A spokesperson for the proposed group, which is set to be officially established on March 20, has told Goal that 30 per cent of the country’s 125 NPL clubs have already committed to joining since an exploratory meeting on Monday. Those clubs are from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. FFA released a statement on Wednesday revealing it will meet with state federations, A-League clubs and the players’ union - Professional Footballers Australia - on March 14 to further discuss “the make-up of an expanded Congress”....

Allan Liska, an intelligence analyst at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, said that it’s very unusual for a politically-active group like the NRA to be singled out by ransomware gangs. Those groups usually also opt to target vulnerable technologies rather than organizations, he said. “It’s not likely that this was specifically targeted at the NRA, the NRA just happened to get hit,” Liska said. “You never know, though.” The files posted by the group, which calls itself Grief, relate to grants that the NRA has given out, the AP reported....

Theoretically, no one can enter this area. Approaching the town of Yasen, one passes warning signs with bright red clover-leaf symbols–symbols of radiation danger. The sign on the rusty tin booth standing by the road screams ENTRY FORBIDDEN! But the napping policeman can’t be bothered to halt the few cars that drive by. After several hours in the zone one’s mouth goes dry and one’s head starts to hurt. No birds sing in the eerie, unimaginable silence....

The Nuggets forward has agreed to a four-year, $50 million contract extension, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke Tuesday night on condition of anonymity because the team has yet to announce the deal. Denver had until Oct. 31 to negotiate a new contract for Faried or he would have become a restricted free agent next summer. Faried averaged a career-high 13.7 points last season, and he also grabbed 8....

In Denver’s overtime win over New Orleans, Jokic finished with 39 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes of action, making for his fourth triple-double of the season. He struggled from the 3-point line (0-for-3) and free throw line (5-for-9) but shot an efficient 17-for-23 from the field. Jokic did his best work down the stretch, scoring six points in the fourth quarter, followed by 11 points in overtime....

An arrest report shows Lawson is charged with driving 25 to 39 miles over the speed limit, careless driving and his second alcohol-related offense. According to the report, Lawson “stated that he was the subject of a previous DUI out of the state of Missouri.” MORE: Steve Kerr is 2014’s big winner | All-Star vote costs Kyrie big bucks The point guard previously pled guilty to underage drinking charges while playing at North Carolina in 2008....

A poll released Thursday by Gallup found that the percentage of U.S. adults identifying as other than heterosexual has risen to a new high of 7.1 percent—double the percentage the polling company recorded when it first asked the question in 2012. The poll found that Americans are increasingly embracing the LGBTQ label as younger generations come of age in a more accepting society. Joni Madison, interim president of advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement that the poll reflects society growing more inclusive while also underscoring the need “to codify legal protections against discrimination and implement LGBTQ+ inclusive data collection at federal, state, local and private levels....

National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union of registered nurses in the county, said its members will be protesting in front of the White House from 9.30 a.m. to “call attention to the tens of thousands of health care workers who have become infected with COVID-19” due to the lack of PPE. In a press release, the union said protesters— who will be practicing social distancing—will read aloud the names of nurses who are known to have have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus....

NXT Takeover Portland will bring six matches to fans of the black and gold brand, including four title bouts like the long-awaited match between Adam Cole and Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship. There are also two grudge matches featuring a couple of NXT legends in Johnny Gargano and Finn Balor, and two rising stars in Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai. Here are our predictions for NXT Takeover Portland....

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday the precautions officials once took for only the most severe storms could soon be implemented more often as climate change makes rainstorms and other weather events more severe. “We’re in a whole different world and we’re all going to now have to act very differently because this is not the world we knew,” de Blasio told CNN. “This is a kind of extreme, brutal weather that is a whole new ballgame....

Muge Ma, who sometimes goes by the name Hummer Mars, is accused of doctoring tax forms that were then submitted to several private banks in support of loan applications under the Paycheck Protection Program—created by Congress during the pandemic to sustain company payrolls and avoid layoffs. Despite claiming his two companies employed hundreds of people and had millions of dollars in monthly payroll obligations, Ma was apparently the only employee, according to an affidavit submitted in his criminal case by FBI Special Agent William McKeen....

Stringer-Cuevas was a grandmother, a former teacher of English and English as a second language in the Bronx and was the first woman to represent Washington Heights as a Democratic New York City Councilperson in the late ’70s. Stringer said of his mother, “She was a New York original. She was somebody who raised two boys as a single parent… She was tough and she loved the city, and she believed in government, and she raised us to believe in government....

“If I was still a cop, I’d probably be mad at me,” O’Neill said during a press conference announcing the news. O’Neill reiterated his statement later in the press conference, saying that if he were still a police officer, “I would probably not be happy,” about the decision. An NYPD administrative judge previously recommended that Pantaleo be fired, a decision O’Neill said he ultimately agreed with. O’Neill said Pantaleo’s firing was effective immediately....

A pesky young Democratic senator from one of the smallest states in the country was demanding the president do something about America’s growing drug problem. In the previous 15 years, regular drug use had skyrocketed to levels the country had never seen. “We need a drug czar, Mr. President,” Joe Biden could often be heard saying at meetings with Reagan officials. A central figure was needed, the future president argued, to coordinate the activities of more than a dozen agencies fighting drugs—from the Coast Guard to the Health and Human Services Department....

The Blue Jays have been eyeing Duquette to take over as CEO of the organization, but the current Orioles general manager’s contract doesn’t end until 2018. According to FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal, the two teams are not close to an agreement, but the talks indicate that Baltimore letting Duquette go is an option. Angelos painted a far different picture Wednesday in comments to The Baltimore Sun. The O’s have been to the American League playoffs twice during Duquette’s three seasons in Baltimore....

Gausman is the O's No. 2 prospect and has pitched well at Triple-A (2.08 ERA and 9.0 K rate) this season, a 4.85 walk rate notwithstanding. It's not clear at the moment if this is simply a spot start or if the plan is for him to stick around for a while. The Baltimore rotation owns a 4.26 ERA, a respectable figure 10 years ago, but one that ranks them 23rd in the league....

The prosecutor from the Simpson murder trial told Storm her team had enough evidence to convict the former NFL star many times over. MORE: Simpson’s mammoth celebrity comes into focus in ESPN documentary But Simpson’s race and fame (along with celebrity-worshipping judge Lance Ito’s desire to give his lawyers anything it wanted), combined to spring Simpson on October 3, 1995, Clark told Storm. Everybody seemed to ignore or forget that two people — Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman — were brutally murdered on June 13, 1994, she recalled....

So, it was no surprise they celebrated with a particular fervor after their team downing the Cavaliers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night. It was the Warriors’ first title since 1975. MORE: Warriors close out Cavs in 6 | It’s only the beginning for the Warriors 

James pled guilty on March 2 to one count of seditious conspiracy and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. He also filed a separate statement of offense in the plea. With this deal, all other charges against him have been dropped. According to U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta of Washington, D.C., James is now expected to fully cooperate with the Department of Justice (DOJ) during the ongoing investigation into the Oath Keepers’ role in the January 6 riot....

Among the highlights: MORE: The 2015 World Series, in photos — President Barack Obama called the Royals “one of the grittiest, most complete teams we’ve seen in a long time.” — He actually said “Hashtag Yosted” in reference to manager Ned Yost (This was definitely high on the list of Things You Didn’t Expect a Sitting President to Say.). — Obama took a good-natured shot at some players’ nicknames (i....