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On Good Friday 2017, Wyatt Werneth got a call from his wife, who had gone grocery shopping with their daughter: The car’s broken down. Please rescue us.

Werneth hopped in his vehicle to assist, driving by Patrick Space Force Base near Cape Canaveral, Florida. From the A1A highway, Werneth said you can see the ocean.

What he saw next was a twist of fate that led to a much more urgent kind of rescue.

“When I came over the berm, I did not realize what I was getting into. There were multiple people in the water.”

And they were in trouble. Very serious trouble. Rip current kind of trouble.

The scene would send chills of dread down anyone’s spine — but at least Werneth was prepared. He is an experienced lifeguard instructor and had water rescue equipment with him.

But with at least five people struggling in a vicious Atlantic rip current, how would he possibly save them all?

The statistics are grim

Rip currents could be a major hazard along much of the US Atlantic coastline during this Labor Day weekend because of tropical storm systems hundreds of miles out churning up the sea. And with temperatures so high, the desire to take a dip in the water will be strong.

Be cautious, check local conditions and see below for more details about what to do if you’re caught in one.

Whether it’s from these potentially dangerous currents, seemingly placid lakes or swimming pools, the drowning statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are shocking.

In the CDC’s most recently updated numbers, an estimated 4,012 fatal unintentional drownings happen every year in the United States (including boating incidents). That is an average of 11 drowning deaths per day.

From 2016 to 2020, the states with the most drowning deaths per 100,000 people were the following:

1. Alaska
2. Hawaii
3. Louisiana
4. Florida
5. Montana (which replaces former No. 5 Mississippi)

Your odds of drowning are much, much higher than being attacked by a shark or an alligator.

World drowning statistics are even more shocking. There are an estimated 236,000 annual drowning deaths worldwide, according to the UN’s World Health Organization. That comes out to an average of 647 people per day.

And then there are the even more numerous nonfatal drownings. The CDC says people who survive a drowning incident have a range of outcomes: “From no injuries to very serious injuries or permanent disability.”

The tragedy is many of these deaths and injuries are preventable, experts say. What can you do to enjoy the water — be it ocean, river, lake or swimming pool — safely and not join the ranks of drowning deaths? Turns out, a lot.

Who is most at risk?

Knowing who is likely to drown is critical. At-risk groups need the most attention. In the United States, those include the following:

• The youngest people: Children 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates, the CDC says, mostly in swimming pools.

• Males: They account for nearly 80% of fatal drownings in the United States. More risk-taking behaviors and alcohol use are cited as reasons. Across the world, WHO reports males have twice the fatal drowning rate of females.

• Minority groups: Fatal drowning rates for American Indian or Alaska Native people 29 and younger are two times higher than for White people. For Black people, the rate is 1.5 times higher than for White people.

• People with seizure disorders: People with conditions such as epilepsy are at a higher risk for drowning, and that can happen in a bathtub.

Drowning prevention tips

The CDC emphasizes the importance of learning basic water safety skills, saying formal lessons can reduce the risk of drowning.

However, “children who have had swimming lessons still need close and constant supervision when in or around water,” the agency notes. Don’t get distracted by TV, books or the phone when watching children in the water.

If you’re drinking alcoholic beverages, stay out of the water and don’t go boating. Impaired judgment and slow reactions can lead to tragedy.

People in boats and weaker swimmers should wear life jackets, especially in open water.

And keep an eye on the weather. Exit if there’s a thunderstorm or heavy rains.

Know the water environments

Understand the waters you’re about to enter. Different bodies of water carry different types of dangers:

OCEAN RIP CURRENTS

Rip currents flow away from shore. They often form at breaks in sandbars and close to piers and rock groins.

Look for signs of a rip current before entering, says the United States Lifesaving Association. That can be “a narrow gap of darker, seemingly calmer water between areas of breaking waves and whitewater,” a difference in water color or “a line of foam, seaweed or debris moving seaward.”

Here’s what to do you’re caught in one:

• Stay calm. Rip currents don’t pull you underwater but do sweep you farther from shore.

• Don’t swim against the current. Try to escape by “swimming out of the current in a direction following the shoreline,” the USLA says. You may be able to escape by floating or treading water and ride the current out.

• If you’re in trouble, yell and wave for help.

If you’re not trained, don’t try to rescue people yourself. Seek a lifeguard, call 911 or throw a flotation device their way. Direct the person to swim parallel to the shoreline to escape.

OTHER OCEAN TIPS

The National Weather Service warns swimmers to watch out for “shorebreak” waves. They crash directly onto the sand and can batter and disorient swimmers. “When in doubt, don’t go out,” said Wyatt Werneth, who is also the public service spokesperson for the American Lifeguard Association.

Swim Guide and Swim Ireland advise people to swim in the hour before or the hour after low tide or high tide when waters are generally calmer. (But conditions can vary beach to beach).

RIVERS

Tubing and other activities are popular in rivers. But swift currents and obstacles below the surface or debris can be hazardous.

Werneth said research the river before you enter.

