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Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka win ITF World Champion awards for 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka were honored as the International Tennis Federation’s 2023 ITF World Champions on Thursday after being the only singles players to reach at least the semifinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments this season.Djokovic, who finished at No. 1 in the ATP rankings for a record-extending eighth time, won the Australian Open, French Open and U.S. Open to raise his major trophy total to a men’s-leading 24 and was the runner-up at Wimbledon. He went 56-7 and led the men’s tour with seven titles.This is his eighth ITF World Champion award, also a record.Sabalenka received the honor for the first time after winning the Australian Open for her first Grand Slam title, finishing as the runner-up at the U.S. Open and making it to the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon.Sabalenka made her debut at No. 1 in the WTA rankings in September, before finishing the year at No. 2 behind Iga Swiatek, the WTA Player of the Year.Other ITF World Champions...

49ers try to push their winning streak to 6 games when they travel to face Cards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (10-3) at ARIZONA (3-10)Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EST, CBSOPENING LINE: 49ers by 12 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.AGAINST THE SPREAD: 49ers 7-6; Cardinals 7-6.SERIES RECORD: 49ers lead 35-29.LAST MEETING: 49ers won 35-16 on Oct. 1 in Santa Clara, California.LAST WEEK: 49ers beat Seahawks 28-16; Cardinals beat Steelers 24-10 on Dec. 3.NINERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (3), PASS (3), SCORING (3)NINERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (7), RUSH (1), PASS (16), SCORING (1).CARDINALS OFFENSE: OVERALL (26), RUSH (9), PASS (30), SCORING (26).CARDINALS DEFENSE: OVERALL (23), RUSH (30), PASS (13), SCORING (30).TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: 49ers plus-11; Cardinals even.49ERS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Deebo Samuel became the second player in NFL history to have back-to-back games with at least 100 yards receiving with a TD run and TD catch. Samuel has 265 yards receiving with three TD catches and two TD runs the past two games. His 19 career TD runs are the most for any wide receiver since at least 1960.CARD...

The Supreme Court refuses to block an Illinois law banning some high-power semiautomatic weapons

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to put on hold a new Illinois law that would ban high-power semiautomatic weapons like the one used in the mass killing of seven people at a 2022 parade in a Chicago suburb.The justices did not comment in refusing an emergency appeal from a gun rights group and others.The law prohibits the possession, manufacture or sale of semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. It takes effect Jan. 1.Last month, a three-judge panel of the 7th District U.S. Court of Appeals voted 2-1 in favor of the law, refusing a request by gun rights groups to block it. The Illinois Supreme Court separately upheld the law on a 4-3 decision in August.At least eight other states and the District of Columbia have some sort of prohibition on semiautomatic weapons, and several cases challenging those laws are making their way through the federal courts, relying at least in part on the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 that expanded gun rights.The...

Dakar Rally winner Austin Jones has extensive resume after just 5 years of racing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

CONGRESS, Ariz. (AP) — The hands are in constant motion, yo-yoing the wheel left, right, left in small corrections and full turns. The feet dance in the cramped space above the floorboard, stabbing between clutch, gas and brake.The eyes dart back and forth across the desert landscape, detecting rocks, dips and humps, variations in sand color flashing into view like a real-life scene from “Mad Max.” The brain deciphers the signals and takes action in milliseconds — a process completed every second or so for 12 or more hours a day.A professional rally racer by trade, Austin Jones looks more like a conductor while driving his car, tuning in to fluctuations in terrain so rugged a miscalculation could end in disaster.“That’s the thing with racing, especially rally racing: you lose focus for one second and that could be the difference of you ending up on your roof in a ditch or making that turn and going on to the next one,” said Jones, who goes by “AJ” to friends and family. “You c...

USA Today ranks Coloradans as 3rd most efficient air travelers in the U.S.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A recent survey from USA Today suggests that getting through security checkpoints at airports might be less stressful if you are behind a Colorado resident.USA Today surveyed Americans in each state about their habits when it comes to air travel to find where travelers are the most and least efficient. How to reserve a spot in the security line at DIA The survey looked at many aspects of air travel including security, boarding, deplaning, stowing and finding luggage and more.Coloradans were ranked as the third overall most efficient air travelers in the U.S., behind Wisconsin and Alaska. A handful of neighboring states were not far behind Colorado. New Mexico was ranked fourth, South Dakota fifth, Montana sixth, and Arizona ninth. TSA checkpointsColorado travelers ranked as the fifth most efficient at security checkpoints. New Mexico was ranked as the most efficient state, and North Carolina was the least efficient at security checkpoints.The survey also determin...

