Aryna Sabalenka is about to be No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She could be the new US Open champ, too

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:21:11 GMT

Aryna Sabalenka is about to be No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She could be the new US Open champ, too NEW YORK (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka is going to be the No. 1 player in the WTA rankings next week, replacing Iga Swiatek there. That much is certain. The way Sabalenka is playing at the moment, she might very well supplant Swiatek as the U.S. Open champion, too.In Sabalenka’s first match since being assured of rising to the top of women’s tennis, she showed off the power-based game that allows her to dominate so many opponents, overwhelming No. 13 seed Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3 on Monday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium to advance to her fifth consecutive major quarterfinal.“All this year, I’ve been pushing myself so hard to reach this goal,” Sabalenka said about getting to No. 1. “It really means a lot for me. It means a lot for my family. It’s crazy. It’s unbelievable.”After the top-seeded Swiatek lost in the fourth round on Sunday night, No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 5 Ons Jabeur — who was the runner-up in New York a year ago — both were defeated Monday. No. 4...

Hayes and Suwinski homer as Pirates send NL Central-leading Brewers to 2nd straight loss

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:21:11 GMT

Hayes and Suwinski homer as Pirates send NL Central-leading Brewers to 2nd straight loss PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ke’Bryan Hayes homered and tripled, Jack Suwinski drilled his 23rd home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Monday night.Pittsburgh won for the sixth time in seven games behind six strong innings from Luis Ortiz (4-4), who recovered from an early bout of wildness to send the NL Central-leading Brewers to a second straight loss.Ortiz gave up two runs in the second, when he loaded the bases with no outs on two walks and a hit batter. The Brewers scratched across a pair of runs on sacrifice flies, but Ortiz settled down from there to win his second consecutive start. David Bednar worked the ninth for his 32nd save.Suwinski’s two-run homer in the fourth off Corbin Burnes (9-8) tied the game. Hayes put the Pirates in front with a shot to left-center that just cleared the wall next to the 410-foot sign with two outs in the fifth. Bryan Reynolds followed with a double and scored when Andrew McCutchen doubled down the left-field lin...

West Metro Fire warns of extreme fire risk

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:21:11 GMT

West Metro Fire warns of extreme fire risk LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) -- A wildland fire in Evergreen is now contained after firefighters fought the flames for several hours, serving as a warning about the high fire risk. West Metro Fire Rescue took to social media Monday to warn the public of the extreme fire risk, despite the recent rain. Crews contain wildfire in Jefferson County “Today was 95th percentile hot, dry, windy index and we had hot, dry, windy conditions and our fuels are at the end of their growing cycle, so they are starting to be dormant and available to burn," West Metro firefighter Travis Griffin said. Thankfully, that fire in Evergreen stayed under one acre, with no structural damages, but it reminded evacuated residents of the risk these kinds of flames bring. Some 30 homes were evacuated in the Summit Ranch neighborhood as the flames grew on Rainbow Hill.Firefighters were able to get to the flames quickly and got them under control.Lt. Mike Amdur with Foothills Fire Protection said “We had crews on top of...

Transferred business to crook’s name

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:21:11 GMT

Transferred business to crook’s name If you own a company in Florida, you register the corporation with the state. But crooks have discovered it’s easy to go in and change the company to their name. Even more surprising, right now the state can’t stop it, which is why one business turned to Help Me Howard with Patrick FraserWhen Marcee moved from Hawaii, she brought a piece of the island culture back to the South Florida.Her dancer, all with Polynesian connections, have entertained South Floridians for years.Marcee Rodriguez: “Dancing, like shows. Parties are all kinds of things. Everybody has some sort of connection to the island.”They make you wanna sway.Marcee’s has a problem she wants to go away.Marcee Rodriguez: “And I have a notification that there’s been a change to my Sunbiz.”In Florida, business owners register their companies with the state. Someone changed the record and said they owned Marcee and her husband’s advance electric company.Marcee Rodriguez: &...

