Millions of Californians already hammered by ferocious snowfall were preparing Thursday for a new storm, with torrential rain threatening to cause dangerous flooding and the Weather Prediction Center increasing its excessive rainfall outlook for parts of the state Friday to a level 4 of 4.

“And then in the higher elevations, it will wash away some of that snowfall. So, rain on snow will begin to fill up parts of the San Joaquin Valley.”

About 17 million people are under flood watches in California and slices of Nevada. Heavy rain is underway with the worst rainfall and most significant impacts expected to occur from late Thursday afternoon through the day Friday.

The level 4 excessive rainfall warning is targeted to two sections in central California – the coast from Salinas southward to San Luis Obispo and areas in the foothills of the Sierras near Fresno. The last time the Bay Area and Central Coast were in “high risk” was in 2010, the National Weather Service office in San Francisco said.

Much of the state is under some risk of excessive rainfall Thursday and Friday.

“An atmospheric river will bring anomalous moisture to California Thursday and Friday. The combination of heavy precipitation and rapid snow melt below 5,000 feet will result in flooding,” the prediction center said Wednesday, adding that “numerous” floods are likely for millions.

The most vulnerable areas for flooding from rain and snowmelt are creeks and streams in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the prediction center said.

Higher elevations will see heavy wet snow. “This will lead to difficult travel, and combined with an already deep snowpack, may lead to increasing impacts from the depth and weight of the snow,” the prediction center said.

The bleak forecast spurred officials across central and Northern California to urge residents to prepare, with residents in one area advised to stock up on essentials for two weeks. Others were asked to use sandbags to protect their properties and clear their waterways to lessen any flooding impacts.

Widespread rain, strong winds, and potential thunderstorms arrive this afternoon. Taking a look at potential rainfall totals through Friday night, the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Santa Lucia Range will see the most rain from this system. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/5qPXdt18VB

— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) March 9, 2023

Here’s what the storm could bring:

• Heavy rainfall: Most urban areas could get 1.5 to 3 inches of total rainfall, the National Weather Service in the San Francisco Bay Area said. The threat heightens for coastal ranges and inland hills, which could get deluged with 3 to 6 inches of rain, the weather service said. The Santa Cruz Mountains could see up to 8 inches of rain, and local areas with higher terrain could eventually be inundated by up to 10 inches of rain over a prolonged period of time. “The abnormally warm and wet conditions moving in are expected to cause rapid snowmelt. Combine this snowmelt with as much as 10 inches of rain in the 24 hours [from Thursday evening to Friday evening], and the potential for widespread flooding is considerable, especially in the High Risk areas,” the prediction center noted.

• Ferocious winds: More than 15 million people across central and Northern California, northern Nevada and southwestern Idaho are under high wind alerts. Wind gusts could reach up to 55 mph across lower elevations and up to 70 mph across peaks and mountains. Strong winds could knock down power lines and trees – exacerbating thousands of existing power outages from previous storms that dumped heavy snow, particularly in higher elevations.

• More intense snow: Parts of the Sierra Nevada above 8,000 feet could get hit with 8 feet of snow. And some higher elevations across southern Oregon and the Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming could get pounded by 2 feet of snowfall between Thursday and Friday.

Already, 34 of California’s 58 counties are under a state of emergency issued by the governor’s office due to previous storms and this week’s severe weather.

Many of the areas preparing for Thursday’s storm have not had a chance to recover from the multiple rounds of fierce snow that buried some neighborhoods and made roads inaccessible as residents ran low on essential supplies.

How local officials are preparing

As the storm hits central California, some urban flooding along with flooding from the smaller creeks and streams is likely. Eventually, more roads are expected to flood as the main rivers rise, said Katrina Hand, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Sacramento office.

San Francisco officials urged small businesses to clear storm drains, stock up on inventory, use sandbags and ensure equipment is properly stored. They also suggested employers consider adjusting their work schedules for workers’ safety.

In Merced, crews tried to clear storm drains and fortify creek banks ahead of the storm.

City officials said flooding from previous, deadly rounds of atmospheric rivers that battered much of the state in January has made the city’s water ways unsafe.

Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow bands of moisture in the atmosphere that carry warm air and water vapor from the tropics.

“The city urges all residents to avoid these waterways and walking paths,” Merced officials said. “Because of ground saturation and erosion from prior storms, expect to see more debris in creek flows.”

In Monterey County, parks will close Thursday and Friday due to the storm’s threat, officials tweeted Wednesday.

In the Big Sur area, officials urged residents to have enough food and other essentials for at least two weeks. The Big Sur area, a roughly 90-mile stretch of California’s central coast, is one of the area’s renowned tourist attractions with rugged cliffs, mountains and hidden beaches along the Pacific Coast Highway.

