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Broward 4A-1A boys basketball co-players of the year: Shon Abaev, Calvary Christian senior; Ricky Liburd, Sagemont senior; Christian Yeargin, Stranahan junior
The small-school FHSAA state basketball championships in Lakeland were dominated by Broward County boys teams, with three schools winning titles.
A star member of each of those champions, Calvary Christian senior Shon Abaev, Sagemont senior Ricky Liburd and Stranahan junior Christian Yeargin, are being honored as 4A-1A co-players of the year.
In addition to the state championship, Abaev was selected as one of only 24 players from the Class of 2025 to participate in the prestigious Boys 2025 McDonald’s All-American Game. Abaev said it was a dream come true. This season, he averaged 20.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.4 blocks per game.
Abaev, a guard, is a University of Cincinnati signee who contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds in a thrilling 66-64 victory over the Villages for the 3A title.
“I think it was a really big year,” Agave said. “It was amazing to win a state championship and to be in that atmosphere. We had two really hard teams and we were tired, but we pulled it out. I want to be the best player on the court, and I think it proved it.
“This ranks number one for me,” he added. “It is surely special. It’s my first state championship.
Shon Abaev, All County Basketball Player of the Year from Calvary Christian Academy photographed on Wednesday March 12, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)Liburd, a swingman, stepped out of the shadow of senior Matt Able and was able to help the Lions to a third straight Class 1A state title.
Liburd, a Coastal Carolina signee, scored a game-high 29 points, pulled down nine rebounds, and had four assists and three blocks. He averaged 16.4 points, 6.2 boards, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals and one block.
“I missed the first month of the season dealing with an injury (dislocated knuckle on his shooting hand), but I came back and made an impact in the state championship,” Liburd said. “It was tough to watch and not be able to play. It motivated me to come back stronger and do something at state.
Ricky Liburd,, All County Basketball Player of the Year from Sagemont Prep photographed on Wednesday March 12, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)Yeargin scored a game-high 21 points and added four assists and six rebounds for the Dragons, who scored seven points in the 62-56 win over the two-time defending state champion St. Petersburg Gibbs. The Dragons (27-5) scored seven points in a 10-second span with 16 seconds remaining to pull out the win.
“The year was great,” Yeargin said. There were a lot of ups and downs, but we put in the hard work, and despite everything, we were able to pull it out. We only had nine players, but it was stronger than a team with 20 or 30 players.
“It was the hunger after last season,” Yeargin said. “I didn’t feel last year that I was where I should have been. I was more confident this year.”
Christian Yeargin, All County Basketball Player of the Year from Stranahan High School, photographed on Wednesday March 12, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)Today in History: March 27, first cherry trees planted in Washington D.C.
Today is Thursday, March 27, the 86th day of 2025. There are 279 days left in the year.
Today in history:On March 27, 1912, in Washington D.C., first lady Helen Herron Taft and the wife of Japan’s ambassador to the United States, Viscountess Chinda, planted the first two of 3,000 cherry trees given to the U.S. as a gift by the mayor of Tokyo.
Also on this date:In 1794, Congress approved the “Act to provide a Naval Armament” of six armed ships, which provided the foundation of the permanent U.S. Navy.
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In 1939, the first NCAA men’s Division I basketball championship game was held, with the University of Oregon defeating Ohio State, 46-33.
In 1964, Alaska was hit by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake (still the strongest on record in North America) and tsunamis that together claimed over 130 lives.
In 1968, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to orbit the Earth in 1961, died when his MiG-15 jet crashed during a routine training flight near Moscow; he was 34.
In 1973, “The Godfather” won the Academy Award for best picture of 1972, but its star, Marlon Brando, refused to accept his Oscar for best actor and, in what would become one of the Oscars’ most famous moments, sent in his place actor and activist Sacheen Littlefeather, who spoke out about the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood.
In 1975, construction began on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline; the 800-mile (1,290-kilometer) pipeline was completed just over two years later.
In 1977, in aviation’s deadliest disaster, 583 people were killed when a KLM Boeing 747, attempting to take off in heavy fog, crashed into a Pan Am 747 on an airport runway on the Canary Island of Tenerife.
In 1980, 123 workers died when a North Sea floating oil field platform, the Alexander Kielland, capsized during a storm.
