Today: September 24, 2024
Today: September 24, 2024

World

World

Spurs draft Wembanyama and now look for French phenom to help end NBA playoff drought

The San Antonio Spurs are looking to end their four-year playoff drought with the addition of Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs selected the French phenom with the top pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft that was held in New York. There was little to no doubt San Antonio would select Wembanyama, who is listed at 7-foot-4 but says he is 7-3. An emotional Wembanyama said hearing NBA Commissioner Adam Silver call his name brought him to tears, saying he has been waiting for the moment. “I’ve dreamed of this … I got to cry.” It marks the

June 23, 2023
Spurs draft Wembanyama and now look for French phenom to help end NBA playoff drought
World

Lee-Anne Pace shoots 66 for the first-round lead in the KPMG Women's PGA

Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa made a two-putt birdie on the final hole in fading daylight for a 5-under 66 and the first-round lead Thursday in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol. Two-time major winner Brooke Henderson of Canada and Ruoning Yin and Xiyi Lin of China were a shot back as Baltusrol’s historic Lower Course yielded 16 under-par rounds to the field of 156 players. The 42-year-old Pace won her lone LPGA Tour title in 2014 in China. She’s playing in her second event in the United States this year. Wichanee Meechair of Thailand

June 23, 2023
Lee-Anne Pace shoots 66 for the first-round lead in the KPMG Women's PGA
World

None and done: Four of the top five NBA draft picks didn't play for US colleges

For the first time since 2001, four of the top five picks in the NBA draft did not play college basketball in the United States. No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama will join the San Antonio Spurs after having played in France’s top league. The third pick, Scoot Henderson, went to the Portland Trail Blazers after two seasons with the G League Ignite. Last season, he averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 25 games, including a 28- point outburst in a preseason game against Wembanyama’s Metropolitans 92 squad. The next two picks, twins Amen and Ausar Thompson, played

June 23, 2023
None and done: Four of the top five NBA draft picks didn't play for US colleges
World

White's homer in 11th sends LSU to College World Series finals with a 2-0 win over No. 1 Wake Forest

Tommy White hit Camden Minacci’s first pitch into the left-field seats for a two-run homer in the 11th inning, giving LSU a 2-0 walk-off victory over No. 1 national seed Wake Forest on Thursday night and clinching a spot in the College World Series finals. The win sends the Tigers (52-16) to the best-of-three CWS championship series against Florida beginning Saturday night in a rematch of the 2017 All-SEC final that the Gators won for their first national title. LSU became the first team to hand Wake Forest (54-12) consecutive losses this season. The Tigers had

June 23, 2023
White's homer in 11th sends LSU to College World Series finals with a 2-0 win over No. 1 Wake Forest
World

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is writing a book on leadership

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Friday she is writing a book, with the focus more on leadership than on politics. In an Instagram post, Ardern said she is often asked whether she will write about her five years as New Zealand’s leader. “At first, my answer was no. I didn’t want to write a book that hauled over the internal politics of the last five years, and then someone convinced me that I didn’t have to,” Ardern wrote. “That maybe it might be worth expanding on some of things I talked about

June 23, 2023
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is writing a book on leadership
World

Nearly 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia so far for annual Hajj pilgrimage

Muslim pilgrims streamed into the holy city of Mecca on Friday ahead of the start of Hajj next week, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale after three years of heavy restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic. Saudi officials say close to 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in the country so far, the vast majority by air. More are expected, and hundreds of thousands of Saudis and others living in Saudi Arabia will also join them when the pilgrimage officially begins on Monday. Saudi officials have said they expect the number of

June 23, 2023
Nearly 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia so far for annual Hajj pilgrimage
World

Suspected Russian diplomat is occupying the nation's vetoed embassy site in Australia's capital

A suspected lone Russian diplomat is apparently squatting on the site of Moscow’s proposed embassy after the Australian government vetoed the plan on security grounds. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed the Russian act of defiance, saying a “bloke standing in the cold on a bit of grass in Canberra is not a threat to our national security.” Parliament passed emergency legislation last week blocking on security grounds Russia’s lease on the largely empty block because the new embassy would have been too close to Parliament House. A man has been living on the site in a