In Kern County, home to Bakersfield, fire officials urged residents to create emergency kits and to be aware of escape routes and safe areas to seek shelter if needed. Officials also encouraged the use of sandbags to protect properties.

In San Luis Obispo, city officials said residents should be informed on flood insurance policies and be prepared to protect their homes and for possible evacuations.

And in Sacramento, city officials said they intend to open overnight warming centers beginning Friday in preparation for the expected heavy rainfall and low temperatures.

After three consecutive years of an unusually stubborn pattern, La Niña has officially ended and El Niño is on the way, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

That could mean a less active Atlantic hurricane season, a more active season in the Pacific – and another spike in global temperatures, forecasters say.

El Niño is associated with a band of warm ocean water that forms in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, which has consequences for weather patterns around the globe.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said “neutral conditions” are in place now and are expected to last through early summer in the Northern Hemisphere for the first time since the initial La Niña advisory was issued in September 2020.

La Niña has ended and #ENSO-neutral conditions are expected to continue through the Northern Hemisphere spring and early summer 2023. This is the final #LaNina Advisory for this event. https://t.co/5zlzaZ1aZx pic.twitter.com/dXOLGmOP7I

— NWS Climate Prediction Center (@NWSCPC) March 9, 2023

The prediction center also wrote its forecast now favors “El Niño forming during summer 2023 and persisting through the fall.”

The transition to El Niño during the later summer months could have major influence over the Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons.

“Tropical cyclone activity in the North Atlantic is more sensitive to El Niño influences than in any other ocean basin,” NOAA said.

Generally, El Niño reduces Atlantic hurricane activity, but has the opposite result in the Pacific, where warmer waters can produce more intense hurricanes.

The warmer the Pacific Ocean is, especially in the eastern region, tropical cyclone quantity and strength can tend to increase. The Atlantic, however, sees fewer hurricanes as a result of increased upper-level winds that prevent hurricanes from developing.

El Niño impacts California

El Niño also significantly impacts California’s weather and could mean a continuation of the current wet pattern already plaguing the state. Traditionally, El Niño brings increased rain and snow across the Golden State, especially in the cool season, leading to flooding, landslides, and coastal erosion.

“Southern California is generally much more impacted with El Nino conditions bringing higher than normal precipitation,” the National Weather Service in Sacramento, California said.

But having a very robust La Niña winter could still have lingering effects this summer even as we transition into more of an El Niño pattern.

“Even though La Niña is coming to an end we are likely to see latent impacts for some time to come and therefore some of the … rainfall impacts of La Niña may still continue,” the World Meteorological Organization said.

“The lingering impacts of multi-year La Niña is basically due to its long duration, and continuous circulation anomaly, which are different from the single-peak La Niña event.”

That’s a cause for concern for many Californians, given the surplus of moisture across the state in the past two months.

Increased risk for global heat waves

The more widespread concern with the return to El Niño conditions for the first time since the summer of 2019 will be the warming ocean’s impact on global temperatures and heat waves.

“If we do now enter an El Niño phase, this is likely to fuel another spike in global temperatures,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

In fact, 2022 was the warmest La Niña on record, and adding the additional heat of El Niño means the next year or two will likely climb even higher on the list of hottest years on record.

“La Niña’s cooling effect put a temporary brake on rising global temperatures, even though the past eight-year period was the warmest on record,” said Taalas.

El Niño and La Niña are major drivers of Earth’s climate patterns, but not the only ones.

The North Atlantic Oscillation, the Arctic Oscillation and the Indian Ocean Dipole are also have influence and are taken into account for the WMO’s global seasonal climate updates.

The change in La Niña and El Niño patterns contributes to a widespread prediction of above-normal temperatures over land areas, according to those updates.

“The El Niño and La Niña phenomenon occurs naturally,” the WMO said. “But it is taking place against a background of human-induced climate change, which is increasing global temperatures, affecting seasonal rainfall patterns, and making our weather more extreme.”

A little joey pokes a front paw and then its head out of its mother’s pouch. Dave White, a zookeeper at Chester Zoo, in England, points up to the mother perched on a branch and beams with pride. He has been watching the baby tree kangaroo develop since it was born the size of a jellybean – first tracking its growth with an endoscope camera placed inside the pouch, and now, seeing the 7-month-old emerge.

White has formed a close connection with the joey and its mother, visiting and feeding them each day. It’s the first birth of a Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo he’s witnessed, and indeed the first time in Chester Zoo’s 91-year history that it has bred the species. White says the birth is a sign of hope for the endangered species, which is threatened by hunting and habitat loss in its native Papua New Guinea.

The baby adds to an insurance population of captive animals, and it could provide crucial data on the species and its reproductive process to help inform protection efforts in the wild, he says: “This little, tiny joey can contribute significantly to conservation.”

