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Coco Gauff plays Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open women’s final

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka will meet in the U.S. Open women’s singles final.Gauff enters Saturday’s championship match at Arthur Ashe Stadium seeking her first Grand Slam title. Sabalenka is trying to win her second major trophy of the year.Gauff is a 19-year-old from Florida who is seeded No. 6 at Flushing Meadows. She has won 11 matches in a row and 17 of the past 18.Her semifinal victory on Thursday night was interrupted for 50 minutes early in the second set by four climate protesters, one of whom glued his bare feet to the concrete floor in the stands. The disruption to the match prompted the U.S. Tennis Association to increase security.Sabalenka is a 25-year-old from Belarus who is seeded No. 2 in the last major tournament of the season. She will rise to No. 1 in the WTA rankings for the first time on Monday no matter what happens against Gauff.Sabalenka is 23-2 in Grand Slam action in 2023, including her triumph at the Australian Open in Januar...

Pakistani police detain relatives of the man wanted in the death probe of his daughter in UK

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:54 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Police in central Pakistan detained for interrogation close relatives of a couple wanted by U.K. police in connection with last month’s death of their 10-year-old daughter in the outskirts of London, an official said Saturday.A police spokesman in Jehlum, 175 kilometers (108 miles) northwest of Lahore, said that Urfan Sharif and his wife Beinash Batool, the couple sought by U.K. police, were in hiding and 10 close relatives have been taken into custody for questioning and an investigation.Among them was Mohammad Sharif, the father of Urfan, his brothers and cousins. Police spokesman Khan Mudassir said detaining close relatives might force the wanted person to surrender. Pakistani police often detain close relatives of wanted suspects. Suspects’ relatives are not kept in jail, however, to avoid any intervention by the court. Last week Sharif appealed to his son and daughter in-law to surrender and help police in the investigation, after authorities widen...

Ask Amy: High school daughter is plagued by doubts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:54 GMT

Dear Amy: I have a daughter in high school. She is gorgeous, popular, does well in school, and excels at soccer (she plays on a regional travel team).It is hard for her mother and I to understand why she seems to have low self-esteem. She is very hard on herself and sometimes seems consumed by doubt.We’re interested in any recommendations you might have.— Concerned ParentsDear Concerned: Take this in: Being beautiful, popular, smart, and high-achieving does not inoculate anyone against depression, anxiety, a mood disorder, or crushing doubt. Look to any number of gifted athletes for examples.A person’s brain seems to run independently from all of these external blessings. And your high-achieving and perfectionist teen is vulnerable.I recently watched a documentary featuring top ranked Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa, who has been open about her mental health struggles.During a particularly tough tournament, the documentary shows her meeting with her coach and talking about ...

Bridge: Sept. 9, 2023

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:54 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns treat basic technique and logical thinking.Counting the distribution of the concealed hands is not difficult, but it takes focus, practice and experience — and experience is not something you can get on an easy-payment plan.Practice counting today. You play at four spades. East overtakes the first heart with the king, cashes the ace — West discards a club — and leads a third heart. You ruff high, and West throws a diamond. You take the K-A of trumps, finding West with a singleton, and lead a club to dummy’s king. East wins and leads a fourth heart, you ruff high again and West discards a diamond.LAST CLUBNext, you lead a club to dummy’s queen (a slight risk), draw East’s last trump and ruff your last club in dummy. East plays the jack. How do you handle the diamonds?East had three spades, six hearts and three clubs, so one diamond. When you cash the ace, East plays the ten, so you can confidently lead to dummy...

Vice Pulled a Documentary Critical of Saudi Arabia. But Here It Is.

