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Top seeds Alcaraz and Swiatek overcome adversity to advance to the quarterfinals at W&S

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:05:10 GMT

MASON, Ohio (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, the top-ranked players in tennis, got past adverse weather conditions and challenging opponents on Thursday to reach the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals.Alcaraz overcame two rain delays totaling 2 hours, 35 minutes and 14th-seeded American Tommy Paul, who beat him last Friday in Toronto, for a 7-6 (6), 6-7 (0), 6-3 win in a match that lasted 3 hours, 9 minutes.“You’ve got to stay focused,” said Alcaraz, the defending U.S. Open champion and this year’s Wimbledon titlist from Spain. “It’s not easy to play and stop and play and stop. You can’t do anything but be ready to play.”Alcaraz recovered after losing three match points during the 12th game of the second set, which lasted 24 points and more than 15 minutes. Blanked in the tiebreaker, he came right back to break Paul’s serve in the first game of the final set.“The main difference is he won and I lost,” Paul said, distinguishing between Thursday and his victory last week....

Australia, Sweden still have something to play for in the 3rd place game at the Women’s World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:05:10 GMT

Australia already captivated a nation as co-hosts of the Women’s World Cup. Now there’s one more thing to play for, even if it’s not the fairytale ending the team had wanted for this tournament. The Matildas play Sweden on Saturday for third place in Brisbane. Australia lost 3-1 to England in the semifinals on Wednesday, dashing hopes of playing in the title match. “I know we’ve got the support of everyone, I know that they’re still going to come out to the game against Sweden,” midfielder Katrina Gorry said. “I know they’re always going to have our backs, but yeah, it’s just disappointing. You never want to do that on home soil.” Indeed, the fans came out for the Matildas during their World Cup journey. Bars and restaurants were packed around Sydney and there were live watching parties across the country for the semifinal. The sold-out crowd at Stadium Sydney was announced at 75,784, with even more gathered outside. Australi...

Report: Record money spent lobbying Colorado lawmakers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:05:10 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — New data analysis from the Colorado Sun found the state legislature saw a record amount of money come in from lobbying. According to the report, lobbyists spent $51 million last fiscal year. The report found 14 of the 20 most expensive bills lobbied for last session did become law, despite a split in lobbying in support of and against the measures. Polis: Catholic schools that want universal pre-K must not discriminate The political experts on "Colorado Point of View" weighed in this week on whether state laws are being bought and paid for.Colorado lobbyists spend big on 2 billsThe two pieces of legislation that drew in the most money did not pass. The first was the land-use measure, which was originally introduced to address affordable housing, but it was drastically changed before it failed on the last day of the legislative session. More than half of the clients lobbying on this bill were opposed to it.The next measure, which brought in the most clients lob...

‘It was like a tidal wave’: Plumber rescued after rushing water leaves him trapped underground at Fort Lauderdale condo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:05:10 GMT

A South Florida worker is speaking out and sharing his story after danger on the job left him trapped underground, and rainy weather may have been to blame.Plumber Stanley Hightower spoke with 7News about Thursday afternoon’s frightening ordeal in Fort Lauderdale.“It was like a tidal wave when it came in there. It was scary,” he said.7News cameras captured the victim just minutes after his risky race-against-time rescue.“I didn’t know how much air he had left. I didn’t know the condition of the tunnel,” said a co-worker, “so that was worrying me the most: how much time he has left.”The incident happened just off Federal Highway, near Northeast 21st Avenue.The owner of Bob Smith Plumbing said his workers were doing underground work on a condominium building when the rain and lightning forced them to shut down operations.Hightower, who was still feet underground, said he was climbing out of a man-made tunnel when water started gush...

Sánchez’s polyglot promise: Bringing Spain’s other languages to Brussels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:05:10 GMT

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez became an unlikely champion of multilingualism on Thursday by requesting Basque, Catalan and Galician be recognized as official languages of the EU.The proposal, which was outlined in a letter sent by Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares to the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union and the body’s secretary-general, Thérèse Blanchet, argued “Spanish languages ​​other than Castilian that enjoy official status in Spain” should be added to the EU’s 24 official languages.Albares proposed the General Affairs Council take up the matter when it meets in September.The seemingly sudden desire to have Basque, Catalan and Galician recognized in Brussels is linked to Sánchez’s will to placate the Catalan separatists whose support he needs in order to remain in office.After last month’s inconclusive national election, Spain’s parliament is in a technical tie, with the country’s left-win...