The joey is just one of a series of rare births that Chester Zoo has welcomed in the last eight months. Sumatran tiger twins, a western chimpanzee, a Malayan tapir, a greater one-horned rhino and a triplet of fossa pups have also been born. All those species are threatened with extinction.

With the world facing a crisis of biodiversity as extinctions accelerate at an unprecedented rate, zoos could help to provide crucial protection for endangered species. Chester Zoo’s central mission is to “prevent extinction,” and those words are emblazoned on staff t-shirts and signs across the site. In 2021, it published a 10-year masterplan laying out its methods for achieving this, including scientific research and education, habitat restoration and its renowned conservation breeding program.

“(The world) is losing species at a phenomenal rate,” says Mark Brayshaw, the zoo’s curator of mammals. “It’s really important that we save species wherever we can.”

Breeding hope

Brayshaw explains that the breeding program has a range of purposes. Some species are temporarily bred in captivity to protect them from imminent threats or to give them a head start before being reintroduced into the wild. Other times the aim is to preserve a species that is already extinct in the wild, or on the verge of extinction, while some endangered species are bred to help maintain a viable population that could be released in the wild if threats in their native habitats were eliminated.

Other zoos also have conservation breeding programs, but Chester is regarded as a world leader due in part to its wildlife endocrinology laboratory – the only one of its kind at a zoo in Europe. This is where scientists track a species’ hormones by analyzing its feces.

“For something like the tree kangaroo, we’ll take (fecal) samples every day,” explains Katie Edwards, lead conservation scientist at Chester Zoo. “We’ll run (tests) about once a month so that we can measure reproductive hormones in our female, and that helps us understand when she’s going to be most likely ready for breeding.”

Related: These little ceramic huts are helping endangered penguins and their chicks

Hormone levels indicate when a female starts developing an egg and when she’s likely to ovulate. Edwards and her team pair this evidence with visual and behavioral cues observed by zookeepers and put the male and female together at the optimal time for breeding.

Chester’s lab is attracting interest from elsewhere. Other zoos in the UK and Europe are sending in fecal samples from animals to inform breeding decisions or diagnose pregnancies, and Chester Zoo is also working with partners to replicate its endocrinology technique in Kenya to help conservation in the wild.

Edwards notes that there’s strength in numbers. “If we can collect samples from our tree kangaroos here but also from other individuals across Europe, we can learn a lot more about the species,” she says. “The more we can understand about species biology, the better conditions we can provide so that individuals and species can thrive both in human care and also on a larger conservation scale as well.”

Zoos versus the wild

Conservation breeding in zoos can be a thorny subject. Critics believe that breeding animals for a future in captivity is cruel, as many of these individuals will never be rewilded because their natural habits are too degraded. There has also been research that suggests that breeding programs can sometimes lead to genetic changes that can affect a species’ ability to survive in the wild.

But others argue that well-run zoos engage the public in conservation by showcasing the wonders of the planet’s wildlife. They allow scientists to study animals closely in a way that for some species would be impossible in the wild. And conservation breeding in zoos has been credited for saving some species from extinction – the first being the Arabian oryx, which was hunted to extinction in the wild by 1972 but was later reintroduced to the desert in Oman, thanks to a breeding program that began at Phoenix Zoo, Arizona.

Plus, zoos like Chester bring in big money for conservation, says Brayshaw. As one of the largest zoos in the UK – boasting more than 27,000 animals from 500 different species of plants and animals – it welcomes around 2 million visitors a year. Ticket sales, visitor spend on site and membership fees make up 97% of the zoo’s annual income, he says.

As a non-profit, all of this goes back towards funding the zoo, its staff and conservation efforts. According to the 2021 annual report, around £21 million ($25 million) was spent on conservation that year, 46% of the its income, and in 2022 (the report for which has not yet been published) this rose to £25 million ($30 million).

“We put our money where our mouth is,” says Brayshaw. “We are lucky. We’re a large zoo with a good income that can devote resources to (conservation), and we are effective in doing so.”

For Jon Paul Rodriguez, chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, the hallmark of a good zoo is one that makes a difference to the survival of species in the wild; that is not simply breeding animals to attract more visitors, but it is motivated to protect them in their native habitat. He believes Chester Zoo fulfils these criteria.

“Ultimately, what we all seek is a species that lives in the wild (and is) playing their ecological role,” he says. There will be some cases when habitat is restored enough for species to return; there will be others where species will be reintroduced to new habitats; and there will also be cases when species will be stuck in captivity for perpetuity, he says. “But if we don’t have those insurance populations, there is no hope at all.”

