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Michael Jordan’s decision to sell the Hornets leaves some team decisions in flux

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:32 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The timing of Michael Jordan’s decision to sell his majority ownership stake in the Charlotte Hornets has left the organization in flux, with several looming key personnel decisions.The Hornets have the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night. They also have some difficult decisions to make in free agency in early July, including whether to re-sign embattled restricted free agent Miles Bridges.With the NBA’s Board of Governors unlikely to approve the team’s sale to an ownership group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall until at least another month or two, the question becomes who will sign off on general manager Mitch Kupchak’s potentially franchise-altering decisions this summer.Will it be Jordan, a lame duck majority owner? Or will the new ownership have a major input? Jordan will remain on as a minority owner after the sale is approved, so he still has a vested interest in the organization.Bobby Marks, a front-office insider for ESPN, said the timing...

Thousands have protested against Serbia’s president and pledged to ‘radicalize’ gatherings

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:32 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters on Saturday staged marches in Belgrade and other Serbian cities against President Aleksandar Vucic, pledging to “radicalize” weeks of peaceful gatherings that have already shaken his populist rule.The demonstrators in Belgrade blocked the main highway that leads through the capital and chanted slogans for Vucic to resign, something that he has repeatedly rejected over the past seven weeks of protests.The protest initially erupted in response to two back-to-back mass shootings in early May that left 18 people dead and 20 others wounded, many of them pupils from a Belgrade elementary school.The protesters have been demanding the resignations of top Serbian security officials and the revoking of broadcasting licenses for pro-government media and tabloids that regularly air violent content and host crime figures and war criminals.The protesters consider that the state-controlled media is responsible for the culture ...

Ray Lewis III, son of two-time Super Bowl champ, dies of suspected overdose, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:32 GMT

Ray Lewis III, right, and his father, former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis Jr., make the U sign with their hands, representing the University of Miami, after a national signing day ceremony in the Lake Mary Prep auditorium in Lake Mary, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. Lewis III signed a letter of intent to play football at the University of Miami, where his father also played college football.(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)(AP/Phelan M. Ebenhack) Ray Lewis III, right, and his father, former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis Jr., make the U sign with their hands, representing the University of Miami, after a national signing day ceremony in the Lake Mary Prep auditorium in Lake Mary, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. Lewis III signed a letter of intent to pla...

Collection of DNA samples to aid police postponed over ACLU objections

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:32 GMT

NEWTON, Mass. (AP) — The public collection of DNA samples to help law enforcement solve crimes and identify human remains was postponed Saturday following objections of the American Civil Liberties Union.Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement that she postponed “DNA Drive Day” because of concerns raised by the local branch of the ACLU, as well as inclement weather.It was billed as the first such event in Massachusetts in which people could voluntarily submit DNA samples to aid law enforcement investigators. DNA samples provided to genealogy databases already have helped law enforcement solve cold cases and resolve missing person cases.Ryan said her office will work with the ACLU chapter to resolve any concerns. “We believe that the community will best be served by further conversation,” she said.Saturday’s outdoor event at Newton City Hall would have allowed people to provide a sample to FamilyTree DNA. The DNA submissions would be uploaded free of charge to a p...

Denver weather: Saturday storms before drying out

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:32 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver’s weather will stay wet and cooler than normal Saturday before warming up and drying out Sunday. There is a severe thunderstorm chance on Saturday amid warmer temperatures June 17. Colorado farmers markets near you Weather tomorrow: Rain and afternoon stormsSaturday will be mild in the 70s thanks to a mixture of sunshine and clouds. This will be followed by the chance for rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon and early evening hours.Brief downpours could lead to localized flooding on June 17.The biggest concerns with the thunderstorms will be brief heavy downpours that could lead to localized flooding, especially south of the Palmer Divide.Portions of the state are under a severe threat with flooding as the main concern on June 17. Easy hikes near the Front Range, Denver metro area Portions of the state are under a severe threat with flooding as the main concern. A flood watch is still in effect until 7 p.m. Saturday. During this time, widely scattered r...

