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Lakers hold off Clippers 130-125 in OT to snap an 11-game losing streak in the Los Angeles rivalry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:54 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James had 35 points and 11 rebounds, Austin Reaves scored seven of his 15 points in overtime and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Los Angeles Clippers with a 130-125 victory Wednesday night.D’Angelo Russell scored 27 points and Anthony Davis had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the short-handed Lakers, who beat their local rivals for the first time since July 2020 in the Florida bubble. The 17-time NBA champion Lakers hadn’t beaten the Clippers on the Lakers’ home court at their shared arena since Christmas 2016, losing 11 in a row.With James Harden watching in street clothes on the Clippers’ bench, Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points in the Clippers’ second loss of the young season. Paul George scored 20 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, including eight points in the final minute, before fouling out 30 seconds into overtime.Although the Lakers used just eight players due to five significant injury absences...

Security prevents Rangers from celebrating in Chase Field pool after winning World Series

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:54 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — There was no pool party for the Texas Rangers after winning the World Series.A raucous celebration after the franchise’s first championship remained on dry land as about a dozen security officers guarded the pool behind the right-center wall at Chase Field.“Are they going over there?” Game 5 starter Nathan Eovaldi said during an interview with Fox. ”No, I don’t think they are.”The Rangers could’ve made a run for the water as they initially celebrated their 5-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Despite a clear path to the pool, where a few fans lingered on the desk, the players were more interested in hugging each other, family and friends on the field.Once fans were cleared out and a few players headed down the steps to the clubhouse, security filled the area in front of the pool, spaced out every 20 to 30 feet.The Diamondbacks had two splashy celebrations during their improbable run to this year’s Worl...

Splash Brothers Curry, Thompson send Warriors past Kings, 102-101

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:54 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Golden State Warriors have faced the Northern California rival Sacramento Kings 11 times in their last 17 games including preseason matchups.“That’s probably never happened in the history of the NBA,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.Klay Thompson hit a 17-footer with less than a second remaining and the Warriors held off a second-half flurry by Sacramento for a 102-101 win Wednesday night.Domantas Sabonis put the Kings ahead moments earlier on a jumper with 16 seconds to play after Stephen Curry’s layup just before in a wild final minute. Curry scored with 33 seconds left following a 24-second violation by Sacramento that gave Golden State the ball for another chance with 38.4 seconds left trailing 99-98.Curry also made a 3-pointer at the 4:02 mark before Chris Paul’s steal helped set up another scoring possession. Curry scored 21 points and added four 3-pointers to take his NBA-leading total to 28 on a night the Kings missed leading scorer ...

Asia’s first Gay Games to kick off in Hong Kong, fostering hopes for wider LGBTQ+ inclusion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:54 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Football enthusiast Gina Benjamin is not just training for victory in the upcoming Gay Games in Hong Kong, but she’s also on a mission to help push for legal reform for same-sex marriage.After moving to Hong Kong from Britain in 2016, Benjamin, 33, met her true love in the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city. But local laws, recognizing only heterosexual marriages, forced the couple to travel to the British Embassy in Vietnam to get married in August. Their inability to marry in the city where their love story unfolded left her frustrated.This weekend the drama teacher along with diverse teams of male, female and transgender players will take to the pitch with what she calls “a big purpose.” She hopes participation in the games can show the government the city’s strong support for equal rights for same-sex couples.“We’re playing to possibly change laws,” she said. Set to begin on Friday, the first Gay Games in Asia are fostering hopes for wider LGBTQ+ ...

One-armed table tennis player eyes both Olympics and Paralympics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:54 GMT

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Bruna Alexandre wants to break barriers and spend a lot of time in Paris next year.The one-armed table tennis player, who starts competing at the Pan American Games on Thursday, is trying to make Brazil’s team for both the Olympics and the Paralympics in Paris, meaning she’ll be in France training and playing from late July until early September.Alexandre, 28, wants to join a group of five other athletes who, according to the International Paralympic Committee, have participated in both competitions in the same year: Archer Neroli Fairhall of New Zealand; Polish table tennis player Natalia Partyka; swimmer Natalie du Toit and sprinter Oscar Pistorious, both of South Africa; and Iranian archer Zarah Nemati.Brazil’s No. 3 women’s table tennis player, Alexandre will be the first athlete from the Americas to join that exclusive group it if she is picked for the Olympic team. Her spot at the Paralympics is already secured.Several other athletes have com...

