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Former F1 champs Raikkonen and Button race NASCAR at COTA

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:37:31 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Kimi Raikkonen has already sprayed champagne from the winner’s podium at the Circuit of Americas.That was in 2018, when he wore Ferrari red and scored the final victory of his long Formula One career at the United States Grand Prix.The Finn is back in Texas, but in a much different car in a much different series with very different racing styles. Raikkonen and fellow former F1 champion Jenson Button will drive Sunday in NASCAR’s first road course race of 2023. Raikkonen won the F1 championship in 2007. England’s Button won it two years later. They have 36 career F1 victories between them.“It’s nice to be back,” Raikkonen said Saturday. “It’s a lovely place here in Texas.”Raikkonen will driving Trackhouse Racing’s Project91 entry that is designed to give a seat in NASCAR to drivers from others disciplines. Button will drive the No. 15 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing. Many of the regular NASCAR drivers welcome the Europeans. Ryan ...

Maryland Madness: Miller leads Maryland to Elite Eight

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:37:31 GMT

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Diamond Miller scored 14 of her 18 points in the final two quarters to lead second-seeded Maryland to a 76-59 victory over depleted Notre Dame and reach the Elite Eight for the first time in eight years.Shyanne Sellers also had 18 points for the Terps, who’ll play either defending champion South Carolina, the top overall seed, or No. 4 seed UCLA on Monday night for a trip to Dallas for the Final Four.Maryland (28-6) used a third-quarter burst to put away the third-seeded Fighting Irish (27-6), who played once again without injured leading-scorer Olivia Miles after her knee injury at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament earlier this month.Miles and guard Dara Mabrey, both starters, were injured spectators for Notre Dame, which hung tight with Maryland for 25 minutes before Miller and Shyanne Sellers took over.Miller, the first-team All-American, shook off a poor first half as Maryland gained control. Tied at 44-all, Lavender Briggs had a 3-pointer an...

Bruins capture Atlantic with 2-1 win over Tampa

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:37:31 GMT

The Bruins took care of business while simultaneously keeping a potential playoff opponent reeling on Saturday at the Garden.The B’s gutted out a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning to capture the Atlantic Division title – a foregone conclusion for a long time now – and handed the fourth straight defeat to the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions.Patrice Bergeron and Garnet Hathaway scored a goal each in the first two periods and Linus Ullmark (26 saves) shut the door the rest of the way. Ullmark made a huge save on a Nikita Kucherov slapper in the waning minutes to preserve the lead and win.Losers of their previous three games, the Lightning attempted to set a tone off the opening faceoff with some old school nastiness with Pat Maroon fighting Hathaway and Jakob Lauko tussling with Ross Colton. Maroon started jousting with Hathaway before the first puck drop and they were both spoken to, but once play started, it was a yard sale with gloves and sticks on the...

Weather service: Mississippi tornadoes deadliest since 2011

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:37:31 GMT

With at least 23 people dead, tornadoes that ravaged parts of Mississippi and the Deep South overnight were the deadliest in the state in more than a decade, according to National Weather Service records.By comparison, 31 people died in Mississippi in April 2011 during tornadoes that tore through several states, mostly in the southeastern U.S., weather service meteorologist Chris Outler said Saturday. Alabama was hit hardest during that so-called “super outbreak” of hundreds of twisters that killed more than 320 people and caused an estimated $12 billion in damage.Just a month later, another deadly twister ripped through Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people. Outler, in Las Vegas, called 2011 “the headline year for tornadoes for the last 20 years or so.” Records show that 12 people died in Mississippi during Easter storms in April 2020 and 10 died in the state during a tornado event in April 2014.National Weather Service records tally these deadly U.S. tornado events since 2012...

Huge, deconsecrated Roman Catholic church in N.S. Acadian community now up for sale

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:37:31 GMT

HALIFAX — A huge, deconsecrated Roman Catholic church that has been a landmark to the Acadian community in southwestern Nova Scotia is up for sale.St. Bernard Church officially closed last summer as the number of people attending mass in the 1,300-square-metre building had fallen to about 30 to 40 people.The building has been listed for $250,000, with realtors noting it contains over 8,000 blocks of granite in its construction and is among the largest churches in eastern Canada.Suzanne Lefort, a former treasurer of the parish council, said it’s been estimated — while she was in her volunteer position — that thorough repairs would cost over a million dollars for improvements to the roof, water system and the 28,000 cubic metre interior.She also said it remains uncertain as of Saturday what precisely will happen to a very large crucifix behind the altar, but added the church’s sacred objects are not part of the sale.She said she hopes an investor purchases the building and...

