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Derrick Jones Jr.’s game-saving block shows the flexibility needed to keep the Chicago Bulls afloat in the East

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:24 GMT

Chicago Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr. didn’t have any doubt in his mind.When Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden attempted to wriggle past Bulls forward Patrick Williams, Jones had already drifted into the paint, waiting to pounce on the shot that was sure to come with 14 seconds left in the second overtime.If Harden attempted to throw down a dunk, Jones knew he might be forced to foul. But instead, Harden opted for a lay-in, letting the ball roll gently off his fingers. It was a mistake — and one Jones that celebrated: “I’m glad he did.”The ball barely had time to begin its trajectory toward the rim before Jones crushed it away, his left palm slapping the leather to fend off one of Philadelphia’s last gasps of the game.Jones was not the obvious first — or second or third — candidate to save a double-overtime win over the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. He logged less than three minutes against both Miami and Minnesota,...

What are the risks of the Jets signing Odell Beckham Jr.?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:24 GMT

A week ago, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. worked out in Arizona in front of an estimated 14 teams, including the Jets.But Beckham continues to wait for a lucrative contract offer from a club.Recently, a report from ProFootballTalk said that the free agent is looking for a contract worth $20 million annually. However, Beckham denied this in a tweet.“I’m just so confused where the quote is from me that said I want 20,” Beckham said. “All I’m sayin is 4 AINT enough.”It remains to be seen what type of offer Beckham gets, but the Jets are rumored to be interested. ESPN reported that Aaron Rodgers gave the Jets, who are in talks with the Packers to acquire the four-time NFL MVP, a wish list of players he wants the team to sign. Beckham was reportedly one of the names on Rodgers’ list.While he denied having a wish list, Rodgers seemed intrigued about playing with Beckham.“Who wouldn’t want to have Odell on their team,” Rodgers s...

Thousands of SDG&E customers lose power across county

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:24 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Thousands of San Diego Gas & Electric customers were without power Tuesday as a powerful storm moves through the region.According to the utility company’s outage map, approximately 2,701 customers were affected in various communities around San Diego County.The most significant outage was reported in the Encinitas area where 4,013 customers were without power. The majority of customers in this area had power back around 12:45 p.m.In El Cajon, another large outage was impacting 1,384 customers. Weather radar: Track the storm The outage count is current as of 12:45 p.m. The majority of the outages began sometime between 11 and 11:30 a.m., according to the outage map. The outage count was upwards of 8,000 around 12 p.m.Several communities ranging from San Ysidro in the South Bay, to Santee in East County and Valley Center in North County are experiencing various degrees of power outages. Roads closed around San Diego County as crews prepare for more flooding SDG&...

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates clash over abortion, maps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:24 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The liberal candidate for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court didn’t back down from her support for abortion rights or her belief that the state’s Republican-drawn legislative maps are unfair during a debate Tuesday in which her GOP-backed opponent accused her of being “bought and paid for” by Democrats.Janet Protasiewicz called her conservative opponent, Dan Kelly, “a true threat to our democracy” because he consulted with Republicans about their plan to seat fake electors to support Donald Trump after he lost Wisconsin in 2020.Whoever wins the April 4 election for a seat vacated by the retirement of a conservative justice will determine majority control of the court for at least the next two years, including leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Control of the court, which came within a vote of overturning Trump’s 2020 defeat in the state, could be crucial, with abortion access, legislative redistricting, voting rights and other key...

Strong magnitude 6.5 quake rattles Pakistan, Afghanistan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:24 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattled much of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday, sending panicked residents fleeing from homes and offices and frightening people even in remote villages. At least two people died.More than 100 people were brought to hospitals in the Swat valley region of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in a state of shock, Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s emergency services told The Associated Press. “These terrified people collapsed, and some of them collapsed because of the shock of the earthquake,” he said. Faizi said most were later discharged from the hospital.Faizi said two people died, including a girl who was killed in a stampede of fleeing people, and a man whose roof collapsed on him. Twelve others were injured in the quake, which was centered in Afghanistan and also felt in bordering Tajikistan. Taimoor Khan, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority in the northwest, said several mu...