LAKES AND PONDS

The placid waters of lakes and ponds can lull waders and swimmers into a false sense of security. Sharp, sudden dropoffs and debris under the water can startle or entangle people, Werneth said, leading to panic and drowning. He said go in with a swim buddy.

Dive only in designated areas. The USLA says enter unknown waters feet first to avoid striking your head. Swimmers shouldn’t stray into areas where personal watercraft and boats are speeding by.

SWIMMING POOLS

The National Drowing Prevention Alliance has this advice for pool owners: “four-sided fencing with self-closing self-latching gates, door and window alarms, and safety covers can help make sure kids don’t get to the water unsupervised.”

And even if your children know how to swim, adults should still maintain a careful watch. Keep flotation devices on hand.

BOATING

The National Park Service’s “Operation Dry Water” reminds people that all vessels must carry personal flotation devices.

National lifeguard shortage

Werneth, who is also a spokesman for the American Lifeguard Association, warned of a critical lifeguard shortage at the beginning of summer.

He said the group’s message has always been “swim in front of a lifeguard.” But he said the reality of the shortage is prompting a new one: “Learn to swim, America.”

“We want people to self-lifeguard. Assign someone in your family to be a water watcher. Have that person learn CPR.”

And if someone can’t swim and still wants to wade, “put a life jacket on them. That’s going to make a difference.”

Werneth said that if you plan on going to a destination that features water activities, go online first to find out the lifeguard situation and adapt your plans as needed. Some pools, lakes and beaches might not even be open.

Operation Rescue

Back in 2017 at that Florida beach, Werneth’s task was daunting. But he had a cool head, decades of experience — and fortunately, a second experienced helper on hand that he later learned was from the Air Force.

“He was single-handedly pulling people out before I even got there. … That Air Force guy was kind of coming back with one. I saw that he had one that was kind of going unconscious, and I immediately jumped in the water, swam out, grabbed the unconscious person and got him out.”

Werneth guesses that they were about 50 yards out, and he recalls they ended up pulling five male teens out of the water. They weren’t even in swimming attire, Werneth said, leading him to think it was a spur-of-the-moment decision to enter the ocean.

Would the group have died without the rescue, which left him exhausted?

“I assure you they all would have. … These people were going in to help each other, and it caused a chain reaction. Do not go into the water to assist anyone without a flotation device,” he said.

“It was perfect timing that I showed up and happened to be there to help those guys.” All because the family car had broken down. But not everyone can rely on luck.

In the end, you need “water confidence,” gained by experience and respect for the water.

“The fear is what generates the panic which generates the drowning.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Here’s a look at Boko Haram, a militant Islamic group working out of Nigeria, whose purpose is to institute Sharia, or Islamic law.

Facts

In the local Hausa dialect, Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden.”

The group also refers to itself as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, meaning “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad.”

Boko Haram militants mainly inhabit areas in the northern states of Nigeria, specifically Yobe, Kano, Bauchi, Borno and Kaduna.

Originally, Boko Haram was referred to locally as the Nigerian Taliban because of their religious similarities to the Taliban.

Boko Haram does not engage in Nigeria’s political system out of an adherence to a fundamentalist form of Islam, which forbids participation unless the system is based on Sharia, or Islamic law.

Timeline

2002 – The group, which may have existed since the late 1990s, organizes under the Muslim cleric Mohammed Yusuf. It is centered in Maiduguri, the capital of the northeastern state of Borno.

December 2003 – The first known attack by Boko Haram includes roughly 200 militants, who attack multiple police stations in the state of Yobe, near the Niger border.

July 2009 – The Boko Haram uprising begins in Bauchi and spreads to the states of Borno, Kano and Yobe. The militant group kills scores of police officers. A joint military task force responds, leaving more than 700 Boko Haram members dead and its operational mosque destroyed. The uprising ends when police capture Yusuf. His deputy, Abubakar Shekau, reportedly dies in the uprising. Yusuf later dies in police custody. Police say he is shot during an attempted escape, but Boko Haram claims it is an extrajudicial execution.

July 2010 – Boko Haram releases a video statement in which Yusuf’s deputy who allegedly died the previous year, Shekau, claims to be the leader of the group.

September 7, 2010 – In the state of Bauchi, 50 Boko Haram militants attack a prison, killing five people and releasing more than 700 inmates.

May 29, 2011 – The day of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s inauguration, Boko Haram detonates three IEDs near a military barracks in the city of Bauchi. At least 10 people die in the attack.

August 26, 2011 – Boko Haram attacks the United Nations compound in Abuja. A car bomb kills 23 people and injures more than 75 others.

November 4, 2011 – More than 100 people die in multiple attacks in Yobo, Damaturu and Borno states. Boko Haram militants utilize IEDs and vehicle-borne IEDs to target security forces and their offices, markets and 11 churches.

January 2012 – A newly formed splinter group, known as Ansaru, announces Abu Usmatul al-Ansari as its leader.

January 20, 2012 – More than 200 people are killed when Boko Haram launches coordinated attacks targeting police, military, a prison and other targets in the city of Kano in Kano State.

February 19, 2013 – Militants alleging to be Boko Haram kidnap a French family of seven in a national park in northern Cameroon; however, the affiliation with Boko Haram cannot be verified. The family is later released.

