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Celtics can’t hold onto home-court edge on once-fearsome parquet floor

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:46 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Once so prodigious on their parquet floor, the Boston Celtics can’t seem to squeeze out a home-court advantage during these playoffs.The franchise that once went 40-1 at home over an entire season fell to .500 at the TD Garden in the playoffs this year with a 123-116 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.“I don’t know. I don’t know why,” said Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who scored 30 points. “You’ve still got to play the game. You’ve still got to make plays, regardless of whether you’re at home or away. The court is the same: There’s one ball, three refs and two baskets.“I don’t have an exact answer why we’re .500 at home,” he said. “But we’ve got to be better.”With the loss, the second-seeded Celtics squandered the home-court advantage they earned by finishing 13 games ahead of Miami in the regular season. Not that it matters: The Celtics weren’t able to hold it in either of their previous playoff series, needing a p...

‘We’ve got to cash that win in’: Chicago Cubs bullpen blows a late 5-run lead to seal a sweep by the Houston Astros

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:46 GMT

Ten minutes separated the Chicago Cubs from the cusp of ending a season-high losing streak to their worst loss of the season.A five-run lead entering the bottom of the eighth should have provided enough cushion for the Cubs to put away the Houston Astros. Instead they departed Minute Maid Park ahead of Thursday’s day off with a crushing 7-6 walk-off loss that raised more questions about how the Cubs bullpen can get on track.The Cubs (19-24) head to Philadelphia, where they kick off the last leg of their three-city, nine-game trip Friday carrying a five-game losing streak.“We’ve got to cash that win in,” manager David Ross said. “You’re trying to set guys up for success and match up things that go well, and it didn’t go well tonight. So you’ve got to look at it. Go back to the drawing board and continue to have those guys work.”Mark Leiter Jr., pitching for the second time in 10 days, allowed two runs in the eighth and struck out ...

SDFD fire captain dies in motorcycle crash

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:46 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) Captain Derrin Austin was killed in a motorcycle crash Sunday, first responders said. He was 55 years old.The local fire department made the announcement via Facebook Wednesday morning.Austin, who was promoted captain in 2022, joined the SDFD in October 1990, according to fire officials. His career assignments included station 12 in Lincoln Park, station 32 in Paradise Hills, the Training Division, the dispatch center, the HAZMAT team and most recently the San Diego International Airport Fire Station.Austin also served his country as a Navy Seabee reservist for nearly 30 years. Man shot, killed at Campland on the Bay; suspect arrested "Derrin was known as a devoted friend and colleague – a man who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. One of his Navy colleagues says Derrin valued those he supervised and provided mentorship as well as making sure they had what they needed to be successful at work. He was equally...

Israel deploys heavy police presence ahead of contentious Jerusalem march

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:46 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel deployed over 2,000 police on Thursday for a march by flag-waving Jewish nationalists through the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem’s Old City, a contentious event that comes as tensions are already running high.Authorities say the beefed up security is a determined effort to ensure the march passes without violence.Police have decided to allow the thousands of marchers to take the traditional route through the Old City’s Damascus Gate — despite an uptick in Israeli-Palestinian violence over the past year and heavy fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza last week.Early Thursday, hundreds of Jews were ascending to a sensitive Jerusalem holy site as part of the day’s activities, visits the Palestinians view as provocative. Among them was at least one Israeli Cabinet minister from the country’s right-wing government, according to Jewish activists leading the visits.While Israeli officials describe the march as a festive ev...

Surf’s up! Florida’s St. George Island beach named nation’s best in annual ranking

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:46 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A 9-mile (14-kilometer) stretch of Florida sugar-white sand in an unspoiled natural setting alongside the Gulf of Mexico is the nation’s best beach for 2023, according to the annual ranking released Thursday by the university professor known as “Dr. Beach.”The state park on St. George Island just off the Florida Panhandle drew the top honor from Stephen Leatherman, professor in the Department of Earth & Environment at Florida International University. This year’s top 10 list marks the 33rd year Leatherman has rated the best of America’s 650 public beaches around Memorial Day, the traditional start of summer.St. George Island is frequently on the list. But this year what set it apart from others is its natural beauty, lack of development, abundant activities including fishing, swimming, kayaking, cycling, camping and an unparalleled view of the night sky for stargazers, Leatherman said.“There’s just so many things that capture m...

