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It looked like a recipe for disaster. So, when his country's swimmers were being accused of doping earlier this year, one Chinese official cooked up something fast. He blamed it on contaminated noodles. In fact, he argued, it could have been a culinary conspiracy concocted by criminals, whose actions led to the cooking wine used to prepare the noodles being laced with a banned heart drug that found its way into an athlete's system. This theory was spelled out to international anti-doping officials during a meeting and, after weeks of wrangling, finally made it into the thousands of pages of data handed over to the lawyer who investigated the case involving 23 Chinese swimmers who had tested positive for that same drug. The attorney, appointed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, refused to consider that scenario as he sifted through the evidence. In spelling out his reasoning, lawyer Eric Cottier paid heed to the half-baked nature of the theory. “The Investigator considers this scenario, which he has described in the conditional tense, to be possible, no less, no more,” Cottier wrote. Even without the contaminated-noodles theory, Cottier found problems with the way WADA and the Chinese handled the case but ultimately determined WADA had acted reasonably in not appealing China's conclusion that its athletes had been inadvertently contaminated. Critics of the way the China case was handled can't help but wonder if a wider exploration of the noodle theory, details of which were discovered by The Associated Press via notes and emails from after the meeting where it was delivered, might have lent a different flavor to Cottier's conclusions. “There are more story twists to the ways the Chinese explain the TMZ case than a James Bond movie,” said Rob Koehler, the director general of the advocacy group Global Athlete. "And all of it is complete fiction.” In April, reporting from the New York Times and the German broadcaster ARD revealed that the 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine, also known as TMZ. China's anti-doping agency determined the athletes had been contaminated, and so, did not sanction them. WADA accepted that explanation , did not press the case further, and China was never made to deliver a public notice about the “no-fault findings,” as is often seen in similar cases. The stock explanation for the contamination was that traces of TMZ were found in the kitchen of a hotel where the swimmers were staying. In his 58-page report , Cottier relayed some suspicions about the feasibility of that chain of events — noting that WADA's chief scientist “saw no other solution than to accept it, even if he continued to have doubts about the reality of contamination as described by the Chinese authorities.” But without evidence to support pursuing the case, and with the chance of winning an appeal at almost nil, Cottier determined WADA's “decision not to appeal appears indisputably reasonable.” A mystery remained: How did those traces of TMZ get into the kitchen? Shortly after the doping positives were revealed, the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations held a meeting on April 30 where it heard from the leader of China's agency, Li Zhiquan. Li's presentation was mostly filled with the same talking points that have been delivered throughout the saga — that the positive tests resulted from contamination from the kitchen. But he expanded on one way the kitchen might have become contaminated, harkening to another case in China involving a low-level TMZ positive. A pharmaceutical factory, he explained, had used industrial alcohol in the distillation process for producing TMZ. The industrial alcohol laced with the drug “then entered the market through illegal channels,” he said. The alcohol "was re-used by the perpetrators to process and produce cooking wine, which is an important seasoning used locally to make beef noodles,” Li said. “The contaminated beef noodles were consumed by that athlete, resulting in an extremely low concentration of TMZ in the positive sample. "The wrongdoers involved have been brought to justice.” This new information raised eyebrows among the anti-doping leaders listening to Li's report. So much so that over the next month, several emails ensued to make sure the details about the noodles and wine made their way to WADA lawyers, who could then pass it onto Cottier. Eventually, Li did pass on the information to WADA general counsel Ross Wenzel and, just to be sure, one of the anti-doping leaders forwarded it, as well, according to the emails seen by the AP. All this came with Li's request that the noodles story be kept confidential. Turns out, it made it into Cottier's report, though he took the information with a grain of salt. “Indeed, giving it more attention would have required it to be documented, then scientifically verified and validated,” he wrote. Neither Wenzel nor officials at the Chinese anti-doping agency returned messages from AP asking about the noodles conspiracy and the other athlete who Li suggested had been contaminated by them. Meanwhile, 11 of the swimmers who originally tested positive competed at the Paris Games earlier this year in a meet held under the cloud of the Chinese doping case. Though WADA considers the case closed, Koehler and others point to situations like this as one of many reasons that an investigation by someone other than Cottier, who was hired by WADA, is still needed. “It gives the appearance that people are just making things up as they go along on this, and hoping the story just goes away," Koehler said. “Which clearly it has not.” AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-gamesNone
Caitlin Clark honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year following her impact on women's sports Caitlin Clark has been named the AP Female Athlete of the Year after raising the profile of women’s basketball to unprecedented levels in both college and the WNBA. She led Iowa to the national championship game, was the top pick in the WNBA draft and captured rookie of the year honors in the league. Fans packed sold-out arenas and millions of television viewers followed her journey on and off the court. Clark's exploits also put other women's sports leagues in the spotlight. A group of 74 sports journalists from AP and its members voted on the award. Other athletes who received votes included Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and boxer Imane Khelif. Clark’s only the fourth women’s basketball player to win the award since it was first given in 1931. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, obituaries, sports, and more.
