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The death toll in a series of powerful earthquakes in Japan has risen to 30, local officials say

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:18:48 GMT

WAJIMA, Japan (AP) — The death toll in a series of powerful earthquakes in Japan has risen to 30, local officials say.Source

Europe’s Silicon Valley? Cambridge says no thanks

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:18:48 GMT

CAMBRIDGE, England — This city wears many crowns: the fastest growing in Britain, the world’s most intensive research cluster and the university with the highest number of tech founders.It also has Britain’s second highest level of inequality and one of the lowest amounts of rainfall of any U.K. city.The tension between those titles has come to a head in the government’s bid to turn Cambridge into “Europe’s Silicon Valley.” Housing Secretary Michael Gove wants to build more than 150,000 new homes there by 2040, more than doubling the city’s size and triple the number local planners had earmarked for the area.“Nowhere is the future being shaped more decisively than in Cambridge,” Gove said in a speech in December. “Its global leadership in life sciences and tech is a huge national asset. But until now… its growth has been constrained.”He envisaged a new quarter with “beautiful Neo-classical buildings, rich parkland, concert halls and museums.” A new development corporation would be e...

Heavy Russian missile attacks hit Ukraine’s 2 largest cities

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:18:48 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s two largest cities came under heavy Russian missile attacks on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring dozens. Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said one person died and 41 were injured in Russian missile strikes that hit the center of Kharkiv city and other areas. In Kyiv, the capital, five areas of the city were hit in the strikes and at least 12 people injured, according to mayor Vitali Klitschko. The barrage of the cities continued Russia’s escalated attacks on Ukraine in recent days that began on Friday with its largest single attack on Ukraine since the war started, in which at least 41 civilians were killed. The following day, shelling of the Russian border city of Belgorod that Russian officials blamed on Ukraine killed more than two dozen people. Russia has struck back repeatedly since.The attack on Belgorod was one of the deadliest to take place on Russian soil since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine star...

Gunmen kill 6 barbers in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban near the Afghan border

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:18:48 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Unidentified gunmen shot and killed six barbers before dawn on Tuesday in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the country’s northwest near the Afghanistan border, police said.No one immediately claimed responsibility for the killings in Mir Ali, a town in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Jamal Khan, a local police chief.The incident shocked residents, who said the slain men all worked at various barbershops. Javed Ali, a local resident, said he met one of the slain men last month when he went to a barbershop for a haircut.Mir Ali served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban — who are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP — for years until the military cleared the area of insurgents. TTP is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.Pakistani milita...

Instant Analysis: A tough end to a remarkable season for the Texas Longhorns

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:18:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A late rally came up short for Texas in a 37-31 loss to Washington in the Sugar Bowl on Monday, sending the Huskies to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 8 in Houston.The Longhorns couldn't contain Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who showed everybody why he's the nation's best passer. He threw for 430 yards and made big play after big play to keep the Huskies going offensively and the Texas offense on the sideline.Texas ran the ball with efficiency, averaging 6.4 yards per carry, but had to put the ball in the air to keep up with Penix and the Huskies. Noah Gross and Billy Gates discussed the game early Sunday morning in the video above.

Djokovic and his sore right wrist advance Serbia to the United Cup quarterfinals in Perth

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:18:48 GMT

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic overcame a right wrist issue to defeat the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-1 and send Serbia through to the United Cup mixed team quarterfinals.The No. 1-ranked Djokovic and defending Australian Open champion was troubled by his wrist during practice on Tuesday morning, with the injury requiring intense treatment from his physio.Djokovic was cleared to play his singles match and it was just as well after Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova defeated Olga Danilovic 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to give the Czechs a 1-0 lead.The 24-time Grand Slam winner was on track for an easy victory against Lehecka after winning the first set and leading 3-1 in the second. But with his wrist troubles growing as the match wore on, Djokovic started making a series of uncharacteristic unforced errors.Djokovic took a medical timeout after losing the second-set tiebreak, but he came out strongly with a double break in the third set to seal victory.“I managed...

