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Coco Gauff channeling NBA star Jimmy Butler in U.S. Open run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

Coco Gauff was only two months ago embarrassingly bounced from Wimbledon in the first round.Today? Gauff’s in top form. She won the tuneup tournament in Cincinnati less than two weeks ago, toppling No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the final. At Flushing this year, she’s the best hope for the first American champion — men or women — since Sloane Stephens in 2017.The adjustment, Gauff said, was strictly mental. And it was inspired by one of her loyal fans, NBA star Jimmy Butler, who watched from courtside Wednesday as Gauff trounced Mirra Andreeva in the second round, 6-3, 6-2.“That switch I had in the last couple weeks. people think some incredible thing happened,” the sixth-seeded Gauff said. “But realistically, the two weeks between Wimbledon and the next tournament I played, nothing could have really changed that much. It was really just the mental thing. I think that’s what I learned from watching Jimmy compete over the years.”As a South ...

Kendrick Bourne happy to be with Patriots through trades, cutdowns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

FOXBORO — Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne was a popular guy around cutdown day.The Patriots received calls from wide receiver-needy teams interested in acquiring Bourne in a trade, a source confirmed a report from The Athletic. The Patriots turned them down, and Bourne is happy to stick in New England.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | DeVante Parker among 3 Patriots missing at practice Wednesday, several others return New England Patriots | Patriots re-signing Bailey Zappe, Malik Cunningham to practice squad New England Patriots | Patriots practice squad tracker: Bailey Zappe, Malik Cunningham re-sign New England Patriots | Callahan: The Patriots failed to help Mac Jones this offseason and paid for it on cutdown day New England Patriots | Patriots depth chart reset: Projecting New England’s starters after surprising 53-man roster cuts “I appreciate Bill (Belichick),” B...

Raimondo: China ‘uninvestable’ without change 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

SHANGHAI — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo  said she warned Chinese leaders that U.S. businesses might stop investing in their country without prompt action to address complaints about worsening conditions due to raids on firms, unexplained fines and unpredictable official behavior.Raimondo’s comments Wednesday add to pressure on Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government, which is trying to revive investor interest and reverse an economic slump. Business groups say confidence among foreign companies is at an all-time low. Official figures show foreign investment plunged in the latest quarter.Raimondo visited Beijing as part of U.S. efforts to restore relations that plummeted to their lowest level in decades due to disputes about technology, security, Taiwan and other issues.She called her meetings with China’s No. 2 leader, Premier Li Qiang, and other officials “very productive” but said she “didn’t pull any punches” in conveying busines...

Red Sox notebook: Despite strong numbers, Rafael Devers has been ‘off’ all season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

By normal standards, Rafael Devers is having a terrific season.Entering Wednesday Devers was batting .269 with 29 home runs, 88 RBI, 28 doubles and an .853 OPS, putting him on pace to comfortably top 30 home runs and 100 RBI for the third time in his career. He’s also third on the team in wins above replacement (3.0), leads the team in total bases (244), and ranks seventh in baseball for OPS among qualifying players age 26 and under.Most players would kill to put up numbers like that, yet by Devers’ standards this season has often felt a tad underwhelming.Devers’ season has been defined by a series of peaks and valleys, with brief explosions of production interspersed around longer offensive droughts. He hit three home runs total in the month of May after hitting 10 in April, went homerless for 16 straight games between May 20 and June 8 and more recently hit just one over 17 games between July 28 and Aug. 16.His on-base percentage also lingered south of .300 throu...

Ticker: Economic growth revised downward; Biden tweak would up overtime eligibility 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.1% annual pace from April through June the government said Wednesday in a downward revision from its initial estimate.The government had previously estimated that the economy expanded at a 2.4% annual rate last quarter.The Commerce Department’s second estimate of growth last quarter marked a slight acceleration from a 2% annual growth rate from January through March.Though the economy has been slowed by the Federal Reserve’s strenuous drive to tame inflation with interest rate hikes, it has managed to keep expanding, with employers still hiring and consumers still spending.Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of the U.S. economy, rose at a 1.7% annual pace in the April-June quarter — a decent gain, though down from 4.2% in the first three months of 2023.Biden tweak would up overtime eligibilityThe Biden administration is proposing a new rule that would make 3.6 million more U.S. workers eligible for overtime pay, reviving an Ob...

