Billie Jean King says Serena Williams was “totally out of line” for her outburst in the US Open final, but also believes umpire Carlos Ramos “blew it”.

Williams, beaten in straight sets by Naomi Osaka, was docked a game for verbal abuse, having already had a point penalty for smashing her racquet and a code violation for coaching.

The American later said it was “sexist” to have been penalised a game.

“Serena was out of line, there’s no question,” said legend King.

American King, one of the founders of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), initially backed the 23-time Grand Slam champion, saying in the aftermath of Saturday’s final: “When a woman is emotional, she’s ‘hysterical’ and she’s penalised for it. When a man does the same, he’s ‘outspoken’ and there are no repercussions.

“Thank you, Serena Williams, for calling out this double standard. More voices are needed to do the same.”

However, in an interview with CNN on Tuesday, King’s stance softened.

“No one was saying she was a good sport, if they are they’re crazy,” added King, who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles.

“The point is he (Ramos) aggravated the situation, instead of ‘I’m not attacking your character’ which is the most important thing he could have said.”

Williams’ claims of sexism were backed by the WTA, but the International Tennis Federation said umpire Ramos acted “at all times with professionalism and integrity”.

“I felt like he blew it,” said King. “First of all as an umpire you’re supposed to keep the flow of the match going and he did just the opposite.

“He needed to tell Serena – he can’t apologise he did the right thing there, he can’t apologise, he’s got to be the boss – but all he had to say to Serena is ‘I am not attacking your character’.

“Character is the essence of what was going on there, she was so upset about that, those kids (Serena and Venus) have been brought up to play by the rules.

“We know he’s a black and white guy. The character was the biggest issue here, this is a human being you’re talking to. If he had said ‘I’m not attacking your character’, everything would have been different.”

Umpire says he is ‘fine’

The umpire at the centre of the Williams controversy insists he is fine – and says it is not possible to umpire a tennis match “a la carte”.

Ramos spoke very briefly about the US Open women’s final to Tribuna Expresso in his native Portugal.

He is expected to be on duty as planned for this week’s Davis Cup semi-final in Zadar where Croatia are hosting the United States.

“It’s a delicate situation,” Ramos said. “But umpiring a la carte is something that does not exist. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

Image: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

There are so many memes on Facebook and Instagram that the company has enlisted its artificial intelligence to help understand them.

In a blog post, Facebook developers say they have created a dedicated AI tool, called Rosetta, to read the text that appears in memes (and other images and video frames) that are shared to Facebook and Instagram.

At face value, understanding memes might not seem like the most important problem for AI to solve. But Facebook’s researchers point out that the technology, which is designed to recognize depicted text in a wide variety of languages, has many practical uses.

For example, Rosetta can read photographed text in menus and street signs, as well as words appearing on clothing and product labels. So while Rosetta isn’t dedicated to memes, their prevalence on Facebook and Instagram will undoubtedly make them a major use case, especially in Facebook’s detection of offensive material.

“Understanding the text that appears on images is important for improving experiences, such as a more relevant photo search or the incorporation of text into screen readers that make Facebook more accessible for the visually impaired,” Facebook explains, adding that reading text in images is important in identifying “inappropriate or harmful content and keep our community safe.”

According to Facebook, the system is able to process more than a billion images a day.

The process essentially boils down to two steps: Rosetta scans images for text, and then uses text recognition to identify what the text actually says. Once the text has been transcribed, the system interprets what the text could mean.

Through Rosetta, Facebook is able to improve its image search as well as the systems that determine the types of images that may appear in your News Feed. It also helps the company automatically detect and remove hate speech that it may not have been able to identify previously.

In the future, Facebook says it could apply the same technology toward understanding text that appears in video as well, though that requires a more complex system.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump called the federal government’s response last year to hurricane devastation in Puerto Rico an “incredible unsung success” despite a study released last month that put the death toll at nearly 3,000 people.

“I think Puerto Rico was incredibly successful,” Trump told reporters, adding: “I actually think it was one of the best jobs that’s ever been done with respect to what this is all about.”

