Paris Olympics Day 5 recap: Ledecky wins, triathlon held in the Seine

posted in: News | 0

By ANDREW DAMPF, Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Katie Ledecky gritted her teeth and flexed her left arm atop the lane rope.

There was plenty of splashing, too, by one of the most accomplished swimmers to ever dive into the pool.

Ledecky dominated the 1,500-meter freestyle at the Paris Games on Wednesday for her eighth Olympic gold medal and 12th medal overall.

And that might not even have been the most impressive performance on a big night in the pool.

France’s Léon Marchand completed one of the most audacious doubles in swimming history by winning the 200 butterfly and the 200 breaststroke about two hours apart.

Leon Marchand, of France, celebrates after winning the men’s 200-meter breaststroke final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

There was also a world record in the 100 freestyle as Pan Zhanle of China lowered his own mark.

Triathlon success

An ambitious plan to clean up the long-polluted Seine River paid off when the swimming portions of the Paris Olympics triathlons were finally held in the waterway Wednesday.

After a couple of canceled swim practices and a day’s delay because of the river’s water quality, the women’s and men’s events finished in spectacular fashion — on the Pont Alexandre III bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

“It’s magical,” said newly minted gold medalist Cassandre Beaugrand of France. “It’s the best route we’ve had in a long time and I know all the other athletes feel the same.”

Beaugrand navigated slippery roads that turned the cycling portion into a series of spills following an early morning rain.

The men’s triathlon, which started less than an hour after the women finished, there was plenty of stifling heat and humidity to deal with as the sun came out in full force. Alex Yee of Britain used a burst at the end to catch and pass Hayden Wilde of New Zealand to win the gold medal by six seconds.

U.S. men beat South Sudan in basketball

The U.S. men’s basketball team had an easier time with South Sudan in the rematch than it did when the teams first met a couple of weeks ago. The U.S. clinched a trip to the quarterfinals with a 103-86 victory.

Guatemala’s gold

A spinal injury ended Adriana Ruano’s Olympic dream as a gymnast. She came back as a shooter and won Guatemala’s first Olympic gold medal.

Ruano was training for the 2011 world championships in gymnastics, a qualifier for the London Olympics the following year, when she felt pain in her back.

Adriana Ruano Oliva of Team Guatemala is congratulated by her coach as she wins the gold medal after competing in the Shooting Trap Women’s Final on day five of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Chateauroux Shooting Centre on July 31, 2024 in Chateauroux, France. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

An MRI showed the then-16-year-old had six damaged vertebrae — a career-ending injury — and Ruano’s doctor recommended she take up shooting if she wanted to stay in sports without aggravating her injured back.

That advice paid off Wednesday as Ruano won gold in the women’s trap with an Olympic-record score of 45 out of 50.

Djokovic still chasing gold

Novak Djokovic is three wins away from earning the only big title he lacks.

Related Articles

Olympics |


Rosemount’s Payton Otterdahl enters second Olympics shot put with a medal on his mind

Olympics |


Mounds View alum Lara Dallman-Weiss opted for ‘scary thing’ and ended up in Olympics

Olympics |


Drag queen in Olympic opening ceremony has no regrets, calls it ‘a photograph of France in 2024’

Olympics |


Flavor Flav wears special clock made by Maggie Steffens’ late sister-in-law

Olympics |


Simone Biles mocks MyKayla Skinner’s ‘work ethic’ comment after win

Djokovic needed a bit of time to assert himself before taking control with a five-game run for a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Dominik Koepfer of Germany, reaching the singles quarterfinals for the fourth time at the Summer Games.

A gold medal is pretty much the only accomplishment of significance missing from the resume of Djokovic, a 37-year-old from Serbia who has won a men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles and spent more weeks at No. 1 than anyone in the history of the computerized tennis rankings.

Djokovic next faces Staassefanos Tsitsipas.

Rafael Nadal’s Paris Games ended when he and Carlos Alcaraz were eliminated in the men’s doubles quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-4 loss to the fourth-seeded American duo of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.

Mahtomedi grad Nuni Omot makes most of bright lights, scoring 24 points in loss to Team USA

posted in: News | 0

Nuni Omot has been told by many people that he has NBA talent.

He believes he has an NBA game, as well, with his 6-foot-9 frame and versatility to shoot, create and defend multiple positions. That’s never been more true, he believes, than now.