April 2013 – Jonathan states he has appointed a team to explore the possibility of amnesty for Islamist militants. Shekau responds in an audio statement: “Surprisingly the Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you pardon.”

April 19, 2013 – Boko Haram battles with multinational security forces from Niger, Nigeria and Chad in the city of Baga in Borno State, leaving nearly 200 people dead, including many civilians. Shekau releases a video in May saying Boko Haram is not responsible for the civilian deaths.

June 4, 2013 – Jonathan approves the proscription of Boko Haram and splinter group Ansaru as terrorist organizations.

June 2013 – Boko Haram targets churches in various states on three Sundays in a row, leaving more than 50 people dead.

August 14, 2013 – The Ministry of Defence announces the death of Boko Haram’s second-in-command, Momodu Baba (known as Abu Saad).

August 19, 2013 – Nigeria’s chief army spokesperson claims Shekau may have died after an attack on June 30, but the claim is never verified.

September 17, 2013 – Boko Haram gunmen dress in military uniforms and stage a fake checkpoint near Benisheik in Borno, burning vehicles and executing travelers, leaving at least 143 people dead.

September 25, 2013 – A man claiming to be Shekau appears in a video and says that he is alive and well. However, his identity is not verified.

November 13, 2013 – The US State Department adds Boko Haram and Ansaru to its list of terrorist organizations.

April 14, 2014 – Boko Haram militants kidnap approximately 276 teenage girls from a boarding school in Chibok in Borno. Officials say some of the girls were able to escape. The kidnapping sparks global outrage and a #BringBackOurGirls campaign on social media.

May 5, 2014 – In a video statement, a man claiming to be Shekau says, “I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah…there is a market for selling humans. Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell. I will sell women. I sell women.”

May 13, 2014 – Hundreds of Boko Haram militants storm three villages in the state of Borno. Villagers resist, killing more than 200 Boko Haram fighters.

May 20, 2014 – Twin blasts in the city of Jos kill 118 people at a market. Nigerian authorities describe the blasts as “terrorist activities” but decline to speculate on who might be responsible.

May 21, 2014 – The White House announces that the United States has sent 80 troops to Chad to help search for the kidnapped schoolgirls.

May 22, 2014 – The UN Security Council adds Boko Haram to its sanctions list.

June 3-4, 2014 – Hundreds of people are killed in raids by Boko Haram militants in the state of Borno, with some sources putting the death toll at 400 to 500.

June 7-8, 2014 – Suspected Boko Haram militants kidnap at least 20 young women over a weekend in the northeastern Nigeria village of Garkin Fulani, eight kilometers from a town where more than 200 schoolgirls were taken nearly two months earlier.

June 18-22, 2014 – Boko Haram militants hold the village of Kummabza in Borno state hostage for four days. They abduct more than 60 females, including children, and kill 30 men in the raid.

July 7, 2014 – Sources say at least 57 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram last month from the Kummabza village have escaped from their captors and returned to their village. Boko Haram is still believed to be holding about 200 schoolgirls abducted April 14 from a boarding school in the town of Chibok.

July 17-20, 2014 – Boko Haram raids the Nigerian town of Damboa. By the time the raid ends, 66 residents have been killed and more than 15,000 have fled.

October 16, 2014 – The Nigerian government announces it has reached a ceasefire agreement with the Islamist terror group that includes the promised release of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls.

November 1, 2014 – In a video, the group’s leader denies the Nigerian government’s claim of a ceasefire.

January 3, 2015 – A multi-day raid begins, where hundreds of Boko Haram gunmen seize the town of Baga and neighboring villages in northern Nigeria, as well as a multinational military base, leaving bodies scattered everywhere and as many as 2,000 people feared dead.

March 2, 2015 – Boko Haram releases a video showing the apparent beheadings of two men they suspected of being spies.

March 7, 2015 – In an audio message purportedly from Shekau, Boko Haram pledges allegiance to ISIS, the Islamic militant group which controls areas of Iraq and Syria. The affiliate is named “Wilayat Gharb Afriqiyya,” which means the Islamic State of West Africa.

March 12, 2015 – In an audio message purportedly from an ISIS spokesman, the group announces that the caliphate has expanded to western Africa and that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has accepted Boko Haram’s pledge of allegiance. On the same day, ISIS blows up the Iraqi army headquarters north of Ramadi, killing at least 40 Iraqi soldiers.

April 25-26, 2015 – The decomposed corpses of at least 400 men, women and children are found in shallow, mass graves and on the streets of Damasak in northeastern Nigeria. Due to a joint Nigerian-Chadian military operation, the town has recently been freed of Boko Haram, which seized the town in November.

April 28-April 30, 2015 – Nigerian troops rescue about 450 women and girls in the Sambisa Forest during a military operation centered around destroying Boko Haram camps and rescuing civilians. According to the military, none of those rescued have been identified as the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped last April.

July 1, 2015 – Boko Haram militants raid three villages in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, killing at least 145 people, according to witnesses.

