BRISBANE, Australia —
Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina, who both had career-highlight victories over Serena Williams last season, are already through to the Brisbane International quarterfinals.
A 16-year-old high school student, who was inspired to take up tennis when she was 5 after watching Williams on TV, also made a mark on Tuesday with a first-round win.
Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava became the first player born in the 2000s to win a main draw match in an elite WTA event when she beat 31-year-old Bethanie Mattek-Sands 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a first-round match that spanned two days. She already has a wild-card entry to the Australian Open but, before then, will face two-time major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round of the tuneup event for the season’s first Grand Slam.
The third-seeded Pliskova, who beat Serena Williams in the U. S. Open semifinals last year before losing the championship match to Angelique Kerber, beat American qualifier Asia Muhammad 6-1, 6-4 to secure the first spot in the quarterfinals. She earned five service breaks and was relatively untroubled in her second-round match.
The sixth-seeded Svitolina, the only woman to beat both Williams and Kerber in 2016, advanced with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 win over Shelby Rogers. She could meet the top-ranked Kerber in the quarterfinals.
In other second-round matches, Alize Cornet beat Christina McHale 6-2, 6-1, and No. 4-seeded Garbine Muguruza was playing a night match.
Aiava, who was born on May 10, 2000, and was No. 386 in the latest rankings, is still gathering experience.
“Pretty crazy,” Aiava said of her first trip to the locker rooms in the main draw. “I walk in, and there is people I have watched on TV before and it’s, like, ‘Oh!’”
Aiava grew up in Australia to parents of Samoan heritage. Her mother, Rosie, has been her coach since she showed interest in the game. She keeps the teenager grounded.
After her milestone win, Aiava said her mother just said “good job” and took her back onto the practice courts for 20 minutes to work on her serve.
In men’s first-round matches, sixth-seeded Lucas Pouille had a 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) win over Gilles Simon, Viktor Troicki beat Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 7-5, and Jared Donaldson had a 6-4, 6-4 win over Gilles Muller.
Rafael Nadal, a 14-time major winner, was due to make his Brisbane International debut later Tuesday against Alexandr Dolgopolov.
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Explore Japan during its most colorful season on 11-day tours in March that will take you to Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Himeji and Osaka.
Highlights of the new Wendy Wu Tours trips include a chance to climb Mt. Fuji, stroll the classical landscapes of the Hamarikyu Gardens, explore the evergreen forest at the Shinto Meiji Shrine and take a bullet train to Kyoto.
On the cultural side, participants will also learn how to make soba noodles and practice the traditional Japanese art of origami.　
The National Park of American Samoa, a haven of rainforest and empty beaches that includes pieces of three South Pacific Islands, is about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii.
Giant snow dump in the Sierra
Botanical wonders abound in the wild Sonoran Desert of Organ Pipe National Monument and Saguaro National Park. Just mind the heat. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
The next president will find a Washington, D. C., that’s dramatically different from the city Barack Obama saw at his inauguration in 2009, or even the one in 2013. Museums and hotels, new and renewed. Restaurants left and right. Lower crime and rising neighborhoods, too. 
Motif. No. 1 might look like a modest fishing shack on the waterfront of Rockport, Mass., but there’s more to it. This two-minute video tells the tale.
Motif. No. 1 might look like a modest fishing shack on the waterfront of Rockport, Mass., but there’s more to it. This two-minute video tells the tale.

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The Nike Extravaganza set for Feb. 4 at Mater Dei figures to be a tough ticket to get with Chino Hills set to face Mouth of Wilson Va. Oak Hill in the featured final game at 8:45 p.m.
Tickets are available on line and it might be wise to get them early considering how many fans like to go watch Chino Hills play.
Here’s  the link to purchase tickets.
The evening sessions also includes Fairfax vs. Santa Margarita at 2:45 p.m. and Sierra Canyon taking on Bishop Gorman at 5:45 p.m.