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:54 GMT

In the past, Vice has documented the history of censorship on YouTube. More recently, since the company’s near implosion, it became an active participant in making things disappear.In June, six months after announcing a partnership deal with a Saudi Arabian government-owned media company, Vice uploaded but then quickly removed a documentary critical of the Persian Gulf monarchy’s notorious dictator, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS.The nearly nine-minute film, titled “Inside Saudi Crown Prince’s Ruthless Quest for Power,” was uploaded to the Vice News YouTube channel on June 19, 2023. It garnered more than three-quarters of a million views before being set to “private” within four days of being posted. It can no longer be seen at its original link on Vice’s YouTube channel; visitors see a message that says “video unavailable.” Vice did not respond to a request for comment on why the video was published and then made private or if there are any plans to make the video p...

The Moroccan Interior Ministry says the death toll in a massive earthquake rises to 820, with at least 672 injured

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:54 GMT

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — The Moroccan Interior Ministry says the death toll in a massive earthquake rises to 820, with at least 672 injured.Source

Earthquake in Morocco kills over 800 people

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:54 GMT

A powerful earthquake struck central Morocco Friday night, killing at least 820 people.More than 670 people also have been injured in the tremor, the Moroccan Interior Ministry said on Saturday.The quake seriously damaged buildings, according to local media, including in the major city of Marrakech, where people spent the night outside for safety reasons. A mosque minaret toppled in Jemaa al-Fna Square, the heart of Marrakech’s old city, Reuters reported. Heads of governments from all over the world were quick to express solidarity and offer help to Morocco. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is in India for a G20 summit, said her “heart” was with the Moroccan people. Marrakech, whose old city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, is due to host the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in early October.

Still warm and humid, more storms this weekend

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:54 GMT

Welcome to the weekend! It stays humid, with temperatures not quite as high as earlier this week. It’ll be unsettled at times, but luckily not a washout of a weekend.A front is draped across New England and will not have a lot of forward movement this weekend. It’ll actually retrograde before it moves out of our region Tuesday. While it’s here it continues to promote the chance for storms.Radar gives us an idea of what it could look like later today. Storms will be hit or miss. If you get under one though, it could be a heavy downpour. We woke up to areas of fog. Fog is in the process of lifting. We’ll see more clouds than sun through the day. Looking at our morning low temperatures, you can see where that stationary front is stuck with more mild temperatures to the right of it. Highs today will be in the low/mid 80s. That’s still above average. On Cape Cod and the Islands highs will be in the upper 70s/near 80. Humidity is still with us!We’re als...

Patriots vs. Eagles preview: How Mac Jones, Bill Belichick can pull off an upset Sunday

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:54 GMT

It’s time.Time for football. Time to learn Mac Jones. Time for the Patriots to prove they are who they believe themselves to be.All of that starts Sunday in one of the most anticipated season openers in recent franchise history. The Patriots are home underdogs against the reigning NFC champion Eagles, who came within moments of capturing the Lombardi Trophy. If the Pats are to pull an upset, it will start with Jones and new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien but should end with their defense grounding a high-flying Philadelphia attack.When the Patriots runRhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott must be at their most elusive Sunday, considering their offensive line will be wildly overmatched no matter what lineup combinations are thrown out there. Starting guards Cole Strange and Mike Onwenu have hardly practiced in pads this offseason, while Calvin Anderson, fourth-round rookie Sidy Sow and newly-acquired veterans Vederian Lowe and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. could all see snaps...

Republican opposition to abortion threatens global HIV/AIDS program that has saved 25 million lives

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:54 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The graves at the edge of the orphanage tell a story of despair. The rough planks in the cracked earth are painted with the names of children, most of them dead in the 1990s. That was before the HIV drugs arrived.Today, the orphanage in Kenya’s capital is a happier, more hopeful place for children with HIV. But a political fight taking place in the United States is threatening the program that helps to keep them and millions of others around the world alive.The reason for the threat? Abortion.The AIDS epidemic has killed more than 40 million people since the first recorded cases in 1981, tripling child mortality and carving decades off life expectancy in the hardest-hit areas of Africa, where the cost of treatment put it out of reach. Horrified, then-President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress two decades ago created what is described as the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease.The program, known as the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan ...