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Los Angeles Lakers to unveil Kobe Bryant statue outside their arena on Feb. 8

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers will unveil a statue of Kobe Bryant outside their downtown arena on Feb. 8.The 17-time NBA champion Lakers announced the plan Thursday to honor Bryant, the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history and a beloved mainstay of the franchise for 20 seasons. Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, died in a helicopter crash in January 2020.Bryant participated in the initial planning of his statue after his retirement in 2016, according to the Lakers. He is the sixth former Lakers player and seventh team employee to be honored with a statue in the so-called “Star Plaza” outside the arena, which has been the Lakers’ home since 1999.The 2/8/24 date of the unveiling is conspicuous: Kobe wore No. 8 and No. 24 during each half of his Lakers career, while Gianna wore No. 2 while playing youth basketball. The Bryants were flying together to a basketball competition with seven others when their helicopter crashed in fog in Calabasas, California.Bryant’s s...

Feeding South Florida receives $2 million grant to help battle hunger

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

In an attempt to alleviate food insecurity, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz presented a significant financial boost to a local non-profit organization. Feeding South Florida is dedicated to addressing hunger-related issues in the area and received a $2 million grant aimed at strengthening its efforts in providing food to those in need.The generous funding, made possible through a congressional grant program, holds the potential to create a transformative impact, enabling Feeding South Florida to extend its reach and enhance its initiatives aimed at battling hunger. At the heart of the grant lies the endeavor to establish a mobile market and kitchen, a crucial step toward addressing the dietary needs of low-income families. The funds will facilitate the setup of this innovative mobile unit, named “Big Mamma Jamma,” designed to bring free and low-cost, wholesome meals directly to those who require it most. “This is also going to double as an emergency unit for...

Spain football chief to resign after kissing World Cup winner on the lips

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

Luis Rubiales will resign on Friday as president of the Spanish football federation, after he sparked international outrage by giving a nonconsensual kiss on the lips to a Spain player as she celebrated her team’s victory at the Women’s World Cup.The football boss will step down on Friday after a week of recriminations, as first reported by Spanish media Thursday evening and confirmed to POLITICO by a senior official.After Spain won the World Cup final against England on Sunday, Rubiales grabbed Spain’s midfielder Jenni Hermoso and planted a kiss on her lips during the medal ceremony and later joked that he would take the team to Ibiza and marry Hermoso there.Hermoso said on an Instagram Live video after, “But what can I do? I didn’t like it, eh.”Rubiales made a half-hearted attempt to apologize, saying his actions had no “ill intentions” and happened in a “moment of the highest exuberance.” But his apologies were not enough for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who slammed Rubi...

‘Barbie’ is now America’s highest-grossing movie of 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

New York (CNN) — “Barbie” is now the highest-grossing movie at the domestic box office this year, taking the crown away from “Super Mario Bros.”According to studio estimates, “Barbie” has made $575.4 million at the American box office as of Thursday, edging past Mario’s domestic haul of $574.2 million.“Barbie’s” run to the top was faster than “Mario’s,” reaching the record-breaking title in only 34 days since its release. It took Mario, Luigi and the gang 138 days to cross the $574.2 million benchmark in the United States, according to Deadline.Since premiering July 21, “Barbie” has broken numerous records. The film made $155 million domestically in its opening weekend, marking the largest opening weekend of the year and the biggest-ever debut for a female director. In the weeks to follow, it also was crowned Warner Bros. Discovery’s highest-grossing domestic release, beating the former title holder, the 2008 blockbuster, “The Dark Knight.”Last week, “Barbie...

T-Mobile to lay off 5,000 employees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

New York (CNN) — T-Mobile on Thursday announced it plans to lay off 5,000 employees, or around 7% of its total staff, over the next five weeks.The reductions will largely affect corporate and back-office jobs that are “primarily duplicative” to other roles and will reduce the company’s middle management layers, CEO Mike Sievert said in a letter to employees Thursday. The company also plans to reduce its spending on “external workers and resources,” but its retail and “consumer care” staff who work directly with customers will not be affected, he said.“What it takes to attract and retain customers is materially more expensive than it was just a few quarters ago,” Sievert said.T-Mobile’s cuts comes after months of mass layoff announcements at a range of other technology companies — including Microsoft and Meta — as firms grapple with an uncertain economic environment.In its most recent quarterly earnings report last month, T-Mobile reported sales dow...

