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Celtics face defensive void after trades of Marcus Smart and Grant Williams, and other notes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

There was a common denominator that led to the Celtics’ downfall last season that ultimately ended with their painful Game 7 loss to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals: Defense. Inconsistency on that end, to be specific.“It was the issue,” Malcolm Brogdon said. “I think this was a team in the last year that prided themselves on defense. I think defense was our calling card. This year offense was our calling card. I don’t think you win championships with … a better offense than you have a defense.”The Celtics relied too much on 3-pointers and couldn’t rely on their defense consistently. They suffered too many breakdowns. They weren’t tough enough over seven games against Miami. The C’s needed to get better defensively as they went back to the drawing board to plan their championship pursuit next season.But less than a month into the offseason, the Celtics – at least on paper – have objectively gotten worse defensively.In the matter of two weeks, the Celtics have traded a...

OceanGate suspends operations after its Titan submersible imploded on its way to the Titanic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

By PATRICK WHITTLE (Associated Press)The company that owned a submersible that imploded on its way to explore the wreck of the Titanic, killing all five onboard, said Thursday it has suspended operations.OceanGate announced the action in a brief statement posted atop its website. Contacted for additional information, a spokesperson declined to comment further. Among those killed in the implosion was Stockton Rush, the submersible’s pilot and chief executive officer of the company.Investigators believe the Titan imploded as it made its descent into deep North Atlantic waters on June 18. The Coast Guard said last week that human remains have likely been recovered from the wreckage of the submersible and are being examined by medical officials in the U.S. Remotely operated vehicles, known as ROVs, were used to retrieve the debris from the ocean floor about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater and a ship later brought pieces of the wreckage to a port in Canada to be examined. The...

Britney Spears, allegedly slapped by NBA star Victor Wembanyama’s security, slaps back with battery charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

Karu F. Daniels | New York Daily NewsSinger Britney Spears is pressing charges against a member of NBA star Victor Wembanyama’s security detail after the guard allegedly slapped her in Las Vegas.The incident occurred when the pop superstar approached the San Antonio Spurs player for a photo on Wednesday. Spears filed a police report with the Metropolitan Police Department for the alleged assault, TMZ reports.Damian Smith, the Director of Team Security for the Spurs, was reportedly listed in the police report. Sources told the celebrity gossip site that authorities determined Smith was not trying to harm the “Toxic” singer but was defending Wembanyama.“Britney saw Victor and walked up to tap him on the back to ask for a photo,” another source told Us Weekly. “His security was being mobbed with fans and he turned around trying to push Britney off and hit her in the face, knocking off her glasses.”Spears reportedly returned to her table at Catch restaurant at the ARIA Hotel where Smith...

Cape Cod beach is trashed, descends into chaos: ‘Crowds became rowdier and more aggressive’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

A Cape Cod beach packed with thousands of rowdy teens and young adults descended into chaos for the second straight Fourth of July, as police reported that they made a number of arrests and seized large amounts of alcohol.The partying beachgoers ended up trashing Mayflower Beach in Dennis, leaving an “extraordinary” amount of garbage, according to police. That trash included aluminum cans, broken glass and coolers, beach chairs, and contraband.After last year’s problems at the Dennis beach, the town had set up a plan to try to avoid an out-of-control mass gathering for the Fourth of July. But it was another mess of a holiday at the beach.Thousands of late teenagers and early 20-year-olds arrived at dawn on Tuesday, and set up on the beach.“Police and Beach Staff actively moved to deter loud music and alcohol on the beach,” Dennis Police wrote. “By early afternoon, the volume and overcrowding that continued throughout the day was no longer manageab...

Hot Property: Options abound in posh Newtonville digs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

There’s a backstory and lots of real estate technicalities to how 10 Pillion Court in Newton became two luxe residences but here’s the only thing homebuyers need to know — residence #2 lives like a single-family.Sharing just one wall with its neighboring property and enjoying a completely private backyard, it’s a total find in this quiet corner of the Newtonville neighborhood.Sited facing Cabot Park, tennis and basketball courts, playgrounds, and a dog park are right outside your door, as is easy access to schools, the commuter rail, and highways.Just over 3,300 square feet are at your disposal, starting with a finished basement limited only by your imagination and ending with a home office or den hideaway on the third floor. In between, there’s an expansive, front-to-back kitchen, dining, and living space on the main floor, and three bedrooms on the second floor, including a bright primary suite with vaulted ceilings.Attention to detail and craftsmanship are notable throughout, and...