In 2022, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony, winning the Oscar for best actor just minutes later. (Smith later resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and received a 10-year ban from the Oscars.)
Today’s Birthdays:- Actor Michael York is 83.
- Film director Quentin Tarantino is 62.
- Singer Mariah Carey is 56.
- Actor Pauley Perrette is 56.
- Actor Nathan Fillion is 54.
- Singer Fergie is 50.
- Former MLB catcher Buster Posey is 38.
- Singer Jessie J is 37.
- Actor-singer Halle Bailey is 25.
Daily Horoscope for March 27, 2025
General Daily Insight for March 27, 2025
A bit of a back-up is jamming the cosmic thoroughfare. Venus, the planet of love and money, is still retrograde as it abandons fiery Aries and returns to flowing Pisces to finish out the remainder of this cycle. Our usual fantasies and daydreams may abruptly devolve into delusions and escapism. Be wary of donning a pair of rose-colored glasses, as optimism could blind you to the reality of your situation. Clear eyes and a strong heart are needed more now than ever.
AriesMarch 21 – April 19
Cosmic nebulousness could impede your pursuit of pleasure. Alluring Venus is retrograding back into your 12th House of Isolation, which can remove a lot of joy from your life — or at least it has that appearance. It isn’t easy to summon the planet of pleasure when it’s asleep at the wheel like this, so don’t try to push for fun or romance to happen when you don’t have Venus helping you out. Let go of any expectations for the moment.
TaurusApril 20 – May 20
Take stock of Team Taurus. Your social life is up for inspection as your ruler Venus retrogrades in your 11th House of Communities, encouraging you to reconnect with people who you may have left hanging while you’ve been busy doing other things. If you’ve got a friend or two — or a whole group of them — who you should reach out to, then consider this your cosmic cue to extend that olive branch. People will be happy to hear from you.
GeminiMay 21 – June 20
Take care of your reputation before it becomes a problem. Alluring Venus is backing up into your public 10th house, which can cause a few complications when it comes to your ambitions and how people see you. Venus Retrograde can make it easy to bet on yourself, certain that everyone adores you when that might not be the case! Play it safe for the time being, and hold off on any big reveals until Venus wakes up once again next month.
CancerJune 21 – July 22
You only need to go so far so fast. The world certainly looks tempting and full of myriad rewards as Venus returns to your 9th House of Ideas. That being said, with Venus still rolling in reverse, those appealing potential outcomes will likely end up being much less beneficial and more complex in reality. Stick to what you know, rather than chasing after everything you set your eyes on, because chances are high the experience won’t be all it’s cracked up to be.
LeoJuly 23 – August 22
Watch out for the temptation to take things too far. Your feelings are amped up as Venus reverses into your intense 8th house, turning the heat up a few notches. All sorts of chaos could impact your plans when Venus is backing up like this. Your feelings can burn hot and cold, and what appeals to you one minute may seem far less appealing the next. Don’t go all in on anything when your opinions and desires are as changeable as this.
VirgoAugust 23 – September 22
Reflect on the value you place on your relationships. Your 7th House of Partnerships is coming into focus as pleasant Venus returns to this sector, thanks to its current retrograde phase. When it’s spinning in reverse like this, Venus can make it difficult to see eye-to-eye with people and get on the same page. Be leery of attempts to turn your closest connections into an “ideal” network until Venus has turned direct, or else you risk swimming upriver with nothing to show for it.
LibraSeptember 23 – October 22
Take a reasonable approach to self-improvement. Your ruler Venus is backing up into your 6th House of Improvement, bringing its positivity and promise — as long as you don’t let its retrograde incite too much indulgence. It’s easy to tell yourself you’ll work out more when you buy a new wardrobe of athletic wear, or that you need the fanciest blender to make your morning smoothies. All those bells and whistles can be fun, but you don’t need them to reach your wellness goals.
ScorpioOctober 23 – November 21
There is such a thing as too much fun. No matter how tough it is to stop yourself doing everything you like as pleasure-loving Venus retrogrades into your ardent 5th house, you’ll be better off restraining such urges. Otherwise, you might find yourself going overboard in your pursuit of satisfaction! All work and no play makes for a boring life, but no work and all play makes for an irresponsible one. Remind yourself that there will be time for you to accomplish both.