Biden creates national monuments, marine sanctuary in West

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is establishing national monuments in Nevada and Texas and creating a marine sanctuary in U.S. waters near the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii. Biden called the conservation measures part of an effort to “protect the heart and soul of our national pride.”Speaking at a White House summit on conservation action, Biden said the new national monuments are among the “natural treasures” that “define our identity as a nation. They’re a birthright we have to pass down to generation after generation.”“Our national wonders are literally the envy of the world,” Biden said in a speech at the Interior Department. “They’ve always been and always will be central to our heritage as a people and essential to our identity as a nation.”Biden designated Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in southern Nevada that Native Americans consider sacred, as a national monument, along with the new Castner Range National Mon...

New Brunswick’s $12.2-billion budget targets challenges that come with growth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:24 GMT

FREDERICTON — The New Brunswick government tabled a $12.2-billion budget Tuesday that forecasts a small surplus and promises a funding boost to help stabilize the ailing health-care sector.Finance Minister Ernie Steeves said the province is operating in a volatile economic environment where rapidly rising prices are putting pressure on household budgets and increasing costs for businesses.While the province is riding high on a wave of population growth, it comes with challenges of providing housing, health care and education for newcomers. Steeves said new spending in the budget targets those sectors.“Our government is proud of how we’ve been responsible with taxpayers’ money, while finding that important balance with spending on priorities including health care, education, and absolutely supporting our most vulnerable,” he told a news conference before tabling the budget in the legislature.The 2023-24 budget provides for a $40.3-million surplus on total reve...

Ukrainian soldiers near finish of Patriot missile training

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:24 GMT

FORT SILL, Okla. (AP) — Several large, 12-wheeled military vehicles carrying mobile missile launchers rumbled across the southwest Oklahoma prairie on Tuesday as part of a training exercise at the Fort Sill Army Post.Spilling out of the sand-colored vehicles and quickly setting up the launchers were some of the 65 Ukrainian soldiers who have been training at the installation since January on how to use the defensive missile system to track and shoot down enemy aircraft. U.S. military officials invited journalists from across the country and Europe, including The Associated Press, to watch the soldiers train.The Patriot missile system, which hasn’t yet been deployed in Ukraine, is particularly useful for defending population centers and critical infrastructure, said Brig. Gen. Shane Morgan, Fort Sill’s commanding general.The soldiers are expected to leave Oklahoma in the next several days for additional training in Germany before they deploy to Ukraine with a Patriot miss...

Willis Reed, leader on Knicks’ 2 title teams, dies at 80

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Willis Reed, who dramatically emerged from the locker room minutes before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to spark the New York Knicks to their first championship and create one of sports’ most enduring examples of playing through pain, died Tuesday. He was 80.Reed’s death was announced by the National Basketball Retired Players Association, which confirmed it through his family. The cause was not released, but Reed had been in poor health recently and was unable to travel to New York when the Knicks honored the 50th anniversary of their 1973 NBA championship team during their game against New Orleans on Feb. 25.Nicknamed “The Captain,” Reed was the undersized center and emotional leader on the Knicks’ two NBA championship teams, with a soft shooting touch from the outside and a toughness to tussle with the era’s superstar big men on the inside.His accomplishments — seven All-Star selections, two NBA Finals MVP awards among them — would have warranted Hall of Fam...

‘Heartbreaking but always inspiring’: Lisa LaFlamme’s docu-series looks at women’s rights in Africa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:24 GMT

In partnership with Journalists for Human Rights, veteran Canadian journalist Lisa LaFlamme is out with a new docu-series that examines gender-based violence and discrimination against women in Africa.The award-winning broadcaster, and Rachel Pulfer, executive director of Journalists for Human Rights, appeared on Breakfast Television on Tuesday to talk about the four mini-documentaries highlighting the fight for women’s rights in Kenya and Tunisia, particularly in media, politics, and in their personal lives.The series was launched on the Canadian organization’s YouTube channel on March 17.One of the episodes delves into a morning show in Kenya and the challenges the women faced being in the newsroom.“How has journalism changed lives? How does it promote democracy, promote human rights, and protect human rights? This was an opportunity to see from the ground up what the relationship between journalism and civil society is,” LaFlamme explained.She also said it...