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LeBron James noncommittal on future, hints at retirement after loss to Nuggets: ‘I’ve got a lot to think about’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:17 GMT

Could this be the end?LeBron James’ cryptic press conference Monday after the Los Angeles Lakers’ Game 4 loss to the Denver Nuggets raises legitimate questions about his future.The 38-year-old hinted at retirement after being swept out of the Western Conference Finals.“We’ll see what happens going forward,” James said Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about, to be honest. Just for me personally going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about. …”“It’s all about availability for me and keeping my mind sharp, and things of that nature,” James said. “Being present on the floor, being present in the locker room and bus rides and plane rides, things of that nature. It’s challenging, for sure. It was a very challenging season for me, for our ballclub, and obviously we know whatever went on early on [in the Lakers...

Illinois AG’s investigation finds 451 Catholic clergy sexually abused kids, far more than the 103 the church named

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:17 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois AG’s investigation finds 451 Catholic clergy sexually abused kids, far more than the 103 the church named.

For teens, traditional summer job may work better than side gig

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:17 GMT

Teens looking for summer work may think “side hustles” and social media are the only ways to make money.“What we hear from a lot of young people is that they’d rather try to start a business than have traditional jobs,” says Ed Grocholski, chief marketing officer of Junior Achievement USA, an organization that helps young people prepare for career success.It’s easy to see why teens are excited. Social media influencers appear to be cashing in on their images and hobbies, and side hustle culture makes it look more feasible than ever to market and sell a product or service. But what teens might not realize is that early entrepreneurial endeavors usually take time to take off. Put another way, they don’t provide steady pay.But traditional jobs do, and for teenagers looking to eventually be their own boss online or off, such in-person work can lay beneficial groundwork. Here are some options for working-age teens and what lessons they could learn on the job.A positive attitude can...

Music Review: Robert Ellis proves he’s today’s news on moody, vulnerable album ‘Yesterday’s News’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:17 GMT

“Yesterday’s News” by Robert Ellis (Niles City)In the title track to his new album, “Yesterday’s News,” singer-songwriter Robert Ellis suggests in thinly-veiled terms that he’s washed up. But the album proves he’s anything but.Ellis isn’t for everybody, and large-scale commercial success may not be his destiny. His voice is expressive but reedy, his lyrics quirky, even eccentric. But the originality that made him a critics’ darling going back at least to his brilliant 2014 album, “The Lights of the Chemical Plant,” shines as brightly as ever here.The nine songs on “Yesterday’s News” are set against a subdued background of acoustic finger-picking on nylon strings, backed by an upright bass and light percussion. The playing often sounds more like classical guitarist Andres Segovia than anything country or Americana, and Ellis leans into it for long instrumental stretches.Several songs hint at pandemic themes, and while it’s true that mos...

Biden leaning into global diplomacy to manage migration at US-Mexico border

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:17 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — On President Joe Biden ‘s first day in office, he handed Congress a legislative plan to modernize the nation’s immigration system.It went nowhere, just like so many past overhaul attempts. Meanwhile, the number of migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border climbed to record highs and so did the backlog of cases in the nation’s immigration court system. Title 42 emergency health powers that allowed border officials to turn away many migrants were sure to end as the coronavirus pandemic eased. And Congress couldn’t agree on even simple questions like whether the U.S. should let in more people, or fewer.So administration officials went looking outside the U.S. for solutions, seeking to portray immigration not as one of America’s most intractable problems, but as an issue for the entire Western hemisphere to address. It was a shift in focus that plays to Biden’s faith in the power of global diplomacy, and one that also may hold mor...

Watchdog to probe how military police handled case against Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:17 GMT

OTTAWA — The military police watchdog is launching a probe into how investigators handled a historical sexual-assault allegation against a senior officer who was a central figure in Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout.A Quebec court acquitted Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin last December of one count of sexual assault, after the military police investigated the allegation from 1988 and then passed the case along to provincial prosecutors.Fortin claims he has been the victim of a biased investigation and that he was charged on the basis of insufficient evidence.The Military Police Complaints Commission is now looking into how the military police handled the case, saying Fortin’s claims about senior military officials being involved make it a matter of public interest.Fortin had been leading the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout in May 2021 when he was removed from the role pending an investigation.A Quebec civilian judge acquitted him, saying the complainant was lik...

Toddler playing outside struck by stray bullet at Utah day care

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:17 GMT

SPANISH FORK, Utah (AP) — A 2-year-old was shot in the head by a stray bullet while playing outside at day care in Utah, authorities said Tuesday.The Spanish Fork Police Department said day care workers brought a toddler to a nearby hospital on Monday after they noticed the child stumbling and bleeding from the face. Following scans, doctors found a small caliber bullet lodged in the toddler’s head and transported the child to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, 52 miles (84 kilometers) north of Spanish Fork.Authorities said the child was in stable condition.“Detectives are continuing to investigate where the bullet may have been shot from and why. It appears this was a tragic accident. Open fields are directly west of the day care and it is believed the round may have come from that area,” police said in a statement.Associated Press, The Associated Press

Jodie Comer scales heights on Broadway in ‘Prima Facie,’ a play that challenges the legal system

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:17 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The script for the play “Prima Facie” didn’t languish after landing in Jodie Comer’s inbox. Fitting for an urgent call for change, the script demanded action. It would not be denied.“Sometimes when things present themselves, it’s impossible to say no,” says the “Killing Eve” actor. “This piece felt very, very clear to me. There was no hesitation that I felt. Sometimes that kind of guttural instinct really doesn’t lie.”It didn’t matter that the script represented Comer’s first stage role. No matter that she’d be alone for some 90 minutes, even asked to move her own props. “I read it within the hour and I was like, ‘What have I got to do?’”Comer leapt in and has found herself winning an Olivier Award in London for her performance and now a Tony nomination for best actress in a play. She’s also raising her fist for women in a work that challenges the status quo.The script was from Suzie Miller, a former criminal defense and human righ...

Bills safety Damar Hamlin is present but not participating in 1st days of voluntary practices

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:17 GMT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills are taking it slowly with safety Damar Hamlin, who is being held back from participating in the team’s first few days of voluntary practices some five months after having a near-death experience on the field, coach Sean McDermott said Tuesday.“We’re taking it one day at a time and just support Damar in every way possible,” McDermott said when asked of Hamlin’s status, while noting the player is present at the facility. The coach otherwise did not provide any timetable as to when Hamlin can begin on-field sessions a month after being cleared to resume his NFL career.The 25-year-old Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field after making what appeared to be a routine tackle during the first quarter of a game at Cincinnati, and being broadcast to a national prime-time audience on Jan. 2.The Bills slow approach to Hamlin’s practice participation appears in line with how they’ve eased back other players ...

South Carolina’s only women senators to resist new abortion restrictions up for debate

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:17 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The only five women in South Carolina’s 46-member Senate have vowed to resist new abortion restrictions up for debate after the group filibustered a near-total ban last month.But it remains to be seen whether the coalition known as the “sister senators” — three Republicans, one Democrat and one independent — will be able to block a new version of a bill that cleared the state Senate earlier this year with some of the bloc’s backing.The Republican-led state Senate on Tuesday is expected to debate a bill banning most abortions after an ultrasound detects cardiac activity, generally around six weeks and before most people know they are pregnant. But the proposal includes new regulations inserted by the Republican-dominated South Carolina House last week during proceedings slowed by hundreds of Democrats’ amendments across two days.House Republicans axed a section allowing minors to petition the court for an abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. T...