September 3, 2015 – An estimated 30 people are dead and 145 injured after Boko Haram militants attack a crowded market in Kerawa, Cameroon, and an infirmary near a Cameroonian military camp, according to Cameroonian military spokesman Col. Didier Badjeck.

September 23, 2015 – Two hundred forty-one women and children are rescued and 43 Boko Haram militants are arrested after the Nigerian military raids camps run by the terrorist group in two villages.

February 2016 – Militants from Boko Haram attack two villages in northeast Nigeria, killing at least 30 people. In another attack, two female suicide bombers kill 58 people at a Nigerian refugee camp for villagers fleeing terrorism. A suspect in the attack on the camp tells officers that she and the two suicide bombers were dispatched by Boko Haram.

August 14, 2016 – Boko Haram releases a video of some of the girls kidnapped in April 2014 and demands the release of Boko Haram fighters in exchange for the girls.

October 13, 2016 – Boko Haram militants hand over 21 Chibok schoolgirls to authorities after a series of negotiations with the Nigerian government. It’s the first mass release of any of the more than 200 girls and women kidnapped from their school in April 2014.

November 5, 2016 – A Chibok schoolgirl carrying her 10-month-old son is found by the Nigerian army.

January 5, 2017 – The Nigerian army says another missing Chibok girl and her 6-month old baby have been located during an operation to arrest suspected Boko Haram terrorists.

January 17, 2017 – Scores of people are killed when a Nigerian fighter jet mistakenly bombs a camp for the internally displaced during an operation in Rann against Boko Haram militants, according to Nigerian officials and the Red Cross. The Nigerian government provides no official death toll, but humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders says “about 90” people died.

May 6, 2017 – Eighty-two Chibok schoolgirls are released after negotiations between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government.

February 19, 2018 – A faction of Boko Haram raids the Government Girls Science and Technical College in the northeast Nigerian town of Dapchi, kidnapping 110 students of the college.

February 19, 2018 – A Justice Ministry statement says that a Nigerian high court has convicted 205 Boko Haram suspects for their involvement with the insurgent group, and the suspects were sentenced to jail terms ranging from three to 60 years. The court also freed 526 suspects, including minors, for lack of evidence and ordered they be sent to their state governments for “proper rehabilitation.”

March 1, 2018 – Boko Haram militants attack a displacement camp in Rann, Borno State, killing at least three Nigerian aid workers and injuring three others. Three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) aid workers are abducted in the attack. On September 17, the ICRC says abducted aid worker Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa, 25, has been killed. Abducted midwife Hauwa Mohammed Liman is executed after a deadline for negotiations expires, the Nigerian government says on October 16.

March 21, 2018 – Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed says 104 of the girls abducted from their boarding school on February 19 have been released and returned to their hometown of Dapchi. Six of the Dapchi schoolgirls are still missing. Mohammed also later clarifies that two others who were kidnapped, “who are not students of the college – a primary school boy who came to the school to sell pure water and another primary school girl,” were released as well.

April 13, 2018 – UNICEF says Boko Haram has kidnapped more than 1,000 children in northeastern Nigeria since 2013.

May 7, 2018 – The Nigerian army says it has rescued more than 1,000 Boko Haram captives – mainly women and children, as well as some young men who had been forced to become Boko Haram fighters – in Borno state. The operation, which was conducted in conjunction with Cameroonian and Nigerian troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), rescued the hostages from Malamkari, Amchaka, Walasa and Gora villages of the Bama Local Government Area.

January 29, 2019 – The UN Refugee agency says escalating attacks by Boko Haram militants have forced 30,000 people out of Nigeria’s northeast into Cameroonian borders over the weekend. The United Nations says more than 250,000 people have already been displaced from northeast Nigeria, and surging militant attacks targeting civilians have forced thousands more to run for their lives each day.

April 14, 2019 – On the fifth anniversary of the kidnapping of girls from Chibok, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari reiterates his promise that “we will not rest until all the remaining girls are back and reunited with their families.”

May 10, 2019 – UNICEF says 894 children, including 106 girls, who were recruited by the anti-Boko Haram militia Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in northeast Nigeria, have been released. UNICEF says 1,727 children have been released since CJTF signed an action plan in 2017 to end child recruitment.

July 27, 2019 – A suspected attack by Boko Haram on a funeral gathering in northeastern Nigeria leaves at least 65 people dead. A local official says 21 people were initially killed during the burial ceremony, and an additional 44 people were killed when villagers ran after the assailants.

February 9, 2020 – At least 30 people, including a pregnant woman and a baby, die after suspected Boko Haram militants set fire on sleeping travelers in Borno state, Nigeria.

June 9, 2020 – At least 81 people are killed in an attack on a village by suspected Boko Haram militants in northeast Nigeria, the Borno state government said in a statement. Seven people, including the village head, children and women, are abducted.

April 26, 2021 – Boko Haram fighters have reportedly hoisted the Islamist group’s flag in a remote district in Niger State, Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, and seized the wives of fleeing residents, the state’s governor says in a widely circulated video. Niger State Governor Abubakar Bello discloses during a visit to an internally displaced persons camp in the state capital Minna, that over 3000 persons have been ousted from their communities by Boko Haram and other criminal gangs locally known as bandits.