Before Qatar first struck “black gold” in 1939, life in the Gulf revolved around pearls. These iridescent gems of the deep shaped the culture, politics, regional relations and fortunes of its inhabitants over more than 7,000 years – not least Qatar’s ruling Al Thani family, who were the dominant force in the local pearling industry at its peak around the turn of the 20th century.

Revered for their brilliant luster and luminosity, Gulf pearls were a particular hit with the aristocratic and emerging middle classes of Europe and the US. Along with its neighbors and fierce rivals Bahrain and some parts of the Trucial States (which encompass today’s UAE), Qatar rose to the increasing global demand, with 48% of its 27,000-strong population in 1907 (or nearly all men) employed in pearling.

Half a century later, however, it was all over, with the political resident (the chief British representative in the Gulf) writing in 1958: “For the first time in very many years no pearling boat left Doha harbor, and the hulks of what used to be a considerable fleet lie rotting on the coast.”

The arrival of oil was just one of multiple factors that led to the swift and crushing demise of the Gulf pearling industry. But while many physical remnants of Qatar’s pearling past have since succumbed to the bulldozers, this rich heritage remains woven into the fabric of the nation.

Scratch the surface of Qatar today, and references to its pearling past are ever-present, from public art – notably the Pearl Monument at the entrance to Doha’s Dhow Harbour depicting a giant, pearl-bearing oyster – to modern architecture including The Pearl-Qatar, a glitzy residential and lifestyle development built on a former pearling bed.

Keen-eyed commuters will also note the pearlescent tiles featured throughout Doha’s metro stations.

Visitors can still shop for rare (and eye-wateringly expensive) Gulf pearls at The Old Pearl Diver boutique in Doha’s Souq Waqif run by octogenarian Saad Ismail Al Jassem, who claims to be one of Qatar’s last commercial pearl divers.

Risky lives

And while commercial pearl diving has yet to enter a renaissance in Qatar as it has in Bahrain and the UAE, the nation continues to revive its pearling heritage at annual festivals including the Senyar Festival, which includes a pearl diving contest, and the Katara Traditional Dhow Festival, marked by a program of maritime displays and traditional activities.

Offering similarly evocative insights throughout the year are Qatar’s museums including Doha’s National Museum of Qatar, where the immersive film “Nafas” (Breathe) by Mira Nair brings the hardships of pearling to life.

In the nation’s northwest, a small pearling display at Al Zubarah Fort, which sits astride the ruins of a former pearling port (now publicly accessible via a boardwalk opened in November 2022) offers another intriguing taste of life in Qatar’s coastal pearling communities.

While the tujar (richest pearl merchants) and sheiks who controlled the pearling fleets accumulated great wealth from the trade, life for ghasa (pearl divers), who would spend more than four months of each summer at sea, was “pretty grim”, says Robert Carter, senior archaeology Specialist at Qatar Museums and author of “Sea of Pearls: Arabia, Persia, and the Industry That Shaped the Gulf.”

“They didn’t have much to eat except rice, fish and maybe a bit of bread, so scurvy was a problem,” Carter explains. “Water was strictly rationed, so they would have to wash in the sea; and they were damp all the time, so they got horrible fungal diseases.”

Carter also notes accounts of divers, who typically made 50-60 dives per day,getting stung by rays and eaten by sharks.

When divers – weighed down by a rock – had collected around 20 oysters, they would tug on a rope to be pulled back up to the surface by a siyub (rope hauler). Any pearls found in the mollusks were graded and kept under lock and key on the dhow (pearling boat), with the opened shells either tossed back into the sea or kept to sell as mother-of-pearl. A member of the crew caught attempting to conceal a pearl, according to the late Australian mariner and writer Alan Villiers, would risk being beaten to death.

“The profits were shared among the crew, so stealing a pearl would mean breaking an enormous bond of trust,” explains Carter. A decent payday was never guaranteed anyway, with lackluster seasons often leaving divers, haulers, and even dhow captains without the means to support their families through to the next season. Slaves, meanwhile, were required to hand over their share to their masters.

Desert relics

The pearling industry historically had complex labor practices. At its peak it is estimated that a significant portion of pearl divers were enslaved. Despite the 1807 abolition of slavery in the British Empire, slavery was permitted to continue in Qatar for nearly four decades after the region became a British Protectorate in 1916.

Part of central Doha’s Msheireb Museums, Bin Jelmood House – the former home of a slave trader – documents Qatar’s slavery history, with displays touching on the role of slavery in the pearling industry.

Among the more mysterious links to Qatar’s pearling past are some physically etched into its desert landscape. Near the dreamy turquoise beaches of Fuwairit, one of many abandoned pearling settlements in remote northern Qatar, the publicly accessible rock carvings of Al Jassasiya – thought to be up to 250 years old – clearly depict, among other things, pearling dhows with oars sticking out from mandorla-shaped hulls like legs on an insect.