US judge to decide Friday if Colorado can reintroduce wolves over cattle industry objections

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A federal judge said she would decide by Friday whether to temporarily halt the impending reintroduction of gray wolves to Colorado under a voter-approved initiative, after representatives of the state's cattle industry went to court to try to stop the predators' release.If the judge sides with the industry, the decision would scramble Colorado Parks and Wildlife's plans of searching for, capturing and transporting up to 10 wolves from Oregon starting Sunday. The wolves are supposed to be released by Dec. 31, the deadline imposed under a 2020 ballot proposal that passed by a narrow margin. The animals would be among the first gray wolves in Colorado in decades.The Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association and Colorado Cattlemen’s Association filed a lawsuit Monday against Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to halt the releases.Attacks on livestock would impose “significant costs on the livestock industry and the communities that depend o...

‘He set up his own little store’: Miami man charged after drug bust in Miami reveals organized retail theft ring

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

A Miami man is facing serious charges one day after police officers serving a narcotics search warrant at his home uncovered what they described as an organized retail theft ring.Miami Police arrested 59-year-old Leonardo Ruiz on charges of cocaine trafficking, money laundering and possession of drug paraphernalia, among other offenses.City of Miami Police Chief Manny Morales spoke with reporters Wednesday evening.“We’re glad that he’s off the streets,” he said.Ruiz’s arrest followed the execution of the search warrant at his home in the area of Northwest 24th Avenue and 14th Street.The investigation revealed that Ruiz was not only involved in drug-related activities, but was also the ringleader in an organized retail theft ring. “He set up his own little store here,” Morales said. Chief Morales said that hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of stolen property — including drills, impact windows and a large quantity of liquor &...

13-year-old boy charged in shooting of convenience store clerk in Pembroke Pines appears in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

A 13-year-old boy accused of shooting a cashier multiple times during an attempted robbery at a convenience store in Pembroke Pines faced a judge. Joshua Munoz appeared in court, Thursday afternoon. His mother, father, stepfather and a private attorney were also in court with him. During his court appearance, a judge ordered that Munoz be held in juvenile detention for the next 21 days. Munoz was charged with attempted homicide, possession of a firearm by a juvenile and armed robbery. In addition, he had an active felony warrant for armed robbery, so that charge was applied as well.The shooting happened Tuesday afternoon at the Pasadena Drive Thru Food Store, located in the area of University Drive and Pasadena Boulevard.According to the arrest report, Munoz wanted to enter the food store but was denied by the clerk because the business was drive-thru only. The juvenile then followed the victim, pulled out a 40-caliber Glock and told the clerk, “Give me everything you got.&...

Finland shuts Russia border again hours after reopening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

Finland’s government decided on Thursday to once again close the country’s entire eastern border with Russia — from Friday night until January 14 — due to another influx of asylum seekers mere hours after it had reopened two crossing points.Interior Minister Mari Rantanen told a press conference that “entry started faster than expected when the border crossing points in Vaalimaa and Niirala were opened today.” According to a local media report, at least 60 people showed up immediately after Finland opened the two crossings.“We have found that illegal immigration at Finland’s eastern border has immediately resumed. The phenomenon accelerated faster than thought,” Rantanen said.Finland closed its border with Russia for two weeks last month amid accusations that Moscow was driving migrants and asylum seekers to the frontier to sow discord as payback for the Nordic country’s joining the NATO military alliance. The Kremlin has repeatedly deni...

Family, friends, hundreds of police officers attend wake for fallen Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

Family, friends and hundreds of police officers lined up in Waltham Thursday, attending the wake of the Waltham police officer who was killed in the line of duty last week. Paul Tracey died on Dec. 6 when police said a 54-year-old New Hampshire man crashed his pickup truck into a utility worksite on Totten Pond Road where Tracey was working a roadside detail. National Grid worker Roderick Jackson was also killed and several other people were injured. Just over a week after the crash law enforcement personnel assembled in a sea of blue for Wednesday’s wake at Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted church. “He was a great — just a great, overall great person,” said Tracey’s cousin, John Kavey.  “He was always there to help.”Tracey, 58, was a longtime officer in Waltham, serving the city’s police department for nearly three decades. After his casket was brought into Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted, Tracey was honored with a law enforcement walkthrough as...