SagittariusNovember 22 – December 21
Hold off on any emotional spending for as long as you can. Venus is retrograding back into your 4th House of Feelings, which can make it very tempting to throw your money around as a distraction from whatever’s actually going on beneath the surface. This same sector rules over your home life, but hit pause if you decide to completely redecorate your space. Venus also rules aesthetics, and there’s a big chance that you won’t like any changes tomorrow that you make today.
CapricornDecember 22 – January 19
The search for pleasure begins in your community. Your local 3rd house is lit up as Venus retrogrades into this territory, bringing its fun-loving ways with it — though those will be a little dimmed until it turns direct once again. For now, focus on the places and people you know bring joy into your life, whether it’s your favorite bar or your favorite library. Save brand-new explorations for another time. Take comfort in what you know, and you should enjoy the process.
AquariusJanuary 20 – February 18
Buyer’s remorse is on sale! With luxury-loving Venus turning back into your financial 2nd house, going on shopping sprees won’t keep you satisfied for long. Venus impacts both your money and your sense of aesthetics. Whether you’re craving a fresh wardrobe or considering investing in a promising startup, it would be much wiser to wait until Venus has turned direct once again. The last thing you want is to waste your hard-earned money, so don’t give your impulsive side the chance to do so.
PiscesFebruary 19 – March 20
You have a special kind of allure, but you should be careful how you use it. You likely can’t help feeling good about yourself as Venus retrogrades back into your sign, but with that loving planet continuing to reverse, you’re in danger of picking up the wrong end of the stick. You may think everyone’s buying what you’re selling, but they may want to return it just as quickly if you lay your spiel on too thick. Don’t hype yourself up too much to anyone.
Isabella Vega helps UCF snap 4-game slide by blanking No. 3 UF
Cindy Ball-Malone knew her UCF softball team needed a reboot.
With Knights mired in a four-game losing streak and set to host No. 3 Florida on Wednesday night at the UCF Softball Complex, Ball-Malone considered putting her young squad through rigorous practice. Instead, another opportunity presented itself, allowing her team to be reset.
“We were talking, and one of our coaches said that maybe we need a pizza party or something, but I was like, ‘Something will come together,’ ” Ball-Malone said.
That something was a visit to a lake house courtesy of former UCF softball Hall of Famer Stephanie Best.
“We had people fishing. We had people swimming in the pool. We had people just reading a book under a tree,” Ball-Malone said. “Everyone got just to cleanse their soul and feed their soul.”
That break paid off in a big way on Wednesday as UCF pitcher Isabella Vega pitched a complete game shutout, her fourth of the season, as the Knights snapped a four-game losing streak by downing No. 3 Florida 4-0.
Show Caption1 of 25ExpandVega (6-2) walked one batter and struck out four while surrendering just five hits.
UCF’s Grant Reddick ready to make strides in kicking game
“I had a positive attitude and was then feeding off the team as well,” Vega said. “They had a very positive energy today. I felt it in the locker room and throughout warm-ups that today was going to be good.”
UCF got on the scoreboard when shortstop Aubrey Evans drove a 1-0 pitch from UF pitcher Katelynn Oxley (5-3) over the left-field wall for a 2-run homer, driving in third baseman Sierra Humphreys. It was the fourth homer of the season for Evans.
“I was looking for one pitch in one spot and in that count, and when you see the pitch, you’re going after it,” Evans said. “I put a good swing on it, and thankfully it left the yard.”
Vega opened the second inning by hitting catcher Jocelyn Erickson, but a 5-4-3 double play cleared the bases and ended the Gators’ threat.
Florida threatened again in the third after Vega walked shortstop Rylee Holtorf and gave up a single to Kendra Falby with two outs. But Korbe Otis popped up to catcher Beth Damon to end the threat.
The Gators managed to get runners on the base in the fifth when second baseman Mia Williams stroked a single down the left-field line to open the inning. Vega got the next two batters to pop up, but Holtorf beat out a bunt single to put two on with two outs.
However, Falby lined out to Evans, who threw to Humphreys for a double play.
UCF’s top scorer Kaitlin Peterson enters transfer portal
UCF took advantage of a pitching change at the bottom of the inning when UF went with reliever Ava Brown. The sophomore got the first two outs before Damon lined a double into the left-center. Three pitches later, right fielder Izzy Mertes launched a blast over the left-field fence for a two-run homer.
