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French Open 2023: No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka can set up a final showdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

PARIS (AP) — If Iga Swiatek meets Aryna Sabalenka for the French Open championship, more than the trophy would be at stake. The No. 1 ranking would be, too.But there’s work to be done for both players first — getting to the final.In Thursday’s semifinals, No. 2 Sabalenka of Belarus will play unseeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, before No. 1 Swiatek of Poland faces No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil.Sabalenka is unbeaten in Grand Slam action in 2023; she won her first major title at the Australian Open in January. She’s drawn more attention for non-tennis matters over the past 1 1/2 weeks, however, connected to her country’s assistance to Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. After being asked about that at two news conferences, Sabalenka skipped the next two post-match sessions with reporters, before speaking to the media for the first time in nearly a week after her quarterfinal victory.Swiatek has not been challenged much at Roland Garros thi...

Driver killed in multi-vehicle SR-76 crash identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

PALA, Calif. -- A 65-year-old man killed last week in a multi-vehicle crash on State Route 76 has been identified, local medical officials said.Manh Bangvan Nguyen, of Fountain Valley, was announced as the deceased, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office said on its website.The head-on collision occurred May 29 around 9:10 p.m. when a Toyota Camry traveling eastbound on SR-76 veered into the westbound lane of the highway east of Magee Road, striking a Lexus GS-350 driven by Nguyen, according to California Highway Patrol. A Jeep sports utility vehicle also hit the back of the Lexus, law enforcement said. BMX star Pat Casey dies in crash at Ramona motocross track Nguyen was pronounced dead at the scene while the drivers of the Toyota and Jeep, as well as two passengers from the vehicles, were taken to a hospital for minor to moderate injuries, CHP confirmed. The Hyundai driver was treated for minor injuries on the scene.Bianca Anahy Hernandez, the driver of the Toyota, was a...

UNICEF says 300 trapped children rescued from a Sudanese orphanage after 71 others died

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — About 300 infants, toddlers and older children have been rescued from an orphanage in Sudan’s capital after being trapped there while fighting raged outside, aid officials said Thursday. The evacuation came after 71 children died from hunger and illness in the facility since mid-April.The tragedy at the Al-Mayqoma orphanage made headlines late last month as fighting raged outside between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The deaths have highlighted the heavy toll inflicted on civilians since mid-April when the clashes erupted between forces loyal to Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF forces led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.About 300 children at the Al-Mayqoma orphanage in Khartoum were transferred to a “safer location” elsewhere in the northeastern African nation, said Ricardo Pires, a spokesman for the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF.Sudan’s ministries of social development and health have taken charge of the children, while UNICEF has provided...

Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray dance to NBA Finals history: “That’s what champions do.”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

MIAMI — Like two ships passing in the night, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was angling to leave the victorious locker room Wednesday night while Nikola Jokic was hustling to the shower.Uncertain who was going in which direction, they bumped into a wall and dislodged one of the numerous motivational posters that Nuggets trainer Sparky Gonzales created for the NBA Finals and plastered throughout the away locker room.“We have a chance to do something nice,” the poster read, quoting the team’s irreverent and understated Serbian.Jokic, a constant comedian, and Caldwell-Pope, fiddled and struggled with the poster board before finally getting it to stick some 30 minutes after the Nuggets snatched Game 3 with an emphatic 109-94 win. It was the same poster that hung inside Jokic’s locker room stall, which sat two down from Jamal Murray, who had a quote from Bruce Lee taped to the side of his gray wall.“Knowing is not enough,” Murray’s read. “We must apply. Willing is not enough. We must do....

Kiszla: Why is America last to realize what world knows? Nikola Jokic is best hooper on the planet.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

MIAMI — The NBA is Nikola Jokic’s world, and we’re just lucky to live in it. While America has been slow to fall in love with the Joker, he’s winning hearts from Nairobi, Kenya, to Belgrade, Serbia, where savvy basketball fans aren’t afraid to stand up and applaud him as the best player on the planet.So let’s toast him with a glass of Rakija, a Serbian brandy as sweet as the 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists Jokic dropped on Miami on Wednesday night to lead the Nuggets to the most crucial victory in franchise history.From Wilt Chamberlain to Michael Jordan, the NBA Finals have never witnessed a triple-double of the size and scope as this performance by Jokic.But forget the numbers. All that matters to him is the W.“To be honest, it’s just a stat,” Jokic said. “I don’t care.”When the final buzzer sounded, and Denver had beaten the Heat 109-94 to regain an ironclad, no-doubt-about-it grip on this best-of-seven...

