PARIS — French voters are returning to the polls Sunday for the second and final round of municipal elections in over 1,500 communes.
The vote is a test of the balance of power on France’s local political map before the 2027 presidential race begins to take shape. It is also a measure of whether the far right can convert national momentum into control of major cities, where it has often struggled to break through.
The most closely watched contests are concentrated in major cities after a first round that left France’s traditional left and right competitive, the far right strongly placed in several urban races, and President Emmanuel Macron ’s Renaissance movement keeping a low profile in many of the most closely watched races.
After days of mergers, withdrawals and tactical deals between lists, three-way races remain common in the runoff.
Paris is one of the biggest prizes. Emmanuel Grégoire, heading a united left and green list, finished first in the opening round with 37.98% of the vote, ahead of conservative Rachida Dati on 25.46%, while La France Insoumise candidate Sophia Chikirou stayed in the race, setting up a volatile three-way contest.
Marseille is another marquee battle, where incumbent left-wing Mayor Benoît Payan led with 36.70%, only narrowly ahead of far-right candidate Franck Allisio on 35.02%, with Martine Vassal of the right also still in play.
In Lyon, the runoff is shaping up as a direct duel after ecologist incumbent Grégory Doucet took 37.36% in the first round, just ahead of centrist challenger Jean-Michel Aulas on 36.78%.
Toulouse will test the appeal of LFI in a large city after François Piquemal joined forces with the broader left to try to unseat conservative Mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc, who led the first round with 37.23%.
Other large-city contests will also be watched closely.
In Nice, Eric Ciotti led the first round with 43.43%, ahead of Christian Estrosi on 30.92%, highlighting a split on the right between Estrosi’s more mainstream conservative camp and Ciotti, who is aligned with the far right.
In Nantes, Socialist Mayor Johanna Rolland starts the runoff ahead of her right-wing challenger, while Bordeaux remains open after incumbent Pierre Hurmic topped a fragmented field.
The New Hampshire State Fire Marshal says six people were hospitalized after the floor collapsed at a wedding venue in Tamworth on Saturday evening. Fire Marshal Sean Toomey told Hearst sister station WMUR that a wedding ceremony had just begun when the floor collapsed, sending people falling into the basement. Toomey estimated the fall to be about eight feet. It is estimated that 150 people were in the building at the time. Toomey said about 70 people ended up falling or sliding into the basement when the floor gave way.This happened at the Preserve at Chocorua on Philbrick Neighborhood Road. The road remains closed. Tamworth is a small town in eastern New Hampshire, in the Lakes Region near the White Mountains. Six people were hurt. Toomey says one was flown to Maine Medical Center by helicopter with lower-body injuries. The rest appear to have non-life-threatening injuries. A spokesperson for Maine Health said they have received three patients by ambulance. Others were taken to other facilities, according to the spokesperson. As of 10 p.m. Saturday, Toomey said only two people remained hospitalized. Crews on scene saw multiple ambulances as well as a school bus. It is unclear what the school bus is being used for. The cause of the collapse is being investigated, but Toomey said there were probably more people in the structure than there should have been.”We’ll look at fire code and building code and evaluate that as part of our investigation,” the fire marshal said.In 2017, WMUR covered a fire at this same venue that destroyed a historic barn.
The New Hampshire State Fire Marshal says six people were hospitalized after the floor collapsed at a wedding venue in Tamworth on Saturday evening.
Fire Marshal Sean Toomey told Hearst sister station WMUR that a wedding ceremony had just begun when the floor collapsed, sending people falling into the basement. Toomey estimated the fall to be about eight feet.
It is estimated that 150 people were in the building at the time.
Toomey said about 70 people ended up falling or sliding into the basement when the floor gave way.
This happened at the Preserve at Chocorua on Philbrick Neighborhood Road. The road remains closed.
Tamworth is a small town in eastern New Hampshire, in the Lakes Region near the White Mountains.
Six people were hurt. Toomey says one was flown to Maine Medical Center by helicopter with lower-body injuries. The rest appear to have non-life-threatening injuries.
A spokesperson for Maine Health said they have received three patients by ambulance. Others were taken to other facilities, according to the spokesperson.
As of 10 p.m. Saturday, Toomey said only two people remained hospitalized.
Crews on scene saw multiple ambulances as well as a school bus. It is unclear what the school bus is being used for.
