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Madison Keys wins her first-ever Grand Slam title against two-time defending champion

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Madison Keys wins her first-ever Grand Slam title against two-time defending champion

Madison Keys of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the women’s singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.

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American tennis player Madison Keys won her first ever Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Saturday. The win was a huge victory for Keys, who was ranked No. 19 seed going into the final match. She defeated Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, who was hoping to win the tournament for the third year in a row.

“I have wanted this for so long and I have been in one other grand slam final. It did not go my way and I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to get back to this position to try to win a trophy again,” Keys told reporters in her on-camera interview after the winning match. Her voice cracked with emotion as she talked about having to overcome injuries to train for this match.

Her competitor, Sabalenka, is ranked number one in the world for women’s single tennis, and number two in the world for doubles tennis. She has already won the Australian Open twice, and had only lost one match out of the 34 she had to play to reach the finals of this year’s Australian Open.

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But Keys was able to knock the tennis titan off balance with a stunning opening match, eventually winning the whole tournament in the final set, which was tied till the very end.

Madison Keys, right, of the U.S. is congratulated by Aryna Sabalenka, left, of Belarus following the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Madison Keys, right, of the U.S. is congratulated by Aryna Sabalenka, left, of Belarus following the women’s singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.

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The long road to Keys victory 

Keys’ professional tennis debut coincided with her 14th birthday. After winning her first match, she was knocked out of the tournament in the next round. But that did not discourage her: at 14 years old, playing in her second ever tournament, she beat Serena Williams, who had just won Wimbledon earlier that month.

Her early success didn’t always translate into success in Grand Slam tournaments. In 2017, she reached the final of the U.S Open, only to lose to Sloane Stephens. It took her seven years to get back to a Grand Slam final – she had reached the French Open and U.S. Open semi finals in 2018, but could not get further than that. Previously, she was among the world’s top 50 tennis players, but her ranking fell as she struggled with injuries.

In 2022, she returned to the top 25 in women’s single tennis after making it to the semifinals of the Australian Open, but she could not beat Sabalenka, who ended up winning the entire tournament. Three years later, Keys faced Sabalenka again, but this time, the two were the last players remaining.

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Madison Keys of the U.S. hugs the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Madison Keys of the U.S. hugs the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the women’s singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.

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Keys’ rematch came down to the final set of the tournament

Keys was having an incredible run in the Australian Open even before she faced Sabalenka in the final match. She was winning against higher ranked players, like Danielle Collins and world No.2 Iga Świątek, but that didn’t guarantee her a win against Sabalenka, the world’s No.1 female tennis player.

Keys won her first set against Sabalenka by taking advantage of Sabalenka’s nerves. Her incredible serves seemed to always reach their target, while Sabalenka’s serve, which had been shaky throughout the tournament, could not find its rhythm in the final match up.

In her second set, Sabalenka’s serve became more accurate, and she was able to level the playing field: both players had won one set, and needed to win the third and final set to take home the title.

The final set of the Australian Open had high stakes for both competitors: Sabalenka was aiming for her third straight win in this tournament, something that hasn’t happened in over two decades. Keys, a tennis prodigy, was hoping to finally win a grand slam title and cement her place among the greats of women’s tennis.

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Keys served first in the last set, and Sabalenka matched her game perfectly, locking the score at five to five on serve. A women’s grand slam final hadn’t been this close since 2012, when Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka.

With the score locked at five-five, Keys needed two points to win the whole tournament, which she did with an extra burst of energy that allowed her to get the better of an exhausted Sabalenka.

“I think we did our best, just Madison was doing incredible and I couldn’t do anything in this match,” Sabalenka told reporters after the game. “Next time I play Madison I will bring better tennis. Of course, sending love to my team. I love you even though we lost.”

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Trump fires last members of election commission, inciting fears of midterm ‘chaos’

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Trump fires last members of election commission, inciting fears of midterm ‘chaos’

Donald Trump has terminated the remaining members of the independent, federal commission that assists election administration officials nationwide just a few months before the midterm elections, multiple outlets reported Thursday.

The remaining three commissioners of the four-member bipartisan commission ⁠were forced out on Thursday in different ways. The one Republican appointee resigned and the other ⁠two, Democratic appointees were notified of their terminations via email from ​the White House presidential personnel office.

