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After clinching playoff spot, AFC-leading Ravens to be tested in Christmas showdown at San Francisco

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)(AP/Terrance Williams) Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)(AP/Terrance Williams) OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are playoff bound, and by the time this month is over, they should have a good sense of what the competition will be like in the postseason.The Ravens grinded out a 23-7 victory at Jacksonville on Sunday night to ...

Commanders Corner: Elimination Edition

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) is threatened by Los Angeles Rams linebacker Ernest Jones (53) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)(AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) is threatened by Los Angeles Rams linebacker Ernest Jones (53) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)(AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez) We waited two weeks for this? Actually, during the bye week, instead of waiting to return to the field Dec. 17, many have had their eye on Jan. 7 and the final day of the regular season. Washington was tec...

Stock market today: World shares are mostly higher as Bank of Japan keeps its lax policy intact

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mostly higher on Tuesday after a seven-week winning streak on Wall Street cooled. Germany’s DAX gained 0.4% to 16,710.29 and in London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 7,634.05. In Paris, the CAC 40 slipped 2 points to 7,567.01. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials both gained less than 0.1%. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.4% to 33,219.39 after the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-lax monetary policy unchanged, as expected. The dollar rose against the yen, climbing to 144.59 yen from 142.79.The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney added 0.8% to 7,489.10, while South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.1% higher to 2,568.55. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1% to 16,469.32 and the Shanghai Composite index gained less than 0.1% to 2,932.39.Bangkok’s SET edged 0.1% higher, while Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.4%. On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq composite picked up 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished es...

New Mexico hosts Keeler and UC Irvine

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

UC Irvine Anteaters (7-4) at New Mexico Lobos (10-1)Albuquerque, New Mexico; Wednesday, 9 p.m. ESTBOTTOM LINE: UC Irvine visits the New Mexico Lobos after Dean Keeler scored 22 points in UC Irvine’s 121-78 victory over the South Dakota Coyotes.The Lobos have gone 5-0 in home games. New Mexico is seventh in college basketball with 44.0 points in the paint led by Donovan Dent averaging 12.0.The Anteaters are 1-4 on the road. UC Irvine scores 80.5 points and has outscored opponents by 13.0 points per game.New Mexico’s average of 6.5 made 3-pointers per game this season is just 0.3 more made shots on average than the 6.2 per game UC Irvine gives up. UC Irvine averages 6.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.1 more makes per game than New Mexico gives up.TOP PERFORMERS: Nelly Junior Joseph is averaging 8.5 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Lobos. Jemarl Baker Jr. is averaging 1.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for New Mexico.Justin Hohn is averaging 13.6 points for ...

Oakland visits Dayton after Holmes’ 28-point performance

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Oakland Golden Grizzlies (6-6, 1-1 Horizon League) at Dayton Flyers (8-2)Dayton, Ohio; Wednesday, 7 p.m. ESTBOTTOM LINE: Dayton plays the Oakland Golden Grizzlies after Daron Holmes scored 28 points in Dayton’s 82-68 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats.The Flyers are 4-0 in home games. Dayton has a 2-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points.The Golden Grizzlies are 3-3 on the road. Oakland ranks fourth in the Horizon League with 22.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Trey Townsend averaging 5.7.Dayton scores 72.4 points per game, 0.3 more points than the 72.1 Oakland gives up. Oakland has shot at a 44.4% rate from the field this season, 3.3 percentage points greater than the 41.1% shooting opponents of Dayton have averaged.TOP PERFORMERS: Koby Brea averages 3.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Flyers, scoring 11.8 points while shooting 51.7% from beyond the arc. Holmes is shooting 52.4% and averaging 17.5 points for Dayton.Townsend is shooting 44.5% and averaging 15.9...

No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners play the No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

North Carolina Tar Heels (7-3, 1-0 ACC) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (10-0)Charlotte, North Carolina; Wednesday, 9 p.m. ESTBOTTOM LINE: The No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels and the No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners meet at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.The Sooners have a 10-0 record against non-conference oppponents. Oklahoma is fourth in the Big 12 with 26.1 defensive rebounds per game led by John Hugley averaging 3.9.The Tar Heels have a 6-3 record in non-conference play. North Carolina ranks ninth in the ACC with 14.3 assists per game led by Elliot Cadeau averaging 4.0.Oklahoma averages 84.4 points, 9.4 more per game than the 75.0 North Carolina allows. North Carolina averages 23.6 more points per game (84.9) than Oklahoma allows to opponents (61.3).TOP PERFORMERS: Otega Oweh is scoring 14.9 points per game and averaging 4.0 rebounds for the Sooners. Javian McCollum is averaging 14.3 points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 46.0% for Oklahoma.RJ Davis is averaging 21.6 points for the Ta...

An earthquake in northwestern China kills at least 126 people in nation’s deadliest quake in 9 years

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — A strong overnight earthquake rattled a mountainous region of northwestern China, authorities said Tuesday, destroying homes, leaving residents out in a below-freezing winter night and killing 126 people in the nation’s deadliest quake in nine years.The magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck just before midnight on Monday, injuring more than 700 people, damaging roads and knocking out power and communication lines in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, officials and Chinese media reports said.As emergency workers searched for the missing in collapsed buildings and at least one landslide, people who lost their homes were preparing to spend a cold winter night in tents at hastily erected evacuation sites.“I just feel anxious, what other feelings could there be?” said Ma Dongdong, who said in a phone interview that three bedrooms in his house had been destroyed and a part of his milk tea shop was cracked wide open.Afraid to return home because of aftershocks, he spent the night in a f...

Explosion rocks West Park neighborhood: Possible propane leak causes destruction

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Destruction unfolded in the dead of night as a massive explosion rocked a once-quiet West Park neighborhood. Emergency calls flooded in just before midnight on Tuesday, reporting a loud boom heard throughout the area. The source of the commotion was quickly identified as a house, located at 5241 SW 20th St., suspected to have exploded due to a large propane leak.First responders rushed to the explosive emergency, discovering a home obliterated by the blast.While the cause of the rubble remains unknown, video footage confirms a devastating explosion early Tuesday. Live video footage captured the aftermath, revealing a scene where the affected house once stood, now reduced to rubble.Officials, including a heavy presence from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Rescue, arrived at the scene around 12:30 a.m. Viewers’ videos depicted a stark landscape of destruction, with debris scattered where the home once stood. Witnesses reported live search dogs on-site, and two...

Ukraine war set to turn in Putin’s favor in 2024, Czech president warns

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Czech President Petr Pavel expects “significant developments” in Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine next year — and these are not likely to be favorable to Kyiv, he said.In an interview with Czech online news outlet Seznam Zprávy, Pavel was asked about his profile in POLITICO’s annual ranking of the most powerful people in Europe, in which he was described as a “hawk when it comes to both Russia and China” who fully supports Ukraine as well as further NATO expansion.Asked about his expectations on those issues for the upcoming year, Pavel said: “We have a lot ahead of us, because the development of the conflict in Ukraine shows that we are very likely to see some significant developments next year.“And the indications so far are that it will not be in the best sense of the word, as we would like it to be,” the president warned in an interview published Monday, asserting there would be “a new situation that we will have...

Sex work splits the EU Parliament

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

“Wealthy men — who have spare money to spend on fucking — meet poor women who have to fuck to survive. So, what bigger difference can there be?” asked MEP Maria Noichl.Noichl, a German lawmaker from the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group, is a self-proclaimed fighter for sex workers who didn’t voluntarily end up in the industry. She’s pushing for an EU-wide regulation, which is roiling the European Parliament, on sex work because she says, “Europe is like a magnet for sex tourism.” Her position is clear: Selling sex is not a job, it is gender-based violence and it should be illegal to buy sex or be a pimp.People working in the sex industry — mostly women, but also men, migrants and trans people — are not paid to “live out their sexuality here, but the women are paid for staying still, for remaining silent and for not screaming,” she told POLITICO.There is disagreement, however, over her stance, with some warning that Noichl’s proposal might worsen sex workers’ job ...