It seems what happened in Vegas actually stayed in Vegas.
Indeed, Bridesmaids writer Annie Mumolo—who co-wrote the 2011 movie alongside its star Kristen Wiig—spilled the behind-the-scenes process…
E! Online (US) – Top Stories
Author: alaskaadmin
France scored early, played through driving rain in Philadelphia, sat through a long weather delay, and simply controlled its game against Iraq for all 90 minutes. Iraq at times has played well but has now lost its first two games at the tournament as it has made continuous mistakes – first against Norway and now against France. Here are my takeaways: 1. Mbappé Shines In World Cup Of Stars The defining stories of this World Cup have yet to be written, but it would not be a surprise if this will be remembered as an international tournament where many of the sport’s greatest players all shined together. Earlier in the day, Argentina star Lionel Messi became the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with his 18th goal, but that record might not last for long with the way Kylian Mbappé has been playing. France’s all-time leading scorer opened the scoring against Iraq with a magnificent strike for his 15th career World Cup goal. He is just the fourth player to reach that mark, behind Messi, Germany’s Miroslav Klose, and Brazil’s Ronaldo. Then in the second half, Mbappé took advantage of another Iraqi blunder at the World Cup to score his 16th goal. The caveat is that Mbappé is still only 27 years old and could still have multiple World Cups ahead of him, and he might eventually become the tournament’s greatest ever player. This World Cup has been an incredible gathering of historic talent. Along with Messi and Mbappé, you have also seen multiple goals from Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah, and Harry Kane. That number will only increase as more teams begin playing multiple games. 2. France’s Other Stars Make A Splash Much of the attention surrounding this French team is on Mbappé as he now chases Messi’s scoring record, with both stars picking up right where they left off after the 2022 final. But Michael Olise’s contributions continue to be first-rate as he shows the world why he is one of the best wingers in the world for both France and Bayern Munich. In his last three appearances for France – going back before the start of the World Cup – Olise has three goals and two assists. Another big story for France out of Monday’s game was that 2025 Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé scored his first ever World Cup when he put France up 3-0. That was always a question when that burden would finally be lifted, and now it has finally happened. The potential now is that Dembélé is more relaxed and comfortable at the World Cup. That is bad news for any team hoping to stop Les Bleus. It is far from just Mbappé. His supporting cast, especially Olise and Dembélé, is world-class. They all showed it in this game. 3. No Issue For France After Rain Delay This game featured the first weather delay of the World Cup when a thunderstorm kept players in the locker room for over two hours. It raised the question of how the respective teams would respond. In this game, France responded very well. Iraq was likely content to only be trailing by one goal at halftime, and the first half took a lot of energy from Graham Arnold’s players to get to that point. France, meanwhile, was likely frustrated to have only one goal at that point. The long break saw the game revert towards how it was expected to be. France played very nice soccer in the early parts of the second half while Iraq did not look like the team that was keeping it close in the first half. France’s professionalism was apparent after the delay. France’s players refocused on the original game plan and returned to business as usual. For Iraq, the delay deflated the team’s excitement and momentum. 4. Mistakes Are Ruining Iraq’s Chances For the second straight game against a top team, Iraq committed an error in playing the ball out of the back with a shot goal kick. Against Norway with the score 1-1, Iraqi goalkeeper Jalal Hassan played the ball out wide to defender Zaid Tahseen, who then played the ball back to Hassan with Erling Haaland running down on him. It ended with a goal. Against France, Iraq made a goalkeeper change and went with Ahmed Basil Fadhil. But the same mistake happened as he passed it to Tahseen, who again hit a poor pass back to the keeper. This resulted in a Mbappé goal that put France up 2-0 and squandered any chance of an Iraq comeback. Playing out of the back is a risky strategy, but it becomes almost reckless when a team is not nearly as talented as its opponent. Arnold deserves a lot of blame for having this mistake happen twice on such a big stage. His team should have respected the talent of Norway and France and played it much safer. His teams would have been much better off.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
Forget the bombshells, as the popularity of Love Island (both the OG UK version and its across-the-pond sibling) grows, a whole new lexicon has entered the villa.
