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South Florida: Heat and Panthers play for titles, plus arrival of soccer star Lionel Messi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:08 GMT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — South Florida was already throwing a smashing sports party. And then Lionel Messi decided to join the fun.The Miami Heat are in the NBA Finals, the Florida Panthers are in the NHL’s Stanley Cup Final and the area is hosting championship-series games four nights in a row. During that unprecedented stretch, Messi announced he’s going to sign with Inter Miami of Major League Soccer, and for good measure the Marlins are surprisingly in second place two months into the baseball season with Luis Arraez hitting over .400.All this after the F1 Miami Grand Prix and NHL All-Star weekend were staged in South Florida, the sudden center of the sports universe. It also had two teams in college basketball’s Final Four, a women’s team in the Elite Eight and the Division II national champions in men’s basketball.“I’m so excited for the city of Miami, to be able to have a player of that caliber here,” said Heat star Jimmy Butler, who has often said soccer ...

Scholz, Macron, Duda to meet in Paris to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:08 GMT

PARIS – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda are expected to travel to Paris next Monday for talks with French president Emmanuel Macron, several French officials have confirmed.The meeting over dinner is expected to focus on Ukraine’s push for NATO membership and security guarantees from allies ahead of a NATO summit in July. Last week, Macron called for Ukraine to be given “strong, concrete and tangible” security guarantees and argued that Ukraine should be offered “a path towards [NATO] membership” during a speech in Bratislava. However, Scholz appeared to strike a more cautious note, saying last Thursday that the focus shouldn’t be on membership, but on “how we as individuals can support Ukraine.” Poland has called repeatedly for Ukraine to be given strong security guarantees. On Tuesday, Duda met with several leaders of NATO members in eastern Europe to discuss the war in Ukraine and its request to join the alliance.  While...

Teen arrested in connection to shooting near Revere Beach that left another teenager wounded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:08 GMT

A teenager was arrested in connection with one of two shootings that occurred at Revere Beach over Memorial Day weekend, according to police.19-year-old Dashawn Teleau of Malden was arrested and charged Thursday for allegedly firing into a crowd on May 28, wounding a teen girl as a result. A cell phone video showed the suspect pulling out a gun and shooting at a group during some sort of scuffle around Centennial Avenue and Dehon Street.The 17-year-old girl who was hit suffered a gunshot wound to her lower body, resulting in non-life-threatening injuries according to officials.Teleau was charged with assault and battery, possession of a loaded gun and ammunition and firing near a home. He was scheduled to be arraigned in Chelsea District Court on Thursday.Earlier in the week, authorities announced the arrest of another teen suspect in relation to the second reported shooting, which occurred near one of the bathhouses on Revere Beach Boulevard Police said a 17-year-old suspect, ident...

They’re living the dream. CW’s newest series Barons airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW!

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:08 GMT

Ruff day in court: Justices side with Jack Daniel’s in dog toy trademark dispute

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:08 GMT

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court gave whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s something to cheer about, handing the company a new chance to win a trademark dispute with the makers of the Bad Spaniels dog toy.In announcing the decision for a unanimous court Thursday, Justice Elena Kagan was in an unusually playful mood. Observers who watched her read a summary of the opinion in the courtroom said at one point she held up the toy, which squeaks and mimics the whiskey’s signature bottle.Kagan said a lower court’s reasoning was flawed when it ruled for the makers of the rubber chew toy. The court did not decide whether the toy’s maker had violated trademark law but instead sent the case back for further review.“This case is about dog toys and whiskey, two items seldom appearing in the same sentence,” Kagan wrote in an opinion for the court. At another point, Kagan asked readers to “Recall what the bottle looks like (or better yet, retrieve a bottle from where...

