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Celtics’ Grant Williams proves ready for bigger role with Joel Embiid back for 76ers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:59 GMT

When Grant Williams checked into Wednesday’s Game 2 with 5:09 left in the first quarter, Joel Embiid was heading to the bench at the same time. But when Embiid returned with 1:05 to go, Williams had a message for the 76ers star and newly-minted NBA MVP.“For me, it’s just a matter of trying to make them work,” the Celtics forward said. “That’s what I basically said to him. I’m here to make you frustrated and continue to make this hard for you every single night.”Williams backed up his word. He didn’t give Embiid an inch of space, pressing up against the big man – who hovered over him by about six inches – like an irritant, though that backfired on their first play matched up together. Embiid caught a pass at the top of the key and when he felt a slight bump from Williams, exaggerated the contact and went crashing to the floor. Williams was whistled for a foul and stood there for a moment in some disbelief.But that play was an outlier for Williams, who had his best o...

Remembering when the Matignon High boys hockey team ruled the state

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:59 GMT

Marty Pierce thought it was only fitting to attend his granddaughter’s high school softball game Wednesday afternoon, supporting her during a tough time.Mount Alvernia faced the St. Joseph Prep/Matignon co-op, in which the latter joined the other two on Tuesday as announced Catholic schools that would close at the end of the academic year. Enrollment has been low, and Matignon is shutting down due to a lack of funding.It’s natural for the iconic former Matignon boys hockey head coach to be affected by the news, having orchestrated a dominant 40-year run that produced 10 state championships and 20 league titles. The program was nationally regarded as a juggernaut from the 1970s through the early ’90s. He can still describe with great detail the many moments that defined the historic stretch before he retired in 2004, and along with it, the many big names that came through the program before playing Div. 1 collegiate hockey. Many also advanced to the NHL.“I was shocked that they...

Red Sox notebook: Fenway Park much friendlier this season for team

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:59 GMT

The Red Sox are doing right by America’s Most Beloved Ballpark this year.Entering Thursday, they were 10-3 over their last 13 games (12-7 overall) at Fenway Park, and 5-1 in home series (7-3 overall).In a pleasant departure from last year, they’ve been able to dispatch the division. They beat the Baltimore Orioles in the first series of the season, and have already won three of four games against the Toronto Blue Jays this week; in 2022, they didn’t have two series wins against division rivals until August.This is Boston’s first series win against Toronto since July 2021, and their first home series victory against the the Blue Jays since August 2020. In 2022, they only won three of 19 games against the Blue Jays, a total they’ve already matched in this first series.What’s changed?“I wish I knew,” Alex Cora said ahead of Thursday’s series finale. “They just dominated us (last year.) They hit the ball hard the whole time....

This San Diego speakeasy ranked one of the best bars in North America

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Speakeasies have become a not-so-secret novelty in San Diego, boasting delicious drinks inside a unique bar atmosphere. While all these hotspots offer innovative and flavorful cocktail creations, one San Diego speakeasy was named one of the best bars in all of North America.Raised by Wolves, located in the Westfield UTC mall, was ranked in the top 20 of a list of North America's 50 Best Bars in 2022 -- an annual ranking to shine a light on the region as a first-class cocktail destination. North County drinking spot named best brewery in California: Yelp The opulent and ornate bar immerses guests in an environment that feels like it was pulled right from the glamourous speakeasies of the 1920s prohibition era. Before a secret door leads guests to the main bar, they enter a old-world liquor store, with carved wooden cabinets, Art Deco light fixtures and an old-fashioned cash register. That old-world grandeur continues when guests step behind the secret door and into the...

Mississippi ex-governor releases texts in welfare scandal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:59 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Wednesday released what he said were all of his text and email messages related to a welfare fraud investigation — including money spent on building a university volleyball arena that was pushed by NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre.The 436 pages of messages had several that already appeared in court filings, including exchanges from 2017 to 2019 between the governor and the retired quarterback, with Favre saying he had agreed to raise money for the volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi and asking Bryant for help with that effort.From 2016 to 2019, the Mississippi Department of Human Services misspent more than $77 million in welfare money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in the U.S., according to the state auditor. Prosecutors have said the department gave money to nonprofit organizations that spent it on projects such as the $5 million volleyball facility on the Hattiesburg campus.B...