Trump spoke about the response to Hurricane Maria as he discussed preparations for Hurricane Florence, a massive storm that is heading toward the U.S. East Coast, threatening record rains and historic flooding.

More: Trump administration defends response to Hurricane Maria after new study finds thousands died

From September 2017 to February 2018, 2,975 people died in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria, according to a study by George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, which was commissioned by the Puerto Rican government. The study, released last month, showed a much higher death toll than the initial estimate of 64 people.

Trump said the recovery effort for Puerto Rico was complicated by the fact that it is an island and that its energy grid was in poor condition when the storm hit. “The problem with Puerto Rico is their electric grid and their electric generating plant was dead before the storms ever hit,” Trump told reporters.

The president spoke before meeting with aides about preparations for Hurricane Florence, which is expected to hit the Carolinas and Virginia later this week.

While praising the Puerto Rico response, Trump did allude to the lack of power that plagued the island after its hurricane. He said there would not be a repeat in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

“Unlike Puerto Rico, you have very strong power companies,” Trump said. “They’re very powerful, very well managed in the sense that they have tremendous overcapacity.”

Critics blasted Trump’s praise of the Puerto Rico response.

“Nearly 3,000 people died,” tweeted Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “That is not a ‘success.’ That is a tragedy and a disgrace.”

 

 

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WASHINGTON – Donald Trump Jr. said Tuesday he is not afraid of going to jail as the result of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

“I’m not because I know what I did, and I’m not worried about any of that,” the president’s eldest son said during an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America. “That doesn’t mean they won’t try to create something, I mean, we’ve seen that happen with everything. But, again, I’m not.”

He said he would “deal with it as it comes.”

Trump Jr. is reportedly being investigated by Mueller because he agreed to take a meeting with a Kremlin-connected attorney in June 2016 at Trump Tower to get “dirt” on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. It is a violation of federal law for an American campaign to solicit or accept anything of value from a foreign national.

Trump Jr. has denied telling his father about the meeting. President Donald Trump has defended his son, saying Trump Jr. did nothing wrong by attending the meeting.

Mueller’s team of prosecutors and investigators are probing possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin as part of a larger investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. They also are looking into possible obstruction of justice by the president and his associates.

“It’s obviously been very rough,” Trump Jr. said of the investigation. “For a time, this has been very difficult.”

“At the same time, I think I’m able to compartmentalize it,” he said. “And in the end I know what I’ve done, and I’m not worried about that at all because, you know, I’ve done nothing that anyone else wouldn’t do in that position, in my opinion.”

Trump Jr. said he believes there will “never be a conclusive end” to the investigation. He predicted that Democrats would use it “as a permanent asterisk on my father’s record” to try to win this year’s congressional elections and the 2020 presidential race.

More: Gator hunting and swamp diving: Trump Jr.’s weekend in the Louisiana bayou

 

 

 

 

 

 

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It couldn’t have been scripted any better: James Anderson, bowling for the final time with his close friend Alastair Cook on the field, knocking the middle pole out of the ground to wrap up an emphatic victory and become statistically the world’s best pace bowler.

What a way to break Glenn McGrath’s record of 563 wickets, seal a 4-1 series win and send your mate into retirement.

Slapping the middle stump out of the ground – there is no finer or more spectacular sight that you can ask for as a fast bowler. There it was, flattened. Bang – done, end of the match. It was brilliant.

When I spoke to Anderson afterwards, he was very emotional – not just about passing the record and winning the game, but more about losing Cook, who has now played in his final Test for England.

He and Cook are terrific friends – Cook is godfather to Anderson’s eldest daughter – and both Anderson and Root teared up during the presentations. It was as though the reality had just dawned on them, as they stood there, listening to Cook giving his interview. They were all moved by it.

As a person, Anderson is terrific. When he first came on to the scene – he made his England debut in 2006 – he was very quiet and terribly shy. But, like all young players, he matured.

He is good company and interesting company on a night out, and loves talking about bowling. And he is someone who has given great service to English cricket.

