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Free Agent Pass Rusher Greg Hardy Visiting Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys met with free agent defensive end Greg Hardy on Tuesday as they explore ways to improve a shaky pass rush from last season.

Hardy’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said the former Pro Bowl player for Carolina was visiting Cowboys headquarters.

The 26-year-old Hardy could be suspended to start the season because of a conviction on two counts of domestic violence in North Carolina. The conviction was dismissed in February when his accuser couldn’t be found.

Hardy remains on the commissioner’s exempt list as he seeks reinstatement by the NFL. He played in the opener last year before he was suspended. Hardy tied a Carolina franchise record with 15 sacks in 2013.

The NFL has said the 6-foot-4, 275-pound Hardy is free to sign with another team while it investigates his case. League spokesman Greg Aiello said Tuesday there was no change in Hardy’s status.

The Cowboys were 28th in the NFL in sacks with 28 last season, according to STATS. Jeremy Mincey, a low-cost defensive end added in free agency last year, led Dallas with six sacks, and defensive tackle Henry Melton had five despite battling injuries. Melton signed with Tampa Bay.

Dallas moved up in the second round of last year’s draft to grab DeMarcus Lawrence after cutting franchise sacks leader DeMarcus Ware in a salary cap move. But Lawrence missed the first half of the season after breaking his foot in training camp.

Hardy made $13.1 million last season as Carolina’s franchise player despite playing just one game.

A judge convicted Hardy last year after a woman testified that Hardy threw her in the bathroom and later onto a futon filled with guns, placed his hands on her throat and threatened to kill her. Hardy denied those allegations, saying the woman became angry when he wouldn’t have sex with her.

Mecklenburg County prosecutors tried to get the accuser to testify at Hardy’s appeal. But they couldn’t find her despite extensive searching after she earlier said she didn’t want to testify again.

The NFL’s new personal conduct policy, approved by owners after Hardy’s conviction, calls for a six-game suspension for first-time violations involving assault, sexual assault and domestic violence. Previously, first-time offenders typically received two-game suspensions.

The league unsuccessfully petitioned courts to have evidence from Hardy’s first trial unsealed. Without that evidence, it may be difficult for the league to suspend him.

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Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner in New York contributed to this report.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP—NFL

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Tips for NCAA Tournament Field on Ways to Beat Kentucky

There’s a way to beat Kentucky.

Maybe.

So far, 34 game plans to defeat the Wildcats have been put together. Every one of them fell short. There’s no shortage of theories on how to beat them — spread them out, pack the paint, shoot plenty of 3’s, attack the rim — which all sound good, but none have actually panned out for an entire game on the floor.

If someone’s going to actually throw the upset punch, now’s the time. No. 1 Kentucky (34-0) is the top overall seed going into the NCAA Tournament that begins this week, the favorite to win it all and become the first undefeated national champion in the men’s game since Indiana in 1976.

“Let me tell you, it’s a one-game shot,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “Foul trouble, struggle, injury, have a bad game, someone else play out of their minds, which we have seen happen with us. … It’s not best-of-five. It’s one and done.”

True, if someone makes 10 3-pointers, or scores 40, or the Wildcats all go cold simultaneously, millions of brackets will likely go poof at the same time.

Two teams took the Wildcats to overtime and six others found a way to keep the final margin within 10 points. But the Wildcats are perhaps the NCAA’s biggest favorite in years isn’t a fluke.

“They know how to win and they figure out how to win,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “When they get behind they figure out how to get ahead, and obviously that’s good coaching, that’s good players, but it’s an attitude. I think that is the most impressive thing.”

So here’s three tips on how to beat them:

— LIMIT THE 3’S: Excluding the two overtime games, all six of the other teams who stayed within 10 of Kentucky for 40 minutes held the Wildcats to an average of 3.5 3-pointers in those games. That was, on average, about an eight-point savings over all other Kentucky games this season.

— GET GOOD SHOTS: Mississippi, Florida, LSU and Georgia all shot 47 percent or better in a game against Kentucky this season, losing those four games by an average of only 5.0 points. In Kentucky’s other 30 games, the average margin at games’ end was 23.1 points.

— ATTACK: In the eight “close” games, opponents shot 46 percent from 2-point range against Kentucky. In all other games, opponents shot 36.8 percent from inside the arc. And in the last three Wildcats’ games decided by 10 or fewer, teams shot a staggering 57.4 percent on 2’s.

Then again, they all lost.

“They’re pretty doggone physically imposing,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “Somebody said that Portland Trail Blazers are the only team in America that was taller.”

