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Cal had camping equipment and was talking about off-piste skiing. The culture in Canada is that if you work for a ski season it’s because you love skiing and adventure, whereas in my experience, in the French Alps there was more interest in going to parties. So, I was attracted to Cal’s adventurous spirit. From there, we started skiing together nearly every day. I was only supposed to be in France for a five month ski season, but I didn’t go back to Canada....

Concerning which, Michael Barone says, “We have been here before.” As when Benjamin Franklin, a worrywart, doubted that the Germans who were 40 percent of Pennsylvanians could be assimilated. It is generally wise to believe Barone, the author every two years of “The Almanac of American Politics,” and now of a new book, “The New Americans: How the Melting Pot Can Work Again.” To those who say that traditionally white-bread America has suddenly become multigrain, Barone says: Fiddlesticks....

Zidane was quick to state that his Real Madrid side should not lose focus despite the rampant form since restart of the La Liga. The French mastermind, extremely circumspect in his tone, also provided an update on his players’ physical condition and what challenges Getafe will pose at the Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid are presently a point ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona at the summit, with a chance to go four points clear should they beat Getafe later tomorrow....

Messi’s contract with Barcelona expires at the end of the season, which means he will become a free agent. PSG are said to be one of the clubs monitoring Messi’s contract situation and are hoping that Neymar can persuade the Argentine to join the reigning French champions. Neymar and Messi played together at Barcelona for four seasons, during which the club won two La Ligas, two Copa del Rey titles, and a Champions League trophy....

Messi offered Argentina fans a tantalising moment of brilliance with his goal as Jorge Sampaoli’s men beat Nigeria 2-1 to avoid a group-stage exit. Lloris, who earned his 100th cap against Peru before being rested for the match against Denmark, suggested France will take collective responsibility for keeping the Barcelona star in check, with a place in the quarter-finals on the line. “We are preparing to play in a last-16 game against Argentina, so we have to be at our top level,” he told reporters ahead of Saturday’s match....

Outside Netflix’s 13-story office in Hollywood, counterprotesters were heard chanting “We like jokes” and holding signs that read “Dave is funny” and “Jokes are funny,” as Netflix employees and some of their supporters shouted back “Trans lives matter.” The walkout is the latest development in the weeks-long fight inside Netflix. After Chappelle’s standup special, The Closer, debuted on the streaming platform and received criticisms over jokes targeted at transgender people, employees at Netflix raised issues that the company’s chief officers dismissed the backlash and remained steadfast behind Chappelle....

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi has an unusually poor record against Chelsea, failing to score in eight previous encounters with the reigning Premier League champions in Europe’s top competition. But Conte is not placing too much stock in the prospect of that record continuing and observed La Liga’s leaders can hurt opponents from all angles. Asked whether Chelsea would grant Messi any special attention, Conte replied: “This is a good question....

Future is bleak for abject Arsenal Alexis Sanchez is rumoured to have left training early last week following a row which led to him being left on the bench for the Gunners’ trips to Liverpool by Arsene Wenger. And despite Wenger denying the allegations, Walcott believes arguments are part and parcel of any football team, though he suggests the squad needs to be pulling in the same direction. “Things get taken out of proportion - we all know this,” he told the London Evening Standard ....

Then I moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 2013, and as I was driving through downtown I saw hundreds of people experiencing homelessness. I realized I had to do what I had been telling others to do for so long. I went home and posted on Facebook that I was going to go out every Sunday and provide soul food to feed people experiencing homelessness, and that people were welcome to volunteer....

Recently we sent over 100 pet carriers destined for Kharkiv. If you have ten cats, trying to stick them in your handbag isn’t an option, though I saw a woman who had a cat in her bra at the Ukraine-Poland border. I run the wildlife crime campaigns for Naturewatch Foundation in the U.K, but my colleagues had identified a need for basic veterinary care at the Ukraine-Poland border. I offered to organize some trips out to the Polish border town of Medyka to help get items to where they are needed....