Haiti’s ombudsman condemns the slow pace of investigation into the assassination of President Moïse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — An ombudsman office in Haiti denounced Thursday what it called the “unacceptable slowness” of the Haitian investigation into the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse nearly two years after he was killed.The Office of Citizen Protection, an independent government agency that investigates complaints against public institutions, noted that while the case has barely budged in Haiti, U.S. authorities have arrested 11 suspects and convicted one of them already. One defendant was sentenced last month in Florida, where prosecutors have alleged there was a broad plot among conspirators in both Haiti and Florida to hire mercenaries to remove Moïse and benefit from lucrative contracts from a successor administration. In Haiti, the ombudsman office also called for better protection for Walter Wesser Voltaire, the judge investigating the case. Voltaire is the fifth judge assigned to the case, with four previous ones being dismissed or resigning for personal reaso...

Search for women’s remains in landfill rests with Ottawa, Manitoba premier says.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

WINNIPEG — A Manitoba grand chief said Wednesday she will continue to push for a landfill search for the remains of two slain women, despite being rejected by the Manitoba government.“I hope that the premier and province of Manitoba reconsider their decision,” Grand Chief Cathy Merrick of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said Thursday.“It is a human act of compassion and justice that (the women’s) remains be returned to their families for a proper burial at their home community.”Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are believed to have been killed last year in Winnipeg. Police believe the women’s remains were left in a garbage bin three days apart in early May 2022 and the contents of the dumpster were sent to the privately owned Prairie Green Landfill north of the city.Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with first-degree murder in their deaths, as well as the deaths of Rebecca Contois, whose remains were found in another landfill, and an unidentified woman wh...

S&P/TSX composite down almost 300 points, U.S. stocks also fall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down almost 300 points in a broad-based decline, while U.S. stock markets also fell amid a stronger-than-expected jobs report. “We’ve seen since Monday the markets kind of start to roll over, pulling back slightly after hitting that short-term peak,” said Brianne Gardner, senior wealth manager of Velocity Investment Partners at Raymond James Ltd.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 293.20 points at 19,810.69.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 366.38 points at 33,922.26. The S&P 500 index was down 35.23 points at 4,411.59,while the Nasdaq composite was down 112.61 points at 13,679.04.Markets are reacting to continued hawkishness from central banks and new jobs data out of the U.S. that “blew expectations out of the water,” said Gardner. U.S. job openings were slightly lower in May at 9.8 million, down from 10.3 million in April, but still high by historical standards. Meanwhile, layoffs were lower and more peop...

Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi has full FDA approval now and that means Medicare will pay for it

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials granted full approval to a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug on Thursday, clearing the way for Medicare and other insurance plans to begin covering the treatment for people with the brain-robbing disease.The Food and Drug Administration endorsed the IV drug, Leqembi, for patients with mild dementia and other symptoms caused by early Alzheimer’s disease. It’s the first medicine that’s been convincingly shown to modestly slow Alzheimer’s cognitive decline. Japanese drugmaker Eisai received conditional approval from the FDA in January based on early results suggesting Leqembi worked by clearing a sticky brain plaque linked to the disease.The FDA confirmed those results by reviewing data from a larger, 1,800-patient study in which the drug slowed memory and thinking decline by about five months in those who got the treatment, compared to those who got a dummy drug.“This confirmatory study verified that it is a safe and effective treatment for patien...

Railroad industry sues to block limit on crew sizes that Ohio imposed after E. Palestine derailment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The railroad industry has sued to block a new minimum crew-size requirement that Ohio imposed after a fiery train derailment in East Palestine in February. The new rule was part of a $13.5 billion state transportation budget that Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed in March. It mandated a two-person crew for freight trains and required that the wayside detectors used to help spot problems be installed in shorter intervals of 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 kilometers) apart, with oversight from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, among other provisions. The railroad industry said one-person crews “have been used safely for decades,” as well as that Ohio lacks the authority to impose a two-person minimum. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on June 29, a day before the rule was set to take effect, the Association of American Railroads argued that federal law broadly gives federal agencies exclusive jurisdiction t...