LONDON (AP) — A Zoe Harrison intercept try after the fulltime siren snatched a gripping 26-19 win for world champion England against archrival New Zealand in WXV women's rugby at Twickenham on Saturday.
England, on a 40-match unbeaten run, looked like taking a second consecutive draw at 19-19 after finishing with Canada 26-26 last weekend. But unlike Canada the No. 2-ranked Black Ferns chose not to kick the ball out and accept a draw and, instead, went for the win in the 81st minute from their 22 of an already classic contest.
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New Zealand's Mererangi Paul scores a try during the WXV Global Series match between England and New Zealand in London, Saturday Sept. 26, 2026. (David Davies/PA via AP)
New Zealand's Georgia Ponsonby is tackled by England's Megan Jones during the WXV Global Series match between England and New Zealand in London, Saturday Sept. 26, 2026. (David Davies/PA via AP)
England's Megan Jones gets past the tackle of New Zealand's Maiakawanakaulani Roos during the WXV Global Series match between England and New Zealand in London, Saturday Sept. 26, 2026. (David Davies/PA via AP)
England celebrate the winning try during the WXV Global Series match between England and New Zealand in London, Saturday Sept. 26, 2026. (David Davies/PA via AP)
But Harrison intercepted Amy du Plessis just 15 meters out from the New Zealand tryline and the crowd of 59,871 erupted in joy and relief while Harrison was buried under a pile of her teammates.
“I nearly suffocated,” Harrison told the BBC. “I was screaming for them to get off me because I still had to go and kick.”
She added the conversion only moments after her 43-meter penalty kick to win the game in the 80th minute fell well short.
“A little bit of luck in the end but I think you make your own luck,” England captain Megan Jones said. “We kept pressing, defense, we were relentless.”
Black Ferns coach Whitney Hansen witnessed her first loss in eight tests this year but was proud.
“Particularly of Du Plessis,” Hansen said. “We didn’t want to go down as a draw after watching (Canada) last week and we were going to fight to the death, so I love that she threw that pass. She saw it was on and if it comes off (the result) goes the other way.”
New Zealand dominated possession and territory and led 12-7 at halftime but rued not finishing enough chances. Three knock-ons and two ruck turnovers stymied long blocks of pressure by the Black Ferns in the Red Roses 22.
Barrelling runs by No. 8 Kaipo Olsen-Baker, playing her first game in five weeks, and winger Ayesha Leti-I'iga, in her first game in three weeks, led New Zealand, while the Red Roses were spearheaded by No. 8 Maddie Feaunati and Jones.
England got an early let-off when a Leti-I'iga try was scrubbed off because she didn't release the ball in a tackle. England scored first instead when fullback Ellie Kildunne brushed off opposite Braxton Sorensen-McGee and gave winger Claudia Moloney-MacDonald her fourth try this month.
New Zealand then spent 10 minutes in England's half and appeared to waste it until Du Plessis chased a clearance back to halfway, turned and kicked into empty space and beat everyone to the ball in goal.
New Zealand moved ahead after flyhalf Hannah King's dummy and break sent over Leti-I'iga.
England regained the lead after halftime at 14-12 when Jess Breach drew three defenders to let Kildunne slip away untouched around the corner.
While Ferns prop Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu was in the sin-bin for head contact that forced off Marlie Packer, England bulldozed New Zealand's seven-women scrum for Breach to score her 58th try.
The Black Ferns drew level with 10 minutes to go when winger Mererangi Paul scored from Du Plessis' floated pass.
See AP’s full rugby coverage here
New Zealand's Mererangi Paul scores a try during the WXV Global Series match between England and New Zealand in London, Saturday Sept. 26, 2026. (David Davies/PA via AP)
New Zealand's Georgia Ponsonby is tackled by England's Megan Jones during the WXV Global Series match between England and New Zealand in London, Saturday Sept. 26, 2026. (David Davies/PA via AP)
England's Megan Jones gets past the tackle of New Zealand's Maiakawanakaulani Roos during the WXV Global Series match between England and New Zealand in London, Saturday Sept. 26, 2026. (David Davies/PA via AP)
England celebrate the winning try during the WXV Global Series match between England and New Zealand in London, Saturday Sept. 26, 2026. (David Davies/PA via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are preparing a vast oversight agenda, with investigations of President Donald Trump, his family and his administration if the party sweeps control of the chamber from Republicans in the November elections.