The shifting sands of the Qatari desert continue to reveal clues about Qatar’s pearling history, including the 2022 discovery of a Neolithic pearl bead by Qatar Museums’ head of excavation and site management, Ferhan Sakal – thought to be the oldest pearl uncovered in Qatar.

There are likely many more treasures waiting to be uncovered, yet the evidence already tells us, Carter says, that the pearling industry played a much more pivotal role in Qatar’s story than it is often given credit for.

“There would likely be nobody here except for the Bedouin if it wasn’t for the pearl fishery,” Carter says.

A flock of grazing sheep is helping archaeologists to preserve the ancient ruins of Pompeii, the Roman city that was buried under meters of pumice and ash in the calamitous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.

Archaeologists have uncovered only around two thirds of the 66-hectare (163 acres) site at Pompeii since excavations began 250 years ago.

Preserving the unexplored sections of the ancient city against erosion by nature and time is a priority for those who manage the site.

“If grass and other plants grow in or on the ancient walls and houses this is a problem. So we try to have a sustainable approach to the whole environment in order also to avoid using substances then to avoid growing plants, having plants growing on the walls and ruins,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park.

The flock of 150 sheep has been deployed to Regio V, a northern section of the city, where grassy hills are dotted with the ruined remains of ancient houses and shops.

Regio V is still off limits to the millions of visitors who come to Pompeii each year, but as part of its conservation efforts the archaeology park has in recent years launched new excavations at the site.

Among the striking discoveries since 2018 were vibrant frescoes, a snack shop and the skeletal remains of people killed in the eruption.

Zuchtriegel said the sheep initiative does not contribute to efforts of reducing carbon emissions, but helps to save money and preserve the landscape.

“It’s also something which really gives an idea of how Pompeii was in the time when it was rediscovered. It was woods, vineyards, sheep and it was this kind of rural environment and in the midst of that you had Pompeii.”

At home in Anchorage, Alaska, nurse Teresa Gray was playing a board game with her children when she heard about the massive earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6.

Although she was more than 5,500 miles away from the disaster, she immediately sprang into action.

Gray’s nonprofit, Mobile Medics International, sends small teams of volunteer medics to humanitarian crises around the world. They are typically on the ground to help within the first few days.

By February 7, Gray had received permission from Turkey’s Ministry of Health to join the relief efforts, and she flew out early the next morning.

She packed up supplies to help hundreds of patients, ranging from trauma dressings to antibiotics to acetaminophen. She also prepared the equipment her team would need to be self-sustaining in freezing winter conditions.

“The buildings have been substantially damaged, so you can’t stay inside, it’s too dangerous,” she said. “We’re going to be sleeping in a tent, eating MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) … This is not going to be a good time.”

Gray also did a video call to touch base with her team, which included a paramedic from London, a doctor from Malaysia, and a nurse anesthetist from Missouri. It was a hectic time for Gray, who says she gets “hyper-focused” before each mission, trying to anticipate problems that might arise.

“We need to find a safe place to be. What if somebody forgot their sleeping bag? We don’t speak the language, so I need to find some interpreters,” she said. “These are the things that run through my mind as I’m getting ready to go to the airport.”

After an epic journey through Seattle and New York, Gray finally landed in Turkey late on February 9 and met up with her team. They made their way to Hatay Province and once there, began doing mobile clinics on the streets of Samandag.

For Gray, the destruction she saw was difficult to comprehend.

“Just the total amount of annihilation … this is probably the most devastation that I have ever seen on any mission that we’ve been on,” she said.

Since so many structures were unstable, the government had mandated that all families must sleep outside in tents. In a cell phone video made on Valentine’s Day, Gray described how she and her group would go street to street, stopping at tents to offer their help. She reported treating people for earthquake injuries, including a girl who had been trapped in the rubble for more than 12 hours, as well as sicknesses like the flu that had been exacerbated by the living conditions.

“Whatever they need us to look at, we will,” she said. “Then we go back, sleep in our car. Get up the next morning and do it again.”

They treated hundreds of people during their 10-day mission, Gray said. One of their interpreters, a high school teacher who they called K.T., became an essential part of their team. In a cell phone video, K.T. told Gray what the people they were helping had said to her.

“They told me, ‘Say them (sic) thank you. It’s really good for us because … we can’t see any doctor, we can’t go any hospital,” K.T. said.

K.T. had also suffered a great deal. Two of her students had been killed in the earthquake, and the school where she taught had been destroyed. She and most of her extended family – a total of 15 people – lost their homes and were forced to take refuge in a greenhouse on their property.

Despite their own hardship, K.T.’s family adopted Gray’s group as their own, Gray said – letting them stay on their property, making them tea and coffee, and sharing meals with them. Their generosity served as another reminder that, even in desperate times, humanity shines through.

