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Butler, Jokic lead Heat, Nuggets into a NBA Finals after unconventional paths

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:32:51 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic wasn’t supposed to be here. Neither was Jimmy Butler, for that matter.Jokic was drafted behind 40 other players in 2014. Butler was drafted behind 29 others in 2011. Jokic grew up in Serbia, not even thinking about the NBA. Butler didn’t have the easiest upbringing in Texas, then went the junior college route at the start of his journey toward the pros.Yet here they are in the NBA Finals.One of them will become a champion for the first time, with Jokic leading the Denver Nuggets and Butler leading the Miami Heat in a matchup that starts Thursday night in Denver, with the Nuggets heavily favored to win it all.“This is going to be the hardest game of our life, and we know that,” Jokic said. “We are prepared for that. We are prepared for that. So, I think there is no favorite. Definitely, I think we are not favorites in this series. I think they’re not either. I think it’s just the finals.”The Nuggets — in the finals for the first time — had by far the easier...

UK and Moldova kick off talks on migrant returns deal as Sunak feels the heat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:32:51 GMT

LONDON — The U.K. will open talks with Moldova on a new deal to return migrants to the Eastern European country, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces domestic pressure to cut migration.Sunak will start negotiations on a returns agreement at the second summit of the European Political Community, taking place in Chișinău, Moldova, Thursday.The U.K. prime minister has made tackling irregular migration one of his main priorities, and faces calls from within his own Conservative Party to reduce overall migrant numbers. Figures published last week show that migration added 606,000 people to the U.K.’s population in 2022 — the highest number on record. Sunak will also announce that a similar deal with Georgia has come into force, and that the U.K. is sharing intelligence with Bulgaria to help its law enforcement officials chase gangs smuggling people from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean into the rest of Europe.“We cannot address these problems without Europe’s governm...

The struggle to control AI

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:32:51 GMT

LULEÅ, Sweden — Top European and American officials gathered in Sweden for tech and trade talks on Wednesday and tried to hammer out an answer to one of the toughest problems facing the world: how to police artificial intelligence.Over an hour-long lunch of cod loin and chocolate praline, officials from Washington and Brussels worked up a voluntary “code of conduct” designed to prevent harm, including from the most advanced artificial intelligence technology known as generative AI — like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. Within months, the tech has taken the public by storm, triggering hopes as well as anxieties for the future of humanity. While some have been thrilled by AI’s potential to generate computer code and solve medical problems, others fear it will put millions of people out of work and could even threaten security. “Democracy needs to show we are as fast as the technology,” Margrethe Vestager, Europe’s digital commissioner, told reporters as she entered the EU-U...

Boston Public Schools spending the most per student than any other major city, report finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:32:51 GMT

A new report from the federal government found the City of Boston is paying more money per student than any other major city. Boston Public Schools is spending more than $31,000 per student.Mayor Michelle Wu and BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper responded to the new data, which was in the 2021 Annual Survey of School System Finances released earlier this month by the U.S. Census Bureau. “We always want to be fiscally responsible in everything we do,” Skipper said. Boston tops the list of the 100 school systems with the most students, spending $31,397. New York comes in second, spending $29,931. Washington D.C. is third, spending $24,535 in per pupil expenditure.“The cost piece of it should never be driving as the primary decision point (for) what we’re doing for the long term future of our school district,” Wu said. “It is about what will best serve our young people.”There are a number of issues at play in the cost calculation. There are 4500 fewer students enrolled in...

Navy pilot rescued from waters off Florida after ejecting from an F-5 aircraft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:32:51 GMT

(CNN) — A Navy pilot was rescued from the water by helicopter Wednesday morning after ejecting from an F-5 aircraft taking off from Naval Air Station Key West in the Florida Keys, according to station officials.The pilot ejected 25 miles south of the station’s Boca Chica Field around 9:20 a.m., and search and rescue crews in an MH-60S helicopter rescued the pilot from the water within minutes, according to Kent Cummins, a principal authorizing official for the naval air station.Authorities have confirmed that the pilot was the only person on the aircraft when the incident occurred, according to CNN affiliate WSVN. The pilot was responsive when transported to a Miami-area hospital, according to Cummins.The pilot was assigned to Fighter Squadron Composite VFC-111, an active and reserve unit based at the naval station known as “Sun Downers.” The naval air station said it will investigate the cause of the incident.

