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Lack of big-name teams could take toll on Final Four ratings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:47 GMT

Cinderella teams make for great stories and busted brackets. They don’t necessarily make for great television ratings, though.After getting a dream Final Four field last year, CBS and Turner Sports have something very different this weekend with Florida Atlantic, Miami, San Diego State and Connecticut making it to Houston.The lack of recognizable names could affect the ratings. Upsets during the first two weeks have seemingly already taken a toll. The tournament is averaging 9.11 million viewers through the regional finals, which is down 6% from last year. This after the first round on March 16-17 averaged 9.2 million, a record for the most-watched round of 64.Last year’s Final Four of Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and Villanova resonated even with casual fans because it was loaded with national brands. It also included Mike Krzyzewski’s final tournament as Duke’s coach.This year’s group doesn’t have the same cachet.“The public is telling us that t...

LaMarcus Aldridge, 7-time NBA All-Star, announces retirement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — LaMarcus Aldridge announced Friday he is retiring again from the NBA.Aldridge, 37, initially retired in 2021 after experiencing an irregular heartbeat in the last of five games he played for the Brooklyn Nets that season. He rejoined the Nets five months after announcing his retirement.The seven-time All-Star was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome — an abnormality that can cause a rapid heartbeat — as a rookie in 2007.Despite the diagnosis, Aldridge was among his era’s premier big men. As the second pick out of Texas in the 2006 draft, he averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in his career. Aldridge played his first nine seasons with the Portland Trailblazers before five years with the San Antonio Spurs and his short time with the Nets.“In the words of TB12, you only get one big, emotional retirement… so, on that note…I’m thankful for all the memories, family and friends I made throughout my career. It was one hell of a ride and I enjoyed every min!”...

Fencing event in France canceled after Russians readmitted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:47 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A fencing World Cup in France was canceled on Friday after the international governing body voted to let Russians compete.The French Fencing Federation said it would not host the men’s Challenge Monal epee tournament near Paris in May following the International Fencing Federation’s decision this month to end the year-long exclusion of competitors from Russia and its ally Belarus due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.The decision led to a backlash when more than 300 fencers signed a letter of protest and the organizers of another World Cup in Germany withdrew as hosts. Organizers of an upcoming competition in Poland have said they will demand Russians and Belarusians sign a statement saying they do not support the war.The FIE voted to readmit Russians and Belarusians at events from mid-April, even before the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday it wants sports to allow them to compete again as neutral athletes, as qualification for next year̵...

Weekend road closures for DC’s Credit Union Cherry Blossom runs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:47 GMT

This first weekend in April will be one of the biggest for D.C.’s National Cherry Blossom Festival, with thousands of runners expected to hit the streets around the National Mall to see the flower-filled trees and participate in the races.The Credit Union Cherry Blossom includes a 5K and Kids Run on Saturday and a 10-mile race on Sunday — and it’s a big year for the race, celebrating its 50th year in D.C.The annual 5K run and half-mile Kids Run both take place at 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., respectively on Saturday, while the 10-mile run kicks off at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.The Kids Run starts at the National Building Museum on the corner of F and 5th streets and loops around G Street. The 5K run starts near Freedom Plaza and loops down Pennsylvania Avenue and around for 3.1 miles.More DC News More Local NewsThe 10-mile race on Sunday takes runners on the National Mall, Hains Point and part of Rock Creek Parkway.Driving to the Tidal Basin on the weekends isn’t recommen...

Meet the new electric Voltari 260

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:47 GMT

Look around: everyone’s going electric, baby, and it’s more than cars, bikes and scooters on the roads. Deco found a new electric boat that’s really making waves.Boaters, how does this sound?Tim: “740 horsepower with a thousand feet of torque.”Oh, and listen to this too…Tim: “They’re 100% carbon fiber, so when you hit a wave, it just slices right though.”Because, since the 26-foot Voltari 260 is fully electric…Tim: “You don’t have outboard engines on a center console anymore; you can put your charcuterie board out, tour cooler.”You won’t be hearing much else.Tim: “No more air, water, or noise pollution. These things are silent.”Even on a record-breaking trip to the Bahamas.Tim: “ We just set out from Key Largo, 91 miles to Bimini, just had the time of our lives, and yeah, we did do it in a single charge.”A first for an EV boat.Alex: ”What is it like to ride one of these in all the beautiful canals of Fort Lauderdale?T...

