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Popyrin gives Australia a 1-0 lead over Finland in Davis Cup semifinals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Alexei Popyrin gave Australia a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup semifinal match against Finland after beating Otto Virtanen 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Friday.Alex de Miñaur has the chance to put Australia through to the final by winning the second singles match against Emil Ruusuvuori. Novak Djokovic’s Serbia will face Jannik Sinner’s Italy on Saturday in the other semifinal match on the indoor hard court at Martin Carpena arena in Malaga, Spain. Popyrin edged Virtanen in the first set, saving a set point when trailing 6-5 and forcing a tiebreaker that he clinched when his opponent slapped a forehand long.Virtanen was Finland’s hero in its upset of defending champion Canada on Tuesday, winning both his singles and doubles matches. But his serve let him down against Popyrin in the second set when his fifth double-fault cost him a break.Lleyton Hewitt’s Australia is seeking a second consecutive final. Australia has the second-most Davis Cup titles, with 28 to 32 for the United S...

Young, Levis finally face off as NFL rookies after never playing each other in SEC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Bryce Young and Will Levis never faced off during college in the Southeastern Conference. Now the rookie quarterbacks finally will meet Sunday in the NFL when Young and his Carolina Panthers (1-9) visit Levis and the Titans (3-7) in Music City. “I’ve definitely watched him from afar and been really impressed with his whole process, and he’s a heck of a quarterback,” Levis said of Young. “Was really fun watching him, comparing myself to the other quarterbacks in the draft class. (He) did some great things on Saturdays. He’s been doing some great things on Sundays.” The No. 1 overall pick in April has taken a beating that cost him one start, and he has nearly as many interceptions (eight) as touchdown passes (nine). First-year coach Frank Reich knows whether the 5-foot-10 Young could handle a pounding at this level was a big question coming into the draft.“He physically is one tough dude,” Reich said. “Never wants to come out, can take hits. I...

Hamas frees first batch of hostages under temporary cease-fire, including 13 Israelis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas on Friday released 24 hostages who had been held captive in Gaza for weeks, including 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand and a Filipino citizen, according to Qatar and other officials, in the first stage in a swap for Palestinians prisoners in Israel under a four-day cease-fire deal.The hostages, women and children, were soon returned to Israel, where Israeli officials said they underwent medical checkups. They were to be accompanied by soldiers to hospitals to be reunited with their families.Qatar was a key mediator in the hostage release. The International Committee of the Red Cross delivered the hostages from Gaza into Egypt.The agreement brought the first respite for beleaguered residents of Gaza and opened the way for sorely needed aid to flow in. It was also a moment of hope for families in Israel and elsewhere worried about loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which triggered the war.There were no reports of fighting in the ho...

Ascienden los muertos a 96 en Somalia tras las inundaciones de ‘El Niño’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

MOGADISCIO- La Agencia Somalí de Gestión de Desastres (Sodma), que confirmó el número de fallecidos este jueves en una reunión presidida por el primer ministro del país, Hamza Abdi Barre, también señaló que las inundaciones y las lluvias torrenciales golpearon a cerca de dos millones de personas.La peor situación está viviéndose en los estados somalíes de Hirshabelle, Suroeste y Jubaland, en el centro y el sur del país, mientras que en el norte persiste una situación de sequía, según la ONU.La Oficina de Naciones Unidas para la Coordinación de Asuntos Humanitarios (OCHA) alertó de que la cifra de personas desplazadas se duplicó la semana pasada con respecto a la anterior, pasando de 334,800 a 649,000.“Estos números superan las cifras de planificación y preparación”, reconoció la OCHA, que lamentó que “las lluvias torrenciales y las inundaciones han exacerbado la crisis de hambre en Somalia”. Reanudan búsqueda de desaparecidos tras alud que dejó ...

Rescuers in India trying to evacuate 41 workers from a collapsed tunnel are delayed again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

UTTARKASHI, India (AP) — Rescue teams trying to reach 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for nearly two weeks stopped drilling again Friday after their boring machine hit a new metal obstruction in rock debris, further delaying efforts.Devendra Patwal, a disaster management officer, said it may take the rescuers several hours to cut the metal object and resume the final phase of digging at the accident site in Uttarakhand state.Patwal said the machine was stopped after it had drilled about 2 meters (6.5 feet) of the last stretch of 12 meters (40 feet) of rock debris that would open a passage for the trapped workers to come out.On Thursday, the platform of the machine became unstable while boring and halted the digging, said Kirti Panwar, a Uttarakhand state government spokesman. It resumed drilling Friday evening, Panwar said.Panwar could not say how long it would take to complete the drilling and to bring the construction workers out. They have ...