Shabazz Napier of the Miami Heat — he led Connecticut past Kentucky in last year’s national title game, the Wildcats’ last loss — believes defensively elite teams like Wisconsin and Virginia would have a realistic shot.

“During March Madness, it’s more about who has the best guards,” Napier said. “You have to play their game, get up a couple points and then slow it up. But it’s definitely going to be tough. I’ve seen some of their games — they’re super-talented. They’re the No. 1 team and undefeated for a reason.”

What makes Kentucky so difficult to stop is there’s no absolute key guy on their team.

The Wildcats are the most balanced team in the country. And that depth is lethal.

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Sunday Vs. Saturday? Tough Turnaround After Title Games

No. 1 Kentucky’s final hurdle to carrying a perfect record into the NCAA Tournament will be to cram in one more win a few hours before everyone’s attention turns toward brackets, seeds and office pools.

It might mean one less day of rest for Wildcats than some of their top competition in the NCAAs, too.

While most of the conferences that wrapped up their tournaments this weekend finished Saturday, the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences were the only power-five leagues to wait until Sunday afternoon, shortly before the NCAA selection committee announces the pairings.

In the SEC, Kentucky plays No. 21 Arkansas in Nashville, Tennessee, and No. 6 Wisconsin faces Michigan State in Chicago for the Big Ten crown.

“Obviously, (a Saturday final) would be the best thing, but it’s above my pay grade to make that decision,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said after his Wildcats rolled past Auburn in Saturday’s semifinals. “So if we have to play on Sunday, we’ll play on Sunday and that’s fine.”

Badgers coach Bo Ryan said it’s really tough to play Sunday and then open the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

“So what we ask for — I’m on the board of directors of the (National Association of Basketball Coaches) — we ask for if anybody is playing in a conference final on Sunday to not play until Friday,” Ryan said. “That’s been the case most of the time.”

But not every time.

Since 2004, 21 teams have entered the NCAAs with a No. 1 seed after playing a league tournament game on a Sunday. Nine of those ended up with the shorter turnaround and started on a Thursday, including Florida last season and 2012 champion Kentucky, according to STATS.

Most conferences don’t have to worry about it.

Only five of the 19 league tournaments finishing this weekend have a Sunday title game this year, according to STATS. Three of the power-five conferences — the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 — finished play on Saturday.

The ACC joined the Saturday group this year, moving from its traditional Sunday afternoon finish that it had held since 1982 to a Saturday prime-time TV slot as part of the league’s new look with the additions of Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

Fighting Irish coach Mike Brey said he, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim worked to sell the other ACC coaches on the merits of playing a Tuesday-to-Saturday schedule like the trio knew from their days in the old Big East. Brey said they sold the buzz — both in the arena and on TV — of playing a Friday night semifinal set followed by a Saturday night championship game, along with the fact that it would get the teams a little more time to regroup after playing in the title game.

“I would think all the coaches would think it’s a great benefit,” Brey said after his team upended No. 2 Duke in the semifinals before beating No. 19 North Carolina in the title game. “We also felt, and now that I’m in it, I sure would like another day to get my legs under me before we go into the NCAA tournament instead of playing Sunday afternoon. It would be nice.”

Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson said it would also be a little easier on the NCAA selection committee. A committee member from 1996-99 and its chairman in 2000, Thompson said those Sunday games make the seeding “brutal” with the 6 p.m. deadline looming.

Look no further than the Big Ten final, which will finish roughly 30 minutes before the NCAA announces the 68-team field.

“The preference from a committee perspective would be to have all the games done on a Saturday night,” he said. “Not possible. Not probable. CBS has games on Sunday, ESPN and others, and they like that programming and the lead into selection, it’s perfect for TV, but it’s tough for the selection committee.”

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AP Basketball Writer John Marshall in Las Vegas, and AP Sports Writers Jay Cohen in Chicago and Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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A Wide-Open Weekend at the Valspar Championship

Jordan Spieth finished his opening round at the Valspar Championship and figured he had dug a hole. He made double bogey on the third hole, didn’t convert enough birdie chances and wound up with a 1-under 70. And then he looked at the rest of the scores and realized he was only four shots behind.

“I thought there was an 8 under out there,” Spieth when he finished Friday in even better position. “The greens are receptive. They were putting well. I just didn’t understand how I could only be four shots back.”

There’s something about Innisbrook that is making it tough on everyone, and that much was evident going into the weekend.

