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Wimbledon 2023: Here is what you need to know before play begins Monday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:23 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Novak Djokovic begins his bid for a fifth consecutive title at Wimbledon and eighth overall at Centre Court on Monday.Djokovic also will be trying to add to his men’s-record 23 Grand Slam singles titles — he broke a tie with Rafael Nadal by winning the French Open last month — and became the first player to collect 24 in the Open era. Oh, and then there’s this: The 36-year-old from Serbia is halfway to the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since Rod Laver won all four majors in 1969.Djokovic faces Pedro Cachin, a 67th-ranked Argentine making his Wimbledon debut.The reigning women’s champion is Elena Rybakina, who won her first Slam trophy at the All England Club. She’ll open play on Tuesday against American Shelby Rogers.Top-ranked Iga Swiatek, who won her fourth major championship at the French Open, debuts on Monday against Zhu Lin.One significant change: Players from Russia and Belarus are back at Wimbledon. The...

Liverpool signs Dominik Szoboszlai from Leipzig as Jurgen Klopp overhauls his midfield

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:23 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Liverpool continued its midfield overhaul with the signing of Dominik Szoboszlai from Leipzig on Sunday.The Hungary international cost 60 million pounds ($76 million) after Liverpool triggered his release clause. He has agreed a five-year contract subject to him being granted a work permit to play in the U.K. “For me it was perfect to make the next step in a club like this. The fans, the stadium, everything is really good,” Szoboszlai said.Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp planned to revamp his midfield after last season’s disappointing campaign, which saw his team miss out on the Champions League for the first time in seven years and fail to win a trophy.Szoboszlai, 22, follows the signing of Argentina’s World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister, who completed a move from Brighton for a reported 35 million pounds ($43.6 million) last month. Klopp needed to strengthen in the heart of his team following the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita a...

Nets trade Patty Mills to Rockets, agree to deal with Dennis Smith Jr.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:23 GMT

Patty Mills, it was a pleasure.The Nets traded Mills, the longtime San Antonio Spurs guard whose two-season stint in Brooklyn ended in a deal with the Houston Rockets, on Saturday night. In a related move, the Nets reportedly reached an agreement with Hornets free agent high-flying point guard Dennis Smith Jr. on a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum.Smith enjoyed a resurgence in Charlotte last season, averaging 8.8 points, five assists and 1.4 steals per game off the bench for the Hornets. He adds quality depth at the point guard position, though he only shoots the three ball at a 21% clip.Nets general manager Sean Marks and his front office staff have been actively cutting salary to avoid steeper luxury tax penalties this summer. The organization decided to move on from Mills, the locker room favorite,  in a move that shed the Australian guard’s $6.8M salary for the 2023-24 NBA season.Mills temporarily reunites with former Nets assistant coach Ime Udoka, who to...

Wrong-way, knife-wielding driver on Route 3 in Weymouth hits several vehicles, police try to tase him

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:23 GMT

An alleged wrong-way reckless driver on Route 3 in Weymouth hit several vehicles and crashed into a guardrail Saturday evening before he got out of his vehicle while carrying a knife, according to Massachusetts State Police who tried to tase him.After troopers were unable to tase the suspect, he allegedly threw the knife toward the woods and was arrested. The suspect was transported to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth for a psychiatric evaluation.State Police out of Norwell at around 8:25 p.m. on Saturday started to receive calls of a wrong-way driver heading south on Route 3 in the northbound lane in Weymouth.“According to cell phone callers, the vehicle was driving recklessly towards oncoming traffic and caused numerous accidents on Rt 3,” a State Police spokesperson said in a statement.Troopers and local police officers on Route 3 tried to find and parallel the suspect vehicle. At some point, the suspect vehicle got back on Route 3 in the correct direction, turned aro...

The Biden administration guaranteed attorney access for all migrant screenings. Most don’t have it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:23 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — As the Biden administration prepared to launch speedy asylum screenings at Border Patrol holding facilities this spring , authorities pledged a key difference from a Trump-era version of the policy: Migrants would be guaranteed access to legal counsel.Nearly three months and thousands of screenings later, the promise of attorney access appears largely unfulfilled, based on advocacy group reports and interviews with people directly involved, some of whom spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the effort publicly. A coterie of involved attorneys estimate that perhaps 100 migrants have secured formal representation, and only hundreds more have received informal advice through one-time phone calls ahead of the expedited screenings.Jones Day, one of the world’s largest law firms, has partnered with the administration to provide free legal advice to migrants. Its phone bank handled 460 informal phone consultatio...

