superkill

DENVER (AP) — So you're the most valuable player of that annual Thanksgiving Day backyard flag football game. Or played tackle football on any level. Or ran track. Or dabbled in basketball. Or toyed with any sport, really. Well, this may be just for you: USA Football is holding talent identification camps all over the country to find that next flag football star. It's “America’s Got Talent” meets “American Idol,” with the stage being the field and the grand prize a chance to compete for a spot on a national team. Because it’s never too early to start planning for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, where flag football will make its Summer Games debut. Know this, though — it's not an easy team to make. The men's and women's national team rosters are at “Dream Team” status given the men’s side has captured six of the last seven world championships and the women three in a row. To remain on top, the sport's national governing body is scouring every football field, park, track, basketball court and gym to find hidden talent to cultivate. USA Football has organized camps and tryouts from coast to coast for anyone ages 11 to 23. There are more than a dozen sites set up so far, ranging from Dallas (Sunday) to Chicago (Dec. 14) to Tampa (March 29) to Los Angeles (TBD) and the Boston area (April 27), where it will be held at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. The organization has already partnered with the NFL on flag football initiatives and programs. The numbers have been through the roof, with engagement on social media platforms increasing by 86% since flag football was announced as an Olympic invitational sport in October 2023 . The participation of boys and girls ages 6 to 17 in flag football last year peaked at more than 1.6 million, according to USA Football research. “We pride ourselves on elevating the gold standard across the sport,” said Eric Mayes, the managing director of the high performance and national teams for USA Football. “We want to be the best in the world — and stay the best in the world.” Flag football was one of five new sports added to the LA28 program. The already soaring profile of American football only figures to be enhanced by an Olympic appearance. Imagine, say, a few familiar faces take the field, too. Perhaps even NFL stars such as Tyreek Hill or Patrick Mahomes, maybe even past pro football greats donning a flag belt for a country to which they may have ties. Soon after flag football's inclusion, there was chatter of NFL players possibly joining in on the fun. Of course, there are logistical issues to tackle before their inclusion at the LA Olympics, which open July 14, 2028. Among them, training camp, because the Olympics will be right in the middle of it. The big question is this: Will owners permit high-priced players to duck out for a gold-medal pursuit? No decisions have yet been made on the status of NFL players for the Olympics. For now, it's simply about growing the game. There are currently 13 states that sanction girls flag football as a high school varsity sport. Just recently, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles helped pave the way to get it adopted in Pennsylvania. Around the world, it's catching on, too. The women's team from Japan took third at the recent word championships, while one of the best players on the planet is Mexico quarterback Diana Flores . “Could flag football globally become the new soccer? That’s something to aspire to," said Stephanie Kwok , the NFL's vice president of flag football. This type of flag football though, isn't your Thanksgiving Day game with family and friends. There's a learning curve. And given the small roster sizes, versatility is essential. Most national team members need to be a version of Colorado’s two-way standout and Heisman hopeful Travis Hunter. Forget bump-and-run coverage, too, because there's no contact. None. That took some adjusting for Mike Daniels, a defensive back out of West Virginia who earned a rookie minicamp invitation with the Cleveland Browns in 2017. “If a receiver is running around, I’m thinking, ‘OK, I can kind of bump him here and there and nudge him,’” Daniels explained. “They’re like, ‘No, you can’t.’ I’m just like, ‘So I’m supposed to let this guy just run?!’ I really rebelled at the idea at first. But you learn.” The competition for an Olympic roster spot is going to be fierce because only 10 players are expected to make a squad. The best 10 will earn it, too, as credentials such as college All-American or NFL All-Pro take a backseat. “I would actually love" seeing NFL players try out, said Daniels, who's also a personal trainer in Miami. “I’m not going to let you just waltz in here, thinking, ‘I played NFL football for five years. I’m popular. I have a huge name.’ I’m still better than you and I'm going to prove it — until you prove otherwise.” Around the house, Bruce Mapp constantly swivels his hips when turning a hallway corner or if his daughter tries to reach for a hug. It’s his way of working on avoiding a “defender” trying to snare the flag. That approach has earned the receiver out of Coastal Carolina four gold medals with USA Football. The 31-year-old fully plans on going for more gold in Los Angeles. “You grow up watching Usain Bolt (win gold) and the ‘Redeem Team’ led by Kobe Bryant win a gold medal, you're always thinking, ‘That's insane.' Obviously, you couldn't do it in your sport, because I played football," said Mapp, who owns a food truck in the Dallas area. "With the Olympics approaching, that (gold medal) is what my mind is set on." It's a common thought, which is why everything — including talent camps — starts now. “Everybody thinks, ‘Yeah, the U.S. just wins,’” Daniels said. “But we work hard all the time. We don’t just walk in. We don’t just get off the bus thinking, ‘We’re going to beat people.’” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFLLAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Andrej Jakimovski converted an off-balance layup with 8 seconds left, and Colorado handed No. 2 UConn its second loss in two days at the Maui Invitational, beating the two-time defending national champion 73-72 on Tuesday. A day after a 99-97 overtime loss to Memphis that left Huskies coach Dan Hurley livid about the officiating, UConn (4-2) couldn't shake the unranked Buffaloes (5-1), who shot 62.5% in the second half. With Colorado trailing 72-71 in the closing seconds, Jakimovski drove to his right and absorbed contact from UConn’s Liam McNeeley. He tossed the ball toward the glass and the shot was good as he fell to the floor. Hassan Diarra missed a 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer for UConn. Elijah Malone and Julian Hammond III scored 16 points each for Colorado, and Jakimovski had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Huskies led 40-32 at halftime and by nine points early in the second half, but Colorado quickly closed that gap. McNeeley led UConn with 20 points. UConn: Hurley's squad is facing its first adversity in quite a while. The Huskies arrived on Maui with a 17-game winning streak that dated to February. Colorado: The Buffaloes were held to season lows in points (56) and field goal percentage (37%) in a 16-point loss to Michigan State on Monday but shot 51.1% overall and 56.3% (9 of 16) from 3-point range against the Huskies. Hurley called timeout to set up the Huskies' final possession, but the Buffs forced them to take a contested 3. Colorado had a 28-26 rebounding advantage after being out-rebounded 42-29 by Michigan State. Colorado will play the Iowa-Dayton winner in the fifth-place game on Wednesday. UConn will play the loser of that matchup in the seventh-place game. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball .Ohtani wins third AP Male Athlete of the Year award

JAKARTA: Millions of Indonesians will head to polling stations on Wednesday (Nov 27) to elect 545 regional leaders across the world’s third-biggest democracy, an event analysts say will shape Indonesia’s political landscape over the next five years. Indonesians will elect 37 governors, 93 mayors and 415 regents after an official campaigning period that began on Sep 25 and ended on Nov 23. The candidates largely hail from two political factions: President Prabowo Subianto’s 11-party Advance Indonesia Coalition or KIM Plus, and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). A minority are independent candidates. For Mr Prabowo, the elections will likely determine how well his policies and programmes are implemented on the ground, which ultimately translates to his re-election chances when his term ends in 2029, should he decide to seek a second term. “If a (regional) leader comes from the opposition camp, then there is a high chance that region will not support decisions and programmes made (by the Prabowo administration) on a national level,” Mr Hendri Satrio, a political analyst from Jakarta’s Paramadina University, told CNA. For the PDI-P, the elections are a chance to make a comeback and stay relevant after its candidate Ganjar Pranowo – a former governor of Central Java – came in last in the presidential election with 16.5 per cent of the vote. Mr Prabowo won with 58.6 per cent of the vote in February while former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan was second with 24.9 per cent. The PDI-P, however, managed to secure the most votes in the legislative election held on the same day, Feb 14, and retain its title as the country’s largest party in parliament. “The PDI-P will fight very hard not to lose the regional election, particularly in provinces known to be PDI-P strongholds,” Mr Hendri said. Another former president’s shadow looms large. The election will be a test of Mr Joko Widodo’s king-making ability after he successfully helped his defence minister, Mr Prabowo, ascend to the presidency. Mr Prabowo’s vice-president is Mr Widodo’s eldest child Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Mr Widodo, known as Jokowi, was a member of the PDI-P before he decided to go against the party by not supporting Mr Ganjar’s presidential bid. Jokowi’s son-in-law Bobby Nasution is running for governor of North Sumatra against the PDI-P-supported incumbent Edy Rachmayadi. “QUICK COUNTS” COULD BE IN BY 6PM LOCAL TIME The polls will open from 7am to 1pm local time, after which votes will be tallied. Indonesia has three time zones. Independent pollsters and the country’s General Elections Commission