Critical Mass cycling event to impact traffic in Miami, Miami Beach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:47 GMT

The bike ride event Critical Mass is expected to impact traffic in Miami and Miami Beach. The event draws hundred of cyclists and is typically scheduled on the last Friday of the month. The bike ride will kickoff Friday at 7:15 p.m. Although the bike event is not city sanctioned or a permitted event, to make sure everything goes smoothly, the Miami Beach Police Department will have officers posted at key intersections along the bike route. Officials also urge residents to plan accordingly because the event will impede traffic for roughly three hours. Police have mapped out the route the cyclists will take, which will begin in Miami Beach via the 79 Street Causeway. They will make a right at Indian Creek Drive, a right on W. 41 Street, left on Pine Tree Drive and will then merge onto Dade Boulevard. At Dade Boulevard, cyclists will head west towards the Venetian Causeway where they will exit Miami Beach and continue their route into the City of Miami.For more information on the Cri...

Search on for Florida toddler after mother found slain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:47 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Searchers combed the area around a Florida apartment complex Friday for a missing 2-year-old boy whose mother was found slain in their apartment, police said.St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said the boy’s father, 21-year-old Thomas Mosley, is considered a “person of interest” in the killing of the mother, 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery.But the father is hospitalized with cuts on his hands and arms, Holloway said — and 2-year-old Taylen Mosley is nowhere to be found. The police chief said Thomas Mosley, who has not been charged with a crime, is not cooperating with investigators as he recovers.“We are going to continue to search throughout our city. Our goal is to find Taylen,” Holloway said at a news conference Friday at the apartment complex where Jeffery died. “The father is not talking to us.”The FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement have joined local authorities in the search, which includes dive teams looking in lakes that dot ...

Juvenile Green Sea Turtle successfully released back into wild after treatment for hook injuries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:47 GMT

Zoo Miami’s Animal Health team members have successfully released a juvenile Green Sea Turtle back into the wild after being treated for hook injuries. On Wednesday, the turtle was released from Bill Baggs State Park on Key Biscayne, following a two-week stay at Zoo Miami’s Sea Turtle Hospital.The turtle was brought to the hospital by an FWC officer on March 13 after being hooked by a recreational fisherman off of the Dania Beach Pier. Upon arrival, Dr. Marisa Bezjian, Associate Veterinarian at Zoo Miami, removed the hook from the turtle’s mouth. Further examination revealed two additional hooks lodged in the turtle’s esophagus, which were also successfully removed by Dr. Bezjian.After making a full recovery, the turtle was deemed fit for release. However, the incident highlights the ongoing challenge sea turtles face with unintentional injuries caused by fishermen. If you accidentally hook a sea turtle while fishing or encounter one entangled in the fishing ...

Former Brockton RMV worker pleads guilty to taking cash in exchange for passing learner’s permit tests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:47 GMT

A woman from Brockton pleaded guilty this week to accepting money in exchange for issuing passing learner’s permit test scores at a Registry of Motor Vehicles facility, according to officials.The Department of Justice announced on Friday that the Brockton RMV service center’s former manager, Mia Cox-Johnson, 43, pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiring to commit extortion.Authorities said Cox-Johnson took money in exchange for agreeing to give passing scores on learner’s permit tests for passenger vehicle driver’s licenses and Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs).“Between December 2018 and October 2019, Cox-Johnson conspired to take money in exchange for agreeing to give customers passing scores on their multiple-choice learner’s permit tests even if they did not pass,” the DoJ stated in a press release. “These customers were told to request a paper test instead of taking the test on the RMV comp...

Rare ‘high risk’ storm alert issued for parts of Midwest and Mid-South including potential for violent, long-track tornadoes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:47 GMT

(CNN) — A rare “high risk” Level 5 out of 5 alert has been issued for parts of the Midwest and Mid-South, impacting nearly 3 million people, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said Friday.High risk areas include portions of southeastern Iowa, northwestern Illinois and northeastern Missouri, and includes places like Davenport, Iowa, and Iowa City. The second area is farther south and includes portions of eastern Arkansas, northern Mississippi and southwestern Tennessee. Memphis, Tennessee, is included in the high risk area.“Environmental conditions are quickly becoming favorable to support the potential for numerous strong to potentially violent and long-track tornadoes,” the center said.High risk days are exceedingly rare and are “reserved for when high confidence exists in widespread coverage of severe weather with embedded instances of extreme severe” weather such as violent tornadoes or extreme damaging winds, ac...