UF catcher Jocelyn Erickson lined a shot off the center-field wall for a two-out double in the top of the sixth, but Vega got first baseman Reagan Walsh to ground out to end the threat.
The Gators had one more chance as pitch hitter Cassidy McClellan got on base with one out in the seventh, but Vega got the final two outs to secure the win.
UCF (21-14-1, 3-6 Big 12) snapped a four-game losing streak to Florida. It was the first win by the Knights over the Gators since April 14, 2021, and the third overall by the program under Ball-Malone.
It’s the fourth home win for UCF in the series and the first since an 8-6 victory on March 14, 2021.
The Knights improved to 3-4 against top-10 teams this season.
Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com
At least 4 dead, 2 injured in domestic shooting in Pembroke Park, police say
A woman and three children were shot to death in Pembroke Park on Wednesday night and two people were hospitalized, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
The shooting happened shortly after 8 p.m. in the 3100 block of West Hallandale Beach Boulevard, Broward Sheriff’s Office Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Kane said.
An adult male and a girl were taken to the hospital, Kane said. There were “several other victims,” but Kane said he could not say how many or provide any of their conditions.
One first responder said over radio there were “four plus victims.” The girl who was taken to the hospital is 10 years old, according to first responders’ radio communications archived by the streaming site Broadcastify. The suspected shooter was also taken to the hospital, the radio communications show.
The Sheriff’s Office did not provide the conditions of the man and child taken to the hospital.
Evan Ross, a spokesperson for Pembroke Park Police, also said there were multiple victims and that the shooting was domestic.
There is no threat to the public, officials say.
Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit detectives are leading the investigation.
This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.
Florida House OKs repealing gun-age law
TALLAHASSEE — In an issue rooted in the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Florida House on Wednesday approved repealing a law that prevents people under age 21 from buying rifles and other long guns.
The Republican-controlled House voted 78-34 to pass the bill (HB 759), though it remains unclear whether the Senate will take up the issue. The House passed repeal bills in 2023 and 2024, but they did not get through the Senate.
As in past years, this year’s bill drew heavy — and, at times, emotional — debate.
Then-Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature in 2018 approved the law to increase the minimum age to buy rifles and other long guns from 18 to 21 after 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz used a semiautomatic rifle to kill 17 students and faculty members at the Parkland school.
Florida’s GOP lawmakers back plan to lower gun-buying age restriction enacted after Parkland
Opponents of the bill Wednesday said family members of Parkland victims urged lawmakers to pass the higher minimum age. Rep. Robin Bartleman, a Weston Democrat who was a Broward County School Board member at the time of the mass shooting, urged House members to “continue to honor the promise to those families.”
“Every single time we do this, members, it reopens wounds you can’t even imagine,” said Rep. Dan Daley, a Coral Springs Democrat who graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
But supporters of the bill said 18-year-olds can do such things as vote, join the military and serve on juries. They said 18-year-olds also should be able to buy guns.
“To me, this is simply a matter of consistency,” Rep. Judson Sapp, R-Green Cove Springs, said.
Gov. Rick Scott signs sweeping gun bill; NRA files suit
Federal law has long prevented people under 21 from buying handguns. While the Florida law bars purchases of rifles and other long guns, it allows people under 21 to receive guns, for example, as gifts from family members.
Shortly after the Florida law passed in 2018, the National Rifle Association filed a federal lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this month, in an 8-4 ruling, upheld the law.
Opponents of the repeal bill Wednesday cited that ruling as they tried to counter arguments that the law violates the Second Amendment. Also, opponents cited research about brain development of young adults and their heightened involvement in shootings.
“The science and the facts don’t lie on this issue,” Daley said.
Florida House ready to change gun-buying age, but Senate keeps issue on hold
But supporters of the bill raised scenarios such as the law preventing young single mothers from buying guns to protect themselves.
“To me, this bill is about the right to defend yourself, the right to keep and bear arms,” bill sponsor Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, said.
Wednesday’s vote was largely along party lines, with one Democrat, Jose Alvarez of Kissimmee, supporting the bill. Six Republicans voted against it. They were Rep. Hillary Cassel, R-Dania Beach; Rep. Anne Gerwig, R-Wellington; Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, R-Highland Beach; Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point; Rep. Vicki Lopez, R-Miami; and Rep. Susan Valdes, R-Tampa.
