Wins

A father driving his daughter and two other families from the Santa Clarita Flyers hockey club to a tournament in Colorado was killed last week in a horrific crash in treacherous weather.

Three days later the Flyers won the Western Girls Hockey League 12U title with a 1-0 victory in overtime Sunday, their fifth win of the tournament.

The players met for two hours the night of the accident and decided they would participate rather than pull out and head home.

“We knew that the families in the crash would want us to play and decided not just to do it for ourselves, but do it for them mostly,” Flyers captain Sophia Boyle told Denver 9News. “We are more than a team. It’s like we are a giant family.

“We knew what we wanted, we tried our hardest and we got it.”

The driver of a Colorado Department of Transportation plow truck traveling on snow-covered and wet roads Thursday morning lost control on Interstate 70, drove through the median and hit the Flyers’ Ford Transit van head-on, according to the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office.

The van was knocked down an icy embankment before coming to rest, and the driver, Manuel Lorenzana of Chatsworth, was pronounced dead at the scene. Four children were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital; a fifth was flown to a trauma center with critical injuries. Three adults were admitted to the hospital, one in serious condition.

Lorenzana, 38, a noted tattoo artist and lifelong San Fernando Valley resident, was remembered as “a hero and the epitome of what an amazing man, father, partner and friend should be,” his family wrote on a GoFundMe page.

“He was the most thoughtful, loving and supportive man to his soulmate April, and the most caring, involved, fun, kind and loving parent, and best friend, to his daughter Brody.”

Brody was released from the hospital and joined her teammates Saturday. After opening the double-elimination tournament with two victories Friday and a loss in their first game Saturday, the Flyers advanced with a 14-0 win.

Santa Clarita Valley residents gathered at the Flyers’ home rink, the Cube Ice and Entertainment Center, to watch a stream of the game that unfortunately malfunctioned. Still, the crowd stayed, with several people refreshing the league’s website to keep up with the game and shouting when the Flyers scored.

Two victories Sunday — both shutouts — gave the Flyers the title. Moments before the championship game, the Flyers raised their sticks in a silent nod to Manny Lorenzana. Khaleesi Bewer scored the winning goal in overtime, and afterward the Flyers sang Katy Perry’s “California Gurls. ”

“It’s unbelievable how much people have rallied behind these girls,” said Prescott Littlefield, president of the Flyers organization. “If there is a silver lining to this, the amount of support they’ve gotten is beyond my ability to comprehend. The families are so grateful.”

Bad Bunny’s “Débi Tirar Más Fotos” was named album of the year at Sunday night’s 68th Grammy Awards — the first time a Spanish-language LP has won the Recording Academy’s most prestigious prize.

Bunny delivered the speech primarily in Spanish.

“I want to dedicate this award to all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams,” he said as the audience rose to its feet.

“Puerto Rico, believe me when I say that we are so much bigger than 100 by 35 and there is nothing that exists that we can’t accomplish,” he said in Spanish. “Thank God, thank you to the academy, thank you to all the people who have believed in me throughout my whole career. To all the people who worked on this album. Thank you, mami, for giving birth to me in Puerto Rico. I love you.”

“For all the people who have lost a loved one and even then have had to continue moving forward and continue with so much strength, this award is for you all.”

Intricately arranged with the sounds of the singer and rapper’s native Puerto Rico, “Débi Tirar Más Fotos” was released to rave reviews in January 2025 and quickly reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Last summer, Bad Bunny supported the project with a 30-date concert residency at San Juan’s José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum; he followed that with the announcement of a world tour that avoided the United States, in part, he told I-D magazine, because of his concern that immigration agents might turn up at shows.

Prior to Sunday’s win, “Débi Tirar Más Fotos” — the title translates in English to “I Should Have Taken More Photos” — was named album of the year at November’s Latin Grammy Awards. Next weekend, Bad Bunny (whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) will headline the halftime show at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara.

He won earlier in the night for música urbana album and global music performance.

The other LPs nominated for album of the year were Justin Bieber’s “Swag,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend,” Clipse’s “Let God Sort Em Out,” Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem,” Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX,” Leon Thomas’ “Mutt” and Tyler, the Creator’s “Chromakopia.”

In 2025, Beyoncé took the prize with “Cowboy Carter.”

Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” was named record of the year at Sunday night’s 68th Grammy Awards, giving Lamar his second straight win in the category after he took it in 2025 with his smash-hit Drake diss, “Not Like Us.”

The Compton-born rapper is one of only four acts in Grammy history who’ve gone back to back in record of the year, along with Billie Eilish, U2 and Roberta Flack.