You can tell how respected he is when he’s out on the field. Anderson is often involved in little group chats as the day’s cricket unfolds – Ben Stokes is often in there, too, and Stuart Broad lurking around on the fringes of it.

I consider myself to have been a very poor man’s James Anderson, and I would love to have had half the skill he has when I was playing.

The big difference between me and Anderson is that he has got a ‘plan B’ for when the ball doesn’t swing. I never had that. If it didn’t swing, I was a bit stuck.

But Anderson has developed his game so magnificently that he’s always a threat, swing or no swing. He’s dangerous in all conditions.

The wobble seam delivery he has developed – which basically means that the ball can move either way and can confound a batsman – is extremely clever, and the control he has is magnificent.

Ball after ball, off an easily grooved run-up – he’s at you all the time. As a batsman, you have absolutely no let-up at all.

The way he disguises the ball, too, is so clever. He stops the batsman from knowing which way the ball is going to swing. He runs in with the ball in his left hand, and transfers it to his right, while hiding it from the man at the other end.

It’s so clever, and it is the result of hours and hours of hard work. Anderson is 36 now and he is still looking for new things to develop. He has never sat back and thought ‘that’s it, I’m done’. He is always working, and that is what really sets him apart.

It has been a brilliant, and emotional, few days at The Oval – for drama, is has been rather like the Ashes Test here in 2005, when England regained the urn after 18 years.

That was more of a team drama, however. This game was about individual stories.

Both Anderson and Cook have been great servants to the game – and while Anderson continues, there is a huge hole that will be left by Cook.

Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC Sport’s Amy Lofthouse at The Oval

This hero defended his dispensary against a squad of robbers, brandishing a bong against their bear spray until they were forced out of the store. 

And it was all caught on video. 

CCTV footage, posted by YouTuber Big Daddy Dishrags, shows the mystery hero walking into a cannabis shop in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Canada with an impossible tiny dog trailing behind him. There’s just under a minute of peace and quiet in the little cannabis shop as our hero and his colleague work behind the counter. 

Then a crew of four robbers “brandishing canisters of bear spray,” according to the police report, burst into the store. 

Despite repeat warnings of “GET THE FUCK DOWN!” our hero wasn’t phased. He marches straight into the line of fire, probably taking bear spray directly to his face. 

Then, he approaches the crew with a bong. A BONG. His weapon of choice is a fucking BONG. 

Wielding a bong like a baseball bat, he dodges a flying recycling bin and chases the amateur robbers out of the store entirely. 

In a post alerting the public about the incident, the local police referred to our bong-swinging mystery man’s heroism as “great resistance,” which is the understatement of the century. 

The attempted robbery is still under investigation. This man and his impossibly tiny dog deserve a medal. 

The most devastating effects of Hurricane Florence will be in the Carolinas and Virginia, though surrounding states will also see some effects from the powerful storm, which is expected to make landfall late Thursday or early Friday. Here’s a state-by-state forecast:

North Carolina

The full fury of Florence should land in North Carolina, where hundreds of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate. 

“Significant impacts are expected from Florence, including storm surge, extreme winds, possible tornadoes and exceptional amounts of rain, which will likely cause flash flooding and eventually serious river flooding,” the National Weather Service in Newport, North Carolina, said.

Initially, there will howling winds of up to 120 mph near where the storm comes ashore, and structural damage to homes and buildings is possible. 

Rainfall totals of up to 30 inches are possible across eastern North Carolina, which would lead to widespread, “catastrophic flooding.” Cities such as Wilmington, Raleigh and Fayetteville are all in the crosshairs for devastating floods.

“This storm looks like it’s going to stall over the region and potentially bring tremendous, life-threatening flooding,” AccuWeather meteorologist Marshall Moss said.

In addition, destructive, life-threatening ocean waves will roar ashore as the hurricane’s eye makes landfall. Up to 12 feet of surge could inundate coastal areas from Cape Fear to Cape Lookout. The worst of this surge will be to the north or northeast of where the center comes ashore, the Weather Channel said.

South Carolina

Although the absolute worst conditions will be in North Carolina, its sister state to the south won’t be spared: Coastal areas from Myrtle Beach to Charleston will see a storm surge of up to 6 feet. 

