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Despite organizational hiccups, India ready to welcome back Cricket World Cup after 12 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

By CHETAN NARULA | Associated PressNEW DELHI (AP) — When 2019 finalists England and New Zealand meet again to open the Cricket World Cup this week, it will mark the tournament’s return to India after 12 years.But preparations for this year’s tournament — in which the home side will start among the favorites and won the event when it was last played in India in 2011 — haven’t gone smoothly.The event experienced numerous organizational and planning issues which the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the host body, often had difficulties managing.The 13th edition of the tournament was first scheduled for February-March 2023, but it was delayed to its current Oct. 5-Nov. 19 schedule after the COVID-19 pandemic caused a ripple effect for the hosting of 2021 and 2022 Twenty20 World Cups.In the meantime, the BCCI delayed formalizing tax agreements with the Indian government — an issue that had plagued the 2011 ODI and the 2016 T20 World Cups, both hosted in Ind...

Man who allegedly went on SF Market Street rampage identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A San Francisco man is accused of going on a violent rampage on Market Street in the Financial District and attacking random victims. Effrim Baker, 60, was nabbed by police while witnesses and bystanders helped victims in the area of Market, 4th, and Battery streets Sunday morning. Police said Baker was unprovoked when he attempted to kill three people and attacked an elderly man in a wheelchair."The attacks happened within minutes of each other. Officers simultaneously investigated multiple crime scenes. The SFPD was able to stop the violent offender from continuing his unprovoked attacks against the public. The SFPD would like to thank the witnesses and bystanders who assisted the victims at their time of need," the San Francisco Police Department wrote.The first victim was found at 7:34 a.m. Sunday. Officers found the elderly man sitting in his wheelchair and bleeding from his face. "A witness to the incident reported that the victim, who was traveling in ...

DC’s public libraries launch scavenger hunt for banned books

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

Washington readers are being encouraged to search the city for six books that have been pulled from the shelves of schools and libraries in states like Texas and Florida. The scavenger hunt is one way the D.C. Public Library System is celebrating national Banned Books Week.“Libraries, as the great protectors of the First Amendment, want to raise awareness that book challenges are bad, book banning is bad,” said Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director of D.C. Public Library.Reyes-Gavilan said the D.C. Public Library Foundation has purchased hundreds of copies of six books which have been banned in other states. They’re being hidden in places around the city, from bookstores to coffee shops to bars and, of course, libraries.He said the District has a unique platform when it comes to speaking out against censorship of books because many of the city’s visitors might come from states where titles are being removed from shelves.“I’m sort of more interested in the...

Arizona catcher Gabriel Moreno leaves Game 2 of Wild Card Series after backswing hits his helmet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno left Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series at Milwaukee after he was struck by a backswing.When Milwaukee’s Brice Turang struck out swinging to lead off the second inning, his bat hit Moreno’s helmet. The game was delayed for several minutes to allow Moreno to get examined.After Moreno took a few warmup pitches, he stayed in the game for the remainder of the second. But José Herrera took over at catcher in the bottom of the third.Moreno homered in the Diamondbacks’ 6-3 Game 1 victory over the Brewers on Tuesday.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLBSource

Rays’ 13-0 start a memory after losing 2 straight to Rangers for quick postseason exit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays looked like the team to beat when they started the season 13-0 while outscoring opponents 101-30.Two days into the postseason, the Rays quickly were dispatched for the third straight year.Texas advanced to an AL Division Series by beating the Rays 7-1 on Wednesday for a two-game sweep.The potent offense that spearheaded Tampa Bay to first place from opening day through mid-July faded down the stretch.“It’s frustrating, but it’s part of the game,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.Curtis Mead’s seventh-inning RBI single stopped Tampa Bay’s 33-inning postseason scoreless streak dating to last year, The streak was the second longest in MLB history, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers 34-inning run from 1966-74. Tampa Bay hit .161 in four playoff games over two years.“I’m glad we scored a run because if not we’d have been talking about that a lot,” Cash said. “Look, our bats just didn’t come to life.”T...