Through years of play at various levels and locations of professional basketball, Omot has evolved into a greater and greater player.

“I’ve gotten better every year, and I think that people haven’t realized the growth that has happened. I continue to get better every year. I don’t think there’s much emphasis on that. Obviously, some people know the amount of work I put in,” Omot said before the start of the Olympics. “Obviously, the work is always going to show. Every year, I continue to get better, I continue to figure it out. The game continues to slow down as you play longer and as you continue to play. I think that’s my advantage, my versatility and for the years I’ve been playing, I’ve obviously gotten smarter, I’ve gotten better, I’ve gotten more wise and whatnot.”

But there are only so much chances to strut your stuff in front of important eye balls. One of those, the Mahtomedi grad knew, was in these Olympics. Specifically, in Wednesday’s group play bout against Team USA — the greatest collection of men’s basketball talent a competitor can lace their shoes up against.

Omot met the challenge. The 29-year-old forward scored 24 points on 8 for 12 shooting — including 3 for 5 from 3-point range — in South Sudan’s 103-86 loss in France.

Omot was the game’s leading scorer and one of the most impactful players on the floor. South Sudan out-scored the U.S. in Omot’s 28 minutes of play. The contest was justification for the way he feels about his game.

“A lot of guys that they’ve given so much credit and who they hype up so much, I’ve always found myself to either be at the same level or play even better than,” Omot said. “I don’t want to compare myself to other people, and I just continue to try to dominate every time I can and just show the reason why I should be playing at a level.”

South Sudan will meet Serbia — who’s led by reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic — in its final group play game on Saturday. If the Bright Stars win that game, they’ll move onto the quarterfinals in their first Olympic Games.

Each victory would guarantee another opportunity for players like Omot to prove themselves on a giant stage against high-level competition.

“For me, I feel like this is going to be a real big opportunity for myself, for people across the world to see who I really am as a player on the global stage,” Omot said before the games. “Obviously, I never played at the highest level in the NBA, I never played at the highest level in Europe, in Euro League, so my thing is just to show it’s never been talent that’s the issue. It’s just obviously people being able to see it live and against the best people, so I think this is going to be a huge thing for me.”

Thus far, he’s taking full advantage of the opportunity.

Related Articles

Olympics |


Rosemount’s Payton Otterdahl enters second Olympics shot put with a medal on his mind

Olympics |


Mounds View alum Lara Dallman-Weiss opted for ‘scary thing’ and ended up in Olympics

Olympics |


Drag queen in Olympic opening ceremony has no regrets, calls it ‘a photograph of France in 2024’

Olympics |


Flavor Flav wears special clock made by Maggie Steffens’ late sister-in-law

Olympics |


Simone Biles mocks MyKayla Skinner’s ‘work ethic’ comment after win

UN report says Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since Oct. 7 faced torture, mistreatment

posted in: News | 0

GENEVA — The U.N. human rights office issued a report Wednesday saying Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the Oct. 7 attacks faced waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, dogs set on them, and other forms of torture and mistreatment.

The report said Israel’s prison service held more than 9,400 “security detainees” as of the end of June, and some have been held in secret without access to lawyers or respect for their legal rights.

A summary of the report, based on interviews with former detainees and other sources, decried a “staggering” number of detainees — including men, women, children, journalists and human rights defenders — and said such practices raise concerns about arbitrary detention.

Related Articles

World News |


Hamas’ top political leader is killed in Iran in strike that risks triggering all-out regional war

World News |


Venezuelan opposition says it has proof its candidate defeated President Maduro in disputed election

World News |


In fiery speech to Congress, Netanyahu vows ‘total victory’ in Gaza and denounces U.S. protesters

World News |


Small businesses grapple with global tech outages created by CrowdStrike

World News |


Global outage: Check flight status before heading to MSP airport, officials urge

“The testimonies gathered by my office and other entities indicate a range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees, amongst other acts, in flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” said U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk in a statement.

Findings in the report, one of the most extensive of its kind, could be used by International Criminal Court prosecutors who are looking into crimes committed in connection with Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks and Israel’s blistering ongoing military campaign in Gaza.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

In May, the ICC’s chief prosecutor sought arrest warrants for leaders of Israel and Hamas, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Authors of the report said its content was shared with the Israeli government.

