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Jimmy Butler told tennis star Coco Gauff his Miami Heat would reach NBA Finals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:23 GMT

PARIS (AP) — To hear tennis star Coco Gauff tell it, basketball star Jimmy Butler assured her his Miami Heat would make it to the NBA Finals before they were guaranteed of so much as participating in the playoffs.Before the French Open began, 2022 runner-up Gauff — who lives in South Florida and is an avid Heat fan, one who uses the pronoun “we” when talking about the team — mentioned that she had “a funny story about Jimmy Butler, but I’m going to save it” until Miami was done playing in the Eastern Conference finals.“I don’t want to jinx it,” she said. “I will save it for another day.”Following a comeback victory in her first-round match at Roland Garros on Tuesday, which was about 12 hours after the Heat beat the Boston Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 of the East finals, Gauff told the tale involving the guy known as “Jimmy Buckets.”Gauff, a 19-year-old who is ranked No. 6 in women’s tennis, said Butler offered her tickets to see the Heat’s last regular-season ga...

Whitman police look to reunite lost Marine Corps ring with its owner

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:23 GMT

The Whitman Police Department is looking for the owner of a United States Marine Corps ring that was found during a Memorial Day parade.The police department posted images of the ring on Facebook this week, explaining how a citizen had found the ring on Monday in Whitman Town Park.“We would love to reunite it with its owner,” the department stated. “If you or someone you know owns this ring please call us at: 781-447-1212.”The ring itself appears to have a red gemstone, with an image of the 1945 flag raising on Iwo Jima on one side and an image of Tun Tavern on the other – the Philadelphia tavern believed to have held the first-ever recruitment drive for what would become the USMC in 1775.

TSA finds ‘Naruto ninja knife’ set in bag at Logan Airport

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:23 GMT

TSA New England shared a reminder for travelers Tuesday after a spokesperson said officers found a set of knives in a passenger’s carry-on bag over the weekend. Spokesperson Dan Velez said officers at Logan Airport in Boston detected the “Naruto ninja knife set,” which was inspired by the Naruto series, in the bag on Saturday. Knives, Velez said, should only be placed in checked bags, rather than carry-ons. https://twitter.com/TSA_NewEngland/status/1663564873840705537?s=20Saturday’s find at Logan came during a busy Memorial Day weekend at airports across New England. In total, TSA officials said they screened close to 334,000 people at the region’s six major airports between Thursday and Sunday, marking an increase of 32,000 from 2022 figures. On Memorial Day itself, Velez said officers at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut also found a 75 mm inert artillery shell in a passengerâ...

11-year-old Mississippi boy who was shot by responding police officer after calling 911 is released from the hospital

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:23 GMT

(CNN) — An 11-year-old Mississippi boy who was shot by a police officer after he called 911 for help is recovering after being released from the hospital, according to his family.The family is calling for the officer to be fired and charged with the shooting.Aderrien Murry was shot in the chest by an Indianola Police Department officer early Saturday morning while the officer was responding to a domestic disturbance call at the child’s home, according to his mother, Nakala Murry, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.Murry told CNN that the father of another of her children arrived at her home at 4 a.m., “irate.”Concerned about her safety, Murry asked Aderrien to call the police.Murry said the officer who arrived at the home “had his gun drawn at the front door and asked those inside the home to come outside.” Murry said her son was shot coming around the corner of a hallway, into the living room.“Once he came from around the corner, he got shot,” Murry said. “I cannot gr...

Orioles sign Aaron Hicks, former Yankees and Twins outfielder, and place Cedric Mullins on injured list

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:23 GMT

After Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins exited Monday’s loss to the Cleveland Guardians with a right abductor groin strain, Baltimore acted quickly to find a replacement.The Orioles announced Tuesday that they have signed former New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins outfielder Aaron Hicks and placed Mullins on the 10-day injured list. The Yankees released Hicks, 33, last week amid the fifth season of a seven-year, $70 million contract. New York is responsible for the remainder of that agreement; Baltimore will pay Hicks only a prorated portion of the major league minimum. He fills an opening on their 40-man roster, which is now full.In his 11th major league season, Hicks was hitting .188/.263/.261 with one home run when the Yankees elected to designate the switch-hitter for assignment, though he hit .353/.450/.647/1.097 in his last seven games with New York. By OPS+, Hicks has been a below-average major league hitter the past three seasons after rating above average each ye...

