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Jeff Bridich is stepping down as general manager of the Colorado Rockies. The mutual agreement between Bridich and the team ends a tenure that included two playoff appearances and a falling out with Nolan Arenado that ultimately led to the All-Star third baseman’s trade. Bridich was in his seventh season as GM. The team will appoint an interim general manager for the rest of the season before launching a search following the postseason. The Rockies also appointed Greg Feasel as the team president in addition to his role of being in charge of the club’s business operations.

A judge has dismissed the lawsuit of a man who alleged that Michael Jackson sexually abused him as a boy. The Los Angeles judge tossed out the lawsuit of Wade Robson on Monday, saying two Jackson entertainment corporations targeted by the lawsuit had no legal duty to protect Robson from Jackson. Robson made the allegation in the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland.”  His attorney Vince Finaldi said in a statement that the decision sets a dangerous precedent and he plans to appeal. A similar lawsuit from another man in the documentary was dismissed in October. 

Brad Cox is looking to make history at Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. The trainer grew up a few blocks away from the historic track. He began working with horses at Churchill Downs as a teenager before learning under several trainers and branching out on his own 16 years ago. Cox now has an Eclipse Award along with the likely Kentucky Derby favorite in 5-0 Essential Quality. The colt could make Cox the first Louisville-born Derby winning trainer. That would add to an impressive resume' that includes two Oaks victories for fillies in three years.

President Joe Biden’s grandkids say anyone who wants to take a crack at their “Pop” has to go through them first. When Biden calls to check in, he doesn’t stop after one grandchild but ends up dialing all of them for updates. Even son Hunter Biden gets a nightly call from Biden. Biden’s big Irish American family has a prominent part of the White House scene during his first 100 days in office. His wife, children, and grandchildren provide the grounding that people close to the president say has served Biden during nearly a half century of public service. 

Turner Sports is the surprise winner of the National Hockey League’s second television package. Two people familiar with the deal tell The Associated Press the two sides have agreed on a seven-year contract that includes three Stanley Cup Finals. The NHL wll now have two network partners in the United States for the first time since 1998-99. It will also get more money. This season, the NHL received $350 million in broadcast revenue from NBC and Disney Streaming Services. The upcoming deals will average $635 million per year.

Vice President Kamala Harris has told Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei that the U.S. is planning to increase relief to the Northern Triangle region and “strengthen our cooperation” to better manage the steep increase in migration at the U.S. southern border. Harris made the comments during a virtual meeting Monday with the president that marked a ramping up of her diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration from the region. Harris will also meet with Guatemalan civil society groups Tuesday, and she has plans to hold a similar virtual meeting with the Mexican president next month, before heading to visit Mexico and Guatemala in June.

Houston Astros starter Jake Odorizzi has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained muscle in his right arm and second baseman José Altuve has been activated after a bout with COVID-19. Odorizzi left his start Saturday after just five pitches with what the team called tightness in his right forearm. Manager Dusty Baker announced Monday that Odorizzi had a strained right pronator. Altuve was among five Astros who were placed on the COVID-19 list on April 14. He cleared health and safety protocols on Friday and revealed on Saturday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 but did not have any symptoms.

NASA and SpaceX are promising more Coast Guard patrols and fewer pleasure boaters for this week's splashdown by four astronauts. Three NASA astronauts and one from Japan are scheduled to return from the International Space Station on Wednesday, flying home in a SpaceX Dragon capsule. SpaceX is targeting the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee for its second return of a crew. Last August, pleasure boaters surrounded SpaceX's bobbing two-man capsule, putting themselves at risk from any leaking capsule fuel. During a news conference Monday, astronaut Mike Hopkins urged the public to stay safe by staying away.

President Joe Biden’s first address to Congress is an invite-only affair, no guests allowed. The restrictions for Wednesday’s event are due to COVID-19 safety protocols, but will have the added security benefit of a limited number of people inside the Capitol for the president’s first major indoor event since he took office just weeks after the Jan. 6 insurrection. The fence is still up around the U.S. Capitol, and the National Guard is still there. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited Biden to the chamber to share his "vision for addressing the challenges and opportunities of this historic moment.” Presidents don’t deliver a State of the Union address to Congress until their second year in office.

Nine of the 14 Big Ten football teams appear set at quarterback heading into the fall. The five others will continue auditions in August. No competition will be more closely watched than the one at Ohio State. Gone is two-time Big Ten player of the year Justin Fields. That leaves returning backups C.J. Stroud and Jack Miller III and five-star January enrollee Kyle McCord to take snaps in spring practice. Coach Ryan Day says a decision on the starter might not come until shortly before the Sept. 2 opener at Minnesota.

PARIS (AP) — Nursery and primary schools reopened on Monday across France after a three-week closure in the first step out of the country's partial lockdown, despite numbers of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units reaching their highest level since…

The 93rd annual Academy Awards were always going to be a bit surreal this year. The pandemic changed many of the usual rhythms and traditions of the Oscars on Sunday night. There was a red carpet but no onlookers or teams of publicists. There were in-person, mask-less winners but not in the usual order, and the speeches were never drowned out with play-off music. Compounding the differences this year was a telecast, steered by producers including filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, that wanted a new look and feel to an often stodgy, persistently immutable ceremony. 

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that Germany will open up COVID-19 vaccinations to all adults in June, based on projections that the country will receive 80 million doses from manufacturers in the second quarter of the year.…

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government is intensifying efforts to court the Biden administration as the new U.S. president weighs whether to risk a political backlash in Florida and ease up on sanctions seeking to isolate the socialist leader. Maduro this month has conceded to longstanding U.S. demands that the World Food Program be allowed to establish a foothold in the country at a time of growing hunger. His allies also vowed to work with the U.S.-backed opposition to vaccinate Venezuelans against the coronavirus and have met with diplomats from Norway trying to revive negotiations to end the country’s never-ending political strife. The frenzy of activity comes as senior U.S. officials meet Monday as part of their continuing review of policy toward Venezuela. 

Because they are make believe, mock drafts tend to go wild. Lots of projected trades. Runs on specific positions. A surprise pick or two. For this year's selection process there is an obvious trend — one that should stun nobody. It's all about the quarterbacks, with potentially the first four spots being occupied by passers. That will begin with Trevor Lawrence of Clemson going to Jacksonville, which earned the top overall choice by going 1-15 last season.

The racial injustice protests in Minneapolis have revealed a generational divide in the city's burgeoning Black immigrant communities. Young people from Somali, Ethiopian and Liberian families have thrust themselves into the demonstrations, but older generations are more likely to stay focused on their livelihoods instead of speaking out. Jaylani Hussein is director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He says many older immigrants grew up in countries that prohibited speaking out against the government. Younger Black immigrants who were born in America or came at a young age often know firsthand both their parents’ struggles and the nation's history of racial injustice.

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Mario Draghi presented a 222.1 billion euro ($268.6 billion) coronavirus recovery plan to Parliament on Monday, aiming to not only help Italy bounce back from the pandemic but enact “epochal” reforms to address structural problems…