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Play-in primer: How it works and what comes next and beyond for the Miami Heat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:51 GMT

This is, of course, all new for a team that rarely plays from the bottom of the playoff pack.But here stand the Miami Heat in the NBA play-in tournament for the first time, a playoff preamble to the best-of-seven opening round that begins Saturday.For the Heat, after finishing in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, it comes down to this: two tries to win one game and advance. Lose both, and the season is over by the time the clock strikes midnight Friday.“I think this is going to be fun,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think you have to embrace this new experience. To the old heads in our locker room, we’ve experienced a long career and not have had this opportunity.”So on to the play-in it is.“I think this is a really good game to compete and go after it,” Spoelstra said. “We’re looking forward to it. Our guys love competition and this has high stakes to it, and that’s ultimately where you find out about yourself,...

5 dead after shooting at Louisville bank building: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:51 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Police are reporting at least five people were killed after a shooting in a bank building in downtown Louisville.At least six other people are injured. "The suspected shooter has been neutralized," police said. The Louisville Metro Police Department said Monday on Twitter there was an ongoing situation and asked people to avoid the area. "There are multiple casualties," police said in the tweet. Police described it as an “active aggressor.”LOUISVILLE, KY - APRIL 10: Law enforcement officers respond to an active shooter near the Old National Bank building on April 10, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky. According to initial reports, there are multiple casualties but the shooter is no longer a threat. (Photo by Luke Sharrett/Getty Images)LOUISVILLE, KY - APRIL 10: Law enforcement officers respond to an active shooter near the Old National Bank building on April 10, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky. According to initial reports, there are multiple casualties but the shoote...

Biden kicks off Easter egg roll with talk of reelection bid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Not even the annual White House Easter Egg Roll is safe from presidential politics.President Joe Biden, the host of Monday’s festivities on the South Lawn, said he plans to participate in “at least three or four more Easter egg rolls, maybe five.”Biden was alluding to his expected reelection bid but when pressed for news by Al Roker of NBC’s “Today” show, the president gave no ground. He repeated what he’s been saying for months.“I’m planning on running, Al, but we’re not prepared to announce it yet,” Biden told Roker.After making an early appearance on the lawn to speak with Roker after the gates opened at 7 a.m., Biden and first lady Jill Biden will also address the crowd from the White House balcony before joining the “egg-citement.” Some 30,000 people, mostly children, were expected, in nine waves of participants, ending at 7 p.m. “Anything’s possible in America,” Biden said in brief remarks welcoming guests to the South Lawn...

CP NewsAlert: Alberta ethics commissioner reviewing if Smith interfered in justice

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:51 GMT

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she is under investigation by the provincial ethics commissioner into whether she interfered in the administration of justice.More coming.The Canadian Press

Brennan named new director for National Hurricane Center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:51 GMT

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration named Mike Brennan, who was supervising hurricane forecasters during one of the busiest times for storms hitting America, as the new director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.Brennan, who started Monday, had been branch chief since 2018 for the center’s hurricane specialist unit, which writes warnings and forecasts for the public. He spent 2022 as the center’s acting deputy director. During those last five years, 18 hurricanes have hit the United States, eight of them major.Brennan, 45, started at the hurricane center in 2008 as a hurricane specialist and got his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from North Carolina State University.“The NHC director is one of the most visible and important jobs in the nation, and Mike possesses the right combination of experience, leadership and personal traits to prepare and guide us through major storms,” NOAA chief Rick Spinrad said. Hurricane center ch...

Stocks on Wall Street slip amid expectations for rate hike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:51 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is slipping Monday in the first trading for stocks after a report raised speculation the Federal Reserve may tap the brakes a little harder on the economy. The S&P 500 was 0.6% lower in early trading. It did not trade on Friday, when the U.S. government said that job growth across the economy slowed a touch more than expected last month but remains resilient. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 53 points, or 0.2%, at 33,432, as of 9:45 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% lower. Stocks were catching up to the bond market, where yields rose Friday on expectations the jobs data would push the Fed to raise interest rates at its next meeting. The Fed has already hiked rates at a furious pace over the last year in hopes of driving down inflation.Higher rates can undercut inflation, but only by slowing the entire economy in one fell swoop. That raises the risk of a recession in the future and drags down prices for stocks, bonds and o...

Susan L. Shirk’s ‘illuminating’ book on China’s rise wins Lionel Gelber Prize

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:51 GMT

TORONTO — An examination of China’s evolution from fragile superpower to global heavyweight has won the $50,000 Lionel Gelber Prize.Susan L. Shirk’s portrait “Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise,” published by Oxford University Press, was named the top book on international affairs published in English.The award citation praises the U.S. scholar and expert in Chinese politics for writing that is “illuminating, disturbing, and utterly persuasive.”Shirk’s book beat out finalists “Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology,” by Chris Miller; “Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism,” by Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way; “Slouching Toward Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century” by J. Bradford DeLong; and “Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century,” by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman.The Lionel Gelber Prize is awarded annually by a jury of international scholars and practitioners ...

Regional routes see higher airfares, fewer flights even as new carriers emerge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:51 GMT

MONTREAL — Whether you’re catching a flight, opening a new bank account or picking up groceries, a small group of big names takes up most of the market share. Competition Ltd. is a Canadian Press series that explores what this means for products — and prices — in the country.———On a cold, cloudy Thursday night in February, Donovan Onishenko arrived at the Calgary airport on a delayed flight from Atlanta and rushed to catch his connection to Saskatoon. With the airplane still at the gate, he said WestJet ticket agents told him the flight was full and about to depart without him.“When I was told the next flight was six days away, I asked what I was supposed to do, and was told that I would have to wait until then, with no mention of assistance,” said Onishenko.“No hotel rooms or meals, no transportation or luggage allowance.”He and two others found there were no rental cars available either, but one of them had a friend willing to lend theirs.“So we borrowed the vehicle, fuelled...

5 killed in shooting at downtown Louisville bank building; suspected shooter also dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:51 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A shooting at a bank building in downtown Louisville on Monday morning killed five people and wounded at least six others, police said. The suspected shooter was also dead, police said.Louisville Metro Police Department Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey told reporters officers who arrived on the scene “encountered active gunshots still being fired inside the location at that time.”“The shooter was confirmed to be dead on the scene,” Humphrey said. “We do not know exactly the circumstances of his death at this time.”Witnesses who left the building told Louisville station WHAS-TV they heard gunfire inside the building.Numerous police vehicles were seen on television footage. WHAS reporters said they saw people being taken from the scene in ambulances.In a tweet, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he was heading to the scene.“Please pray for all of the families impacted and for the city of Louisville,” Beshear said.The FBI said its agents were also responding to the shooti...

U of C issues alert after 3 robberies in 3 days near campus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:51 GMT

CHICAGO — University of Chicago police issued an alert Monday following three robberies in three days near campus.The first robbery happened Friday morning at around 8:30 a.m. in the 1500 block of East 55th Street. Police said a victim exited a bus when they had a Bluetooth speaker stolen from them. The suspect implied a weapon and was last seen walking westbound on 55th Street.On Saturday at around 6:50 p.m., a person was pushed and robbed of their iPhone.On Sunday at around 3 a.m., three people were walking on a sidewalk when they were confronted by an unknown suspect who exited a older model red SUV. 2 wanted after man robbed at knifepoint on Red Line The suspect was armed with a gun and took the victims' wallets and cell phones before entering the SUV again and fleeing westbound on Hyde Park.Chicago police are investigating. Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.