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Christopher Bell qualifies on the pole for NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:50 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Christopher Bell won the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, putting himself in good position to wiggle off the playoff bubble and make next week’s cut-off a little less stressful.Bell was the only driver among the 10 in the final round of qualifying to go over 180 mph, turning a lap of 180.276 for a comfortable margin over Kyle Larson, who locked up his place in the next round of the playoffs with a win last week at Darlington.“That was a lot of fun,” said Bell, who rode the preferred high line along the wall at Kansas to his second straight pole and fourth of the season. “Qualifying here is very intense. That’s certainly all we had.”Bell followed his pole run at Darlington with a mistake during the race and finished 23rd. That left him just one point ahead of Bubba Wallace for 12th place in points with next week’s race at Bristol the cut-off for the top 12 drivers to advance.“There’s a handful o...

Danilina and Heliovaara win US Open mixed doubles title, defeating Americans Pegula and Krajicek

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Anna Danilina and Harri Heliovaara won the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship Saturday, the first-time partners defeating top-seeded Americans Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek 6-3, 6-4.The pair came together just before the tournament and quickly clicked, both picking up their first Grand Slam titles. “I didn’t know you two weeks ago. Now I know you very well,” Heliovaara, a native of Finland who ranked in the top 10 of men’s doubles earlier this year, told Danilina in the trophy ceremony after the match.Pegula, ranked No. 3 in singles, hasn’t been past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam in singles and lost in the 2022 French Open women’s doubles final with American Coco Gauff. The teen was next on Arthur Ashe Stadium to face Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s final.Pegula and Gauff will share the No. 1 spot in the new women’s doubles rankings on Monday.Danilina, who is from Kazakhstan and won an NCAA title at the University of Florida in...

Donaldson shines as Australia ends losing run at Georgia’s expense in Rugby World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:50 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Ben Donaldson justified his surprise selection at fullback with two tries and 25 points as Australia earned its first win this year 35-15 against Georgia at the Rugby World Cup on Saturday.Donaldson also had the kicking duties in his first test start at fullback on only his fourth test appearance and made six of his seven kicks.The Wallabies’ losing run attracted doubts before a tough Pool C match with the Lelos, but four tries at a sweltering Stade de France would have taken some heat off coach Eddie Jones. He would be unhappy, however, that Georgia scored a try while playing with 14 men.Georgia out away the boot at halftime and found holes in the Wallabies defense in the second half but could score only two tries while bombing at least three more.The turning point came after nearly an hour when Georgia fullback Davit Niniashvili broke through but ignored three teammates on his inside and took the tackle. His offload went to Australia prop Taniela Tupou, who show...

Brewers’ Christian Yelich scratched against Yankees because of lower back soreness

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich was scratched from Saturday’s game against the New York Yankees because of lower back soreness.Yelich was slated to lead off before the two-time All-Star was dropped from the starting lineup about 10 minutes before first pitch.Rookie Sal Frelick replaced the 2018 NL MVP ih in the leadoff spot for NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which won Friday’s opener 8-2.Yelich is batting .274 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs in 136 games this season. He is 2 for 14 on Milwaukee’s trip.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlbSource

Última hora del terremoto en Marruecos, en vivo: noticias, muertos, daños y más

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:50 GMT

Haz clic aquí para ver las entradas más recientesResidentes en una plaza tras el terremoto en Marrakech, Marruecos, el 9 de septiembre. (Crédito: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images)Una fotografía muestra los daños en una antigua mezquita de la histórica ciudad de Marrakech, tras un fuerte terremoto en Marruecos, el 9 de septiembre. (Crédito: Abdelhak Balhaki/Reuters)The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.Source

Azerbaijan agrees to reopen Lachin Corridor to Nagorno-Karabakh

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:50 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia — Azerbaijan has agreed to reopen the only highway linking Armenia to the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a senior Azerbaijani official told POLITICO on Saturday.The news comes after authorities in the ethnic Armenian-controlled exclave — inside Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders — announced earlier in the day that it would accept humanitarian shipments from the Russian Red Cross via an alternative road from Aghdam, inside Azerbaijani government-held territory.According to Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, “Azerbaijan expressed its consent as a goodwill gesture to ensure simultaneous opening” of the so-called Lachin Corridor, which connects the mountainous territory to Armenia. “In the Lachin checkpoint, Azerbaijan’s customs and border regime must be observed,” he said.For close to two months, aid organizations including the International Red Cross have said they have been unable to transport supplies of...

