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Mikaela Shiffrin receives slalom trophy; Petra Vlhova wins last race

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:17 GMT

SOLDEU, Andorra — Seven weeks after securing it, Mikaela Shiffrin was finally able to hold and kiss the crystal globe for the best slalom skier of the women’s World Cup season.The dominant American had already locked up the discipline title at a mid-season slalom in the Czech Republic in January, but trophies in ski racing are traditionally handed over only in the final week of the season.Her Slovakian rival Petra Vlhova used a frenetic finish on her decisive run Saturday to win the slalom at the World Cup Finals ahead of Croatian prodigy Leona Popovic, while Shiffrin placed third.“It’s the sum of a lot of hard work and many amazing races and the work of the whole team,” Shiffrin said. “I’m very thankful and very proud.”Shiffrin, who also secured her fifth overall and second giant slalom globe, won six of the 11 slaloms this season, making her the first woman to win seven season titles in slalom, surpassing Swiss standout Vreni Schneider, who won it six times in the 1980...

Bay Area weather: 3,000 PG&E customers still in the dark, but power expected restored by midnight

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:17 GMT

Four days after a punishing atmospheric river storm knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of Bay Area residents, about 3,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers in the region remained in the dark Saturday morning — but utility officials expected to have electricity fully restored by midnight.Roughly 1,500 customers were without power in the South Bay, while another 1,500 on the Peninsula were still waiting for the lights to come on. That’s down from nearly 7,000 across the Bay Area Friday afternoon.Power had been fully restored in the East Bay, North Bay and San Francisco, PG&E officials said.At the outage’s peak on Tuesday, some 367,000 customers were without power, leaving the utility with its most outages in a single day since 1995. By noon Thursday, that number had fallen below 38,000. According to the PG&E, the storm damaged at least 217 power poles and 157 transformers.Related ArticlesWeather | PG&E slashes Bay Area outage numbers...

Kangaroo loose by I-680 in Bay Area, police seeking owner of animal with bad leg

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:17 GMT

A possibly injured kangaroo was loose Saturday morning beside I-680 in Alamo, the California Highway Patrol reported.“There is a kangaroo with a bad leg on the shoulder of the freeway,” CHP Sgt. Matt Gutierrez said around 11 a.m. Saturday, adding that it was not known whether the animal had been hit by a vehicle.Police believe there is an animal preserve nearby, and an officer was in the area trying to find out where the animal, native to Australia, had come from before ending up by the highway near Stone Valley Road, Gutierrez said.The Highway Patrol responded to the Contra Costa County incident, first reported publicly in a tweet by news website Danville/San Ramon Updates, around 10:45 a.m. Saturday.CHECK BACK ON THIS DEVELOPING STORY

US Open ‘very hopeful’ unvaccinated Novak Djokovic can play

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:17 GMT

After Novak Djokovic withdrew from tournaments in Florida and California because he still can’t travel to the United States as a foreign citizen who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, a U.S. Tennis Association spokesman said Saturday the group is “very hopeful” the top-ranked player will be allowed into the country for the U.S. Open in August.“Policies concerning access to the United States are determined by the White House. We are very hopeful that the policy preventing Novak Djokovic from entering the United States will be rescinded, or lapse, in the near future,” the USTA’s Chris Widmaier wrote to The Associated Press. “No COVID-19 restrictions are in place at the U.S. Open for any player, fan or other attendee. Novak, one of our sport’s great champions, would be welcome to compete at the 2023 U.S. Open.”The two-week U.S. Open starts in Flushing Meadows on Aug. 28.Djokovic, a 35-year-old from Serbia, was unable to get to New York for the season’s last Grand Sla...

Johannessen, Baldwin lead, still to finish 3rd rounds at SDC

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:17 GMT

ST. FRANCIS BAY, South Africa (AP) — Kristian Krogh Johannessen and Matthew Baldwin shared the lead at the SDC Championship in South Africa on Saturday when the third round was suspended because of fading light.The pair had moved to 11 under par through 13 holes when players were called off at the St. Francis Links course on South Africa’s south coast.The tournament, which is making its debut on the European tour, is playing catchup after high winds caused a postponement on Friday, leaving many players to complete their second rounds and move straight to their third rounds on Saturday.Norway’s Johannessen led by three shots when the second round was finally completed on Saturday but third-round playing partner Baldwin whittled away at that lead with four birdies and no dropped shots through those 13 holes.As the Englishman made his move, Johannessen dropped a shot on No.11, his second bogey of the round.Daniel Brown and Joost Luiten earlier set the clubhouse target of 9 ...