Because while even casual fans…
E! Online (US) – Top Stories
Meghan Markle feels as lucky as ever for her life with Prince Harry.
The With Love, Meghan host gave fans a heartwarming glimpse of their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, with…
E! Online (US) – Top Stories
(The Center Square) — A majority of American voters say the U.S. should remain in NATO, according to The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll.
Moshe Kasher is leaning on humor amid his cancer battle.
The comedian revealed he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer three months ago after he discovered a bump in his throat while working with Judd…
E! Online (US) – Top Stories
Alaska’s natural gas pipeline would largely follow the route of the existing trans-Alaska oil pipeline, pictured here, from the North Slope. Near Fairbanks, the gas line would split off toward Anchorage, while the oil pipeline continues to the Prince William Sound community of Valdez. (Photo by David Houseknecht/United States Geological Survey)
Businesses routinely offer discounts and coupons as enticements to get people to spend money, or to buy something they wouldn’t normally purchase if they had to pay full price.
It’s the same for the proposed Alaska North Slope natural gas pipeline project.
The dream has been around for almost 60 years, but no one has been willing to pay full price. So now, the Legislature and the governor are welded together in a political debate over just how much of a discount coupon the state should offer to get the project built.
The governor and the developer, a private company named Glenfarne, want a massive discount on property taxes. Without the tax relief, they say, the project will never get built and the state treasury and the public will be the losers.
The political fight isn’t so much whether tax relief is a valid incentive for the state to offer, but how much of a discount the state should offer and when it should expire.
There’s no question that even with the property tax relief the project would produce tax and royalty wealth for the state treasury, jobs for Alaskans and work for contractors. That’s similar to a grocery store that offers a big discount on milk or butter, knowing it will profit from everything else the shopper buys. It may take a discount on the heavy property tax burden to get the pipeline developer to make the purchase decision.
But no business issues coupons without an expiration date. The cost of goods change, economics and business plans change. Stores need the flexibility to protect their own interests.
The state needs to think the same as a supermarket and put an expiration date on its tax coupon so that lawmakers can change the terms up or down if the discount does not result in a sale.
The House version of the tax bill contains no expiration date. The Senate version says the coupon goes away if the developer does not start moving gas through the pipeline by Dec. 31, 2032. The governor’s proposal gives Glenfarne more than a decade to put the pipeline into operation, Jan. 1, 2037.
It’s similar to the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The House no-deadline is too weak; the governor’s 2037 deadline is far too rich; the Senate option is just the right temperature.
Besides, based on past public statements by Glenfarne and the governor, getting the first gas flowing through the pipeline by 2032 should be easy.
The company in January issued a public statement that it was targeting “mechanical completion” of the line by the end of 2028 and first gas flows in 2029. The governor has talked about gas moving in 2028 or 2029. Yet now both the governor and Glenfarne say a 2032 expiration date on the tax coupon is unreasonable and would kill the project.
They never said they might need until 2032 when they were overselling and overpromoting the project to the public over the past year.
Besides, the venture already faces expiration dates. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorization to build and operate the project expires in 2030; Department of Energy approval to export U.S. gas overseas expires in 2032. Both expiration dates allow regulators to take a new look at the project, its environmental impacts and the market before granting an extension.
The state deserves the same. If the company does not commit to build and put the line into operation by the just-right deadline in the Senate version, the state should have the right to cancel the coupon and reconsider how much of a discount is in Alaska’s best interests.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.
(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump is set to return to Pennsylvania for the first time this year when he delivers remarks at Mack Trucks in Macungie on Tuesday afternoon.
Anchorage Police have identified Officer Kaden Pohl as the officer involved in a deadly Walmart shooting on the Old Seward Highway. The incident began during a shoplifting arrest and escalated when a suspect fired on officers.
Thousands of lightning strikes over the weekend sparked 53 new wildfires across Alaska, according to the Division of Forestry and Fire Protection. One of those fires, the Starry Fire near Anderson, prompted an evacuation order from the Denali Borough. Officials…