Brendon de Jonge made a short birdie putt on his final hole for a 69 to reach 6-under 136. It wasn’t even the best score when he finished, but he wound up with a one-shot lead when a long Friday was over. It’s the fourth time de Jonge has had a 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour without winning.

“Obviously, gives you a good chance for the weekend,” he said.

True. But it seems everyone has a chance on the Copperhead course — essentially everyone who made the cut.

Only seven shots separated de Jonge from the players who made the cut on the number, the first time the first-to-worst gap has been that small since the 2011 British Open at Royal St. George’s.

Spieth made a birdie putt from the fringe on the 18th for a 4-under 67 to match the best score of the round. Henrik Stenson, playing the Copperhead course for the first time and apparently enjoying it, made eagle on his first hole and wound up with a 70.

They were one shot behind, along with Ryan Moore (68), Kevin Streelman (69) and Derek Ernst (70).

Ernst, who had only one round in the 60s this year, ran off five straight birdies around the turn to reach 8-under par until he started missing greens, missing putts and making bogeys to fall one shot behind de Jonge.

“Starting the day, if you told me I would have shot 1 under, I would have been very happy with it,” Ernst said.

Lucas Glover had a 69 and joined Moore and Streelman as the only players to break 70s for both rounds. He was two shots behind, along with Sean O’Hair (72), Ricky Barnes (72) and Ian Poulter (70). Poulter hasn’t been to Innisbrook since 2010, and he was asked what had kept him away.

“Because I’m a buffoon,” Poulter said. “I mean, stupid. This golf course I can compete on because it’s fiddly, it’s position off the tee, small greens, need to chip it well, good pace putting when you’re above the hole. All those things I do well.”

Poulter recalls the greens being sloppy the last time he played, and so he instructed his caddie to never allow him to return. Seven holes into his pro-am round, he said he told his caddie, “What the … was I doing not being here?”

Justin Thomas (72) and Vijay Singh (70) were in the group at 3-under 139, with Luke Donald (68), Matt Kuchar (70) and Patrick Reed (68) among those four behind.

Adam Scott is about the only guy who doesn’t have a chance because he didn’t make the cut. Scott missed four putts from inside 5 feet on his way to a 75 and missed the cut by three shots. It’s the first time he had the weekend off at a golf tournament since the 2012 Byron Nelson Championship.

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Pistorius Lawyers Fail in Attempt to Stop Appeal

Oscar Pistorius’ lawyers have failed in their attempt to stop prosecutors from appealing the double-amputee athlete’s negligent killing conviction.

Judge Thokozile Masipa on Friday dismissed an application by Pistorius’ lawyers to challenge the appeal by prosecutors, who want Pistorius convicted of the more serious charge of murder for shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

In December, Masipa granted prosecutors permission to take the case to South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal. Pistorius’ lawyers were arguing on Friday that Masipa should not have allowed that appeal.

Pistorius, a Paralympic champion, is serving a five-year prison sentence after being convicted of culpable homicide.

Prosecutors are bringing the case to the Supreme Court of Appeal. The Olympian could face a minimum of 15 years in jail if convicted of murder.

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LEADING OFF: Japanese Ace Masahiro Tanaka Makes

A look at the highlights of what’s happening all around spring training in Florida and Arizona today:

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BACK ON THE MOUND

Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka will make his first spring start when the New York Yankees host the Atlanta Braves at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. Tanaka missed 2 1/2 months last season while rehabilitating a partially torn ligament in his right elbow. He returned for two late September starts. CC Sabathia, who had season-ending knee surgery in July, is set to pitch in a simulated game.

NO JOKE

Comedian Will Ferrell plans to play ball in spring training — and play ball and play ball and play ball. The “Anchorman” star is going to play every position while making appearances at five Arizona spring training games. Ferrell will travel to the Phoenix suburbs of Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, Glendale and Peoria via helicopter and play for all 10 teams. The event will be filmed for an upcoming HBO special Ferrell is dedicating to fighting cancer.

EASING IN

Outfielder Nate McLouth will make his first start of the spring — as the designated hitter — against the Mets at Port St. Lucie, Florida. McLouth, who went 1 for 2 Wednesday in his spring debut, is still on a throwing program as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. If all goes well, he should return to the field sometime next week.

HIT MACHINE

Miami’s Christian Yelich has five singles in his last five at-bats, going 3 for 3 on Tuesday against Washington and adding two more hits on Wednesday against the Mets. The Marlins play at Minnesota in at Fort Myers, Florida, on Thursday.

