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Erik Spoelstra sees Heat’s own March madness, ‘the opportunities are there’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:50 GMT

After all that has gone sideways, gone south, gone to the wire, coach Erik Spoelstra said it is time for a revised outlook, similar to what he told his team in the wake of Sunday night’s tougher-than-expected road victory over the Detroit Pistons.Basically for the Miami Heat, he said, it comes down to nine lives, as in the nine games remaining on the team’s regular-season schedule, starting with Wednesday night’s matchup against the New York Knicks at Miami-Dade Arena.“I probably can sum it up, with all of this, is like nothing about this season is easy and I’m embracing that it’s not going to be easy,” Spoelstra said of the wild ride to this 39-34 record and current No. 7 seed in an Eastern Conference where only the top six seeds advance directly to the playoffs. “And I told that to the team, you have to embrace this right now. This is just the path for this team. It doesn’t mean that it’s a negative thing. Just wrap your ...

Jets still have needs to address entering second week of free agency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:50 GMT

The Jets are on the cusp of adding quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Packers, a move that, to many, would solidify the team’s status as a serious contender in the conference.But even if Gang Green acquires Rodgers, much work remains to be done.A week after the negotiating period, the Jets continue to have a few needs to address on both sides of the ball. According to Over The Cap, the Jets have $11.2 million of salary cap space. However, the team can gain more cap space with a few moves.If the Jets release wide receiver Corey Davis, they will gain $10.5 million of savings. Davis could be released or traded after the Jets signed ex-Packers receiver Allen Lazard to a four-year, $44 million contract last week.Gang Green could also add an extra $15.4 million if it released defensive end Carl Lawson, who will be in the final year of a three-year, $45 million contract he signed in 2021.The Jets haven’t made many moves since the free agency period began outside of L...

Optimize your career: Gain an edge in today’s workplace

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:50 GMT

This post is sponsored by Professional Development Institute of the University of Ottawa.The workplace has changed over the past few years, and workers have had to change the way they progress in their chosen careers.Some are still operating from home offices, either a few days a week or full time. Many have made their way back to the bricks-and-mortar spaces, where face-to-face interactions and meetings are fostered. Many workers report feeling that the months lost to the pandemic have meant losing critical career-building time.Gaining ground in the workplaceUpward mobility can be achieved by switching companies, of course, but more and more companies who are willing to offer higher salaries are looking for people from within who are keen to build more highly-developed skills.Many companies will sponsor an employee through specific courses with an eye to moving that person into a role with further responsibilities, thus retaining their talent. There might be a contract requirement ...

US sending ammunition, tanker trucks, boats to Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department announced Monday that the U.S. will send Ukraine $350 million in weapons and equipment, as fierce battles with Russian forces continue for control of the city of Bakhmut, and troops prepare for an expected spring offensive.The latest package of aid includes a large amount of various types of ammunition, such as rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, and an undisclosed number of fuel tanker trucks and riverine boats.Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a statement, said the package also provides more ammunition for howitzers, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, high-speed anti-radiation (HARM) missiles and anti-tank weapons. “Russia alone could end its war today. Until Russia does we will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” said Blinken.The new aid comes as Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday, giving a political lift to Russian President Vladimir Putin against the West just days after an intern...

Putin welcomes China’s Xi to Kremlin amid Ukraine fighting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:50 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin warmly welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Kremlin on Monday, a visit that sent a powerful message to Western leaders allied with Ukraine that their efforts to isolate Moscow have fallen short.Xi’s trip — his first abroad since his re-election earlier this month — showed off Beijing’s new diplomatic swagger and gave a political lift to Putin just days after an international arrest warrant was issued for the Kremlin leader on war crimes charges related to Ukraine.The two major powers have described Xi’s three-day trip as an opportunity to deepen their “no-limits friendship.” China looks to Russia as a source of oil and gas for its energy-hungry economy, and as a partner in standing up to what both see as U.S. domination of global affairs. The two countries, which are among the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, also have held joint military drills.They shook hands before sitting down and making brief s...