On February 19, Gray got back to Alaska. When a 6.3 magnitude aftershock hit Turkey the next day, she immediately reached out to K.T. and others she befriended on her journey to make sure they were all okay. She’s working to send another team of volunteers very soon.

Want to get involved? Check out the Mobile Medics International website and see how to help.

Even before they could climb into the ring, Cuba’s female boxers had to roll with the punches.

While the island has long been famed for its top-level male boxers, women were blocked by an official prohibition on their practicing the sport competitively.

Cuba’s government-run INDER sports institute claimed the sport was too violent for women, even as Cuban female athletes competed successfully in judo, karate and taekwondo.

For many hopeful women boxers on the island, the ban smacked of sexism – and a missed opportunity.

“We are always fighting for something, to raise our kids, to help our families, to be independent.”

Flores says she trained for years as many women interested in boxing do in Cuba: on her own dime and in gyms lacking in even the most basic equipment.

While they could learn and practice the sport as a hobby, the ban on women’s boxing meant Cuban female athletes could not take part in tournaments on the island or abroad.

At least officially, women’s boxing in Cuba did not exist.

A new dawn

In December, the first cracks in that glass ceiling appeared when officials made an about face after announcing that they had obtained the proper safety equipment for them – such as padding and head gear.

“We took this step when we were sure, really convinced that it was the moment and we didn’t have any concerns because our women would be protected,” Cuban Boxing Commission President Alberto Puig de la Barca told reporters at a news conference.

The change, sports officials said at the news conference, was also the result of a newly implemented family code on the island that said women were required by law to have the same opportunities as men. That apparently included boxing.

Two weeks later, the first try outs were held at a cramped facility with a single boxing ring. Many of the women boxers had only recently switched from competing in martial arts or had merely dabbled in boxing.

Still, they sparred with passion, drawing appreciative cheering and applause from spectators.

After the first bout, an announcer exclaimed to the crowd of people watching, “This is historic!”

Boxer Legnis Cala Massó said she started boxing to learn self-defense and was still shocked to be putting on gloves to potentially represent her country.

While Cuba’s female boxers have a long way to go, officials are hopeful that their enthusiasm and natural ability can make up for lost time. Sports officials predicted that Cuban women boxers would compete in the Central American and Caribbean Games starting in June and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

“In my case all the comments I have received have been positive. That if I make an effort, I can achieve it,” she said. “That Cuban women have the potential for this.”

Time might have run out for Novak Djokovic to be admitted US entry to play at Indian Wells, but US politicians – notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – are lobbying for regulations to change and allow the world No. 1 into the country in time for the Miami Open.

The US still requires international visitors to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and the Serbian, who has previously said he remains unvaccinated, confirmed he had applied for special permission to enter the country ahead of both tournaments.

However, Indian Wells organizers announced on Sunday that Djokovic had withdrawn from the tournament, where main draw play began Wednesday.

DeSantis said he would “run a boat from the Bahamas” for Djokovic to compete in the Miami Open tennis tournament later this month.

“I would run a boat from the Bahamas here for him. I would do that a hundred percent,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Tampa Wednesday.

“I think his people are looking at it, and I’m not sure that’s the way they want to come into the country, which I understand. I think it’d be a great moment, but you know, nevertheless.”

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director, proof of Covid-19 vaccination is required for non-U.S. citizens, non-immigrant passengers arriving from a foreign country to the US by air, though that applies to other forms of travel.

On Tuesday, DeSantis had called on US President Joe Biden to intervene and allow Djokovic to compete in the tournament.

“The only thing keeping Novak Djokovic from participating in the Miami Open tennis tournament is President Biden’s misguided and unscientific COVID-19 vaccination requirement for foreigner travelers,” DeSantis, who has separately vowed to permanently ban mandates related to coronavirus mitigation as he considers a presidential bid, said on Twitter.

“Mr. President – lift your restrictions and let him compete,” he added.

Republican Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio of Florida also urged the US president to allow Djokovic into the country to play.

“On a question of regarding the vaccination requirement, I refer you to the CDC – are the ones who deal with that,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.

The vaccine requirement, she said, “is still in place, and we expect everyone to abide by our country’s rule, whether as a participant or spectator.”

US Open organizers said on Friday that they and the United States Tennis Association were “hopeful” that Djokovic was successful in his petition.

“Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest tennis players of all time and a six-time champion of the Miami Open,” the Miami Open said on Twitter on Friday.

“We hope he is allowed entry into the country so Floridians have the opportunity to see him compete once again.”

“Look, last year I did miss both Indian Wells, Miami and all the US Open swing,” the 22-time grand slam winner Djokovic told reporters in Belgrade last month.