June 23, 2023
Suspected Russian diplomat is occupying the nation's vetoed embassy site in Australia's capital
World

Chased from their homes by gangs, thousands of Haitians languish in shelters with lives in limbo

A gang rampaged through the Cite Soleil slum, killing and raping and setting fire to hundreds of wood-and-tin homes. Forced out of the neighborhood, one family of four lived on the streets of Port-au-Prince until they were struck by a truck as they slept. Two brothers, 2 and 9, died in the November accident. Jean-Kere Almicar opened his home to their distraught parents, then another family, then another, until there were nearly 200 people camped out in his front yard and nearby. They are among more than 165,000 Haitians who have fled their homes amid a

June 23, 2023
Chased from their homes by gangs, thousands of Haitians languish in shelters with lives in limbo
World

Tourist sub's implosion draws attention to murky regulations of deep-sea expeditions

When the Titan submersible made its fateful dive into the North Atlantic on Sunday, it also plunged into the murkily regulated waters of deep-sea exploration. It’s a space on the high seas where laws and conventions can be sidestepped by risk-taking entrepreneurs and the wealthy tourists who help fund their dreams. At least for now. “We’re at a point in submersible operations in deep water that’s kind of akin to where aviation was in the early 20th century,” said Salvatore Mercogliano, a history professor at Campbell University in North Carolina who focuses on maritime history and

June 23, 2023
Tourist sub's implosion draws attention to murky regulations of deep-sea expeditions
World

The Paris summit on finance and climate comes to an end. Time for concrete steps?

After all the talking, time for tangible solutions? The aim of the two-day climate and finance summit ending Friday in Paris was to set up concrete measures to help poor and developing countries whose predicaments have been worsened by the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine better tackle poverty and climate change. Even though the gathering of world and financial leaders has no mandate to make formal decisions, French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to deliver a to-do list that should be accompanied by a progress-tracking tool. “We have to come up

June 23, 2023
The Paris summit on finance and climate comes to an end. Time for concrete steps?
World

They fled the war in Nigeria's northeast. Then bulldozers levelled their homes at a camp in Abuja

On a breezy morning at the height of the dry season six months ago, Rifkatu Andruwus and her children were chatting in front of their house in a displacement camp in the heart of Nigeria’s capital. Suddenly, security forces stormed into the camp, followed closely by bulldozers. The family of seven had just about half an hour to pack their belongings and leave before their shanty house and about 200 others were reduced to rubble. “They sent people to come and tell us to pack,” said 66-year-old Andruwus. “Then they started demolishing.” The Durumi camp for

June 23, 2023
They fled the war in Nigeria's northeast. Then bulldozers levelled their homes at a camp in Abuja
World

Chinese human rights lawyer chased out of 13 homes in 2 months as pressure rises on legal advocates

A disbarred Chinese human rights lawyer has been forced to move 13 times in two months as part of a pattern of harassment against him and three other prominent rights advocates in Beijing that is further squeezing the country’s battered civil rights community. Wang Quanzhang said he is now living in a borrowed apartment in the suburbs where the power is frequently cut off, while another lawyer left Beijing entirely in hopes of ending the harassment. His colleague Bao Longjun said he is still in the apartment he owns, but has been barred from leaving it

June 23, 2023
Chinese human rights lawyer chased out of 13 homes in 2 months as pressure rises on legal advocates
World

Twitter faces 'stress test' of Europe's tough new Big Tech rules

A top European Union official is in Silicon Valley to check whether Twitter is ready to comply with the bloc’s tough new digital rulebook, a set of sweeping new standards that the world’s biggest online platforms all must obey in just two months. European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who oversees digital policy, is the EU’s point person working to get tech companies in line for the Digital Services Act, which will force companies to crack down on hate speech, disinformation and other harmful material on their sites. It takes effect Aug. 25 for the biggest platforms. The law, along with new