June 6, 2021 – The Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) militant group says in an audio recording heard by Reuters that Boko Haram leader Shekau is dead. Shekau died around May 18 after detonating an explosive device when he was pursued by ISWAP fighters following a battle, a person purporting to be ISWAP leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi says on the audio recording. A Nigerian intelligence report shared by a government official and Boko Haram researchers have also said Shekau is dead.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Two-time Women’s World Cup winner Julie Ertz, one of the greats of US soccer, has announced her retirement from the sport.

Ertz, 31, was an integral member of the US teams which won the Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019. She represented the US National Women’s Team (USWNT) on 122 occasions, losing just five matches and scoring 20 goals during her 10-year international career.

She made her senior international debut in 2013 and went on to play in 17 World Cup matches, winning 13 of those.

Initially playing for the US as a center-back, she became one of the finest defensive midfielders of her generation and was one of the US’ standout performers as it successfully defended the World Cup in France four years ago.

Posting on social media, Ertz said: “With immense emotion and processing, I’ve decided it is time to hang up the boots.

“Representing this country on the National Team has been the greatest honor. To play for the USWNT means you chase greatness every day while you wear the crest. I hope that I was able to leave an impact that reflects that.”

The former Chicago Red Stars player is the only person to win the US Soccer Young Female Player of the Year and the US Soccer Female Player of the Year awards twice, according to US Soccer.

“I gave everything I had to the sport that I love. With that I can walk away with no regrets because while I gave soccer every ounce of myself, soccer gave me even more, and for that I’ll always be thankful,” Ertz said via US Soccer.

Following the birth of her son Madden in August 2022, Ertz returned to the sport, signing for National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) side Angel City in April and featuring for the US at this year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

After the US’ surprise defeat to Sweden in the round of 16 last month, Ertz had indicated that it would likely be her final international match.

“These past 6 months have been a dream come true,” she added on social media. “After pregnancy, I never knew if I had a chance to play the beautiful game again, let alone another World Cup. Angel City was a huge reason any of this was a possibility …

“The logistics of not living in an NWSL market is challenging, and I know the sacrifices it takes to be the best you can be. As I have gotten older and become a mom, it’s clear the sacrifices of time away from my family no longer seem doable with so many factors at play.

“… It truly is a blessing to walk away from this game knowing I’ve given everything I possibly had to being the best player I could be.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz beat Lloyd Harris in the US Open second round to progress to round three at Flushing Meadows.

Alcaraz beat his opponent in straight sets, winning 6-3 6-1 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 28 minutes for essentially his first victory of the championship after his first-round opponent had retired injured.

The 20-year-old is considered by many to be the tournament frontrunner on the men’s side of the draw and though he made 29 unforced errors against Harris, the Spaniard was happy with his performance.

“I played a great match from the beginning of the match until the last ball,” he said after the match, per the ATP.

“If I have to pick out something I think I played a good second set without many mistakes and playing my game.”

However, as ever with elite competitors at this level, he believed there was room for improvement.

The third set was a much tighter affair, with Harris posing a greater threat.

But after the set went the distance, Alcaraz eventually won the tiebreak to wrap up the match.

“I did have a bad game in the third set when I got broken and I had to forget it,” Alcaraz said. “I stayed strong mentally and played a great return game to break back. It was very important for me to get another straight-sets win in the first rounds.”

Alcaraz will next face British player Dan Evans.

Evans came back from a set down to beat Botic van de Zandschulp 1-6 6-1 6-3 6-3. While the Briton will be the underdog against Alcaraz, his comeback win will give him some confidence of producing a shock.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

American third seed Jessica Pegula cruised through to the third round of the US Open with a 6-3 6-1 victory against Romania’s Patricia Maria Țig on Thursday.

The match got off to a nervy start as the pair traded breaks early on before Pegula, the top-ranked American player at the tournament this year, pulled clear with two further breaks of Țig’s serve.

The second set was more straightforward for the 29-year-old as she took a commanding 4-0 lead. After an hour and 11 minutes of play, she wrapped up the victory when Țig played a forehand low into the net.

“It was awkward [in the first set], we haven’t played each other. I’m sure we were both nervous,” Pegula said during her on-court interview after the match.

“Playing at night, the conditions are different, it’s kind of cool tonight. It’s totally different than when I played here the other day. You just have to adjust and get used to it.”

Pegula has reached the quarterfinals at five of her last seven grand slam tournaments but is yet to progress beyond that stage.

In her bid to do so at this year’s US Open, she will next face Elina Svitolina on Saturday. The Ukrainian has enjoyed a sharp rise up the world rankings since returning to tennis earlier this year after the birth of her child, even reaching the Wimbledon semifinals in July.

Pegula won in three sets when the pair met at the Citi Open in Washington, DC, four weeks ago and holds a 3-1 advantage in their head-to-head history.

“Elina is so tough. I feel like every single match we play is always just a really good battle,” Pegula said about her next opponent.