INTO THE FUTURE

Right-hander Jordan Pries, the Seattle Mariners’ minor league co-starting pitcher of the year in 2014 after going 10-8 with a 3.86 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A, starts against Oakland at Mesa.

ANOTHER TRY

Jamie Garcia, limited to seven games last season because of injuries, is set to start for St. Louis against Baltimore in Jupiter, Florida. The left-hander worked 1 1-3 innings in his spring debut Saturday, giving up a run while allowing three hits and a walk against Washington.

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ESPNTopNews

March Madness has begun, with conference tournaments taking place all over the country. Here is a running list of the teams that have earned automatic bids to the 2015 NCAA tournament. Check back for additions as title games go final, and visit our Champ Week home page for updated brackets and all the latest from a week of wall-to-wall hoops.

North Florida Ospreys Conference: Atlantic Sun Record: 23-11 Ticket-clincher: North Florida 63, South Carolina Upstate 57 Leading scorer: Dallas Moore (15.9 PPG) Tournament appearance: first

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Conference: Big South Record: 24-9 Ticket-clincher: Coastal Carolina 81, Winthrop 70 Leading scorer: Josh Cameron (12.9 PPG) Tournament appearance: fourth (first since 2014)

Northeastern Huskies Conference: Colonial Record: 23-11 Ticket-clincher: Northeastern 72, William & Mary 61 Leading scorer: Scott Eatherton (14.6 PPG) Tournament appearance: eighth (first since 1991)

Valparaiso Crusaders Conference: Horizon Record: 28-5 Ticket-clincher: Valparaiso 54, Green Bay 44 Leading scorer: Alec Peters (17.0 PPG) Tournament appearance: ninth appearance (first since 2013)

Manhattan Jaspers Conference: Metro Atlantic Record: 19-13 Ticket-clincher: Manhattan 79, Iona 69 Leading scorer: Emmy Andujar (16.5 PPG) Tournament appearance: eighth (first since 2014)

Northern Iowa Panthers Conference: Missouri Valley Record: 30-3 Ticket-clincher: Northern Iowa 69, Illinois State 60 Leading scorer: Seth Tuttle (15.3 PPG) Tournament appearance: seventh (first since 2010)

Robert Morris Colonials Conference: Northeast Record: 19-14 Ticket-clincher: Robert Morris 66, St. Francis (Brooklyn) 63 Leading scorer: Rodney Pryor (15.2 PPG) Tournament appearance: eighth (first since 2010)

Belmont Bruins Conference: Ohio Valley Record: 22-10 Ticket-clincher: Belmont 88, Murray State 87 Leading scorer: Craig Bradshaw (18.1 PPG) Tournament appearance: seventh (first since 2013)

Wofford Terriers Conference: Southern Record: 28-6 Ticket-clincher: Wofford 67, Furman 64 Leading scorer: Karl Cochran (14.8 PPG) Tournament appearance: fourth (first since 2014)

North Dakota State Bison Conference: Summit Record: 23-9 Ticket-clincher: North Dakota State 57, South Dakota State 56 Leading scorer: Lawrence Alexander (18.7 PPG) Tournament appearance: third (first since 2014)

Gonzaga Bulldogs Conference: West Coast Record: 32-2 Ticket-clincher: Gonzaga 91, BYU 75 Leading scorer: Kyle Wiltjer (16.6 PPG) Tournament appearance: eighteenth (first since 2014)

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ESPNTopNews

March Madness has begun, with conference tournaments taking place all over the country. Here is a running list of the teams that have earned automatic bids to the 2015 NCAA tournament. Check back for additions as title games go final, and visit our Champ Week home page for updated brackets and all the latest from a week of wall-to-wall hoops.

North Florida Ospreys Conference: Atlantic Sun Record: 23-11 Ticket-clincher: North Florida 63, South Carolina Upstate 57 Leading scorer: Dallas Moore (15.9 PPG) Tournament appearance: first

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Conference: Big South Record: 24-9 Ticket-clincher: Coastal Carolina 81, Winthrop 70 Leading scorer: Josh Cameron (12.9 PPG) Tournament appearance: fourth (first since 2014)

Northeastern Huskies Conference: Colonial Record: 23-11 Ticket-clincher: Northeastern 72, William & Mary 61 Leading scorer: Scott Eatherton (14.6 PPG) Tournament appearance: eighth (first since 1991)

Manhattan Jaspers Conference: Metro Atlantic Record: 19-13 Ticket-clincher: Manhattan 79, Iona 69 Leading scorer: Emmy Andujar (16.5 PPG) Tournament appearance: eighth (first since 2014)

