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ZURICH — Saudi Arabia was officially confirmed Wednesday by FIFA as host of the 2034 World Cup in men's soccer, giving the oil-rich kingdom its biggest prize yet for massive spending on global sports driven by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudi bid was the only candidate and was acclaimed by the applause of more than 200 FIFA member federations. They took part remotely in an online meeting hosted in Zurich by the soccer body's president Gianni Infantino. "The vote of the congress is loud and clear," said Infantino, who had asked officials on a bank of screens to clap their hands at head level to show their support. The decision was combined with approving the only candidate to host the 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host in a six-nation project, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay each getting one of the 104 games. The South American connection will mark the centenary of Uruguay hosting the first World Cup in 1930. The decisions complete a mostly opaque 15-month bid process which Infantino helped steer toward Saudi Arabia without a rival candidate, without taking questions, and which human rights groups warn will put the lives of migrant workers at risk. "We look forward to hosting an exceptional and unprecedented edition of the FIFA World Cup by harnessing our strengths and capabilities to bring joy to football fans around the world," Prince Mohammed said in a statement. FIFA and Saudi officials have said hosting the 2034 tournament can accelerate change, including more freedoms and rights for women, with Infantino on Wednesday calling the World Cup a "unique catalyst for positive social change and unity." "I fully trust our hosts to address all open points in this process, and deliver a World Cup that meets the world's expectations," the FIFA president said. An international collective of rights groups said FIFA made a "reckless decision" to approve Saudi Arabia without getting public assurances, and the Football Supporters Europe group said it was "the day football truly lost its mind." A fast-track path to victory was cleared last year by FIFA accepting the three-continent hosting plan for the 2030 World Cup. It meant only soccer federations in Asia and Oceania were eligible for the 2034 contest, and FIFA gave countries less than four weeks to declare a bid. Only Saudi Arabia did. The win will kick off a decade of scrutiny on Saudi labor laws and treatment of workers mostly from South Asia needed to help build and upgrade 15 stadiums, plus hotels and transport networks ahead of the 104-game tournament. Amnesty International said awarding the tournament to Saudi Arabia represents "a moment of great danger" for human rights. "FIFA's reckless decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without ensuring adequate human rights protections are in place will put many lives at risk," said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International's Head of Labor Rights and Sport." One of the stadiums is planned to be 350 meters (yards) above the ground in Neom — a futuristic city that does not yet exist — and another named for the crown prince is designed to be atop a 200-meter cliff near Riyadh. During the bid campaign, FIFA has accepted limited scrutiny of Saudi Arabia's human rights record that was widely criticized this year at the United Nations. Saudi and international rights groups and activists warned FIFA it has not learned the lessons of Qatar's much-criticized preparations to host the 2022 World Cup. "At every stage of this bidding process, FIFA has shown its commitment to human rights to be a sham," Cockburn said. The kingdom plans to spend tens of billion of dollars on projects related to the World Cup as part of the crown prince's sweeping Vision 2030 project that aims to modernize Saudi society and economy. At its core is spending on sports by the $900 billion sovereign wealth operation, the Public Investment Fund, which he oversees. "It's amazing. The infrastructure, the stadiums, the conditions for the fans and everything. After what I see, I'm more convinced that 2034 will be the best World Cup ever," Cristiano Ronaldo said in a recorded package posted on X. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has been part of Saudi Arabia's lavish spending on soccer — stunning the sport when agreeing to sign for Al Nassr in 2022 for a record-breaking salary reportedly worth up to $200 million a year. Critics have accused Saudi Arabia of "sportswashing" the kingdom's reputation. The prince, known as MBS, has built close working ties to Infantino since 2017 — aligning with the organizer of sport's most-watched event rather than directly confronting the established system as it did with the disruptive LIV Golf project. The result for Saudi Arabia and FIFA has been smooth progress toward the win Wednesday with limited pushback from soccer officials, though some from women international players. The steady flow of Saudi cash into international soccer is set to increase. FIFA created a new and higher World Cup sponsor category for state oil firm Aramco, and Saudi funding is set to underwrite the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States that is a pet project for Infantino. North