Walcott’s England snub just bizarre Defoe’s 14 Premier League goals this season earned him a place in Southgate’s 26-man squad for matches against Germany and Lithuania, with fellow strikers Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and Daniel Sturridge all unavailable. But when Southgate tried to let Defoe know the good news, the 34-year-old did not initially realise who was messaging him. “It was funny because on the iPhones,it pops up on the screen, but you don’t see the full message,” he told Sunderland’s official website....

“It became a hymn to my younger self,” he tells Newsweek, “being a fan, and how maybe that young boy that I was has never left me. I sat at the piano, and something comes and you get a reverie. And in walks this 13-year-old kid so full of enthusiasm, couldn’t wait to go and see a band full of anticipation, just in love with his heroes in music. And it was me and I started writing about him....

A gastritis diet may be recommended to ease symptoms of an acute (sudden) gastritis attack or manage more persistent bouts of gastritis, often related to a chronic condition such as pernicious anemia. The key to the gastritis diet is avoiding acidic and spicy foods and eating low-acid, low-sugar foods instead. This article explains the gastritis diet, what you eat, and what foods you should avoid. This article also discusses other ways to manage gastritis symptoms and prevent complications....

Newsom, a Democrat, called the Republican congresswoman out during a Monday news conference in which he announced state employees would be required to either get vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide proof of a negative test each week. Newsom said his state is experiencing a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” as new case numbers continue rising throughout the U.S. In California, state data shows about 62 percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated against the virus and more than 9 percent of residents have received at least one vaccine dose....

The program will set aside two million $50 gift cards for anyone 12 years or older who gets newly and fully vaccinated. The program seeks to distribute all the cards before June 15 so that the entire state may reopen for business by then. Additionally, on Friday, June 4 and Friday, June 11, the state will conduct drawings to award $50,000 to 30 individuals who’ve already received one dose of the vaccine....

In July, PlumpJack Management Group LLC, Newsom’s winery and hospitality company, reported receiving a loan worth between $150,000 and $350,000 through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program. However government figures released last week show the true figure given to nine businesses affiliated with Plumpjack stands at nearly $2.9 million. Sean Moulton, senior policy analyst at independent watchdog Project On Government Oversight, which tracks $1.6 trillion in pandemic relief spending, the largest tranche of which has been spent through the SBA programme, singled out PlumpJack for particular attention....

The on-stage ceremony was officiated by the play’s co-writer Bob Martin, who got ordained online for the occasion. “You have to help me through this, I’m very nervous” Martin told the couple on stage. “You have the easy part.” In their vows, written by Harper, the brides agreed to commit their lives to each other: “I promise to honor and care for you, to cherish and encourage you and to love you completely you through all experiences of our lives....

Mylinda Mason is one of the organizers of a straight pride rally being organized in Modesto at the end of August. Her son, Matthew Mason, says he will address the Modesto city council next week and ask for them to deny a rally permit. “We don’t want hate in Modesto,” he told the Modesto Bee. “I am making sure Modesto is not a place for hate speech.” Matthew, 28, is also helping to plan a candlelight vigil before the council meeting....

What transpires within the American Center’s new walls also raises the stakes far above the American pop music that seems to saturate every public place in France. The private, nonprofit American Center was founded in 1931 for cultural exchange – and as a place for the American colony to social-ize during Prohibition without hanging out in cafes drinking wine. Since the ’60s, the center has been a flash point for contemporary American art, dance and music, with workshops, visiting artists and performances....

Around the same time came an anniversary of a different sort: Aug. 10 marked 487 years since one of the most important explorers of our world, Ferdinand Magellan, set out from Spain with five ships to circumnavigate the Earth. After an epic voyage across the Atlantic, down the eastern coast of South America through what we now call the Strait of Magellan and across the Pacific Ocean, Magellan was killed in April 1521 during a battle with natives on Mactan Island in the Philippines....

Haas built a machine tool-building company from the ground up in California, a company that he said does over a billion dollars a year in revenues. He also built a NASCAR race team from the ground up, one that earned a Sprint Cup championship in 2011 with driver and co-owner Tony Stewart. The 61-year-old part-racer, part-businessman talked Monday about his plans for Haas Formula, which he hopes will field two cars in 2015....

George retweeted a video of several world leaders seemingly mocking Trump at a reception during the NATO summit for consistently being late and engaging in behavior that flummoxes his team. He pointed to it as evidence that the American president is the “laughingstock of the planet.” “The world thinks you are an incompetent, ignorant, dumb, deranged buffoon—and they are right. And you prove it to them every day,” George wrote on Twitter....

During an interview with MSNBC, Carter was asked about the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged in Floyd’s death, and what he thinks the impact of it being televised will be. “My hope is that the world gets to see that right here in Minnesota, our criminal justice system works; that right here in Minnesota, we can hold someone accountable,” Carter said. “My hope is that this trial marks a turning point in which we as a country choose a different path....

In an interview with Bleacher Report, Gervin addressed the subject, adding in a little detail that many glossed over — Gervin scored 33 points in 12 minutes without a 3-point line. It’s a significant statement when one considers the fact that Thompson was 9-of-9 on 3-pointers in the quarter, including 13-of-13 overall. MORE: Curry’s insane pass to Lee | Source: Raptors ‘absolutely not’ trading Ross | Midseason rookie rankings...

IBF, WBA and WBO champion Kambosos will take on WBC king Haney at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on June 5, with both looking to become the division’s first undisputed champion in the four-belt era. Australia’s Kambosos effectively managed to lure former champion Teofimo Lopez into an emotional fight when he took his belts back in November and the 28-year-old appears set to try similar tactics on Haney. During the press conference in which Haney and his father, Bill, called in from Las Vegas, Kambosos prodded the 23-year-old several times....

“Our colleague was a great American statesman and a true patriot in every sense of the word. He will be remembered in history as a man who made the world a better place,” said Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State and current director of the Hoover Institution, in a release sent to Newsweek. Shultz held three different cabinet positions under former President Richard Nixon, including Treasury secretary, director of Management and Budget, and Labor secretary....

Only two ballots had mismatched signatures out of the 15,118 ballots reviewed. One ballot was “mistakenly signed by the elector’s spouse,” and the other problem was that the voter signed only the front of the ballot envelope. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement Tuesday that his office has “always been focused on calling balls and strikes in elections, and in this case, three strikes against the voter fraud claims and they’re out....

The state GOP’s “Election Confidence Task Force’ was headed by party chairman David Shafer. The task force released its 10-page report on Monday and it has already proven controversial. Georgia voters chose President Joe Biden in November 2020, in what had previously been a deep red state. He was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win there since 1992. The following January, the Peach State elected two Democratic senators....

Cuties, a French independent film, follows an 11-year-old girl who views her acceptance into a dance group as a way to escape her poverty-stricken surroundings. Promotional materials for the film’s American release on Netflix, which showed the young cast members in dance outfits, drew concern that the film could contain graphic material. Some Republicans have asked the Department of Justice to investigate Netflix on the grounds of being potentially complicit with the production of child pornography....

Former preacher Jeff Martin, 52, has urged people to wear masks and maintain social distancing after initially believing that his partner Lisa, 49, was “buying into the hype” of the novel coronavirus by following official health guidelines, People reported. “I do [take the disease seriously] now—that’s for sure,” the Blackshear resident told the publication, adding that he had likely brought the virus “home from work.” Lisa Martin was admitted to Memorial Satilla Health with complications from COVID on September 27, 2020, and spent a total of 59 days on a ventilator....