Marlins acquire right-hander Tyler Phillips from Phillies for cash
MIAMI — The Marlins acquired right-handed pitcher Tyler Phillips from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for cash, Miami announced Wednesday.
The 27-year-old Phillips started seven games with the Phillies in 2024 after making his MLB debut in relief on July 7 at Atlanta. In that game, he allowed one run over four innings and struck out the first four batters he faced. In eight appearances, Phillips went 4-1 with a 6.87 ERA, 28 strikeouts and seven walks in 2024.
In 20 starts with Triple-A Lehigh Valley last season, Phillips went 8-5 with a 5.08 ERA. He recorded wins and tossed complete games in consecutive outings for the IronPigs on May 15 at Norfolk and May 21 at Rochester (both were seven-inning doubleheaders).
In a corresponding move, the Marlins designated right-hander Seth Martinez for assignment.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Man accused of sexually assaulting Spring Breaker outside Fort Lauderdale bar
A 44-year-old South Florida man is accused of sexually assaulting a woman visiting on Spring Break outside of a Fort Lauderdale nightclub, police said.
Terrence Style, of Miami-Dade County, was arrested by Fort Lauderdale Police on March 18. He is facing one count of sexual battery of a victim 18 years or older one count of false imprisonment, jail records show.
At the time of his arrest, Style was out of jail after posting bail in a separate, pending sexual battery case from 2022 where he is accused of assaulting a woman in the bathroom at the Broward Mall, court records show.
A bouncer at Munchie’s Nightclub, at 200 SW Second St., witnessed a “very intoxicated” woman walk out the back door of the bar, struggling to walk, according to a probable cause affidavit. The employee then saw a man, later identified as Style, grab her “as if he was trying to help her” and took her toward an alley.
The employee, whose name is redacted in the affidavit, asked a patron nearby to check what was happening with them, according to the affidavit. That person, whose name is also redacted, turned into the alleyway and saw the man assaulting the woman.
When officers went to investigate, Style and the woman were no longer in the alley. Nearly an hour later, officers who were still in the area were flagged down by another witness who said the two were sitting on a bench by the river, according to the affidavit.
That witness, whose name is also redacted, said he had met the woman about an hour-and-a-half before the assault. She was intoxicated and gave her cellphone to him to hold, but he lost track of her and did not give it back. He witnessed the assault in the alleyway and went to report it, but when he came back, they were gone. He continued looking for the woman until he found her sitting on the bench, still with Style, and flagged down the officers.
The witness took officers to the bench, where the woman was sitting with her head down, “appearing to have very little control over her faculties,” Style sat with his arm around her, the affidavit said, with his pants unzipped.
Officers immediately separated the woman from Style, but they weren’t able to get any information from her “as she was clearly and visibly highly intoxicated,” the affidavit said. While doing their preliminary investigation at the scene, the woman said she was sexually assaulted and did not remember much aside from thinking she needed to get home.
Style had a gun, a large kitchen knife and a hatchet when officers detained him, according to the affidavit.
The woman was taken to the Nancy J. Cotterman Center and hours later told officers that she had started drinking about 3 p.m. the previous day and continued drinking throughout the day, according to the affidavit. She arrived in Fort Lauderdale about 9 p.m. from her Airbnb in Hallandale Beach and said she could not remember what happened after about midnight, including how she ended up with Style and when she was separated from her friends.
Style told officers he was in Fort Lauderdale “celebrating a new job” and was hanging out outside of the nightclub when he saw the woman come out of the club, who “appeared to be ‘into him,'” the affidavit said. He told officers he would not talk about what happened in the alleyway without legal representation.
He was held in the North Broward Bureau as of Wednesday.
In a 2022 case, Style is accused of sexually assaulting a woman with autism inside of a bathroom near the food court at the Broward Mall in Plantation, a probable cause affidavit said. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges in that case, which remains pending.
Pegula moves into her 3rd Miami Open semifinal in 4 years with win over Raducanu
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Jessica Pegula stopped the string of upsets at the Miami Open by ending the stalwart run of Britain’s unseeded Emma Raducanu on Wednesday night.