Northern Iowa Panthers Conference: Missouri Valley Record: 30-3 Ticket-clincher: Northern Iowa 69, Illinois State 60 Leading scorer: Seth Tuttle (15.3 PPG) Tournament appearance: seventh (first since 2010)

Belmont Bruins Conference: Ohio Valley Record: 22-10 Ticket-clincher: Belmont 88, Murray State 87 Leading scorer: Craig Bradshaw (18.1 PPG) Tournament appearance: seventh (first since 2013)

Wofford Terriers Conference: Southern Record: 28-6 Ticket-clincher: Wofford 67, Furman 64 Leading scorer: Karl Cochran (14.8 PPG) Tournament appearance: fourth (first since 2014)

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AP Sources: Chiefs LB Hali Restructures; Maclin in Sights

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali has agreed to restructure his contract, freeing up salary cap space that the club is using to pursue wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday night because the Chiefs do not comment on contract matters. Hali would have counted $12 million against the salary cap in the final year of the $57 million, five-year contract that he signed before the 2011 season.

Maclin appeared poised to reunite with Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who traded up to grab him out of Missouri in the 2009 draft. ESPN.com reported that Maclin will sign with Kansas City when the NFL’s free-agency period begins Tuesday.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP—NFL

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Holmes Gets an Ace, 4 Straight Birdies to Expand Doral Lead

J.B. Holmes and Dustin Johnson made aces on the same hole about 20 minutes apart Saturday at Doral, both with a 7-iron from 207 yards and with a shot that reacted almost identically when it landed in the middle of the green and rolled up the slope and into the cup.

Both pounded one 300-yard drive after another on a course where length is a huge advantage. And for a brief moment, they were separated by one shot.

The difference turned out to be the shortest club in the bag.

Holmes found his groove with the putter late in the round that carried him to four straight birdies and expanded his lead in the Cadillac Championship. Even with a bogey on the final hole at Trump National Doral, he had a 2-under 70 and was five shots clear of Johnson (69) and Masters champion Bubba Watson (70).

“All you can really ask for is a chance to win on Sunday on the back nine,” Holmes said.

On a day of two aces, five other eagles on par 4s and even a scuba driver retrieving the 3-iron that Rory McIlroy heaved into the lake the day before, Holmes took some of the drama out of Doral with his late surge.

The last time aces were recorded on the same hole in the same round on the PGA Tour was at Liberty National in 2013 at The Barclays. That was K.J. Choi and Greg Chalmers, and neither was in contention. This was different.

“Pushed it just a hair right,” Johnson said about his hole-in-one on the fourth hole.

“I usually hit a little bit of a cut, and if I hit it perfect, it would stay straight,” Holmes said. “And it did.”

What separated them was the finish. Johnson converted a birdie on the 16th hole to pull within one shot of Holmes, who was struggling. He made his second bogey on a par 5 when he pushed his tee shot into a hazard at No. 12. He had to scramble from a bunker to save par on the 13th. But moments after Johnson made his birdie, Holmes poured in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 14th, the first of four in a row.

Three of those birdies were from 12 feet. The other was an up-and-down from the back bunker on the 301-yard 16th hole.

He ended with a bogey from the palm trees and fell back to 11-under 205. He still had a five-shot lead, and a chance to become the first player to lead wire-to-wire without ties at Doral since Andy Bean in 1977.

“If he keeps driving it, he’s tough to beat,” Ryan Moore said after salvaging a 74 to finish six shots behind. “He’s hitting it long and straight and he’s got clubs in holes that I can only dream of having. As long as he hits it straight in the fairway, he’s obviously got a huge advantage around here.”

It’s not a coincidence that Holmes, Watson and Johnson are in the top three in driving distance this week. Watson managed five birdies, the last one from the back bunker on the daunting closing hole at the Blue Monster. It was his second straight day holing a bunker shot.

“I can’t worry about what J.B. is doing,” Watson said. “This golf course is hard enough as it is. If I start worrying about other people, I’m going to lose it.”

Bill Haas had the low score of the third round, making eight birdies for a 65. He was tied for fifth with Louis Oosthuizen (67) and Henrik Stenson (72), though they were seven shots behind.

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Photos: Family on Budget? Look No Further for Your Next Beach Vacation

TripAdvisor and Parents Magazine have teamed up to name the 10 best budget beach resorts for families in the U.S. and Caribbean. With affordable rates, high ratings from family travelers, plus many special features for families, these hotels are worth a look. The full article can be found on <a href=”http://www.parents.com/fun/vacation/ideas/best-budget-beach-resorts/”>Parents.com</a>. Pictured here is the Holiday Inn Resort, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.

