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2 dead as severe storms, tornadoes move through central US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

COLE, Okla. (AP) — Strong storms including tornadoes, winds and hail moved through parts of the central U.S., killing at least two people, causing injuries, destroying homes and leaving thousands without power.The National Weather Service began issuing tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings Wednesday evening in Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa, with forecasters warning people to find shelter.Central Oklahoma saw multiple tornadoes, including one that raced through the communities of Shawnee and Cole on Wednesday night.Authorities said at least two people were killed in the small town of Cole in McClain County, about 25 miles (41 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City. There also were injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to some requiring hospitalization, although the numbers weren’t immediately clear as hundreds of people fanned out in search operations.Power lines also were torn down, trees toppled and homes and other buildings badly damaged or destroyed. Oklahoma Baptist University...

Dorchester man accused of stabbing boyfriend 29 times then jumping out of 12th story window arraigned for murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

The man police pulled in from a 12th-story window of a Roxbury apartment building — where he dangled from a handle caught on his underwear — has been arraigned for the murder of his boyfriend, who was found stabbed to death inside that apartment.Michael Perry, 37, of Dorchester, appeared in Suffolk Superior Court Wednesday and was charged with the murder of Jose Aponte, 43, his boyfriend. Perry was first charged Dec. 14 in Boston Municipal Court but the case was kicked up to the Superior Court following an indictment returned on March 8.Perry was brought in from jail and appeared wearing a light blue button-up shirt, an upgrade from the Tyvek-type suit he wore during his initial appearance in BMC.Perry pleaded not guilty to the charge. Clerk Magistrate Ed Curley ordered Perry held without bail.“You know what happened,” Perry allegedly screamed at police officers who asked him what had occurred when they found Aponte’s “dead and bloody” body just inside the door of his Roxbury apartm...

Former Ravens running back Willis McGahee sheds light on NFL disability lawsuit: ‘It’s a sham process’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

Former Ravens running back Willis McGahee suffered more than 40 injuries in his 10-year career in the NFL. He was twice knocked unconscious, including against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2009 AFC championship game, and hospitalized before being diagnosed with a concussion.Now 41 and a decade removed from his last game, McGahee says he feels like a 70-year-old man and that it’s a struggle to get out of bed because of those injuries he suffered in a career that spanned 151 regular season and postseason games, 8,882 rushing yards and more than a dozen surgeries. He also says he has difficulty playing with his 2-year-old son, Maximus, and that his physician told him he has arthritis in his joints similar to that of an 80-year-old.McGahee doesn’t blame the league, he says, because injuries are part of the game. But he is furious over having been denied disability benefits five times by the NFL, which is why he is one of 10 players suing the league as part of a class-action...

Battenfeld: Ron DeSantis 2024 campaign looks over before it’s even started

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

Ron DeSantis can’t even beat Mickey Mouse. How is he possibly going to beat Donald Trump?In the battle between Disney and DeSantis in Florida, Mickey wins.And as the Florida GOP governor takes on the Magic Kingdom, his hopes of a White House run – at least a successful one – look over.DeSantis has peaked. And he hasn’t even announced yet.Once touted as the conservative alternative to Trump, DeSantis is seeing his political dream collapsing.Heavy-hitting donors are balking. Florida pols are backing The Donald. Insiders say that because of his lateness getting in the race he has no organization in early primary states like New Hampshire and South Carolina.Trump – thanks to the arrow in his back from the grandstanding Manhattan DA – is actually expanding his lead and his campaign coffers.The conservative Florida governor best known for booting migrants to Martha’s Vineyard and waging war on Mickey Mouse can’t get traction and in fact has seen his support collapse over the last few mont...

ASK IRA: Is there a path to healing for Heat after Wednesday whiplash in Milwaukee?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

Q: Ira, how do you recover from that? Milwaukee could ask Erik Spoelstra which player he wants them to sit and they still can win. – Gregory.A: Can’t argue, at least not after a thrashing like that, with the Bucks thriving in the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo. There is an argument that could be made about Milwaukee having a superior roster to the Heat’s even with Giannis subtracted from the equation. Put it this way, the Bucks were without Giannis and they simply turned to Bobby Portis and his double-double; the Heat were without Tyler Herro, and they turned to Duncan Robinson. Giannis doesn’t have to do all the heavy lifting for the Bucks to win. Jimmy Butler has no other choice for the Heat. If Giannis returns for Saturday’s Game 3, this well could be over with the Heat’s return to Milwaukee for Game 5. The Heat need to get more alongside Jimmy next season. What Giannis has likely makes him jealous.Q: Ira, games like this happen. The home tea...