will start compiling the results from 3pm local time. Vote-counting usually takes a few hours and Indonesians should know unofficial “quick count” results by around 6pm. The official results will not be out until one or two weeks later as they involve lengthy verification processes. Wednesday's regional elections come after a two-month campaigning period that saw candidates staging rallies, visiting impoverished neighbourhoods and lobbying community leaders and religious figures in hopes of tipping the odds in their favour. SCENARIOS THAT COULD EMERGE Experts say the populous provinces of West, East and Central Java – with 49.8 million, 41.8 million and 37.8 million people, respectively – will be key battlegrounds. Indonesians will also be watching the gubernatorial contest of the country’s biggest and most important city, Jakarta. The Jakarta governor position is considered one of Indonesia’s most prestigious political posts, with Jokowi and Mr Anies previously occupying the position. In the West Java gubernatorial race, the Prabowo coalition-backed candidate Dedi Mulyadi has been soaring in latest surveys, which suggest he may secure up to 71.5 per cent of the vote, far ahead of his three rivals. In East Java, the Prabowo coalition-backed incumbent Khofifah Indar Parawansa is predicted to beat two other candidates with around 55.1 per cent of the vote. The Central Java gubernatorial election is a tighter race, with various pollsters saying it could go to either Prabowo- and Jokowi-backed Ahmad Luthfi or PDI-P-supported former military chief Andika Perkasa. In a reflection of the stakes involved, Mr Prabowo endorsed Mr Ahmad on Nov 3 despite earlier pledges that he would remain neutral during the regional elections. In Jakarta, the PDI-P- and Anies-backed Pramono Anung is predicted to have a slight lead over the Prabowo- and Jokowi-supported Ridwan Kamil . If KIM Plus’ candidates win in most, or all of these battlegrounds, Mr Prabowo’s implementation of policies such as the free-meals programme is likely to be smoother. The PDI-P, however, will face an uphill battle to regain dominance. If the PDI-P and KIM Plus win their share of the key provinces, the power struggle between Mdm Megawati, and Mr Prabowo and Jokowi, is set to continue. The race for Jakarta governor will extend to 2025 with a run-off between the top two candidates, if no single candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the vote on Nov 27. GOVERNOR'S ARREST CREATES SHOCKWAVES; MANY VOTERS UNDECIDED The regional elections have been blighted in recent days by the arrest of Bengkulu governor Rohidin Mersyah and two aides for suspected corruption on Sunday. Rohidin is seeking re-election in the Sumatran province and is accused of extorting money from subordinates by threatening to remove them from their positions if they do not contribute to his campaign. He has been charged with extortion. Investigators seized banknotes in various currencies worth 7 billion rupiah (US$440,000) from the suspects, said Corruption Eradication Commission deputy chairman Alexander Marwata. Mr Alexander reportedly said Rohidin’s case reflected a larger trend of vote-buying ahead of the elections, and the commission has received other tip-offs. Rising cost of living, high unemployment and a dwindling middle class are expected to be top of voters’ minds when they cast their votes. For Jakartans, issues like the city’s crippling traffic, floods and worsening air pollution could be the deciding factor. “No one seems to be offering viable solutions to these problems. That’s why the number of undecided voters is high,” Mr Adi Prayitno, a political science lecturer at Jakarta’s Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University told CNA. Several pollsters put the proportion of undecided Jakarta voters at between 11 and 15 per cent. Meanwhile in West Java, undecided voters stand at around 17 per cent, with even higher figures reported in East and Central Java. According to two separate surveys conducted by Kompas newspaper this month, 22.8 per cent of voters in East Java and 43.1 per cent of voters in Central Java are undecided. Experts say the high figures could also be the result of election fatigue, which could translate to low voter turnout on Wednesday. The Indonesian General Elections Commission (KPU) is more optimistic. “Given the situation, there is potential for a decline in participation. Hopefully, the voter participation rate can reach 82 per cent,” KPU commissioner Idham Holik said on Saturday, as quoted by Antara news agency. The participation rate for February’s presidential election was 81.7 per cent.