1 airlifted after multi-car crash in Miami

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:21:11 GMT

1 airlifted after multi-car crash in Miami One person was hospitalized after a multi-car crash in Miami.Miami Police and fire rescue arrived at the scene of the crash at 1200 NE 79th St., Monday night.According to police, five cars were involved in the crash. During the crash, one person was ejected from their vehicle. 7News cameras captured the victim as they arrived to the hospital on a gurney. The eastbound lanes on the 79th Street Causeway were reopened to traffic but the westbound lanes remain closed as police continue to asses the situation. A second person was also possibility injured during the crash. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

JetCar Miami lets people ‘drive’ on waters in style

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:21:11 GMT

JetCar Miami lets people ‘drive’ on waters in style Today, you can sail down the highway without much traffic.Because and only because it’s a holiday.But, in a Jet Car you can drive on the Miami waters all year round.Drive, I’ll put in air quotes. It’s not really a car, but it sure does look like one. And you’ll look just like a celebrity.It feels surreal.Frederic Kouakou: “This is now your opportunity to come and drive on water.”Yes, drive on water. And we don’t mean like South Florida streets after it sprinkles.Alex Miranda: “What do we call it?Frederic Kouakou: “Jet car, car boat, it’s up to you.”It’s jet car, officially. A boat, technically. But, sports car in attitude.Frederic Kouakou: “This can go up to 65 miles per hour, which is pretty fast on the water. So we set a limit to around 40, 45. And still very fast.”Plenty fast, but plenty easy too.Alex Miranda: “Alright, we’re here. We’re in the jet car. All you’ve got to do...

Tony Blair back in fashion as UK Labour gets election-ready

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:21:11 GMT

Tony Blair back in fashion as UK Labour gets election-ready LONDON — Opposition leader Keir Starmer has quit the unity act — and it’s his left-wing colleagues in the line of fire. The Labour Party chief sent the soft-left wing of his party into full retreat on Monday with a dramatic shadow Cabinet reshuffle that rewarded a string of MPs on his party’s right flank. It marked the final stage of a three-year project which has seen Starmer take ruthless grip of his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn’s left-wing party and drag it steadily back to the center ground, echoing the 1990s modernization led by Tony Blair and pal Peter Mandelson.“This is the Blairite and the Mandelson set,” said one ex-shadow minister from the Corbyn era who, like the others quoted in this piece, was granted anonymity to speak frankly about party leadership. “They are now driving this project. There is no ambiguity now.”With Labour commanding an 18-point poll lead over the ruling Conservatives ahead of next year’s general election, Starmer’s picks for his t...

Decline, fear and the AfD in Germany

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:21:11 GMT

Decline, fear and the AfD in Germany Mathias Döpfner is chairman and CEO of Axel Springer, POLITICO’s parent company.In Germany today, the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) is maintaining a stable 20 percent in opinion polls — coming in two to four points ahead of the ruling center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and running hard on the heels of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).In some federal states, the AfD is already the strongest party. In Thuringia, for example, it has reached 34 percent, meaning the party has three times as many supporters there as the SPD. And in some administrative districts, around half of those eligible to vote are leaning toward the AfD. According to one Forsa survey in June, the AfD is currently the strongest party in the east of Germany — a worrying trend with elections due this year in Bavaria and Hesse, and next year in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg. And, of course, there are also the European Union elections in 2024.However, this rapid rise should...

With Nicola Sturgeon’s departure, the tide is going out on Scottish nationalism

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:21:11 GMT

With Nicola Sturgeon’s departure, the tide is going out on Scottish nationalism OUTER HEBRIDES, Scotland — Almost a decade after the high watermark of Scottish independence, the tide is going out on the nationalist vote.It was 2007 when the Scottish Nationalist Party first took power in a devolved Scottish government, and 2014 when it secured — and lost — a historic referendum on breaking away from the rest of the U.K. Support for the independence cause surged even higher in the aftermath of that vote, and many observers believed its eventual success was all but secure. Yet the movement now faces an existential threat. A recent Survation poll suggested the SNP could lose almost half the 48 seats it won at the 2019 Westminster election, with Labour picking up 24 — a dramatic improvement on opposition leader Keir Starmer’s current total of one, and a major boost to his hopes of entering Downing Street at next year’s general election.And with the SNP mired in scandal and internal conflict following the departure of its long-time leader Nicola Sturgeon ...

Meet the far-right potential kingmakers in Poland’s election

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:21:11 GMT

Meet the far-right potential kingmakers in Poland’s election WARSAW — Poland’s general election next month could be decided by a far-right party that entices voters with libertarian visions of a low-tax future by raining fake money during rallies. Its past pronouncements, however, carry a far darker message.The Confederation party’s election program smacks of a “Mad Men” version of 1950s America. “A barbecue, a family, a house, two cars, a safe Poland free of immigrants, free enterprise and a country that allows every working Pole to succeed,” said Michał Urbaniak, a party leader from the northern city of Gdańsk.Upending the status quo should happen by deregulating life as much as possible, Confederation says in its manifesto titled “The Constitution of Freedom.” That’s a message that’s supposed to appeal not only to an old guard of hard-rightists but also to a younger libertarian set, including students.It calls for simplifying and lowering taxes, making the health care system rely on “market competition...