The Albany Gazette - News from Albany, New York and the whole world

Former world number one Naomi Osaka is set to plummet below 80th in the rankings after her Australian Open title defence met a shuddering halt in only the third round.

Stephen Curry hit the first buzzer-beating game-winner of his illustrious NBA career on Friday, draining a step back jumper to lift Golden State to a 105-103 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Twitter has suspended hundreds of accounts reportedly linked to supporters of Philippine presidential frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr, which the social media giant said had violated its rules on manipulation and spam.

From its last known slave ship to heavy police militarization in the Civil Rights era, the United States' deeply troubled history with racism is highlighted by several Sundance festival films this week.

Fit-again Simona Halep said she was in "a good spot" and feeling no pressure as she stepped up a level to crush the Australian Open dreams of Emma Raducanu's conqueror Danka Kovinic and power into the last 16 on Saturday.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka cleaned up her serving woes to stay in contention at the Australian Open Saturday, but she needed three sets to get past 31st seed Marketa Vondrousova.

The beleaguered Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from an embarrassing loss to the Indiana Pacers with a 116-105 NBA victory over the Magic in Orlando on Friday.

World number two Daniil Medvedev steps up his march towards the Australian Open men's title later but the early action on Saturday was dominated by the resurgent former finalist Simona Halep, who swept into the second week in Melbourne.

American Danielle Collins staged a remarkable comeback to halt giant-killing Danish teenager Clara Tauson Saturday and keep alive dreams of bettering her last-four Australian Open heroics in 2019.

The United States announced Friday that it was suspending 44 Chinese passenger flights from America to the Asian giant in response to restrictive moves by Beijing on US carriers under its Covid-19 protocols.

Ominous former world number one Simona Halep crushed the Australian Open dreams of Emma Raducanu's conqueror Danka Kovinic Saturday to power into the last 16.

The NFL and NFL Players Association have agreed to halt daily testing of unvaccinated players for Covid-19 and will test them on the same basis as those vaccinated, ESPN reported Friday.

A retired, hulking ferry of the iconic line linking Staten Island and Manhattan has been purchased by a group of investors who include popular American comedians Pete Davidson and Colin Jost.

Nick Kyrgios claimed Saturday a coach and trainer associated with Croatian doubles opponents Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic threatened to fight him after the top seeds were bundled out of the Australian Open.

More than six months after Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated by a hit squad of mercenaries, there have been a flurry of arrests of suspects in different countries, but the motive for the crime and its sponsors remain unknown.

Amanda Anisimova is a big fan of Naomi Osaka for bringing athletes' mental health struggles into the spotlight over the past year -- an issue she can relate to.

Tongans said they were determined to rebuild their battered homeland in the wake of last week's devastating eruption and tsunami as a massive clean up continued Saturday in the Pacific kingdom.

Friends and former classmates of the Pakistan-born surgeon behind the world's first pig-to-human heart transplant say they earmarked him for greatness from his medical school days.

Geneva, the neutral turf that was once host to so much Cold War bargaining, is again welcoming Russian and US officials to discuss missiles, nuclear arms and spheres of influence on the eve of a possible conflagration.

The Covid-19 pandemic took a deadly toll on adults in the United States for two years while largely sparing children from the dire statistics.

World number four Patrick Cantlay fired a four-under par 68 in the California desert on Friday and will take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the US PGA Tour American Express.

A draft executive order written by Donald Trump's White House in the weeks after his defeat in the 2020 election directed the nation's top military leader to seize voting machines, a report said Friday.

Tom Brady says the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' regular season drubbing by the Los Angeles Rams will count for little when the two sides collide in the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are postponing the glittering parades that are the highlight of carnival festivities due to a surge in the pandemic, the Brazilian cities said Friday.

One of the world's most influential Buddhist monks, Thich Nhat Hanh, died in Vietnam Saturday at age 95, his Zen teaching organization said in a statement posted to the peace activist's Twitter account.

World number two Daniil Medvedev will step up his march towards the Australian Open men's title on Saturday while a resurgent Simona Halep eyes a place in the second week of the Grand Slam.

Wall Street stocks tumbled again Friday following a plunge in Netflix shares that sent the Nasdaq further into correction territory, spurring questions of just how far the market will fall.

Lyon eked out an ugly 1-0 victory over struggling neighbours Saint-Etienne on Friday with a 15th-minute penalty by Moussa Dembele.

A rare Botticelli painting depicting Jesus Christ will go up for auction on January 27 at Sotheby's in New York, a year after a record $92 million was paid for a work by the Italian Renaissance master.

Alex Dombrandt scored his third try of the game deep in added time to give Harlequins a 36-33 victory over Castres on Friday in a Champions Cup game filled with tries, handling errors and referee's whistles.

Norwich moved out of the Premier League relegation zone for the first time this season as Josh Sargent's double helped beat 10-man Watford 3-0 at Vicarage Road.

US ice dancers Caroline Green and Michael Parsons won gold in the Four Continents Figure Skatings Championships on Friday, denying Japanese figure skating legend Daisuke Takahashi who gave his country a first silver medal in the discipline with partner Kana Muramoto.