All posts tagged: Associated Press

Tiafoe Gives Michelsen a Hug and a Shoulder to Cry on After His US Open Victory

Tiafoe Gives Michelsen a Hug and a Shoulder to Cry on After His US Open Victory

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — Frances Tiafoe knew Alex Michelsen needed a shoulder to cry on. “I really like Alex. I really, really do, and I just wanted to come up there and just dap him up,” Tiafoe said. “I didn’t think it was going to be as long as it was, but I understand the moment. He was definitely crying on my shoulders. Yeah, we just had some words for each other, and that was it.” Michelsen was playing in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal and was just a few points from winning it after taking the first two sets. The No. 11-seeded Tiafoe came back to win 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6), starting his turnaround after Michelsen failed to serve out the match with a 5-4 lead in the third set. Michelsen said he didn’t speak much when they met at the net. “I was trying to keep it together and I didn’t do a good job of that,” Michelsen said. “He was saying a lot of nice personal things. ‘You’ll be there. …

Tung Chee-Hwa, Hong Kong’s First Post-Colonial Leader, Dies at Age 89

Tung Chee-Hwa, Hong Kong’s First Post-Colonial Leader, Dies at Age 89

Published by Sam Flores

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong ’s first post-colonial leader, Tung Chee-hwa, who struggled to cope with an Asian financial crisis and growing protests for democracy in the early years under Chinese rule, died Tuesday at age 89. His office said in a statement that Tung passed away peacefully in the presence of his family members. Chinese official news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday that he died of an unspecified illness. Tung, a shipping tycoon, had little political experience before a panel of pro-Beijing elites picked him to be the first leader of the southern Chinese territory after the end of British colonial rule in 1997. Many believe Beijing perceived Tung as a loyalist who would obey the Communist leadership’s edicts. He was also seen as beholden to Beijing because China’s state-run banks helped rescue his family’s ailing shipping company — Orient Overseas Container Line — during a global slump in the 1980s. The early years after the handover were sensitive. The “one country, two systems” formula, in which Hong Kong was supposed to maintain civil …

Trump Honors 9/11 Victims at the Ellipse, Pledging to ‘Never Forget’

Trump Honors 9/11 Victims at the Ellipse, Pledging to ‘Never Forget’

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly a quarter century after a day “etched forever into the memories of Americans,” President Donald Trump honored the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on Tuesday by vowing to “never forget.” The event at the Ellipse was spearheaded by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and showcased a massive, 21-foot, nearly 17,000-pound steel beam recovered from the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, which had traveled for months across the country as part of the Steel Across America tour. The steel beam will make its way through New York in a procession on Friday by retracing the steps of fallen New York City firefighter Stephen Siller. Trump’s presence at the event on Tuesday just outside the White House began a week of commemorations that will culminate in several events on Friday, including one at the Pentagon that Trump will attend. “This battered piece of steel here today on the Ellipse is a reminder that America is blessed with a strength no fire can consume, no evil can …

Sherri Shepherd to Join Broadway’s ‘Aladdin’ as the Genie, and She’s ‘Beyond Thrilled’

Sherri Shepherd to Join Broadway’s ‘Aladdin’ as the Genie, and She’s ‘Beyond Thrilled’

Published by Sam Flores

The Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show host and NAACP Image Award winner will slip into the magical role from Oct. 16 to Jan. 3. “I’ve taken my family, my nieces and nephews, to see this musical and I never dreamed that I would one day be a part of the ‘Aladdin’ family. So I am beyond thrilled,” Shepherd tells The Associated Press. “All of the children that are coming in that theater, I want them to feel the same way I felt when I was a little girl, and I saw Stephanie Mills in ‘The Wiz,’” she says. Shepherd is taking dance and voice lessons and belting out her soon-to-be signature song, “Friend Like Me,” on long walks through the city to prepare for the wisecracking, high-energy role that won James Monroe Iglehart a Tony Award in 2014. Weren’t there any easier options? “My whole career has never been the easy way,” she replied. “My whole life is, ‘If it scares you, then you say yes.’ And this is no different because it’s completely out …

World’s Most Endangered Tigers Born in Greece as Zoos Build a Safety Net

World’s Most Endangered Tigers Born in Greece as Zoos Build a Safety Net

Published by Sam Flores

SPATA, Greece (AP) — The world’s most endangered tigers have started a family in Greece, offering hope for a predator rapidly vanishing from the wild. Three 2-month-old Sumatran tiger cubs received identification microchips and their first vaccinations Tuesday at a zoo near Athens, as part of a global effort to build a backup population. The Sumatran tiger, classified as critically endangered, is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, which is slightly larger than Sweden. As few as 400 are believed to remain in the wild, mainly because of aggressive forest clearing. It joins the South China tiger and the Malayan tiger in the category of severe risk. “The Sumatran tiger is one of the most threatened tiger species in the world, and among felines in general,” said Theodoros Babilis, head keeper of cats and monkeys at Attica Zoological Park. Zoos in Europe and elsewhere are maintaining a safety population, he said, “so that in the future there can be potential reintroductions of this species into the wild.” The Sumatran tiger is the smallest …

