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Sloppy Steelers’ playoff hopes take another hit with loss to Patriots

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers had an opportunity to create some separation in the race for an AFC wild-card spot.Instead, they came crashing back to the pack and saw their playoff hopes take a serious hit with consecutive home losses to two-win teams in five days. The latest, a 21-18 setback against New England on Thursday night in which the Steelers fell into a second-quarter 18-point hole and couldn’t recover.“Obviously, this stings, but we’ll be back,” coach Mike Tomlin said.Pittsburgh (7-6) is the first team above .500 in NFL history to lose consecutive games to teams both at least eight games below .500. Pittsburgh began December atop the race for the top wild-card spot in the AFC.The Steelers were sloppy Sunday ing an uninspiring 14-point loss against rebuilding Arizona. On Thursday, Bailey Zappe threw three first-half touchdown passes and New England (3-10) snapped a five-game losing streak.“I have to play better,” Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “I feel...

Rice just 3 steals shy of quadruple-double as No. 2 UCLA women rout Cal State Northridge

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Londynn Jones scored 19 points and No. 2 UCLA thoroughly dominated Cal State Northridge in a 111-48 victory Thursday night.The Bruins (7-0) had six players in double figures. Gabriela Jaquez had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Lauren Betts added 18 points. Kiki Rice had her first career triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, coming up just three steals short of a quadruple-double.Only one of UCLA’s 10 players failed to score as the Bruins topped 100 points for the second time this season. UCLA forced 24 turnovers that led to 44 points and outscored Northridge 64-2 in the paint.The Matadors (2-5) were led by freshman Amiyah Ferguson with 21 points, including six 3-pointers. They dropped their fifth in a row. NO. 11 UTAH 74, SAINT JOSEPH’S 48PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Alissa Pili scored a season-high 31 points to reach 20-plus for the fifth straight game, and Utah used a big fourth quarter to beat Saint Joseph’s.Pili took over in the first five mi...

Palestinians crowd into ever-shrinking areas in Gaza as Israel’s war against Hamas enters 3rd month

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Desperate Palestinians fleeing Israel’s expanding ground offensive crowded into an ever-shrinking area of the Gaza Strip as the Israel-Hamas war entered its third month Friday. The United Nations warned that its aid operation is “in tatters” because no place in the besieged enclave is safe.Israel’s ferocious military assault on Gaza, a tiny, densely populated territory, has led to widespread civilian casualties and mass displacements, triggering international alarm. The Israeli army said Friday that over the past day the military had struck about 450 targets in the Gaza Strip by air, sea and ground, signaling the continued intensity of Israel’s campaign.Earlier this week, U.N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used a rarely exercised power to warn the Security Council of an impending “humanitarian catastrophe,” and Arab and Islamic nations have called for a vote Friday on a draft Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire.The Uni...

A rocket attack targets the US embassy in Baghdad, causing minor damage but no casualties

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — A rocket attack at the sprawling U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Friday morning caused minor material damage but no casualties, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.The attack is the first to be confirmed since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war on the U.S. Embassy, in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses Iraqi government buildings and embassies, on the west bank of the Tigris River.Iran-backed militias in Iraq have claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks that targeted bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas war began two months ago. The U.S. military says a total of 78 attacks have been carried out against U.S. facilities over the past weeks of which 37 were in Iraq and 41 in Syria.An Iraqi security official said 14 Katyusha rockets were fired on Friday, of which some struck near the one of the embassy’s gates while others fell in the river. The official said the rocket attack caused material damage but no casualties.A U.S. militar...

Post-summit news conferences highlight the divide between China and the EU

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — From trade to human rights, the leaders of China and the European Union differed on a wide range of issues at a summit this week in the Chinese capital.China, which sees Europe as an important export market, raised concerns about trade protectionism and “de-risking,” the EU initiative to reduce its reliance on any one country — such as China — for vital raw materials and products.The EU, which sees imports from China as a potential threat to companies and jobs, pressured China on its large trade surplus with Europe and its de facto support for Russia in the war in Ukraine.Separate post-summit news conferences on Thursday evening highlighted the divergent positions. Wang Lutong, the director general for European affairs, spoke to journalists at China’s Foreign Ministry. Then EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel held a joint news conference at the European Union office in Beijing.TRADE IMBALANCEVON DER LEYEN: “If you...

