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March Madness: UConn not a top seed, but played like one

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:19 GMT

UConn was not a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Even so, the Huskies sure played like one.In a March Madness unique because of early exits from the favorites, it was No. 4 seed UConn that emerged victorious with a 76-59 win over No. 5 seed San Diego State in the title game in Houston. It was the program’s fifth national title.UConn controlled the majority of the game, though San Diego State pulled within six points late in the second half. The Huskies responded with a late surge to seal the win. Tristen Newton scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Adama Sanogo also finished with a double-double, contributing 17 points and 10 rebounds.The Huskies and coach Dan Hurley bulldozed through the tournament bracket with relative ease, winning all six games by at least 10 points.San Diego State couldn’t complete a title run, but provided one of the best moments of the tournament Saturday when Lamont Butler hit a mid-range jumper at the buzzer to beat Florida Atlantic 72-...

Shohei Ohtani’s homer helps lift Angels past Mariners 7-3

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:19 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his second home run of the season, Taylor Ward added a two-run shot in the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 7-3 on Monday night. Ohtani drove a 1-1 pitch from George Kirby (0-1) an estimated 431 feet into the right-center field seats in the fifth inning for a 4-2 lead. Ohtani had grounded out in his first two at-bats before the rare home run off Kirby, who surrendered only one long ball during the final three months of last season. Ward’s homer came off Matt Festa with two outs and after Luis Rengifo had walked on a couple of borderline pitches. Rengifo also was a problem for Seattle with a pair of RBI singles earlier in the game, both scoring Jake Lamb. Rengifo wasn’t in the original starting lineup but was inserted after Anthony Rendon dropped the appeal of his suspension for an incident last week in Oakland and started serving his four-game punishment on Monday. Mike Trout was also on base five times with a ...

Dahl, Kim homer in the 9th to lift Padres over D-backs 5-4

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:19 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Pinch-hitter David Dahl and Ha-Seong Kim hit consecutive home runs opening the bottom of the ninth inning, and the San Diego Padres stunned the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 on Monday night.The Diamondbacks took a 4-3 lead on Evan Longoria’s homer in the top of the ninth, two innings after rookie Corbin Carroll tied the game with a leadoff shot to right field.But the Padres came right back with Dahl’s leadoff drive and Kim’s long ball off Scott McGough (0-1), his first walk-off hit in the majors.Tim Hill (1-0) got the win after getting the final two outs in the ninth.Juan Soto also hit his first home run of the season for the Padres, who won their third straight game to move above .500 for the first time this season. They have World Series expectations after making it to the NL Championship Series last year and then signing shortstop Xander Bogaerts to a $280 million, 11-year contract. They’ll get Fernando Tatis Jr. back on April 20 from an 80-gam...

Crashes where distracted driving is involved are up in DC, Va. but drop in Md.

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:19 GMT

As more drivers took to the road following the outbreak of COVID-19, the nation chalked up a significant increase in the number of crashes to distracted driving in 2021.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that there were 3,522 fatal crashes nationwide in which at least one driver was distracted in 2021. That’s 368 more fatal crashes due to distracted driving in the previous year — an increase of 12%.Handheld phone use, either texting or surfing social medial, is at the center of the problem of distracted driving.More Local NewsMore Transportation News“It is definitely cellphones, but really it can be anything that’s taking your attention away from your driving,” said 2nd Lt. Ian Yost, of the Traffic Division of Fairfax County police. “It could be just as simple as adjusting your radio controls. You look down for a second, the next thing, you know, something happens in front of you and you just don’t have the time to react.&...

Aztecs shown outpouring of support for historic season

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:19 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State University men's basketball Twitter account said it best, "What a ride."Although they lost to the University of Connecticut Monday night in the NCAA national championship game, it was a season to remember for SDSU.The fighting Aztecs made history during March Madness, from making it out of the Sweet 16 for the first time, to making it all the way to the finals.Many local and state figures took to Twitter to show their support for San Diego State:San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria"What a historic journey for @Aztec_MBB ! Our entire city is so proud. Thank you for an incredible season and I look forward to welcoming the entire team home. #GoAztecs""Amazing run. History made. Beyond proud. Way to go @Aztec_MBB! #TheTimeIsNow"Gov. Gavin Newsom"An incredible season by an incredible team who showed us all what true grit and CA pride look like. #GoAztecs"President pro Tempore of the California State Senate Toni G. Atkins"Terrific playing by @SDSU @Aztecs_MBB in the fi...