Built on a prominent sample of Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 duet “If This World Were Mine” (itself a cover of the song Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell introduced in 1967), “Luther” is from Lamar’s sixth studio album, “GNX,” which came out in November 2024.

“Luther forever,” Lamar said while accepting the speech. Cher announced the winner after accepting the Lifetime achievement award, at first just reading off Vandross’ name.

The song — which was produced by Jack Antonoff, Bridgeway, M-Tech, Roselilah, Sounwave and Kamasi Washington — spent 13 weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100, longer than any other single in 2025. On Spotify, “Luther” has been streamed more than 1.3 billion times.

The other songs nominated for record of the year were Bad Bunny’s “DTMF,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild,” Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Billie Eilish’s “Wildflower,” Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra,” Chappell Roan’s “The Subway” and “Apt.” by Rosé and Bruno Mars.

FORT WORTH — Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a reliably Republican state Senate district in Texas in Saturday’s special election, continuing a string of surprise victories for Democrats across the U.S. in the year since President Trump returned to the White House.

Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called it “a wake-up call for Republicans across Texas,” where the GOP controls every statewide office.

“Our voters cannot take anything for granted,” Patrick wrote on X, while noting low-turnout special elections are always unpredictable. “I know the energy and strength the Republican grassroots in Texas possess. We will come out fighting with a new resolve, and we will take this seat back in November.”

Rehmet, a labor union leader and veteran, easily defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist, in the Fort Worth-area district, which Trump had won by 17 points in 2024. With almost all votes counted, Rehmet was leading by more than 14 percentage points — a more than 30-point swing.

“This win goes to everyday working people,” Rehmet told supporters.

Rehmet’s victory added to Democrats’ record of overperforming in special elections so far this cycle, beginning in March — when they prevailed in a Pennsylvania legislative district made up of suburbanites and farmers that Democrats hadn’t held in a century — and continuing through November, when they dominated candidate and ballot contests from Maine to California. Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, was elected mayor of New York City, a Democratic stronghold that saw the highest voter turnout in a mayor’s race in 50 years.

The showings come as Trump’s approval ratings hover around or below 40%. A January AP-NORC poll found that a majority of U.S. adults disapprove of the way he’s handling foreign policy, trade negotiations and immigration, as well as the economy.

Democrats said Saturday’s results in Texas were further evidence that voters under the second Trump administration are motivated to reject GOP candidates and their policies.

Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder said Rehmet won by standing with working people and talking to Texans about the future.

“This win shows what is possible in Texas with strong organizing, great candidates and strategic investments,” he said in a statement. “People are noticing that Democrats have the workers’ backs and are delivering results.”

Democrats’ other recent state victories included wins for governor in Virginia and New Jersey and in special elections in Kentucky and Iowa. And, while Republican Matt Van Epps won a Tennessee special election for a U.S. House seat, the relatively slim margin of victory gave Democrats hope in the district for this fall’s midterms.

With that backdrop in mind, Trump and Vice President JD Vance have pushed states to redraw their political maps to Republicans’ advantage headed into those contests, which will determine partisan control in Washington. Some Democratic states — most notably California — have countered with their own redistricting efforts.

The Texas Senate seat was open because the four-term GOP incumbent, Kelly Hancock, resigned to take a statewide office. Hancock easily won election each time he ran for the office, and Republicans have held the seat for decades.

The district is redder than its home county, Tarrant. Trump won the county by 5 points in 2024, but Democrat Joe Biden carried it in 2020 by about 1,800 votes out of more than 834,000 cast.

Trump posted about the race on his social media platform earlier Saturday, urging voters to get out to support Wambsganss. He called her a successful entrepreneur and “an incredible supporter” of his “Make America Great Again” movement.

Rehmet had support from national organizations including VoteVets, a veterans group that said it spent $500,000 on ads. Rehmet, who served in the Air Force and works as a machinist, campaigned on lowering costs, supporting public education and protecting jobs.

Wambsganss warned her party not to be complacent.

“The Democrats were energized,” she said in a statement. “Too many Republicans stayed home.”

Rehmet’s victory allows him to serve until early January, and he will face Wambganss again in the November general election to try to keep the seat for a full four-year term. The Texas Legislature is not set to reconvene until 2027, and the GOP still will have a comfortable majority.

Hanna and Smyth write for the Associated Press.

HOUSTON — Democrat Christian Menefee won a Texas U.S. House seat in a Saturday special election that will further narrow Republicans’ slim majority.

Menefee, the Harris County attorney, prevailed in a runoff against fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards, a former Houston City Council member. He will replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, a former Houston mayor, who died in March 2025.

The seat representing the heavily Democratic Houston-based district has been vacant for nearly a year.

