Coco Gauff entered Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night with recent history working against her, having dropped her previous two meetings with Paula Badosa before their U.S. Open second-round clash — including a grass-court defeat in June at the Berlin Tennis Open.

Even with five losses in their eight career matchups, the 22-year-old American still arrived as the clear favorite under the lights in New York.

Gauff avoided being pushed to a third set and closed out a tense 6-4, 7-6(5) victory, extending her winning streak to eight matches and 16 consecutive sets while reaching the third round in Flushing Meadows for the fifth year in a row.

As the final point ended, Gauff raised both fists and unleashed a loud, emotional scream in celebration.

She will meet Spain’s Cristina Bucșa on Saturday.

“I think it’s good to be battle-tested,” Gauff said. “When I won here in 2023, I think I went three sets what felt like every match. … I think, for me, it’s a good confidence booster knowing that I can get through these matches. Obviously, I would prefer maybe not to play someone who I’ve lost to so many times in the second round, but I think today was a big confidence booster, and I think getting through in straight sets, too, makes a big difference.” 

Serving for the match twice before prevailing in the second-set tiebreak, Gauff admitted Badosa was not someone she wanted to see so early in her draw.

The 28-year-old Badosa has also been ranked as high as world No. 2, which Gauff pointed out during her on-court interview. 

Badosa was playing for a third consecutive day after she was forced to finish her first-round match Wednesday due to rain earlier this week, but she still pushed Gauff like usual. 

Gauff also said she had some nerves during the match. 

That much was evident early on in the first set, as the world No. 4 struggled to hold serve through the first few games. She had to come back from down 40-15 in her first service game to keep pace with Barbosa. 

By the sixth game, however, Gauff was putting the ball right where she wanted it. 

Both players traded off breaks in the second set before heading to a competitive tiebreak, which saw Badosa keep a close distance. She was able to knot the score at three-all, but Gauff came through for the victory. 

Gauff’s serve, which is much-improved and continues to be a hot topic, reached 121 mph Thursday night. 

Asked if she thinks she’d be able to hit 130 mph, Gauff couldn’t say for sure. 

“I don’t know if I can or not, that’s a good question,” she said. “We’ll see at the end of my career if I can. Maybe if if I’m up, like really up in a match, I might go for it. Sometimes, when I am up, I try to go for it. But I find when I don’t go for it, that’s when the speed is higher so. I don’t know, you have to just catch me on a real relaxed day.” 

Gauff is one of four women competing in the U.S. Open who could be world No. 1 by the tournament’s end.

Fellow American Jessica Pegula previously said she dreamed of being No. 1 in the world, rather than winning a Grand Slam. 

Asked how she viewed the two, Gauff said it was the opposite for her. 

“I’ve never thought about being number one,” she said. “I think just growing up watching Serena [Williams] play. … It was very clear she was focused on the Slam. So I think growing up watching her play, I just always had that mentality. Yes, it would be cool to be number one, but it’s not something that I’ve thought about, to be honest. 

“I definitely care, but I don’t think it’s something I’ll be nervous about. Honestly, if it happens, great. If not, no. I’m just more focused on winning Slams.”

Strangers and police officers sprang into action on a busy Pennsylvania roadway, lifting a Volkswagen Beetle off an injured e-bike rider who was pinned underneath after a crash, according to dramatic body camera footage.

The 44-year-old woman sustained multiple broken bones in the Monday morning collision in Prospect Park but survived after about six bystanders helped officers raise the car and pull her free, local authorities told FOX 29.

Prospect Park Police Chief Dave Madonna said the woman was riding an e-bike at what he estimated was more than 20 mph and was not wearing a helmet when she struck the Volkswagen at an intersection on Route 420.

“She was driving way too fast for that time of day, for the road she was traveling on,” Madonna said, noting that investigators believe she may have been attempting to pass traffic while heading to an appointment.

Surveillance and police body camera video shows bystanders rushing to the crash to help.

About six people then work together to lift the car high enough to free the woman trapped underneath.

“Got a yell to help, ran over. We lifted the Volkswagen Beetle up, pulled the girl out and pushed her to the ground so she wouldn’t move, that’s all,” FedEx driver Carl Wise told the station.

“I’m no hero. I’m just a guy doing a job, that’s all,” he added.