1 dead, several injured in train crash near The Hague

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:19 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — One person died and some 30 passengers were injured, many of them seriously, when a train partially derailed near The Hague in the early hours of Tuesday, sending at least one carriage into a field next to the tracks, Dutch emergency services said. Television images showed one of the people using makeshift bridges to cross a canal running alongside the rails to reach the stricken train in the darkness. Many windows in the train carriages were broken. It was not clear if that happened during the accident or as passengers attempted to escape.Injured passengers were treated in homes near the rails and transported in a fleet of ambulances to hospitals, including a “calamity hospital” opened in the central city of Utrecht.The cause of the accident that happened around 3:25 a.m. (0125 GMT) in the town of Voorschoten, near The Hague, was not immediately clear. Dutch media reported that there was a small construction crane on the tracks, but authorities did not...

ADB forecasts China, India to power strong growth in ’23

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:19 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s recovery from the pandemic and strong demand in India will drive strong economic growth in Asia this year, the Asian Development Bank said in a report issued Tuesday. The Manila, Philippines-based ADB’s latest update forecasts an expansion of 4.8% in this year and the next, up from 4.2% in 2022. It said inflation would likely cool slightly this year and fall further in 2024. ADB economists said a weekend decision by oil producing nations to cut output, pushing oil prices sharply higher, might reignite inflationary pressures and add to challenges for the region. The report’s analysis was based on the assumption that Brent crude oil, the pricing basis for international trading, would average $88 a barrel this year and $90 a barrel next year. Oil prices remain below that level, with Brent at $83 on Monday. But they soared about 5% after Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers said they will cut production by 1.15 million barrels per day from May until th...

Australia pauses key interest rate at 3.6% after 10 hikes

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:19 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate on hold at 3.6% on Tuesday following evidence that inflation is falling.It was the first monthly meeting at which the Reserve Bank of Australia board did not hike the cash rate since April 6 last year.Australia’s annual inflation appears to have peaked in December at 8.4%, falling to 7.4% in January and 6.8% in February. The bank manipulates rates to keep inflation within a target band of between 2% and 3%.Bank Governor Philip Lowe said his board had halted the rise in interest rates to observe the full impact of the rate hike of 3.5 percentage points since May last year.“The board recognizes that monetary policy operates with a lag and that the full effect of this substantial increase in interest rates is yet to be felt,” Lowe said in a statement. “The board took the decision to hold interest rates steady this month to provide additional time to assess the impact of the increase in interest r...

Forecast warns of more severe storms in South, Midwest

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:19 GMT

Forecasters are warning of more severe weather, including tornadoes, Tuesday in parts of the South and Midwest hammered just days ago by deadly storms.That could mean more misery for people sifting through the wreckage of their homes in Arkansas, Iowa and Illinois. Dangerous conditions also could stretch into parts of Missouri, southwest Oklahoma and northeast Texas. Farther south and west, fire danger will remain high.“That could initially start as isolated supercells with all hazards possible — tornadoes, wind and hail — and then over time typically they form into a line (of thunderstorms) and continue moving eastward,” said Ryan Bunker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma.Just last week, fierce storms that spawned tornadoes in 11 states killed at least 32 people as the system that began Friday plodded through Arkansas and traveled northeast through the South and into the Midwest and Northeast.The same conditions that fueled last week’s storms — an...

New Mexico recreational pot sales top $300M in 1st year

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:19 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Recreational cannabis consumers bought just over $300 million in pot in New Mexico since sales without a prescription were legalized a year ago, the state cannabis control division said Monday.New Mexico legalized recreational marijuana on April 1, 2022, and brought sales to the doorstep of Texas, the largest prohibition state. Further legalization efforts stumbled last month as voters in Oklahoma rejected a ballot measure that would have made the state the 22nd in the U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana.In New Mexico, marijuana entrepreneurs have launched hundreds of retail outlets, farms and industrial kitchens for manufacturing cannabis products, including edible candies. There are now 633 registered cannabis retailers across the state of 2.1 million residents.Across the state, more than $27 million in excise taxes on recreational cannabis have been collected over the past 12 months. Local governments receive a minority share of the state’s 12% excise ta...