Indiana Jones’ box office destiny? A lukewarm $60 million debut in North America

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:23 GMT

Indiana Jones, and executives at the Walt Disney Co. and Lucasfilm, made a somewhat dispiriting discovery this weekend. Moviegoers didn’t rush to the theater in significant numbers to see “ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and say goodbye to Harrison Ford as the iconic archaeologist.The film, reportedly budgeted north of $250 million, came in on the lower end of projections with $60 million in ticket sales from 4,600 North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. Including $70 million from international showings in 52 markets, “Dial of Destiny” celebrated a $130 million global opening. It easily earned the No. 1 title but was not the high-rolling sendoff for one of modern cinema’s most iconic actor/character pairings that anyone hoped. Disney is projecting that it will make $82 million domestically through the fourth of July holiday and $152 million globally.“Dial of Destiny” is the long-delayed fifth installment in the Steven Spielberg/George Lucas...

Quebec wildfires: Environment Canada lifts smog warnings across the province

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:23 GMT

MONTREAL — Environment Canada has lifted smog warnings that have been in place across large swaths of Quebec for several days.In parts of northwestern Quebec, including the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, smog warnings have been downgraded to air quality alerts. Air quality alerts are also in place in much of northern Quebec, including areas along James Bay and parts of the far north.Quebec’s wildfire prevention agency says 139 new fires were reported on Saturday, with 95 per cent of those started by lightning strikes.Of the fires that remain active in the province, it says only three are considered out of control.The agency, SOPFEU, says it has contained a large fire burning near Lebel-sur-Quévillon, a northern Quebec city that was evacuated twice in June. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2023. The Canadian Press

Illinois businessman convicted of price-gouging N95 masks during early weeks of pandemic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:23 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A Illinois businessman has been convicted of price-gouging in connection with the sale of N95 masks during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Krikor Topouzian, 62, of Winnetka, was convicted Thursday in federal court in Chicago following a bench trial, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. He could face up to a year in prison when he’s sentenced Oct. 10. Topouzian owned a health supply company in Skokie, Illinois, according to prosecutors. He purchased about 80,000 N95 masks in March and April of 2020 for about $5 per mask and then sold them for about $20 per mask, prosecutors said. He boasted about making as much as $80,000 per day and $1 million in a matter of weeks, prosecutors said. The masks has been labeled “scarce materials” during the pandemic as part of the Defense Production Act. Topouzian’s attorneys, listed in online court records as Thomas More Leinenweber and Matthew John McQuaid, didn’t immediately respond to an email Sunday seeking comment...

3 of 9 enter pleas in burglary ring in theft of art, sports memorabilia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:23 GMT

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — Three of nine people have pleaded guilty to federal charges in a burglary ring that authorities in northeastern Pennsylvania say stole art, sports memorabilia and other items from museums and other institutions over two decades.Ralph Parry, 45, and Francesco “Frank” Tassiello, 50, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork and interstate transportation of stolen property, The (Scranton) Times-Tribune reported. Daryl Rinker, 50, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit concealment and disposal of major artwork and interstate transportation of stolen property, the paper reported. Federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced charges in June against nine Lackawanna County residents in 18 heists from art, historical and sports museums and other institutions in six states between 1999 and 2019.The thefts included Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock art taken from the Everhart Museum in Scranton and a Jasp...

LIVE BLOG: Day 2 of NASCAR in Chicago: Opening delayed due to weather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:23 GMT

Organizers are hoping the weather cooperates Sunday for Day 2 of NASCAR in Chicago.Torrential downpours have caused flooding issues throughout Chicago Sunday morning. Latest forecast updates here. Gates were scheduled to open at 9 a.m. but officials tweeted that it would be delayed due to weather. They opened at 10:15 a.m.Below are real-time updates on the course and timeline for Sunday11:07 a.m. — After the delayed start, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is in a "holding pattern" due to standing water on the course.#UPDATE via NASCAR: "Due to standing water on the street course, the resumption of the race is currently in a holding pattern."— Courtney Spinelli (@CourtSpinelliTV) July 2, 202310:35 a.m. — The Loop 121 race was scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. on lap number 26. Organizers said it will now start at 10:45 a.m.#UPDATE on #NASCARChicago per spokesperson: “Due to the threat of severe weather this morning, the opening of gates to the Chicago Street Race will be delay...