Feasibility study complete into search of Winnipeg landfill for women’s remains

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:59 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal minister responsible for Crown-Indigenous relations says a study has been completed into whether it’s possible for a Winnipeg-area landfill to be searched for the remains of two Indigenous women.Marc Miller’s office did not release any details from the feasibility study and says in a statement that it’s being reviewed.Ottawa provided $500,000 to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs for studying a search at the Prairie Green landfill.Winnipeg police said in December that they believe the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are in the landfill north of the city.But they said that it would be too difficult to search due to the passage of time and a large volume of material deposited at the site.Jeremy Anthony Michael Skibicki faces charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of the two women as well as in the killings of Rebecca Contois and a fourth unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Buffalo Woman.The partial remains of Contois w...

Kari Lake’s lawyers fined in failed Arizona election lawsuit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:59 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Republican Kari Lake’s lawyers were sanctioned $2,000 Thursday by the Arizona Supreme Court in their unsuccessful challenge of her defeat in the governor’s race last year to Democrat Katie Hobbs.In an order, the state’s highest court said Lake’s attorney made “false factual statements” that more than 35,000 ballots had been improperly added to the total ballot count. They have 10 days to submit the payment to the court clerk. The court, however, refused to order Lake to pay attorney fees to cover the costs of defending Hobbs and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in Lake’s appeal.Chief Justice Robert Brutinel cited Lake’s challenge over signature verification remains unresolved.Hobbs and Fontes said Lake and her attorneys should face sanctions for baselessly claiming that over 35,000 ballots were inserted into the race at a facility where a contractor scanned mail-in ballots to prepare them for county election workers to process and count. When the high court firs...

250 evacuated as Volcano of Fire erupts in Guatemala

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:59 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — About 250 residents were evacuated Thursday from the slopes of Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire as red-hot rock and ash flowed down the slopes toward an area devastated by a deadly 2018 eruption.Firefighters said residents of the hamlet of Panimache were taken to shelters.Guatemala’s disaster agency said the volcano had been emitting ash clouds that could affect as many as 100,000 people in communities around the peak.The 12,300-foot (3,763-meter) high Volcano of Fire is one of the most active in Central America. The 2018 eruption killed 194 people and left another 234 missing.The biggest danger from the volcano are lahars, a mixture of ash, rock, mud and debris, that can bury entire towns.The disaster agency said that such lahars were flowing down four of the seven gullies on the volcano’s flanks.The Associated Press

Judge extends suspension of Missouri AG’s transgender rule

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:59 GMT

A judge has extended her order barring the enforcement of a unique rule pushed by Missouri’s Republican attorney general that would require adults and children to undergo more than a year of therapy and fulfill other requirements before they could receive gender-affirming treatments such as puberty blockers, hormones and surgery.Attorney General Andrew Bailey initially sought to implement the rule effective April 27, prompting a lawsuit on behalf of transgender people. St. Louis County Judge Ellen Ribaudo on Monday granted a temporary restraining order and originally scheduled a May 11 hearing on the lawsuit.A posting Thursday on Missouri’s online court system shows that Ribaudo pushed back the hearing to July 20, following a joint request from both sides. The posting said the order will remain in effect until July 24 or until the judge rules on whether to grant a preliminary injunction.A spokeswoman for Bailey confirmed the date change, saying the July hearing date was ...

US often didn’t screen workers at migrant centers: Watchdog

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The federal Health and Human Services Department often failed to perform required background checks on workers at emergency holding centers for migrant children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border alone during a surge in 2021, the agency’s internal watchdog has found.The inspector general’s report released Thursday raises questions about how better prepared authorities will be for the next emergency, especially with coronavirus pandemic-related asylum restrictions scheduled to end this coming week and expected to result in more arrivals. The report, based on a sampling, found that 200 workers did not have background checks for child abuse or neglect and only 29 did, though 20 of those were not done in a “timely manner.”Investigators found 174 did not have FBI fingerprint background checks while 55 did, but 25 of those were not done in a “timely manner.” Checks against the Justice Department’s sex offender registry, which were required less often, we...