Too much Taylor? Travis Kelce says NFL TV coverage is ‘overdoing it’ with Swift during games

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

Maybe there’s too much Taylor, not enough Travis.Travis Kelce agreed Wednesday with the idea that NFL TV coverage has been “overdoing it” with the amount of times Taylor Swift has been on screen while attending his Kansas City Chiefs’ games the last two weeks.Swift was in a suite Sunday night at MetLife Stadium for the Chiefs’ victory over the New York Jets in prime time. Jason Kelce, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, told his brother during their “ New Heights ” podcast that cameras showed live shots of the suite no fewer than 17 times during the game.“Damn, that’s crazy,” Travis Kelce said. “That’s like once a drive.”Travis did say that it’s fun when the cameras show which famous people are at a game. Swift was in the suite with actors Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Hugh Jackman.“But at the same time, I think they’re overdoing it a little bit for sure, especially my situation,” Travis added.Ian Trombetta, the NFL’s senior vice president of...

Rangers beat Rays 7-1 for Wild Card Series sweep behind Garcia and Carter home runs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Two years after losing 102 games, the resilient Texas Rangers are savoring a journey that’s transformed them into a playoff team.“It’s all about bouncing back, dealing with the tough times. You know you’re going to have them,” manager Bruce Bochy said Wednesday after the Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-1 to finish a two-game AL Wild Card Series sweep.“What’s important is how you handle it, and thse guys have handled it so well,” Bochy added. “I think we were counted out earlier in the season or late August … but what a job they did to bounce back and to be in this position.”The Rangers rode a rollercoaster of emotions while losing three of four games at Seattle and letting the AL West division title slip away on the final day of the regular season. Instead of returning home with a first-round playoff bye, Texas was rewarded with a cross-country flight to Florida.“We had to fly to fly right over Dallas, so that could have be...

Lionel Messi misses Inter Miami’s game at Chicago because of scar tissue ailment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Lionel Messi wasn’t in Chicago with Inter Miami on Wednesday night for a game against the Fire, missing his fifth match in the last six with the MLS club.The 36-year-old Argentine star had been listed as questionable on Inter Miami’s injury report because of a scar tissue ailment that has nagged him since shortly after the World Cup. He worked out independently of the team Tuesday.The Fire sold a team-record 61,000 tickets to the match at Soldier Field. After Messi’s presence became unlikely, announced prospective season-ticket holders could take a $250 credit toward next season, with single-game spectators eligible for a $50 credit if they decided not to attend.Messi has 11 goals in 12 matches with Inter Miami. It is 8-0-4 when he plays; seven of those matches were on the team’s run to winning its first trophy by claiming the Leagues Cup championship and another was in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal. Inter Miami is 1-2-2 in its five matches without Messi since he ...

Send photos and videos of your DC-area Halloween decorations to WTOP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

TOPSHOT - A home is decorated with pumpkins and ghosts for Halloween, in Burbank, California, October 30, 2021. - Last year's Halloween celebrations were severely curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)(AFP via Getty Images/ROBYN BECK) TOPSHOT - A home is decorated with pumpkins and ghosts for Halloween, in Burbank, California, October 30, 2021. - Last year's Halloween celebrations were severely curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)(AFP via Getty Images/ROBYN BECK) var gform;gform||(document.addEventListener("gform_main_scripts_loaded",function(){gform.scriptsLoaded=!0}),w...

Photographs documented US Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s groundbreaking career in politics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s groundbreaking career in politics was documented in photos from the moment she was sworn in as San Francisco mayor in the aftermath of tragedy to her long-awaited return to the U.S. Senate after illness earlier this year.The pictures start in black and white, showing a young Feinstein as she leads an estimated 15,000 marchers in memory of slain Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. She became the city’s first female mayor after their assassination in 1978 and held the office for nearly a decade.As mayor, she helped secure millions of dollars from the federal government to refurbish the city’s iconic cable cars and took a celebratory ride with Tony Bennett, who famously crooned of leaving his heart in San Francisco.The photos turn into color as Feinstein broke more barriers. She won a U.S. Senate race in 1992 to become one of California’s first two female senators. She was the first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Com...