‘Very scary. Windows shook.’ — DC, Maryland residents experience reported earthquake

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:18:48 GMT

Hundreds in and around the D.C. Metro area have reported feeling the effects of a small earthquake between Gaithersburg and Rockville, Maryland, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Here’s what you need to know.WTOP listeners throughout the region, including those living in Northwest D.C. and Montgomery, Prince George’s and Howard County, Maryland, reported shaking just before 1 a.m.“I’m in Kensington, Maryland, and felt/heard what seemed like an earthquake,” one listener writes to WTOP. “Rumbling and a big boom lasting about maybe 10 seconds about 20 minutes.”Another listener said they felt shaking in Darnestown.“The whole house shook. My wife and I jumped out of bed all confused and scared not knowing what is going on,” they said. “Very scary. Windows shook.”Preliminary information reviewed by the agency puts the earthquake at a magnitude of 2.3. with more than 200 individuals reporting feeling a rumbling or...

CFP championship game matches Penix’s prolific passing against Michigan’s best-in-nation defense

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:18:48 GMT

Michael Penix Jr. hasn’t faced a defense like Michigan’s, and the Wolverines certainly haven’t faced a quarterback like the Heisman Trophy runner-up from Washington.The matchup will be the most intriguing in the College Football Playoff championship game at NRG Stadium in Houston on Jan. 8. That much was assured after the performances of Penix and Michigan’s best-in-the-nation defense in the CFP semifinals Monday.Penix threw for 430 yards and two touchdowns in the Huskies’ dramatic 37-31 win over Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Michigan harassed Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe most of the afternoon and stopped him short on fourth-and-goal at the Wolverines 3 to finish a 27-20 overtime win in the Rose Bowl.Michigan-Washington will be the third all-time meeting between 14-0 teams. The Wolverines are listed as a 4 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.Washington will give the disintegrating Pac-12 a chance to go out in a blaze of glory. Ten of the...

Former Australian Open champion Kenin upset by 113th-ranked Rodionova at Brisbane International

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:18:48 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Former champion Sofia Kenin had a setback to her preparations for the Australian Open with an upset 7-5, 7-6 (7) loss Tuesday to No. 113-ranked Arina Rodionova in the second round of the Brisbane International. The 2020 Australian Open winner was constantly under pressure on her serve despite having chances in both sets against Rodionova, a 34-year-old Australian who has never been ranked in the top 100.Kenin was seeded 14th in Brisbane, a key tune-up tournament for the Australian Open starting Jan. 14 in Melbourne.Rodionova got a crucial break in the 11th game and then held at love, clinching the first set with an ace.Kenin dictated terms at the start of the second and wasted a set point at 5-3, then gave Rodionova a break point with a wide forehand down the the line.Three games later, Kenin had the court wide open but swung a forehand wide and then sent another long as the set went into a tiebreaker.In the opening match of the day on the covered Pat Raft...

Michigan beats Alabama 27-20 in OT at the Rose Bowl, will face Washington in national title game

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:18:48 GMT

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Blake Corum rushed for a 17-yard touchdown on the second snap of overtime, and top-seeded Michigan advanced to its first College Football Playoff championship game with a 27-20 victory over fourth-seeded Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Monday.Michigan’s defense ended only the second overtime game in the 110 editions of the Rose Bowl when Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was emphatically stopped as he attempted to sneak up the middle on fourth down from the Michigan 3.Coach Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines (14-0) will play for their school’s first national title since 1997 against Washington on Monday night in Houston, but only after a late comeback and a dramatic finish.Roman Wilson made a 4-yard TD catch with 1:34 left in regulation for the Wolverines, who hadn’t scored in the second half until that gritty 75-yard drive led by J.J. McCarthy.Corum needed only two snaps to score in the first overtime period.Milroe found Jermaine Burton at the Michigan 3 on third-and-goal...