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Magic remain optimistic despite the pain of crushed postseason hopes

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:01 GMT

As the Orlando Magic walked off Rich and Helen DeVos Court after Tuesday’s 117-113 home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the consequences of the defeat started to settle in.Those ramifications made the loss sting more than most.“I’ve come a long way with my mental stuff, from last year to this year. Just staying solid and trying to move on to the next play and being in a better mental space. I’ve come a long way,” guard Jalen Suggs told the Orlando Sentinel at his locker at Amway Center. “But this [expletive] hurts. I’m not going to lie to you. Once the realization on the court when it was over, that [expletive] hurt.”The loss to the Cavaliers eliminated the Magic (34-45) from contending for a spot in the play-in tournament.Orlando was four games behind the Chicago Bulls for the No. 10 seed in the East entering Tuesday and the Magic’s “magic” number was one — meaning they’d be eliminated from postseason co...

Citing gender-equity gap in NIL money, two college athletes join fight to level playing field

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:01 GMT

Edward Lee | (TNS) Baltimore SunLast fall, Mia Ewell and a male college athlete did the same promotional work for an online employment company. But when it was time to get paid, Ewell, a junior shortstop for the Morgan State softball team, received $30 less than her counterpart.“It’s not a huge amount of money that I’m that upset about. But it was the fact that it even happened,” she said. “It was kind of like, ‘If I’m doing the same work, why am I not receiving the same compensation?’ It’s disappointing, but as a woman and as someone who has lived the life of a young girl and has done all this, it’s not that surprising.”Ewell and Olivia Rothfeld, a junior singles player for Towson tennis, are hoping to change that outlook. They signed a name, image and likeness deal last month with H&R Block’s “A Fair Shot” program to raise awareness about the imbalance of NIL deals between male and female college athletes.“I was really honored to be chosen to be a part of this project because ...

BU’s win streak on the line against Minnesota in the Frozen Four

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:01 GMT

The Boston University Terriers are the hottest team to reach the Frozen Four.The No. 5 ranked Terriers (29-10-0, 18-6-0) will put their nine-game win streak on the line when they take on No. 1 Minnesota (28-9-1, 19-4-1) in the opening semifinal on Thursday (5 p.m.) at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. BU is playing in its 38th NCAA tournament and making its 23rd visit to the Frozen Four.Big 10 tournament champion Michigan (26-11-3) will make its record 27th appearance in the Frozen Four against ECAC regular season champion Quinnipiac (34-4-3) in the nightcap.The Terriers own the longest active win streak in the nation, which also doubles as the longest active unbeaten streak, that began with a win at Vermont on Feb. 24.“These guys all year long have taken what we’ve talked about and they have gone out there and done it,” said BU first-year head coach Jay Pandolfo. “That is what their mindset has been the last month or so now.“We are just playing the right way, playing to our identity and ...

Defense Department detains hotel guest in training mix-up

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:01 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Participants in a Department of Defense training exercise at a Boston hotel entered the wrong room Tuesday and mistakenly detained a hotel guest instead of the person assigned the role of the person to be detained, according to the FBI.The mistake happened about 10 p.m. with the Boston Division of the FBI helping the U.S. Department of Defense in conducting the Defense Department exercise.The exercise was meant to simulate a situation that personnel might encounter during an actual incident.“Based on inaccurate information, they were mistakenly sent to the wrong room and detained an individual, not the intended role player,” an FBI said in a written statement. “Thankfully nobody was injured.”A call to the Department of Defense was not immediately returned.The Boston Police Department was called and responded to the scene to confirm that the event was indeed a training exercise, officials said.“Safety is always a priority of the FBI, and our law enforcement partne...

US House leader and Taiwan president meet as China protests

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:01 GMT

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Risking China’s anger, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosted Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday as a “great friend of America” in a fraught show of U.S. support at a rare high-level, bipartisan meeting on U.S. soil.Speaking carefully to avoid unnecessarily escalating tensions with Beijing, Tsai and McCarthy steered clear of calls from hard-liners in the U.S. for a more confrontational stance toward China in defense of self-ruled Taiwan. Instead, the two leaders stood side by side in a show of unity at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, acknowledging China’s threats against the island government but speaking only of maintaining longstanding U.S. policy.“America’s support for the people of Taiwan will remain resolute, unwavering and bipartisan,” McCarthy said at a press conference later.McCarthy evoked Reagan’s peace-through-strength approach to foreign relations and emphasized that “this is a bipartisan meeti...

