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South Carolina’s streak ends in maybe Boston’s final game

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:22 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — South Carolina’s shot at perfection is over, and so is its chance to repeat as national champion.The Gamecocks couldn’t get past Iowa and Caitlin Clark in the women’s Final Four. With All-American Aliyah Boston plagued by foul trouble in what very likely was her final game, and Clark scoring almost every point for the Hawkeyes in the fourth quarter, South Carolina lost 77-73 in the national semifinals on Friday night, ending its 42-game winning streak. The Gamecocks had won their first 36 games this season to get to the Final Four for the third year in a row with a group led by Boston.“It felt like any other game. We just didn’t perform,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said. “We didn’t make more plays than we needed to make, especially down the stretch, and that hasn’t been us all season long. But I never, I don’t think our players felt pressure, any other pressure besides wanting to win another basketball game.”There hasn’t been a repeat national ...

Kwan leads Guardians’ outburst in 9-4 win over Mariners

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:22 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Steven Kwan became the second player in Cleveland franchise history with five RBIs in either of the first two games of the season, and the Guardians took advantage of three errors by Seattle in a 9-4 win over the Mariners on Friday night. Kwan had a two-run double and two-run single to go along with a sacrifice fly, and the Guardians rebounded with 13 hits after getting shut out by Seattle on opening day. Larry Doby in 1953 was the only other player in Cleveland’s history to have five RBIs in one of the first two games. Kwan’s soft double in the fourth inning ended the night for Seattle starter Robbie Ray and gave Cleveland a 5-3 lead. Ray (0-1) produced a dud of a debut to this season after he looked impressive in spring training, walking five and recording just 10 outs in his 91 pitches. Kwan followed an inning later with a two-out, two-run single on a 3-2 pitch from Trevor Gott. Cleveland also capitalized on a combination of bad luck and bad defense by Seattle that...

Fairfax police apprehend 3 after armed carjacking

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:22 GMT

Fairfax County, Virginia, police were able to track down three men wanted in connection to an armed carjacking in Maryland earlier this week.On Wednesday, a 2014 Audi Q5 was reported stolen in an armed carjacking in Prince George’s County, Maryland.On Thursday, the car was located in Tysons after a license plate reader alerted Fairfax police officers to the stolen vehicle, which was unoccupied and parked near International Drive and Fletcher Street.The officers waited nearby and saw three men walking toward the stolen car at around 3:10 p.m. before taking them into custody.Officers arrested Dominic Armstrong and Javon Roach, both 18, as well as Andre Rushing, 20, and police say all three men are from D.C.More Local NewsMore Virginia NewsMoments before the arrest, police say Armstrong tried to get away on foot but was quickly caught by officers.Roach refused commands and drove off in the stolen vehicle, hitting two police cars and three other vehicles. Police said the stolen ca...

Fox has 20 points, playoff-bound Kings beat Blazers 138-114

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:22 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — De’Aaron Fox had 20 points and 11 assists and the playoff-bound Sacramento Kings won their second consecutive game against Portland Trail Blazers 138-114 on Friday night.Malik Monk had 20 off the bench for the Kings, who had already secured their first postseason berth since 2006 and home-court advantage for the playoffs with a 120-80 rout of the Trail Blazers on Wednesday. Domantas Sabonis added 20 points and 12 rebounds.Shaedon Sharpe had 27 points for Portland, which has won just one of their last 12. The Blazers were officially eliminated earlier in the night when the Los Angeles Lakers beat Minnesota 123-111.Sharpe’s layup got Portland within 110-103 in the fourth quarter, but Monk answered for the Kings with a 3-pointer and Sacramento pushed the lead to 124-105 with 4:23 left on Sabonis’ dunk.“I feel like our offense is really flowing right now,” said Kings rookie Keegan Murray, who also finished with 20 points. “We’re ...

Robertson has goal and 3 assists, Stars beat Coyotes 5-2

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:22 GMT

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Jason Robertson had a goal and three assists, with his goal breaking a tie with 22 seconds remaining in the second period in the Dallas Stars’ 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night.Robertson has 42 goals, tied with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin for seventh in the NHL.Joe Pavelski, Roope Hintz and Jamie Benn also scored for Dallas, which swept the four-game season series while outscoring the Coyotes 19-6. Benn scored his 32nd on a power play five minutes into the third period for a 4-2 lead, and Max Domi scored into an open net with 1:01 remaining.Dallas (41-20-14) moved a point behind Minnesota and two points ahead of Colorado for the Central Division lead. The Stars play the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche in Denver on Saturday. Colorado has a game in hand on both.Jake Oettinger had 15 saves for the Stars.Jusso Valimaki and Connor Mackey scored for Arizona and Karel Vejmelka had 26 saves. The Coyotes have lost six straight.Pavels...