The fourth-seeded Pegula won 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2 in a two hour, 25 minute battle, to move into her third Miami Open women’s semifinal in four years. Pegula, the last American in the field, faces the teenage wild card from the Philippines, Alexandra Eala, on Thursday.
Pegula’s match ended at 11:23 p.m. and forced the postponement of the men’s quarterfinal between Novak Djokovic and Sebastian Korda until Thursday.
Raducanu, who won the 2021 U.S. Open, came in ranked 60th world after experiencing multiple coaching changes and injuries.
Pegula won the first set. But Raducanu flashed her power in taking the second set, though not before she appeared to struggle physically with Miami’s high humidity that reached 70%.
Grimacing through points and showing signs of overheating, Raducanu posted five set points on Pegula’s serve but couldn’t convert. Pegula then held to close to 5-4.
At that juncture, medical personnel took Raducanu’s blood pressure and pulse rate as the chair umpire declared a medical timeout. The medical officials rubbed ice bags on Raducanu’s legs and put cold towels around her neck.
Raducanu sprang to life and dominated the tiebreaker 7-3.
In the third set, Pegula rallied, going up an early break at 2-0. On her third break point, Pegula put away Raducanu’s short ball and ended the match by breaking Raducanu at love.
In a nearly three-hour, men’s quarterfinal, a cramping, 14th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov barely survived the oppressive humidity to outlast No. 23 seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Dimitrov was led off the court by a tournament doctor and ATP physio after sitting in his chair for over 25 minutes, saying he was feeling “dizzy.”
Dimitrov, a Miami Open finalist in 2024, saved a match point in the third set when trailing 5-6 before forcing a tiebreaker. He squandered seven set points in the opening set and lost the tiebreaker 6-4.
He will face the Djokovic-Korda winner in the quarterfinals.
The high seeds were falling earlier on Wednesday.
Soon after unseeded wild card Eala stunned No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek in a straight-set women’s quarterfinal, men’s top seed Alexander Zverev got bounced by No. 17 seed Arthur Fils of France, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a fourth-round men’s match postponed by rain.
Fils, who beat American Frances Tiafoe in his previous match in a marathon three setter, will face Jakub Mensik in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
In the third set, Fils broke Zverev at 3-3 and kept the German moving. On match point, Fils pounded a ball down the left sideline that the top seed couldn’t retrieve.
Fils, 20, received treatment on his back after the first set but rallied to win the next two, winning in two hours.
“I was feeling not great in the rallies,” he said. “I’ve had a little problem in my back since I was young, so sometimes it hurts me a little bit. I had to find a rhythm, more aggressive and come into the court to play my game and not let him play. Because when you let him play, he is one of the best tennis players in the world. I’m really happy about the way I did it.”
Eala, ranked 140th, is on the verge of becoming the first star player to ever come out of the Philippines after topping Swiatek 6-2, 7-5.
Eala became the third wild card to reach the Miami Open semifinals, following Justine Henin in 2010 and Victoria Azarenka in 2018.
She never rattled as the first four games went to at least one deuce and five of the first six games were service breaks. Swiatek held serve just twice in the match and committed 32 unforced errors in the one hour, 39-minute battle.
Eala has beaten three major winners during her remarkable run — Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam winner from Poland.
“There is a lot of emotions, definitely,’’ said Eala, who had never beaten a top 40 player. “Happiness has to be on the top of the whole list.’’
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This story has been changed to correct the spelling of Raducanu throughout.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Turkish student at Tufts University detained, video shows masked people handcuffing her
By JAKE OFFENHARTZ, KATHY McCORMACK and MICHAEL CASEY, Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — A Turkish national and doctoral student at Tufts University has been detained by federal agents without explanation, her lawyer said Wednesday.
Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, had just left her home in Somerville to meet with friends Tuesday night when she was detained by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents, lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai said in a petition filed in Boston federal court.
Video obtained by The Associated Press appears to show six people, their faces covered, taking away Ozturk’s phone as she yells and is handcuffed.
“We’re the police,” members of the group are heard saying in the video.
A man is heard asking, “Why are you hiding your faces?”
In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo)Khanbabai said Ozturk, who is Muslim, was meeting friends for iftar, a meal that breaks a fast at sunset during Ramadan.