March Madness: Brackets in tatters as 2nd round begins

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:17 GMT

March Madness has truly begun! By the end of the first round, a trio of top seeds were already gone — No. 1 seed Purdue, No. 2 seed Arizona and No. 4 seed Virginia — and gone with them were millions of busted brackets.Here is what to know with Sweet 16 bids on the line at the NCAA Tournament, including the favorites and underdogs as well as key games:TOP SEEDSThe top four seeds in the tournament were given to Alabama, Houston, Kansas and Purdue. Each had its share of headaches to set up what is already proving to be a chaotic tournament and the Boilermakers were the first to fall, ousted in a first-round stunner. Here is the latest from each region:EAST REGION: The Boilermakers got a No. 1 seed for the fourth time, but Purdue was dumped by Fairleigh Dickinson in a near-historic upset. The region appears to be wide open for the likes of No. 2 seed Marquette, Duke, Michigan State and more.SOUTH REGION: Alabama, led by coach Nate Oats in a challenging season, is a No. 1 seed for the fi...

Byron out to validate Hendrick’s strong start despite fines

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:17 GMT

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Back-to-back wins haven’t stopped William Byron from believing he and his Hendrick Motorsports team have a lot to prove in Sunday’s NASCAR stop in Atlanta.In fact, Byron said Saturday, there’s even more on the line. Drivers of the Hendrick Chevrolets want to show the strong start to the season is not the result of illegally manipulating NASCAR’s rules.NASCAR slammed Hendrick Motorsports on Wednesday with the largest combined fine on one team in series history for allegedly modifying louvers, which direct air through the hoods of cars. The penalty included a combined $400,000 in fines — $100,000 to each of its four crew chiefs — plus four-race suspensions for the crew chiefs — Byron’s, Kyle Larson’s and Alex Bowman’s included. Those suspensions begin with Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Hendrick is appealing the penalties, which also affected the drivers by losing 100 regular-season points and 10 playoffs po...

Perez on pole for Red Bull in Saudi Arabia for 2nd year

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:17 GMT

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Sergio Perez stepped up for Red Bull to ensure the team started from the pole at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a mechanical issue sidelined two-time defending world champion Max Verstappen. Verstappen was fastest in all three practice sessions at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit but his qualifying effort was cut short Saturday when he radioed “I have a problem. Engine, engine problem,” during the second session. The Dutchman drove to the pits, where a driveshaft issue was discovered, and Verstappen’s qualifying effort was over. It left Perez as the lone Red Bull representative in the final round of qualifying and he went on to win pole for the second consecutive year — the only two poles of his career. Verstappen will start 15th. Charles Leclerc qualified second for Ferrari but will drop 10 positions at the start of Sunday’s race because of a grid penalty for exceeding the allotted electronics control unit on the car’s engine in the season-ope...

Indiana State takes down South Carolina Upstate 67-62 in CBI

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:17 GMT

DAYTONA BEACH. Fla. (AP) — Courvoisier McCauley had 20 points and 11 rebounds in Indiana State’s 67-62 win over South Carolina Upstate on Saturday in the CBI Tournament. Cameron Henry scored 19 points and added six rebounds for the Sycamores (23-12). Robbie Avila added 10 points.Jordan Gainey led the Spartans (16-16) in scoring, finishing with 18 points and two steals. Trae Broadnax added 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals for South Carolina Upstate.Indiana State will play Eastern Kentucky or Cleveland State in the quarterfinals on Monday. Eastern Kentucky and Cleveland State play on Sunday.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Strong earthquake shakes coastal Ecuador; damage unclear

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:17 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A strong earthquake shook Ecuador on Saturday, but there was no immediate word on major damage or injuries.The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 in the country’s coastal Guayas region. It was centered about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second-largest city.Videos shared on social media show people gathering on the streets of Guayaquil and nearby communities. People reported objects falling inside their homes in Guayaquil, which anchors an urban area of over 3 million people about 170 miles (270 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Quito.The earthquake was also felt in northern Peru.Source