World
Tiger Woods had a tough time at Riviera even when healthy
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tiger Woods made it by means of 16 holes of his pro-am Wednesday on the Genesis Invitational on a bitterly chilly morning with occasional 25 mph gusts that made the temperature really feel just like the higher 30s.
What mattered, not less than for now, was how he completed. He didn’t play the final two holes at Riviera, however after shaking arms along with his beginner companions, he had no hassle climbing the 52 steps that result in the clubhouse.
There might be no stopping on Thursday when Woods competes towards a full area of the world’s greatest gamers for the primary time since lacking the lower at St. Andrews within the British Open.
The plantar fasciitis that stored him from taking part in within the Bahamas in December is doing higher. He stated his ankle, badly injured from his February 2021 automobile crash outdoors Los Angeles, is his largest concern. There’s additionally that matter of rust.
“However I’ve come off a rusty scenario earlier than and I’ve completed nicely,” Woods stated Tuesday throughout his information convention.
He returned from knee surgical procedure on the finish of 2002 and received in his first begin at Torrey Pines. He as soon as took 10 weeks off after the 2007 tour season ended and received his World Problem by seven pictures.
He was youthful, more healthy and in his prime. His swing appears to be like as environment friendly as ever, significantly along with his irons. For Woods, it’s about attending to the following shot on a pair of legs which have been battered over time.
After which there’s the matter of the golf course.
Riviera is amongst his favourite designs, however the love affair ends there. Woods stopped taking part in this match after 2006, primarily as a result of he hardly ever had good outcomes. He alluded to that when he talked about his preparation for the Genesis Invitational.
“Plus, I do know this golf course,” he stated, pausing to smile earlier than including, “I do know I haven’t had a number of success on this golf course. However I knew what to apply for, pictures to hit at residence preparing.”
It truly is a thriller.
Woods has by no means performed extra instances on a PGA Tour course with out profitable — 11 appearances at Riviera as a professional, with just one likelihood at profitable. That was in 1999, when he tied for second, two pictures behind Ernie Els.
Most telling was his biggest stretch in golf. From the top of August 1999 by means of March the next yr, Woods both received or completed second in 10 out of the 11 PGA Tour occasions he performed.
The exception? He tied for 18th at Riviera.
“This can be an anomaly, and the one one in his complete profession possibly,” stated Adam Scott, who has two wins and two runner-up finishes at Riviera. “It’s a bit of bit unexplainable. I don’t know what to say about that. Over his profession, there’s been solely strengths, actually. This course is sort of demanding from the second shot in, and he’s actually able to dealing with it.
“I don’t know if he simply doesn’t really feel it right here or what it’s,” Scott added. “However I’ll share some ideas with him if he shares some recommendations on win a couple of majors with me.”
The problem for everybody Wednesday was the chilly and wind, although that is likely to be the worst of it. It was gusting to 25 mph (40 kph) within the morning. Woods hit driver and a fairway metallic into the frigid wind on the 458-yard ninth gap and plugged in a entrance bunker, some 10 yards in need of reaching the inexperienced.
That elicited little greater than giggle, and one other one adopted when he blasted out proper as a ball from one in every of his amateurs zipped close to his legs and into the bunker.
“Lot occurring right here,” Woods stated with a chuckle.
The sphere is the strongest of the yr thus far with a $20 million purse, although Riviera is so pure it at all times attracted the very best gamers. Nineteen of the highest 20 on this planet rating are taking part in (Woods is No. 1,294), the exception being Cameron Smith, who’s suspended for signing with the Saudi-funded rival league at LIV Golf.
Additionally lacking is Joaquin Niemann, the defending champion, who joined LIV Golf in August. Woods is the match host of the Genesis Invitational and offered Niemann with the trophy final yr.
He wish to take residence the trophy himself, even towards such lengthy odds.
Max Homa obtained the trophy from Woods two years in the past, probably the greatest reminiscences he’s ever had as a man who grew up within the LA space and who grew up idolizing Woods.
Learn how to clarify Woods not profitable at Riviera given his elegant iron play? Homa discovered himself making an attempt to reply that whereas taking part in the course Wednesday.
“It makes completely no sense,” Homa stated.
He considered programs Woods has dominated, comparable to Bay Hill, the place the second shot is so crucial, like at Riviera.
“So if you come right here … I’d have thought he received 10 instances,” Homa stated. “That one’s a thriller to me. This looks as if it will be a playground to him.”
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
World
Jay-Z’s Accuser Can Remain Anonymous, Judge Criticizes His Lawyer’s ‘Relentless’ Filings
The woman accusing Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting her when she was 13 can proceed anonymously (“at least for now”) in her lawsuit against the rappers, a judge ruled Thursday.
New York Judge Analisa Torres also condemned the legal team representing Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) for the “relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks [on accuser’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee],” according to a court order obtained by Variety. “Since Carter’s attorney first appeared in this case seventeen days ago, he has submitted a litany of letters and motions attempting to impugn the character of Plaintiff’s lawyer [Buzbee].”
Judge Torres continues, calling the complaints “inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client [Jay-Z].”
