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Former No. 1 tennis player Simona Halep gets 4-year ban in doping case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:32 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been suspended from professional tennis for four years for doping violations, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Tuesday.The 31-year-old Romanian had been accused of two doping offenses — failing a drug test during the 2022 U.S. Open and for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport, the ITIA said.A panel concluded that Halep “had committed intentional anti-doping rule violations.”Halep had been provisionally suspended since October 2022. The four-year ban will run to Oct. 6, 2026.Halep reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2017. She won Wimbledon in 2019, beating 23-time major champion Serena Williams in the final, a year after winning the French Open.Halep, who had blamed a contaminated supplement, plans to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.“I am continuing to train and do everything in my power to clear my name of these false allegations and return to the court,” Halep said in a...

Critical health violations found in kitchen used by daycares after E. coli outbreak

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:32 GMT

CALGARY — Alberta’s chief medical officer of health says there three critical violations were found at a central kitchen serving Calgary daycares affected by an E. coli outbreak.More than 200 people have fallen ill from the bacteria since the outbreak at 11 daycares was declared a week ago.Dr. Mark Joffe says the kitchen was closed immediately on Sept. 4 and that likely prevented the outbreak from being much worse.He says the violations, found the following day, related to food handling, sanitation and pest control.Alberta Health Services said as of Monday afternoon there were 231 lab-confirmed cases.Twenty-five children and one adult were receiving care in hospital, with 21 severely ill. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 12, 2023.The Canadian Press

Panel finds no single factor in horse deaths at Churchill Downs. More screening is suggested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:32 GMT

Horse racing’s federally created oversight panel found no single cause of death among 12 horses at Churchill Downs this spring, but recommends further action and analysis to mitigate risk at the home of the Kentucky Derby, according to a report released Tuesday.The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) report also suggested improved veterinary screening and the creation of a blue-ribbon committee to study synthetic surface options throughout the sport.The report comes two days before the start of Churchill Downs’ fall September meet and follows the June 7 suspension of racing to conduct an internal safety review. The spring meet was shifted to Ellis Park in western Kentucky.That move came in the aftermath of seven horse deaths in the days leading up to the 149th Derby on May 6 — including two on the undercard — and five more in the weeks afterward. HISA immediately convened an emergency summit and recommended pausing the meet after consulting industry experts, vete...

‘Freedom Convoy’ Facebook page is the focal point of criminal trial Tuesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:32 GMT

OTTAWA — The Facebook page of the “Freedom Convoy” protest is at the centre of the evidence and legal arguments today as the trial of two prominent organizers enters its sixth day.The Crown’s case against Tamara Lich and Chris Barber for their role in the protest has been mired in complaints from the defence that have slowed the process.Crown prosecutor Tim Radcliffe is painstakingly taking the court through 212 pages worth of posts and videos from the “Freedom Convoy 2022” Facebook page, including updates from convoy organizers to supporters.Though social media played a major role in the protest and makes up the bulk of the Crown’s exhibits, the videos and posts shown so far in court have not yet been accepted as evidence.Defence lawyers are demanding more information about how the Crown plans to use them to prove their case before they can be considered by the judge. Some of the videos show life in Ottawa during the protest, while others feature...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts lower as oil prices rise and Oracle weighs on tech stocks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting lower Tuesday as Wall Street waits for reports coming up this week about the economy and Big Tech companies.The S&P 500 was 0.5% lower in midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 51 points, or 0.1%, at 34,612, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% lower.Software giant Oracle was weighing on tech stocks after reporting revenue for the latest quarter that fell just short of what analysts expected. Its stock tumbled 12.3%, even though its profit topped expectations.Oracle’s forecast for how much revenue it will make in the current quarter wasn’t as strong as some analysts expected, even as it touts customers signing up for services because of the boom around artificial-intelligence technology.Apple was 1.6% lower ahead of an event later in the day where it’s expected to unveil its latest phone models. The stock soared through much of this year, which is crucial for many investors because it’s the most...

