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Top-seeded Aces cruise past the Sky 87-59 to begin their WNBA playoff series

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:57 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Chelsea Gray had 20 points and seven assists, Jackie Young added 18 points and the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces beat the Chicago Sky 87-59 on Wednesday night to begin a WNBA playoff series.The defending champion Aces host Game 2 of the best-of-three series on Sunday. Las Vegas, which had the best record in the league at 34-6, has won all four matchups with Chicago this season.Kelsey Plum scored 16 points and A’ja Wilson had 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for Las Vegas. Alysha Clark added 13 points.The Aces defense held Chicago to 33% shooting.Kahleah Copper scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half for Chicago. Courtney Williams had nine points, 11 rebounds and six assists.Wilson and Gray each scored 10 points in the opening 14 minutes to help the Aces build a 39-20 lead. Plum had a team-high 13 points in the first half and Young added 10 points as Las Vegas led 53-36.Las Vegas didn’t make a field goal in the opening five minutes of the second half, but C...

WNBA Playoff Glance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:57 GMT

All Times EDT(x-if necessary)First Round(Best-of-3)No. 1 Las Vegas 1, No. 8 Chicago Sky 0Wednesday, Sept. 13: Las Vegas 87, Chicago 59Sunday, Sept. 17: Chicago at Las Vegas, 3 p.m.x-Wednesday, Sept. 20: Las Vegas at Chicago, 10 p.m.No. 2 New York vs. No. 7 WashingtonFriday, Sept. 15: Washington at New York, 7:30 p.m.Tuesday, Sept. 19: Washington at New York, 7 p.m.x-Friday, Sept. 22: New York at Washington, 8 p.m.No. 3 Connecticut 1, No. 6 Minnesota 0Wednesday, Sept. 13: Connecticut 90, Minnesota 60Sunday, Sept. 17: Minnesota at Connecticut, 1 p.m.x-Wednesday, Sept. 20: Connecticut at Minnesota, 8 p.m.No. 4 Dallas vs. No. 5 AtlantaFriday, Sept. 15: Atlanta at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.Tuesday, Sept. 19: Atlanta at Dallas, 9 p.m.x-Friday, Sept. 22: Dallas at Atlanta, 10 p.m.Semifinals(Best-of-5)Sept. 24-Oct. 3Las Vegas/Chicago winner vs. Dallas/Atlanta winnerNew York/Washington winner vs. Connecticut/Minnesota winnerFinals(Best-of-5)Oct. 8-20Semifinal winners<Source

Arizona ace Zac Gallen tagged as Alonso and Vientos lead the Mets to a 7-1 win at Citi Field

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wrong time for Arizona ace Zac Gallen to have one of his worst games all season.Gallen was hit hard Wednesday night in a damaging loss for the Diamondbacks as Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos powered the New York Mets to a 7-1 victory.Arizona dropped into a tie for the third National League wild card with Cincinnati, which won 4-3 at Detroit. Miami and San Francisco are both a half-game behind in a crowded race for the final NL playoff spot.“I just think we’re trying to do too much, for sure,” manager Torey Lovullo said.Just back from the minors, Joey Lucchesi (3-0) carried a shutout into the eighth inning and the fourth-place Mets improved to 5-1 against Arizona. They battered the Diamondbacks for the second consecutive night and have outscored them 36-15 this year.“He pretty much just beat us with one pitch,” designated hitter Evan Longoria said. “He just executed the fastball to both sides of the plate, and we didn’t do a very good job of making adjustments. But...

As all eyes fixated on Pennsylvania manhunt, a DC murder suspect is at-large and off the radar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — While the nation has been transfixed by the two-week manhunt for escaped prisoner Danelo Souza Cavalcante in Pennsylvania, another fugitive drama has been playing out in the nation’s capital with comparatively minimal attention. Christopher Haynes has been on the run for a week, since escaping from police custody at George Washington University Hospital on Sept. 6. Haynes, 30, had been arrested earlier in the day on murder charges relating to an Aug. 12 shooting in the district. His escape prompted a several-hour shelter-in-place order last week for the entire GW campus and brief roadblocks on nearby streets.Cavalcante, a 34-year-old Brazilian national who was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, was captured Wednesday morning in southeastern Pennsylvania after an extended pursuit that received wall-to-wall live coverage. Haynes is still at large and awaits a trial.The contrast between the two manhunts has been stark: while the national media has tracked...

