Author: The Guardian

Scotland captain Finn Russell felt more positive than negative about Scotland’s first victory in Cardiff in 22 years, following a proverbial two-half performance.A one-point victory is nothing to sneeze at, but given that Scotland led by 27 points in the opening minutes of the second half, it wasn’t all good news.”I’ve played similar games against Scotland and we’ve lost,” he said. “That’s the most satisfying thing, we found a way to win with the support of the crowd. It shows how far we’ve come, being able to fight and win these games. It’s a bit like a monkey away from…

The 2024 US presidential election campaign, lacking any defining story to tell and with a prevailing lack of enthusiasm in a rematch of candidates in their eighth and ninth decades, last week settled on Taylor Swift – and an endorsement she may or may not make – as its defining obsession.On one side, expectations emanating from the Biden re-election camp were that the 34-year-old superstar would cast her influence over tens of thousands of Swifties their way; on the other, furious Republicans who at first sought to denigrate and wrap her in conspiracy theories, and later thought better of the…

Scotland won in Cardiff for the first time in 22 years, but such a seemingly historic opening rarely describes so fully what actually happened. It was an extraordinary display of breathless drama and skill in a sport that seems to be overflowing with drama and skill.It looked like Scotland had secured a historic victory within 40 minutes, and definitely within 43 minutes, when they were already leading 27-0, annihilating the inexperienced hosts for whom nothing clicked. Plan goes ahead. Then, just as the movie cuts away, the Welles kids throw caution to the wind. And, kids, it looks like they…

It was 1971 and I was standing on a dusty road on the Costa Blanca, Spain. I was with three travel-weary friends who were hitchhiking to a small fishing village for an epic reunion of travellers who had met at Oktoberfest in Munich the month before, and had agreed to meet up again in Calpe.As we stood under the Spanish sun, a black car pulled up. Inside was this strangely dressed guy in a beach hat with a charming smile. He asked where we were headed and when we mentioned the reunion, he said: “Hi, I’m Philip. Hop in, I’m…

A New Mexico man says a failed Republican candidate for political office hired him to carry out drive-by shootings at the homes of Democrats who refused to comply with false election-rigging claims.Demetrio Trujillo, 42, said in federal court documents filed Friday that he was hired in connection with a series of attacks by Solomon Peña, ·Solomon Peña ran for a New Mexico State Assembly seat in November 2022 but failed. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque said in a statement that Trujillo pleaded guilty to charges of election interference, criminal conspiracy and firearms-related crimes and could face years in prison…

Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this feature73 min: Scotland have the ball, for once, and work through some phases into the Wales half.72 min: Willem Dafoe, the A-list Hollywood actor, is pictured in the crowd. He picked a good match, presuming he doesn’t have a season ticket.72 min: Dempsey and Hepburn are on for Scotland. Crosbie needs treatment after what looks a high hit by Assiratti. O’Keeffe, again, says no foul play. There’s a sudden lull due to the injury after a manic 20 minutes of action. Scotland will be grateful for a break, and…

England won their opening Six Nations match in five attempts for the first time since 2019. It wasn’t like it didn’t cause the odd ripple of early alarm, especially as Italy led 17-8 at half-time, but tries from Elliot Daly and Alex Mitchell were coupled with George Ford’s 17 points finally kicked off what Steve Bostwick’s side were hoping would be a more productive campaign.As new captain Jamie George warned in advance, no one will assume the visitors’ performance was perfect. But on a glorious afternoon in Rome, squinting into the bright sunshine, we can see a team beginning to…

Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureFULL TIME: Newcastle 4-4 LutonThe teams never did add to those eight goals, the last of which was scored with 17 regulation minutes plus ten of added time to play. But you can’t quibble, can you. What a game!FULL TIME: Rotherham United 0-2 Southampton. … and so this is what the top of the Championship looks like now.FULL TIME: Preston 3-2 Ipswich. The Tractor Boys, so awful in the first half, made a game of it, thanks principally to their new signing Kieffer Moore … but it wasn’t enough.GOAL!…

wattUnder Zach Crowley, the ball is always Buzz’s court. His initial selection, with an average of 31, was a classic of the genre, although it was made while Ed Smith was wearing a light blue shirt during his tenure as England national selector. His first Test century – 267 against Pakistan in the eighth Test – was filled with carefree, glorious batting, but also with exciting risks. His subsequent England career was full of ups and downs, and it wasn’t just his dabbling in the Wainwright family that excited audiences.His game in Visakhapatnam could not have been better designed and…

It was just another routine day of inspecting shipping containers at the Port of Houston for US Coast Guard officer Ryan McMahon when he and his team thought they heard barking coming from inside one of the thousands of containers that surrounded them.“Oh, it’s scratching, dude,” one of the inspectors said on a video they recorded Wednesday morning as the team looked up at the container, stacked about 25ft (8 metres) in the air.A crane was used to bring it to the ground, and out popped a very sweet and friendly dog.“As soon as we opened it, we could see…