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Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz warm up on No. 1 Court for their Wimbledon semifinal matches

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:29 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — With rain coming down outside, Novak Djokovic warmed up for the Wimbledon semifinals on Friday by getting some practice time under the roof on No. 1 Court.The seven-time champion will face Jannik Sinner on Centre Court later in the day. Djokovic is looking to win a 24th major title while Sinner, an eighth-seeded Italian, is trying to reach a Grand Slam final for the first time.Sinner also spent some time on No. 1 Court practicing under the roof.The last player to warm up in the second-biggest stadium at the All England Club was top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard will face Daniil Medvedev in the other men’s semifinal match on Centre Court in the late match.Medvedev, who is seeded third and won the U.S. Open in 2021, practiced Friday morning on Centre Court.___AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsThe Associated Press

3 people were seriously wounded in a stabbing at a church-run aid center in the Dutch city of Leiden

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:29 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Three people were seriously wounded Friday in a stabbing at a church-run center that houses several aid organizations in the Dutch university city of Leiden. Police said they were hunting for the male suspect who fled the scene.A motive for the 9:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) attack at the center, a former bakery, wasn’t immediately given.The chairman of the center, Bert Verweij, told regional broadcaster Omroep West that the wounded people were a staff member, a volunteer and a worker at one of the organizations that uses the center.Police appealed for assistance in tracking down the suspect, but warned members of the public not to approach him. They described the man as having “dark skin, short hair and beard” and said he also had a head wound.The center houses organizations that offer help to people including migrants and asylum-seekers.Further details weren’t immediately available. Calls to the center went unanswered.The Associated Press

China criticizes German call for reducing dependency on Chinese products as ‘protectionism’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:29 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China on Friday criticized a German government call for reducing dependency on Chinese products and decreasing other potentially unstable factors in bilateral relations, calling it a form of protectionism. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that a long-awaited German government strategy for relations with China that pointed to a “systemic rivalry” went “against the trend of the times, and will only aggravate divisions in the world.” Wang said the two countries were “partners rather than rivals,” a typical ruling Chinese Communist Party formulation for dismissing criticism. “We believe that to engage in competition and protectionism in the name of de-risking and reducing dependency, and to overstretch the concept of security and politicize normal cooperation will only be counterproductive and create artificial risks,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing. Germany has Europe’s biggest economy and its strategy seeks to balance robust trade ties with China,...

Embassies urge Hungary’s government to retract discriminatory LGBTQ+ laws ahead of Pride march

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:29 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The embassies of 38 countries and more than 10 other cultural institutions urged Hungary’s government on Friday to retract laws seen as limiting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.This comes ahead of the Budapest Pride march on Saturday. The joint statement, signed by embassies from countries including the United States, Germany and Ukraine, expressed “full support for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) community in Hungary and their rights to equality and non-discrimination.”They said they were concerned with legislation and political rhetoric in Hungary and elsewhere “that is in tension with principles of non-discrimination, international human rights law and human dignity,” and called on governments to cease the stigmatization of LGBTQ+ people and “to eliminate laws and policies that discriminate against them.”Hungary’s right-wing government has enacted a series of policies in recent ye...

Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova are 0-3 in Grand Slam finals. One will win Wimbledon

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:29 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Ons Jabeur left Wimbledon a year ago without the trophy but more confident than ever that she would win a Grand Slam title one day.Marketa Vondrousova was at the All England Club in 2022, too. Not to play, mind you, but only to be a tourist in London and to cheer for her best friend — and doubles partner — while wearing a cast on her surgically repaired left wrist, unsure of what her tennis future might look like.They play similarly varied games, with drop shots and changes of pace. They also are a combined 0-3 in major finals. That will change Saturday, when No. 6 seed Jabeur and the unseeded Vondrousova play each other at Centre Court for the women’s singles championship.“I would say I always believed. But sometimes you would question and doubt it if it’s going to happen, if it’s ever going to happen. Being in the last stages, I think it does help you believe more,” said Jabeur, a 28-year-old from Tunisia.She is the only Arab woman and only North Af...

Man shot, critically wounded during armed robbery at Bucktown liquor store

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:29 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was shot and critically wounded during an armed robbery at a liquor store in Bucktown.The robbery happened around 10:30 p.m. Thursday at Bucktown Food and Liquor in the 1900 block of Milwaukee Avenue.Police said about three offenders entered the liquor store and held up a total of six people at gunpoint. The offenders demanded property from a 26-year-old man and then shot him in the abdomen.The man was transported to Stroger Hospital in critical condition. The five other victims had their property stolen, but were not injured. CPD: Body of man found in Chicago River near The Salt Shed The offenders then fled the scene.No one is in custody. Area Five detectives are investigating.

Friday Forecast: High 80s, humid, storm risk

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:29 GMT

Friday: AM Storms, midday sun and humid, late day/eve storms, WSW 5-15 G25. 89. Chance of severe thunderstorms Friday night is looking mostly cloudy, thunderstorms, S 5-10 G15. High: 68Chicago Area Radar | WGN TVSaturday: Mostly cloudy, AM showers, late day/evening storm chance, W 5-10 G15. High: 84

As 988 crisis line marks one year, many Americans still don't know about it

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:29 GMT

(The Hill) - Over 4 million people have called the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline since it first launched last July. But a new poll from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found that 82 percent of Americans remain unaware of the 911 alternative for mental health crises.The Hill hosted a discussion with lawmakers, mental health experts, and advocates Thursday about increasing awareness and capacity of the hotline. Thus far, the Biden-Harris administration has invested $1 billion in the effort, much of which has gone into hiring crisis counselors and developing systems of support at a local and state level, HHS officials told CNN. Now, NAMI’s Chief Advocacy Officer Hannah Wesolowski told The Hill’s Bob Cusack she is looking for funding dedicated to raising awareness.“One point that often gets lost is that there has not been appropriations for an awareness campaign, so we can't be surprised that awareness is low when we haven't really invested in that wide-scal...

Eastbound SH 45 reopens after deadly crash

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:29 GMT

CREEDMOOR, Texas (KXAN) – The Department of Public Safety said Friday morning it is investigating a deadly crash on State Highway 45. According to Austin Travis County-EMS, two vehicles crashed on the eastbound lanes of State Highway 45 near Turnersville Road just before 2 a.m. DPS told KXAN that one driver died in a 4-door passenger vehicle that caught fire. ATCEMS said STARFlight transported the other driver to the hospital with critical injuries. DPS said the second vehicle was a Toyota Tundra. A DPS spokesperson said it was not not known which direction the vehicles were headed but it appeared to be a head-on collision. SH 45 reopened at about 6:30 a.m. after the eastbound lanes were closed for several hours.

Austin nonprofit employs refugees, helps them become part of Central Texas community

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:08:29 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – In the last 10 years, the U.S. has welcomed over 450,000 refugees, and roughly 10% have settled in Texas – making Texas the state that has received the most refugees, according to the immigration research initiatives.Refugees often flee their home countries out of fear of being persecuted. But while refugees enter the U.S. with hopes of a better life, they can face several challenges when adapting to a new culture. Among those difficulties are finding work and learning the language. One organization helping refugees living in Texas is the Multicultural Refugee Coalition, or MRC, which employs refugees in two different enterprises: sewing and organic farming. “[The goal is] helping them integrate into their communities by giving them fair-waged jobs in two different industries that are well known to them,” said Christina Jones, who works for the nonprofit. And it's not just work: MRC says these enterprises provide a community for the folks involved. "Ri...