American soccer body CONCACAF signed a multi-year deal with PIF, Saudi stadiums host Super Cup games for Italy and Spain, and nearly 50 FIFA member federations have signed working agreements with Saudi counterparts. Lavish spending by PIF-owned Saudi clubs in the past two years buying and paying players – including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mané – put hundreds of millions of dollars into European soccer. That influence could be key in talks to agree which months to play the 2034 World Cup. The November-December slot taken by Qatar in 2022 to avoid extreme midsummer heat is complicated in 2034 by the holy month of Ramadan through mid-December and Riyadh hosting the multi-sport Asian Games. Still, January 2034 could be an option — and likely better for European clubs and leagues —after the International Olympic Committee said it saw few issues in clashing with the Salt Lake Winter Games opening Feb. 10, 2034. The IOC also has a major commercial deal with Saudi Arabia, to host the new Esports Olympics. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm moving through Northern California on Thursday toppled trees and dropped heavy snow and record rain after damaging homes, killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in the Pacific Northwest. Forecasters warned that the risk of flash flooding and rockslides would continue, and scores of flights were canceled at San Francisco's airport. In Washington, nearly 265,000 people — mostly in the Seattle area — remained without power as crews worked to clear streets of electrical lines, fallen branches and debris. Utility officials said the outages, which began Tuesday, could last into Saturday. Meanwhile on the East Coast, where rare wildfires have raged, New York and New Jersey welcomed much-needed rain that could ease the fire danger for the rest of the year. The National Weather Service extended a flood watch into Saturday for areas north of San Francisco as the region was inundated by the strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land — this season. The system roared ashore Tuesday as a “ bomb cyclone ,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. It unleashed fierce winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes, killing at least two people in the Washington cities of Lynnwood and Bellevue. Communities in Washington opened warming centers offering free internet and device charging. Some medical clinics closed because of power outages. “I’ve been here since the mid-’80s. I haven’t seen anything like this,” said Trish Bloor, who serves on the city of Issaquah’s Human Resources Commission, as she surveyed damaged homes. Up to 16 inches (about 41 centimeters) of rain was forecast in southwestern Oregon and California's northern counties through Friday. The Sonoma County Airport, in the wine country north of San Francisco, received 6.92 inches (17.5 centimeters) Wednesday, breaking a record from 1998. In nearby Forestville, one person was hurt when a tree fell on a house. Small landslides were reported across the North Bay, including one on State Route 281 on Wednesday that caused a car crash, according to Marc Chenard, a weather service meteorologist. Rain slowed somewhat, but “persistent heavy rain will enter the picture again by Friday morning,” the weather service's San Francisco office said on the social platform X. “We are not done!” Dangerous flash flooding, rockslides and debris flows were possible, especially where hillsides were loosened by recent wildfires, officials warned. Scott Rowe, a hydrologist with the weather service in Sacramento, said that so far the ground has been able to absorb the rain in Butte and Tehama counties, where the Park Fire burned this summer. “It’s not necessarily how much rain falls; it’s how fast the rain falls,” Rowe said. Northern Mendocino and southern Humboldt counties received between 4 and 8 inches (10 and 20 centimeters) of rain in the last 48 hours, and similar amounts were expected over the next 48 hours, forecasters said. Wind gusts could top 50 mph (80 kph). Santa Rosa Division Chief Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal said 100 vehicles were stuck for hours in the parking lot of a hotel and medical center after a creek flooded Thursday afternoon. Emergency workers waded in thigh-high water. Some cars had to be towed after being flooded, but Lowenthal said a slight break in the rain could allow other vehicles to escape. A winter storm watch was in place for the northern Sierra Nevada above 3,500 feet (1,070 meters), with 15 inches (38 centimeters) of snow possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 75 mph (121 kph) in mountain areas, forecasters said. Sugar Bowl Resort, north of Lake Tahoe near Donner Summit, picked up a foot (30 centimeters) of snow overnight, marketing manager Maggie Eshbaugh said Thursday. She said the resort will welcome skiers and boarders on Friday, the earliest opening date in 20 years. “And then we’re going to get another whopping of another foot or so on Saturday, so this is fantastic,” she said. Another popular resort, Palisades Tahoe, is also opening Friday, five days ahead of schedule, according to its website. The storm already dumped more than a foot of snow along the Cascades in Oregon by Wednesday night, according