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Two-time world road champion Alaphilippe to race in Tour Down Under

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:19 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Two-time world road champion Julian Alaphilippe has confirmed he will join the 25th edition of the Tour Down Under in January, ten years after making his world tour debut at Australia’s flagship cycling tour. Alaphilippe looms as a strong early favorite for the six-stage event from Jan. 16 to 21 given the hilly terrain around the southern Australian city of Adelaide suits the Frenchman’s strengths on rolling hills and short but steep climbs. “There are many undulating roads and tough climbs throughout various stages of this race, but I’m particularly excited to revisit Willunga Hill along with Mt Lofty for the first time, as I believe both will provide great opportunities for our team to finish strong,” the Soudal-QuickStep team leader said.Alaphilippe’s only previous visit to Australia was his world tour debut at the Tour Down Under in 2014, an event that has never had a French winner.Since then Alaphilippe won the 2020 and 2021 world road championships, a...

‘Everybody stands to lose’: What empty office space in DC means for the city’s revenue

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:19 GMT

If offices in downtown D.C. remain empty and current leasing trends continue, the city could lose millions from commercial property tax revenue, according to a new analysis from the D.C. Policy Center.Demand for office space downtown has dwindled, according to D.C. Policy Center executive director Yesim Sayin, because companies are either not renting spaces or renting less of it. The implications of that, she said, are starting to become clearer, years after the pandemic started.“Companies are no longer leasing, and that means your real estate is no longer desirable, and that means we really do not know what those buildings are worth anymore,” Sayin said. “We also haven’t seen any sales. You really never know the true value of a property until you sell it.”If vacancy rates reach availability rates, the analysis found, the city could lose over $100 million in tax revenue. While that may not seem like a large amount when compared to overall tax revenue, &...

Russian oil price cap has largely failed, new report finds

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:19 GMT

A Western effort to cap Russia’s oil revenues after Moscow launched its war on Ukraine has essentially failed a year since it was first agreed, a new report seen by POLITICO found, prompting renewed pleas from Kyiv for its allies to take tougher action.G7 nations and the EU imposed a $60-per-barrel ceiling on Russian crude oil last December in an attempt to keep oil supplies stable globally while starving the Kremlin’s war chest. But widespread circumvention, gaping loopholes and the ongoing fuel business mean Moscow is still earning billions from its flagship export that it can use to prolong the war.It’s not that the price limit has had no effect. Over the last year, the scheme has cost the Kremlin €34 billion in export revenues, the equivalent of around two months of earnings this year, according to the new analysis from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) think tank shared with POLITICO. But that’s far less than those who designed the rules had hope...

Chris Getz, in his first winter meetings as Chicago White Sox GM, is focused on ‘trying to find ways to get better’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:19 GMT

This year’s MLB winter meetings are unlike any other Chris Getz has attended in the past.“It’s different in the sense I’m running the meetings and having the direct conversations with other clubs and agents,” Getz said Monday at the Opryland Resort.This is Getz’s first winter meetings since becoming the general manager for the Chicago White Sox. He was the team’s assistant general manager/player development before taking over as the GM on Aug. 31.“More than anything, you’re just trying to find ways to get better with your club, regardless of what role you’re in,” he said.The Sox are one of the teams to monitor at the winter meetings as they come off a 101-loss season. There are holes to fill and some players currently on the roster have been mentioned in trade speculation.The one name that keeps popping up in that chatter is pitcher Dylan Cease.“There’s certainly no urgency to move Dylan Cease,” Getz...

Editorial: Some blunt advice, Mr. President, for today’s visit to Boston

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:19 GMT

Welcome to Massachusetts, Mr. President.On the off chance you pick up a Herald today, we’d like to offer you some advice.First, don’t run for re-election. We’re getting right to the point, but someone needs to. The Democrats didn’t want Hillary Clinton again and Liz Warren is annoying, so the DC elite set you up for an Oval Office reservation. It’s time to check out.Secondly, and most importantly, if you insist on running, please drop Vice President Kamala Harris. If you could do that now, we’d all appreciate it. Thanks for reading this far, so we’ll keep going.John Kerry continues to insult every American who works hard to put food on the table. It’s baffling as to why you put up with this smug, globetrotting polluter who’s vain enough to believe others don’t see right through his “do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do” persona. Please fire him.Full disclosure: we’re a little sore here because Kerry has informed the H...