Floods from relentless rain will be the primary concern in the Palmetto State. “The main life-threatening risk may be a prolonged heavy rainfall event with associated flooding,” the weather service in Columbia, South Carolina, said. 

Along the coast of South Carolina, based on the latest track from the National Hurricane Center, strong rip currents, rough surf conditions, coastal flooding and some degree of beach erosion are all possible, the Charleston weather service office said.

Virginia

Even if Virginia does not take a direct hit from Florence, heavy rain and flooding remain a real threat. In southeastern Virginia, including the Richmond and Norfolk metro areas, “life-threatening, if not historic rainfall totals” are possible during the Friday-Saturday time frame, the weather service in Wakefield, Virginia, warned. 

Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C. 

Specific repercussions from Florence this far from landfall are still uncertain. Portions of Maryland and Delaware may be on the edge of the excessive rainfall area.

“With uncertainty remaining around the exact track of Florence after landfall, it is a bit early to highlight a specific area for heavy rain potential,” the weather service in Washington, D.C., said. “However, the threat for significant rainfall and flooding is there for the weekend into early next week.”

West Virginia

Although the forecast in the Mountain State is also much less certain this far inland and this far ahead of the storm, “significant rainfall” is possible early next week in West Virginia, the National Weather Service said.

The state’s mountainous terrain is always a concern when rain is in the forecast. “There could be devastating floods well in from the coast back in the hills and mountains of West Virginia,” AccuWeather’s president Joel Myers warned.

 

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The Editorial Page, USA TODAY
Published 3:13 p.m. ET Sept. 11, 2018 | Updated 3:35 p.m. ET Sept. 11, 2018

Social media companies are money-grubbing capitalists out to protect their brand. The real Republican Party would have seen the value in that: Our view

President Donald Trump has turned Republicanism on its head. A party that once stood for free trade has a president who loves tariffs. A party that championed free enterprise has a president out to punish companies he doesn’t like. A party that stood for the rule of law has a president who attacks his own Justice Department.

And now this. A party that has long preached limited government, free expression and deregulation now has an administration pondering a politically motivated investigation of social media intended to justify a new wave of regulations.

Without question, social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as well as Google, the web’s dominant search engine, have amassed great power in recent years and have had an almost unimaginable impact on politics and culture.

Facebook, a company founded in a dorm room 14 years ago, has recently been hiring linguists, programmers and artificial intelligence experts all around the world to keep its platform from becoming a medium of violence and spreader of lies.

OPPOSING VIEW: President Trump is right

Facebook is being used as a propaganda vehicle for both sides in a Libyan civil war and has been accused of aiding the cause of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, formerly Burma. Closer to home, it was used by the Russian government to spread misinformation leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

Twitter has long been the social media weapon of choice for conspiracy theorists and provocateurs such as Alex Jones. Jones is peddler of lies, most notably that the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 was a hoax. He also likes to wrap himself in constitutionalism, arguing that his First Amendment right to peddle sickening fantasies requires tech companies to provide an audience.

One by one, social media companies have come to the conclusion that they have no obligation to amplify his voice and that, as a matter of pure self-interest, they should not. On Thursday, Twitter became the last major company to ban or greatly limit him from its platform.

Enter Big Government: GOP edition.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced last week that he would convene a meeting with states to discuss ways that social media companies stifle free expression. This comes after some Republican members of Congress and the president complained that tech companies were stifling conservative voices.

We can think of nothing more repulsive to the values of the Constitution, or antithetical to Republican beliefs, than a government inquiry into the role of media in disseminating speech.

Do social media companies stifle some legitimate speech? Almost certainly they do. But if people have a beef with that, they should take it up with the various companies, not run to the government.

What they will find is that such tech companies restrict speech in a limited number of instances to protect the quality of their product, and thus to make more money. They don’t want to be a garbage bucket of falsehoods or megaphone of hate speech because that would drive away their customers.

Social media companies are money-grubbing capitalists out to make a buck. Surely, the Republican Party can see the value in that, even in the age of Trump.

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