CFP games top 10M average, but NFL wins head-to-head
Ashlon Jackson scores career-best 30 points as No. 13 Duke beats No. 9 Kansas State 73-62
Snow continued to fall Monday around parts of the Great Lakes region, where storm-weary residents who have plowed and shoveled for days faced the prospect of even greater accumulations. Lake-effect snow fell on parts of western New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio that were already blanketed with a foot (0.3 meters) or more over the past four days. By Monday morning, the village of Cassadaga, New York, east of Lake Erie, recorded 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) of snow. Snow was forecast through Tuesday in that largely rural area south of Buffalo. “It was so much, so quick, that we got buried," said Rebecca Chamberlin, who lives in Cassadaga with her husband and two sons. She has been struggling to keep up with the bands of sometimes wet and heavy snow. “If it had been, you know, over a period of a week or more, it wouldn’t have been so bad.” In Ohio, the quaint village of Geneva-on-the-Lake had more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) of snow, and more is in the forecast through the rest of the week, according to the National Weather Service. “At this point, it's just annoying,” said Ryan Colby, who lives a snowball's toss from Lake Erie in the Ohio village. “We’ve just been getting hit left and right with it. I’ve been getting up every couple hours and shoveling out the driveway and the porch just so we don’t get too, too buried again.” Lake-effect snow warnings were in effect through Tuesday night in parts of Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. Winter storm warnings or advisories also were posted through Tuesday in Michigan, up and down the Lake Michigan coast, where as much as a foot (0.3 meters) of snow was predicted. Farther inland, some communities canceled school, including Gaylord, where more than 3 feet (0.9 meters) of snow has fallen since Thanksgiving. “Last year at this time we still had green grass,” said Mike Williams, who has a snow removal business in Gaylord. “To get it all at once overwhelmed everyone.” In southwest Michigan, a crash involving about 14 passenger vehicles and three semi-trucks critically injured a driver and shut down Interstate 94 near Hartford in both directions during whiteout conditions on Monday, the Michigan State Police posted on the social platform X. More than a dozen “vehicle slide offs” had also been reported in the area, with police warning drivers to slow down. Skies were clear east of Lake Ontario in northern New York, where some residents were still digging out from mountains of snow. “We’ve got snow banks that are higher than me,” said Mary Shambo, owner of the Cottage Inn in Copenhagen, New York. The small village received more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) of snow in four days. Shambo and her husband, Ben, managed to stay open through the thick of the storm. Some locals arrived by snowmobile, but they mostly served truckers who pulled off the road when bands of snow became particularly fierce. “It goes from whiteout conditions to clear,” she said, “so they would take off when it was clear and hope to God they got to where they needed to go.” In Ohio, the mayor of Geneva-on-the-Lake has been using a backhoe almost nonstop since Thursday to clear the snow. “Every business down here has been shut down the last four days," Mayor Dwayne Bennett said. “You can’t even get in the front doors." “The problem is we’re not equipped to handle this much snow in this amount of time,” he added. Officials faced similar problems in snow-bound Erie, Pennsylvania, where 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 meters) of snow fell since Thursday, and accumulations on the ground were particularly wet and heavy. “Every shovel is like 30 pounds, and there’s not a lot of space to put that snow once it’s been piling up for days and days,” said Sarah Morrison with the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority. Up to 17 inches (43 centimeters) of snow fell in Alaska’s capital city of Juneau over the weekend as part of a system that was “definitely stronger” than what the region typically experiences this time of year, National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Spann said. Snow had transitioned to freezing rain early Monday, he said, with roads icy in some areas. Wet, heavy snow was piled on sidewalks along typically busy streets near downtown Juneau, and slushy pools were forming at some intersections. School went to remote learning in the city on Monday, and state offices were closed due to freezing rain. Ice encased the thin branches on some trees. The rest of Juneau's week is expected to be very different, with forecasts calling for rain and unusually warm temperatures in the 40s (between 4.4 and 10 degrees Celsius). This story has been updated to correct the snow total in Cassadaga, New York, to 4.5 feet, not 5.5 feet. Contributing to this report were Susan Haigh in Norwich, Connecticut; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Ed White in Detroit; Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska.