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers, meet your latest lobbyists: online influencers from TikTok. The platform is once again bringing influencers to Washington, this time to lobby members of Congress to reject a fast-moving bill that would force TikTok's Beijing-based parent company to sell or be banned in the United States. On Tuesday, some influencers began a two-day advocacy event in support of TikTok, which arranged their trip ahead of a House floor vote on the legislation on Wednesday. But unlike a similar lobbying event the company put together last March when talks of a TikTok ban reached a fever pitch, this year’s effort appeared more rushed as the company scrambles to counter the legislation, which advanced rapidly on Capitol Hill. Summer Lucille, a TikTok content creator with 1.4 million followers who is visiting Washington this week, said if TikTok is banned, she “don’t know what it will do” to her business, a plus-sized boutique in Charlotte, North Carolina. “It will be devastating,” Lucille said in an interview arranged by the platform. In an unusual showing of bipartisanship, a House panel unanimously approved the measure last week. President Joe Biden has said he will sign the legislation if lawmakers pass it. But it’s unclear what will happen in the Senate, where several bills aimed at banning TikTok have stalled. The legislation faces other roadblocks. Former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump, who holds sway over both House and Senate Republicans, has voiced opposition to the bill, saying it would empower Meta-owned Facebook, which he continues to lambast over his 2020 election loss. The bill also faces pushback from some progressive lawmakers in the House as well as civil liberties groups who argue it infringes on the First Amendment. TikTok could be banned if ByteDance, the parent company, doesn’t sell its stakes in the platform and other applications it owns within six months of the bill’s enactment. The fight over the platform takes place as U.S.-China relations have shifted to that of strategic rivalry, especially in areas such as advanced technologies and data security, seen as essential to each country’s economic prowess and national security. The shift, which started during the Trump years and has continued under Biden, has placed restrictions on export of advanced technologies and outflow of U.S. monies to China, as well as access to the U.S. market by certain Chinese businesses. The Biden administration also has cited human rights concerns in blacklisting a number of Chinese companies accused of assisting the state surveillance campaign against ethnic minorities. TikTok isn’t short on lobbyists. Its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance has a strong lobbying apparatus in Washington that includes dozens of lobbyists from well-known consulting and legal firms as well as influential insiders, such as former members of Congress and ex-aides to powerful lawmakers, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will also be in Washington this week and plans to meet with lawmakers, according to a company spokesperson who said Chew’s visit was previously scheduled. But influencers, who have big followings on social media and can share personal stories of how the platform boosted their businesses — or simply gave them a voice — are still perhaps one of the most powerful tools the company has in its arsenal. A TikTok spokesperson said dozens of influencers will attend the two-day event, including some who came last year. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about how many new people would be attending this year’s lobbying blitz. The company is briefing them ahead of meetings with their representatives and media interviews. Lucille, who runs the boutique in North Carolina, says has seen a substantial surge in revenue because of her TikTok page. The 34-year-old began making TikTok content focusing on plus-sized fashion in March 2022, more than a decade after she started her business. She quickly amassed thousands of followers after posting a nine-second video about her boutique. Because of her popularity on the platform, her business has more online exposure and customers, some of whom have visited from as far as Europe. She says she also routinely hears from followers who are finding support through her content about fashion and confidence. JT Laybourne, an influencer who also came to Washington, said he joined TikTok in early 2019 after getting some negative comments on videos he posted on Instagram while singing in the car with his children. Laybourne, who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, said he was attracted to the short-form video platform because it was easy to create videos that contained music. Like Lucille, he quickly gained traction on the app. He says he also received more support from TikTok users, who reacted positively to content he produced on love and positivity. Laybourne says the community he built on the platform rallied around his family when he had to undergo heart surgery in 2020. Following the surgery, he said he used the platform to help raise $1 million for the American Heart Association in less than two years. His family now run an apparel company that gets most of its traffic from TikTok. “I will fight tooth-and-nail for this app,” he said. But whether the opposition the company is mounting through lobbyists or influencers will be enough to derail the bill is yet to be seen. On Tuesday, House lawmakers received a briefing on national security concerns regarding TikTok from the FBI, Justice Department and intelligence officials. AP Journalist Didi Tang contributed to this report. This story was originally published on March 12, 2024. It was updated on December 23, 2024 to clarify a quote by TikTok content creator Summer Lucille.

