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PLUG AND PLAY: Lakers and Heat on track to run it back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:13 GMT

Death, taxes, and both LeBron James and Jimmy Butler on a playoff tear.Those tend to be the three NBA inevitabilities this time of the year, as both James and Butler have reminded the basketball world, each now one victory in their respective second-round playoff series shy of advancing to the conference finals.It was only three seasons ago that these two teams met in the self-isolated Orlando bubble with the 2020 NBA championship on the line. Now, there’s a very real chance at an encore. Only 4.7% of teams in NBA history to go down 3-1 in a playoff series ever come back to win, meanwhile both the Sixers-Celtics and Nuggets-Suns series are tied at two games apiece.James, of course, won the title in six games the first go-round, simply over-powering an exhausted Heat team with Anthony Davis’ star power on full display in the series. The Lakers then spent two seasons outside of the championship hunt finding the right pieces for a second run out West. Butler was swept out o...

Patriots linebacker reacts to Aaron Rodgers joining the Jets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:13 GMT

FOXBORO — A year ago, Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley had an up-close look at Aaron Rodgers during a Week 4 trip to Green Bay.This season, Bentley will see Rodgers twice as often without going half as far.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | NFL notes: Patriots great Kevin Faulk is bullish on LSU receiver Kayshon Boutte New England Patriots | Patriots TE Mike Gesicki connecting with Mac Jones, old friends in New England New England Patriots | Ex-Patriots scout, Senior Bowl executive Jim Nagy reviews Patriots’ 2023 draft class New England Patriots | Patriots Hall of Fame inductee announced for 2023 class New England Patriots | Guregian: JuJu Smith-Schuster already loves being a Patriot Asked Tuesday about now facing Rodgers as a division rival New York Jet, Bentley said the Patriots are eager to face the 4-time MVP.“Aaron Rodgers is definitely a fantastic quarterback, for sure. He...

For these stars, a mom’s influence helped give rise to a stellar career

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:13 GMT

Luaine Lee | Tribune News ServiceWith Mothers’ Day arriving Sunday we often think about the women who raised us and the profound influence they had on us. And celebrities are no different. Some of their mothers were encouraging, others proved examples – still others left their offspring to their own devices.Jay Hernandez’s mother urged him to follow up on a possible job as and actor. He did. But he as about to quit acting when he landed the part of Thomas Magnum on the CBS’ resurrection of “Magnum, P.I.” (Francis Specker/CBS/TNS)Jay Hernandez, star of “Magnum P.I.,” recalls, “My mom was the one that pushed me toward acting. She knew I had an interest in it. And my dad was NOT into it. He’s like, ‘This is not a good career path you need.’ He didn’t shut it down, but he definitely let me know that it wasn’t a smart thing to do; it was kind of a waste of time. After high school in junior college I took my first drama class. I met a guy who was a manager and work...

Transgender youth sue over Montana gender-affirming care ban

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:13 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Two transgender children, their parents and two health care providers filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing that a Montana law that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth is unconstitutional.The ban on puberty blockers, hormone treatment and surgical procedures applies only to transgender youth being treated for gender dysphoria, but that same care can be provided to cisgender adolescents for any other purpose, according to the complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Montana and Lambda Legal. The ban serves no purpose other than to “intentionally burden a transgender person’s ability to seek necessary care to align their body with their gender identity,” the complaint states. It asks a state judge to block enforcement of the law, which is to take effect on Oct. 1.The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the complaint.Opposition to the bill by Democratic Rep. Zooey Zep...

Migrants flow north to US border ahead of policy changes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:13 GMT

BAJO CHIQUITO, Panama (AP) — The long wooden boats packed with migrants in orange life jackets arrived one after another, pushed down the Tuquesa river by outboard motors. By day’s end, authorities had registered some 2,000 migrants at this remote riverside outpost on the edge of the Darien jungle that links Panama and Colombia.Some had vague information — from relatives, social media, smugglers — about coming border policy changes by the United States government and were hustling to make it to that distant border. On May 11, the United States government will end pandemic-related restrictions on people requesting asylum at the border — also known as Title 42, under which migrants have been expelled from the U.S. more than 2.8 million times since March 2020.The firm date was fodder for migrant smugglers to create an unnecessary sense of urgency for people making decisions with imperfect information.Fearing a rush of arrivals, U.S. officials have expanded legal pathways, urged would-b...