Local business owner Chrissy Vollmer, who also responded, described what she saw.

“All I saw were the lady’s legs underneath the car, and she was just yelling, ‘Get this car off of me,’” Vollmer said.

Madonna called the bystanders who helped rescue the woman “heroes” and later visited them to offer his thanks.

He also raised concerns about what he described as an increase in e-bike crashes.

“How many more tragedies do we have to see before some type of action is taken?” Madonna said.

The woman was taken to Lankenau Hospital and underwent surgery for a broken collarbone and other injuries, FOX 29 reported.

The Volkswagen driver is not facing charges, and  police said the e-bike rider could receive a traffic citation pending the outcome of the investigation.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee became the target of mockery on X after posting an unusual gender-muddled tribute to Fox News personality Maria Bartiromo following news of her exit from the network.

Fox announced Thursday that it was cutting ties with Bartiromo, a surprising move that came only hours after the final broadcast of her namesake program, Mornings with Maria.

The network offered no explanation for the departure, saying only in a statement: “We thank Maria for her work over the last 12½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter.”

Reacting to the Fox News shake-up, Huckabee, now serving as U.S. ambassador to Israel, praised Bartiromo on social media as “the smartest hardest working journalist & absolutely class act.”

He then added the line that drew attention online, writing: “It was an honor to work with him/ her and later to be guest on a show always worth watching.”

Observers on X quickly leapt on the ambassador’s strange use of ‘him/her’ in the tweet. Some poked fun at Huckabee, while others speculated he used a canned statement or AI to generate the post. 

‘Him/Her? How much of an honor could it have been if you’re uncertain about Maria’s gender?’ one user wrote.

‘WTF is up with the pronouns? Someone needs their sorry a** fired. Was/Were,’ said another. 

‘This is a template and he forgot to delete “him” before posting,’ a third surmised.  

‘Must have used ChatGPT,’ a fourth user guessed. 

About an hour and a half after posting his flubbed tweet, Huckabee shared a follow-up post apologizing and explaining the mistake. 

‘Thanks for catching the “him/her” line!’ the ambassador wrote. ‘I was typing while riding in vehicle on bumpy street–but have NO idea how that came out! 

RELATED: Lindsay Clancy Jury Hits One-Holdout Standoff on Day Six

‘Aside from my clumsy typo mistake, I still love @MariaBartiromo & will always have total respect for HER. Just HER, no “him” involved!’ he added.

The majority of users in his replies appear to have accepted the apology and explanation.

In addition to hosting Mornings with Maria on the Fox Business Network, Bartiromo was also an anchor for Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street.

Fox announced that the first show will be renamed to Mornings with Fox Business, and the second will be renamed to FBN’s Wall Street. Both will feature a rotating cast of anchors for the foreseeable future. 

Bartiromo has frequently been praised by President Donald Trump and other top members of his administration.

The president has called her a ‘great reporter,’ and when Vice President JD Vance was asked about her departure from Fox on Thursday, he said: ‘I love Maria. I think she’s an amazing person, an amazing talent.’ 

‘Whatever she does, she’s gonna do great, and I wish her all the best. She’s a very, very dear friend,’ the vice president added. 

The former Fox star’s exit from the network came after she emerged as a central figure in two defamation lawsuits against the network. 

Bartiromo has been a staunch advocate of Trump’s voter fraud claims and perpetuated the idea that Biden stole the 2020 election on her programs without evidence. 

Her comments resulted in a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems, which Fox paid $787.5 million to settle. 

She has also been named in a separate ongoing $2.7 billion defamation suit filed by voting equipment company Smartmatic.

As of Thursday evening, Bartiromo has not publicly addressed her separation from Fox, and her X bio still states that she is an anchor on Mornings with Maria. 

Southern California may get an unusual dose of tropical moisture this weekend, as a trio of Pacific storm systems helps funnel rain chances toward the Golden State.

Hurricane Marie intensified into a Category 1 storm Wednesday evening, and forecasters expect it to move gradually north while maintaining hurricane strength over the next several days.

The hurricane is forecast to weaken eventually as it remains over the open Pacific, far offshore and hundreds of miles away from California.

Still, some of its tropical moisture could reach land.