Death toll rises above 1,300 in Morocco earthquake

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:50 GMT

A powerful earthquake struck central Morocco Friday night, killing more than 1,300 people and injuring hundreds more.The death toll was expected to rise as rescuers struggled Saturday to reach hard-hit remote areas.More than 1,200 people were reported injured in the tremor, the Associated Press reported, citing the Moroccan government. The quake was the biggest to hit Morocco in 120 years, according to the AP. The quake seriously damaged buildings, according to local media, including Marrakech, where people spent the night outside for safety reasons. A mosque minaret toppled in Jemaa al-Fna Square, the heart of Marrakech’s old city, Reuters reported. Heads of governments from all over the world were quick to express solidarity and offer help to Morocco. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is in India for a G20 summit, said her “heart” was with the Moroccan people. In a sign of the huge scale of the disaster, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI orde...

Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 1,300 people and damages historic buildings in Marrakech

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:50 GMT

By SAM METZ and MOSA’AB ELSHAMY (Associated Press)MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco, sending people racing from their beds into the streets and toppling buildings in mountainous villages and ancient cities not built to withstand such force. More than 1,300 people were killed, and the toll was expected to rise as rescuers struggled Saturday to reach hard-hit remote areas.The magnitude-6.8 quake, the biggest to hit the North African country in 120 years, sent people fleeing their homes in terror and disbelief late Friday. One man said dishes and wall hangings began raining down, and people were knocked off their feet. The quake brought down walls made from stone and masonry, covering whole communities with rubble. The devastation gripped each town along the High Atlas’ steep and winding switchbacks in similar ways: homes folding in on themselves and mothers and fathers crying as boys and helmet-clad police carried the dead through t...

Andrew Vaughn continues to build his infield skills for the Chicago White Sox at his natural position: first base

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:50 GMT

Kansas City Royals left fielder MJ Melendez ripped a line drive in the third inning Monday that looked like it was going to be an extra-base hit down the right-field line.Chicago White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn dove and made a tremendous catch for the final out of the inning.One inning later, Royals center fielder Drew Waters sent a hard-hit ball in Vaughn’s direction. Vaughn jumped as high as he could and made the catch.After spending most of his first two major-league seasons in the outfield, Vaughn moved to his natural position of first base this year.Vaughn told the Tribune last week he’s continuing to learn every day.“(I’ve been) trying to get better at it since spring training,” he said. “(I’m) working with (infield coach) Eddie (Rodríguez), getting my reps in and picks and footwork around the bag. All sorts of stuff.”Vaughn went 3-for-5 with two singles and a solo home run Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals, but t...

Column: Winds of change factor at Wrigley Field into the Chicago Cubs’ 1-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:50 GMT

Nico Hoerner grabbed hold of a 94-mph fastball in the first inning of Friday’s Chicago Cubs-Arizona Diamondbacks game and launched it toward the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field.A crowd of 31,846 got on its feet in anticipation of a ”Whoomp! There it is!” moment.But Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. settled in front of the ivy-covered wall and watched a 12-mph wind blowing in from the north put the ball back in play, then made a routine catch on the warning track.Whoomp, there it wasn’t.Summer’s unofficial end traditionally turns Wrigley into a pitcher’s park in September, and Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen made the place his home in a complete game, 1-0 win against the Cubs.“I definitely thought it had a chance off the bat,” Hoerner said. “But obviously with the wind blowing in, and (it being) a higher-hit ball that was hit well but not crushed. … So yeah, it’s part of playing here.”Gallen (15-7) ...