New England Patriots beat Seattle Seahawks, 28-24, in Super Bowl XLIX

The New England Patriots overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to beat the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24, in Super Bowl XLIX Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona ,the fourth Super Bowl title and first in 10 years -- during the record-setting tenure of quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady eclipsed the 300 yards passing mark and threw for four touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter, to win his fourth Super Bowl title.

The Patriots added to the National Football League championships they won after the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons, and prevented the Seahawks from becoming the eighth franchise to defend a title. The Patriots remain the last team to win back-to-back Super Bowls.

With four Super Bowl titles, Brady ties Terry Bradshaw and childhood hero Joe Montana for the most among quarterbacks. Brady boosted his win total to 21 in the postseason, more than 21 of the other 31 current NFL teams.

Belichick ties Chuck Noll for the most Super Bowl wins by a head coach, with four. Belichick has 22 career postseason wins, extending a record he broke when he passed Tom Landry (20) this offseason.

 

3-Year-Old Shoots Dad, Pregnant Mom in Albuquerque Motel Room

A three-year-old American boy has shot his mother and father with the same bullet after pulling a gun from her handbag, police say.

The incident took place in a motel room on Saturday afternoon in Albuquerque in the state of New Mexico.

The toddler was apparently reaching for an iPod.

The bullet passed through his father’s buttock and hit his mother, who is eight months pregnant, in the arm. Both parents are said to be recovering.

The boy’s two-year-old sister, who was also in the room at the America’s Best Value Inn, was unhurt.

‘Traumatised’

Justin Reynolds told NBC News station KOB he and his girlfriend Monique Villescas were about to order a pizza when he heard the shot.

“The next minute I realised my girlfriend was bleeding. Then I sat down and realised I was shot too.”

He called emergency services and tried to staunch Ms Villescas’s bleeding with towels.He said: “I was more worried about my girlfriend than myself and anything else that was going on. And my son because I didn’t know if he had shot himself or not. He was shocked and crying. It was traumatising.”

 

Mr Reynolds has been released from hospital and Ms Villescas is in a stable condition.

Albuquerque police said the district attorney’s office would decide whether the parents would face negligence charges. The children have been taken into care.

In December a woman in the state of Idaho was killed after her two-year-old son accidentally shot her with a gun he found when reaching into her handbag in a Wal-Mart store.

Mayweather dampens hopes for Pacquiao fight

Unbeaten fighter Floyd Mayweather dampened talk of a possible mega-fight agreement with Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, a day after the Asian star’s promoter said a deal was near.

Mayweather posted a message on his Shots account that said in part “While they continue to lie about making the fight… I’m just going to continue to travel and explore the world on my private jet. #FightNotMadeYet #Jamaica.”

Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum told the New York Post on Friday that he was optimistic a Pacquiao-Mayweather deal for a May 2 fight in Las Vegas would be completed in the next couple of days, with only a few final details to be settled between rival telecasters HBO and Showtime, the rights holders for Pacquiao and Mayweather respectively.

Mayweather, who turns 38 on February 24, left England’s Amir Khan hanging for months until announcing on his birthday last year that he would fight Argentina’s Marcos Maidana instead.

Mayweather wound up beating the South American twice in 2014, but has yet to test himself against Pacquiao or Khan.

Filipino southpaw Pacquiao is 57-5 with two drawn and 38 knockouts while Mayweather is 47-0 with 26 knockouts. Fans have sought a showdown between the two for five years, thus far in vain.

Saudi beheads murderer, 5th execution under new king

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Sunday beheaded a convicted murderer, bringing to five the number of people executed since new King Salman took office, continuing the kingdom's use of the harshest punishment.

Abdelrahman al-Jahni, a Saudi, was convicted of shooting another man dead during a dispute, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The sentence was carried out in the holy city of Medina.

According to an AFP tally, Jahni is the latest of 17 locals and foreigners to be executed this year. Five have been beheaded since King Salman took office on January 23 after the death of his predecessor Abdullah.

The interior ministry says the death penalty in such cases reflects the government's commitment to "maintaining security, realizing justice".

But the kingdom has faced constant international criticism over its human rights record, including the use of the death penalty. Under Abdullah, the number of executions jumped from 27 in 2010 to around 80 annually, with 87 recorded last year.

Australian Open: Djokovic outlasts Murray for fifth title

Novak Djokovic won his fifth Australian Open crown after prevailing in a titanic four-set final against Andy Murray on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday evening.

Djokovic has now won the most men's singles titles at the Australian Open in the professional era courtesy of the 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-0 triumph.

He now moves past Roger Federer and Andre Agassi, who had both won four titles, while leaving Murray winless from four appearances in the Open final.

The first two sets lasted more than two-and-a-half hours but once Djokovic saved a break point in the middle of the third set he didn't drop another game.

The final was briefly interrupted by two protestors who ran onto Rod Laver Arena in the second set, a break that helped the Scot rally in the set.