In response, the Israeli military said that abuse of detainees was illegal and against military orders. It said since the war began there have been cases where correctional staff have been dismissed for violating military rules in their treatment of detainees. Investigations are launched into all detainee deaths in custody, it said.

Israel’s prison services did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

Israel’s prison authorities previously told the AP that all Palestinian prisoners are treated according to Israeli law. However, Israel’s Ministry of National Security, the body in charge of prisons, says it has actively made conditions worse and purposefully overcrowded cells for Palestinians held on security charges since the war broke out as a policy of deterrence.

The ministry is headed by ultranationalist minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has long called for harsher punishment, including the death penalty, for Palestinians held on terror charges.

The report also said detainees were taken from Gaza, Israel and the West Bank, and says Israel has not provided information regarding the fate or whereabouts of many, adding that the International Committee of the Red Cross has been denied access to facilities where they are held.

“Detainees said they were held in cage-like facilities, stripped naked for prolonged periods, wearing only diapers. Their testimonies told of prolonged blindfolding, deprivation of food, sleep and water, and being subjected to electric shocks and being burnt with cigarettes,” a summary of the report said.

“Some detainees said dogs were released on them, and others said they were subjected to waterboarding, or that their hands were tied and they were suspended from the ceiling,” it added. “Some women and men also spoke of sexual and gender-based violence.”

The report said the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, had also “continued to carry out arbitrary detention and torture or other ill-treatment in the West Bank, reportedly principally to suppress criticism and political opposition.”

In New York, when asked at a news briefing about U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ reaction to the report, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: “Our reaction is one of shock and one of horror in seeing these reports,” adding that it’s “critical that there be accountability for those responsible.”

On Wednesday, an Israeli military court extended the detention of eight out of nine soldiers being held over what a defense lawyer said were allegations of sexual abuse of a Palestinian at Sde Teiman — a shadowy facility where Israel has held prisoners from Gaza during the war. The soldiers’ detention triggered angry protests by supporters demanding their release.

The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people that day and taking 250 others hostage. Israel’s retaliatory operation has obliterated entire neighborhoods in Gaza and forced some 80% of the population to flee their homes. Over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

Associated Press writers Jack Jeffery in Ramallah, West Bank, and Jennifer Peltz at the United Nations in New York contributed to this report.

Related Articles

World News |


Hamas’ top political leader is killed in Iran in strike that risks triggering all-out regional war

World News |


Harris tells Netanyahu ‘it is time’ to get hostage deal done and end Gaza war

World News |


Thomas Friedman: Netanyahu: A small man in a big time?

World News |


FACT FOCUS: A look at Netanyahu’s claims about Israel, Hamas and Iran during his speech to Congress

World News |


In fiery speech to Congress, Netanyahu vows ‘total victory’ in Gaza and denounces U.S. protesters

Donald Trump falsely suggests Kamala Harris misled voters about her race

posted in: Politics | 0

By MATT BROWN and MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Donald Trump falsely suggested Kamala Harris had misled voters about her race as the former president appeared before the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago Wednesday in an interview that quickly turned hostile.

The Republican former president wrongly claimed that Harris, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, had in the past only promoted her Indian heritage.

“I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump said while addressing the group’s annual convention.

Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the U.S. As an undergraduate, Harris attended Howard University, one of the nation’s most prominent historically Black colleges and universities, where she also pledged the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. As a U.S. senator, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, supporting her colleagues’ legislation to strengthen voting rights and reforming policing.

Trump has leveled a wide range of criticism at Harris since she replaced President Joe Biden atop the likely Democratic ticket last week. Throughout his political career, the former president has repeatedly questioned the backgrounds of opponents who are racial minorities.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, moderated by ABC’s Rachel Scott, FOX News’ Harris Faulkner and Semafor’s Nadia Goba, speaks at the National Association of Black Journalists, NABJ, convention, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Michael Tyler, the communications director for Harris’ campaign, said in a statement that “the hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power.”

“Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency — while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in,” Tyler said. “Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked during her briefing with reporters on Wednesday about Trump’s remarks and responded with disbelief, initially murmuring, “Wow.”

Jean-Pierre, who is Black, called what Trump said “repulsive” and said, “It’s insulting and no one has any right to tell someone who they are how they identify.”