Upper-level winds may draw moisture from Marie into Southern California, southern Nevada and the western Four Corners by the weekend, raising the possibility of scattered showers that could bring welcome rainfall to parts of the region.

There is no current expectation of flooding in Southern California from the storm.

Beachgoers will have a different problem.

South-facing beaches could get hit with high surf and dangerous rip currents, making conditions hazardous along the coast.

Marie is part of a busy week in the tropical Pacific, where three hurricanes are currently spinning across the basin.

And while Marie has been getting plenty of attention in California, another storm is threatening to become a much bigger headache for Hawaii.

Hurricane Lowell has exploded into a powerful Category 4 storm with peak winds of 140 mph.

The hurricane was located south of Hilo, Hawaii, and is forecast to make a sharp turn north.

That could bring Lowell near Hawaii as a major hurricane early next week.

Kauai is currently considered the Hawaiian island most at risk, with nearby Niʻihau also being closely watched as the projected track shifts.

Officials are urging Hawaii residents to monitor the latest forecasts and prepare emergency supplies as long-range predictions for Lowell remain unusually uncertain.

Then there is Hurricane Karina, the Pacific’s other powerhouse.

The Category 3 storm had sustained winds near 115 mph Thursday and has looked particularly impressive on satellite images.

But Karina is expected to weaken quickly this weekend as it tracks north and east of Hawaii, staying safely over the open ocean.

For Southern California, the takeaway is far less ominous.

Marie is expected to stay well offshore, but its tropical moisture could still give the region a soaking this weekend while dangerous surf and rip currents threaten the beaches.

The jury weighing Lindsay Clancy’s fate wrapped up a tense and eventful sixth day of deliberations Thursday without reaching a verdict, as a dispute over a holdout juror continued to hang over the case. Deliberations are scheduled to continue Friday.

The 12-member panel, made up of nine women and three men, has already informed the court twice that it is deadlocked. Jurors are expected back in court Friday, when Judge William Sullivan is also slated to take up the disagreement involving one juror.

Earlier in the day, Reddington asked the court to remove the juror after the foreperson said the individual was refusing to follow the judge’s instructions regarding reasonable doubt. The defense request was denied.

Reddington cautioned that the high-profile trial could conclude without a verdict, arguing that the juror had “spurned the instructions” given by the court.

Prosecutors objected to removing anyone, arguing there was no way to determine who was right or wrong without improperly examining the jury’s private deliberations. They said Sullivan had acted appropriately by questioning the jurors about whether they could follow the law and again instructing them on reasonable doubt.

Sullivan declined, calling the removal of a deliberating juror “a sensitive undertaking” and saying the court could not take sides in the jury’s deliberations.

After court, Reddington revealed that a later jury note appeared to show an 11-to-1 divide.

“When a note that the judge already has says that there are 11 jurors that have made a decision and one juror will not apply reasonable [doubt]…” Reddington said.

The note does not reveal which verdict the 11 jurors favor or how the remaining juror is leaning.

Reddington said Sullivan plans to hold an inquiry at 9 a.m. Friday. If jurors again say they cannot reach a unanimous decision, the case could end in a mistrial.

The defense attorney said he expects the arguments over the jury issue to take place in open court rather than at sidebar.

Asked whether a retrial could favor prosecutors, Reddington issued a blunt response.

“Bring it,” he said, adding that his witnesses and evidence are ready.

“I got witnesses lined up. We’re all set. Dr. Resnick is ready. I’m ready. We’ve got all our evidence. Witnesses are available, so let’s go,” Reddington said.

Reddington said prosecutors might seek to put off another trial “for six months or a year,” but indicated he would be ready to move quickly. He deferred to Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz when questioned about the possibility of a plea agreement.

“Let’s see what Mr. Cruz wants to do, and then we’ll talk about our options,” Reddington said.

Clancy, 36, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children, Cora, Dawson and Callan, who were all under the age of 6 when they were found strangled in the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023.

She does not dispute killing them. Jurors must instead decide whether she was criminally responsible at the time.

Prosecutors argue Clancy understood what she was doing and should be held responsible for the children’s deaths. Her attorneys contend she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and could not appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions or conform her conduct to the law.

The jury is considering several possible outcomes, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, or not guilty.