Google and federal officials are battling it out over a proposal that the tech giant be forced to sell its popular Chrome web browser to restore competition to the online search market. The proposal , filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and several states this week, came after a federal judge ruled that Google maintained an illegal monopoly over internet search. The landmark decision opened the door to the current showdown over potential remedies that could reshape the tech giant’s multibillion-dollar business. As part of their proposed penalties, Justice Department officials also suggested the judge impose restrictions on Android, Google’s mobile operating system, to prevent it from favoring Google products. The Department of Justice says forcing Google to divest Chrome would create more competition and stop the search giant’s control over a “browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet.” Google pushed back, calling the request an “unprecedented government overreach” that would harm consumers and U.S. tech leadership. “This is to some extent a negotiating dance,” said George Hay, a Cornell University law professor and antitrust expert. “The DOJ is probably trying to get Google to be more cooperative in coming up with remedies that will fix the problem.” Here’s what you need to know: What are U.S. officials proposing? The Justice Department outlined for the judge several possible solutions in its 23-page court filing , including forcing Google to sell Chrome and potentially Android as well if the company does not adequately address its practice of requiring smartphone makers to use Google products embedded in Android. “The playing field is not level because of Google’s conduct, and Google’s quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired,” the filing says. “The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages.” The Justice Department wants to bar Google from entering into exclusive agreements with content publishers, as well as owning or acquiring any interests in search rivals. Publishers should also be able to opt out of having Google use their content to train artificial intelligence tools, under the proposal. And Justice Department officials want advertisers to have more access to data and control over ads that show up in Google search results. The Justice Department is trying to make consumers more aware of choices outside of Google, the world’s most popular search engine. Another potential fix includes requiring Google to display a “choice screen” on every Google browser when a user hasn’t selected a default search engine. What’s Google’s response? Google thinks the government’s proposal goes too far. Instead, the company thinks the government should focus solutions more narrowly on agreements it has with Apple, Mozilla, smartphone manufacturers and wireless carriers that require the companies to favor Google’s search engine over others. Kent Walker, chief legal officer at Google and its parent company, Alphabet, in a blog post called the government’s proposal a “radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and America’s global technology leadership.” Google opposes the idea that it should install “choice screens” on its browser and alleges that would hinder people’s abilities to use the company’s products. Will this affect the way I search online? Because Google’s punishment hasn’t been decided, it is too early to say how internet search could be affected. Antitrust experts said it depends on what remedies the judge in the case decides on and whether they withstand scrutiny by an appeals court. Some experts questioned whether any changes, even a forced sale of Chrome, would be effective in getting people to use other search engines. “It will still be there in some way, shape or form, but it may be more subtle in terms of the effects on consumers,” said Shubha Ghosh, a law professor at Syracuse University. It’s unclear who is interested in buying Google Chrome, which Bloomberg reported could be worth up to $20 billion. Could the Trump administration affect Google’s punishment? Possibly. President-elect Donald Trump has criticized Google over allegations that the search giant censors conservative speech, which the company has repeatedly denied. But Trump, who reportedly took a phone call with Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai after he won the U.S. presidential election, has also stopped short of saying he would break up the search giant. “It’s a very dangerous thing because we want to have great companies,” Trump said in an October interview moderated by Bloomberg News. “We don’t want China to have these companies. Right now, China is afraid of Google.” Hay said he doesn’t anticipate Trump will pull the plug on the case, but the Justice Department could soften its proposed remedies. What happens next? Google said it will file its own proposals next month. Court hearings on Google’s punishment are scheduled to begin in April. Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who is overseeing the case, is expected to make a decision on Google’s punishment by August 2025. The Associated Press was used in compiling this report.Giants' 10th straight loss showed once again that they need a young QBMonths after Pizza Hut in New Zealand offered customers a taste of the past with the brief return of their all-you-can-eat buffet, the brand has hopped into controversy with their offering in another market. The internet has reacted in shock after Pizza Hut China unveiled a pizza topped with an entire deep-fried frog. Ribbit. Global food trends watcher David Henkes shared an image of the ‘Goblin’ pizza to Twitter. The image, originally posted to Chinese social media site Weibo, shows the breaded amphibian lying on top of a bed of coriander and red sauce, complete with two large eyes made from a hardboiled egg and olive slices.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Alyssa Naeher ended her national team career with one last win. The stalwart goalkeeper made two critical saves in her final match for the United States, and the Americans beat the Netherlands 2-1 on Tuesday. “I definitely wasn’t thinking about it during the game, just wanted to win the game and do what I could to come away with the ‘W’ for us to close out the year,” Naeher said. Lynn Williams scored the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute for the U.S., which won its fifth Olympic gold medal in France this summer and wrapped up the year on a 20-game unbeaten streak. The Americans were coming off a scoreless draw with England on Saturday at Wembley Stadium. Naeher announced two weeks ago that the European exhibitions would be her final matches. The 36-year-old goalkeeper played in 115 games for the U.S., with 111 starts, 89 wins and 69 shutouts. Naeher is the only U.S. keeper with shutouts in both a World Cup and an Olympic final. She was in goal when the United States defeated the Netherlands 2-0 in the 2019 Women's World Cup final . “I feel like in my heart I would love to keep going. In my head, in my body and mind, I feel like it’s the right time. And I think it’s the right time with this team as well as it builds towards the future and towards 2027,” Naeher said. “This environment, this team, is an incredible team to be a part of, but it’s also really hard and really challenging in a lot of ways as well. “I feel like I’ve given everything I have to give for this team and that’s why I feel at peace with that.” The Netherlands took the lead on center back Veerle Buurman's header off a corner kick in the 15th minute. Naeher prevented a second goal when she punched away Dominique Janssen's shot in the 38th. The United States drew even at the end of the first half on an own goal that deflected off Buurman and past Dutch goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar. Naeher slid to stop Danielle van de Donk's shot in the 69th minute before Williams, a second-half substitute, scored her fourth goal of the year and 21st of her career. “I wouldn’t say that this was our prettiest game of soccer ever. And sometimes that’s how games go. You can talk about tactics, you can talk about formations, you talk about everything, but the biggest thing was matching their intensity. Getting to the second ball, getting to the first ball. That was the shift that needed to happen,” Williams said about the team's second-half mindset. Naeher finished with six saves. She is not quite finished with soccer yet: She will continue playing next season for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League. “She’s been consistent again and again. Even when she’s been questioned at times in her career, she’s always found the answer,” U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. “Not only has she been a great player in this program, but let me tell you, she’s so loved by everyone, players and staff alike. She is the best teammate you could ask for and that just speaks volumes to the person that she is.” Lily Yohannes came in as a substitute in the second half. Yohannes, who has dual citizenship, opted to play for the United States over the Netherlands last month. She plays professionally for the Dutch club Ajax. The U.S. finished the year without the trio of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith, who were left off the roster for the final two matches to rest and heal nagging injuries. The U.S. is unbeaten in 15 matches under Hayes, who took over in May. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer