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Chicago Bulls are in the NBA play-in tournament. Here’s how it works — and who they’ll play.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:04 GMT

The Chicago Bulls are locked into the 10th seed for the NBA play-in tournament, a battle for the last two playoff seeds in each conference. Here’s an explainer about the history of the event and how it works — and where the Bulls stand.When did the play-in begin?The NBA introduced the idea after the restart of the pandemic-delayed 2019-20 season, with a team needing to be within four games of the No. 8 seed to force a play-in for the last playoff spot in the conference.The Memphis Grizzlies finished a half-game behind the No. 8 seed Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference, and the Blazers won the first game of a play-in, thus earning the final playoff spot. In the East, the ninth-place Washington Wizards finished 7½ games behind the eighth-place Orlando Magic, meaning a play-in was unnecessary.How has the tournament evolved?The next year, the NBA expanded its play-in rules, with only the top six seeds in each conference guaranteed of a playoff spot and the ...

Jets sign former Packers backup quarterback Tim Boyle to a 1-year deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:04 GMT

The Jets acquired a former Packers quarterback on Thursday afternoon.Just not the one many have been waiting for.The Jets and Tim Boyle agreed to a one-year deal, according to a source. NFL Network was the first to report Boyle’s contract with the Jets.Since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Eastern Kentucky, Boyle has been a league journeyman. In 2018, Boyle signed with the Packers and became the team’s third-string quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers and then backup DeShone Kizer. He spent three seasons in Green Bay (2018-20).Then Boyle moved on to another NFC North organization as he signed with the Lions in 2021 and backed up Jared Goff. That year, Boyle started three games in place of Goff and passed for 526 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions during that span. Boyle was waived by the Lions after final cuts in 2022 but was placed on the team’s practice squad.The Bears signed Boyle off the Lions’ practice squad late last season and...

Ex-Patriots assistant Dante Scarnecchia entering Patriots Hall of Fame

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:04 GMT

Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame as a contributor later this year, the team announced Thursday.Scarnecchia ended his career as the NFL’s longest-tenured coach when he retired after the 2019 season. He is a 36-year coaching veteran, who spent 34 seasons with the Patriots and won five Super Bowls. Scarnecchia is widely viewed as one of the greatest offensive line coaches of all time.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots 7-round mock draft: Bill Belichick trades up, fills major needs with 11 picks New England Patriots | Jayson Tatum among three Celtics starters ruled out Wednesday against Raptors New England Patriots | Guregian: Level of Patriots dysfunction growing by the minute New England Patriots | Bill Belichick reportedly shopped Patriots QB Mac Jones to 4 teams in trade talks New England Patriots | NFL notes: There’s a lo...

This San Diego beach is considered 'the most beautiful' in the US: study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:04 GMT

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Picture perfect beaches can be found along San Diego's coastline, but one particular beach is considered to be "the most beautiful" in the entire country.A new study by Florida Rentals, a vacation rental marketplace, analyzed the number of Instagram hashtags for the most visited beaches in the U.S. and then compared this with each beach’s length to see which beaches had the highest number of hashtags per meter, the company explained. This San Diego beach town made Forbes’ ‘Best Places to Travel in 2023’ list Taking the crown as the "most beautiful beach in the U.S" is La Jolla Cove, which garnered a whopping 4,257 hashtags per meter, according to the study. Florida Rentals said this San Diego beach had over 366,000 hashtagged Instagram posts about the area as of April 6, 2023.This may come as no surprise for San Diegans as the secluded cove is great for swimming and sunbathing. It's also located near La Jolla Village, which has a variety of restaurants an...

