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NBA takes steps to try to ensure its star players appear in more games

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA took steps Wednesday to try to ensure that its star players appear in more games, particularly nationally televised matchups and the in-season tournament that is being added this year.The league’s board of governors approved a new player participation policy that will take effect for this upcoming season, replacing the player resting policy that was implemented prior to the 2017-18 season. The new rules focus primarily on star players — someone who has been an All-Star or on the All-NBA team in any of the prior three seasons.Teams will have to manage their rosters to ensure that multiple available star players aren’t sitting out the same game to rest. The league will have the ability to penalize teams that violate the policy by fining them $100,000 for the first infraction and $250,000 for the second. Each successive violation increase by $1 million.The NBA also wants teams to maintain a balance between the number of one-game absences a star playe...

A week remains until the sun sets before 7 p.m.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:45 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- If you've been noticing the sun setting earlier and earlier as the days go by, you aren't just seeing things.Whether you're excited about the longer nights to come or wish the long summer days would last forever, afternoon sunsets in Denver are on the way. It's just a matter of time.In fact, as of Sept. 13, there is only a week left until the sun starts setting before 7 p.m.End of summer, start to fallAccording to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Sept. 20 is the last day of 2023 that the sun will set after 7 p.m. Specifically, it will set at around 7:01 p.m.Three days later, on Sept. 23, astronomical fall begins with the fall equinox. This is the day that the sun rises and sets at the exact same point in the sky.Interestingly, in Denver at least, it takes until Sept. 26 for the sun to set and rise exactly 12 hours apart. On that day, the sun will rise at 6:51 a.m. and set at 6:51 p.m.Doesn't the sun already set before 7 p.m.?If you live in the Front...

El Chapo’s wife has been released from a US prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:45 GMT

Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, has been released from a US prison after serving nearly two years for drug trafficking and money laundering charges, a prison official said Wednesday.Coronel was sentenced to three years in prison in November 2021 after pleading guilty to charges related to her husband’s narcotics empire. Her sentence also included four years of supervised release and a forfeiture of $1.5 million.“We can confirm Emma Coronel Aispuro released from the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) today, September 13, 2023,” spokesperson Randilee Giamusso told CNN in an email.“For privacy, safety, and security, the FBOP does not provide additional information on those who are no longer in our custody,” she added.Coronel had been held at a residential reentry management facility in Long Beach, California, according to the prison bureau’s inmate locator.During her sentencing, Coronel, a dual US-Mexican citizen, expressed de...

27th annual “Dunn’s Run” to unite runners in support of Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:45 GMT

Thousands of runners will soon gather in Deerfield Beach for the 27th Annual “Dunn’s Run,” an event aimed at benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County. The event, scheduled for Oct. 1, serves as the unofficial start of the running season and raises funds for at-risk children across Broward County.Founded by the late business and community leader Jim Dunn of J.R. Dunn Jewelers, “Dunn’s Run” has generated millions of dollars for the charity through its 13 clubs in Broward County.“What Jim Dunn did in founding this event and his support of our Clubs, and what the Dunn Family continues to do for our members is nothing short of amazing,” said co-CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County Chris Gentile in a press release. “Seeing so many people come together at one place, at one time, to support our kids is humbling and makes such a difference in the lives of so many young people.”The race has become one of the tri-county areaR...

Florida Gov. DeSantis recommends against latest COVID booster in ongoing disagreement with FDA, CDC

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:45 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will recommend most citizens don’t take the latest COVID-19 booster shot, saying Wednesday there is not enough data to show the potential benefits of the vaccine outweigh potential risks.Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, and Florida Surgeon Joseph Ladapo discussed the vaccine with doctors on a Zoom call livestreamed on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. It repeated much of what they said a week ago during a live event in Jacksonville, in which they warned against the vaccine the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved this week.“This has obviously been a flashpoint in our society,” DeSantis said Wednesday. “In Florida, we’ve obviously taken a different approach.”The discussion began with the words “NO WAY FDA” on the screen before DeSantis introduced the doctors.“We continue to live in world where the CDC and the FDA, when it comes to COVID at least, are j...

