Jake Knapp shoots 15th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history with 59 at the Cognizant Classic
Jake Knapp joined an elite club on Thursday as he shot the PGA Tour’s 15th sub-60 round ever. The world No. 99 shot a bogey-free 12-under 59 in his opening round at the Cognizant Classic at the PGA National Resort in Florida. His round – composed of 12 birdies and six pars – meant that he ended Thursday’s first round with a four-shot lead over the chasing pack. “It’s just one of those days where everything was kind of clicking,” Knapp said afterwards. Knapp began his round in hot fashion, coming out the gates with five straight birdies before adding another at the ninth to card a six-under 29 opening nine.
Boris Spassky, Soviet chess champion who lost famed Cold War-era match to Bobby Fischer, dies at 88
Boris Spassky, a Soviet-era world chess champion who lost his title to American Bobby Fischer in a legendary 1972 match that became a proxy for Cold War rivalries, died Thursday in Moscow. He was 88. The death of the one-time chess prodigy was announced by the International Chess Federation, the game’s governing body. No cause was given. Spassky was “one of the greatest players of all time,” the group said on the social platform X. He “left an indelible mark on the game.”
Rights group says Israel has systematically abused Palestinian health workers for their profession
Israel has systematically targeted Palestinian healthcare workers in Gaza, arbitrarily detaining them without charge or access to legal counsel, and submitting them to torture and abuse, according to a new report by Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI). Between July and December, lawyers working with the Israeli nonprofit group said they visited over two dozen Palestinian medical workers, including physicians, nurses and paramedics, aged between at least 21 and 69, who had spent more than six months in isolation after having been seized by Israeli forces.
Trump has been flirting with Putin. Can Keir Starmer woo him back to the West?
It’s time for Keir Starmer to make his move. Britain’s prime minister has spent months carefully crafting a chummy relationship with Donald Trump. He has showered the US president with flattery since even before his November election win; he has been, in Trump’s words, “very nice.” On Thursday, Starmer could finally extract something tangible in return. His visit to Washington is the biggest foreign policy challenge yet for a leader who, at a critical time for Ukraine’s future, has emerged as a potential bridge-builder: someone who can sway Trump from his confrontational tendencies and communicate to him the anxieties of the West.
Alarm as activists warn Thailand may have secretly deported Uyghurs back to China
Dozens of Uyghur men detained in Thailand after fleeing China may have been secretly deported to their home country, activists and rights groups said on Thursday, warning they could face torture and imprisonment on their return. The 48 men were arrested by Thai authorities 11 years ago after crossing the border to Thailand in an attempt to escape persecution in China and had been kept in detention and legal limbo ever since. On Thursday Thai opposition lawmaker Kannavee Suebsang cited unspecified reports suggesting it was “very likely” the group had been sent back to China on Thursday morning.
Israel won’t withdraw from Gaza-Egypt border, Israeli source says
Israel will not withdraw its forces from the Gaza-Egypt border, according to an Israel source. The military was supposed to begin withdrawing from that region in early March if the current ceasefire, which expires Saturday, were extended. The source shared with CNN a message sent to the Israeli media Thursday, which said: “We will not exit the Philadelphi Corridor,” a 14-kilometer (8 mile) strip along the border Gaza-Egypt border.
Andrew Tate and brother fly from Romania to Florida, lawyer says
Self-proclaimed misogynist influencer Andrew Tate and his brother have left Romania and are headed for Florida on a private jet, their lawyer has told CNN. Ioan Gliga said both Andrew and Tristan Tate left Romania on Thursday morning. The pair had previously been banned from leaving Romania pending a criminal investigation on accusations of forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. They have denied all wrongdoing.
Coffins said to contain hostages’ bodies arrive in Israel and Palestinian prisoners freed as Gaza truce nears expiry
Four coffins said to contain the remains of Israeli hostages have been received by Israel, as Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in an overnight exchange as part of the fragile ceasefire deal. The exchange marks the start of the final swap in the 42-day truce between Israel and Hamas, which is set to expire this weekend unless an agreement is struck to extend it. Hamas on Thursday signaled its readiness to begin talks on the second phase of the deal after the Palestinian militant group said it would hand over the bodies of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi and Shlomo Mantzur to Israel. All four were taken captive in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
From Instagram to art world darling: The meteoric rise of Danielle Mckinney
Danielle Mckinney’s ladies are in a permanent state of relaxation. They lounge alone on couches or in bed. They sleep. Some are playful — toying with a butterfly or eying a praying mantis. Others are naked and seemingly unaware of the viewer, cigarettes in hand and gazes soft. The 43-year-old artist has been painting these women her whole life, she said. As a little girl, she painted little girls, too, but her subjects have aged as she has. In conversation, Mckinney refers to them singularly as her “lady,” and, taken together, the moody portraits reflect intimate moments of solitude and repose.
The internet is raving about ‘nature’s Botox.’ Does it work?
“You don’t need Botox, you don’t!” stated Kirti Tewani in a video posted on TikTok, where she has over 475,400 followers. One might have expected words of empowerment and self-acceptance to follow, but instead, the Ayuverdic therapist and makeup artist started rubbing the inside of a banana peel across her face. “It’s a wrinkle reducer,” Tewani continued to explain, noting that the peels contain lutein, an antioxidant that “can brighten, hydrate and soothe your skin.” When selecting bananas, “the riper, the better,” she advised. To date, the video has amassed over 2.2 million views and more than 61,200 likes.