UN envoy for Sudan resigns and warns that the conflict could be turning into full-scale civil war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:57 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. special envoy for Sudan who was declared unwelcome by the country’s military rulers resigned Wednesday in a final speech to the U.N. Security Council, warning that the conflict between Sudan’s rival military leaders “could be morphing into a full-scale civil war.”Volker Perthes, who had continued to work outside Sudan, said the fighting shows no sign of abating, with neither side appearing close to “a decisive military victory.” He also said the violence in Sudan’s western Darfur region “has worsened dramatically,” with civilians being targeted based on their ethnicity.Tensions between Sudan’s military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, burst into open fighting in mid-April.At least 5,000 people have been killed since then and over 12,000 wounded, Perthes said, while calling the figures conservative and saying the actual number “is likely much higher.”The envoy sai...

New Indonesian industrial park on Borneo, feted as ‘green,’ will be powered by coal, report says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:57 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A vast industrial park being built on the tropical island of Borneo that has attracted billions of dollars in foreign and domestic investment is damaging the environment in an area where endangered animals live and migrate.The showcase Indonesian project also initially will be partly powered by coal, according to an environmental impact assessment ordered by one of its developers and reviewed by The Associated Press, but not yet made available to the public.The project championed by President Joko Widodo reflects Indonesia’s struggle to balance profiting from its rich natural resources and meeting its environmental goals.The environmental impact assessment commissioned by PT Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia, which operates a large part of the current development, describes what is happening in the 15,000 hectare (32,100 acre) area, where plumes of dust mushroom into the sky along the Celebes Sea as heavy equipment fells trees and razes paddy fields. It ...

Sweden’s figurehead king celebrates 50 years on the throne

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:57 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden this week marks the 50th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf’s accession to the throne with four days of celebrations that culminate with a military parade through the capital.The scale of the golden jubilee may not reach the levels of royal anniversaries in Britain, but it’s still a rare chance for the monarchy to fete itself with pomp and ceremony in the egalitarian Scandinavian country.Carl Gustaf, 77, is the first king in the Swedish monarchy’s more than 1,000-year history to reach 50 years on the throne. And following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year, he’s the second-longest reigning European monarch alive today, after his cousin Queen Margrethe II, who celebrated her 50th anniversary on Denmark’s throne last year.Margrethe and King Harald V of Norway are among the dignitaries on the guest list for the jubilee events, which include an opera performance at Drottningholm Palace outside Stockholm, the residence of the king and his wife, Queen Silvi...

Europe’s central bank faces close call on interest rates as threat of recession grows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:57 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Caught between stubborn inflation and weakening growth, the European Central Bank faces a close call Thursday on whether to halt its record run of interest rate hikes amid alarming signs that the economy could slide into recession. The decision comes as the ECB, U.S. Federal Reserve and other major central banks are nearing the end of their swift series of rate hikes aimed at squelching inflation — and hoping the damage to economic growth from higher borrowing costs is not too extensive.ECB President Christine Lagarde has said the latest rate decision will be made based on available data, a switch from the last nine meetings when rate hikes were signaled ahead of time. Annual inflation of 5.3% in the 20 countries that use the euro currency is still well above the bank’s target of 2%, robbing consumers of purchasing power and contributing to economic stagnation that has kept growth just above zero this year — supporting arguments for a 10th straight ra...

Championing Europe's SMEs: Commission provides new relief to boost the competitiveness and resilience of SMEs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:57 GMT

The Commission is presenting a series of initiatives to address the needs of Europe's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the current economic environment. Representing 99% of Europe's businesses, SMEs are essential drivers of Europe's green and digital transitions, but continue to face unpredictability and volatility as a result of a number of crises in recent years.The SME Relief Communication put forward today proposes new measures that will provide short-term relief, boost SMEs' long-term competitiveness, and strengthen fairness in the business environment across the Single Market. As part of these measures, the Commission is today also publishing new proposals for a Regulation on late payments in commercial transactions and a Directive establishing a Head Office Tax System for SMEs. Additional initiatives aim at further boosting SMEs' access to finance, improving the business environment and supporting SMEs' growth into mid-caps to unleash their full economic potential...

Action needed to secure coffee supplies, farmers’ incomes and biodiversity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:57 GMT

Inaction by coffee companies is threatening the global supply of coffee, as well as farmers’ livelihoods and the natural world, according to the 2023 Coffee Barometer, an in-depth report on the state of sustainability in the industry. It warns that despite EU anti-deforestation laws, the clearing of forests is set to continue apace, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.Roughly 130,000 hectares of forest have been lost annually over the last 20 years due to land being cleared for coffee cultivation as farmers attempt to make ends meet. Yet their income remains at or below the poverty line in eight of the ten largest coffee-producing countries. This reality threatens the entire sector and has dangerous environmental implications.The Coffee Barometer, produced by Ethos Agriculture with the support of Conservation International and Solidaridad, also warns that rising temperatures due to climate change could drastically reduce the amount of land suitable for growing coffee by 20...