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USWNT may have lost the battle over equal pay but they will win the war

The US women’s team have lost their lawsuit over equal pay but they continue to make progress in the court of public opinion

This isn’t how the fight for equal pay is supposed to end for the US women’s national team.

On Friday a US district court judge rejected the USWNT’s allegations of gender discrimination and ruled in favor of the US Soccer Federation, declaring that the team have not been underpaid.

Related: Joe Biden wades into equal pay dispute between USWNT and US Soccer

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Why is it always the white NFL players who get a second chance?

In the NFL, weaponizing victimhood hurts black players while favoring white ones

Rare is the NFL draft that provokes second guessing about a kicker. But this year’s edition was no ordinary draft (see: 19, Covid.) And Justin Rohrwasser is no ordinary kicker.

When the New England Patriots selected Rohrwasser in the fifth round to replace the legendary Stephen Gostkowski, it was a shock, especially as the 23-year-old hadn’t been considered an exceptional talent in college. ESPN host Trey Wingo was even forced to admit on live TV that the Worldwide Leader in Sports had no highlights of Rohrwasser’s career.

Related: If athletes like Nick Bosa support Trump they should at least be honest

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Heavily restricted NBA practices expected to resume on Friday

NBA teams are expected to get the go-ahead to reopen practice facilities for limited use as early as Friday, less than two months after the coronavirus outbreak forced the suspension of the season.

With head and assistant coaches barred and scrimmages forbidden, the workouts are unlikely to resemble business as usual for the NBA but would nonetheless be a step towards normalcy for a league whose season was upended in dramatic fashion in March.

Related: My favourite game: Iverson stuns Kobe's Lakers in the 2001 NBA finals | Bryan Armen Graham

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NFL great Brett Favre to repay $1.1m he received for speeches he didn't make

  • State auditor says Favre will repay money for no-show speeches
  • Hall of Fame quarterback faces no criminal charges after report

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre is repaying $1.1m in welfare money that he received for multiple speeches where he did not show up, the Mississippi state auditor said Wednesday.

Auditor Shad White said his office received $500,000 from Favre on Wednesday, plus a commitment that Favre will repay the other $600,000 in installments over the next few months.

Related: NFL tells teams to have facility reopening protocols in place by next week

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Ravens' Earl Thomas held at gunpoint by wife over alleged affair, police say

The lawyer for the wife of Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas said she is being subjected to an “unfounded ongoing investigation” by Texas police after she allegedly pointed a gun at her husband’s head upon finding him in bed with another woman last month.

According to a police affidavit, Nina Thomas tracked down her husband at a short-term rental home in Austin in the early morning hours of 13 April and found him and his brother, Seth, in bed with two women.

Related: NFL 2020 schedule: Chiefs kick off title defense against Texans in season opener

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How the Environment Has Changed Since the First Earth Day 50 Years Ago

It's been 50 years since the first Earth Day, and while progress has been made in some areas, humanity still has had a major impact on the planet.




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Sausage surprise! 10 unexpected ways to cook with bangers and frankfurters

Lockdown Britain has embraced the sausage, with sales up 33%. But there’s much more you can do with them than fry-ups, sandwiches and casseroles

When you Google famous quotes about sausages (say you need an opener for an article), one of the first comes from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who apparently once said: “Sausages are just funny. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it.”

Waller-Bridge is not wrong. Sausages are inherently funny. But their comedic value is also what holds them back. In the kitchen, no one takes sausages seriously. You very rarely see anyone serving sausages on Come Dine With Me; it would be an act of self-sabotage. You cannot win with sausages. They’re a culinary joke, unrefined, a bit naff.

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The two Angus Taylor scandals that won't go away

In the past year Australia’s energy minister has been swept up in two scandals. The past week has brought developments in both. Anne Davies explains what questions he has yet to answer

You can read Lisa Cox’s and Anne Davies’ latest updates on the Jamland grass poisoning here and more on the doctored document saga here.

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Dancing in the streets: VE Day celebrations in 1945 - in pictures

A selection of archive photographs to mark the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day

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Asic looking at new investment product offered by Dunk Island developer Mayfair 101

Corporate watchdog’s move comes after a court earlier banned Mayfair 101 from advertising two other products

The corporate watchdog is looking into a new investment product issued by Mayfair 101, the group that has bought the cyclone-ravaged Dunk Island resort, after alleging in court that it had misled people by comparing its previous offerings to bank term deposits.

On Thursday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission issued a general warning against advertisements that compare fixed-interest products to bank term deposits as part of a broader crackdown on potentially misleading marketing by investment groups.

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NSW police watchdog says strip searches illegal but critics say findings ‘did not go far enough’

A 16-year-old Aboriginal boy was forced to remove his shorts and squat during a search, but disciplinary action has not been recommended

A New South Wales police watchdog investigation into seven strip searches including one in which a 16-year-old Aboriginal boy was physically forced to remove his shorts and squat has found that all of them were unlawful.