US has not seen indications a missile downed Prigozhin’s plane, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

(CNN) — The US has not seen indications that a missile downed the airplane Russian authorities say was carrying Wagner founder Yevgheny Prigozhin, according to four US officials.The US intelligence community is still in the early stages of assessing what may have caused the private jet to crash outside Moscow on Wednesday.Another source familiar with the western intelligence echoed the US officials, saying there was no indication a missile was launched.Officials said the US had not seen any information to indicate that the Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft was struck by either a surface-to-air missile, which would be launched from a Russian aerial defense system, or an air-to-air missile from a Russian fighter jet.The officials cautioned that it’s too early to draw any conclusions about the cause, but a number of possibilities are being evaluated, including an on-board explosive device causing the crash.At the same time, people familiar with the intelligence do believe...

Moscow court extends WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich’s pre-trial detention

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

(CNN) — A Moscow court has extended the pre-trial detention of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who had been arrested on espionage charges, by three months.His pretrial detention was extended until November 30, the press service of the Lefortovo Court said Thursday.It had been due to end on August 30 after previously being extended on May 23 while he awaits trial.The Wall Street Journal called the development “deeply disappointing.”“Today, our colleague and distinguished journalist Evan Gershkovich appeared for a pre-trial hearing where his improper detention was extended yet again,” the newspaper said in a statement Thursday. “We are deeply disappointed he continues to be arbitrarily and wrongfully detained for doing his job as a journalist.”Gershkovich’s lawyers will appeal the court’s decision, according to WSJ’s Editor in Chief Emma Tucker and Publisher Almar Latour.“It’s also a reminder of the fight we’re in as Evan has now been wrongfully detained for...

Chicago woman allegedly stalked Trump’s teen son at Florida school months before threatening to kill him

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

By Jason Meisner, Chicago TribuneA Chicago woman accused of threatening to kill former President Donald Trump and his teenage son Barron in June had traveled to the boy’s Florida school months earlier, where she was questioned outside by law enforcement, court and police records show.Tracy Marie Fiorenza, 41, was arrested in Chicago this week following the unsealing of a federal criminal complaint in Florida charging her with transmitting threats to kill another person, which carries up to five years in prison.At a detention hearing at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Monday, prosecutors revealed that Fiorenza traveled in March to the Palm Beach County school where Trump’s son attends and “had an encounter with a sheriff.”In asking that Fiorenza be held without bond, Rosenbloom cited her encounter with police in Florida, saying it showed “these are not idle threats from a behind a keyboard.”Police reports obtained by the Tribune through an open records request revealed a security guar...

Julian Edelman set to reunite with Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski on FOX Sports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

FOX Sports will be a must-watch for Patriots fans in the near future.Ex-Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman will join FOX Sports as an analyst this fall, the network announced in a press release. He’ll appear on “FOX NFL Kickoff” with host Charissa Thompson, analysts Charles Woodson, Michael Vick, and NFL insider Peter Schrager on Sundays at 11 a.m. ET.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots training camp Day 29: Razor-sharp Mac Jones tosses 2 TDs to close final preseason practice New England Patriots | Patriots waive recent addition, place wide receiver on injured reserve New England Patriots | Patriots’ Jack Jones hopes to be available Week 1 amid gun charges New England Patriots | How Ezekiel Elliott sees his role with Rhamondre Stevenson in Patriots’ backfield New England Patriots | Patriots extra points: Ezekiel Elliott explains picking New England in first intervi...

Massachusetts meteorologists ‘keeping a close eye’ on Tropical Storm Franklin as it strengthens toward hurricane status

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:56 GMT

As Tropical Storm Franklin moves north and gets closer to becoming a hurricane, local meteorologists say they’re “keeping a close eye” on the storm’s path and its potential impact on the region.The biggest threat for the middle of next week appears to be an elevated rip current risk for local beaches, according to the National Weather Service.“It looks like we could be getting some really moderate to high rip currents,” Kyle Pederson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald on Thursday.“One thing is it shouldn’t be super hot for the beach next week, which could help with not as many people at the beach,” he added.After Tropical Storm Franklin dumped rain on the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos, the storm was strengthening and was expected to become a hurricane by the weekend.“We’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on it,” Pederson said.Related ArticlesWeather ...