Challenger claims win in race to lead United Auto Workers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:37:31 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The challenger in the race for the United Auto Workers’ top leadership post claimed victory Saturday in a close election that is likely to give his slate of candidates control of the huge union.In a statement, challenger Shawn Fain’s slate said that a federal court-appointed monitor has declared Fain the winner over incumbent Ray Curry. A message was left Saturday seeking confirmation from monitor Neil Barofsky.It was the 372,000-member union’s first direct election of its 14-member International Executive Board, which came in the wake of a wide-ranging bribery and embezzlement scandal that landed two former presidents in prison. The statement from Fain’s slate said he leads Curry by 483 votes, greater than the number of challenged ballots that remain. The count has been going on since March 1. Curry has filed a protest alleging election irregularities and campaign financing violations. “For too long, the UAW has been unwilling to confront management, and ...

Finnish leadership condemns attack on veteran lawmaker

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:37:31 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s leaders strongly condemned an assault on a Jewish lawmaker who was assaulted and punched in the face Saturday while campaigning for the country’s April 2 general election.President Sauli Niinisto tweeted that Saturday’s physical attack on veteran conservative politician Ben Zyskowicz, 68, was “a cowardly act” that delivered a blow to Finnish democracy. Zyskowicz told Finnish media that a large man who appeared to be between the ages of 30 and 40 confronted him at a metro station in Helsinki, the capital city that he represents. The man started yelling, blaming him for Finland’s decision to join NATO and hurling antisemitic insults, Zyskowicz told Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, adding that the perpetrator also threatened to kill him and to push him onto the subway tracks. The confrontation turned into a scuffle, and Zyskowicz reported he was hit in the face and fell on the ground, suffering bruises, scratches and other minor injuries. Police late...

2 dead in rail car; human smuggling investigation indicated

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:37:31 GMT

Two people found dead in a railroad car in south Texas were Honduran men, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Saturday, indicating it was investigating the case as possible human smuggling.“We will continue to address the serious public safety threat posed by human smuggling organizations and their reckless disregard for the health and safety of those smuggled,” department spokesperson Nina Pruneda said in the statement.Pruneda declined to comment beyond the statement, which said the investigation is ongoing but did not say whether any of the migrants were in custody.The two dead were among 17 people — 15 men and two women — found Friday in what Union Pacific railroad said were two rail cars near Knippa, Texas, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) west of San Antonio and less than 100 miles (161 kilometers) from the U.S. border with Mexico, according to Pruneda’s statement.Union Pacific said in a statement Saturday that it is working with authorities to determine...

Trump rally falls during anniversary of Waco’s dark past

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:37:31 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Former President Donald Trump picking Waco, Texas, for the first rally of his 2024 campaign Saturday will put him in the middle of a big Republican state that has reliably delivered him big crowds. It will also put him not far from the grassy prairie where a standoff in 1993 between U.S. law enforcement and Branch Davidians infamously resulted in the deaths of more than 80 members of the religious cult and four federal agents. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the siege, which continues to hold deep symbolism and is still viewed by survivors of the compound as an act of unwarranted government intrusion. Trump, who is facing the possibility of becoming the first president in U.S. history to be indicted, hasn’t nodded to Waco’s past since first announcing the rally last week. Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said the decision to hold the event at Waco’s regional airport was ideal because the city was “centrally located and close” to s...

Israel: 2 soldiers wounded in West Bank drive-by shooting

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:37:31 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said two soldiers were wounded, one severely, Saturday evening in a drive-by shooting in the occupied West Bank, the latest in months-long violence between Israel and the Palestinians.The attack was the third to take place in the Palestinian town of Huwara in less than a month. One soldier was seriously wounded and the second was in moderate condition, the military said. A manhunt was launched as forces sealed roads leading to Huwara.No Palestinian group claimed responsibility for the shooting attack, but Hamas, the militant group ruling the Gaza Strip, praised it. “The resistance in the West Bank can surprise the occupation every time and the occupation cannot enjoy safety,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said.Violence has surged in recent months in the West Bank and east Jerusalem amid near-daily Israeli arrest raids in Palestinian-controlled areas and a string of Palestinian attacks.U.S.-backed regional efforts to defuse tensions have led to th...