MATCHDAY: Portugal takes on surprise challenger Luxembourg. Croatia faces Armenia

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:23:23 GMT

MATCHDAY: Portugal takes on surprise challenger Luxembourg. Croatia faces Armenia A look at what’s happening in European Championship qualifying on Monday:GROUP DCroatia, Armenia and Wales are all fighting for the second qualifying spot behind group leader Turkey, which isn’t playing Monday. World Cup semifinalist Croatia is in that coveted second spot as it takes on third-place Armenia. Croatia’s midfield leader Luka Modric is on track to extend his record with a 168th game for his country. Wales is in fourth place and has just one win from its last 13 games. It must beat Latvia to avoid being left behind in the qualifying contest.GROUP JPortugal is cruising toward qualification as it takes on a Luxembourg team which has surprised many by becoming a contender to reach its first-ever European Championship next year. Portugal is hosting the game and beat Luxembourg 6-0 when they last played, so anything else but a win for Cristiano Ronaldo’s team would be a major upset. Portugal leads the group with 15 points, five more than Slovakia and Luxembou...

Brewers’ Corbin Burnes has no-hitter through 7 innings vs. Yankees

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:23:23 GMT

Brewers’ Corbin Burnes has no-hitter through 7 innings vs. Yankees NEW YORK (AP) — Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes is pitching a no-hitter through seven innings Sunday against the New York Yankees.The 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner retired his first 12 hitters before walking Giancarlo Stanton on his 54th pitch. He also issued a two-out walk to rookie Everson Pereira before third baseman Andruw Monasterio made a running catch in foul territory on Oswaldo Cabrera.Burnes struck out five and walked two, throwing 62 of 96 pitches for strikes. His career high is 110 pitches against San Francisco on May 27.Burnes ended the seventh by coming off the mound to field Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s soft ground ball. Burnes got up from the ground slowly.The 28-year-old right-hander had not thrown a complete game in 102 previous big league starts.The game was tied 0-0.Winless in eight starts since July 20, Burnes is attempting to throw Milwaukee’s third no-hitter. He combined with Josh Hader on the Brewers’ second, pitching eight innings at Cleveland on Sept. 1...

Father dead, 9-year-old son missing after their jet ski collides with barge on a Tennessee lake

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:23:23 GMT

Father dead, 9-year-old son missing after their jet ski collides with barge on a Tennessee lake Ashland City, Tenn. (AP) — The weekend collision of a jet ski and a barge on a Tennessee waterway has left officials searching for a 9-year-old boy whose father died in the crash.The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said 36-year-old Steven White died after the jet ski carrying him and his son hit a barge being pushed by a tow boat around 7:30 p.m. Saturday on a lake northwest of Nashville, The Tennessean reported.Crew members above the Hines Furlong tow boat hit the waters in a vessel to help the two riders. White, who wore a lifejacket, was later pronounced dead after being taken ashore, according to The Tennessean.A search for the missing child resumed at 8 a.m. Sunday after pausing in the early morning hours.Source

Buscan sobrevivientes tras catastrófico terremoto que dejó miles de muertos en Marruecos

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:23:23 GMT

Buscan sobrevivientes tras catastrófico terremoto que dejó miles de muertos en Marruecos Una réplica de magnitud 3.9 sobresaltó a los marroquíes el domingo mientras rezaban por las víctimas del terremoto más fuerte del país en más de un siglo, mientras soldados y cooperantes llevaban agua y suministros a poblados de montaña en ruinas. Más de 2,100 personas habían muerto, una cifra que se esperaba siguiera subiendo.La ONU estimó que más de 300,000 personas se vieron afectadas por el sismo del viernes en la noche de magnitud 6.8 y algunos marroquíes se quejaban en redes sociales de que el gobierno no permitía más ayuda internacional. Había equipos internacionales preparados para desplegarse, pero seguían esperando a que el gobierno solicitara su asistencia.“Sabemos que hay una gran urgencia para salvar a gente y buscar bajo los restos de los edificios”, dijo Arnaud Fraisse, director de rescatistas Sin Fronteras, que tenía un equipo bloqueado en el aeropuerto de París el domingo a espera de recibir permiso de Marruecos para entrar en el país. “Hay gente muriendo bajo los e...

Steelers lose defensive tackle Cam Heyward, wide receiver Diontae Johnson to injuries against 49ers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:23:23 GMT

Steelers lose defensive tackle Cam Heyward, wide receiver Diontae Johnson to injuries against 49ers PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers lost starters Cam Heyward and Diontae Johnson to injuries during Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.Heyward, entering his 13th season, left in the first half with a groin injury. The 34-year-old Heyward, the team’s longtime defensive captain, tried to test the groin shortly after leaving before being ruled out for the rest of the game.The 49ers took advantage of Heyward’s absence, gashing the Steelers on the ground behind Christian McCaffery.Johnson, coming off an 86-catch season that somehow did not include a touchdown, tweaked his right hamstring after a 26-yard reception early in the third quarter. Johnson had three catches for 48 yards at the time of the injury. He was replaced by veteran Allen Robinson, who joined the Steelers following an offseason trade by the Los Angeles Rams. ___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflSource

Diede de Groot wins US Open women’s wheelchair title for her 12th straight Grand Slam victory

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:23:23 GMT

Diede de Groot wins US Open women’s wheelchair title for her 12th straight Grand Slam victory NEW YORK (AP) — Diede de Groot won her 12th straight Grand Slam wheelchair singles title Sunday, beating Yui Kamiji 6-2, 6-2 in the U.S. Open women’s final.The Dutch star completed her third straight calendar-year Grand Slam, including a Golden Slam in 2021, when she also won the Paralympic gold medal. De Groot has won six straight U.S. Open titles and 20 major singles titles overall — not that she keeps count.“I’d like to really not worry about it too much, because then you’re going to start to think about, ‘Oh, I want to reach this or I want to reach that,’” she said. “I really just want to focus on my game, and that’s what I did today. So that’s what I’m really proud of. But I think just being this consistent is what I’m really proud of. Being able to do it multiple times in the year.”De Groot hasn’t lost a Grand Slam singles match since falling in the French Open semifinals in 2020.___AP tennis coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/tennisSource

Brittney Sykes shot at buzzer lifts Mystics to 90-88 win over Liberty in regular-season finale

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:23:23 GMT

Brittney Sykes shot at buzzer lifts Mystics to 90-88 win over Liberty in regular-season finale NEW YORK (AP) — Brittney Sykes scored on a lob pass at the buzzer to lift the Washington Mystics to a 90-88 win over the New York Liberty on Sunday to close out the regular season.Sykes, who finished with 20 points, caught the inbounds pass from Natasha Cloud in the lane and put it in before the buzzer, ending the Liberty’s eight-game winning streak and any chance to get the top seed in the playoffs. The teams will meet in the first round of the WNBA playoffs with Game 1 on Friday in New York. The final play was set up after Breanna Stewart blocked Elena Delle Donne’s shot on the baseline with 0.5 seconds remaining. Washington (19-21) turned a 71-67 lead to start the fourth quarter into a double-digit advantage. New York was down 84-74 with 4:41 left when Sabrina Ionescu was fouled hard on a drive by Tianna Hawkins. The foul was upgraded to a flagrant one. Ionescu made both free throws to start a 14-4 burst to tie the game on Stewart’s layup with 21.5 seconds left....

Local boy with Down syndrome featured in NYC Times Square video

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:23:23 GMT

Local boy with Down syndrome featured in NYC Times Square video LITTLETON, Colo. (KDVR) -- A Littleton boy with Down syndrome was featured in a video in Times Square prior to the annual NYC Buddy Walk. Kim Smith is 9-year-old Gavin Smith's mother. She heard about the annual National Down Syndrome Society Times Square video presentation contest through their local chapter of the society. Coffee shop uses glass jars to reduce plastic waste Out of thousands of entries, the photo of Gavin below was chosen. "I feel like it really captured Gavin and his favorite things, he loves to sit in the sunshine and out in the snow," said Smith. A Littleton boy with Down syndrome was featured in a video in Times Square prior to the annual NYC Buddy Walk. (Smith family)Smith was able to be there in Times Square as his photo appeared."I was crying when it started, and it's not even my son's picture on there yet," she explained. "Just when the presentation started, and you take in the atmosphere, and you look around and see so many families and so many kids and a...

Disgraced football chief Luis Rubiales resigns over World Cup kiss scandal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:23:23 GMT

Disgraced football chief Luis Rubiales resigns over World Cup kiss scandal Spain’s suspended football federation President Luis Rubiales announced his resignation Sunday, citing the intense public criticism he’s received after forcibly kissing footballer Jenni Hermoso at the Women’s World Cup final.“I do not want Spanish football to be negatively impacted by this disproportionate campaign,” Rubiales wrote in a statement sent to the media shortly after he presented his resignation to acting federation President Pedro Rocha on Sunday night.Rubiales’ resignation statement was distributed at the same time that journalist Piers Morgan published a clip of an upcoming interview in which Rubiales confirms his resignation and said his father had urged him to step down in order to preserve his dignity.Last month Rubiales ignited a firestorm with his actions at the World Cup final, which kicked off a wider conversation about sexism in Spanish society. For several weeks the country’s top politicians and the heads of Spain̵...

Ticker: Housing affordability at record low; Fran Drescher reelected SAG-AFTRA president

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:23:23 GMT

Ticker: Housing affordability at record low; Fran Drescher reelected SAG-AFTRA president U.S. housing affordability remained at a record low in July as high mortgage rates and prices kept home ownership out of reach for many Americans.The National Association of Realtors housing affordability index was unchanged at 87.8 in July, matching the lowest level in data back to 1989. A level of 100 means a family with the median income has enough income to qualify for a mortgage at the median home price.The typical family spent 28.5% of their income on the principal and interest of their mortgage payment each month, also matching an all-time high, according to the report released Friday.Qualifying income for a mortgage, based on a 20% down payment, was a record $104,496 in July.“Higher mortgage rates continued to harm affordability despite modestly lower median home prices,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in an email.Fran Drescher reelected SAG-AFTRA presidentFran Drescher was easily reelected as president of SAG-AFTRA on Friday, a strong show of support as the actor...