Small areas reopen near Fukushima nuclear plant, few return

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:22 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Evacuation orders were lifted in small sections of Tomioka, a town just southwest of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, on Saturday, in time for the area’s popular cherry blossom season and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida joined a ceremony there to mark the reopening.The area of about 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles) where entry restrictions were lifted is part of Tomioka town, most of which had already been reopened.Former residents and visitors celebrated the latest reopening as they strolled along a street known as “the cherry blossoms tunnel.”“The lifting of the evacuation is by no means a final goal, but the start of the recovery,” Kishida said at the ceremony, pledging to keep working to lift all no-go zones. An earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 triggered triple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Massive amounts of radiation spewed from the plant, causing more than 160,000 residents to evacuate from across Fukushima, including ab...

Charles wins hearts in Germany as soft power pays off

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:22 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — King Charles III won plenty of hearts during his three-day visit to Germany, his first foreign trip since ascending to the throne following the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, last year. Charles’ tour saw a number of firsts that show the importance both countries placed on it — at a time when London and Berlin are trying to rebuild relations frayed by Britain’s departure from the European Union.German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier took the unprecedented step of welcoming Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, at the Brandenburg Gate with military honors Wednesday. A day later, Charles became the first monarch to address the Bundestag, the German parliament, stressing the long-standing close ties between both countries and the importance of future cooperation.Observers in both Germany and the U.K. said the trip sent a strong signal about the enduring strength of British-German relations.Jens Zimmermann, a lawmaker from Germany’s center-left Soc...

Credit Suisse takeover hits heart of Swiss banking, identity

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:22 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The UBS takeover of embattled rival Credit Suisse has shaken Switzerland’s self-image and dented its reputation as a global financial center, analysts say, warning that the country’s prosperity could grow too dependent on a single banking behemoth.The uncertain future of a union of Switzerland’s two global banks comes at a thorny time for Swiss identity, built nearly as much on a self-image of finesse in finance as on know-how with chocolate, watchmaking and cheese.Regulators who helped orchestrate the $3.25 billion deal have a lot on their plates as UBS checks the books of its rival, cherry-picks the parts it wants and dispenses with the rest.“The real question is what’s going to happen, because we’ll now have a mastodon — a monster — that will be increasingly too big to fail,” said Marc Chesney, a finance professor at the University of Zurich. “The danger is that over time, it will take more risks knowing that it is too big for the Swiss state to abandon it.”After st...

Russia-Ukraine war: Will there be a spring counteroffensive?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:22 GMT

Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II is poised to enter a new phase in the coming weeks.With no suggestion of a negotiated end to the 13 months of fighting between Russia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian defense minister said last week that a spring counteroffensive could begin as soon as April.Kyiv faces a key tactical question: How can the Ukrainian military dislodge Kremlin forces from land they are occupying? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is working hard to keep his troops, and the general public, motivated for a long fight.Here’s a look at how the fighting has evolved and how the spring campaign might unfold:HOW DID THE WAR GET HERE?Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 2022, but its attacks fell short of some main targets and lost momentum by July. Ukrainian counteroffensives took back large areas from August through November.Then the fighting got bogged down in attritional warfare during the bitter winter and into the muddy, early spr...

March Madness: Clark show continues, Iowa vs. LSU for title

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:22 GMT

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is the undeniable star of March Madness. Now she will get to play in April.The Hawkeyes’ high-scoring guard, who was named the Associated Press Player of the Year this week, scored 41 points to lead the Hawkeyes over previously undefeated South Carolina 77-73 in the Final Four on Friday night. The loss denied South Carolina — the No. 1 team all season — a chance at a second straight title.No. 2 seed Iowa will face LSU in Sunday’s title game after the third-seeded Tigers used a big fourth quarter to overtake top-seeded Virginia Tech 79-72.Clark has wowed fans for the past month and certainly didn’t seem fazed by any pressure against mighty South Carolina. She shot 15 of 31 from the field and hit four clutch free throws in the final minute to keep the Hawkeyes ahead.LSU used a 29-point fourth quarter to rally for its win over Virginia Tech earlier Friday. Alexis Morris led the way with 27 points.LSU coach Kim Mulkey has taken the Tigers to ...