Kosovo open to new elections in municipalities hit by unrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

Kosovo is open to the possibility of new elections in four northern Serb-majority municipalities following unrest, but other steps need to be taken before then, Kosovan Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla-Schwarz said on Tuesday (6 June).Violence has flared since Kosovo authorities installed ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in the municipalities after being elected on a turnout of just 3.5%, angering Serbs who form a majority in the region and who had boycotted local polls.Gervalla-Schwarz, speaking after meeting the Czech foreign minister in Prague, said an end to the violence was the first condition to consider new elections."Yes, we are open to elections in those four municipalities but to have new elections we need steps in between," she said.She said Kosovo also needed "a commitment from Serbia that they will no more threaten Serbian citizens of Kosovo not to participate in the election," adding that people should not feel the threat of mob violence.Reinforcements for NATO's peac...

1 dead, 2 hospitalized after car jumps curb, crashes into Chase Bank building 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

Personnel with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles where a vehicle drove onto the sidewalk, struck several pedestrians, killing one of them, before crashing into a building. Crews were dispatched to 6161 West Pico Boulevard, near La Cienega Boulevard at around 5:28 p.m. after receiving calls about the crash.  At the scene, firefighters found three pedestrians pinned beneath a black Hyundai sedan after the driver jumped the curb onto the sidewalk, striking the three victims and crashing into a Chase Bank building. A 48-year-old female and a 51-year-old male were taken to the hospital in serious condition. The man later succumbed to his injuries. A 19-year-old male was also taken to to the hospital in fair condition, according to an LAFD news release. "They are all family members, all related," Cpt. Ben Fernandes, with the Los Angeles Police Department, said of the three victims. The driver of the vehicle, an adult male, was...

Police investigate fentanyl deaths, 3 children test positive in Riverside

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

Police are investigating after three children tested positive for fentanyl and two people were found dead from the drug within 24 hours in Riverside.Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.On June 4, officers responded to reports of a man found dead in a Canyon Crest home around 10 p.m. Investigators later determined the man had fatally overdosed on fentanyl.On June 5, the Riverside Fire Department responded to a medical emergency in a grocery store parking lot around 11:18 a.m. Arriving officers found a 3-year-old boy who had stopped breathing. After transporting the child to a hospital, authorities discovered the child had overdosed on fentanyl. Police officers arrived after the child’s mother had attempted to “interfere with the hospital’s care of her son.”Investigators learned the child, along with his 2-year-old sister, 5-year-old brother, and his parents were experiencing homelessness and living in their c...

Glendale Protest Over LGBTQ Studies Ends In 3 Arrests

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

A protest outside Glendale Unified School District offices turned into a brawl as the board discussed incorporating an LGBTQ+ curriculum Tuesday.Hundreds gathered for what Glendale PD called a mostly peaceful protest, despite videos showing violence.Protesting parents wore various shirts with sayings such as, “Just a dad trying not to raise a liberal,” “F*ck around and find out,” and “Leave our kids alone.”Opposite of those protesters were supporters of the district’s LGBTQ+ plans and were seen waving Pride flags.Glendale PD said a small group agitated the crowds, escalating into unlawful use of pepper spray by some and obstruction of the officers, leading to at least three arrests.“Once the protest exceeded the bounds of peaceful assembly and in adherence to our duty to protect public safety, a dispersal order was given…” Glendale PD said in a media release.There’s a pretty clear shot of the guy hitting the woman in ...

Lawsuit filed on behalf of young girls whose parents died in Redwood City street racing crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:21 GMT

(BCN) -- A wrongful death lawsuit is being brought on behalf of 7-year-old twin girls whose parents were killed in a crash caused by street racing. A family of four -- parents and the twins -- were driving home from the girls' grandmother's house shortly before Christmas last year when they were struck by a car moving 100 mph, killing both parents, Gregory Ammen and Grace Spiridon, instantly. They were less than 10 minutes away from their San Carlos home at the time of the crash. The twins, Madison and Olivia Ammen, survived and suffered minor injuries. According to the complaint filed in the lawsuit, two residents of San Mateo County, Cesar Salto Morales and Kyle Harrison, were allegedly racing each other down El Camino Real in Redwood City, a busy street with a speed limit of 35 mph, leading to the crash. When they pulled up to the same traffic light, Morales challenged Harrison to a race as the two revved their engines back and forth, according to Harrison's account...