Topgolf San Diego? Port commissioners weigh venue proposal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:19 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Harbor Island could be getting a 9.5-acre Topgolf as port commissioners are poised to strike a non-binding terms sheet as early as Tuesday morning. The proposed entertainment site would capture Harbor Island east. Currently, rental car parking lots make up the area slated for redevelopment. Topgolf is a multileveled driving range geared for friends coming together, taking turns driving off the same tee. Think bowling, but for golf. The lease agreement proposed would see Topgolf pay $1.5 million a year for 20 years with for, five-year lease options. This proposal is all part of the Port Authority's master plan redesign. Port commissioners declined to be interviewed, but did release this statement:   How many of these In-N-Out secret menu items do you know? "The Port of San Diego is working to bring public recreation and amenities to an area of East Harbor Island where there has never been any public access. Topgolf is only one proposed use. Eleven additional acres of w...

Tokyo Olympics sullied by bid-rigging, bribery trials more than 2 years after the Games closed

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:19 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The bid-rigging trial around the Tokyo Olympics played out Tuesday in a Japanese courtroom — more than two years after the Games closed — with advertising giant Dentsu and five other companies facing criminal charges. Seven individuals are also facing charges from Tokyo district prosecutors in the cases, including Koji Henmi, who oversaw the sports division at Dentsu at the time.Executives or management-level officials at each of the accused companies, and Tokyo Olympic organizing committee official Yasuo Mori, have been charged with violating anti-monopoly laws.Among the companies facing charges are Dentsu Group, Hakuhodo, Tokyu Agency and event organizer Cerespo. All deal with event organizing, sports promotion or marketing.Dentsu has a long history of lining up sponsorships and advertising with bodies like World Athletics, headed by Sebastian Coe, and the Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee, led by Thomas Bach.Genta Yoshino, the lawyer for Henmi, did no...

China’s government can’t take a joke, so comedians living abroad censor themselves

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Comedian Xi Diao says he knows he should avoid talking politics on stage, but sharing a family name with Chinese President Xi Jinping makes it hard to resist.Even his name is politically sensitive, the Melbourne-based amateur comedian tells audiences, setting up a joke about a group chat on the Chinese messaging service WeChat being shut down as soon as he joined it. The 33-year-old civil engineer gets nervous laughs whenever he breaks a de facto rule of Chinese comedy: Don’t say anything that makes China look bad. To most comedians, that means no jokes about censorship, no mentioning the president’s name, and no discussion of China’s extraordinarily strict COVID lockdowns or social topics like domestic violence.“It is a pity, if the environment were open, there would be somebody world-class coming up,” Xi said.Mandarin-language standup comedy is growing, and not just in China. The medium has taken off in the last decade, and China’s expatriate population has...

Prince Harry challenges UK government’s decision to strip him of security detail when he moved to US

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:19 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry is challenging on Tuesday the British government’s decision to strip him of his security detail after he gave up his status as a working member of the royal family and moved to the United States. The Duke of Sussex said he wants protection when he visits home and claimed it’s partly because an aggressive press jeopardizes his safety and that of his family. The three-day hearing scheduled to begin in London’s High Court is the latest in a string of Harry’s legal cases that have kept London judges busy as he takes on the U.K. government and the British tabloid media. It was not clear if he would attend Tuesday’s hearing.Harry failed to persuade a different judge earlier this year that he should be able to privately pay for London’s police force to guard him when he comes to town. A judge denied that offer after a government lawyer argued that officers shouldn’t be used as “private bodyguards for the wealthy.”Harry, the youngest son of...

Magnitude 5.1 earthquake felt widely across Big Island of Hawaii; no damage or risk of tsunami

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:19 GMT

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — A magnitude 5.1 earthquake on the Big Island of Hawaii was felt widely Monday, but there were no reports of damage or injury, officials said. The earthquake hit at 5:54 p.m. near the Kilauea volcano at a depth of 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) below sea level, according to a statement from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The initial quake and a magnitude 3.0 aftershock were not related to volcanic activity, the statement said. “Aftershocks will likely continue, some large enough to be felt locally. We see no detectable changes in activity at Kilauea as a result of these earthquakes,” the observatory said. There was no risk of a tsunami, officials said. Hundreds of people across much of the island reported shaking. The Associated Press