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ASK IRA: Is Heat’s Jimmy Butler ‘stupidly locked in’ again for postseason?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:43 GMT

Q: Ira, which Jimmy Butler are we going to see? I remember him being “stupidly locked in” against the Bucks two years ago and then they were swept. Last season, he didn’t say anything and they went to the East finals. – Steve.A: For all the talk, bravado and bluster, the Heat are not built to be a one-player team. So when Jimmy Butler and the Heat were swept out of the first round by the Bucks in 2021, it was more of a case of the Heat being a No. 6 seed, simply lacking the talent to keep up with Milwaukee. Last season, the Heat were a No. 1 seed, with a well-crafted core and quality depth. This time around, as a No. 7 seed entering the play-in tournament, the Heat are probably closer to where they were in 2021. And that requires the heaviest of lifting So against the Hawks, Jimmy certainly could be able to get the Heat through to the playoffs. But it will take more than merely the best of Butler to get past Boston or Milwaukee in the first round. “Stup...

New Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr. is a star, but his past six seasons show he also comes with risk | ANALYSIS

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:43 GMT

If Odell Beckham Jr. was not the best wide receiver in the world, he did not have to stand behind more than two or three people in line.The year was 2016, and Beckham, 24 years old, was finishing up his third NFL season. Since he was drafted 12th overall out of LSU, he had never failed to make the Pro Bowl, never failed to reach at least 90 catches, 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns over a 16-game schedule. If anything, his highlights — who could ever forget the one-handed, full-extension touchdown catch against the Dallas Cowboys? — lit up imaginations even more than his statistics.That version of Beckham was such a phenomenon that his name still carries enormous weight with NFL fans and players. This became evident as soon as the Ravens announced they had signed the 30-year-old wide receiver on Sunday afternoon. A pall lifted for fans who had suffered through months of unsettling news regarding the future of franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson. Beckham’s new teammate...

Battenfeld: Mayoral candidate Mel King was ahead of his time, influenced generations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:43 GMT

Mel King was way ahead of his time – his breakthrough as a mayoral finalist in 1983 came decades before Boston finally elected its first non-white mayor.The civil rights activist paved the way and influenced generations of other Black politicians and progressives, including current Mayor Michelle Wu, the city’s first Asian American chief executive.They all owe a debt of gratitude to King, who will be memorialized on Tuesday in a funeral service at Union United Methodist Church in the South End.King leaves a legacy of being a principled and civil politician and public servant, one that is a rare combination today.He wasn’t a backslapping pol who talked out of both sides of his mouth. He didn’t have to shout or attack to get noticed.King was in many ways a visionary who spoke out for housing rights, civil rights and voting rights long before it became fashionable. He was the grandfather of the Rainbow Coalition that the Rev. Jesse Jackson adopted nationally.King also provides a lesson...

Volcano eruption on Russia’s Kamchatka spews vast ash clouds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:43 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A volcano erupted early Tuesday on far eastern Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, spewing clouds of dust 20 kilometers (65,600 feet) into the sky and covering broad areas with ash.The ash cloud from the eruption of Shiveluch, one of Kamchatka’s most active volcanoes, extended over 500 kilometers (more than 300 miles) northwest and engulfed several villages in grey volcanic dust.Officials closed the skies over the area to aircraft. Local authorities advised residents to stay indoors. Schools in several affected communities were shut, and two villages had their power supplies cut. Ash fell on 108,000 square kilometers (41,699 square miles) of territory, according to the regional branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Geophysical Survey. The scientists described the fallout as the biggest in nearly 60 years.The Kamchatka Peninsula, which extends into the Pacific Ocean about 6,600 kilometers (4,000 miles) east of Moscow, is one of the world’s most concentrated ar...

French building collapse death toll rises to 6; 2 missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:43 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French investigators are treating the deaths of at least six people who were killed when a building collapsed in the city of Marseille as a possible “involuntary homicide” case, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Prosecutor Dominique Laurens said an investigation was opened on that basis after the first body was found in the building, which collapsed in a fiery explosion early Sunday. Four of the six victims have been formally identified, Laurens said: a 74-year-old couple and two women, ages 88 and 65, who were neighbors. Rescuers continuing searching Tuesday for two people who remained unaccounted for following the emergency in France’s second-largest city. Investigators “are now working on the hypothesis of a gas explosion” as the cause of the building’s collapse, Laurens said during a Tuesday news conference. A gas meter was found in the rubble that may help determine whether there was atypical consumption in the 24 hours prior to the explosion. In 2018, t...