Police: Suspect in overnight home invasion at Doral apartment complex shot dead by officer

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:32 GMT

The suspect in what police described as an overnight home invasion at an apartment complex in Doral was shot and killed by a responding officer, investigators said.Doral Police units arrived at the scene of the incident at AMLI Doral Apartment Homes, located in the area of Northwest 41st Street and 115th Avenue, about three minutes after receiving a call about a break-in, at around 4:20 a.m. on Saturday.Detectives said the victims are an elderly couple and a middle-aged man with no serious injuries.Police said the perpetrator returned to the scene approximately one hour later. Officers then entered the residence. Investigators said the suspect was shot by an officer after confronting the police, then collapsed outside of the residence. The subject was pronounced dead at the scene.Officers shut down part of part of Northwest 41st Street while they investigated.

Former head of Legal Sea Foods supporting Massachusetts lobstermen in battle against California aquarium that told people to stop eating lobster

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:32 GMT

The former head of Legal Sea Foods is calling out organizations that say people shouldn’t eat certain fish because of the dangers fishing may pose to aquatic animals.Roger Berkowitz, the previous president and CEO of the regional seafood restaurant chain, is supporting the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association during its months-long dispute with groups that say lobster fishing is killing too many North American right whales.Because of what they say are risks to the endangered species, California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium and the international Marine Stewardship Council last September made a plea for people to stop eating lobster.A group of four Bay State lobstermen in early March filed a class action lawsuit against the groups, seeking $75,000 in damages for disparagement of their product and interference with their proprietary rights.“Sometimes I think people misconstrue if there is a problem here, it must translate all the way over when that’s not the case,” Berkowitz told the Hera...

Ticker: A decade after outcry, SeaWorld launches orca-free park in UAE, its first venture outside the US

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:32 GMT

U.S. theme park chain SeaWorld, which has been mired in controversy in recent years over its treatment of killer whales and other marine mammals, has opened a massive new aquatic life park in the United Arab Emirates. It’s the company’s first venture outside the United States.The $1.2 billion project with state-owned developer Miral features the world’s largest aquarium and a cylindrical LED screen. The park does not feature orcas but houses animals like dolphins and seals, whose captivity and training for profit and entertainment purposes are also often criticized as unethical by animal rights advocacy groups.The new facility gives the Orlando, Fla.-based company a foothold in a fast-growing international tourism destination and the opportunity to continue its rebranding after years of criticism and allegations of animal cruelty.UN steps up criticism of IMF and World Bank, the other pillars of the post-World War II global orderFrom the ashes of World War II, three insti...

Security tight for Vegas Golden Knights victory parade, amid echoes of deadly 2017 shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:32 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tens of thousands of Vegas Golden Knights fans, maybe more, were expected at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip on Saturday for a Stanley Cup victory parade and a rally to mark the team’s first-ever NHL championship.For the team that played its first game as an expansion franchise in October 2017 and for tourists in hotel rooms with windows overlooking the parade route in 2023, the event bore echoes of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history five years ago. Guests in high-rises with views of the strip were awakened by security guards asking to check around windows for guns or other weapons.Las Vegas police said they prepared for upwards of 100,000 people to cram street-level viewing areas along Las Vegas Boulevard for a celebration that planners compared with annual New Year’s Eve fireworks shows that in past years have drawn estimates of 400,000 people. Unlike a winter midnight, evening temperatures on Saturday were expected to be in the 90s.Hotel security...

At least 15 injured as Baltimore bus crashes into 2 cars, building

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:32 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — At least 15 people were injured Saturday when a mass transit bus crashed with two cars before hitting a building in Baltimore, authorities said.Baltimore police said officers in the city’s central district responded to a Maryland Transit Administration bus crash at about 10:20 a.m. A preliminary investigation showed that the bus crashed with a Lexus and a Nissan before coming to rest in a building. The Baltimore Sun reported that it was an apartment building.Police said in a news release that 15 people were injured, with two people suffering possible life-threatening injuries. Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright told the newspaper that 17 people were injured, with none of the injuries being life-threatening. Witnesses said the Lexus was speeding and ran a stop light when it struck the bus.“There were bystander, spectator reports that there were vehicles speeding through this and the MTA bus, in an effort to avoid being a part of that, collided ...