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SoftBank Group Corp. has lined up chip maker Qualcomm Corp. as an investor in the Japanese firm’s new technology fund, helping the massive portfolio reach its $100 billion goal, according to people familiar with the matter.
San Diego-based Qualcomm has moved toward finalizing its commitment in recent days, the people said. It joins Apple Inc., which previously agreed to invest in the fund, the people said. The amounts to be invested…

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The Jigawa House of Assembly on Tuesday impeached its Speaker, Alhaji Idris Garba and elected Alhaji Isa Idris of Gwaram Constituency as the new Speaker.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Ahmed Garba presided over the sitting attended by 23 members.
NAN reports that the Clerk of the house, Alhaji Hussaini Ali earlier announced that he received an impeachment notice signed by 25 of the 30 assembly members, and which he read on the floor of the house.
Ali disclosed that members of the assembly impeached the speaker due to alleged high handedness and abuse of power.
The Deputy Speaker read the impeachment notice on the floor of the house, and confirmed the number of members that signed the notice.
Garba said that 25 of the 30-member assembly that endorsed the impeachment notice showed that it met the constitutional requirement of two third to impeach any of its principal officers.
«With this development, I hereby declare the seat of the Speaker vacant and a fresh election should be conducted to elect the new speaker,» he said.
NAN reports that two members- Alhaji Isa Dutse of Dutse Municipal constituency and Isa Idris of Gwaram constituency- were nominated for the election to replace the impeached Speaker.
Isa Idris, however, defeated Isa Dutse with 12 to six votes, while five members were indifferent.
In his acceptance Speech, the new Speaker promised to run an open door policy and solicited members support and cooperation.

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HANYU, Japan — They’re kooky, cuddly – and for some – a little creepy.
In Japan, mascots aren’t warm-up acts. They’re the main event, reports CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz.
It’s been dubbed the capital of cute, and at the World Character Summit outside Tokyo, you can see why.
“You can love mascots just like people,” Miya Naruse told us. “Everything about them is cute.”
World Character Summit in Hanyu, Japan
Cuteness, or kawaii in Japanese, dominates pop culture. That’s why from young to old, the Japanese are smitten. But don’t be fooled, mascots are master salesmen. By one estimate, the character business generates nearly $16 billion a year.
Danny Choo, son of shoemaker Jimmy Choo, makes a living off his doll-like mascot named Mirai. She’s an official tourism ambassador for Japan, appearing on planes and buses. Choo said in Japan, mascots are an essential marketing tool.
“Whether it’s like for branding or to like bring in new customers… folks who like a particular character, they will go and buy those goods,” Choo said.
The government alone has thousands of them. Take Pipo-kun, a member of Tokyo police, or the bowl-shaped toilet-kun, with waste management. There’s also the disarming Waka-P, who promotes a prison, of all things, and not one to be left out, Tom, the U. S. embassy mascot.
But for every D-lister, some hit it big and cash in. The feisty Pear Funassyi earns millions a year through merchandizing. It even has a hit single.
Domo, the mascot for Japan’s public broadcaster, has appeared in U. S. ads for 7-Eleven and Target.
But when it comes to celebrity, Kumamon is king. The official mascot for Kumamoto Prefecture has more than half a million Twitter followers and has generated billions through tourism and bear-related products.
So, how does one become a mascot? There’s a school for that. Owner Choko Ohira is a mascot veteran.
“It’s common knowledge that when you want to draw a crowd, use a mascot,” Ohira said. “So lots of companies and organizations are creating their own to boost their profile.”
She teaches exaggerated moves that will work under heavy suits, and the non-negotiable mascot code: never break character, or admit there’s a human inside. That’s why we weren’t allowed to film them suiting up.
Shinji Kumamoto, 51, gave up computer programming for a mascot career.
“In my regular life, I’m just a middle-aged guy,” Kumamoto said. “But in costume…I can forget myself and be someone else.”
“If you can make the mascot move like it’s alive, then there’s no deception,” Ohira said. “But that requires proper technique.”
Hard work that generates billions, but the currency of smiles and hugs may have no match.

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