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Rahal teams join Coyne entry in fight for final Indy 500 spot

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:12:11 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — IndyCar team owner Dale Coyne had a novel suggestion for his counterpart, Bobby Rahal, with their teams set for a Sunday shootout to determine the final three spots in the Indianapolis 500.“I told Bobby’s guys, ‘We should just go out and play nine holes and winner takes all,’” Coyne said.Each of their drivers will get four laps instead.Rahal, as much of a mainstay at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the names Penske and Andretti, had his three full-time drivers — Jack Harvey, Christian Lundgaard and his son, Graham Rahal — among the four slowest cars during the first day of qualifying Saturday. Coyne had the other with rookie Sting Ray Robb, setting up their four-for-three spots last-chance runs at the field.One will miss the 33-car field in the May 28 Indianapolis 500. Their 2-hour window for putting together their best four-lap average, hoping to avoid the ignominy of missing out on “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” ran concurrently with the dash among th...

Haller fires Dortmund to the top of the Bundesliga, just 1 round left

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:12:11 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Sébastien Haller fired Borussia Dortmund to the top of the Bundesliga with one round remaining by scoring two goals in a 3-0 win at 10-man Augsburg on Sunday.The Ivory Coast striker made the breakthrough against the home team’s stubborn defense in the 59th minute and sealed the win in the 84th. Julian Brandt got Dortmund’s third in injury time.It lifted Dortmund two points clear of 10-time defending champion Bayern Munich going into the final round. Bayern’s defeat at home to Leipzig handed the initiative to Dortmund on Saturday.Dortmund, which was without star player Jude Bellingham because of a knee injury, pressured from the start and caused several alarms in the tightly packed Augsburg defense.Augsburg goalkeeper Tomáš Koubek deflected Haller’s shot over in the best early chance.Dortmund’s frustration appeared to be growing until Felix Uduokhai was sent off in the 39th with a direct red card after a VAR review for stopping Donyell Malen when the Dortmund winger wou...

PGA Live Updates | Smith, Scott taking early advantage of ideal conditions at Oak Hill

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:12:11 GMT

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Conditions are proving ideal at Oak Hill, with the early groups enjoying a relative birdie fest during the final round of the PGA Championship.Led by Cameron Smith and Adam Scott, who are both 4 under on the day, there are 19 competitors shooting under par on an East Course that allowed just nine scores at 69 or better on Saturday. Third-round leader Brooks Koepka (66) and Tommy Fleetwood (68) were the only two to shoot 2 under or better in the third round.Smith, the 2022 British Open champion, moved into a tie for eighth with birdies on four of his first six holes to move to even par for the tournament. Scott has climbed into a tie for 19th by improving to 2 over for the tournament with four birdies through 14 holes.The difference is the weather. Oak Hill is drying up after the third round was played amid a persistent rain and a few downpours, which required course workers to squeegee several fairways and greens where water had pooled.The sun has been out all...

Lens wins 3-1 at Lorient to extend title race for another round

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:12:11 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Seko Fofana scored again as second-place Lens rallied to win 3-1 at Lorient in the French league with leader Paris Saint-Germain now unable to clinch the title later Sunday at Auxerre.The standout midfielder sliced the ball home from close range in the 87th minute as Lens moved three points behind PSG.Lorient midfielder Romain Faivre put his side ahead early on but Lens scored twice in quick succession midway through the first half with goals from forward Florian Sotoca and midfielder Adrien Thomasson. A win for PSG at 16th-place Auxerre would restore its six-point lead but the defending champion would still need one point next weekend to clinch a record 11th French title.Lens is close to ensuring second place and automatic entry into the Champions League. The northern side leads third-place Marseille by five points with two matches left.Fofana scored the winner in the previous round of games when 10-man Lens beat Reims 2-1.Elsewhere, forward Amine Gouiri scored a hat t...