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Disney’s Vero Beach Resort in Vero Beach, Fla.

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The Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Hotel and Resort in Oxnard, Calif.

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Franklyn D. Resort & Spa in Runaway Beach, Jamaica.

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The Grand Lucayan Resort in Freeport, Bahamas.

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The Hallmark Resort in Cannon Beach, Ore.

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The Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

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The Hilton Ocean City Oceanfront Suites in Ocean City, Maryland.

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The Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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The Winnetu Oceanside Resort in Edgartown, Mass.

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Fossil Jaw Sheds Light on Turning Point in Human Evolution

A fragment of jawbone found in Ethiopia is the oldest known fossil from an evolutionary tree branch that eventually led to modern humans, scientist reported Wednesday.

The fossil comes from very close to the time that our branch split away from more ape-like ancestors best known for the fossil skeleton Lucy. So it gives a rare glimpse of what very early members of our branch looked like.

At about 2.8 million years old, the partial jawbone pushes back the fossil record by at least 400,000 years for our branch, which scientists call Homo.

It was found two years ago at a site not far from where Lucy was unearthed. Africa is a hotbed for human ancestor fossils, and scientists from Arizona State University have worked for years at the site in northeast Ethiopia, trying to find fossils from the dimly understood period when the Homo genus, or group, arose.

Our species, called Homo sapiens, is the only surviving member of this group.

The jaw fragment, which includes five teeth, was discovered in pieces one morning by Chalachew Seyoum, an Ethiopian graduate student at Arizona State. He said he spotted a tooth poking out of the ground while looking for fossils.

The discovery is described in a paper released Wednesday by the journal Science.

Arizona State’s William Kimbel, an author of the paper, said it’s not clear whether the fossil came from a known early species of Homo or whether it reveals a new one. Field work is continuing to look for more fossils at the site, said another author, Brian Villmoare of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Analysis indicates the jaw fossil came from one of the earliest populations of Homo, and its age helps narrow the range of possibilities for when the first Homo species appeared, Kimbel said. The fossil dates to as little as 200,000 years after the last known fossil from Lucy’s species.

The fossil is from the left lower jaw of an adult. It combines ancestral features, like a primitive chin shape, with some traits found in later Homo fossils, like teeth that are slimmer than the bulbous molars of Lucy’s ilk.

Despite that mix, experts not involved in the paper said the researchers make a convincing case that the fossil belongs in the Homo category.

And they present good evidence that it came from a creature that was either at the origin of Homo or “within shouting distance,” said Bernard Wood of George Washington University.

The find also bolsters the argument that Homo arose from Lucy’s species rather than a related one, said Susan Anton of New York University.

The new paper’s analysis is first-rate, but the fossil could reveal only a limited amount of information about the creature, said Eric Delson of Lehman College in New York.

“There’s no head, there’s no tools, and no limb bones. So we don’t know if it was walking any differently from Australopithecus afarensis,” which was Lucy’s species, he said.

It’s the first time that anything other than isolated teeth have turned up as a possible trace of Homo from before 2.3 million years ago, he said.

“This fills a gap, but it hasn’t yet given us a complete skeleton. It’s not Lucy,” Delson said. “This is always the problem. We always want more.”

Also on Wednesday, another research team reported in a paper released by the journal Nature that the lower part of the face of Homo habilis, the earliest known member of the Homo branch, was surprisingly primitive. That came from reconstruction of a broken jaw that was found 50 years ago.

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Popeyes CEO on Rivals, Why Deep-Fried Wins on Menus

Popeyes CEO Cheryl Bachelder isn’t shy about sharing her opinion of competitors’ chicken.

The 58-year-old executive’s frankness isn’t surprising considering Popeyes turnaround during her tenure represents a vindication of sorts. In her upcoming book, Bachelder recounts a low point in her career when she was serving as president of KFC and her boss suggested it was time for her to go.

“In other words, I got fired. Few things are as clarifying as losing your job. My confidence was shaken,” she writes.

After leaving KFC in 2003, she says she decided to spend her “retirement” serving on boards, including for the parent company of Popeyes. She got another shot at proving herself in late 2007, when the struggling chain tapped her as its next chief executive.

Since then, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has been playing up its regional identity and remodeling stores to be more inviting. Sales at established U.S. restaurants have climbed in each of the past six years and the domestic store count has expanded to 1,870, up from about 1,580 in 2007.