Here’s Larry! Why Westminster’s political cats matter more than you think

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:05:10 GMT

LONDON — In the last 12 years Britain has cycled through five prime ministers, six home secretaries and seven chancellors — but only one chief mouser. Amid a flurry of elections, Brexit and a sizable dose of scandal, a cat called Larry has remained one of the few consistent figures in British political life. And his impressive staying power shows how Westminster’s cats have gone from essential pest controllers of crumbling buildings to useful PR tools for unpopular politicians.Brought in by then-Prime Minister David Cameron in 2011, Larry’s unofficial Twitter account now boasts three times as many followers as the country’s top finance minister Jeremy Hunt. The 16-year-old mouser attracts attention from pundits all over the world, and is a familiar sight to global leaders heading through the famous 10 Downing Street door.Social media has undoubtedly thrust Larry — along with his Cabinet Office counterparts Eevie and Ossie, a mother and son mouse-catching duo — into th...

Everything Everywhere All at Arles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:05:10 GMT

Mark Porter is a travel writer and publisher who lives in Cannes.Arles, FRANCE — Lying on the banks of the river Rhône, at the northern edge of wild and beautiful marshland, Arles — the sleepy capital of Caesar’s France — hosts what is arguably the world’s greatest photo exhibition every summer: Les Rencontres d’Arles. And with exhibits crammed into every available corner, even just a casual stroll around the sunbaked town offers more than anyone could wish for.Running until the end of September, Les Rencontres comprises 45 exhibitions — as well as a large space in the ancient vaults of the Eglise des Frères Prêcheurs that’s brimming with new discoveries — all spread across town, from its Roman crypts and churches to its fringe venues, and even a branch of the Monoprix supermarket chain.Arles has a long connection with the visual arts. Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh spent time here with French artist and close friend Paul Gauguin, and it was here that he lost his ear — as well as hi...

Pete Alonso, Jose Quintana lead the way as Mets grab series-opener against Cardinals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:05:10 GMT

Pete Alonso continued his stretch of hero ball Thursday night in St. Louis. The slugger hit his third homer in the past three games to lead the way for the Mets to grab a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals.Alonso’s two-run homer in the fourth inning gave the Amazins the only offense necessary to add to the win column thanks to Jose Quintana’s tremendous performance.The southpaw tossed six innings allowing being charged two runs — one being a solo shot off the bat of Tyler O’Neill in the seventh. Quintana racked up five strikeouts while walking four.The veteran gave Buck Showalter much-needed length against his former team being short on options in the bullpen.Quintana’s counterpart, Adam Wainwright, was also somewhat effective. The right-hander has had an abysmal season entering the night with an 8.78 ERA, however, he kept the Cards in the ballgame. The 41-year-old allowed three runs over six innings of work with just two strikeouts. Thursday was the second...

Hurricane Hilary headed toward Southern California: What we know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:05:10 GMT

All eyes are on Hurricane Hilary, which was upgraded from a tropical storm on Thursday as it churns off the Pacific coast of Mexico.The National Hurricane Center is forecasting Hilary will hit Southern California as a tropical storm or perhaps a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday into Monday.Satellite-radar composite showing Hurricane Hilary and the storm's projected path on Aug. 17, 2023. (KTLA) “This could develop into a major deal,” says KTLA meteorologist Henry DiCarlo. “It looks like it’s going to slide right through Southern California, so we’re going to get a couple of inches of rain out of this, if not more.” Track with interactive radarWhile the forecast models will likely change, the National Weather Service is currently predicting rainfall amounts of one to four inches along the Southern California coast, including San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.Heavier amounts, four to ten inches or more, are expected in the inland deserts.“Bor...

City of San Diego opens Emergency Operations Center ahead of Hilary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:05:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO --The City of San Diego has opened its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) ahead of the potential rain from Hurricane Hilary. “Be aware that the storm is coming, take is seriously,” said Chris Heiser, the executive director for the City of San Diego Office of Emergency Services. The center is opened at a Level 3 status, which means the center is tracking the storm. "It's what we call command and general staff. It’s just four of five key positions,” Heiser said.  Inside the center, there are vests on empty chairs with the names of each command center position. The chairs could be filled if that specific support is needed.   Preparing for Hilary: Free sandbags at these locations For example, Heiser said if the city’s fire department requests the center’s help with shelter for flood evacuees. “We go to our care and shelter branch, reach out to park and rec who is a partner in that, and say ‘we are going to open up these two park and rec centers.’ We start facil...