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is suspending state gas and diesel taxes again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:32 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s governor is again suspending state taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, declaring a legal emergency over higher prices.Gov. Brian Kemp signed the executive order Tuesday morning. The suspension of the taxes, at 31.2 cents per gallon of gasoline and 35 cents per gallon of diesel fuel, begins Wednesday and lasts through Oct. 12.Georgia’s government gave up an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue during an earlier suspension over 10 months from March 2022 to January 2023, about $170 million a month.Georgia can easily afford to forgo the cash, which is used mostly for roadbuilding. Not only is its rainy day account full, but it has roughly $10 billion in additional surplus cash in state accounts. The state is also likely to run another multibillion dollar surplus in the budget year that began July 1, unless revenues fall sharply.The move also lets Kemp shift the state’s political conversation, which has been consumed by a Fulton County grand jury...

Work to transform section of Bloor Street West now underway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:32 GMT

Motorists will now find it a tight squeeze along Bloor Street West between Prince Edward Drive and the South Kingsway as a project to reimagine the section of road near the Old Mill begins.Lane restrictions for work on the ‘Bloor Street West Complete Street Project’ went into place on Monday.Traffic is now reduced to a single lane through the work zone, and those lane restrictions are permanent. The project aims to reconfigure the roadway from four lanes to two. This will allow for only one lane of traffic in each direction while adding several other features to make the area more pedestrian and cyclist friendly.“The project will provide road safety improvements, cycle tracks, and public realm upgrades to meet Toronto’s Vision Zero Road Safety Plan and Climate Change Action Plan goals,” a website for the project says.“Changes to Bloor Street West will be made with materials that can be installed quickly, such as bollards, roadway paint, planters and signage.”A map for th...

Aaron Rodgers' first season with the Jets is over, reports say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:32 GMT

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The worst-case scenario for Aaron Rodgers has come to pass after being forced to leave his first game with the Jets after just a handful of plays. Per numerous reports, the first from Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, an MRI on Tuesday revealed that the quarterback suffered a complete tear of his left Achilles tendon in the first quarter of New York's 22-16 overtime win over the Bills on Monday night at Met Life Stadium.It's expected that 39-year-old Rodgers will miss the remainder of the 2023 season, which was his first with the Jets. Aaron Rodgers injures his left Achilles tendon in his first series for the Jets The team has yet to confirm the results of the MRI, though head coach Robert Saleh did indicate that the team was ready for bad news concerning the quarterback's Achilles injury after the game on Monday.On X on Tuesday morning, the Jets wrote, "Not the way any of us wanted it to go, but we know the commitment you've made to this team will continue t...

Author David Levithan's new queer YA romance revisits 'Two Boys Kissing' characters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:32 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — New York Times bestselling author David Levithan's newest young adult novel comes 20 years after his popular debut, "Boy Meets Boy" and 10 years following the release of his wildly successful "Two Boys Kissing." The new book, "Ryan and Avery" actually pulls from "Two Boys Kissing" to center on two side characters introduced in it — giving the titular pair a love story of their own. His LGBTQ teen book is one of the most banned in the U.S. Here’s why he keeps writing "Ryan and Avery" follows Avery, a transmasculine boy with pink hair, and Ryan, a blue-haired boy juggling being out in a small town. The novel chronicles their relationship from its beginning — a chance meeting at queer prom — to the 10 dates that follow.The dates are described in poetic detail out of order, building emotional mysteries for each boy — and the reader — to figure out. In a note to readers, Levithan explains he'd expected to write a sprawling epic love story but instead wrote "the most intimat...

Man dies 1 mile short of campground on Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:32 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A 55-year-old man died while attempting a rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon on Saturday, according to National Park Service officials.After starting from the South Rim on Saturday morning, Ranjith Varma, of Manassas, Virginia, was within a mile of Cottonwood Campground on the North Rim when the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center was notified just before 2 p.m. of a hiker in distress, according to an NPS news release on Monday.Varma was unresponsive and bystanders initiated CPR before rescuers arrived. A helicopter was dispatched, but advanced life support efforts failed to resuscitate him, NPS said.A rim-to-rim hike ending on the North Kaibab Trail, where Varma was located, is at least 20 miles with an elevation change of about 5,700 feet. Officials didn't disclose Varma's starting point. North Dakota teen survives nearly 100-foot fall at North Rim of Grand Canyon An investigation into the incident was being conducted by the NPS in coordination with ...