The cause of the collapse is being investigated, but Toomey said there were probably more people in the structure than there should have been.
“We’ll look at fire code and building code and evaluate that as part of our investigation,” the fire marshal said.
Amazon is investing $4 billion to push two-day delivery further across its network—and finding it takes a lot to get packages to the wilds of Montana within 48 hours.
Brooke Pryor is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019. She previously covered the Kansas City Chiefs for the Kansas City Star and the University of Oklahoma for The Oklahoman.
Seconds earlier, the Nebraska forward and Lincoln native had seemingly etched his name in his hometown program’s annals.
Facing a tied game with nine seconds go to, Frager collected a pass from guard Pryce Sandfort, drove the lane and kissed the ball off the glass with his left hand for the bucket that gave the Cornhuskers a 74-72 lead with 2.2 seconds left and appeared destined to send Nebraska to its first Sweet 16.
Then, off a final timeout, Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner caught the inbounds pass, took a dribble and launched the ball from the half-court line. With the clock reading 0.0, the ball dropped into the cylinder.
But as fast as it dropped in, the ball ricocheted out — and the crowd exploded. So did Frager and his teammates.
“I thought it went in,” Frager said. “I didn’t know how to react, and I was just — everybody started celebrating. I was like, “Yeah, he actually missed it, so …”
Sitting beside Frager as he described the moment on the postgame dais, Sandfort added his own recollection as his teammate shook his head, still in disbelief.
“I just about died,” Sandfort said. “I was on the side, so I didn’t know the angle it was on. But man, I just want to thank the good Lord Jesus Christ for that one.”
When Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg saw the ball pop out of the cylinder, he let out a guttural yell — not that anyone could hear it over the roar of the crowd.
“My heart sank as that ball went in the hoop, and then it went out,” said Hoiberg, who had eight points and six assists. “And I think it took me half a second to register it didn’t go in, and then I just screamed in elation. I thought it was in.”
Mere inches from heartbreak, Nebraska instead survived to clinch the program’s second-ever NCAA tournament win, just two days after notching its first.
“That last shot, man, it just took my breath away,” Huskers coach Fred Hoiberg said. “That kid [Tanner] is an unbelievable player, and when that thing was up in the air, I was like, ‘Man, that’s going in.’ It hit every part of the rim. Thankfully, it bounced out.”
As Nebraska players emptied the bench, leaping and bounding across the hardwood as they ran to hug each other and their coaches, fans threw popcorn like confetti in the stands and waved handmade signs that read, “Sweet 16 Corn Season” and “GBR” (for “Go Big Red”).
For 40 minutes, the overwhelmingly pro-Nebraska crowd never left its feet and kept the din at a constant fever pitch throughout the back-and-forth battle.
“I know it had to be incredible on TV,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said of the atmosphere. “It was an incredible game. I mean, it sucks that we were on the side that we were on. But, I mean, a high-level game, and I’m sure the crowd lifted them up and had them playing — they played so hard.
“That’s one of the best environments or toughest environments that I’ve ever coached in. The fans were incredible for them, incredibly supportive and wild.”
On the court, the Huskers gathered around forward Berke Buyuktuncel as he held up a giant Sweet 16 flag and shook it at the crowd. Meanwhile, Frager and a couple of others ran across the court to hug and celebrate with Kent Pavelka, the radio voice of Nebraska basketball for more than 50 years.
Then, as Frager and Sandfort did a postgame interview with Pavelka, the rest of the team ran a giant lap around the arena to high-five spectators and show appreciation to the fans who spent two games on their feet, willing the Huskers to a pair of historic victories. As the team made its way around Paycom Center, a loud cheer accompanied its loop like a verbal wave rippling through the arena.
Once they finished their media obligations, Frager and Sandfort ran their own lap, eliciting another wave of jubilation.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Frager said. “It couldn’t be done without all these guys up here, all these guys on the team. We had a great crowd. I feel like they carried us a lot through this, and that was a big part of it.”
Even as the team exited the court to another ovation, the celebration didn’t stop. As the arena DJ blasted “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas, the Nebraska cheerleaders formed a conga line and pranced around on the baseline as the band danced and took pictures. Still wearing his headset, Pavelka stood up from his courtside seat, turned around to face the cheering fans behind him, extended his arms and bopped along to the music with them.
