WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s last-ditch plan to keep the federal government temporarily open collapsed on Friday as hard-right holdouts rejected the package, making a shutdown almost certain. McCarthy’s right-flank Republicans refused to support the bill despite its steep spending cuts of nearly 30% to many agencies and severe border security provisions, calling it insufficient. The White House and Democrats rejected the Republican approach as …

Texas public education leaders want legislators to fully fund their schools – so they can pay for teacher raises, safety upgrades and tools to combat learning loss – rather than invest in any voucher-like programs. This plea from superintendents and school trustees comes ahead of an expected special session focused on education funding. “We are in a position of no …

A man was fatally shot Wednesday in Red Bird, Dallas police said. Officers responded about 4:45 p.m. to the 3900 block of Gannon Lane, near South Westmoreland Road, where they found Pierre Jernigan, 36, shot outside an apartment. Jernigan died there, police said. According to a police report, he was shot by a resident while entering the apartment. Officers are …

Apple on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down an order requiring changes to its App Store rules stemming from an antitrust case brought by “Fortnite” owner Epic Games. The iPhone maker has been in a legal battle with Epic since 2020, when the gaming firm alleged that Apple’s practice of charging up to 30% commissions on in-app …

LONDON: Newcastle Uni­t­ed dumped Manch­ester City out of the League Cup 1-0 on Wedn­esday and drew a fourth round trip to holders Manch­ester United, who beat them in last season’s final, as their reward. Swedish forward Alexa­nder Isak broke the deadlock in the second half at St James’ Park after City dominated possession in the first 45 minutes but failed …

MADRID: Real Madrid bounced back from their painful derby loss with a 2-0 home win over lowly Las Palmas on Wednesday to overtake Barcelona and move second, but Catalan minnows Girona are the surprise La Liga leaders after after a 2-1 win at Villarreal. Real produced a comfortable victory with goals from Brahim Diaz and Joselu, while Brazilian winger Vinicius …

MELBOURNE: Marnus Labuschagne broke into Australia’s 15-member squ­ad for the 50-over World Cup in India at the last possible moment on Thursday on the back of his strong recent form while injured opener Travis Head was also included. Labuschagne had been left out of the provisional squad but strong displays in South Africa and the one-day series in India forced …

NEW DELHI: Off-spin­ner Ravichandran Ashwin replaced left-arm spinner Axar Patel on Thursday in India’s squad for the Cric­ket World Cup on home soil after he failed to recover from a thigh injury. The 37-year-old Ashwin impressed against Aust­ralia earlier this month, taking four wickets in two games as he returned to the ODI team for the first time in over …

KARACHI: Just a month ago, Pakistan were riding high as the world’s top-ranked ODI team and one of the favourites to win the World Cup in India. But a crushing 228-run defeat to arch-rivals India and a narrow two-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup have cast a shadow over their prospects. This unpredictability is a constant feature …

Athletes can wear a hijab in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games athletes’ village without any restriction, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Friday, days after France’s sports minister banned it for the host country’s athletes. The Olympic body also said it needed to better understand the situation in France and had been in contact with the French Olympic Committee …