Do the Ravens trade down? They will face this draft-altering question with the No. 22 pick.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

The Ravens had six picks in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft. They currently have five for the seven rounds of the 2023 draft.General manager Eric DeCosta has long said there’s a natural ebb and flow to pick totals. Some years, the Ravens want a big pile because of roster needs or the depth of the talent pool. Others, they’re content to take a smaller swing.Even so, this is shaping up as an extreme case for a team that has always viewed the draft as its prime avenue for roster building. If the Ravens stand pat and don’t add a pick, this five-player draft class would be their smallest since 1999. This at a time when they need all the frugal additions they can find given the $32.4 million nonexclusive franchise tag on quarterback Lamar Jackson, not to mention the $15 million they just handed to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.Which leads to an obvious question: As the No. 22 overall pick draws near, will DeCosta look to trade down?He did not dismiss the possibil...

Burbank athlete’s giving nature leads to award from Chicago Bears

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

Whether he’s dressed as the Easter Bunny, in Santa’s red suit or in the traditional black and gold football uniform at St. Laurence High School in Burbank, Jack McGeehan finds ways to make a huge impact at his high school and in his community.Now finishing up his junior year in high school, McGeehan recently was named the third recipient of the Chicago Bears’ Community High School All-Star award.He is one of just nine high school players who will be named and recognized by the Bears through May for taking the lessons learned from playing football and using them to benefit the community, according to a news release from the Bears.“Since day one he’s been the kind of St. Laurence player you want to be,” St. Laurence football coach Adam Nissen said. “He’s phenomenal. What makes him stand out is all the work he does off the football field. He takes the lead. There’s nothing he won’t do if it really benefits the greater good of ...

NATO chief visits Ukraine for 1st time since Russia invaded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visited Ukraine on Thursday for the first time since Russia invaded more than a year ago, a highly symbolic trip that underscores the alliance’s commitment to helping Kyiv defend itself.The Kremlin quickly warned that Ukraine must not be allowed to join NATO. Russia has given various and shifting justifications for going to war, but it has repeatedly pointed to the expansion of the military alliance toward its borders in recent years, including citing fears that Kyiv would be admitted.Images published in local media showed Stoltenberg apparently paying tribute to fallen Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv’s St. Michael’s Square.The visit, just two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin himself went to Ukraine, holds important symbolism, but its exact purpose wasn’t immediately clear.NATO has no official presence in Ukraine, but Stoltenberg has been the strong voice of the alliance throughout the war. He has been instrume...

Singapore to resume executions after 6-month break

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Singaporean man is scheduled to be hanged next week for abetting an attempt to smuggle cannabis into the island-state, in a resumption of executions after a half-year pause, activists said Thursday.The family of Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was notified in a letter that he would be executed next Wednesday, anti-death penalty activist Kokila Annamalai said.Tangaraju was detained in 2014 for drug consumption and failure to report for a drug test, according to another activist, Kirsten Han. He was later linked to two drug traffickers through a phone number used to coordinate the delivery of cannabis. The High Court found Tangaraju guilty of conspiring to traffic 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cannabis and sentenced him to mandatory death in 2018, Han said.“The last execution carried out in Singapore was in October 2022. Death row prisoners, their family members and abolitionists have been holding our breath for the past six months, terrified of when the killing sp...

Biden labor secretary nominee Su faces doubts in Senate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the next labor secretary, Julie Su, will testify to the Senate Thursday with key Democrats unwilling to voice support for her confirmation, creating uncertainty about her prospects in the narrowly divided chamber.A handful of moderate Democrats have not publicly stated whether they will vote for Su’s nomination ahead of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Biden in February picked Su, a civil rights attorney and the current deputy labor secretary, to replace Marty Walsh, the former mayor of Boston, to lead the Department of Labor.The daughter of an immigrant mother who arrived on a cargo ship, Su would be the first Asian American in the Biden administration to serve in the Cabinet at the secretary level. Biden called her path proof of the “American dream” and that “she’s committed to making sure that dream is in reach for every American.”Su was previously confirme...