It was a party fitting of a national championship, yet it was only a second-round win.
But for a program without any NCAA tournament victories just a few days ago, it was an occasion worth celebrating — just not for too long.
“We’re flying back home at 11 o’clock tomorrow,” Fred Hoiberg said. “We’ll get back. We’ll regroup. We’ll find out who we’re going to play after the game tomorrow — if I’m not mistaken, Iowa and Florida — and then start working right away, get the game plan put together. Don’t know if we play Thursday or Friday. And then we’ll just take it from there.”
Some days for Rachel Jordan start at 5 a.m. and don’t end until midnight — sometimes for multiple days in a row.
“I’m just exhausted, honestly,” she said in an interview.
Jordan, 43, is one of the millions of Americans who work two jobs to get by as they try to pay down debts they incurred early in life. With about $75,000 in outstanding student loan debt, Jordan often works 70 hours a week to pay it down.
Although she’s not required to make payments since her loans are in forbearance, Jordan said she usually aims to pay a minimum of $1,600 a month while working toward a larger monthly payment goal of $2,000.
Living in Tampa, Florida, Jordan shares a one-bedroom apartment with her French bulldog and generally tries to keep her living expenses low to focus on her loans. Her early job consists of servicing commercial real estate loans. Once that shift is done, she’ll get a short break to take care of her dog before heading to Target, where she works in the kids clothing section.
It’s a routine she started last year, when she realized that her debt was unsustainable. And in order to hold herself accountable to her goals, Jordan frequently posts videos to YouTube and TikTok documenting her debt-free journey.
“I felt like if I didn’t do this, if I didn’t do this now, it was only going to keep just being that thing that followed me through life,” she said.
Business of debt
During the pandemic, Jordan said she had racked up about six figures of debt between her student loans, a car and credit card debt.
“I was spending some on my groceries, gas, things to get me by each week, but also was spending it on trips to Target for clothing or stupid stuff that I didn’t need to buy,” she said. “I used credit cards and spending to give me that dopamine hit and help me through that time.”
Rachel Jordan.Courtesy Rachel Jordan
And she isn’t alone in her debt: Total U.S. household debt — from housing costs, credit cards, car loans, student loans and more — jumped up to $18.8 trillion at the end of last year. The rising cost of living has pushed many consumers to look into alternative payment sources, like buy now, pay later, to pay for everyday goods.
In an effort to get out of her own debt, Jordan began making payments and officially became free of credit card debt last year. She said that remains the case to this day.
“It’s hard for me to think beyond too much because I just feel like if I put too much pressure on myself for more than I already am, it’s like I literally crumble,” she said.
Shaking off this aspect of her debt changed the way Jordan viewed her finances. Now, she said she treats her credit card like a debit card, paying it off every week, and only spends what she budgets for.
Having never been taught about finances growing up, Jordan said “it’s all been learning as I go.”
“When I first was on TikTok is when I first — in my almost 40 years of life — heard about a Roth IRA,” she said. “There’s been a lot of learning from seeing what other people are doing, but also learning as I go and make my own mistakes and read up on my own.”
To keep herself going, Jordan set a short-term goal to pay off $25,000 of her student debt by October of this year. Looking toward the future, she has her eye on saving her first $100,000 between her retirement and a high-yield savings account. So far, Jordan has been able to put aside more than $13,000 combined in her savings and retirement.
Accounting and accountability
Posting videos online detailing her journey has given Jordan a slight monetary bump every few months, but more so it has become an important space for her to process her experience with debt.
“[It] really has propelled me forward, has kept me sane and given me an outlet,” she said. “And I don’t think I would be as strict with myself if I didn’t have that commitment to the plan.”
While social media has helped Jordan keep tabs on her progress, it has also helped her find community with other people struggling with debt.
“So many people have left the comments on a YouTube video, where I have more of a larger audience, saying ‘You’ve motivated me’ or ‘I never knew this’ or ‘You’re the reason why I started paying all my student loans,’” she said.
“When I was in Covid times, I was in so much debt,” she continued. “I felt like I was isolated. Even though obviously I’m not the only one in the world in this situation, it felt like I was. But putting the video down online and realizing that I’m not has been so motivating just to stay on the journey and to keep going.”
“I used to get dopamine hits from going to Target, and now I get dopamine hits from every time I make a payment,” Jordan said.
