Caitlin Clark raised the profile of women’s basketball to unprecedented levels in both the college ranks and the WNBA, and Tuesday she was named the AP Female Athlete of the Year for her impact on and off the court. After leading Iowa to the national championship game, Clark was the top pick in the WNBA draft as expected and went on to win rookie of the year honors in the league. Fans packed sold-out arenas and millions of television viewers tuned in to follow her journey. Clark’s exploits were far reaching, casting a light on other women’s sports leagues along the way. A group of 74 sports journalists from The Associated Press and its members voted on the award. Clark received 35 votes, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles was second with 25 and boxer Imane Khelif was third, getting four votes. Clark is only the fourth women’s basketball player to be honored as the female athlete of the year since it was first presented in 1931, joining Sheryl Swoopes (1993), Rebecca Lobo (1995) and Candace Parker (2008, 2021). “I grew up a fan of Candace Parker and the people who came before me and to be honored in this way, is super special and I’m thankful,” Clark said in a phone interview. “It was a great year for women’s basketball and women’s sports.” Shohei Ohtani won the AP Male Athlete of the Year on Monday for the third time. Clark broke the NCAA Division I career scoring record for both men and women finishing her career with 3,951 points while guiding Iowa to its second consecutive national championship game. After her Hawkeyes lost t South Carolina for the title, Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley took the mic during her team’s celebration and said, “I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport.” For all the success Clark has had and the attention she has brought to women’s basketball, she is often the centerpiece of debates and online toxicity towards her and other players in the league. For her part, Clark has disavowed the toxic discourse. Lobo also has been impressed with the way the 22-year-old Clark has handled the pressure and attention that has come her way. “I would say she’s navigated it almost flawlessly. she hasn’t had an big missteps or misspeaks at a time you’re under constant scrutiny,” Lobo said. “She’s seemed to say and do all the right things. That’s just incredible at a time when it’s constant attention and scrutiny. She has not done anything to tarnish this sort of mild persona she has.” As Clark handled the praise — and the backlash — during the heat of competition, it was hard for her to appreciate just what she was able accomplish over the past year. But after having time to reflect on the whirlwind tour, she appreciates those who were there alongside her for the ride. “I’m thankful for the people I got to do it with,” Clark said. “A year ago I was still in the early part of my senior year in college. ... How fast things change, and now I can see how great a college season it was.” Iowa sold out all of its games at home and on the road with Clark as the main attraction. That momentum continued into the pros. Her No. 22 jersey was prevalent wherever she played during her rookie season and will be retired at Iowa. “You’d be remiss not to acknowledge how crazy her fan base is and the eyes she gets with everything she does,” said Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who was often spotted courtside at Clark’s Indiana Fever games. “It’s a different type of popularity, she’s one of the most popular athletes in the world. It’s not just women’s sports anymore. “It’s really cool to see and she just handles it with such grace.” Clark said she enjoys spending time with fans at games, usually taking a few minutes before and after games to sign autographs. “For me it’s still really fun,” she said. “Whether it’s 15 seconds or 10 seconds or 5 seconds can be very impactful in a young girl and young boys life. Seeing the fans going crazy an hour before tipoff, I never take that for granted. That’s super cool and I never want that to go away.” After a slow start to her WNBA career, Clark eventually found her stride there too. She set the single-game assist record with 19 and also had 337 assists on the season to break that mark as well. Clark, known for her logo-distance 3-pointers, was the fastest player to reach 100 3’s when she did it in 34 games which helped Indiana reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Lobo, who won the AP female athlete of the year award after lifting UConn to its first national championship, was on the court for launch of the WNBA two years later. The ESPN analyst sees Clark’s ascension as something different. “She’s brought unprecedented attention both in the building, but also viewership to the sport that was worthy of it but didn’t have it yet,” Lobo said. “There’s never been anything like this. “That timeframe from 1995-97 was a baby step in the progression of it all. This is a giant leap forward. I’ve never seen anything like this. There’s more attention then the sports ever had.” The numbers have been record breaking when Clark is part of a broadcast: — TV viewership in the WNBA was up 300% thanks in large part to Clark with ABC, CBS, ION, ESPN, and ESPN2 all having record viewers when Fever games were on. — The NCAA women’s championship game outdrew the men on TV for the first time in the sport’s 42-year history with 18.9 million viewers tuning it to watch the event. It was the second most watched women’s sporting event outside of the Olympics in the history of U.S. television. — The 2024 WNBA draft was the most-watched in league history with 2.4 million viewers. Clark credits the community of women athletes for the popularity increase of women’s sports, saying “we” did this or “we” did that when asked about it. “It’s fascinating, you don’t always appreciate how many people 18 million is,” Clark said. “You see that number against a college football game or the Masters or whatever it is as far as the biggest sporting events in our country and it puts it in perspective. We outdrew the men’s Final Four.”UN General Assembly calls for 'unconditional' ceasefire in Gazatop 464 。