“So it wouldn’t be the first time if it does happen. I mean, I hope it doesn’t, but that’s all I can do. All I can do is hope at the moment because, you know, my position stays the same. There’s not much else I can do except wish for a positive result,” he said.

Djokovic returned to the world No. 1 position when he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to win a record 10th Australian Open in January.

It was his 22nd major title, which tied him with Rafael Nadal for the most grand slam singles titles in men’s tennis history.

The Miami Open’s main draw play starts March 22 and and the tournament nds April 2.

A star-studded field will contest a record $25 million prize purse at The Players Championship on Thursday.

The field includes a trio of stars who have already held the world No. 1 spot in 2023 – Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm, who currently tops the rankings – but there will be one glaring absence at TPC Sawgrass for the PGA Tour’s flagship event.

In the championship’s 49-year history, no player has ever successfully defended the title and with reigning champion Cameron Smith barred from competing due to his involvement in the LIV Golf Series, that run is guaranteed to tick over to half a century.

“Yes, it’s awkward,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan told reporters Tuesday when quizzed on the Australian world No.5’s absence.

“He was a deserved champion … but ultimately that’s a decision he made, and we’ve got an unbelievable field here this week and a history and tradition that one of these 144 is going to go seek to get.”

Elephants in the room

Smith headlines a host of big names who will not tee up in Florida due their involvement in the breakaway Saudi-backed tour.

Five of last year’s top 10 at the event – Smith, Anirban Lahiri, Paul Casey, Harold Varner III and Dustin Johnson – have joined LIV Golf.

Ensuring a field packed with the best golfers has been a cornerstone of The Players Championship’s claim to being golf’s “fifth major,”, yet six of the world’s top 50-ranked players – including Chilean duo Joaquin Niemann and Mito Pereira – will be absent for same reasons as Smith and co.

And as major champions in the previous five years, LIV Golf players Brooks Koepka, Bryson Dechambeau, Patrick Reed, and Phil Mickelson would all have been eligible to feature.

As a result, a string of questions posed to players ahead of the tournament focused on who was not playing, as opposed to who was.

“Would it be better if the defending champion was here this week? Absolutely,” McIlroy, champion in 2019, told reporters.

“But he made a decision that he felt was the best thing for him, and he knew that decision was going to come with consequences, and one of the consequences is right now not being able to play on the PGA Tour.”

Rahm’s response to Smith’s exclusion echoed that of McIlroy’s, with the Spaniard adding that “different circumstances” mitigated his belief that “defending champions should always be there.”

Some players made a choice of going to a different golf league knowing that they weren’t going to be allowed to play here,” Rahm said.

“And yes, this is a massive event. It is very close to major quality event, but it’s still a PGA Tour event.”

Smith will be watching, but exactly where from remains to be seen. In an interview shared on Twitter by Golf.com, the Australian – who lives in Florida – said he would be tuning in via TV before adding he would “love to get out” to TPC Sawgrass for the event.

“I don’t know how it would be received,” Smith said.

“But even getting out there and watching, walking around in the crowd, might be pretty funny.”

A new era

Arguably the most dominant theme of the pre-tournament press conferences though, concerned last week’s announcement of the PGA Tour’s revamped 2024 calendar.

Under the new schedule, eight “designated events” will offer increased prize purses, smaller fields, and no cuts – all features of the LIV Golf Series.

The restricted field sizes – between 70 and 78 players – twinned with eligibility criteria designed to reward “top performers” on the PGA Tour, has led to concerns that the revamped schedule could lead to a “closed shop,” leaving lower-ranked golfers out in the cold.

A players meeting was held Tuesday morning to discuss the changes, McIlroy said. The Northern Irishman, who joined Scheffler in backing the new schedule last week, believed those talks were positive.

“When more information and data was presented to them, the people that maybe had reservations about it I think came around, or at least were more informed on their opinions,” said McIlroy.

“It was good for them to see that and to see what the thinking is behind what we’re really trying to do here. I think the temperature in the room was nowhere near as hot as I anticipated it to be once the information was laid out.”

Rahm, who said he did not attend the players meeting as he was spending time with his children, added that while he understood some of the grievances, he believed the changes were “the best for everybody” in the long term.

McIlroy has been an outspoken critic of the LIV Golf Series since its arrival last year.

However, in light of the PGA Tour’s changes, the four-time major winner believes the breakaway series has ultimately been beneficial to golf.

“I’m not going to sit here and lie – I think the emergence of LIV or the emergence of a competitor to the PGA Tour has benefited everyone that plays elite professional golf,” McIlroy said.

“When you’ve been the biggest golf league in the biggest market in the world for the last 60 years, there’s not a lot of incentive to innovate.