Toronto is dealing with an ‘unprecedented’ spike in raccoon distemper cases

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:04 GMT

Toronto Animal Services is grappling with what they call an “unprecedented” spike in the number of distemper cases in the city’s raccoon population.Distemper is generally present in raccoons and tends to spread between May to November every year. Cases die down during the colder months, but a mild winter led to sustained spread throughout December and is continuing into this spring, explains the manager of Toronto Animal Services’ Enforcement and Mobile Response Unit.“If we look at the data at the end of 2022, we could see the emergence of a raccoon distemper outbreak, which does occur every two to three years in the population,” says Jasmine Herzog-Evans.“For example, during the same period last year, we received 451 requests [for service related to raccoons]. This year, we’ve already received 1,088.”The airborne virus is highly contagious and spreads quickly among raccoons as they tend to live in large, close groups.“Thin...

Israeli PM vows ‘aggressive response’ after rocket attacks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:04 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister has vowed an “aggressive response” after militants fired rockets at Israel from southern Lebanon and Gaza amid ongoing tensions in Jerusalem.In a statement late Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu said “we will strike our enemies and they will pay a price for every act of aggression.” He said Israelis remain united in the face of external enemies despite their domestic political divisions. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Militants in Lebanon fired a heavy barrage of rockets at Israel on Thursday, the Israeli military said, forcing people across Israel’s northern frontier into bomb shelters, wounding at least two people and ratcheting up regional tensions a day after Israeli police raided Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site.Israel’s military said 34 rockets had been fired across the border, and that 25 were shot down by its Iron Dome aerial defense system. Another five rockets struck Israeli territo...

CP NewsAlert: No evidence of homicide in case of woman found in Winnipeg landfill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:04 GMT

Winnipeg police say they have no evidence to suggest the death of an Indigenous woman whose body was found in a landfill Monday was a homicide.— More coming —The Canadian Press

Civil rights probe launched after fatal Park Police shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:04 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation after a U.S. Park Police officer fatally shot a 17-year-old who drove off with an officer in the back seat after the teenager was found asleep in a suspected stolen car. The FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington launched the investigation this week after federal officials released body-worn camera footage showing the officer fatally shooting Dalaneo Martin last month. The police video is one of the first released by the National Park Service and follows a 2022 order by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland requiring the agency’s 3,000 law enforcement officers to wear body cameras. It is also one of the first times body-worn camera footage has ever been released by a federal law enforcement agency. Martin’s death comes amid an ongoing national reckoning over authorities’ use of force and months as the beating death of Tyre Nichols by police in Memphis, Tennessee, renew...

Man who identified as Iranian pastor charged in ‘historical sexual assaults’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:04 GMT

Police have laid several charges against a man that allegedly posed as an Iranian pastor and sexually assaulted multiple women in York Region dating back to 2019.York Regional Police said an investigation commenced in January 2023 when a 42-year-old woman reported being sexually assaulted.Authorities determined that the accused met the victim on social media and identified himself as an Iranian pastor, convincing her to move from Iran to Canada by offering her assistance and housing.It’s alleged that the woman was sexually assaulted multiple times while living in his residence between September and November 2022.During the course of the investigation, police learned that a second woman, a 40-year-old from Richmond Hill, reported being sexually assaulted by the same man between September 2019 and August 2020. Police said the accused often identified himself as a pastor after being involved with a church in Richmond Hill.On Thursday, police charged 42-year-old Saeid Rezaei of Ne...

Oklahoma AG: Glossip murder conviction should be vacated

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:04 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The conviction and death sentence for Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip should be thrown out and a new trial ordered, the state’s new attorney general said Thursday, as support has grown even among death penalty supporters who say Glossip is innocent.In a filing with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, Attorney General Gentner Drummond said that although the state is not suggesting Glossip is innocent, the key witness against Glossip lied to the jury about his psychiatric treatment and reasons for taking the mood-stabilizing drug lithium.That information was only recently disclosed to Glossip’s defense team after Drummond turned over a box of evidence, consisting largely of prosecutors’ notes in the case, that Drummond’s predecessor, John O’Connor, had previously designated as “work product.”“After thorough and serious deliberation, I have concluded that I cannot stand behind the murder conviction and death sentenc...