June 23, 2023
Twitter faces 'stress test' of Europe's tough new Big Tech rules
World

Interstate 95 set to reopen less than two weeks after deadly collapse in Philadelphia

Interstate 95 was set to reopen to traffic Friday less than two weeks after a deadly collapse in Philadelphia shut down a heavily traveled stretch of the East Coast’s main north-south highway. Workers were putting the finishing touches on an interim six-lane roadway that will serve motorists during construction of a permanent bridge. Crews worked around the clock and were poised to finish ahead of schedule. The interstate was scheduled to reopen at noon, according to the governor’s office. The elevated section of I-95 collapsed early on June 11 after a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline flipped on an

June 23, 2023
Interstate 95 set to reopen less than two weeks after deadly collapse in Philadelphia
World

Malaysia says it will take legal action against Meta over harmful content on Facebook

Malaysia’s government said Friday it will take legal action against Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms, for failing to remove undesirable and harmful content from its social media platform. The Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission said Facebook has recently been plagued by a “a significant volume of undesirable content” relating to sensitive issues on race, religion and royalty as well as defamation, impersonation, online gambling and scam advertisements. The commission said repeated efforts to reach out to Meta to remove harmful content were of no avail. “Meta’s response, which has been sluggish and unsatisfactory, has not

June 23, 2023
Malaysia says it will take legal action against Meta over harmful content on Facebook
World

In its push for more Black players, MLB hopes results are on the horizon from grassroots efforts

Zion Rose is well aware that the percentage of Black players in Major League Baseball has been on the decline for decades. But the 18-year-old catcher from Chicago, still sweaty from a workout during MLB’s Draft Combine this week at Chase Field in Phoenix, said he’s got some news: That’s not going to be the case for long. “You’ll see,” he said. “We’re starting to come through.” Rose was one of more than 300 players of all backgrounds in Phoenix this week to take part in the combine, which featured workouts, interviews and games in an effort

June 23, 2023
In its push for more Black players, MLB hopes results are on the horizon from grassroots efforts
World

Why are the Texas Rangers the only MLB team without a Pride Night?

All but one of the 30 of the Major League Baseball teams are hosting Pride Nights this season, most during Pride Month, which celebrates and supports LGBTQ+ culture and rights. The Texas Rangers are the only team without a Pride Night. They say they are committed to making everyone feel welcome at all games. HAVE THE RANGERS EVER HOSTED A PRIDE NIGHT? No. In September 2003, two years after the Chicago Cubs hosted what is considered the first Pride game, the Rangers invited local LGBTQ+ groups to a game as part of a fundraising event, similar to what they do

June 23, 2023
Why are the Texas Rangers the only MLB team without a Pride Night?
World

Olympic skaters still missing medals 500 days later

U.S. ice dancers Evan Bates and Madison Chock remember the empty feeling as they trod back to their rooms in Beijing, not long after being told that the ceremony to present their Olympic medals had been called off. Before going to sleep, one final blow: On their beds sat empty black-and-gold boxes, with notes inside signed from IOC President Thomas Bach. “An Olympic medal is forever,” the note began. The boxes were supposed to be the perfect spot for the skaters to place the medals they never received. Five-hundred days later, the medals remain somewhere

June 23, 2023
Olympic skaters still missing medals 500 days later
World

The US has tons of leftover food. Upcycling seeks to turn would-be trash into ice cream and pizza

At Tyler Malek’s ice cream parlors, one cook’s trash is another chef’s frosty treat. The head ice cream maker at the Portland, Oregon-based Salt & Straw uses the whey leftover from yogurt makers in upstate New York to make his lemon curd flavor. For chocolate barley milk, he mixes in the remnants of rice and grains from beer brewing to give it a light and creamy taste. “Instead of calling this food waste, we need to call it wasted food and start decreasing how much wasting we’re doing,” Malek said. Malek’s ice cream chain is

June 23, 2023
The US has tons of leftover food. Upcycling seeks to turn would-be trash into ice cream and pizza
World

