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ASK IRA: How badly do the Heat need Kyle Lowry back in the lineup?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:19 GMT

Q: How can you be the Sun Sentinel basketball expert with expert opinions like Kyle Lowry is going to return to lead the Heat? Do you actually watch the games or just stuff your face with hotdogs? – Alan.A: Actually, if you happened to be walking by on Wednesday night, you would have noticed I was stuffing my face with a donut, but that’s another story (the Heat only offer hot dogs in the media food room on weekends). And just because my business card reads “Basketball Expert,” I wouldn’t necessarily get caught up in the hype. In all seriousness, though, it became clear with Wednesday night’s season-high 24 turnovers that the Heat need a steadying force for the types of games that Erik Spoelstra refers to as being “in the mud.” So there are two ways to look at Kyle Lowry’s impending return: 1. That the knee will remain an ongoing issue, limiting his efficiency to what he was before he took the past month off. 2. Or that Kyle will...

MBTA announces systemwide slowdown to only 10-25 mph

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:19 GMT

Better get up a bit early if you use the MBTA.The agency has announced the Red, Orange, Blue and Green lines will operate at speeds of 10-25 mph “out of an abundance of caution.”The system-wide speed restriction was implemented following negative findings from the Department of Public Utilities during an inspection of a stretch of Red Line track on Monday.Trains will travel no faster than 25 mph, effective immediately, on the Red, Orange, Blue and Green Lines, the MBTA said.“These actions will add additional travel time for people taking the T,” spokesperson Lisa Battiston said. “The MBTA apologizes in advance for these inconveniences and remains committed to operating the transit system in the safest way possible.”DPU, the T’s state safety oversight authority, issued six violation letters to the MBTA on Tuesday as a result of their inspection of southbound Red Line track between Ashmont and Savin Hill.Inspectors observed multiple trains “overshooting” statio...

How the recent storms impacted San Diego's water supply in reservoirs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:19 GMT

SAN DIEGO – With recent storm systems that swept through the west, California has seen more precipitation this year than normal, bringing the water supply stored in reservoirs -- both locally and across the state -- up from historic lows to levels that are some of the highest in years.And with drought conditions having improved in much of California, experts say that the amount of water captured from this year’s particularly wet winter could help ease the impact of hotter, drier weather in San Diego, as the state recovers its depleted water supplies. “The state received nine atmospheric rivers and they provided major precipitation, (allowing) water agencies across the state – including San Diego County – to store some of that water for hotter, drier summertime, when water usage goes up,” Efren Lopez, water resources specialist with the San Diego Water Authority, said to FOX5SanDiego.com. Where does the California drought stand heading into spring? One of the state’s largest r...

Man stabbed, beaten in East Village

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:19 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A man was allegedly stabbed and beaten by a suspect in the East Village area early Friday morning, authorities said.According to the San Diego Police Department, the victim, who's age and identity have not been released, walked up to another person at 1050 B St. and said he needed help due to his injuries. The exact time of the encounter has not been specified. Man arrested after deadly gas station stabbing The Good Samaritan called police who arrived on the scene and are investigating the incident.The victim was evaluated at the scene. SDPD has not confirmed whether or not the man was transported to a hospital. The nature of his injuries is also unknown.A suspect is not yet in custody or detained at this time and police did not have a description of the perpetrator.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

US charity calls on Egypt to release hunger-striking poet

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:19 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A U.S. charity has called on Egypt to release a well-known poet and songwriter who is on a hunger strike to protest his five-year incarceration. Pen America demanded Thursday that Egyptian authorities release Galal al-Behairy, who was first detained in March of 2018 and later handed a three-year sentence for spreading false news and insulting Egypt’s military. In a leaked letter that coincided with the fifth anniversary of his arrest, al-Behairy said he would refuse food and medication until he secured his freedom. An Egyptian government media officer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the call for the hunger striker to be released. Al-Behairy wrote the lyrics to the hit Egyptian pop song, “Balaha,” sung by exiled pop star Ramy Essam. The poet was arrested a month after its release. ‘’I committed one crime, which is poetry,″ al-Behairy wrote in his letter, published across social media. “The strike will continue until I regain my freedom...

