Craig Taylor

Critics say a deal for US firm Google to pay £130m in UK back taxes is “derisory”, but Chancellor George Osborne says it is a “vindication” for the government.
BBC News – Business

Iran and China pledge closer economic ties, as China’s Xi Jinping becomes the first leader to visit Tehran since sanctions were lifted.
BBC News – Middle East

Rio de Janeiro authorities announce plans to prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus during the Olympic Games later this year.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

Tens of thousands of people march in cities across Italy, demanding legal recognition for same-sex couples.
BBC News – Europe

A former Labour pollster tells the BBC that a report into why Labour lost the 2015 election is a “whitewash and a massive missed opportunity”.
BBC News – UK

A massive snowstorm brings much of the eastern US to a standstill, with officials in New York believing it could be one of the city’s worst snowstorms.
BBC News – US & Canada

South Sudan misses a key deadline to create a transitional government, part of a peace deal to end the civil war which began in 2013.
BBC News – Africa

Former A’s pitcher Mark Mulder is set to join the club’s broadcast team as a color commentator for 20 telecasts this season, CSN California announced Friday.
OAK Homepage News

DALLAS – Before the Thunder left for its longest road trip of the season, Thunder players up and down the roster stated
Oklahoma City Thunder

Global stock markets rally for a second day, boosted by rising oil prices and hopes of more stimulus measures from central banks.
BBC News – Business

The BBC obtains satellite imagery which appears to show the US expanding an air strip in Kurdish-controlled northern Syria.
BBC News – Middle East

Haiti’s president says a runoff to choose the nation’s next leader will take place on Sunday despite threats of an opposition boycott.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

At least 42 migrants have drowned off the Greek coast in two separate shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea, officials say.
BBC News – Europe

The criminal record checks scheme – under which people applying for certain jobs must disclose previous convictions – has been ruled “arbitrary” and unlawful by the High Court.
BBC News – UK

A huge blizzard has begun to hit the US east coast and is expected to dump near-record levels of snow from Washington to New York.
BBC News – US & Canada

The Tunisian interior ministry announces a nationwide curfew in response to protests over unemployment, saying national security is at stake.
BBC News – Africa

Cubs prospect Willson Contrerast, a converted catcher coming off a breakout campaign in Double-A, leads the 2016 Top 10 Catching Prospects list, while Yankees slugger Gary Sanchez re-enters at No. 2 after failing […]

Oklahoma City Thunder

Individual game tickets for A’s regular-season home games, several of which feature enticing promotions, are set to go on sale Friday, the club has announced. The club has also announced planned giveaways and […]

The help side defender had just barely started his move over to the right block when a whizzing, whirring sphere flashed through the lane
Oklahoma City Thunder