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South Korea's Ryu and Japan's Saigo share LPGA Chevron lead
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Canada leaders make closing pitches in campaign upended by Trump
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De Bruyne's Man City exit 'so difficult' for Guardiola
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'No regrets' for Amorim over Man Utd move
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Lyon and Strasbourg win to close in on Europe, Montpellier relegated from Ligue 1
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Toulouse thrash Castres as Top 14 pursuers stumble
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Djokovic crashes to nervous Arnaldi in Madrid opener, Swiatek advances
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Olympic champs Russell, Davis-Woodhall win at Drake Relays
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Browns end Sanders long draft slide
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Cavs crush Heat, on brink of NBA playoff sweep
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Fire rages after major blast at Iran port kills 8, injures hundreds
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Kiwi Beamish wins Penn Relays 1,500m crown with late kick
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Mbappe on Real Madrid bench for Clasico Copa del Rey final
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England survive France fightback to seal Women's 6 Nations slam
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Palace sweep past Villa to reach FA Cup final
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CAF appoint Moroccan Lekjaa first vice-president
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Major blast at Iran port kills 5, injures hundreds
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Rodgers vows to stay with Celtic after fourth successive Scottish title
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Ipswich relegated as Newcastle, Chelsea boost top five bids
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Canada leaders make final pitches in campaign upended by Trump
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Mullins -- Ireland's national training treasure
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US, Iran say progress in 'positive' nuclear talks
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Mullins emulates O'Brien with second successive trainer's title
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Ipswich relegated after one season in Premier League
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Just Stop Oil activist group holds final march
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Djokovic crashes to nervous Arnaldi in Madrid opener
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Syria's Kurds demand 'democratic decentralised' Syria
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Leverkusen win to delay Bayern and Kane's title party
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Buenos Aires farewells native pontiff with tears and calls to action
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Turkey's opposition says Erdogan's canal plan behind latest arrests
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Maresca hails 'nasty' Chelsea as top five bid stays alive
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Trump raises Putin doubts after Zelensky talks at pope's funeral
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Major blast at Iran port kills 4, injures hundreds
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Napoleon's sword to be sold at auction in Paris
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Iran, US discuss nuclear deal in third round of talks
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Buenos Aires farewells native pontiff with call to action
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Warholm sets hurdles world record at Diamond League, Holloway shocked
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US students 'race' sperm in reproductive health stunt
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Wikileaks founder Assange joins crowds for pope funeral
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Leader Marc Marquez claims Spanish MotoGP sprint victory
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Celtic win fourth successive Scottish Premiership title
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Jackson ends drought as Chelsea boost top five push
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Warholm sets 300m hurdles world record in Diamond League opener
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Major blast at south Iran port kills 4, injures hundreds
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Russia says retook Kursk from Ukraine with North Korean help
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Francis laid to rest as 400,000 mourn pope 'with an open heart'
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Trump, Zelensky meet on sidelines of pope's funeral
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'Shared loss': Filipino Catholics bid Pope Francis farewell
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Families unable to reunite as India-Pakistan border slams shut
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Major blast at south Iran port injures hundreds

Biden starts second year with charm offensive -- and bad polls
The White House launched a charm offensive, complete with a Tom Hanks video, to mark Joe Biden's first year as president Thursday, but dire new polls and a major congressional setback told another story.
Biden, who was sworn in to replace Donald Trump at noon last January 20, marked the day by meeting with top cabinet members in charge of rolling out his signature infrastructure spending plan, a $1.2 trillion splurge he got passed in November with rare bipartisan support.
"Our nation has never fully made this kind of investment," Biden said, celebrating one of his biggest wins of last year -- and a project that should keep delivering good news as bridges, roads and other large public works roll out.
The previous evening, the 79-year-old Democrat held an epic press conference lasting an hour and 52 minutes, longer even than the famously rambling events Trump used to stage.
Defending himself on his handling of the Covid pandemic and roaring inflation, Biden said he'd got "a lot done" in the face of unprecedented difficulties for a president.
"He was having a good time," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said of his marathon performance.
Despite the cheerful messaging, Biden begins his second year as president facing a slew of bad news, including failure in the Senate late Wednesday of his cherished push for election law reforms -- something he has said is needed to safeguard US democracy from Trump supporters' attempts at fixing the vote.
The polls also seem to be getting only worse. According to new NBC and AP-NORC polls, 54 percent and 56 percent of Americans respectively disapprove of Biden's performance.
The numbers point ominously to what most analysts expect to be a heavy defeat for Democratic legislators in November midterm elections, leading to Republicans taking control of Congress.
Asked about his sliding popularity, which is now in the area that Trump consistently inhabited, Biden told the press conference Wednesday: "I don't believe the polls."
- Tom Hanks reassures America -
Biden likes to laugh off doomsayers, telling them to share his trademark sunny outlook.
And his aides and allies did their best to spread the mood Thursday.
In a two minute video, Hollywood legend Hanks recounted in his gravelly voice how the country's economy is bouncing back from the pandemic. The video featured clips of ordinary people, like a UPS delivery driver declaring "the fear is gone."
"We are strong, we are courageous, we are resilient, we are America -- the land of the brave," Hanks said in the video, which ended with Biden pronouncing: "I've never been more optimistic about America's future."
Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on CBS, ABC and NBC networks, while Chief of Staff Ron Klain spoke on MSNBC. A slew of cabinet secretaries gave interviews to media more off the beaten track, including women's magazines and rural outlets, the White House said.
Psaki went one step further, making a relatively rare appearance on Fox News, whose major stars outside of the news operation include conspiracy theory spreading, right-wing host Tucker Carlson.
As for the second year, the White House seems to hope it can change gears, partly by getting Biden beyond the Washington bubble, meeting voters and spending more time with legislators in relaxed settings.
At his press conference, Biden said his top goal was to "get out" and "connect with people."
Psaki said "he absolutely loves talking to people who agree with him, people that don't agree with him."
"You'll see him out on the road more," she said. "You'll see him probably bring members of Congress with him on Air Force One, as he's done recently, and he's really enjoyed the opportunity to be able to have those free ranging conversations with them."
As Biden began his second year, he joked about the experience of the first 12 months, telling Vice President Kamala Harris in a late-evening meeting of Democratic allies: "Sometimes it seems longer, doesn't it Kamala?"
P.Costa--AMWN