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t schedule the first round of voting until November. Menefee and Edwards were the top vote-getters in a 16-candidate, all-parties primary. They advanced to a runoff because no candidate won a majority of the vote.

Abbott argued that Houston officials needed the six months between Turner’s death and the first round of voting to prepare for the special election, but Democrats criticized the long wait as a move designed to give the GOP a slightly bigger cushion in the House for difficult votes. The 18th District is safely Democratic with minority residents making up most of the voters.

Menefee, 37, was endorsed by several prominent Texas Democrats including former presidential candidate and congressman Beto O’Rourke and Rep. Jasmine Crockett. He was joined Saturday by Crockett, who is running for the U.S. Senate.

“I”m looking to bring a fight to Washington, D.C., and I need your help to do it,” he said as he stood beside Crockett in a social media video.

Menefee ousted an incumbent in 2020 to become Harris County’s first Black county attorney, representing it in civil cases, and he has joined legal challenges of President Trump’s executive orders on immigration.

Edwards served four years on the Houston City Council starting in 2016. She ran for U.S. Senate in 2020 but finished fifth in a 12-person primary. She unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the 2024 primary, and when Lee died that July, local Democrats narrowly nominated Turner over Edwards as Lee’s replacement.

Menefee finished ahead of Edwards in the primary, but Edwards picked up the endorsement of the third-place finisher, state Rep. Jolanda Jones, who said Edwards had skills “best suited to go against Trump.”

After Saturday, yet another election lies ahead in little over a month. Menefee and Edwards are on the ballot again on March 3, when they will face Democratic Rep. Al Green in another election — this one a Democratic primary in a newly drawn 18th Congressional District, for the full term that starts in 2027.

GOP lawmakers who control Texas state government drew a new map last summer for this year’s midterms, pushed by Trump to create five more winnable seats for Republicans to help preserve their majority.

Winter weather added to voters’ confusion, forcing local officials to cancel two days of advance voting this week, prompting civil rights group to go to court to win a two-day extension, into Thursday.

Hanna writes for the Associated Press.

MELBOURNE — Elena Rybakina finally won her second Grand Slam title with a victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open on Saturday, and it was something of a testament to quiet achievers.

After some tumult at the start of 2025, including the suspension of her coach, Rybakina finished off last year with a title at the WTA Finals in November. And now she has started the new year with a major championship.

Her low-key celebration was symbolic of her understated run through the tournament: a small fist pump, a quick embrace with Sabalenka, a handshake with the chair umpire, a smile, and a few hand claps on the strings of her racket and a wave to acknowledge the crowd.

It happened quickly after Rybakina closed with an ace to cap a third-set comeback and a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over a regular rival who beat her in the final here in 2023.

“The heart rate was definitely beating too fast. Even maybe [my] face didn’t show, but inside it was a lot of emotions,” the 26-year-old Rybakina, who was born in Moscow but represents Kazakhstan, said of her calm and clinical finish.

She knew she had to capitalize quickly this time, after she acknowledged getting tight and needing almost a half-hour from her first match point to her match-winning point in a semifinal win over Jessica Pegula.

Elena Rybakina plays a backhand return during the women’s singles final at the Australian Open on Saturday.

(Dita Alangkara / Associated Press)

Three years ago, Rybakina won the first set of the Australian Open final but lost the match in three.

This time, after breaking in the first game and taking the first set, she rallied after losing the second set and going down 3-0 in the third. She won five straight games to regain control.

“It gives me a kind of relief,” she said, “also, a lot of confidence for sure for the rest of the season.”

It was a second major title for fifth-seeded Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022 and entered that Australian final three years ago as the only major winner in the contest.

While Sabalenka went on to win another three majors, including back-to-back triumphs in Australia and the 2024 and ’25 victories at the U.S. Open, Rybakina’s results dipped and she didn’t reach another major final until this tournament.

Career change

A win over Sabalenka at the season-ending WTA Finals has changed her career trajectory. She has the most match wins on tour since Wimbledon, and is now on a roll of 20 wins in 21 matches.

“Last year I didn’t start so well,” she said. “I qualified for the [WTA] Finals late. I just hope I can carry this momentum. Do a good job with the team and continue this way.”

Rybakina is 10-0 in her last 10 matches against top-10 players, and she’ll return to No. 3 in the rankings.

Kazakhstan’s flag was unfurled on the court at Rod Laver Arena after Rybakina had paraded the trophy around and posed for photos with her team.

Coaching team

She paid tribute to her coach, Stefano Vukov, who spent time under suspension last year by the women’s tour. Vukov received a silver plate from the tournament organizers for being the champion’s coach.