UK-based group documents rights abuses since Taliban takeover of Afghanistan with ‘witness map’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:46 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.K.-based rights group on Thursday launched an interactive map documenting rampant human rights abuses and violence against civilians since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan nearly two years ago. The documented violations — committed by both the Taliban and militant groups such as the Islamic State group — paint a harrowing picture of present-day Afghanistan. The project by the independent, non-profit Center for Information Resilience is meant to draw wider attention to the surge in abuses against civilians, journalists, and ethnic minorities across the troubled country.With more than 1,300 data points of incidents since Aug. 17, 2021, the map is part of the center’s Afghan Witness initiative. “The map reveals the violence and human rights abuses occurring under Taliban rule against women, independent journalists, and minorities, sometimes in the form of ad hoc beatings in the street or staged public punishment, as well as violence used to suppress peaceful...

Japan racks up trade deficit although exports gradually rebound

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:46 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan racked up a trade deficit in April, marking the 21st month in a row of deficits, although it declined dramatically compared to a year ago, as exports recovered, according to government data released Thursday.Japan’s trade deficit totaled 432.4 billion yen ($3.2 billion) in April, as exports gained 2.6% and imports fell 2.3%, the Finance Ministry said.Vehicle shipments recovered, along with the export of auto parts and electronics products, as the supply crunch related to social restrictions over the coronavirus pandemic eased. Imports fell as soaring energy costs subsided compared to a year ago, when oil prices jumped for various reasons including uncertainty over the war in Ukraine.Japan imports almost all its gasoline and natural gas. The weak yen also helped send imports higher. Given these various factors, Japan’s trade deficit in April dwindled to about half of what it was a year earlier, at nearly 855 billion yen. Although a negative for imports, the weak ye...

‘Clock has hit midnight’: China loans pushing world’s poorest countries to brink of collapse

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:46 GMT

A dozen poor countries are facing economic instability and even collapse under the weight of hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign loans, much of them from the world’s biggest and most unforgiving government lender, China.An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos and Mongolia — found paying back that debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel. And it’s draining foreign currency reserves these countries use to pay interest on those loans, leaving some with just months before that money is gone.Behind the scenes is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help. On top of that is the recent discovery that borrowers have been forced to put cash in hidden escrow accounts that push China to the fr...

Death row inmate challenges new Tennessee post-conviction law

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:46 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee death row inmate is challenging the newly expanded authority of the appointed state attorney general to argue certain capital cases, a power that lawmakers shifted away from locally elected prosecutors under a new law after some expressed reluctance to pursue the death penalty.The law passed in April by the GOP-led Tennessee Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee has generated opposition from attorneys and Democratic lawmakers. They say the change violates the state Constitution, bypasses the will of voters and targets progressive-minded district attorneys who have defied lawmakers in the past.The statute is the latest example of attempts by GOP governors and legislatures in several states to take on locally elected officials who have de-prioritized enforcement of laws they deem unnecessary.Lawyer Robert Hutton has filed a motion for Larry McKay, asking a judge to disqualify Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti from representing the state ...

8-year-old girl dies in Border Patrol custody in Harlingen, Texas, as agency seeks to ease crowding

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:46 GMT

HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) — An 8-year-old girl died Wednesday in Border Patrol custody, authorities said, a rare occurrence that comes as the agency struggles with overcrowding.The child and her family were being held at a station in Harlingen, Texas, in Rio Grande Valley, one of the busiest corridors for illegal crossings, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol’s parent agency, said in a statement.The girl experienced “a medical emergency” and was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died, according to the statement, which did not disclose her nationality or provide additional information about the incident.Customs and Border Protection’s internal affairs office will investigate, and the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general and Harlingen police have been notified, Miller said. Sgt. Larry Moore, a spokesman for the Harlingen Police Department, said he had no information about the death. The Border Patrol had 28,717 people in custody on May 1...