to the weather service. Forecasters warned of blizzard and whiteout conditions and nearly impossible travel at pass level. More than a dozen schools closed in the Seattle area Wednesday, and some opted to extend the closures through Thursday. In Enumclaw, east of Seattle, residents were cleaning up after their town clocked the highest winds in the state Tuesday night: 74 mph (119 kph). Sophie Keene said the powerful gusts caused transformers to blow out. “Things were exploding, like, everywhere,” Keene told the Seattle Times. “Like the transformers over by the park. One blew big, it looked like fireworks.” Ben Gibbard, lead singer of the indie rock bands Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service, drove from his Seattle neighborhood Thursday morning to the woods of Tiger Mountain for his regular weekday run, but there were too many trees blocking the trail. “We didn’t get hit that hard in the city,” he said. “I just didn’t assume it would be this kind of situation out here. Obviously you feel the most for people who had their homes partially destroyed by this.” In California, there were reports of more than 21,000 power outages Thursday. Only 50 vehicles per hour were allowed through part of northbound Interstate 5 from 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Redding to 21 miles (34 kilometers) south of Yreka due to snow, according to California's Department of Transportation. Transportation officials also shut down a two-mile (3.2 kilometer) stretch of the famed Avenue of the Giants, a scenic drive named for its towering coast redwoods, due to flooding. About 150 flights were delayed and another two dozen were canceled early Thursday at San Francisco International Airport after hundreds of delays and dozens of cancelations the previous day, according to tracking service FlightAware. Parched areas of the Northeast got a much-needed shot of precipitation Thursday, providing a bit of respite in a region plagued by wildfires and dwindling water supplies. More than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain was expected by Saturday morning in areas north of New York City, with snow mixed in at higher elevations. “Any rainfall is going to be significant at this point,” said Brian Ciemnecki, a weather service meteorologist in New York City, where the first drought warning in 22 years was issued this week. “Is it going to break the drought? No, we’re going to need more rain than that.” Har reported from San Francisco, and Weber from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Hallie Golden and Gene Johnson in Seattle; Martha Bellisle in Issaquah, Washington; Sarah Brumfield in Washington, D.C.; and Michael Hill in Albany, New York, contributed.U.K. stocks higher at close of trade; Investing.com United Kingdom 100 up 1.38%CLEVLEAND — Shane Bieber's comeback with Cleveland has double meaning. The former Cy Young winner re-signed with the Guardians on Wednesday, a reunion that seemed unlikely when he became a free agent. However, the 29-year-old Bieber decided to stay with the AL Central champions after making just two starts in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. Bieber agreed last week to a one-year, $14 million contract. The deal includes a $16 million player option for 2026. It seemed like a long shot that Bieber, who is 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA in 132 starts, would return to Cleveland. He had turned down long-term offers in the past from the club, and it was expected he would sign with another contender, likely one on the West Coast. But the California native has a special connection with the Guardians, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. People are also reading... Bieber, who won the AL Cy Young in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, threw only 12 innings last season before lingering issues with his elbow forced him to have surgery. He is expected to join Cleveland's rotation at some point in 2025. A two-time All-Star, Bieber was named MVP of the midsummer event in 2019 when it was held in Cleveland. He has the highest strikeout ratio per nine innings (10.2) and third-highest winning percentage (.660) in the franchise's 124-year history. Bieber is one of just three Cleveland pitchers to start five season openers, joining Stan Coveleski (1917-21) and Corey Kluber (2015-19). While Bieber had some elbow issues in the past, he didn't show any issues before being shut down. He struck out 11 in six scoreless innings against Oakland on March 28, and followed that up with six more shutout innings at Seattle on April 2. Pitchers dominate Rule 5 draft DALLAS — Pitchers again dominated the big league phase of the Rule 5 draft at the winter meetings, comprising 11 of the 15 unprotected players who were picked Wednesday. The 121-loss Chicago White Sox had the first pick and selected 24-year-old right-hander Shane Smith from the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Smith was an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest when he was signed by Milwaukee in July 2021. The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder has gone 13-7 with a 2.69 ERA and 203 strikeouts over 157 innings in 19 starts and 54 relief appearances over three minor league seasons. There were 14 teams who