Naomi Osaka Exits U.S. Open, but Not Before Displaying One More ‘Swaggy’ Fashion Ensemble

Naomi Osaka Exits U.S. Open, but Not Before Displaying One More ‘Swaggy’ Fashion Ensemble

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Osaka may not have gone out of the U.S. Open with much of a bang. But she surely went out with a burst — of color, and a bit of swag. The two-time U.S. Open champion lost a lopsided fourth-round match on Monday to Elena Rybakina. But she continued to make her mark as the undisputed fashion queen on tour. Osaka, already known for her walk-on fashion reveals at tournaments, has been upping her game at the year’s final major with a series of dramatic ensembles — all with a basketball theme, as her sponsor, Nike, honors the New York Knicks’ championship win. For her last look, she arrived on court Monday in a coat of many colors: a fur-trimmed cloak designed by Brooklyn-based label KidSuper. “I felt really swaggy when I put it on,” Osaka said after the match. “I feel feel like it embodied New York a lot.” For her increasingly dramatic looks the past week or so, Osaka has worked with celebrity stylist Law Roach — also …

FIA President Ben Sulayem Says F1 Drivers and Teams Won’t Be Put ‘At Risk’ Over Middle East Events

FIA President Ben Sulayem Says F1 Drivers and Teams Won’t Be Put ‘At Risk’ Over Middle East Events

Published by Sam Flores

MONZA, Italy (AP) — FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has defended the wait for clarity over how this year’s Formula 1 season will end amid uncertainty over the Middle East security situation but tells The Associated Press that drivers and team staff will not be put “at risk.” The F1 season is still scheduled to end Qatar Grand Prix on Nov. 29 and the season finale in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 6, but F1 has been examining potential alternative venues. A replacement finale at the Imola circuit in Italy is widely considered the likeliest option. Ben Sulayem told the AP it remains “business as usual. We are not changing anything unless we have to,” and said he’s in regular communication with F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali. “Being from that part of the world, we can’t jump the gun and just say, that’s it, we are canceling and then cancel,” he added. “Are we going to allow our people, our staff, the drivers or the teams to go at risk? No, of course not. We will …

Charismatic Candidate Propels German Far-Right Party to Victory After Giving It a Friendly Face

Charismatic Candidate Propels German Far-Right Party to Victory After Giving It a Friendly Face

Published by Sam Flores

BERLIN (AP) — Ulrich Siegmund, a charismatic 35-year-old who gave the far-right Alternative for Germany a friendly face and combined promises of a better future with a touch of nostalgia, has led the party to its strongest showing yet. The party surged to a resounding victory in Sunday’s regional election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, but fell just short of a majority as it seeks to form the first far-right state government since World War II. Siegmund’s face was everywhere in posters for Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in a campaign whose motto was “everything is possible.” At campaign events, supporters — some of them wearing T-shirts bearing his image — queued at length for a selfie and a few words with the candidate. Although his party is known for its pro-Russian and anti-immigration positions and other radical stances, Siegmund has avoided making extreme statements and presents himself as a man of the people. But while that appeals to voters who might otherwise be put off by AfD, he is also uncompromising, insisting after …

Germany’s Merz Shocked by Far-Right State Election Triumph but Doubles Down on Unpopular Reforms

Germany’s Merz Shocked by Far-Right State Election Triumph but Doubles Down on Unpopular Reforms

Published by Sam Flores

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz doubled down Monday on pushing through unpopular reforms to Europe’s largest economy after a far-right party surged to a landslide victory in a regional election, with a very good chance of forming the first far-right state government since the Nazi era. Merz said his center-right Christian Democratic Union was “deeply shocked” by what he called “the most serious election defeat that the CDU has had for years, for decades.” But he indicated that he’s determined to stay at the helm and said that “giving up is not an option for me.” The anti-migration and Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany, or AfD, fell just short of a majority in Sunday’s vote in Saxony-Anhalt, a small eastern state that gained outsized prominence as AfD eyed power there. Its regional branch is one of several considered a proven right-wing extremist group by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency. Merz says Germany will stick to its values and Russia stance Merz said he wanted to assure Germany’s allies that “our institutions are resilient and stable” …

Nepal Holds a Day of Mourning After Floods Kill at Least 1,300 People

Nepal Holds a Day of Mourning After Floods Kill at Least 1,300 People

Published by Sam Flores

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal held a day of mourning Monday to remember those killed in the Aug. 26 floods, with flags lowered at government offices and families concluding mourning rituals. Monday was the 13th day since the flooding which killed more than 1,300 people in Nepal and Tibet and left some 5,000 missing, including foreigners, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency. In predominantly Hindu Nepal, mourning periods last 13 days, during which close family members stay home and relatives visit to pay their respects. Rituals are held on the final day to pray for the souls of the departed. Several people whose relatives remain missing performed symbolic funerals. Cremation is an important final rite in Hindu tradition, and performing the ceremony even without the bodies of their loved ones provided some families a sense of spiritual release. The government had declared Monday an official day of mourning and ordered flags at government offices lowered to half-staff. Meanwhile, search efforts continued for the missing, but some protested that not enough was being done. In Kathmandu, …