NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA will once again pay for charter flights for the entire playoffs as well as for back-to-back games during the upcoming season that require air travel, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Monday.
There are more back-to-back sets this season with the WNBA taking a long break for the Olympics in late July and early August. The league spent $4 million on charters in 2023 and will do the same this year.
“No one wants (charters) more than I do for these players. We need to be in the right financial position,” Engelbert said before the WNBA draft Monday night. “Just a few years ago we were surviving, now we're going from survive to thrive. We want to do it at the appropriate time.”
Engelbert also said she hopes to have 16 teams in the league by 2028, up from the current 12. The WNBA is adding a team next year, when a Golden State franchise in San Francisco will join the league. Other cities or metropolitan areas that Engelbert said are in the running include Philadelphia; Toronto; Portland, Oregon; Denver; Nashville; and South Florida.
“Our plan and goal is to get to 16 teams in the next few years,” she said.
Engelbert said she got calls last week from two other cities the league hadn't been talking to.
Golden State will get a chance to built its roster through an expansion draft.
“It will happen before the college draft and we'll share more details when we get closer to that,” Engelbert said. “Talking to general managers and coaches and teams and owners, there will be an expansion draft this year and it will probably be in December.”
Engelbert knows this year's draft has more household names like Caitlin Clark, who helped the NCAA reach its best viewership in history for women's basketball, with nearly 19 million fans watching the title game. Other well-known players being drafted include Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and Cameron Brink.
The commissioner noted that the WNBA bought ads that ran during NCAA Tournament broadcasts, starting with the Sweet 16.
“I'm thrilled we have household names coming in,” Engelbert said. “We need to market around that.”
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WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks to the media before the WNBA basketball draft on Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Flash floods and a landslide swept through houses and cut off a major road in Kenya, killing at least 45 people and leaving dozens missing on Monday, the Interior Ministry said.
Police official Stephen Kirui initially told The Associated Press that the Old Kijabe Dam, located in the Mai Mahiu area of the Great Rift Valley region that is prone to flash floods, had collapsed, carrying with it mud, rocks and uprooted trees.
But in a statement late Monday the Nakuru County said that the water mass that caused the flash floods was a clogged railway tunnel.
Vehicles were entangled in the debris on one of Kenya's busiest highways and paramedics treated the injured as waters submerged large areas.
The Kenya Red Cross said 109 people were hospitalized while 49 others were reported missing.
William Lokai told Citizen TV that he was woken up by a loud bang and shortly after, water filled his house. He escaped through the roof together with his brother and children.
Ongoing rains in Kenya have caused flooding that has killed at least 169 people since mid-March, and the country's Meteorology Department has warned of more rainfall.
Kenya’s Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki ordered the inspection of all public and private dams and water reservoirs within 24 hours starting Monday afternoon to avert future incidents. The ministry said recommendations for evacuations and resettlement would be done after the inspection.
The Kenya National Highways Authority issued an alert warning motorists to brace for heavy traffic and debris that blocked the roads around Naivasha and Narok, west of the capital, Nairobi.
The wider East African region is experiencing flooding due to the heavy rains, and 155 people have reportedly died in Tanzania while more than 200,000 people affected in neighboring Burundi.
A boat capsized in Kenya's northern Garissa county on Sunday night, and the Kenyan Red Cross said it had rescued 23 people but more than a dozen people were still missing.
Kenya’s main airport was flooded on Saturday, forcing some flights to be diverted, as videos of a flooded runway, terminals and cargo section were shared online.
More than 200,000 people across Kenya have been hit by the floods, with houses in flood-prone areas submerged and people seeking refuge in schools.
President William Ruto had instructed the National Youth Service to provide land for use as a temporary camp for those affected.
Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People walk through an area swept away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People gather near a damaged house after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
A child walk through an area swept away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People walk through an area swept away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People try to clear a bus that was washed away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
A child carrying a suitcase, walks, after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
A view of a swept away car after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village, Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)
A chair stuck in the muddy water after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village, Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People gather around a bus that was swept away after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
Children fleeing floodwaters that wreaked havoc at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The East African country has seen weeks of heavy rains and severe flooding in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, as well as in the country's western and central regions. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
People cross a flooded area at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April. 28, 2024. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
A man swims from a submerged church compound, after the River Tana broke its banks following heavy rains at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April. 28, 2024. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
People cross a flooded area where another boat carrying a group of people has capsized at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April 28, 2024. According to the Kenya Red Cross, over a dozen people have been rescued, while others still remain missing as search and rescue operations continue. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
People cross a flooded area where another boat carrying a group of people has capsized at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April 28, 2024. According to the Kenya Red Cross, 23 people have been rescued, while others still remain missing as search and rescue operations continue. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
Paramedics carry an injured woman after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)
People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)
Paramedics carry an injured woman after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)
People gather on the main road after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)