Madrid’s campaign hit a new low midweek, sensationally upstaged by Leganes 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu and 2-2 on away goals in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. The result heaped further misery on Zidane, who is facing an uncertain future with Madrid 19 points adrift of runaway leaders and rivals Barcelona in La Liga. “I’m not a big fan of changes,” Ramos said post-match. “We are the first ones to stand up for Zidane....

Will Smith revealed how Jada Pinkett Smith’s relationship with the late iconic rapper Tupac Shakur led to 53-year-old feeling insecure. Smith wrote, He further added: In 2020, the King Richard star also commented on his insecurities about late 2Pac’s relationship with Jada. While promoting Bad Boys for Life, Will Smith was asked on The Breakfast Club if he was jealous of his wife’s past relationship with the rapper. Smith said:...

Researchers say Brazil’s Health Ministry data is incomplete and difficult to access. Municipalities and states are reporting issues uploading information to the ministry’s platforms and web pages supposed to be available to the public have been often shut down. Health Ministry officials are attempting to recover from hacker attacks on its system that occurred between Dec. 10 and Dec. 13. Gomes, of Fiocruz, a major state-run research institution, told AP that “You need a scenario of an entire municipality, an entire state, to be able to identify the situation adequately....

The Red Devils crashed to a defeat on penalties against the EFL Championship side in the fourth round of the FA Cup to exit the tournament on Friday. Rangnick revealed he was disappointed with the result, but reiterated that his side must move on and switch their focus to their next game. Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in the 20th minute for Manchester United before Jadon Sancho gave the Red Devils the lead just five minutes later....

While he didn’t go as far as goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who said he expects the Ticos to sit back like many teams that have visited the Estadio Azteca looking to hit on the counterattack, Mexico coach Osorio believes Costa Rica will hold firm Friday. El Tri attack weaker but strong enough Part of that is because of the Ticos’ attackers, including MLS standouts Johan Venegas of Minnesota United, Rodney Wallace of New York City FC and Cristian Bolanos, of the Vancouver Whitecaps....

WEYMOUTH: Why did you cancel your trip? SHARON: We are in a war here, a special kind of war. I have decided to continue with the redeployment of our forces. What might result is a situation in which terror bursts out. I want to be here to see how it develops… President Bush has been calling for an Israeli pullout from these areas. We didn’t intend to stay there. But we are facing terrible terror....

A German-educated engineer, Al Hassan has opposed military struggle and suicide attacks for decades. He was also once a vehement opponent of both Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and the Oslo accords that were supposed to bring peace to the region. Last October, however, Arafat named him interior minister–and the official responsible for overhauling Palestinian security forces–in a cabinet shuffle that followed strong American and Israeli pressure for Palestinian Authority reforms....

After the unexpected 25 run victory over the powerful Rajasthan Royals on Monday, Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma expressed confidence in his team by stating that MI is still ‘very much in the tournament’. “Although things didn’t go our way, we have to now keep moving forward. You never know what can happen; we are still very much in the tournament,” he said after the match that placed MI 6th on the points table....

Eriksen signed for Brentford during the second half of last season following his cardiac arrest at Euro 2020. The Danish star contributed a goal and four assists from 11 league appearances in the 2021-22 campaign. The Dane, however, was only given a six-month contract by Brentford and decided to snub the London outfit to join Manchester United on a free transfer this summer. His return to the Brentford Community Stadium was met with boos and jeers from the home crowd....

Now, we live in Calasetta, a beautiful town by the sea in the south of Sardinia, in front of San Pietro Island. In 2016, at the age of 64, I decided to stop working at the construction company I owned, and around that time, I learned about the “Case a 1 euro (1-euro houses)” project in a village named Ollolai. My family has been spending a few days in the Barbagia region every year, both for the fresh air and because we are able to travel from the coast, where we live, to the mountains in just two-and-a-half-hours by car....