Jane Doe, who filed her original lawsuit against Combs in October, and re-filed it with Carter’s name in early December, will remain anonymous at this early stage of the litigation. She could still be required by the court to reveal her identity.
Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Carter, recently asked the judge to dismiss the entertainer from the woman’s lawsuit. He cited a report from NBC News that revealed the accuser had admitted to some “inconsistencies and outright impossibilities” in her allegations. His team has also issued public statements referring to Buzbee as a “1-800 lawyer” who is “in the pursuit of money and fame.”
Judge Torres denied Carter’s request to dismiss the case. Representatives for Carter did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
In the last few weeks, Buzbee issued his own lawsuit against Roc Nation, the entertainment company owned by Carter, claiming they are using “shadowy operatives” to bribe his former clients into filing “frivolous” complaints against him. Carter has also sued Buzbee for defamation.
Jane Doe, who alleges she was 13 when Combs and Carter raped her in 2000, says she encountered the pair at an afterparty for the MTV Music Video Awards.
Carter responded to the allegation almost immediately. “You have made a terrible error in judgment thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same,” Carter wrote in a letter addressing Buzbee. “I’m not from your moral world. I’m a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain. Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable.”
Combs has been held in a Brooklyn jail since September. He will remain there until his trial is scheduled to begin in May.
World
China unveils world's largest amphibious warship
China has launched the first of its new line of amphibious assault ships and its biggest warship yet, strengthening what is already the world’s largest navy.
The Sichuan, a type 076 new-generation amphibious assault ship, was put into the water at a launch and naming ceremony on Friday.
With a full load displacement of 40,000 tons, the warship ranks among the world’s largest amphibious assault ships, featuring a dual-island superstructure and full-length flight deck, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) said in a statement.
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China Bugle, an news outlet associated with the PLAN’s news media center, reported the ship will play a key role in transforming and developing the Chinese navy and enhancing its combat capabilities in the far seas.
The Sichuan is capable of launching fighter jets and unmanned drones from an electromagnetic catapult. It is designed to carry ground troops in landing craft with air support.
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The ship also features “arrester technology” that Chinese researchers boast will allow fighter jets to land on its deck, similar to an aircraft carrier.
China launched its first amphibious assault ship, a type 075 class warship called the Hainan, in 2019.
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The PLANmi has been working on modernizing its forces for more than a decade, with the aim of being able to operate globally rather than being restricted to waters near the Chinese mainland. China first managed to launch fighter jets with the new electromagnetic technology on its homemade aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which launched two years ago.
The Sichuan will now undergo additional tests at sea.
China has the largest navy in the world and is consistently trying to upgrade its fleet. Recently, researchers found that the country is working on designing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which would allow it to deploy its ships in distant waters without needing a base to refuel.
The U.S. Navy currently has 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers deployed in strategic locations globally, including in the Asia-Pacific.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Health worker displaced by Israeli attacks in Gaza dies of ‘extreme cold’
Many people in Gaza lack adequate shelter and are malnourished after more than a year of Israeli attacks and blockades.
A Palestinian healthcare worker has died due to “extreme” weather conditions, according to a statement by the enclave’s Ministry of Health, as severe cold compounds the hardship faced by people displaced by Israel’s relentless attacks.
The body of Al-Hakim Ahmed al-Zaharneh, who worked at the European Gaza Hospital, was found inside his tent in al-Mawasi area, west of the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, the ministry said on Friday.
“This incident comes in light of the difficult humanitarian conditions that displaced citizens are experiencing, as the suffering of Gaza residents increases due to low temperatures and the lack of heating means in tents,” the ministry said.
The ministry said earlier that four Palestinian babies have died in tents in recent days amid the cold weather and widespread malnutrition.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said that the number of casualties in vulnerable groups is increasing due to worsening weather conditions.
“For 14 months now, people here have been lacking basic necessities to help them survive these difficult conditions – even in summer,” he said.
“Now in winter, the temperature has dropped very low, [and] people in tent camps feel the cold as being [colder] than the actual levels.”
He said that mothers often lack the strength or ability to breastfeed as they are malnourished and unwell.
“The conditions are worse for vulnerable groups like babies and, in the absence of [humanitarian aid], it is natural that deaths will happen.”
The vast majority of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced at least once since war broke out with the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023, with many people living in tents that offer little protection from the cold, rain and flooding.
The United Nations and other organisations have repeatedly decried the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, as Israeli attacks and blockades severely curtail access to food, water, medicine and other supplies.
A leading United States government organisation monitoring food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north Gaza under what it called Israel’s “near-total blockade,” after the US asked for its retraction, US officials told The Associated Press.
The move follows public criticism of the report from the US ambassador to Israel.
The report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) had warned that a “famine scenario” was unfolding in northern Gaza where Israel launched a renewed offensive in early October.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the director of Gaza’s Health Ministry told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few remaining medical facilities in north Gaza, and forced the 350 people there to evacuate, including all the patients and staff. He said contact with the hospital had been lost.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 45,436 Palestinians and wounded 108,038 since October 7, 2023, according to figures released on Friday by Gaza’s Health Ministry.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive.
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