German gunman kills 6 at Hamburg Jehovah’s Witnesses hall

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:19 GMT

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — A gunman stormed a service at his former Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in Hamburg, killing six people before taking his own life after police arrived, authorities in the German port city said Friday.Police gave no motive for Thursday night’s attack, which stunned the country’s second-biggest city. But they acknowledged recently receiving an anonymous tip that claimed the man showed anger toward religious groups and might be psychologically unfit to own a gun.An unborn baby was among the dead, but police didn’t say whether the mother was also killed. Eight people were wounded, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the death toll could rise.Officers apparently reached the hall while the attack was ongoing — and heard one more shot after they arrived, according to witnesses and authorities. They did not fire their weapons, but officials said their intervention likely prevented further loss of life.Scholz, a former Hamburg mayor, lamented the “terrible i...

Wall Street futures lower ahead of US jobs update

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:19 GMT

BEIJING — Wall Street futures were modestly lower Friday ahead of a U.S. job market update amid unease about possible further interest rate hikes.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3% and futures for the S&P 500 were off 0.2%.The S&P 500 index fell Thursday by its biggest one-day margin this year after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned rates might be raised faster than expected to cool stubbornly high inflation.Adding to the rout was SVB Financial Group, which lost 60% of its value Thursday after announcing plans to raise up to $1.75 billion to strengthen its financial position amid concerns about higher interest rates and the economy. The SVB news dragged Bank of America, Citigroup and others along with it, though they had stabilized by premarket Friday. SVB shares continued to slide in off-hours trading, falling another 62% before the bell.Traders looked ahead to U.S. government hiring data due out Friday after other indicators showed the job m...

US adds a robust 311,000 jobs despite Fed’s rate hikes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added a substantial 311,000 jobs in February, fewer than January’s huge gain but enough to keep pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively to fight inflation.The unemployment rate rose to 3.6% from a 53-year low of 3.4%, as more Americans began searching for work and not all of them found jobs.Friday’s report from the government made clear that the nation’s job market remains fundamentally healthy, with many employers still eager to hire. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told Congress this week that the Fed would likely ratchet up its rate hikes if signs continued to point to a robust economy and persistently high inflation. A strong job market typically leads businesses to raise pay and then pass their higher labor costs on to customers through higher prices.Last month, the government reported a surprising burst of hiring for January — 517,000 added jobs — though that gain was revised down slightly to 504,000 in Friday’s report...

AP Interview: Stenmark says Shiffrin ‘better than I was’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:19 GMT

To Ingemar Stenmark, all this fuss over Mikaela Shiffrin as she approached his record of 86 World Cup skiing victories was beside the point.Because the 66-year-old Swede believes the American is already on another level.“She’s much better than I was. You cannot compare,” Stenmark said in an interview with The Associated Press. “She has everything. She has good physical strength, she has a good technique, strong head. I think it’s the combination of everything makes her so good. And I’m also impressed that she can ski good both in slalom and in super-G and downhill also.“I could never have been so good in all disciplines.”While all 86 of Stenmark’s wins in the 1970s and 80s came in the technical disciplines of slalom (40) and giant slalom (46), Shiffrin’s wins have been spread out amid both her specialties of slalom and giant slalom and also in the higher-speed and more dangerous events of super-G and downhill.One of Shiffrin’s three medals at the world championships last month came ...

Shiffrin and Stenmark took different paths to skiing record

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:19 GMT

Ingemar Stenmark’s unbreakable skiing record just got matched by Mikaela Shiffrin.The American won a giant slalom on Friday to equal the Swedish great’s record of 86 World Cup victories, which he set more than three decades ago.When Stenmark retired from World Cup racing 34 years ago to the day — on March 10, 1989, a week before his 33rd birthday — his mark was widely considered unbreakable.Lindsey Vonn, Shiffrin’s former teammate, came close 30 years later but retired after 82 wins. Vonn’s last World Cup race was a super-G in January 2019 — a race won by Shiffrin for her 54th victory.Four years later, Shiffrin overtook Vonn and has now matched Stenmark, three days before her 28th birthday.Here is a closer look at the facts and figures behind Shiffrin’s and Stenmark’s shared record.ROAD TO GLORYTimewise, Shiffrin was faster to get to 86 victories.The American needed 11 years, 11 months, 27 days after her first top-level race on March 11, 2011, to get the record. It took ...