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We have discussed this game in detail — veteran Sporting News writers Vinnie Iyer and Bill Bender both picked the Chiefs to narrowly escape Los Angeles with a win — and my Best Bets column as well as my DraftKings and FanDuel lineups reflect my trust in a K.C. W as well. But this column is all about the props. As we do every Friday, we have hand-selected the most intriguing and the most potentially-lucrative on Sports Interaction, BetMGM, and Caesars....

Even before the current crisis, access to child care was a critical factor in a parent’s ability to find a job, keep that job and work longer hours. Essential workers must have access to safe, trustworthy and reliable child care while they work to keep the rest of the country going. Unfortunately, a recent survey conducted by Morning Consult and the Bipartisan Policy Center found 60% of child care programs are closed for the foreseeable future and nearly two-thirds of parents in need of child care are having difficulty finding it....

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Social Development spokesperson Mhlabunzima Memela said the incident, which allegedly saw the boy sjambokked (lashed by a heavy whip of rhinoceros or hippopotamus hide) took place in the Mfakayi area, near Mtubatuba, in KwaZulu-Natal, in the east of the country, The South African reported. Memela said a neighbour alerted the provincial Department of Social Development to the violence, which allegedly took place on August 22. “We heard that the dog died and then this guy arrived, he took the sjambok and started assaulting the seven-year-old, accusing him of being the one who killed the dog....

Such charitable conclusions are quickly rejected by a world that craves titillation instead of truth. People would rather cling to colorful absurdities than accept the facts. Unpopular decisions evoke the wrath of many, jostle the insecurities of some and mystify all but a few. The result is that the majority of people are rendered confused or anxious untraditional lifestyles and are quick to denounce or distort the reasons for those life choices....

The move effectively halts a widely criticized practice, not limited to Amherst, in which potential students from wealthier families get an extra advantage in getting into the Massachusetts college, the Associated Press reported. Amherst, a liberal arts college, said that it would look to establish a fairer admissions system and encourage diversity among its student body by ending the practice of so-called legacy admissions. In the institution of 1,700 students, children of Amherst alumni have made up 11 percent of incoming students in the past, AP reported....

An administrator in the University of Oregon’s athletic department, Bartko sued Rev. Stephen Kiesle, 74, for alleged sexual assault that occurred between 1972 and 1975 at St. Joseph’s Parish in Pinole, a city northeast of San Francisco. Four days after announcing his lawsuit at a news conference, Bartko collapsed and died while working out in Oregon in March of 2020. His cause of death was a hemorrhage due to cirrhosis, a result of excessive drinking due to more than four decades of keeping the alleged abuse secret....

The Washington-based think tank’s China Power Project polled several dozen subject-matter experts, who unanimously agreed that China’s designs on Taiwan, the democratically-ruled island Beijing claims as its own, account for the involvement of U.S. troops. The occasional glimpse into Chinese military planning suggests it expects some of America’s closest allies to defend Taiwan as well. Biden’s public pledge to defend Taipei in the event of “an unprecedented attack”—the fourth time he has made such remarks in the last 13 months—was seen in some quarters as breaking with four decades of “strategic ambiguity,” the longstanding U....

While speaking to reporters on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, “We are willing to do our best to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification, but we will never leave any space for ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities in any form. “It is hoped that the Australian side will fully recognize that the Taiwan question is highly sensitive, abide by the one-China principle, be prudent in its words and deeds, avoid sending any wrong signals to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, and act in ways beneficial to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and conducive to China-Australian relations....

Speaking Friday at a press conference in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian asserted that his country “firmly supports the efforts of the Cuban government and people to maintain social stability” as President Joe Biden doubles down to pressure Cuba in the wake of historic protests in the island nation. The latest measures, unveiled Thursday, included sanctions against the head of the Cuban armed forces and a division of the Interior Ministry in response to their suspected roles in cracking down on the demonstrations....