US officials hold their breath for Iranian cyberattacks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:54 GMT

The U.S. government is prepping for a potential onslaught of Iranian cyberattacks in retaliation for support for Israel in its conflict with Hamas.It’s far from just Israel at risk of cyberattacks from the Hamas-aligned regime’s cyber operatives, U.S. officials say. They also see the U.S. and other nations that support the Israeli government as likely targets.Such attacks could take the form of attempting to damage critical systems like water or electricity, would likely involve widespread disinformation efforts and could also involve proxies to keep Iran’s fingerprints off the incidents.“The cyber targeting of American interests and critical infrastructure that we already see conducted by Iran and non-state actors alike we can expect to get worse if the conflict expands, as will the threat of kinetic attacks,” FBI Director Christopher Wray testified to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday.Multiple U.S. federal agencies have stressed that they h...

Big, brawny and flush with cash: Poland’s military gets strong backing from incoming government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:54 GMT

WARSAW — Poland is set to change governments following the October 15 election, but the incoming administration isn’t planning any major revolution in procurement, defense spending or military posture. “We’re not going to cancel any contracts. We don’t want our allies to view Poland as unpredictable,” Tomasz Siemoniak, who served as defense minister from 2011 to 2015 and is seen as a potential candidate to return to the post, told POLITICO.He is a senior member of the Civic Coalition grouping led by Donald Tusk, the candidate to be prime minister of three opposition parties that together have a majority in the new parliament. Tusk, for now, has been silent on defense issues.However, Siemoniak’s views are shared by other parts of the future ruling coalition.“We voted to increase spending on armaments and we said during the campaign that we would maintain all the armaments contracts we had started,” Stefan Krajewski, an MP with the Third Way grouping, told Poli...

Chula Vista councilmember faces fraud charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:54 GMT

SAN DIEGO – Chula Vista Councilmember Andrea Cardenas and her brother Jesus Cardenas, former chief of staff to San Diego councilmember Stephen Whitburn, are charged with multiple felonies related to federal COVID relief funds.  “The indictments did not come as a surprise to me, or in fact, many people in the city of Chula Vista,” John Moot said. Moot is a current attorney, former Chula Vista councilmember and longtime Chula Vista resident who points out Andrea had been questioned and even had a formal complaint launched about her campaign spending in the past.  A six-page criminal complaint filed by the San Diego County District Attorney’s office accuses the pair of fraudulently obtaining a roughly $176,000 PPP loan, meant to keep employees paid during the pandemic.  According to prosecutors, the siblings got the loan for their political consulting firm Grassroots Resources by listing employee and business information from a San Diego marijuana dispensary, Harbor Collective. &n...

EU boosts humanitarian aid to displaced Karabakh Armenians with almost €1.7 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:54 GMT

The Commission is increasing its humanitarian funding in Armenia with almost €1.7 million in response to the mass influx of people from Nagorno Karabakh.The new funding will aim to further strengthen the existing EU humanitarian response to the displaced people by providing cash assistance, shelter, food security and livelihoods assistance, protection, and healthcare. This funding comes in addition to the €10.45m already announced by the Commission in response to the crisis, bringing total humanitarian funding to more than €12m in 2023.Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič said: “Karabakh Armenians will not be forgotten. As the winter sets in, the displaced people in Armenia will face additional challenges. The EU is boosting its humanitarian funding to be prepared for the winter. We continue working together with our humanitarian partners on the ground to provide assistance to the most vulnerable.”With more than 100,000 people having fled their homes, often taking minimal b...

USC student allegedly raped by Lyft driver after WeHo Carnaval

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:54 GMT

A female University of Southern California student was allegedly raped by her Lyft driver after returning home from the West Hollywood Carnaval, the university's Department of Public Safety said in a crime alert.  The incident reportedly happened in the 3600 block of South Grand Avenue at around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, the alert stated.  Officials said the victim used a Lyft to return to her apartment near the University Park Campus and when they arrived, the driver raped her in his car.  The suspect was described as a Black male, approximately 25-35 years old with black hair, a thin build and a black colored beard.  Anyone with information about the alleged sexual assault is urged to contact the university’s Department of Public Safety at 213-740-6000.