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Despite a resounding defeat at the hands of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the Democrat forged a new path promoting causes such as electoral probity abroad, social justice and drives to rid the world of medical conditions. His first foreign visit as president was to the UK where then prime minister James Callaghan, as well as the usual visits in London, took his guest to the North East with a visit to Newcastle, Sunderland and Washington – the village bearing the name of the first ever president. Mr Carter delighted crowds in the North East by saying “Howay the lads” during a speech to the assembled throng. He also received a miner’s lamp from 12-year-old Ian McEree in Washington. The 39th US president also carried out more traditional presidential duties, including meetings with western European leaders during his time in London while the Cold War was still ongoing. The practising Baptist continued his globetrotting ways after leaving power, even without Air Force One as his vehicle. He was also part of the Elders, a group of experienced statesmen and women drawn from all corners of the world.

WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats failed Wednesday to confirm a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board after independent Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema opposed the nomination, thwarting their hopes of locking in a majority at the federal agency for the first two years of President-elect Donald Trump's term. A vote to move ahead with the nomination of Lauren McFarren, who currently chairs the NLRB, failed 49-50. Had she been confirmed to another five-year term, it would have cemented a Democratic majority on the agency's board for the first two years of the incoming Trump administration. Now, Trump will likely be able to nominate McFarren's replacement. Recommended Videos The NLRB oversees labor disputes, supervises union elections and has the power to investigate unfair labor practices . The partisan breakdown of the NLRB’s leadership is fiercely contested by businesses and labor groups, as the majority on the board sets the agenda and determines how readily the agency uses its power to investigate and enforce labor laws. “It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that this highly qualified nominee — with a proven track record of protecting worker rights — did not have the votes," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. The rejection of McFarren was yet another blow to Senate Democrats and President Joe Biden from Manchin and Sinema, who served as major brakes — and at times outright obstacles — to much of their legislative agenda the first two years of Biden's term. Manchin left the Democratic Party in May, while Sinema withdrew from the party in 2022. Both chose not to run for another Senate term and will be leaving the Congress in January. Some congressional Republicans praised Manchin and Sinema for preventing the confirmation. “This NLRB seat should be filled by President Trump and the new incoming Senate. Not a historically unpopular president and a Senate Democrat Majority that has lost its mandate to govern,” Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, said in a statement after the vote. “Big Labor knows the days of having the federal government do its bidding are numbered,” Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., wrote in a statement. Foxx, who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said that the incoming Trump administration would focus on “enacting a truly pro-worker agenda.” Business groups also praised the rejection of McFarren. Kristen Swearingen, a vice president at Associated Builders and Contractors, a trade group, called McFarren's policies “harmful” and said the process to nominate her was “flawed.” “Under McFerran’s leadership, the NLRB has issued decisions and expanded interpretations of the National Labor Relations Act that have been rejected by the business community, Congress and federal courts," argued Swearingen. Labor unions decried the vote. Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest consortium of labor unions, said the senators who rejected McFarren's nomination “voted against the working people of this country” and warned that the incoming Trump administration would direct the NLRB to side with management over workers. “Make no mistake: This vote had nothing to do with stopping Chair McFerran’s renomination and everything to do with reversing generations of progress workers have made toward building a fairer and more just economy," Shuler said. Democratic lawmakers, like Schumer, took a dim view of the vote. Some directed their anger directly at Manchin and Sinema. “Shortchanging workers is a bad way to leave,” Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., wrote on social media . ___