The Omicron-fueled increase in the country’s COVID case numbers is testing China’s zero-COVID policy, which aims to quickly squash any outbreak through strict safety measures and immediate lockdowns. China has pointed to the measures as a success in curbing the pandemic—as the government reported no COVID deaths from January 2021 until March 19 of this year. But the current surge in cases is putting strain on its economy, as the more mild and transmissible Omicron variant threatens widespread closures in some provinces....

Phase 4 of China’s program will carry out scientific examination of the Moon’s south pole with a view to constructing a research base there, state media reported. Wu Yanhua, vice administrator of the China National Space Administration, told CGTN they hoped to survey the area and build some facilities within a decade. “And in the 10 years or so after the first stage, we look to build a comparatively all-around science station, with engagement from different countries, organizations, including private-sector participation,” Wu said....

It’s how a sharp increase in IUU fishing by Chinese fishing boats over the past decade has come to threaten the world’s oceans, deprive seaside nations of their economic livelihoods, and undermine international laws and norms. A 2015 study found a 50 percent decline in ocean life over the last 50 years. According to United Nations data, approximately 90 percent of the world’s remaining fish stocks are now fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted....

According to the South China Morning Post, China Radio International reported on Tuesday night that the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force recently held a nighttime rocket training exercise. The report added the purpose of the exercise was to increase the Rocket Force’s ability to transfer weapons and missiles quickly. The state-run Global Times also reported that the Rocket Force was training with DF-26 “carrier killer” ballistic missiles. According to the South China Morning Post, the DF-26 missiles can travel up to 2,485 miles and can be used as a nuclear strike or as a traditional ground strike....

His 10,000-word speech, given just five days after the Capitol Riots in the U.S., were published by the party’s bimonthly theoretical journal Qiushi last Friday. In his remarks titled “Seizing a New Development Stage, Implementing a New Development Philosophy and Constructing a New Development paradigm,” the Chinese leader said the world was experiencing “profound change not seen for a century.” China, Xi alluded, has the right leadership and government to capitalize on the “enormous and unprecedented” opportunities and challenges facing the country’s development....

Why would Beijing want to destroy a movement peaceably devoted to an eclectic mix of mysticism, meditation and slow-motion physical exercise? Falun Gong has no political agenda, and its only charismatic figure–Li Hongzhi, the 49-year-old founder–lives quietly in exile in the United States. Yet there are those in the Beijing leadership who consider Falun Gong, which claims tens of millions of members in China, the most serious current threat to the supremacy of the Chinese Communist Party....

The parent picked up her McDonald’s food from a branch of the restaurant in Aldershot, U.K., accompanied by three of her four children on Tuesday. Her order included a 20 box of chicken nuggets for the kids. As the family was sitting down to eat, her six-year-old daughter began to choke. The mom took quick action and put her fingers inside the child’s mouth to remove the blockage. As her daughter vomited, Arber claims she discovered remnants of a blue cloth face mask....

Sarah’s mother was an addict and a prostitute; as a newborn, Sarah suffered through heroin withdrawal. She was taken away from her mother in the hospital and given to foster parents, Joseph and Marjorie Procopio, a suburban Chicago couple who lovingly raised her for the next five years. Then, in 1989, the birth mother and her boyfriend, who claims to be Sarah’s father, convinced a Juvenile Court judge that they were off drugs....

According to the Otago Daily Times, the University of Otago’s Hayward College sits directly across the street from Dunedin Hospital’s Children’s Unit—a placement that has created some unforeseen problems. Specifically, hospital administrators were recently forced to send a “friendly” message to their neighbors, requesting that students who live in Hayward College close their blinds while engaging in “certain naked activities”—because, as it turns out, they were on full display for patients and their parents....

Ambassador Liu Xiaoming made the comments after China passed a new security law for Hong Kong which criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign powers and which has seen widespread protests in Hong Kong, with opponents claiming it undermines democratic freedoms. After Beijing passed the law, Boris Johnson said China was in “clear and serious” violation of its treaty with Britain and undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy. A former British colony, Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 following a 1984 agreement between China and Britain, under the understanding that Hong Kong would be governed under the principle of “one country, two systems”, where it would enjoy “a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defense affairs” for 50 years....