“We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of,” Khanbabai said in a statement. Ozturk has a visa allowing her to study in the United States, Khanbabai said.
In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo) ‘This isn’t public safety, it’s intimidation’Neighbors said they were left rattled by the arrest, which played out at 5:30 p.m. on a residential block.
“It looked like a kidnapping,” said Michael Mathis, a 32-year-old software engineer whose surveillance camera captured the arrest. “They approach her and start grabbing her with their faces covered. They’re covering their faces. They’re in unmarked vehicles.”
Hundreds of people gather in Somerville, Mass., on March 26, 2025, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, who was arrested by federal agents Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Michael Casey)Tufts University President Sunil Kumar said Wednesday in a statement that the school received reports that federal authorities detained an international graduate student and that the student’s visa had been terminated.
“The university had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event,” Kumar said.
Kumar did not name the student, but university spokesperson Patrick Collins confirmed that Ozturk is a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Hundreds of people gather in Somerville, Mass., on March 26, 2025, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, who was arrested by federal agents Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Michael Casey)Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley called the arrest “a horrifying violation of Rumeysa’s constitutional rights to due process and free speech.”
“She must be immediately released,” Pressley said in a statement. “We won’t stand by while the Trump Administration continues to abduct students with legal status and attack our fundamental freedoms.”
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell called the video “disturbing.”
“Based on what we now know, it is alarming that the federal administration chose to ambush and detain her, apparently targeting a law-abiding individual because of her political views,” she said. “This isn’t public safety, it’s intimidation that will, and should, be closely scrutinized in court.”
Hundreds of people gather in Somerville, Mass., on March 26, 2025, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, who was arrested by federal agents Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Michael Casey)U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued an order giving the government until Friday to answer why Ozturk was being detained. Talwani also ordered that Ozturk not be moved outside the District of Massachusetts without 48 hours advance notice.
But as of Wednesday evening, the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s online detainee locater system listed her as being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana.
A senior DHS spokesperson confirmed Ozturk’s detention and the termination of her visa.
“DHS and (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans. A visa is a privilege, not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security,” the spokesperson told the AP.
Hundreds of people gather in Somerville, Mass., on March 26, 2025, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, who was arrested by federal agents Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Michael Casey) ‘She’s never spoken badly to anyone’Ozturk was one of four students last March who co-authored an op-ed piece in The Tufts Daily criticizing the university’s response to its community union Senate passing resolutions that demanded Tufts “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide,” disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.
Friends said Ozturk was not otherwise closely involved in protests against Israel. But after the op-ed was published, her name, photograph and work history were featured by Canary Mission, a website that says it documents people who “promote hatred of the U.S.A., Israel and Jews on North American college campuses.” The op-ed was the only cited example of “anti-Israel activism” by Ozturk.
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Students and faculty elsewhere also have recently had visas revoked or been blocked from entering the U.S. because they attended demonstrations or publicly expressed support for Palestinians. President Donald Trump’s administration has cited a seldom-invoked legal statute that authorizes the secretary of state to revoke visas of noncitizens who could be considered a threat to foreign policy interests.
Hundreds of people rallied in a Somerville park to support Ozturk on Wednesday, with speaker after speaker demanding her release and accusing both major political parties of failing to protect immigrants and stand up for Palestinians.
“Free Rumeysa Ozturk now,” the crowd chanted, along with traditional protest slogans such as “Free, free Palestine.” Many held Palestinian flags and homemade signs supporting her and opposing ICE.
Before attending Tufts, Ozturk graduated with a master’s degree from the Developmental Psychology program at Teachers College at Columbia University in New York, according to an alumni spotlight article in 2021.
Reyyan Bilge, a psychology professor at Northeastern University and friend, described Ozturk as a “soft spoken, kind and gentle soul” who is deeply focused on her research and not closely involved in the campus protests.
The two first met at Istanbul Sehir University, where Bilge supervised her thesis, before working together on cognitive research and co-publishing papers. They remained close after Ozturk arrived in the United States to continue her studies on a Fulbright Scholarship at Columbia in 2018.
“Over the 10 years I’ve known her, she’s never spoken badly to anyone else, let alone being antisemitic or racist,” Bilge said.
___
Offenhartz reported from New York, and McCormack from Concord, New Hampshire.