Celtics All-Star Tatum, Smart, Horford out vs. Raptors

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:01 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum is one of three starters Boston will be without when it hosts the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.The night after falling 103-101 at Philadelphia, Tatum is sitting with a bruised left hip. He’ll be joined on the sideline by Marcus Smart (neck spasms) and Al Horford (back spasms).Tatum scored 19 points in 38 minutes in Tuesday’s loss. Smart played 30 minutes, scoring 17 points. Horford had 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes, but is continuing to rest on the second night of back-to-backs. The absences come as Boston tries to hold onto its fading hopes of catching Milwaukee for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Boston trails the Bucks by three games with three to play, meaning it will likely be the No. 2 seed. It holds the tiebreaker over the Bucks and has a two-game lead over the third place 76ers. ___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsThe Associated Press

EPA tightens mercury emissions limits at coal power plants

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening rules that limit emissions of mercury and other harmful pollutants from coal-fired power plants, updating standards imposed more than a decade ago.The rules proposed Wednesday would lower emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants that can harm brain development of young children and contribute to heart attacks and other health problems in adults.The move follows a legal finding by EPA in February that regulating toxic emissions under the Clean Air Act is “appropriate and necessary” to protect the public health. The Feb. 17 finding reversed a move by former President Donald Trump’s administration to weaken the legal basis for limiting mercury emissions.The proposed rule will support and strengthen EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which have delivered a 90% reduction in mercury emissions from power plants since they were adopted in 2012 under former President Barack Obama, EPA Administrator Michael Regan ...

RBC chief executive defends climate plan as shareholders criticize record

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:01 GMT

TORONTO — RBC chief executive Dave McKay defended the bank’s climate plan at its annual shareholder meeting Wednesday as numerous attendees criticized it for not doing enough.Speaking at the event held this year in Saskatoon, McKay emphasized the importance of an orderly net-zero transition since instability in food, energy or security will throw off efforts to rein in climate change.“Where any of those, one or more of those elements, aren’t present, then the focus on this critical climate journey is put aside.” He also said there needs to be a wider shouldering of the burden of change. “We are putting all the pressure in society on the manufacturing supply side to change and make it an easy journey for us as citizens, and so far, for the most part, we’ve appeared unwilling to change our consumption behaviours or mobility behaviours to lower our footprint.”His comments come as the bank faces a barrage of criticism from those pushing for shareholder reso...

3 charged in York University stabbing, assaults

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:01 GMT

Toronto police say three men turned themselves in after allegedly being involved in two assaults and a stabbing that seriously injured one person on a York University campus.Officers responded to a stabbing call in the York Boulevard and Keele Street area around 6 p.m. on March 29.It’s alleged that a male victim was walking on the York University campus when he was approached by three unknown males demanding he hand over his jacket.The three suspects began assaulting the victim, who eventually escaped. Police said the victim witnessed the group of suspects attacking a second person, and he went over to assist them. The suspects then stabbed the first victim before fleeing on foot.The first victim was taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.On Tuesday and Wednesday, police said three men — aged 18, 19 and 20 — turned themselves in. They were identified as Jan Apostol, 18, Miguel Campos Moscoso, 19, and Jay Javinal, 20, all of Toronto.Apost...

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson details plan heading into inauguration

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:01 GMT

CHICAGO — Next month, 47-year-old Brandon Johnson, a teacher turned activist, turned Cook County Commissioner, will be sworn in as the 57th Mayor of the City of Chicago.He is inheriting a city that seven-in-ten voters say is on the wrong track, especially when it comes to public safety."Well again, public safety is something that we are all deeply impacted by. It’s a problem, it’s a serious one, and it’s one that I live every single day," Johnson said during an interview with WGN. "As much as I love living on the West Side of Chicago in Austin, in particular. I might be the first mayor elected in a long time who will live in one of the most violent neighborhoods in the entire city of Chicago."While not everyone buys into Johnson's comprehensive crime strategy, Johnson said there are points in his plan that few have disagreed with. Brandon Johnson elected Chicago mayor, defeating Paul Vallas "Here’s what I’m confident in. No one disagrees with youth employment, no one disagrees wit...