Team in Sweden terminates Cal Foote's contract after objections

KARLSTAD, Sweden (AP) — A hockey team in the Swedish Elite League has terminated the contract of Cal Foote after objections from fans about it. Färjestad BK announced Thursday it was not going to honor the contract after conversations with stakeholders.

Foote was one of five players acquitted of sexual assault in the high-profile Hockey Canada 2018 world junior case. The 27-year-old defenseman spent much of last season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.

He was in the New Jersey Devils’ organization when the NHL suspended the players involved. The situation in 2018 happened before the players reached the NHL.

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KUMAMOTO, Japan (AP) — The death toll climbed to 34 from a powerful earthquake in southwestern Japan that set off an explosion at a mall, toppled a factory chimney and flattened homes, the Kumamoto prefectural government said Friday.

The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday.

Officials said 34 deaths had been confirmed as related to the disaster, with one more death still under investigation. On Thursday authorities said more than 80 people had been injured, five of them seriously.

More than 3,500 homes were still without electricity and more than 9,000 people were staying in shelters, where power sources were being added to provide air conditioning. In the days since the quake, concerns have grown about illness, including from the sweltering heat.

Searchers continued to work in the Kumamoto area on Friday, including at the site of the collapsed Aeon Mall shopping center in the town of Kashima, where some of the most serious damage was recorded. The complex was bustling with thousands of people when the quake happened.

The company said about 3,000 shoppers were evacuated to a parking lot before an explosion happened in another part of the mall, where some staff remained working. The mall’s second floor collapsed, trapping people.