made picks in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft of players left off 40-man rosters after several minor league seasons. Only Atlanta made two selections, after making none since 2017. Atlanta chose right-hander Anderson Pilar from the Miami Marlins with the 11th pick, and then took infielder Christian Cairo from the Cleveland Guardians with the 15th and final pick in the MLB portion. The 26-year-old Pilar was original signed by Colorado as a minor league free agent in 2015 and has pitched in 213 minor league games that included 17 starts. He is 28-20 with a 2.86 ERA. Teams pay $100,000 to take a player in the major league portion. The players must stay on the big league roster all of next season or clear waivers and be offered back to their original organization for $50,000. Six of the 10 players selected during the Rule 5 draft last December — five of them right-handed pitchers — remained last season with organization that selected them. Two of the four position players taken Wednesday by other teams came from the Detroit Tigers organization: catcher Liam Hicks and third baseman Gage Workman. Miami drafted second after Colorado passed making a selection, and took Hicks. Workman was taken by the Chicago Cubs with the 10th pick. Baltimore lost two right-handed pitchers on back-to-back picks, Juan Nunez to San Diego with the 12th pick before Connor Thomas went to Milwaukee. Hamilton wins Frick Award DALLAS — Tom Hamilton, who has called Cleveland games on the radio for 35 seasons, won the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting on Wednesday. Hamilton, 70, joined the team's broadcast in 1990, when he was with Herb Score in the booth and part of the coverage of their World Series appearances in 1995 and 1997. Hamilton became the voice of the franchise when Score retired after that second World Series. Hamilton will be honored during the Hall of Fame’s induction weekend from July 25-28 in Cooperstown, New York. He was selected the hall's Frick Award 16-member committee as the 49th winner. There were 10 finalists on this year's ballot, whose main contributions came as local and national voices and whose careers began after, or extended into, the Wild Card era. The other nine were Skip Caray, Rene Cardenas, Gary Cohen, Jacques Doucet, Ernie Johnson Sr., Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper, Dave Sims and John Sterling. Marlins send Burger to Rangers DALLAS — The Texas Rangers acquired slugging corner infielder Jake Burger from the Miami Marlins on Wednesday in a trade for three minor league players. Burger hit .250 with 29 home runs and 76 RBIs in 137 games for the Marlins last season, with 150 strikeouts in 535 at-bats with 31 walks. He started 59 games at third base and made 50 starts at first. Five days of service time short of being eligible for salary arbitration this offseason, he will be eligible next winter and can become a free agent after the 2028 World Series. Miami got infielders Max Acosta and Echedry Vargas and left-handed pitcher Brayan Mendoza. The acquisition of Burger comes about a month after the Rangers hired former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker as a senior adviser for baseball operations. Luis Urueta, Miami's bench coach the past two seasons, also was added recently to manager Bruce Bochy's on-field coaching staff for 2025. BRIEFLY WHITE SOX: Mike Tauchman is switching sides in Chicago. The White Sox announced a $1.95 million, one-year contract for the outfielder. Tauchman, 34, grew up in Palatine, Illinois, about 35 miles northwest of Chicago, and played college ball for Bradley in Peoria, Illinois. He spent the previous two seasons with the Cubs. TRADE: All-Star left-hander Garrett Crochet was acquired by the Boston Red Sox from the Chicago White Sox for four prospects. Catcher Kyle Teel, infielder Chase Meidroth, right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez and outfielder Braden Montgomery are headed to Chicago. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
A Missoula City Council committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a request from the Missoula Police Department to pay about $515,000 over the course of five years for 120 new Tasers and a bundle of add-on services, including an artificial intelligence software program that writes up to 80% of police reports. Missoula Police Chief Mike Colyer made the request to the city council's Public Safety, Health and Operations Committee. Colyer said the MPD has had a Taser program since 2001, when he was one of the initial instructors. Colyer gave two examples of how Tasers were used to avoid a potential use of firearms. A representative for Axon Enterprise Inc. demonstrates the company's TASER 7 on May 12, 2022, in Washington. In the first example, he recounted how he and another officer were once chasing a suspect on a stolen bike. "By the time we caught up to him, he had wiped out and he was getting a knife out of his coat," Colyer recounted. "We hollered at him to drop the knife." The suspect refused the orders, Colyer said. "We hit him with the Taser," Colyer said, noting that the man was immobilized by the electric jolt and subsequently detained without harm to anyone. "Often times I've wondered how that might have ended if we didn't have the