Oklahoma death row inmate plans to reject chance for clemency despite maintaining his innocence

A man scheduled to be executed in September for the 1996 killing of a University of Oklahoma dance student plans to reject his chance for a clemency hearing, saying there is little hope the state’s Republican governor would spare his life. Anthony Sanchez, 44, said in a telephone interview Thursday from Oklahoma’s death row that even in the rare case when the five-member Pardon and Parole Board recommends clemency, Gov. Kevin Stitt is unlikely to grant it. “I’ve sat in my cell and I’ve watched inmate after inmate after inmate get clemency and get denied clemency,”

June 23, 2023
Oklahoma death row inmate plans to reject chance for clemency despite maintaining his innocence
World

Greek elections a one-horse race after conservatives topple left-wing strongholds

Greeks return to the polls Sunday for a second general election in five weeks, with the conservative front-runners eyeing a landslide win after toppling strongholds dominated by their opponents for decades. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the 55-year-old conservative leader, is seeking a second four-year term as prime minister. His center-right New Democracy party won by a huge margin in May elections but is heading to a second ballot to take advantage of election law changes that favor the winning party. Sunday’s vote comes days after hundreds of migrants died and went missing in southern Greece when an over-crowded

June 23, 2023
Greek elections a one-horse race after conservatives topple left-wing strongholds
World

Germany's biggest Jewish educational and cultural complex since the Holocaust to open in Berlin

When Berlin Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal first talked about his dream of building Germany’s biggest Jewish educational and cultural complex since the Holocaust, most people who heard about the plan were skeptical. But five years after the groundbreaking, Teichtal, a Berlin rabbi and head of the local Chabad community, beams as he steps onto the seventh-floor balcony of the new curved, blue-tiled building overlooking the campus amphitheater, garden, playground and a plot still covered with containers and construction material that will eventually become a sports field. “We’re changing the narrative about Jews in Germany,” Teichtal told The Associated

June 23, 2023
Germany's biggest Jewish educational and cultural complex since the Holocaust to open in Berlin
World

Time for Ja Morant to change his behavior, there's been enough talking, Grizzlies GM says

Memphis Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman said the 25-game suspension the NBA slapped guard Ja Morant with “was appropriate,” and it is up to Morant to change the behavior that led to two bans in four months. The Grizzlies’ vice president of basketball operations made the comments after Thursday night’s NBA draft. Kleiman is the first team official to publicly discuss Morant’s situation and the NBA’s punishment of the two-time All-Star for flashing a gun on social media after the season. Kleiman said the latest incident is part of a pattern of “problematic behavior” for Morant,

June 23, 2023
Time for Ja Morant to change his behavior, there's been enough talking, Grizzlies GM says
World

Storms and heavy rain flood roads, block railway lines in Germany

Storms and heavy rain across a large swath of Germany flooded roads and forced the closure of some major railway routes on Friday, but there was no immediate word of any injuries. Germany’s national weather service had warned earlier this week of severe storms with significant amounts of rainfall, which hit on Thursday. In the western city of Duisburg, the fire service said it rescued several people from cars that got stuck on flooded streets. Shops were flooded and streets inundated in the northern city of Braunschweig, and there were similar reports from Kassel. In Hattersheim, near

June 23, 2023
Storms and heavy rain flood roads, block railway lines in Germany
World

Stock market today: Asian shares sink as central banks crank interest rates still higher

Asian shares sank sharply Friday after several central banks around the world cranked interest rates higher in their fight against inflation. Hong Kong and Tokyo shed nearly 2% and most other regional markets declined. U.S. futures and oil prices also were lower. Japan reported its inflation rate was higher than expected, adding to expectations the central bank might adjust its policies to reflect upward price pressures, which have pushed the dollar’s value against the yen sharply higher. The Bank of Japan has kept its benchmark interest rate at minus 0.1% for a decade as policymakers keep credit

June 23, 2023
Stock market today: Asian shares sink as central banks crank interest rates still higher

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