“This has caused a ton of innovation at the PGA Tour, and what was quite, I would say, an antiquated system is being revamped to try to mirror where we’re at in the world in the 21st century with the media landscape.

“The PGA TOUR isn’t just competing with LIV Golf or other sports. It’s competing with Instagram and TikTok and everything else that’s trying to take eyeballs away from the PGA TOUR as a product.”

Again, Rahm agreed with McIlroy, adding that such changes would “never” have happened without LIV Golf.

“So to an extent, like I’ve said before, we should be thankful this threat has made the PGA TOUR want to change things,” Rahm said.

“I wish it didn’t come to the PGA TOUR being under fire from somebody else to make those changes and make things better for the players, but I guess it is what we needed. It is because of LIV Golf, otherwise we wouldn’t have seen any of this.”

Tee times

Play begins with the first trios teeing off at 6:50am ET on Thursday, as a glittering field throws up a host of big-name groupings.

7:34am – Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Tom Kim

7:45am – Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott

7:56am – Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm

12:34pm – Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry

12:45pm – Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele

12:56pm – Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Max Homa

How to watch

Golf Channel will be broadcasting the first two rounds of the event from 12pm to 6pm ET on Thursday and Friday, before coverage switches to NBC – from 1pm to 6pm ET – for the two final weekend rounds.

Viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland can watch via Sky Sports from 11:30am Thursday.

More information on how to watch can be found on the PGA Tour’s website here.

Facing three injuries, the Memphis Grizzlies have taken another player off their court. But this time, it’s due to police and NBA investigations into the team’s star player.

The Grizzlies lost their second straight game Tuesday without star guard Ja Morant, who is under investigation after the 23-year-old posted an Instagram Live video of himself Saturday appearing to hold a gun at a nightclub outside of Denver.

Morant has apologized for his actions via his representation on Saturday, after Memphis announced he would be away from the team.

Morant said he would take time away “to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.”

Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins said Sunday there is no timetable for Morant’s return. The team tweeted Wednesday that Morant will miss at least four more games, meaning he will return no earlier than March 17.

Morant is averaging 27.1 points per game in his fourth NBA season.

The Instagram video, posted early Saturday morning and shared widely on social media, shows Morant briefly flashing what appears to be a gun while listening to music at a nightclub.

The police department in Glendale, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, said Wednesday the agency won’t recommend charges against Morant.

“(The department) was not able to determine that probable cause existed for the filing of any charges. In this case, it should be noted that on the night in question (police) did not receive any calls for service at the nightclub regarding a weapon of any type,” department officials said in a statement.

No one made a complaint and investigators concluded no one was threatened or menaced with a gun, police said.

It’s unknown why Morant was carrying a gun or if it was his. The Grizzlies played in Houston against the Rockets on March 1 before heading to Denver for a game against the Nuggets on March 3.

If Morant did bring the gun onto team facilities – which also includes the team plane – he is subject to NBA discipline according to its Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The CBA states that players are prohibited from carrying firearms while “physically present at a facility or venue owned, operated, or being used by a Team, the NBA, or any League-related entity, and whenever a player is traveling on any NBA-related business, whether on behalf of the player’s Team, the NBA, or any League-related entity”

If a player is in violation of the ruling in the CBA, they could face a fine and/or a suspension.

“The Commissioner shall have the power to suspend for a definite or indefinite period, or to impose a fine not exceeding $50,000, or inflict both such suspension and fine upon any person who, in his opinion, shall have been guilty of conduct prejudicial or detrimental to the Association,” the CBA reads.

While it is unclear what punishment Morant could face, the most recent example of a gun-related incident came in the 2009/10 season when Gilbert Arenas, a three-time All-Star, was suspended until the end of the season – 50 games – for bringing unloaded guns into his team’s locker room, and making light of the incident once he was punished.

Arenas pleaded guilty but avoided jail time and was sentenced to two years of supervised probation, was embroiled in a dispute with teammate Javaris Crittenton – who was also suspended the rest of the season for the incident – over money in a poker game.

The US government said at the time that Arenas brought at least one firearm into the Washington Wizards’ locker room.

Arenas would later return to the Wizards, while Crittenton was released by Washington after his suspension, playing two more years of professional basketball before being charged with murder in August 2011. In April 2015, Crittenton plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a weapon and aggravated assault with a firearm and was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies are not having a great time of it on the court. Their 112-103 defeat by the Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena in LA on Tuesday came two days after losing in the same building to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led the way for the Grizzlies, finishing with 26 points, but it wasn’t enough as a dominant Anthony Davis – who racked up 30 points and 22 rebounds – and 17 points each for Dennis Schröder, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves led the surging Lakers to a seventh win in 10 games as they attempt to make the playoffs.

Still, the Grizzlies sit third in the Western Conference with a 38-26 record.