Apricot tart a perfect way to welcome stone-fruit season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:08 GMT

Apricots, members of the rose family, are also known as Armenian plums. They are less tart than plums and perhaps that is why Luther Burbank thought to hybridize apricots with plums to get a sweeter plum. (Pluots are one example.)Photo by Claudia AlexanderApricots are high in beta carotene, calcium, iron and vitamin A, and they are touted as a beneficial food for eye health.The word apricot comes from Latin and Arabic, apricot meaning “early-ripe,” as in an early-ripened peach. Interestingly, apricot has the same root as the word precocious, which we used to describe children who seem to be wise beyond their years.The Chinese are said to have been the first to cultivate apricots more than 4,000 years ago, although Alexander the Great gets the credit for introducing them to Europe and beyond. Today Iran and Turkey are the major producers of apricots; in the United States, they are mostly grown in California, but because they are highly perishable most of the harvest is dried and cann...

Main suspect in 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway arrives in US from Peru to face charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:08 GMT

By KIMBERLY CHANDLER, REGINA GARCIA CANO and FRANKLIN BRICEÑO (Associated Press)BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Joran van der Sloot, the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, arrived in the United States on Thursday to face charges that he attempted to extort money from the missing woman’s mother. An FBI-operated plane carrying van der Sloot landed at Birmingham’s Shuttlesworth Airport just before 2:30 p.m. and the suspect was escorted down the steps into a black SUV, which was to take him to a federal courthouse for a hearing.Van der Sloot was extradited to the United States from Peru where he has been serving a 28-year sentence for the slaying of a Peruvian woman. He is wanted in the U.S. on one count each of extortion and wire fraud — the only charges to have ever linked the Dutch citizen to Holloway’s disappearance on the Caribbean island of Aruba. He was handed over in Peru to U.S. custody on Thursday, roughly a month after both...

Biden condemns wave of state legislation to restrict LGBTQ+ rights, says ‘these are our kids’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:08 GMT

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday condemned a wave of “cruel” and “callous” state legislation curbing the rights, visibility and health care access of LGBTQ+ people, while causing the community to feel under attack for being who they are. “These are our kids. These are our neighbors. It’s cruel and it’s callous,” Biden said at a White House news conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “It matters a great deal how we treat everyone in this country.”Biden commented hours after the White House postponed a large Pride Month celebration with thousands of guests Thursday night on the South Lawn because of poor air quality from hazardous air flowing in from Canadian wildfires. He called on lawmakers to pass legislation protecting the civil rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. “Congress must pass, must pass the Equality Act and send it to my desk,” Biden...

Biden, Sunak vow to stick together on Ukraine, deepen cooperation on clean energy transition, AI

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:08 GMT

By AAMER MADHANI and SEUNG MIN KIM (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday reiterated their commitment to help Ukraine repel Russia’s ongoing invasion, while agreeing to step up cooperation on clean energy and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.The leaders said they came to agreement on a new “21st century partnership” that includes bolstering cooperation between the two countries on clean energy transition, development of emerging technologies, and protecting technology that is critical to national security.The leaders’ wide-ranging talks at the White House also covered China, economic security, a new critical minerals agreement and more. Biden and Sunak have already had four face-to-face meetings since Sunak became prime minister in October, but the talks in Washington offered the two leaders a chance for their most sustained interaction to date.“We will put our v...

SDPD officer shot; gunman at large

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:08 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A San Diego police officer was shot Thursday, and authorities were still searching for the shooter.Residents in the Chollas Creek were asked to shelter in place due to the police activity and to call 911 if the suspect is seen.According to SDPD, officers are searching for a Hispanic man who is approximately 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs approximately 150 pounds. He is bald and was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt.The shooting happened around 11:10 a.m. BMX star Pat Casey dies in crash at Ramona motocross track The suspect is considered "armed and dangerous," according to police.Officials were not immediately able to confirm what circumstances led to the shooting. The officer was transported to a nearby hospital. Their condition is not known at this time.Map of shelter in place area. (San Diego Police Department)SDPD's Homicide Unit will be investigating the incident. A large police presence was at the scene of the shooting, including a SWAT team and officials fr...