“Of course I would like to thank my team,” she said. “Without you it wouldn’t have been possible. Really. We had a lot of things going on [last year]. Thank you to all of you, and hopefully we can keep on going strong this year.

“It’s a win for all the team, all the people who support me,” she said. “I just hope that I can carry this moment throughout the whole season and keep on improving.”

She said she’d been working with Vukov since 2019 and she finds it helpful to hear the constant stream of technical and tactical advice he conveys from his seat beside the court. The more, the better, she said, because eventually she listens.

“We won many titles together,” Rybakina said. “And even last year in Ningbo, WTA Finals, and now this trophy I felt just, again, proud and thankful to my team for the work.”

Win some, lose some

Aryna Sabalenka reacts after winning a point against Elena Rybakina in the women’s singles final at the Australian Open on Saturday.

(Dita Alangkara / Associated Press)

For Sabalenka, it’s back-to-back losses in the final in Australia after going down in an upset last year to Madison Keys.

“Of course, I have regrets. When you lead 3-love and then it felt like in few seconds it was 3-4, and I was down with a break — it was very fast,” she said. “Great tennis from her. Maybe not so smart for me.

“But as I say, today I’m a loser, maybe tomorrow I’m a winner. Hopefully I’ll be more of a winner this season than a loser. Hoping right now and praying.”

Rybakina went on the attack from the start and her serve was strong, with six aces and — apart from the two breaks at the end of the second set and the start of the third — she fended off six of the breakpoint chances she faced.

While Sabalenka’s emotions intensified, Rybakina maintained a determined quietness throughout.

In the end, she let her tennis do the talking.

Dani Dyer, Gabby Allen and Emily Seebohm all passed the gruelling course in North Africa

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins ended with a bang, as it celebrated an all-female line up of winners for the second time in the show’s history. Dani Dyer, Gabby Allen and Emily Seebohm all passed the “horrendous” course, while finalists Ben Cohen and Mack Horton stood down.

Airing on 26 January, the final of eight episodes of Celebrity SAS saw the five finalists face one last test. Over the previous episodes, Chief Instructor Billy Billingham and his Directing Staff, Jason Fox, Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver, put fourteen recruits from the UK and Australia through a condensed selection course designed that stripped them of sleep and tested their strength.

READ MORE: Celebrity SAS’ Ben Cohen chokes up as he discusses dad’s ‘savage’ deathREAD MORE: Three stars leave Celebrity SAS as Neighbours actor quits over mental health concerns

Some chose to withdraw and others were culled from the process, but Dani, Gabby, Emily, Ben and Mack all made it to the final test – interrogation. During the test, both Ben and Mack chose to quit, making the women the winners.

Chief Instructor Billy delivered the final verdict: “Eight days ago you came from both sides of the world. Fourteen arrived. Three stand before us. Just because you stand on the finish line doesn’t mean you’ve passed this course.” Not leaving the three in suspense, he then added: “It’s a rare moment to say — congratulations to all three of you. You’ve passed this course.”

Looking back on the achievement, Dani said it was “horrendous”. She said: “Every single moment was horrendous. But to hear that I’d passed — it’s the best feeling in the world. If I can do this, I can do anything.”

She added: “I definitely am a lot stronger than what I think I am…I can’t believe I’ve actually been able to do it. I’m really proud of myself.” When she realised all the winning recruits were women Dani continued: “I love it because we are strong women. We go through so much as women, mentally and physically.

“That final day with the interrogations and the noises, the animals in our ears, the pig noises, the scratching, it was awful. I thought I’d messed up. I thought I grassed everyone up. That was in my head. But we are strong women. We really are.”

Olympic swimmer Emily said she wasn’t surprised that three women won. ““I wasn’t surprised it was the three women, but I was surprised the two guys (Ben and Mack) didn’t make it because they were so strong. I was always trying to keep up with them during tasks, so to not see them at the end was shocking.”

Gabby said she thought they three of them were “boss b***hes” for getting through the ordeal. ““I can’t believe that out of fourteen people, it’s us. Well, I can — because we’re boss b***hes. Standing there with two women at the end meant everything to me. My whole brand is about empowering women from every walk of life. Men are strong, but women show time and time again that we can do just as much. We were lifting the same weights, trying just as hard. I wouldn’t have wanted to be there at the end with anyone else. We built a bond you could never replicate.”

Gabby and Dani both rose to fame on dating show Love Island, with Dani winning series four, and Gabby taking the crown in All Stars two. “The whole cast surprised me in different ways but Dani surprised me,” Gabby said.

“I felt protective of her, but she held her own and never gave up. Standing next to her at the end was incredible. Two girls from Love Island showing everyone what we can do.”

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is available to stream on Channel 4.

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