The undertaking is as robust as it is daunting, spanning several House committees. With majority power comes bigger budgets and staff, and the ability to investigate, subpoena and potentially course-correct what the Democrats say are widespread corruption and abuses of power. Impeachment of the Republican president and Cabinet officials is not off the table.
“There is a cost to the American people of the out-of-control corruption,” said Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win control at the Capitol.
“If folks have been stealing from the American people, shortchanging the American people or screwing over the American people,” Jeffries said, “we are going to hold the crooks accountable.”
Congress has enormous ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch as part of its power as a coequal branch of government, and a road map for the Democratic-run investigations has already been set by the almost daily letters lawmakers send to the administration and in amicus court filings.
Democrats are asking about the money-making by Trump and his family, whose wealth has grown dramatically since he returned to the White House in January 2025. They are investigating the potential civil rights violations of Americans killed protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and of detained immigrants being deported to faraway countries. They have fought the closing of the Kennedy Center, launched investigations into private funding of the America at 250 celebrations and tracked the shuttering of federal operations, including the U.S. Agency for International Development.
New questions emerge daily, including the Trump family’s recent acknowledgment that a weekend wedding party for the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. was partly funded by a Russian oligarch, with reportedly close ties to the Kremlin.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who is in line to become the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, characterized the issues involved as “gargantuan."
“We need to zero in quickly on the forms of systemic corruption that have cost the public huge amounts of money," Raskin told The Associated Press, “and where there are legislative cures available.”
Jeffries will almost certainly be under pressure from the far left to move more swiftly to articles of impeachment against Trump, who during his first became the first president to be twice impeached by the House. Both times, he was acquitted by the Senate.
Impeaching the president a third time may not hold the currency that it once did. Democrats will more likely focus their impeachment efforts on Cabinet members. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth already faces articles of impeachment from a Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, over his leadership at the Pentagon and his management of the Iran war.
“We haven’t ruled anything out,” Jeffries said recently about the tools available to Congress, “and we haven’t ruled anything in.”
The White House is likely to play hardball if confronted with investigations, and Democrats are bracing for an administration that potentially ignores subpoenas or refuses to turn over paperwork that lawmakers are demanding.
The Democrats are also reaching beyond the administration into various corporate and business entities for potential wrongdoing.
Ranking Democratic lawmakers who are in line to lead committees if power shifts are beginning to chart the investigations they plan to tackle.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat now on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has outlined five priorities, including Trump family business dealings, the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and ICE operations.
“We’re already doing work,” Garcia told the AP.
He also mentioned the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as broader allegations of corporate corruption.
The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, whose jurisdiction includes the State Department, said the committee plans to investigate Trump's international dealings, including around the Iran war.
He expects the committee will also look into the administration's Venezuela operations — from the military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific waters to the U.S. partnership with a private company to develop and access the South American country's oil.
Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the ranking Democrat at the Natural Resources Committee, which overseas the Interior Department and its National Park Service operations, has begun digging into Trump's “vanity projects,” including the demolition of the White House's East wing for a new ballroom and the president's proposed arch.
Huffman and other committee members have also been eyeing the Trump family's role in various minerals deals.
At the committee's last session before lawmakers recessed to campaign for the midterm elections, Huffman said that if Democrats take charge, he plans to call witnesses, put them under oath and follow the evidence where it leads.
"When people ask what will we do," he said he responds, “My answer is simple. We’ll use those tools. We’ll act like the Congress.”
The U.S. Capitol is seen Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walks along the Colonnade before President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., talks about the policies of President Donald Trump and Republican supporters in Congress as he holds a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