Loans in limbo
Jordan’s student loan debt comes from two undergraduate accounting degrees, one from the University of Phoenix and another from Western Carolina University.
In 2022, Jordan decided to apply for student loan forgiveness for her first accounting degree. After applying, she said she received notice acknowledging the receipt of her application, but hasn’t heard anything since then: “No news, no updates, literally nothing.”
She said her loans are in forbearance as she waits for a decision, but struggles with the unknown future status of her debt.
“It’s been difficult because I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “[The] times that I have reached out to the Department of Ed, it has been like, ‘Oh, your application is still in process.’”
And that still seems to be the case: Jordan said every time she checks the status of her application through her account, it says it’s still under review.
Living in a “limbo situation” has made it difficult for Jordan to make a decision on how to ultimately deal with her looming student debt. She said she’s constantly flip-flopping between whether she should pay the minimum and wait for forgiveness or just pay off her remaining debt.
But the fear that another administration could come in and “change the rules” motivates her to want to be debt-free instead, she said.
However, even if she were able to pay off the rest of her loans, Jordan said she feels like she would “still need to work this hard just because I feel so behind in my retirement efforts.”
Jordan told NBC News that she tries not to think about her current financial situation because she feels so behind: “If I just think about the overall, then it’s just a little bit too much.”
“I’m doing all that I can and dedicating every dollar that I can to saving and to my debt,” she said. “There’s truly nothing more that I could do.”
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Central New Mexico Community College is seeing a rapid increase in female enrollment in skilled trades education, helping New Mexico keep up with the demand these industries are leaving on state employers. “We know all the skilled trades and construction overall has had such demand,” CNM Workforce & Community Success VP Joy […]
Major carriers are offering a first look into how they are planning to outpace the rising cost of jet fuel as uncertainty continues to linger in the Middle East conflict.
The Premier League’s title race may offer few twists and turns but even during seasons when the action at the top of the table is enthralling, the start of spring usually ushers in a new sense of urgency for another batch of teams entirely. It is officially crunch time for the relegation-threatened sides, for whom the stakes are much higher than winning or losing a title. It feels appropriate, then, that this weekend’s most notable matchup in England is a proverbial six-pointer between two teams barely above the drop zone – Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur, the latter a surprise entry in this season’s relegation race.
While Forest’s slide down the table from last season’s seventh-place finish was gradual, Spurs’ entry into the relegation battle almost happened all at once, forcing questions of exactly how a perennial top four challenger – and last season’s UEFA Europa League winners – got here. Things have only gotten worse in recent weeks, Spurs slipping from a six-point cushion above the relegation zone to one flimsy point since hiring coach Igor Tudor a month ago, conceding 14 goals in his first four games in charge. The tide finally may be shifting in north London, though, with Sunday’s game against Forest arguably coming at the perfect time for Spurs.
This time a week ago, Spurs were on a winless run that stretched back to the end of January, the downward skid complete with a capitulation at Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. Things could not have been worse – they conceded four goals in 22 minutes in the first leg of their round of 16 tie, making a goalkeeper substitution just 17 minutes in after Antonin Kinsky’s mistake-laden Champions League debut.
How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs. Nottingham Forest, odds
Date: Sunday, March 22 | Time: 10:15 a.m. ET
Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
TV: USA Network | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Odds: Tottenham Hotspur +120; Draw +230; Nottingham Forest +230
The mood has shifted for Spurs, perhaps because the reality has sunk in. First came an unglamorous 1-1 draw at Liverpool, a valuable point for a team trying to stave off relegation. They were understaffed at Anfield – center backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven were unavailable, making their defense easier to carve up. The Reds’ offense misfired frequently, though, paving the way for a hard-working Spurs to get their equalizer through Richarlison in the 90th minute, the Brazil international exemplifying the team’s persistent performance.
TTe flourish, though, made a comeback of sorts on Wednesday in the Champions League. Spurs won their first game in nearly two months with a 3-2 result against Atleti, one that did not eradicate the first leg deficit but one that offered a stark reminder of what this team can actually be, warts and all. Atleti overperformed from an attacking perspective, mustering just 1.02 expected goals over the course of the game, Spurs matching them for shots and outdoing them with 2.39 expected goals along the way. Xavi Simons, a player whose potential has yet to be realized in a season where he’s been underutilized by two different coaches, had one of his most notable outings since his summertime move – he bagged a brace, including a late penalty that ensured Spurs would win.