UN to review presence in Afghanistan following Taliban ban

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:43 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The United Nations said Tuesday it is reviewing its presence in Afghanistan after the Taliban barred Afghan women from working for the world organization — a veiled suggestion the U.N. could move to suspend its mission and operations in the embattled country.Last week, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers took a step further in restrictive measures they have imposed on women and said that Afghan women employed with the U.N. mission could no longer report for work. They did not further comment on the ban.The U.N. said it cannot accept the decision, calling it an unparalleled violation of women’s rights. It was the latest in sweeping restrictions imposed by the Taliban since they seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were withdrawing from the country after 20 years of war. The Taliban have banned girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade and women from most public life and work. In December, they banned Afghan women from working at l...

Two women were spat on, had juice container thrown at them at TTC station; suspects sought

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:43 GMT

Toronto police are on the hunt for two suspects following an assault at a TTC subway station last month.Officers responded to reports of people being assaulted with a weapon at North York Centre station on March 24 around 9:45 p.m.Police say two women were walking up stairs at the station while a pair of suspects were walking down the same set of stairs. The two sides got into an argument while passing each other.It is alleged that the suspects spat on the two women and then threw a large plastic juice container at them.The first suspect is described as a man with braided hair, six-feet-tall, and was last seen wearing black sweatpants and a dark hoodie. The second suspect is described as a woman with a thin build, five-feet-two inches tall, and last seen wearing purple or blue velvet sweatpants and a jacket.Anyone with additional information is being asked to contact police.

U.N calls for massive international support to Somalia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:43 GMT

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The U.N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed for “massive international support” for Somalia during his visit to the East African country that is facing the worst drought in decades.He said Somalia is facing humanitarian difficulties at the same time that it is combating a serious terrorism threat.Guterres in a joint press briefing with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told reporters he was “here to ring the alarm on the need of massive international support because of the humanitarian difficulties the country is facing.”The U.N secretary-general was given a red carpet welcome complete with a guard of honor as he was received at the main international airport by Somalia and U.N officials.He thanked Mohamud for the warm welcome and said he was looking forward to Iftar — the breaking of the Ramadan fast — later on Tuesday.Most of Mogadishu was locked down for Guterres’ visit, with restricted movement of public transport.Mohamud thanked G...

Lobotka’s passes have been the motor that makes Napoli tick

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:43 GMT

CASTEL VOLTURNO, Italy (AP) — Throughout his entire soccer career, from youth levels on up, Stanislav Lobotka had never seen what he now sees at Napoli nearly every match.Eight Napoli players — everyone but the goalkeeper and the two center backs — line up at the halfway line at kickoffs to start the game or the second half.“We want (to) play forward to get (inside) the opponent’s half maybe to score or to create corners or something to show that we want to win the game. And it doesn’t matter who we play against,” Lobotka said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.In Italy, where conservative tactics and “catenaccio” (lockdown defense) had been the tradition for decades, coach Luciano Spalletti’s idea of attacking so decisively from the first touch was revolutionary — even for a team that had Diego Maradona when it won it’s only two league titles more than three decades ago.The strategy works, though, and Napoli has been a high-scoring juggernaut for most of the seas...

Warming temperatures ahead of weekend cold front

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:43 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Comfortable spring temperatures are expected for your Tuesday. Morning clouds and fog should lead to plenty of afternoon sunshine.A northerly component to the breeze keeps high temperatures in the 70s Tuesday and Wednesday, with cool mornings in the 50s. Temperatures Tuesday afternoon will again be in the 70sFollowing a quiet weather week, we are tracking a western storm set to move into Texas on Saturday. Heat and humidity increase ahead of the system, causing high temperatures rise above 80 degrees (Austin's average high during early April) beginning Thursday. We expect a 20% chance of storms -- some potentially strong (east of I35)-- on Saturday as the storm passes through. Stay tuned for updates.Best chance of showers/thunderstorms will be Saturday afternoonHumidity and temperatures drop Sunday morning behind this system, leading to a pleasant forecast for the Capitol 10K race. We currently expect temperatures in the 50s at sunrise Sunday with low humidity and b...