Trump has repeatedly attacked his opponents and critics on the basis of race. He rose to prominence in Republican politics by propagating false theories that President Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was not born in the United States. “Birtherism,” as it became known, was just the start of Trump’s history of questioning the credentials and qualifications of Black politicians.

During this year’s Republican primary, he once referred to former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, as “Nimbra.”

Related Articles

National Politics |


Black women, white dudes, crazy cat ladies: Identity groups fuel a groundswell for Harris

National Politics |


Lake-Gallego Senate contest set in Arizona; key House races up in the air

National Politics |


Donald Trump’s invitation to Black journalists convention in Chicago divides membership

National Politics |


About 8 in 10 Democrats are satisfied with Harris in stark shift after Biden drops out: poll

National Politics |


How Republicans helped shape gay activism in America

Trump’s appearance Wednesday at the annual gathering of Black journalists immediately became heated, with the former president sparring with interviewer Rachel Scott of ABC News and accusing her of giving him a “very rude introduction” with a tough first question about his past criticism of Black people and Black journalists, his attack on Black prosecutors who have pursued cases against him and the dinner he had at his Florida club with a white supremacist.

“I think it’s disgraceful,” Trump said. “I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country. I’ve done so much for the Black population of this country.”

Trump continued his attacks on Scott’s network, ABC News, which he has been arguing should not host the next presidential debate, despite his earlier agreement with the Biden campaign. He also several times described her tone and questions as “nasty,” a word he used in the past when describing women, including Hillary Clinton and Meghan the Duchess of Sussex.

The Republican also repeated his false claim that immigrants in the country illegally are “taking Black jobs.” When pushed by Scott on what constituted a “Black job,” Trump responded by saying “a Black job is anybody that has a job,” drawing groans from the room.

At one point, he said, “I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.”

The audience responded with a mix of boos and some applause.

Scott asked Trump about his pledge to pardon people convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and specifically whether he would pardon those who assaulted police officers.

Trump said, “Oh, absolutely I would,” and said, “If they’re innocent, I would pardon them.”

Scott pointed out they have been convicted and therefore are not innocent.

“Well, they were convicted by a very, very tough system,” he said.

At one point, when he was defending his supporters who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, he said, “Nothing is perfect in life.”

He compared the 2021 insurrection to the protests in Minneapolis and other cities in 2020 following the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and to more recent protests at the Capitol last week by pro-Gaza demonstrators, falsely claiming that no one was arrested in those other demonstrations and that only his supporters were targeted.

As Trump made the comparison, a man in the back of the room shouted out: “Sir, have you no shame?”

The former president’s invitation to address the organization sparked an intense internal debate among NABJ that spilled online. Organizations for journalists of color typically invite presidential candidates to speak at their summer gatherings in election years.

As he campaigns for the White House a third time, Trump has sought to appear outside his traditional strongholds of support and his campaign has touted his efforts to try to win over Black Americans, who have been Democrats’ most committed voting bloc.

His campaign has emphasized his messages on the economy and immigration as part of his appeal, but some of his outreach has played on racial stereotypes, including the suggestion that African Americans would empathize with the criminal charges he has faced and his promotion of branded sneakers.

Trump and NABJ also have a tense history over his treatment of Black women journalists. In 2018, NABJ condemned Trump for repeatedly using words such as “stupid,” “loser” and “nasty” to describe Black women journalists.

The vice president is not scheduled to appear at the convention, but the NABJ said in a statement posted on X that it was in conversation with her campaign to have her appear either virtually or in person for a conversation in September.

Trump posted on his social media network that he was told he could not do the event virtually.

“She declined, and I am getting ready to land in Chicago in order to be there,” Trump wrote. “Now I am told that she is doing the Event on ZOOM. WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?”

Trump later Wednesday is scheduled to hold a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at 6 p.m. EST.

Related Articles

National Politics |


Black women, white dudes, crazy cat ladies: Identity groups fuel a groundswell for Harris

National Politics |


Lake-Gallego Senate contest set in Arizona; key House races up in the air

National Politics |


About 8 in 10 Democrats are satisfied with Harris in stark shift after Biden drops out: poll

National Politics |


How Republicans helped shape gay activism in America

National Politics |


Wanted: Poll workers. Must love democracy

Price reported from New York. Associated Press writers Aaron Morrison in New York, Gary Fields in Chicago and Will Weissert and Farnoush Amiri in Washington contributed to this report.