The 2024 Lakowe Lakes Golf Club Championship, which will be played on December 7 and 8, will feature over 100 payers in a 36-hole contest, the organisers have announced. The event, considered the pinnacle of the year’s golfing activities at Lakowe Lakes, will be hosted at the estate’s world-class 18-hole championship course, providing a spectacular backdrop for intense competition and camaraderie among the club’s members. The golf manager at Lakowe Lakes Golf and Country Estate, Femi Olagbenro, expressed his excitement about the upcoming championship. “The club championship is the highlight of our golfing calendar,” Olagbenro said. Related News Golf: Custodian Classic begins today “We are proud to showcase the immense talent within our club and offer a platform for our golfers to compete at the highest level. This year, we are expecting a record turnout, with over 100 participants across various categories, including men, women, and veterans.” The championship promises thrilling matches in each of the categories, where champions will be crowned in the men, women, and veterans divisions. In addition to the competition, guests will enjoy different activities, social gatherings, and a chance to network with fellow golfers, sponsors, and VIPs.DWTS' Brooks Nader Reacts to Sister Calling Her Out for Using Ozempic
‘Exactly right’: Albo’s tongue-in-cheek remarkAndrew Luck returns to Stanford as the GM of the football programMost Hunter pharmacies aren't stocking vapes because of too much red tape, dealing a blow to Albanese government efforts to tackle the vaping crisis . Login or signup to continue reading John Jones, secretary of Newcastle and Hunter Valley Pharmacists Association, said "it's been a non-event". "Pharmacists aren't taking it up - it's too hard," Mr Jones said. Australia's Liber Pharmaceuticals has an online map showing Terry White and Chemist Warehouse pharmacies stock nicotine vaping products. However, Terry White Chemmart Junction Fair owner David Went said "we're not doing it". "Terry White as a brand has some indication that they're doing it, but it still comes back to individual stores," Mr Went said. Mr Went said he would prescribe vapes for "regular customers I deem appropriate, but that's few and far between". He said the pharmacies "weren't consulted at all" over the vaping changes. "There's a lot of red tape. That's why the majority of pharmacies aren't involved." Pharmacist Toni Harris, of Chemist Warehouse Newcastle, said "we stock over-the-counter vapes". "We're selling quite a fair bit of those," Ms Harris said. Ms Harris said Chemist Warehouse at Charlestown also stocked prescription vapes. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has enabled pharmacists to supply prescription and non-prescription vapes since October. Mr Jones said it was too hard for most pharmacies to "effectively implement that service". "People are still buying vapes that are illegal. That's rife," he said. The Newcastle Herald reported in August that convenience stores and tobacconists were selling illegal vapes. A new wave of brightly lit junk food stores have reportedly been selling vapes. The TGA warned that "vapes can only be supplied in pharmacy settings". "It is illegal for all other retailers, such as tobacconists, vape shops and convenience stores to sell any kind of vape," a TGA spokesperson said. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler warned of "very serious penalties in the federal legislation we passed earlier this year". This included jail time of up to seven years and fines of up to $2.2 million for vape supply. "I am deadly serious about enforcing those penalties," Mr Butler said. The Australian Border Force and TGA seized more than 7 million vaping products this year, with an estimated street value of about $210 million. The TGA was involved in "more than 25 joint enforcement operations with state and territory agencies". More raids were planned. "The days of bubble gum-flavoured vapes covered in rainbows and unicorns are over," Mr Butler said. "The cynical marketing to our children is done. "Vape stores around the country are closing and young Australians are saying they're finding it harder to purchase vapes." He added that the laws allow "access for hardened smokers who want to kick the habit". Mr Jones said the laws allowing pharmacists to supply vapes were "very tightly regulated". The TGA hadn't approved any vaping products to help people stop smoking or manage nicotine dependence. Pharmacists can sell "unapproved" vapes, but they're wary due to the health risks of vaping. Mr Jones said it was a burden for pharmacists to supply unapproved vapes through the TGA's "special access scheme". "It creates all these documentation pain-points for us," he said. "I'm the one [as a pharmacist] who gets my knuckles caned if I provide someone with the wrong thing. "It's easier for us to direct people to an online script service to provide a script for vapes." Health and medicine, science, research, nutrition. Health and medicine, science, research, nutrition. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. 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