Jury selection begins in weapons case against father of Harmony Montgomery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:32:51 GMT

Jury selection is underway today in the weapons case against Adam Montgomery, who’s also charged with the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony Montgomery.Montgomery is accused of illegally possessing a gun while a felon. He was in the New Hampshire courtroom Wednesday morning wearing a pink button-down shirt, which is a stark contrast to his prior appearances in an orange jail jumpsuit.Investigators last fall said that Montgomery allegedly destroyed his daughter’s body between December 2019 and March 2020, but that case is separate from the weapons trial that’s getting underway.

State lawmakers considering bill to bring back happy hour in Mass.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:32:51 GMT

Massachusetts state lawmakers are considering new cocktail laws, including one bill that would bring back happy hour nearly 40 years after the state banned it.  Massachusetts’ ban on happy hour came in 1984. Now, new legislation would, if passed, allow the state’s cities and towns to vote to allow alcohol discounts during certain hours at bars and restaurants. Among other measures being debated on Beacon Hill, there is also a push to make the temporary pandemic-era policy of “drinks to go” a permanent option in Massachusetts.State Rep. Paul Frost from Auburn recently spoke on the topic, saying restaurants should be able to continue offering drinks-to-go.“I think we’ve seen enough that this works,” Frost said. “This helps out local restaurants and I think it provides a service to some people who are still not comfortable going out to restaurants since the pandemic but also folks who do takeout anyway.”On the topic of the proposed happy hour bill, the...

Mike Pence will launch his presidential campaign in Iowa on June 7

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:32:51 GMT

By JILL COLVIN (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence will officially launch his widely expected campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa next week, adding another candidate to the growing GOP field and putting him in direct competition with his former boss.Pence will hold a kickoff event in Des Moines on June 7, the date of his 64th birthday, according to two people familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details ahead of the official announcement. He is also expected to release a video message as part of the launch.His team sees early-voting Iowa as critical to his potential path to victory and advisers say he plans to campaign aggressively for the conservative, evangelical Christian voters who make up a substantial portion of the state’s Republican electorate. Pence is an avowed social conservative and is staunchly opposed to abortion rights, favoring a national ban. The campaign is expected ...

Actor Danny Masterson found guilty of 2 rape counts, is led from court in handcuffs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:32:51 GMT

By ANDREW DALTON (AP Entertainment Writer)LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury found “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson guilty of two out of three counts of rape Wednesday in a Los Angeles retrial in which the Church of Scientology played a central role.The jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after deliberating for seven days spread over two weeks. They could not reach a verdict on the third count, that alleged Masterson raped a longtime girlfriend. They had voted 8-4 in favor of conviction.Masterson was led from the courtroom in handcuffs, and will be held without bail until he is sentenced. No sentencing date has yet been set, but the judge told Masterson and his lawyers to return to court Aug. 4 for a hearing. The 47-year-old actor could face 30 years to life in prison.His wife, actor and model Bijou Phillips, wept as he was led away. Other family and friends sat stone-faced.“I am experiencing a complex array of emotions — relief, exha...

Yeezy shoes back on the shelf

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:32:51 GMT

WASHINGTON — Some of Adidas’ remaining Yeezy shoes are back on sale — months after the German sportswear company cut ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.Adidas ended its yearslong partnership with Ye in late October, in light of his antisemitic remarks and other harmful behavior. In the months that followed, the fate of $1.3 billion worth of unsold Yeezys remained unknown — until earlier this month, when Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden announced the company would be selling a portion of the remaining inventory and donating some of the proceeds to social justice organizations.The first batch of Adidas’ remaining Yeezys went on sale Wednesday. At this time, the sneakers appear to be available through Adidas’ app “Confirmed,” according to the retailer’s website. Part of the profits will be donated to organizations including the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, Adidas says.Wednesday̵...