“On ‌behalf of President ‌Donald J Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position ‌as Commissioner of the Election Assistance Commission is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” the email, seen by Reuters, said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Election Assistance Commission serves as a “national clearinghouse of information on election ‌administration”, accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, and maintains the national mail-voter registration form developed by the National ​Voter Registration Act of 1993, according to the commission’s website. The terminations follow Trump and top administration officials’ advocacy to change vote-by-mail requirements and investigations into the 2020 election outcome, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

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“It is ⁠irresponsible and dangerous that this Administration remains dead set on ​causing chaos for ​our election officials across this ​country,” Arizona secretary of state Adrian Fontes said in a ​Thursday statement. “This ‌move undermines the integrity ​of nonpartisan ​election administration.”

The 2002 law that established the commission, the Help America Vote Act, states the president can appoint replacements to the commission.

It is unclear how Trump will move ahead with the commission.

Reuters contributed reporting

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Former Olympian pleads not guilty in reflecting pool vandalism charges

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Former Olympian pleads not guilty in reflecting pool vandalism charges

Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn (left) walks with his attorney Norman Eisen to speak to reporters and protesters gathered after his arraignment at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

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Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty to damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in D.C. Superior Court Thursday morning.

Federal prosecutors charged Hearn with a single count of destruction of property causing more than $1,000 in damage to the pool.

Hearn has previously claimed, which his attorneys repeated during a short press conference outside the court, that he simply touched the water in the pool out of curiosity.

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The Trump administration had just completed a $14 million renovation of the pool.

But shortly after the work finished, peeling paint and algae gathered in the water. The remodel has been largely criticized as a massive failure and waste of taxpayer dollars.

Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean released Hearn on his own recognizance. His next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 5.

Norm Eisen, one of Hearn’s attorneys, spoke to reporters outside of court following the hearing. He said the administration is using Hearn as a “scapegoat … for their own failures.”

“It is not a crime to touch the reflecting pool, to touch water in the United States of America,” he said.

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Prosecutors say there is a host of evidence against Hearn.

This is a developing story.

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Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump’s multimillion-dollar restoration | CNN Politics

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Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump’s multimillion-dollar restoration | CNN Politics

Three more people have been criminally charged with destruction of property at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Officers say they detained Cameron Thiers, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Justin Carreno one Saturday afternoon in June and described in court documents witnessing them peeling and removing pieces of blue paint from the Reflecting Pool.

One officer “witnessed Carreno reach down into the reflecting pool and pull up a piece of the blue paint,” according to the court documents.

The officer who detained Dennison-Gibby “found 1 additional piece of the reflecting pool liner” in her purse, the documents said.

All three incidents were recorded on the officers’ body worn cameras, they said in the court documents.

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Several “partnering law enforcement agencies assigned to the Reflecting Pool” working with US Park Police were involved in detaining the two men and one woman — including officers from Texas, Oklahoma, Montana and California.

One of the officers said in court documents that Thiers “admitted to removing a piece of blue sealant from the Reflecting Pool and still had it in his hand when I made contact with him.”

The three defendants were arraigned in court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges of destruction of property with a value less than $1,000. The judge ordered them to stay away from the Reflecting Pool.

Lawyers for Thiers and Dennison-Gibby declined to comment. CNN has reached out to Carreno’s attorney.

If found guilty of destruction of property, the defendants could be fined up to $1,000 and face a maximum of 180 days behind bars.

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The New York Times first reported that three additional people had been charged with damaging the Reflecting Pool.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that vandals caused major damage to the pool by gashing the lining after his administration spent more than $14 million on renovations, though he has not provided evidence to support that claim. The officers who charged Carreno, Thiers and Dennison-Gibby did not accuse them of gashing the lining.

Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn was indicted by a grand jury in Washington, DC, last week for allegedly damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn — unlike Carreno, Thiers and Dennison-Gibby – was charged with destruction of property with a value of more than $1,000 which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, if convicted. He is set to be arraigned in court Thursday.

Crews began draining the Reflecting Pool over the weekend to make repairs, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, for the second time in three months.

The move comes after weeks of problems – algae blooms, green-hued water, a chipping bottom and the administration’s allegations of vandalism – that have plagued the iconic landmark, making its woes the subject of national interest.

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