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ASK IRA: Are Heat now banking on Kyle Lowry as their missing piece?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

Q: Is Erik Spoelstra seeing a good 20 to 30 minutes per playoff game out of Kyle Lowry where he’s close to old form (dictating tempo, getting 12 points, including a couple of threes, low turnovers, a steal or two, and maybe six assists)? And the question for you: Would he be right in thinking that? Do you believe a healthy and effective Lowry would be enough to at least get us to and into a competitive second-round series? – Phillip, San Francisco.A: I’m not sure that Erik Spoelstra has a definitive read on Kyle Lowry just three games back after a month out. You will know the confidence has reached the next level when Kyle is back in the starting lineup. But, yes, Spoelstra certainly is hoping for something similar to what you postulate, if only because there really is not a Plan B. In other words, if you shuffle out Kyle because of ongoing injury concern, who do you shuffle into the equation at point guard along with Gabe Vincent? And, yes, if Kyle takes a step ba...

As Ravens QB Lamar Jackson explores options, those who dealt with NFL franchise tag offer insight into unique process

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

Wally Williams knows the feelings Lamar Jackson might be experiencing.In the Ravens’ 28-year history, seven players have received the franchise tag. Williams, who spent 10 years in the NFL, including three in Baltimore from 1996 to 1998 before retiring after the 2002 season, was the first.“The part that every player ends up having a problem with is, no matter who it is, with the negotiation process and trying to find a number that’s good for you for that long-term contract,” the former offensive lineman said from his home in Florida. “It’s great to have a home; you just wanna know it’s there for more than a year. I was no different. I wanted to call Baltimore home. I was not intending to leave there.”But after starting 13 games in 1998 under the tag, Williams signed a five-year, $18 million deal with the New Orleans Saints. Two seasons later, the Ravens won their first Super Bowl.“New Orleans had a number that Baltimore, which ha...

Silicon Valley Bank parent company files for bankruptcy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

The parent of Silicon Valley Bank filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a week after the tech-focused bank failed and was seized by the U.S. government.The filing from SVB Financial Group on Friday is not a surprise, with much of the company now under the control of U.S. banking regulators. During the 2008 financial crisis, the parent companies of failed banks Washington Mutual and IndyMac — filed for bankruptcy protection in the days after their banking operations failed.Also, Silicon Valley Bank along with its CEO and its chief financial officer were targeted this week in a class action lawsuit that claims the company didn’t disclose the risks that future interest rate increases would have on its business.SVB Financial Group is no longer affiliated with Silicon Valley Bank after its seizure by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The bank’s successor, Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, is being run under the jurisdiction of the FDIC and is not included in the Chapter 11 filin...

Man suspected of shooting at police helicopter arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A man was arrested after allegedly firing a shot at a police helicopter that was flying above the Rolando neighborhood on Thursday, authorities said.The suspect reportedly made a call to the San Diego Police Department shortly after 3:20 p.m. and stated that his boat and vehicle were towed without warning, officials explained. Authorities say the man threatened to start shooting people and then hung up the phone. Man arrested on suspicion of kidnapping; police find dead woman in home According to SDPD, the address of the call was in the 6100 block of Tarragona Drive. A short time later at 3:50 p.m., police say a nearby neighbor called to report hearing multiple gunshots near the original address.At that time, a SDPD helicopter was dispatched to the address with three police officers, a pilot and two tactical flight officers on board. Officials say a man was seen in the front yard of the residence. As the helicopter circled overhead, the man fired what authorities desc...

How another atmospheric river coming to California could impact historic snowpack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) – The series of storms that have brought a deluge of precipitation to the state have pushed California’s snowpack to levels that are significantly above seasonal averages, with some parts of the state seeing more than double these amounts.But experts are concerned that this snow, particularly at low elevations, is vulnerable to melt with future storms, exacerbating issues like flooding and mudslides that have devastated parts of the state in recent weeks.With the normal wet season nearing its end at the beginning of April, the state appears to be on track to have one of the best snowfalls in recent history. New map shows 44% of California is no longer in a drought “We’re in third place, after a couple weeks of very heavy snowfall,” said Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist with the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory which monitors the snowpack in the state’s largest mountains, to FOX5SanDiego.com. “We are only three inches away from beating the winter of 1983 t...