Texas mall victims include several members from two families

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:13 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — The people killed in a shooting at a mall near Dallas include two elementary school-age sisters, a couple and their 3-year-old son, a young engineer and a security guard. The victims represent a multicultural cross-section of the area’s increasingly diverse suburbs. Cox Elementary School students Daniela and Sofia Mendoza, grades four and two, were among those slain Saturday at Allen Premium Outlets, according to officials in the Wylie Independent School District. They were remembered as “the kindest, most thoughtful students with smiles that could light up any room,” Principal Krista Wilson said in a letter to parents.Also killed at the outdoor shopping center were three members of a Korean American family: a couple and one of their sons, who was 3. Another son was wounded and was still hospitalized, said Myoung-Joon Kim, head of mission at the Consulate of the Republic of Korea in Dallas. The parents were identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety as K...

Head of ‘non-political’ B.C. group meets Xi Jinping at gathering of ‘fresh troops’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:13 GMT

The head of a British Columbia-based group that says it is a “non-political” organization helping Chinese integrate into Canadian society travelled to Beijing to meet President Xi Jinping at a government conference this week.Chinese state media videos and photos show Canadian Community Service Association president Niu Hua attending the “10th Conference for Friendship of Overseas Chinese Associations,” hosted by the state council’s overseas Chinese affairs office.Niu is seen applauding with the group on Monday during Xi’s entry to the conference, which state media says involved representatives from 130 countries, and is also seen in a group picture with the Chinese leader.Chinese state media says Shi Taifeng — head of the Chinese United Front Work Department’s central committee — told conference attendees that they serve as “an important bridge and bond” between China and the rest of the world.Shi told the groups they are “fresh troops” in China’s effort to develop a “sh...

Lachlan Murdoch explains settlement, says no change at Fox

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News paid $787 million to settle a recent lawsuit on its reporting after the 2020 election to avoid a divisive trial and lengthy appeals process, its parent company’s chief executive said on Tuesday.Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corp., also noted that a Delaware judge “severely limited” Fox’s defenses against Dominion Voting Systems, which said the network defamed it by airing bogus charges of election fraud that it knew was untrue.Fox Corp. announced Tuesday that it had lost $50 million the previous three months, which it attributed to the lawsuit settlement. Murdoch, who answered questions from financial analysts, was speaking in public for the first time since the case ended and Fox fired its most popular anchor, Tucker Carlson.Murdoch said viewers, and investors, should expect no change in direction from Fox News.“We made the business decision to resolve this dispute and avoid the acrimony of a divisive trial and multi-year ap...

McCarthy: Debt deal needed next week to avoid default

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that a federal debt deal with President Joe Biden is needed by next week if Washington hopes to avert a catastrophic national default as a June 1 deadline nears when money could run short for paying America’s bills.Speaking ahead of a high-stakes meeting with Biden and other congressional leaders at the White House, McCarthy said he sees no reason why all sides can’t come to an agreement quickly over Republican ideas for cutting spending in exchange for raising the debt limit.“I don’t think it’s that difficult,” McCarthy told reporters at the U.S. Capitol.Biden and the Democrats don’t see it that way. The president is insisting that raising the debt limit is nonnegotiable, and with spending restraints addressed separately as part of the annual budget process.All sides were meeting at the White House on Tuesday afternoon with the government at risk of being unable to meet its obligations as soon as Ju...

Trial over deadly Istanbul bombing begins in Turkey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:13 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — The trial of 36 people accused over a deadly bombing in central Istanbul last November began Tuesday, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported. On Nov. 13, 2022 an explosion tore through Istanbul’s popular Istiklal Avenue – a busy thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants – killing six people, including two children, and injuring 99 others. Fifteen of the defendants, including the alleged bomber Ahlam Albashir, were in court for the start of the trial. Another 12 defendants participated via video link from prison. The whereabouts of the remaining nine are unclear. Albashir faces a number of charges related to terrorism. If convicted, she faces up to seven life sentences and an additional 1,900 to 3,000 years in prison. Because the indictment was not read to her in her native Arabic, the presiding judge allowed her to postpone her defense until the next hearing. According to indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s office, Albashir and a man named as ...