Justice Department calls for swift extradition of top cartel criminal after arrest in Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

(CNN) — US Attorney General Merrick Garland has called for the “swift extradition” of Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, described by the Justice Department as a lead assassin for the Sinaloa Cartel, after his arrest in Mexico.Pérez Salas is “one of the Sinaloa Cartel’s lead sicarios, or assassins,” according to a news release from the Department of Justice. Known as “Nini,” Pérez Salas was captured by the Mexican National Guard on Wednesday in Culiacán, Sinaloa, according to Mexican officials.CNN has reached out to the Mexican Attorney General’s Office for more details about the arrest but did not immediately receive a response. It is not clear if Pérez Salas has an attorney.In February 2021, Pérez Salas was charged in the United States with cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and witness retaliation. The US State Department offered a reward of up to $3 million for information leadin...

Massachusetts is creating overnight shelter spots to help newly arriving migrant families

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts has begun awarding grants to local agencies to set up temporary housing sites for homeless families as officials grapple with finding newly arriving migrants places to stay after hitting a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families in the state’s emergency homeless shelter system.Catholic Charities Boston is the first organization to be awarded a grant to provide temporary rooms to extremely low-income families with children and pregnant individuals, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay announced this week.The grant will pay for a site in the greater Boston area that opened on Tuesday evening and can accommodate up to 27 families, or about 81 people, as they wait to enter the state’s emergency shelter system, officials said.Catholic Charities Boston will provide bedding, meals, staff, and security. The site is available to families eligible for the the state’s family shelter system but who could not be immediately placed in a shelter.Democratic Gov. M...

The world’s biggest iceberg is on the move

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

London (CNN) — The world’s biggest iceberg – more than twice the size of Britain’s capital city – is on the move after decades of being grounded on the seafloor in Antarctica.The huge mass of ice broke away from the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in 1986, calved and grounded on the Antarctic’s Weddell Sea floor almost immediately.The iceberg, named A23a, is about 400 meters (1,312 feet) thick, and almost 4,000 square kilometers (1,544 square miles) in area. Greater London, by way of comparison, is 1,572 square kilometers (607 square miles).But now, nearly three decades later, the iceberg has probably shrunk enough in size to lose its grip on the seafloor as part of the natural growth cycle of the ice shelf, and has started moving, scientists Ella Gilbert and Oliver Marsh from the British Antarctic Survey told CNN.A23a has held the “largest current iceberg” title several times since the 1980s, occasionally being surpassed by larger but shorter-lived icebergs, incl...

Patriots preparing to face ‘unique’ force in middle of Giants’ defense

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

FOXBORO — This week’s matchup between Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito and a Patriots starting quarterback to be named Sunday certainly lacks the star power of previous Super Bowl games between the two teams, but it might feature one of the best and most unheralded players in the NFL.Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who hasn’t practiced this week due to a hamstring injury, is the top-graded interior defender on PFF this season. The 6-foot-4, 342-pounder is the rare modern-day nose tackle who rarely comes off of the field, and there’s good reason for it.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots potentially in great health ahead of Giants game Sunday New England Patriots | What Patriots’ J.C. Jackson learned from recent discipline from Bill Belichick New England Patriots | Bill Belichick repeatedly refuses to name Patriots’ starting QB Friday New England Patriots | 10 things tha...

Hamas frees 24 hostages in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners as part of cease-fire swap

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

By WAFAA SHURAFA, BASSEM MROUE and DAVID RISING (Associated Press)RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas on Friday released 24 hostages who had been held captive in Gaza for weeks, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison in the first stage of a swap under a four-day cease-fire deal.The freed hostages included 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand and one from the Philippines, according to Qatar.The agreement opened the way for sorely needed aid to flow into Gaza for beleaguered residents. It was also a moment of hope for families in Israel and elsewhere worried about loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which triggered the war. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.With the truce’s start Friday morning, Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians saw quiet for the first time after seven weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment, which has killed thousands, driven three-quarters of the population from their homes and ...