Deputy commissioner Mike Duheme becomes interim top Mountie as Lucki retires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

OTTAWA, Ill. — The federal government announced Friday that Mike Duheme will be the interim commissioner of the RCMP until a replacement is found for Brenda Lucki.Lucki, who was appointed commissioner in April 2018, is retiring.Her tenure as the top Mountie has been marked by internal and external challenges, including allegations of systemic racism within the force, growing calls to defund the police and questions over the response to the devastating mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020.Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Duheme, who currently oversees federal policing for the Mounties, will take over the job on Saturday. “I have every confidence that his extensive experience in policing across the country and around the world has prepared him well to lead our national police force,” the minister said in a statement.“I also want to take this opportunity to salute Commissioner Brenda Lucki for her years of service, including as the first woman to serve as p...

CP Rail, Kansas City Southern Rail to combine next month after U.S. approval

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

MONTREAL — Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. has announced it will officially combine with Kansas City Southern Railway Co. on April 14, under the new banner of Canadian Pacific Kansas City.The U.S. rail regulator approved the US$31-billion this week, clearing the final hurdle in CP’s bid to buy KCS and create the only railway stretching from Canada through to the U.S. and Mexico.“Our new combined railroad will create a truly unique single-line network connecting three nations and instantly injecting new competition into the North American rail industry when our supply chains have never needed it more,” said CP chief executive Keith Creel, who will helm the newly merged company, in a news release Friday.April 14 was the earliest possible date to complete the merger, based on the U.S. Surface Transportation Board’s decision Wednesday.CP’s Nadeem Velani will continue as chief financial officer at the joined company, which will headquarter in Calgary and under...

Joly calls out Israel judiciary reform and ‘unilateral actions’ that undermine peace

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly is pushing Israel to drop its reform of the country’s judiciary after two months of mass protests.An official readout of a conversation Joly had with her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen says that she “underscored Canada’s support of democracy, the rule of law and the institutions that uphold them.”A Global Affairs Canada source familiar with the conversation says Joly specifically noted Israel’s judicial reform and said the country should only implement changes supported by the public.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far rejected compromises aimed at resolving the standoff over his plans to overhaul the country’s legal system by allowing the country’s parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions.The proposed change, which has been rebuked by U.S. President Joe Biden, would concentrate power for Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition, which he argues is necessary to counter what he deems to ...

Dellen Millard’s appeal in father’s murder dismissed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

Ontario’s highest court quickly dismissed Dellen Millard’s appeal in his father’s murder on Friday morning.A three-judge panel rejected the appeal just minutes after Millard, who represented himself, finished his arguments.Originally ruled a suicide, the 71-year-old Wayne Millard’s body was found in his bed with a bullet to the head on Nov. 29, 2012. Police reopened the investigation after Millard, along with Mark Smich, were charged with the murder of Tim Bosma.Dellen Millard was later convicted of his father’s death.Millard and Smich are also appealing their convictions in the murders of Bosma and Laura Babcock, but a decision on those appeals has been reserved.The Crown argued Millard and Smich set out to murder Bosma on May 6, 2013, when they met with him under the pretense of test driving his pickup truck, which they also planned to steal.Prosecutors brought evidence they stripped the truck, hid the murder weapon and burned Bosma’s body in Mi...

US ships mega generators to ease outages in Puerto Rico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s governor announced Friday that the U.S. government has shipped three mega generators to the island to help stabilize the U.S. territory’s rickety electric grid and minimize continuing outages.The generators will add 150 megawatts of power, and additional generators that the U.S. is expected to ship soon will supply another 250 megawatts, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said.Officials said crews will install the generators before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season on June 1.“It’s the first step in a very, very complex process,” said Nancy Casper, a coordinator with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency.FEMA is paying for 90% of the project and Puerto Rico’s government the remaining 10% as part of a deal reached last year, but both Casper and Pierluisi said the total cost was not yet available because it would depend in part on how long the generators will operate.Puerto Rico only recently started permanent repairs on an aging power grid ...