But the watchdog has been criticised for “not going far enough” in its findings, with Sarah Crellin, a principal solicitor at the Aboriginal Legal Service, saying she was “deeply disappointed that there have been no recommendations for disciplinary action” against individual officers.

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Brian May taken to hospital after tearing buttock muscles while gardening

Queen guitarist says ‘I won’t be able to walk for a while’ after injury during lockdown and lambasts Boris Johnson over coronavirus

Brian May has complained of “relentless pain” after he was taken to hospital following a gardening injury that tore muscles in his buttocks – and, while in recovery, made a sustained attack on Boris Johnson’s preparedness for coronavirus.

Writing on Instagram, the Queen guitarist said: “I managed to rip my gluteus maximus to shreds in a moment of overenthusiastic gardening. So suddenly I find myself in a hospital getting scanned to find out exactly how much I’ve actually damaged myself. Turns out I did a thorough job – this is a couple of days ago – and I won’t be able to walk for a while … or sleep, without a lot of assistance, because the pain is relentless.”

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Desperate times call for desperate measures: how far sport will go to resume play | Scott Heinrich

From hosting the remainder of the Premier League season in Perth to the UFC Fight Island concept, ideas have ranged from bold to crazy

“When you’re going through hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill might not have had the coronavirus pandemic in mind when trotting out that particular gem, but trust him to find the right words almost a century before the fact. The Churchillian equivalent of “keep calm and carry on” is a mantra embraced by much of society right now, and sport is no different.

While health remains the primary concern in all walks of life, sporting bodies the world over have found themselves engaged in sessions of radical thinking to stave off looming economic ruin. In what predicament other than a global crisis could the term “NRL Island” be anything other than a genius concept for reality television?

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Friday the 13th at 40: the maligned slasher that's haunted pop culture

The morality brigade loathed the hit teen horror on release but hockey mask-wearing villain Jason Voorhees has been with us ever since

Before production on the teen slasher A Long Night at Camp Blood had even started, before a final draft of the screenplay had even been submitted, thirtysomething writer-producer-director Sean S Cunningham decided to make an audacious statement. Not only would he use an advert in the industry paper Variety to confirm an inarguably ingenious title change but he would also use it to declare that his next film would be the most terrifying ever made, after a decade that saw The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Last House on the Left (which he also produced), The Exorcist and Halloween.

Related: Final Destination at 20: the bleakest teen horror film ever made?

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Helen Garner: 'I may be an old woman, but I'm not done for yet'

In this extract from her Griffith Review essay the author wrestles with ageing and the deep need to keep writing

Why did they ask me for an essay about stopping writing? And why did I say yes? Did I tell someone I’d stopped? Have I stopped? I could, if I wanted to, couldn’t I? I’m 77 and I’m pretty tired. And lately I think I’ve copped what the French call “un coup de vieux”: a blow of old. I’ve got arthritis in my left wrist, my right knee gives twinges, and my left foot sometimes aches and stabs all day. Other days, nothing hurts at all. I don’t know what this means.

I am an old woman.

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'It's a really weird realisation': when cancelled holidays come with silver linings

From accidentally making money due to currency fluctuations, to paying down debt, for some Australians cancelled overseas trips have had surprising windfalls

From June 2018 to June 2019, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says Australians made a record 11.3 million trips overseas – double the number of trips just 10 years ago. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of Australians have been forced to cancel or alter their international travel plans.

This has left many Australians struggling to get refunds from travel providers. Flight Centre was charging $300 in processing fees per person, in some cases leading to fees that cost more than the value of the refund, until the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission stepped in and threatened legal action, causing the company to waive fees for trips cancelled by travel providers. The ACCC also warned travel providers against retroactively changing their cancellation policies after tour companies including Topdeck and Intrepid attempted to retrospectively apply updated refund policies that would force customers to take credit rather than cash for cancelled trips.

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Already in this crisis we are slipping into over-optimism about the economy and over-pessimism about debt | Wayne Swan

Deep recessions have long shadows and already there is a gaping hole opening up in our pandemic response

The great recession was followed by Brexit, the election of Donald Trump and the rise of authoritarianism particularly in Europe.

Big economic events have big political consequences.

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Take care with physical distancing on Mother's Day, Australia's deputy chief medical officer says

Paul Kelly warns people over 70 and with existing diseases are at high risk from coronavirus as pandemic restrictions ease

The deputy chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, is warning people to take care if visiting mums on Mother’s Day, as frictions emerge over the lockdown in Victoria.

In some states, authorities are allowing people to pay family visits on Sunday as coronavirus pandemic restrictions are eased, but Kelly has restated warnings that people over 70 and with existing chronic diseases are at high risk from coronavirus.

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Experts agree this hurricane season will be above-average, maybe even extremely active

Hurricane season is fast approaching and it is likely to be active -- maybe even an extremely active -- season.




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Kate Garraway says husband Derek Draper is 'still very ill' in intensive care as she speaks of 'torture' over 'horrific virus'

"I am very aware that I'm not the only one going through this torture" Read our live coronavirus updates HERE




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Tim Brooke-Taylor dead: Goodies co-stars lead tributes as actor dies aged 79 after contracting coronavirus

Bill Oddie hails Brooke-Taylor as 'true visual comic' Stephen Fry, Rob Brydon and Jack Dee also pay tribute Brooke-Taylor joins public figures to have died after contracting Covid-19 Read our live coronavirus updates HERE




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Dynamo says he's 'definitely through the worst' after coronavirus diagnosis

Coronavirus: the symptoms




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Bill Oddie remembers his friend and comedy partner Tim Brooke-Taylor in touching tribute

The comedian's death was announced over the weekend




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Liam Payne drops biggest hint yet that One Direction will reform for 10-year anniversary

The singer said the milestone would be a "very special moment".




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Ben Fogle's idea for the Queen's birthday hasn't exactly gone down well

The TV presenter has united the nation – though not in the way he hoped to




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Love Island's Mike Boateng admits he lied to take day off from police force

The incident took place in December 2018




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Lazy Town actress who played Stephanie becomes a TikTok sensation after posting videos in *that* pink costume

The actress has resurfaced as a TikTok star




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Who plays Aadi in Coronation Street? Meet new actor Adam Hussain taking over from Zennon Ditchett

Hussain made his debut on Wednesday's show




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Margaret Qualley says environmental activism made her 'not popular' in school

The Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood star has praised teenage activists




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Victoria Beckham hosts 'virtual' 46th birthday party

The designer is inviting us all to her Instagram party




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Kate Garraway says husband Derek Draper is still in a 'deeply critical condition' in hospital

Draper is one of the thousands of people in the UK to have been diagnosed with coronavirus




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Ariana Grande covers Hercules classic I Won't Say I'm In Love in Disney Family Singalong

The 7 Rings singer sang all six parts of the classic ballad




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Taylor Swift cancels all appearances and live performances for the rest of the year

The singer has announced she will no longer be touring her Lover album this year




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Victoria Beckham shares adorable childhood snaps to mark her 46th birthday

The former Spice Girl celebrated her birthday with a throwback to her youth




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Katie Price says I'm A Celebrity stint was a 'holiday camp' compared to Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins

Price said her 'phobia of water' made things difficult during the tough course




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Peter Kay asks fans to help remake Amarillo video for Big Night In charity special

Kay's original Amarillo video featured an eclectic line-up of celebrity cameos




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Fans pay tribute to Avicii on the two-year anniversary of his death

They've shared messages of remembrance in honour of the DJ




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Sian Clifford: Phoebe Waller-Bridge ignored list of big stars hoping to play Fleabag's sister

The Quiz star says she still feels like she constantly has to prove herself as an actor




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Dawn O'Porter pays tribute to the late Caroline Flack: 'That laugh, That humour, That loyalty'

O'Porter and Flack were good friends




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Jennifer Lopez shares sweet birthday message for Alex Rodriguez's daughter Ella

J.Lo's future step-daughter has already ear-marked a very special item from the singer's wardrobe...




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Taylor Swift slams 'shameless greed' of former record label set to release album of her live performances

Taylor Swift has reignited a feud with her former record label, accusing it of "shameless greed" over a plan to release a live album she has not authorised.




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Kate Garraway shares update on husband Derek Draper's health as he remains in intensive care

"Where there is life, there is hope," Garraway wrote in her emotional post




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Gogglebox's Jonathan Tapper says weight loss helped him beat coronavirus

Jonathan Tapper says he "couldn't move at one point" and was "really struggling for breath"




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Captain Tom Moore tops the singles chart ahead of his 100th birthday

His rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone with Michael Ball is the fastest selling single of 2020 to date




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Who is Paul Mescal? Meet the Normal People actor playing Connell

Paul Mescal stars in the BBC's adaptation of Sally Rooney's acclaimed novel




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Julie Hesmondhalgh: I hope I wouldn't be offered role of Hayley Cropper today

Hesmondhalgh said she did a "decent job" of playing Corrie's first trans character - but would not take the part now




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Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid 'expecting first child'

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid are reportedly expecting their first child together.




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Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik relationship timeline: From how they met to their brief split and baby rumours

The couple have been on and off since 2015




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Simon Cowell wishes 'world hero' Captain Tom Moore a happy 100th birthday

The music mogul praised Captain Moore as "an inspiration"




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Jada Pinkett Smith says lockdown made her realise she 'does not know Will at all'

The actor made the confession on Red Table Talk