Taser," Colyer told the city council members. "Our only other option was lethal force." In another case, Colyer said a student at a local school had charged a teacher with a pair of scissors. A school resource officer responded, and when he got there, the young man was holding a chair over his head. Colyer said the officer simply pointed the red laser dot at the student, which in police jargon is called "painting." "The young man looked down, saw the light on his chest, and put the chair down and it was over," Colyer said. "These are not just theories. There are dozens of examples of the value of the program." Colyer said the department has been offered to renew a contract with Axon Technologies for the Taser program. The five-year contract would cost about $103,000 per year. As part of the contract, the department would get 120 new T10 Taser devices. Colyer said they have double the range of the older models. Also, they work with a single probe instead of two probes. "The old models have to have two probes make connection, so if you miss one or you have a clothing disconnect, it's kind of useless," Colyer explained. "In the new one, you have two probes you can fire individually and the distance is twice as far. Time and distance are always our friend, and this new model provides that." Colyer said Axon Technologies has a "moonshot goal" of reducing officer-involved shootings in the U.S. by 50%. "They view the new T10 as a big part of that because of its advanced technology," he said. The contract will also give the officers an unlimited supply of training and duty cartridges. Because about 118 officers will have to train twice a year and deploy at least two in each training session, Colyer said that's a savings of about $35,000. The department will also be able to sell its older models to a company that repurposes them and sells them to private security firms. The department will also get access to four more virtual reality, three-dimensional training headsets. "That will allow us to do more reps for people," he said. The headsets will also be used for the Department's Citizen Academy, where members of the public can see what it's like to engage in a "use of force scenario." The contract from Axon also comes with software called Draft One. It's an AI (artificial intelligence) software that provides 80% of the initial report for an officer to work from. Colyer said that the software gathers data from body cameras and car cameras to write up the first part of a police report from an incident, thus saving staff time. "It creates basically the first draft of a report," Colyer said. "They estimate about 80% of the content is created for the officer. And then throughout the report it cues the officer to provide detail where needed." Colyer said the department is "testing and evaluating" the software right now. "I'm pretty cautious about AI and how that might look, but we will consider it," Colyer said. An article from MSNBC from late November about Draft One quoted several experts as being extremely skeptical about the software. It also quoted Axon's CEO as saying the software has built-in "safeguards" to prevent mistakes. Another tool offered by Axon is Fusus Real-Time Crime Software, which would allow the department to engage with private camera owners, such as banks, schools or private homeowners or renters. "Frankly we don't have the infrastructure to run that right now, or personnel or equipment, so it's not something that I'm considering right now," Colyer said. Colyer said it's cheaper for the department to take the bundle with all the add-ons from Axon rather than just buy the 120 new Tasers. The department will not have to pay the final year of its existing contract with Axon, which will save $70,000. City council member Stacie Anderson was supportive of the contract. "I know training is a huge component of what the police force does, and the more training you have and advantages you have the safer we all are," she said. "Both officers and the public. So definitely want to be mindful of this opportunity to provide more training." David Erickson is the business reporter for the Missoulian. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Business Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.None
The Israeli Justice Ministry made the announcement in a message late on Thursday, saying the investigation would focus on the findings of a recent report by the Uvda investigative programme into Sara Netanyahu. The programme uncovered a trove of WhatsApp messages in which Mrs Netanyahu appears to instruct a former aide to organise protests against political opponents and to intimidate Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial. The announcement did not mention Mrs Netanyahu by name and the Justice Ministry declined further comment. Earlier on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu blasted the Uvda report as “lies”. It is the latest in a long line of legal troubles for the Netanyahus, highlighted by the PM’s ongoing corruption trial. Mr Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of cases alleging he exchanged favours with powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies the charges and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt” by overzealous prosecutors, police and the media.