For the first time in a long time, they were not defined by sloppy mistakes. There was a level of competence – and competitive drive – that was clear to see, offering a newfound verve that has been sorely missed by the Spurs faithful.
Against Forest, Tottenham have the chance to go unbeaten in three for the first time since January, two draws in league play sandwiching a 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt to wrap up league phase play in the Champions League. Forest will be equally motivated – they only sit outside the relegation zone on goal difference and rested their players midweek in the Europa League, their focus on Sunday’s match. Spurs only need the semblance of decent form to dig themselves out of this hole, though, and a spirited outing against a European mainstay in Atleti suggests they are more than capable of rising to the challenge.
Iran says nuclear facility hit by airstrike – CBS News
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Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility was hit by an airstrike, the Iranian news agency Mizan reported on Saturday. The war is entering its fourth week.
March Madness: Schedule for Sunday’s NCAA games in women’s tournament
DOES PETE GILBERT JOINING US NOW WITH MORE ON MARYLAND’S CHANCE TO DANCE. THERE WILL BE NO WOMP WOMP. EXACTLY. IT HAS BEEN A ROLLER COASTER SEASON FOR MARYLAND, AS TWO OF THE KEY PLAYERS FOR BRENDA FRESE EITHER NEVER OR BARELY TOOK THE COURT THANKS TO INJURIES. DESPITE THAT, THE TERPS GOT HOT IN FEBRUARY, HAD A SIX GAME WIN STREAK BEFORE ULTIMATELY LIMPING INTO MARCH MADNESS. IT WAS SHOCKING TO SEE MARYLAND LOSE ITS BIG TEN TOURNAMENT OPENER. A SIX SEED BEATEN BY NUMBER 11 OREGON. BUT THAT LOSS MAY PROVE TO BE THE BEST THING FOR THEM. GAVE THEM TWO WEEKS, GIVING MARYLAND REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY NOT JUST TO RESET BUT TO REEVALUATE WHAT ARE THEIR STRENGTHS RIGHT NOW? HOW CAN THEY BEST TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM? TYPICALLY, YOU GIVE BRENDA TWO WEEKS TO PREPARE FOR ANYTHING SHE’LL DELIVER. AS ALWAYS, A CHEERING SENDOFF TO ATTORNEY WHO DOESN’T LOVE THAT. I THINK THESE LAST TWO WEEKS FOR US HAVE BEEN AWESOME. YOU KNOW, IT HAS GIVEN US AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECHARGE AND RESET. AND HONESTLY, IT’S THE FIRST TIME PROBABLY ALL SEASON WHERE WE’VE HAD EVERY PLAYER AVAILABLE FOR PRACTICE. SO I THINK THAT’S EXCITING AS WE’VE NAVIGATED THROUGH THE INJURIES. THE TERPS, A FIVE SEED, FACED 12TH SEEDED MURRAY STATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT 3 P.M. TIP IN CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA. IF MARYLAND SURVIVES, MURRAY THE TERPS GET THE WINNER OF NORTH CAROLINA AND WESTERN ILLINOIS. THAT GAME WILL BE ON SUNDAY. BRENDA FRESE HAS ADVANCED TO THE FINAL FOUR THREE TIMES THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ELITE EIGHT SEVEN TIMES 12 TIMES THE SWEET 16 AND THE FIRST ROUND OF NC
March Madness: Schedule for Sunday’s NCAA games in women’s tournament
The Madness continues! Day 3 of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament is underway.Here’s a look at Sunday’s matchups. All times Eastern.(5) Maryland vs. (4) North Carolina — 12:00 p.m.(7) NC State vs. (2) Michigan — 1:00 p.m.(5) Ole Miss vs. (4) Minnesota — 2:00 p.m.(7) Texas Tech vs. (2) LSU — 3:00 p.m.(6) Baylor vs. (3) Duke — 4:00 p.m.(8) Oregon vs. (1) Texas — 6:00 p.m.(5) Michigan State vs. (4) Oklahoma — 8:00 p.m.(6) Washington vs. (3) TCU — 9:45 p.m.
The Madness continues! Day 3 of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament is underway.
Here’s a look at Sunday’s matchups. All times Eastern.