Fort Lauderdale girl rings bell to celebrate beating cancer during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:45 GMT

In a celebration during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, 13-year-old Melynanie rang the bell signifying the end of her cancer treatment, surrounded by the pediatric oncology team at Broward Health Medical Center.The Fort Lauderdale girl’s journey was marked by a diagnosis of high-risk leukemia, which, during her battle, led to the development of diabetes, Broward Health Medical Center said in a news release. Melynanie fought through a challenging course of treatment, including high doses of chemotherapy.Throughout her ordeal, she received multiple blood transfusions to mitigate the risk of stroke. On Wednesday, her medical team, devoted caregivers, and family, including her mother and sister, celebrated the the fact that she is officially leukemia-free.The eighth grader is now thriving and enjoys being social and going to school.

Fire breaks out at emergency shelter in Sutton housing displaced, migrant families

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:45 GMT

A fire broke out late Wednesday morning at an emergency shelter site in Sutton serving displaced and migrant families, prompting first responders to evaluate several people for smoke inhalation injuries, including members of the Massachusetts National Guard.Local officials, including the fire chief and two state lawmakers, raised concerns last week and at the end of August about the safety of families staying at the hotel. Healey administration officials have said the severity of an emergency shelter crisis and state law requires them to quickly procure temporary housing for local homeless and migrant families.The Sutton Fire Department received a call just before noon for a fire at the Red Roof Inn, which began “in the area of a stove in a hotel staff area,” according to the state Department of Fire Services.State Sen. Ryan Fattman and other town officials were on their way to the hotel to greet National Guard troops who were arriving for their deployment as part of an up to six mo...

North Korea’s Kim vows full support for Moscow at a summit with Putin in Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:45 GMT

By KIM TONG-HYUNG and DASHA LITVINOVA (Associated Press)SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s Kim Jong Un vowed “full and unconditional support” for Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Wednesday as the two leaders isolated by the West held a summit that the U.S. warned could lead to a deal to supply ammunition for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.The meeting, which lasted over four hours at Russia’s spaceport in the Far East, underscores how the two countries’ interests are aligning: Putin is believed to be seeking one of the few things impoverished North Korea has in abundance -– stockpiles of aging ammunition and rockets for Soviet-era weapons.Such a request would mark a role reversal from the 1950-53 Korean War, when Moscow gave weapons to support Pyongyang’s invasion of South Korea — and in the decades that followed, when the Soviet Union sponsored North Korea.The decision to meet at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s most ...

Powerful explosion kills 5 Palestinians in Gaza. Israel says the blast was caused by mishandled bomb

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:45 GMT

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least five Palestinians were killed and over 20 others were wounded Wednesday in an explosion next to the separation fence along the Israeli frontier with Gaza, Palestinian health officials said.The cause of the blast was not immediately known.The explosion took place during a demonstration along the border marking the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005. The event on Gaza’s eastern border was organized by Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has governed the coastal territory since 2007.The Israeli army, which has fought four wars with Hamas, denied involvement. It said demonstrators were trying to throw a bomb over the fence when the device detonated prematurely. It released aerial footage showing a blast along the fence. Debris flew into the air, and several people could be seen running away.Protesters brandishing flags had been burning tires along the separation fence to celebrate the anniversary of Israel&...

US ambassador visits American imprisoned for espionage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:45 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Russia met Wednesday with imprisoned American Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence on an espionage conviction that both Washington and Whelan dispute.Ambassador Lynne Tracy traveled to the prison colony about 350 kilometers (220 miles) east of Moscow where Whelan is held, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.“We believe Paul continues to show tremendous courage in the face of his wrongful detention. Ambassador Tracy reiterated to him that President Biden and Secretary (of State Antony) Blinken are committed to bringing him home,” he said. “Secretary Blinken had a call with Paul Whelan around a month ago, a little under a month ago, and delivered that same message to him: that we are working very hard to bring him home and we will continue to do so.”The 53-year-old Whelan, a corporate security director and former Marine, was detained in Moscow in 2018 and convicted in 2020. The Biden administration had hoped to ...