Anthony Fauci documentary on PBS covers a career of crises

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — There’s a moment in the new PBS documentary about Dr. Anthony Fauci when a protestor holds up a handmade sign reading, “Dr. Fauci, You Are Killing Us.”It says something about Fauci that it’s not initially clear when that sign was waved in anger — in the 1980s as AIDS made its deadly rise or in the 2020s with COVID-19 vaccine opponents.“American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci,” offers a portrait of an unlikely lightning rod: A government infectious disease scientist who advised seven presidents. Fauci hopes it can inspire more public servants like him.“I just felt that there needed to be a story of people understanding what public health officials go through, but also I hope as a source of inspiration for young people who are either in science or interested in going into science,” he told The Associated Press. The documentary airs Tuesday and later streams.Fauci allowed a film crew to follow him for 23 months starting in January 2021. The documentary covers...

Jeremy Scott leaves Moschino after 10 years at fashion house

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:50 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Jeremy Scott is stepping down as creative director of Italian luxury house Moschino after 10 years of wild and wacky fashion shows and his elegant dressing of numerous celebrities.The company made the announcement Monday.“Scott has penned a fundamental chapter in the legacy of the brand with his fearless and show stopping pop-camp style and incisive humor — true to the renowned codes of the House,” the company said in an email statement.The American designer took over at Moschino in October 2013 with a groundbreaking fall/winter collection that, according to the statement, “launched a thousand debates on the role of fashion in the annals of art, consumerism, and social commentary.”The Missouri-born Scott has put out collections that focused his pop culture and tongue-in-cheek lens on Barbie, aliens and Ronald McDonald. Katy Perry, Madonna, Rita Ora and Zendaya are among celebrities who have worn his creations. Most recently, he dressed a handful of A-listers for the Osc...

Trump lawyers attack Georgia grand jury and prosecutor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:50 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are attacking a special grand jury and prosecutors who investigated him in Georgia, asking a state court to throw out its report and all testimony from the inquiry and bar Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from continuing to investigate or prosecute Trump.The filing, made Monday in Atlanta, argues that the Georgia law that allows for special grand juries is unconstitutionally vague because it doesn’t say whether such a grand jury is handing criminal matters or civil matters. The lawyers also argue that the grand jury didn’t sufficiently protect Trump’s right to due process.Lawyers Jennifer Little and Drew Findling wrote that the world watched a special grand jury process “that was confusing, flawed, and at times, blatantly unconstitutional.”The lawyers wrote that the special grand jury “involved a constant lack of clarity as to the law, inconsistent applications of basic constitutional protections f...

S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets also rise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:50 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped higher by strength in the base metal stocks as well as the energy and telecommunication sectors, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 116.34 points at 19,504.06.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 337.38 points at 32,199.36. The S&P 500 index was up 31.42 points at 3,948.06, while the Nasdaq composite was up 37.52 points at 11,668.03.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.16 cents US compared with 72.81 cents US on Friday.The May crude contract was down 43 cents at US$66.50 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.29 per mmBTU.The April gold contract was down 40 cents at US$1,973.10 an ounce and the May copper contract was up seven cents at US$3.96 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian P...

Amazon cuts 9,000 jobs; now at least 27,000 layoffs in 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon plans to eliminate 9,000 more jobs in the next few weeks, CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to staff on Monday. The job cuts would mark the second largest round of layoffs in the company’s history, adding to the 18,000 employees the company said it would lay off in January. Yet the company’s workforce doubled during the pandemic, however, during a hiring surge across almost the entire tech sector. In the memo, Jassy said the second phase of the company’s annual planning process – which determined what areas of the business to trim – completed this month and led to the additional job cuts. He said Amazon will still hire in some strategic areas. “Some may ask why we didn’t announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago. The short answer is that not all of the teams were done with their analyses in the late fall; and rather than rush through these assessments without the appropriate diligence, we chose to s...