Celtics’ Robert Williams played Game 7 with stomach virus, per report

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:23 GMT

The Celtics were healthy for the majority of the postseason, but they were hobbled at the worst possible time as they limped to the finish line.Jayson Tatum sprained his ankle on the first play of Game 7, and he was a shell of himself in Monday’s season-ending loss. Malcolm Brogdon suffered a forearm injury in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals and was ultimately a non-factor because of it. On Tuesday, it was revealed that Robert Williams also wasn’t 100 percent.The Celtics center played just 14 minutes in Game 7. Why? According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Williams had a stomach bug that he played through.“Robert Williams was throwing up during the game,” Charania said, via Stadium. “He only played 14 minutes last night. He was coming in and coming out of the game. When he came out, he would be throwing up. He was dealing with a stomach virus, stomach bug that he played through it. He was sick yesterday, he was sick going into today.”

Mortgage rate lock: What it is and when to lock

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:23 GMT

David McMillin | Bankrate.com (TNS)If you’ve been comparing mortgage rates, you’ve already encountered one reality about the process of buying a home or refinancing: What you see today might be gone tomorrow. While interest rates change all the time, a mortgage rate lock ensures the rate on your mortgage stays the same, from the initial quote to closing.What is a mortgage rate lock?A rate lock is a guarantee that a mortgage lender will honor a specific interest rate at a specific cost for a set period.The benefit of a mortgage rate lock is that it protects you from market fluctuations. For example, if your lender locks in your rate at 5.68% for 45 days and rates jump up toward 6% within that period, you’ll still get your loan at the lesser rate.“Mortgage interest [rates] can change every day and sometimes even multiple times a day, so we always recommend that borrowers lock in their rate,” says Richard Greene, branch manager and loan officer at New Mexico Mortgage Company in Albuque...

Defendant in Pittsburgh synagogue massacre carried out attack, defense acknowledges as trial begins

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:23 GMT

PITTSBURGH — The trial of the man charged in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history opened Tuesday with his own lawyer acknowledging that he planned and carried out the 2018 massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue and made hateful statements about Jewish people.Robert Bowers went to Tree of Life synagogue and “shot every person he saw,” defense attorney Judy Clarke acknowledged in her opening statement.Bowers, 50, could face the death penalty if he’s convicted of some of the 63 counts he faces in the Oct. 27, 2018, attack, which claimed the lives of 11 worshippers from three congregations who shared the building. Charges include 11 counts each of obstruction of free exercise of religion resulting in death and hate crimes resulting in death.In the long run-up to the trial, Bowers’ lawyers did little to cast doubt on whether he was the gunman and instead focused on trying to save his life. Bowers, a truck driver from the Pittsburgh suburb of Baldwin, had offered to plead guilty i...

2 likely in Iowa apartment collapse wreckage, more missing, mayor says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:23 GMT

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE and HANNAH FINGERHUT (Associated Press)DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Five Iowa residents remain unaccounted for, including two people whose remains may be in a pile of rubble at the site of a partially collapsed apartment building, officials in the city of Davenport said Tuesday.Mayor Mike Matson confirmed the numbers at a news conference following criticism that the city was moving too quickly toward demolishing the building, which partially collapsed Sunday afternoon. The 116-year-old brick and steel structure, built as a hotel, had more recently been used as apartments, and tenants had been allowed to remain even as bricks began falling from the building.After the partial collapse, the city had announced plans to begin demolishing the building as early as Tuesday morning, but they delayed after a woman was found Monday evening.Officials now say immediate demolition was never intended, but they did want to quickly stage the site for the tear-down. The womanR...

Facing GOP backlash, McCarthy labors to shore up votes for debt deal in time to prevent US default

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:23 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and AAMER MADHANI (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Under fire from conservatives, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked strenuously Tuesday to sell fellow Republicans on the debt ceiling and budget deal he negotiated with President Joe Biden and win approval in time to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default.Leaders of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus lambasted the compromise as falling well short of the spending cuts they demand, and they vowed to try to halt passage by Congress. A much larger conservative faction, the Republican Study Committee, declined to take a position, leaving McCarthy hunting votes. With tough days ahead, the speaker urged skeptical GOP colleagues to “look at where the victories are.” Unhelpfully for Biden, he said of the Democrats on ”Fox and Friends,” “There’s nothing in the bill for them.”A key test was coming late Tuesday when the House Rules Committee was to consider the 99-page bil...