer argued that a shutdown would have allowed Musk and Trump to "destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now."
"Under a shutdown, the Trump administration would have wide-ranging authority to deem whole agencies, programs and personnel nonessential, furloughing staff members with no promise they would ever be rehired," Schumer wrote.
Shutdowns are rare but disruptive and costly, as everyday functions like food inspections halt and parks, monuments and federal buildings shut up shop.
Up to 900,000 federal employees can be furloughed, while another million deemed essential -- from air traffic controllers to police -- work but forego pay until normal service resumes.
Trump praised Schumer for having "guts" in a Truth Social post that hailed "a whole new direction and beginning" for the country.
"I appreciate Senator Schumer, and I think he did the right thing. Really, I'm very impressed by that," he told reporters later.
Success for the funding bill will come as a relief to Schumer, who was struggling to keep Senate Democrats together under a barrage of criticism from his own side.
Patty Murray, the top Democrat in the funding negotiations, called the House bill a "dumpster fire."
More than 100 demonstrators gathered early Friday outside Schumer's Brooklyn high-rise, shouting "Chuck betrayed us" and "Dems -- don't be chickens in a coup."
E.Raimundo--PC