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Italy beats Slovenia to reach Billie Jean King Cup final for first time since 2013

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

SEVILLE, Spain (AP) — Italy reached its first final of the Billie Jean King Cup in a decade on Saturday after beating Slovenia in both singles matches for a 2-0 victory.It will face either Canada or the Czech Republic on Sunday. Martina Trevisan beat Kaja Juvan 7-6, 6-3 in the opening singles match of the semifinal after breaking her opponent three times. Jasmine Paolini gave the Italians an insurmountable lead after seeing off Tamara Zidansek 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.Four-time champion Italy last reached the final in 2013.“What they have done, it’s something incredible,” Italian captain Tathiana Garbin said. “We want always to push ourselves to the limit, and we try to dream again tomorrow.”Juvan double-faulted on set point in the tiebreaker and let Trevisan take the lead.Trevisan was pushed to tears at one moment from the tension.“I had to be happy because I won the set, but I was crying,” she said. “Too many emotions to manage. But the heart and head were there, so I...

Army takes early lead, hangs on to defeat Holy Cross 17-14

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — Tyrell Robinson scored on a 14-yard run, Elo Modozie returned a blocked punt for another touchdown and Army defeated Holy Cross 17-14 on Saturday.Matthew Sluka’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Coker with two minutes left got the Crusaders (6-4) within three points but Army (4-6) recovered an onside kick and was able to run out the clock with the help of a fourth-and-1 conversion.Quinn Maretzki’s 26-yard field goal with five minutes left in the game made it 17-7.Less than three minutes into the game Modozie scooped-and-scored for a 12-yard run after Jamil Williams blocked a punt. Robinson’s touchdown made it 14-0 early in the second quarter. Sluka, returning to action after missing two weeks with an injury, threw a 24-yard pass to Justin Shorter early in the fourth quarter for the Crusaders’ other score.Bryson Daily thew for 79 yards and rushed for 83 for Army. Sluka threw for 156 yards, the two touchdowns and an interception. Both defenses t...

South Dakota State clinches at least a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference title

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — Mark Gronowski threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns, with 166 yards and two touchdowns going to Jadon Janke, and South Dakota State beat Youngstown State 34-0 on Saturday to clinch at least a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference title for the second year in a row.Top-ranked South Dakota State (10-0, 7-0), which entered with a one-game lead over both Northern Iowa and South Dakota, has won 24 games in a row dating to last season. The Jackrabbits have won 13 of the 15 meetings with Youngstown State as members of the MVFC.Isaiah Davis added 130 yards rushing and a touchdown for South Dakota State.The Jackrabbits ended the first half with a six-point swing. Youngstown State’s 29-yard field-goal attempt was blocked and Isaiah Stalbird returned it 17 yards to near midfield. Gronowski connected with Janke for a 20-yard completion and Hunter Dustman made a 43-yard field goal as time expired for a 20-0 lead at the break.Youngstown State was outga...

Solanke brace lifts Bournemouth out of relegation zone with 2-0 win over Newcastle

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

BOURNEMOUTH, England (AP) — Eddie Howe’s return to Bournemouth turned into a nightmare after Dominic Solanke’s brace condemned Newcastle to a 2-0 defeat in the Premier League on Saturday.Magpies boss Howe, who was the Cherries manager the last time they beat Newcastle in 2017, saw his side’s seven-match unbeaten league run end and its injury crisis deepen.Newcastle was already missing 11 players through injury and suspension. It then lost Miguel Almiron to what looked like another hamstring problem midway through the first half.Bournemouth had to wait an hour before Solanke finally made the breakthrough. When Joe Willock challenged Antoine Semenyo, the ball rolled off him into the path of the former Liverpool striker, who raced into the area and lashed his shot inside Nick Pope’s near post.Pope saved a fierce drive from Marcus Tavernier but Bournemouth doubled the lead from the following corner in the 73rd, with Solanke flicking the rebound home with his heel after Luis Sinisterra’s...

Mbappe’s 3 goals and Donnarumma’s 6 saves add up to 1st place for PSG

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappe scored a hat trick and Gianluigi Donnarumma made six decisive saves to send Paris Saint-Germain to the top of the French league with a 3-0 win at Reims on Saturday. Four days after a Champions League loss to AC Milan, it was a hard-fought win for PSG, which was second best for long spells in the Champagne city but was opportunistic and clinical in converting its chances.Reims, one of the most attack-oriented teams in Ligue 1, had many chances to score but Donnarumma was unbeatable. The fifth straight league win moved PSG one point above Nice, with Reims in fourth place, seven points off the pace. The visitors did not take long to break the deadlock when Ousmane Dembele accelerated down the right flank and delivered a superb cross to the far post. Mbappe volleyed the ball from inside the box to fire a right-footed shot past Reims goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf into the opposite corner after just two minutes.That was Mbappe’s 11th goal in the French league t...