“I feel like we kind of play into each other’s game where we make each other play better and we always just have really great matches. It’s great to see her back playing at such a high level so quickly.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Idalia, now a post-tropical cyclone, is moving farther away from North Carolina’s coast after unleashing heavy rains and powerful winds across the Southeast this week and leaving parts of Florida’s west coast with “significant damage.”

It was the most powerful hurricane to slam its Big Bend region in more than a century. Next, Idalia will impact Bermuda this weekend, prompting a Tropical Storm Watch to be issued there, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In its wake, the storm left thousands of homes damaged in Florida – some with shredded walls and roofs, others with murky, waist-high floodwater that officials warn could be dangerous for days to come.

Several deaths have been reported, but the devastation was not as immense as it could have been after the Category 3 hurricane pummeled Florida before tearing through southern Georgia and South Carolina.

Some have credited improved forecasting for spurring residents to evacuate the right places well ahead of time.

The National Hurricane Center issued its first Idalia forecast Saturday – back when the storm was near Cozumel, Mexico – and projected a US landfall within 10 miles of where it actually struck five days later, near Keaton Beach, Florida.

Read more

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By then, at least 28 Florida counties had issued evacuation orders.

“These forecasts were pretty doggone accurate, particularly compared to what happened with Hurricane Ian – where we went in a matter of 48 hours to potentially having a Big Bend impact, then all of a sudden migrating all the way down to southwest Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.

A low death toll was “probably something that most people would not have bet on four or five days ago, knowing how strong the storm was going to get,” DeSantis said. “So my hat’s off to the people on the ground there who did a good job.”

Still, dozens of people had to be rescued from perilous floodwaters brought on by the double whammy of torrential rain and walls of seawater crashing onto land.

At least 40 people were rescued overnight, the governor said Thursday, with more rescues expected.

FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES

Here’s the latest on Idalia’s wrath and aftermath:

• Parts of the Southeast are still in danger: “Swells generated by Idalia will affect the southeastern U.S. coast during the next few days and will reach Bermuda on Friday,” the National Hurricane Center said Thursday. “These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”

• Thousands of homes damaged: Between 4,000 and 6,000 homes have been inundated in Florida’s Pasco County alone, county administrator Mike Carballa said.

• Federal disaster declaration: President Joe Biden has formally declared a major disaster in Florida. “The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Citrus, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Suwannee, and Taylor,” the White House said in a statement Thursday. Biden said he will visit Florida on Saturday.

• Flood rescues: Emergency crews saved about 150 residents from flooded neighborhoods in Pasco County, the fire-rescue chief said. Some parts of the county – just north of Tampa – saw water surges between 3 and 5 feet.

• Historic water levels: In South Carolina, Charleston Harbor’s water level spiked more than 9 feet, the National Weather Service said. In Florida, Cedar Key, East Bay Tampa, Clearwater Beach and St. Petersburg endured record storm surges.

• Thousands in the dark: About 91,000 Florida power customers still had no electricity Thursday night, according to poweroutage.us. But service has been restored to hundreds of thousands of others who lost power during the storm, the governor said.

• Boil water advisory: Some areas in DeSoto, Dixie, Leon, Levy, Marion and Taylor counties in Florida are under boil water notices issued by the state’s health department.

• Some school districts to reopen: At least 30 of 52 school districts that closed ahead of the storm have reopened Thursday, DeSantis said. Eight are scheduled to reopen Friday.

‘It was biblical stuff’

It’s still not clear how much destruction Idalia inflicted as it hurled 125-mph winds and record-breaking storm surge on Florida’s Big Bend area – the nook between the panhandle and peninsula.

“What I saw from the land is a significant amount of flooding damage,” Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a Thursday news briefing after touring the storm damage. Criswell and DeSantis toured several parts of the impacted areas, including the island city of Cedar Key and Steinhatchee, by ground.

“We were just in Horseshoe Beach, you have an old First Baptist Church there. It had four and a half feet of water, so the place is basically ruined,” the governor said. “You have people losing homes, losing businesses, really, really a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Many places that bore the brunt of Idalia’s wrath “don’t necessarily have the resources” to handle such a powerful hurricane, said US Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida, who used to lead the state’s Division of Emergency Management.

“There are some communities that may never look the same and others that will get rebuilt that will look slightly different,” he said.

“This is a life-changing event for some of these counties.”

Michael Bobbitt, a Cedar Key resident who rode out the storm to help his neighbors, said the scene was “almost apocalyptic.”

“When the wind was kicking in the middle of the night, and when the water was coming toward us from all three sides, it looked like a leviathan trying to reach out of the water to devour us whole. It was biblical stuff,” Bobbitt said Wednesday night.

Some traditional Florida villas “were just picked up and carried into the Gulf, so that was heartbreaking to see,” Bobbitt said.

“My neighbor’s house across from me was submerged to the roof line, but we had no injuries,” he said. “We’re here. We’ll rebuild. We’ll do what Cedar Key does. All in all, I feel incredibly blessed.”

He credited the federal, state and local government with a “remarkable response” to the disaster.

“We’ve got what we need. The resources are in place, and we’re already about the business of rebuilding this island,” Bobbitt said.