Man killed in stabbing near McDonald's

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A man was killed Wednesday in a stabbing near a McDonald's in the Midway District, San Diego police said.According to SDPD, police received a report of a stabbing around 11:25 a.m. at the McDonald's located at 3805 Midway Drive.Upon arrival, officers found a man in the parking lot with at least one stab wound, police said. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Brother of Encanto shooting suspect talks to FOX 5 During their preliminary investigation, police learned that a man pulled up in a vehicle, possibly a white or light-colored minivan, and chased the victim down and stabbed him, Lt. Jud Campbell said.According to police, the suspect was last seen driving westbound on Midway Drive. The identity of the victim has not yet been publicly released. He was described as a man in his 30s by police.The incident is under investigation and homicide detectives were on scene to search for physical evidence, potential victims and nea...

Community reacts with Etobicoke batting cages, go-kart track to close in November

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

A popular park in Etobicoke is on the verge of a significant makeover.A section of Centennial Park has been attracting residents for years due to its go-kart track and historic batting cages. The buzz of activity along the go-kart track and the excitement seen on children’s faces indicate how precious this place has been to Etobicoke and locals.The private owners of public lands have been informed it’s time to hit the brakes to make room for other amenities as part of a new “Centennial Park Master Plan,” which the city updated in 2021. It’s described as implementing park improvements in a phased approach.The batting cages and beach volleyball courts will soon make way for a larger baseball complex with four fields, while the small ski hills nearby will be transformed into hiking and skating trails. Indigenous elements will also be incorporated into the outdoor spaces alongside new playgrounds.The proposed facilities include a cricket pitch, multi-use an...

Kansas reporter files federal lawsuit against police chief who raided her newspaper’s office

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

One of the reporters who works at the small Kansas newspaper that was raided by authorities earlier this month filed a federal lawsuit against the police chief Wednesday.Deb Gruver believes Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody violated her constitutional rights when he abruptly snatched her personal cellphone out of her hands during a search where officers also seized computers from the Marion County Record’s office, according to the lawsuit. That Aug. 11 search and two others conducted at the homes of the newspaper’s publisher and a City Council member have thrust the town into the center of a debate over the press protections in the First Amendment.Cody didn’t immediately respond to an email or text message from The Associated Press on Wednesday seeking comment. He has said little publicly since the raids. In court documents he filed to get the search warrants, he argued that he had probable cause to believe the newspaper and City Council member Ruth Herbel, whose hom...

Hurricane Idalia hits Florida with 125 mph winds, flooding streets, snapping trees and cutting power

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

PERRY, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Idalia tore into Florida at the speed of a fast-moving train Wednesday, splitting trees in half, ripping roofs off hotels and turning small cars into boats before sweeping into Georgia as a still-powerful storm that flooded roadways and sent residents running for higher ground. “All hell broke loose,” said Belond Thomas of Perry, a mill town located just inland from the Big Bend region where Idalia came ashore. Thomas fled with her family and some friends to a motel, thinking it would be safer than riding out the storm at home. But as Idalia’s eye passed over about 8:30 a.m., a loud whistling noise pierced the air and the high winds ripped the building’s roof off, sending debris down on her pregnant daughter, who was lying in bed. Fortunately, she was not injured.“It was frightening,” Thomas said. “Things were just going so fast. … Everything was spinning.”After coming ashore, Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach at 7:45 a.m. as...

Less than one in five federally funded EV charging stations are operational: new data

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

OTTAWA — Two different federal infrastructure programs have provided funding for more than 43,000 electric vehicle chargers since 2016, but fewer than one in five of them are actually operational, new data show.The information provided by Natural Resources Canada came as Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson visited Quebec City Wednesday to announce another $25 million to fund 1,500 EV chargers in Quebec.That announcement is the latest in a constant stream of EV charging announcements in local communities across Canada, as the government aims to help build 84,500 chargers by 2029.Natural Resources Canada launched an initial program to fund up to half the cost of installing public fast EV chargers, natural gas stations and hydrogen refuelling centres in 2016. Three years later, it introduced a second program expanding the scope to include additional types of chargers.Data supplied by the department upon request say 43,046 chargers have been funded through both programs, but only 7,644 a...