Here’s what Bachelder had to say about Popeyes and the industry in an interview with The Associated Press.

————

Q: How does Popeyes chicken differ from Chick-fil-A and KFC?

A: The first thing you notice about Popeyes is the marinade. It’s a real reddish, orange color. It sticks to the chicken, you see it all through the chicken, and that’s where the flavor is. And our chicken is dipped in an egg-and-flour batter before it’s fried. That gives it a really crisp texture. There’s more of (the batter) and it’s crisper.

I’m not knocking (Chick-fil-A) — they’re great competitors. But their product is very plain vanilla. Who else did you say? KFC? Oh, them (laughs).

Their Original Recipe is deep fried in a pressure cooker, so it’s got a soft coating on it, and today’s customer likes a crisper coating. And the seasoning is basically just kind of a pepper flavor, so it doesn’t really have the complex flavors we have.

(Representatives for Chick-fil-A and KFC declined to respond).

Q: What was the state of Popeyes when you became CEO?

A: The company was 35 years old, so it was well-established and had a strong footprint. But it was tired, not relevant and not talking to its customers like it should.

We did a huge turnaround that launched in the fall of 2008. As you may remember, the fall of 2008 was an unusual time to invest heavily in your business, so we were either crazy or brave. I choose to think we were brave.

Our market share is up 50 percent from that date.

Q: It used to be Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits. Why did you change the name to Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen?

A: The brand is from Louisiana, so it’s true. Our founder created these recipes out of the Cajun and creole heritage of that state. It’s the most interesting American food there is, and we’re an international brand so it exports really well too.

It’s a much stronger identity.

Q: How has Popeyes food changed with the revamp?

A: We’ve done incredible innovation from our Louisiana roots. We did something early on called Wicked Chicken that plays on what you might find on Bourbon Street — a little mystery, a little intrigue.

We’ve done a lot of boneless, portable foods that better suits your lifestyle today. We also bought seafood front and center. We’re a Gulf Coast company, so we should have seafood credibility.

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Watch: Officer's Failed Search Caught on Tape

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“id”:14042539,”title”:”Officer’s Failed Search Caught on Tape “,”duration”:”3:00″,”description”:”Nancy Garrido videotapes a parole officer as he conducts a surprise search.”,”section”:”2020″,”mediaType”:”Default”

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'Just So Tragic': Mom of Slain Hostage Pities 'Jihadi John'

The parents of an American journalist beheaded by terrorists on video expressed pity for the “tragic” choices by their son’s apparent killer, “Jihadi John,” but said ISIS must be destroyed.

Hours after the masked man’s identity was revealed Thursday by The Washington Post and confirmed by government officials, slain journalist James Foley’s mother Diane told ABC News that she was surprised to learn alleged ISIS “executioner” Mohammed Emwazi came from a “well-to-do” family in London.

“He had a privileged background, if you will,” Foley said, referring to Emwazi’s purportedly middle class background and college degree in computer science from the University of Westminster. “So, to me, it’s just tragic that he would, such a talented young man would lose his way and become part of such a brutal network as ISIS.”

“It’s not all about him. It’s about, you know, this whole culture of hate and brutality and all that ISIS is. I mean, if it hadn’t been this young man, it would have been another one. This young man is one of the very saddest,” she said.

Nicole Tung/AP Photo

PHOTO: In this Nov. 2012, file photo, posted on the website freejamesfoley.org, shows missing journalist James Foley while covering the civil war in Aleppo, Syria.

But that’s as much as Foley said she’s willing to think about Emwazi.

Asked how she reacted as a mom to the public disclosure of the name of the man who drew a knife across her son’s neck on video, she replied, “We would like, you know — ISIS needs to be stopped.”

James’s father, John Foley, agreed that Emwazi is only one of the terrorists who must face justice for brutally slaying their son and so many others. If ever captured alive, he might not attend his trial. “I doubt it. I really doubt it. I mean I’m not interested in who he is or what he’s done. I’m done with the guy,” he told ABC News in Tucson.

Obtained by ABC News

PHOTO: A masked man, who describes himself as a member of ISIS, appears to behead Western hostages in online videos.

The Foleys spoke to University of Arizona journalism students on Wednesday on a visit to the desert southwest state and said they may visit the family of another American killed while in ISIS hands, Kayla Mueller of Prescott.

Before Foley’s death, his family was able to assemble a team of hostage negotiators to hunt for their son.