Medvedev makes his mark on clay by beating Rune for Italian Open title

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:12:11 GMT

ROME (AP) — Daniil Medvedev hadn’t won a single match in his three previous appearances at the Italian Open.Now he’s won the tournament.The Russian beat rising 20-year-old Danish player Holger Rune 7-5, 7-5 on Sunday for the first clay-court trophy of a career that includes the 2021 U.S. Open title and a period at No. 1 in the rankings.Medvedev was previously known almost exclusively for his prowess on hard courts, with 18 of his previous 19 titles coming on that surface — the other was on grass in Mallorca. But he now must be considered a contender at the French Open — the clay-court Grand Slam — which starts next Sunday.There’s room for a new champion at Roland Garros after 14-time winner Rafael Nadal announced on Thursday that he won’t be competing in the tournament because of a lingering hip injury that has sidelined him since January.Rune, who eliminated six-time Rome champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, should also leave the Foro Italico confident for Paris. He was al...

What a federal debt default could mean for Marylanders: Recession, unpaid workers, loss of benefits

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:12:11 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.Thousands of Marylanders could be out of a paycheck or other benefits if federal leaders fail to reach an agreement to increase the nation’s debt ceiling.Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D). File photo by Bryan P. SearsWith roughly two weeks left before the so-called X Date, lawmakers from both parties are negotiating to avoid defaulting on debt payments. Economists and state leaders warn of unpleasant short-term effects that could become painful long-term if negotiations stall.“A congressional failure to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling would at the very least send negative ripples throughout Maryland’s economy — and possibly far worse,” said Comptroller Brooke Lierman.“Even a short-term breach of the debt ceiling could trigger a recession, while a long-term breach would entail a Great Recession-type s...

Crashes close southbound I-25 in Larimer County on Sunday

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:12:11 GMT

JOHNSTOWN, Colo. (KDVR) -- Multiple crashes closed southbound Interstate 25 near Johnstown Sunday afternoon, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.The closure was between Colorado Highway 402 and Colorado Highway 60.CDOT said people should expect delays.Traffic cameras showed standstill traffic on the interstate in areas, with some people exiting their vehicles to walk around.Front Range Fire Rescue asked people to avoid the area.Details about the crashes were not available.

Will US send F-16s directly to Ukraine? No final decision yet, White House says

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:12:11 GMT

The U.S. will support a joint international effort to train Ukrainian pilots on modern fighter aircraft — but whether any of those jets will be sent directly from the U.S. to Ukraine is still up in the air, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday.President Joe Biden announced support for the coalition, which has pledged to train pilots on the long-requested F-16 fighter planes, during the G-7 summit in Japan over the weekend.“I think given the numbers [of F-16s] that are currently available from the stocks of our European allies, and the fact that based on the money Congress has given us, there are so many other priorities for systems to give, it may be that we focus more on third party transfer, but the president has not made a final decision,” Sullivan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” when asked whether the U.S. would send the aircraft directly to Ukraine.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long pleaded with Western allies to send the...

Ticker: Zuckerberg fortune up by $44B this year; American Airlines strikes deal with pilots

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:12:11 GMT

Mark Zuckerberg was all-in on the metaverse last year, willing to spend whatever it took to dominate virtual reality.And it cost him, big time. At one point his wealth fell more than $100 billion from its high — a stunning decline for the millennial who just a few years ago was the world’s third-richest person.So far this year, his focus has been on the physical world — first cost-cutting at his Meta Platforms Inc. and now working on a real-life competitor to Elon Musk’s Twitter.The results appear to be paying off. Zuckerberg’s fortune, which is comprised largely of his Meta stake, has grown by about $44 billion this year, the most of anyone tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.Even with Meta shares closing down slightly Friday in New York, Zuckerberg’s efficiency pivot has made the stock the second-best performer this year on the S&P 500, soaring more than 100% and pushing his net worth to $89.9 billion.American Airlines strikes deal with pilotsAmerican Airlines has reac...

DeSantis targets judge in Disney spat

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:12:11 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking that a federal judge be disqualified from the First Amendment lawsuit filed by Disney against the Florida governor and his appointees, claiming the jurist’s prior statements in other cases have raised questions about his impartiality on the state’s efforts to take over Disney World’s governing body.DeSantis ‘ attorney filed a motion in federal court in Tallahassee seeking to disqualify Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker from overseeing the lawsuit filed by Disney last month.The lawsuit alleges that DeSantis and his appointees violated the company’s right to free speech, as well as the contracts clause, by taking over the special governing district that previously had been controlled by Disney supporters after Disney opposed Florida legislation that critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.”The Republican governor’s motion was filed after Disney announced that it was scrapping plans to buil...