Probablemente no haya ningún monstruo en el lago Ness. Pero encontramos uno de sus secretos mejor guardados

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

Escocia (CNN) — No es el volumen de agua del lago Ness lo que impresiona, aunque es una cantidad considerable. Al fin y al cabo, tiene 37 kilómetros (23 millas) de largo y paredes empinadas que se precipitan en un abismo de 230 metros (754 pies) de profundidad, suficiente para sumergir dos veces el Castillo de Edimburgo.Lo que llama la atención es su inquietante oscuridad. La turba de los ríos y arroyos circundantes llega al lago, creando un agua de un marrón tan intenso como el té que sale de las teteras de las casas de huéspedes del cercano pueblo de Drumnadrochit y de las Highlands. Pero hace frío, mucho frío, una media de 4 ó 5 grados centígrados durante todo el año.“Podrías estar nadando a 60 centímetros de un submarino de 122 metros y no lo verías”, dice Alan McKenna, trabajador social de día y, en su tiempo libre, fundador del grupo de investigación Loch Ness Exploration. “Es como un mundo perdido ahí abajo”.Los entusiastas de Nessie partieron en...

Virginia Tech scores 35 straight points to win 48-22, snaps 5-game Boston College win streak

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Kyron Drones ran for 135 yards and threw for two touchdowns, and Bhayshul Tuten ran for three TDs on Saturday as Virginia Tech scored 35 unanswered points and beat Boston College 48-22.The Hokies (5-5, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) amassed 600 total yards to preserve their chances of earning bowl eligibility and snapped a five-game BC (6-4, 3-3) winning streak.Thomas Castellanos threw for 110 yards and two interceptions – one of them on the first play of the game. With top rushers Kye Robichaux and Pat Garwo out, Alex Broome ran for 56 yards and a 4-yard touchdown that gave the Eagles a 7-3 lead midway through the first quarter.But Virginia Tech scored touchdowns on its next four possessions, taking the lead on Drones’ 7-yard run late in the first quarter and then getting the ball back on a perfectly executed onside kick. Drones then hit Stephen Gosnell for a 22-yard score to make it 17-7 and then set up another scoring pass with a 59-yard run. Drones connected with D...

Netanyahu rejects growing calls for a cease-fire as Israel battles Hamas outside main Gaza hospital

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back Saturday against growing international calls for a cease-fire, saying Israel’s battle to crush Gaza’s ruling Hamas militants will continue with “full force.”A cease-fire would be possible only if all 239 hostages held by militants in Gaza are released, Netanyahu said in a televised address.The Israeli leader also insisted that after the war, now entering its sixth week, Gaza would be demilitarized and Israel would retain security control there. Asked what he meant by security control, Netanyahu said Israeli forces must be able to enter Gaza freely to hunt down militants.He also rejected the idea that the Palestinian Authority, which currently administers autonomous areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, would at some stage control Gaza. Both positions run counter to post-war scenarios floated by Israel’s closest ally, the United States. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the U.S. opposes an Isra...

Traffic on SR 874 in SW Miami-Dade clears up after crews put out vehicle fire

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

Officials are investigating a charred vehicle after it burst into flames in Southwest Miami-Dade. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and Florida Highway Patrol units reported the incident along State Road 874, between Miller Drive and Sunset Drive, just before 6:45 a.m on Saturday.The flames have since been put out.The traffic has now picked up speed compared to before.What exactly caused the fire remains under investigation.7News has reached out to FHP and MDFR for information.Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Portugal’s Costa apologizes for cash seized at his official residence

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa apologized to the country’s people on Saturday, expressing embarrassment for the corruption probe launched against himself and several members of his administration.Costa said he felt betrayed when he learned that authorities had found tens of thousands of euros in envelopes in the office of his chief of staff, Vítor Escária, during a police raid of the prime minister’s official residence on Tuesday.“It is something that embarrasses me and I have a duty to apologize,” Costa said in a televised speech.Costa, who resigned on Tuesday but will remain the country’s caretaker prime minister until snap elections are held in March 2024, said that Portugal continued to be a place where it was safe for foreigners to invest.Authorities are investigating possible acts of corruption, influence peddling and malfeasance in connection with the concession of lithium mining projects in the north of the country, a green hydrogen meg...