When some Spanish and French hostages were ransomed in March and April last year, the team debriefed them and learned that all the Westerners, including James and Kayla, were held captive together as a group at sites near Raqqa, Syria — intelligence they feel the U.S. government didn’t act on fast enough.

“Obviously, at that point we wanted as much as possible to be done to secure his release and that obviously didn’t happen,” John Foley said on Wednesday in the interview.

A raid by an entire squadron of America’s elite Delta Force hit an aging oil refinery site on July 3. But President Obama recently told BuzzFeed News that they missed the hostages being moved by “one or two days.”

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Watch: Conservative Political Action Conference - Day 2 Recap

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The Republican hopefuls Jeb Bush. Rand Paul the libertarian warrior Marco Rubio the up and coming senator from Florida. All trying to make the case that top the GOP presidential ticket at C pack update you love what I’m Dan where in New York. Here with more is our political director Rick. That are at all I’ve seen and I hand them harm Ireland and Rick another big dead Republican tampering are highly anticipated speeches from Jeb Bush. Making the case or attempting to any way for a third bush presidency did he do so. He made the case he didn’t close the deal and I don’t think he could have possibly thought if this is a skeptical crowd when it comes to Jeb Bush a lot of folks. I don’t think of him is a true conservative he’s gonna have to make that Kate if it’s going to be successful Republican primaries. He began to do that today and I think not by talking down to the audience not by running away from his positions. He said rather Davis again recently that he knows he has to run as if he could lose the primary so he can win the general election I think this is the start of that and I think it was an effective speech. There’s a communicating that message that he’s got some positions that. Conservatives are can agree with he’s not backing down. And this is part of what he had to sit. But. Asked me about the ideas that I believe then to move our country forward so that we can have high sustained economic growth. Where more people have a chance of earned success because in America today one more people don’t think that’s system works for them anymore. And for conservatives to win we needed. Give them hope. That if we create the field of dreams that people can rise up again. So. Rick and that there was talk of a potential lockout did that in fact happened. From the floor. I’m calling it a meeting walk out then and there were a couple of dozen people. Who laughed out wanting to know about them some of them wearing costumes revolutionary war garb so. Not necessarily rank and file Republicans. And the people yes you most worried about if you’re Jeb Bush but they did make a show that it was all a stream of them walking out of of the room with chants of USA on their way out. Although it did appear that there were more reporters. Seeking to document that and we’re actual people involved in the walk out. Interest in a game Rand Paul spoke just before Jim hood he came out swinging against government wastes billions and. I say that the phone records of law abiding citizens are none of their damn president. Okay. Or. From went to end our freedom is threatened by debt and buy a government that regulates everything that no news. We borrow a million dollars a minute. The president says he doesn’t know where to cut. How about we start with a 2.4 million dollars they spent on origami condoms. Don’t tell me there’s no place to cut. It’s at rules. Favorite Rand Paul’s other he’s trying to get his third straw poll Tennessee tactic do it. I think he’s got a good shot at it when they start voting tomorrow you’re seeing everywhere sharks gains teacher to stand with ran. That is the the watch word and this is a younger crowd Dan is important realized. It’s not necessarily the same as that as an election. Pop population for Republicans younger crowd there energetic around some of the issues that he talks about they like his style they like that he comes out against NSA surveillance and likely gets he comes out against. Foreign intervention they like he talks about cutting in and following the constitution. There’s a lot to like it is Rand Paul for a younger demographic I don’t think that as much to do necessarily with how you win. Me and our primary in every year from now but it is an indication early on about how his appeal just a little bit different than the others in the field. Buses that are Marco Rubio of Florida are fairly crowd. Very well and the thing for marker revealed he is here to stake people listening all along had he run it Jeb Bush runs as well. He’s brushing past all of that any such a good communicators another young energetic dynamic speaker. I think he got when all well long waits are convincing people he’s in this thing for real. And you’re so many people came it was something to prove here Dan. And I think for the that the crowd around us. People were excited people were energized they were engaged they like the issues that they like the matchups and have a long way to go though before that there under the nominee’s going to be. In the thick of it all the Big Three still the area Rick Klein at BC back Rick thanks so much appreciate it. You can keep up with the story in real time I’d download an ABC news outlets star in the story for exclusive updates on ago. I’m Dan that’s learn New York.

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“id”:29282257,”title”:”Conservative Political Action Conference – Day 2 Recap”,”duration”:”4:52″,”description”:”Jeb Bush, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio address CPAC day 2.”,”section”:”Politics”,”mediaType”:”Default”

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