The death toll remains uncertain

Two men were killed in separate, weather-related crashes Wednesday morning as Idalia barreled across Florida, Sgt. Steve Gaskins of Florida Highway Patrol said.

But on Thursday, DeSantis said “so far, there’s been one confirmed fatality and that was a traffic fatality in Alachua County.”

But despite the devastation, many Floridians were grateful Idalia’s impact wasn’t more catastrophic.

“We got buzz-sawed along the side,” Pasco County Administrator Mike Carballa said. “Quite honestly, while the effects could have been worse, we definitely took it on the chin.”

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It was a special day for Ronald Acuña Jr. as he made Major League Baseball (MLB) history just hours after getting married.

Acuña has enjoyed a spectacular MLB season so far and in the Atlanta Braves’ 8-7 Thursday night win against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 25-year-old became the first person ever to score 30 home runs and steal 60 bases in one season – with 29 games still to play.

Not only did Acuña hit this historic mark, but he did so in spectacular fashion.

The outfielder stepped up to the plate with the score tied at 1-1 in the second inning and, more importantly, the bases loaded.

Acuña crushed a home run to left field off Lance Lynn and slamming a historic grand slam – home run No. 30 for the year.

“I feel very happy, I feel very special,” Acuña said postgame through a translator, per ESPN. “I’m very thankful, I feel very privileged.”

The Venezuelan is one of the favorites to pick up the coveted National League MVP award come the end of the season and moments like this will help cement his chances.

After Acuña’s grand slam, the game eventually turned out to be a thriller between two of the frontrunners for the World Series as the Dodgers almost mounted an impressive comeback.

“That was some kind of game,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Lived up to the hype, I guess.”

Despite making history on the field, it is likely Acuña may remember the day more for off-field reasons.

The Braves star married his long-term girlfriend Maria Laborde just hours before he took on the Dodgers.

“We’re a family,” Acuña said to ESPN in Spanish. “Since we’ve known each other, we’ve wanted to be together. We have two kids. Family is meant to be together. That comes before anything else. I’m really happy that’s going to happen now.

“I didn’t mention anything to anybody,” Acuña added when speaking to reporters postgame. “It’s something that I’ve had planned out weeks ahead.”

“He got married and became the first player in history to have 30 homers and 60 stolen bases,” Acuña’s teammate, Michael Harris II, said on the star’s big day. “That’s a pretty wild day.”

With the Braves sitting atop the National League East with an MLB best 88-45 record, a historic feat and now a wedding, it seems there are plenty of reasons for Acuña to celebrate.

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Severe thunderstorms bombarded the Phoenix area Thursday night, knocking out power for more than 30,000 homes and businesses in Arizona while threatening flash flooding and dust storm conditions.

The northwestern portion of Maricopa County – home to the state’s most populous city of Phoenix – was under a dust storm warning late Thursday. The Phoenix area is also under severe thunderstorm warnings.

9:30 PM MST Radar Update: Strong thunderstorms will continue to track north-northwestward. Expect gusty winds, blowing dust, heavy rainfall, and frequent lightning along their path. A Flood Advisory is now in effect for N Pinal into central Maricopa County. #azwx pic.twitter.com/VHFubrc4Mr

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) September 1, 2023

“Thunderstorm activity has dispersed over much of Maricopa County. Additional development remains possible at this time,” the National Weather Service in Phoenix said in a social media post late Thursday.

The storms led to the delay of the second half of the Sun Devil Football game at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, the team said on social media.

“Lightning strikes continue within 8 miles. Currently at least 45 minutes before we can get players on the field or allow fans back in the stands,” the team posted on social media Thursday evening.

But it wasn’t until about two hours later when the team said players were warming up and would resume the game shortly.

Videos on social media show dust spinning in the sky and causing an orange-tinted haze in the air.

Earlier, forecasters warned that strong thunderstorms would bring gusty winds, blowing dust, heavy rainfall and frequent lightning.

In addition to the dust storm conditions, a flash flood warning has also been issued for Maricopa County, where dangerous flooding is possible in cities, highways and streets.

Maricopa County accounted for more than 27,000 power outages, PowerOutage.us data showed early Friday morning.

Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix reported winds of 47 mph, with gusts up to 71 mph. Winds of this level can produce dense, blowing dust, which can plummet visibility down to as low as a quarter of a mile and create life-threatening travel conditions.

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As many communities along Florida’s west coast face oppressive heat Friday without air conditioning or electricity, crews are racing to restore power to tens of thousands in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia.

Idalia inflicted record storm surge and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands after making landfall Wednesday morning as a powerful Category 3 storm, the strongest to touch down in Florida’s coastal Big Bend region in more than a century.

As of around 6 a.m. Friday, nearly 95,000 homes and businesses across several counties reported power outages, according to PowerOutages.us. But officials say turning the lights back on is the top priority after the hurricane damaged thousands of homes, and made many roads impassable due to severe flooding and debris as well as downed trees and power lines.

“The bulk of the outages at this point are in that Big Bend region – a lot of the rural counties that bore the brunt of the storm,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday during a news conference. “And so that is priority number one to start getting those reconnected.”