Congressional Republicans target PBS, NPR funding in contentious hearing
By DAVID BAUDER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House Republican pushing the Trump administration’s government efficiency efforts called for dismantling and defunding the nation’s public broadcasting system following a contentious hearing Wednesday featuring the heads of PBS and NPR.
“We believe that you all can hate us on your own dime,” said Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Coupled with President Donald Trump’s declaration on Tuesday that he would “love to” see federal funding cut off, the nation’s public broadcasting system is facing perhaps the biggest threat to its existence since it was first established in 1967. The broadcasters get roughly half a billion dollars in public money through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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Republicans have frequently grumbled that PBS and NPR news programming leans left, but efforts to cut or eliminate funding usually fade because legislators want to protect their local stations — 336 of them for PBS alone, with those in rural areas most heavily dependent on taxpayer money.
The hearings on behalf of the new administration are one of multiple front on which Trump and his allies are aggressively challenging and in some cases sanctioning the American media, which the president has been sharply critical of for years.
This week alone, he denounced The Atlantic repeatedly for publishing texts from the Signal messaging app among high-ranking defense officials planning a military attack. Trump has also taken action against the Voice of America and other government-funded media and barred The Associated Press from the White House press pool and other events.
An issue that’s not going away quietlyA succession of GOP lawmakers on Wednesday complained bitterly about alleged bias, particularly from NPR stations, making clear it was not an issue that was going away quietly.
Kentucky Rep. James Comer said that as a young farmer decades ago he would frequently listen to NPR broadcasts on his tractor, as it was often his only option. But now, he has podcasts and other things to listen to.
“I don’t even recognize the station anymore,” Comer said. “It’s not news. It feels like it’s propaganda. I feel like it’s disinformation every time I listen to NPR.”
Greene displayed a picture of what she called a “drag queen” that appeared on a PBS program geared to children and complained about documentaries featuring transgender people. PBS chief executive Paula Kerger said the “drag queen” reference was about something mistakenly put on the New York PBS station’s website and never on the air. The transgender people appeared as part of adult programming that reflected the experiences of different Americans, she said.
Democrats characterized the hearing as a distraction from more important issues, like this week’s revelation that a journalist from the Atlantic was included in a text chain of Trump administration officials detailing a U.S. military strike in Yemen. “If shame was still a thing, this hearing would be shameful,” said Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch.
Some Democrats tried comedy. California Rep. Robert Garcia asked if the red “Sesame Street” character, “is Elmo now, or has he ever been, a member of the Communist Party?”
“He’s a puppet,” Kerger said. “But, no.”
Admitting to some past mistakesThe broadcasting leaders acknowledged mistakes.
NPR President Katherine Maher said the radio network was wrong to dismiss what was on Hunter Biden’s laptop as a non-story. After they were repeatedly referenced by Republicans on the committee, Maher said she regretted posting some anti-Trump tweets before she began working for NPR.
Although saying she is not responsible for editorial content, Maher detailed efforts by NPR to ensure a variety of political viewpoints are represented. NPR’s weekly listenership declined from 60 million to 42 million between 2020 and 2024, according to internal documents published by The New York Times, although Maher said Wednesday those numbers have inched up in the past year.
“I do not believe we are politically biased,” Maher said. “We are a non-biased organization.”
Uri Berliner, a former NPR editor who quit last year after complaining the news outlet had become too one-sided, wrote in the Free Press on Wednesday that NPR should no longer accept taxpayer money so it can “drop the public from its mission statement and embrace the progressive.”
“Don’t try to conceal what everyone knows already,” he wrote.
Republican committee members noted that NPR has cited Wednesday’s hearing in fundraising appeals and Maher was asked whether the system would survive without public money. “It would be incredibly damaging to the national public radio system,” she said.
Kerger emphasized the service that PBS provides to local communities, particularly with its educational programming for children, and said she is worried for the future of its smaller stations.
“This,” she said, “is an existential moment for them.”
After the hearing, the Committee to Protect Journalists called NPR and PBS essential public services for millions of Americans.
“Casting them as propaganda machines undeserving of taxpayer support is a dangerous mischaracterization that threatens to rob Americans of the vital reporting they need to make decisions about their lives,” said Jodie Ginsberg, the committee’s CEO.
David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social
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