The pressing need for power restoration comes as temperatures across the Big Bend region – the area between the panhandle and peninsula – are expected to continue seeing heat that can feel as high as 95 degrees Friday. Some areas also don’t have clean running water.

Additionally, parts of the Big Bend region could see up to 3 inches of rain Friday into Saturday, which could impede recovery efforts as those areas are already waterlogged from Idalia.

Shonteria Hills found herself with few options when she tried to cool off at her local library in Monticello – a small city roughly 30 miles east of Tallahassee – but couldn’t because it was also in the dark.

Deanne Criswell, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Thursday the biggest concern currently is power restoration, noting that mutual aid resources have been deployed and the US Army Corps of Engineers is on standby to assist.

Making matters even more challenging is that the rain and humidity that arrived after Idalia barreled through caused temperatures to feel like they were well above 100 degrees Thursday.

The destruction Idalia left behind in Florida was not as severe as it could have been. Still, the ferocious storm flooded thousands of homes while ripping off roofs and dumping waist-deep water amounts onto many roads. As it weakened to a tropical storm, it also lashed the Carolinas with intense flooding and whipped up fierce winds in southern Georgia.

Residents express relief as cleanup begins

As of late Thursday, the exact death toll from Idalia and the full extent of damage in Florida were unclear.

After DeSantis and Criswell toured the hard-hit communities of Cedar Key, Horseshoe Beach and Steinhatchee along the west coast in the Big Bend region on Thursday, they said they’d witnessed significant flood damage.

Anthony Altman, the businesses owner of EXPLORIDA, an ecotourism company that offers manatee and scalloping tours, said the impact to his property could have been worse had he not prepared to evacuate ahead of the storm.

Altman said he rented a truck and moved his merchandise out of his business in Crystal River before Idalia made landfall, which he said helped minimize damage. Altman and his employees have begun the cleanup, and they’re hoping to reopen soon.

“We got about 22 employees that are with us and that’s 22 families and all local, so we want to get open for them,” Altman said.

“Look at what is positive about it all. I mean, our house is still standing. Some are not,” Greenwood said, noting there was no loss of life in her community.

But deaths have been reported elsewhere. Two men were killed in separate, weather-related crashes Wednesday morning as Idalia barreled across Florida, Sgt. Steve Gaskins of the state’s highway patrol said.

Officials praise residents obeying evacuation warnings

The human impact could have been much worse, according to some experts who credited both the accurate forecast and people’s decisions to follow evacuation warnings.

“It seems that people have heeded that call, and we’re grateful for that,” said Kevin Guthrie, who heads the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

The governor echoed Guthrie’s stance: “I think those officials in those really hard-hit counties … did a good job. I think citizens responded very appropriately,” DeSantis said Thursday.

DeSantis also credited the accuracy of Idalia’s forecast.

The National Hurricane Center issued its first Idalia forecast last Saturday – back when the storm was near Cozumel, Mexico – and projected a US landfall within 10 miles of where it actually struck five days later, near Keaton Beach, Florida. And by then, at least 28 Florida counties had issued evacuation orders.

“These forecasts were pretty doggone accurate, particularly compared to what happened with Hurricane Ian – where we went in a matter of 48 hours to potentially having a Big Bend impact, then all of a sudden migrating all the way down to southwest Florida,” DeSantis said Thursday.

The low death toll was “probably something that most people would not have bet on, four or five days ago, knowing how strong the storm was going to get,” DeSantis said. “So, my hat’s off to the people on the ground there who did a good job.”

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The National Transportation Safety Board said that it is opening an investigation into a Delta Air Lines flight rocked by turbulence on Tuesday that sent passengers and crew to the hospital.

“The Airbus A350 was en route from Milan, Italy, when flight encountered severe turbulence on approach to its planned destination of Atlanta,” the agency said in a tweet on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday evening.

The NTSB tweet said that a preliminary report on Delta flight 175 would be expected in two to three weeks.

The Federal Aviation Administration says a total of 12 people, one more than initially reported, were hurt in the incident. That agency’s initial report says one member of the flight crew sustained serious injuries. Also, three cabin crew members and eight passengers had minor injuries, it said.

The flight was about 40 miles northeast of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport when the turbulence occurred, and it eventually landed safely, according to the FAA.

In a 2021 report, the NTSB found that “turbulence-related accidents are the most common type of accident involving air carriers.”

Passenger describes Delta flight

Passenger Ayọ Suber described what happened on the plane earlier this week.

The first 10 hours of the flight were fine, she said, but when they got close to Atlanta, the turbulence struck.

A woman sitting in the middle aisle flew out of her seat and the top of her head hit the overhead storage bins, said Suber.

“There was a woman who kept crying and saying she’s scared,” she added.

Suber said passengers were informed by the cockpit that medics would be standing by once the plane landed.

In a video taken by Suber, a crack can be seen on the bottom of a storage bin where a woman hit her head. After the plane landed, medics could be seen taking some passengers off the aircraft on stretchers.

“I felt like this was such a freak incident that I’m not scared to fly,” she said.

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