Asteroid will pass in front of bright star Betelgeuse to produce a rare eclipse visible to millions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — One of the biggest and brightest stars in the night sky will momentarily vanish as an asteroid passes in front of it to produce a one-of-a-kind eclipse.The rare and fleeting spectacle, late Monday into early Tuesday, should be visible to millions of people along a narrow path stretching from central Asia’s Tajikistan and Armenia, across Turkey, Greece, Italy and Spain, to Miami and the Florida Keys and finally, to parts of Mexico.The star is Betelgeuse, a red supergiant in the constellation Orion. The asteroid is Leona, a slowly rotating, oblong space rock in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers hope to learn more about Betelgeuse and Leona through the eclipse, which is expected to last no more than 15 seconds. By observing an eclipse of a much dimmer star by Leona in September, a Spanish-led team recently estimated the asteroid to be about 34 miles wide and 50 miles long (55 kilometers wide and 80 kilometers long).There are linger...

Austin City Council approves phase one of HOME initiative after full day of public comment

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After nearly 12 hours of public comment, Austin City Council members approved phase one of the HOME initiative late Thursday night. The initiative is intended to create more housing options for Austinites. The initiative was brought forward by Austin City Council Member Leslie Pool of District 7, who thanked her colleagues on their passing of the plan shortly before midnight. "It was an extraordinary effort and I thank you all, thank you all. My thanks to all the City staff who have contributed to the HOME effort," she said. But hundreds of Austinites showed up at City Hall Thursday to speak against the initiative, and expressed concerns that developers would demolish existing single-family homes and replace them with expensive townhomes. "My decision, again, is rooted in the genuine concerns raised by constituents," Council Member Mackenzie Kelly said. She and Council Member Alison Alter voted no. Council members thanked the huge number of speakers who showed up Th...

EU leads global initiative at COP28 to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency measures by 2030

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

At the World Climate Action Summit in Dubai, President Ursula von der Leyen launched the Global Pledge on Renewables and Energy Efficiency together with the COP28 Presidency and 118 countries. This initiative, first proposed by the Commission president at the Major Economies Forum in April, sets global targets to triple the installed capacity of renewable energy to at least 11 terawatts (TW) and to double the rate of global energy efficiency improvements from roughly 2% to an annual figure of 4%, by 2030. Delivering these targets will support the transition to a decarbonised energy system, and help to phase out unabated fossil fuels.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “With this Global Pledge, we have built a broad and strong coalition of countries committed to the clean energy transition - big and small, north and south, heavy emitters, developing nations, and small island states. We are united by our common belief that to respect the 1.5°C goal in the Par...

Dear Abby: If she dies without revealing the truth, should I tell what I know?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

DEAR ABBY: Forty years ago, a neighborhood boy fathered a child with a neighborhood girl. “Billy” was 17 at the time, and “Becky” was 14 or 15. Both were friends of mine.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: The grandkids were upset by the fight, and now my husband is barred from their home Advice | Dear Abby: We learned the truth about our daughter when her fiance ditched her Advice | Dear Abby: His ex-wife is coaching her children to be mean to this little girl Advice | Dear Abby: My boyfriend doesn’t want this woman to know about me Advice | Dear Abby: My son’s wife and mother-in-law are ganging up on him They were not a steady couple. She liked him, but I feel he used her. I heard that she married an older gentleman who accepted the baby, “Matt,” as his own.Ten years ago, I found Matt on Facebook. I told him I knew his mother, and he shared her contact in...

Nadia Calviño named EIB chief

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

BRUSSELS – Spain’s Finance Minister Nadia Calviño will become the next head of the European Investment Bank after EU countries agreed on Friday morning to her appointment.After a contest lasting several months, Calviño saw off the challenge of Margrethe Vestager, who took leave from her job as the EU digital and competition chief. She is scheduled to start at the Luxembourg-based bank on January 1, the expiry date of current chief Werner Hoyer. “I am grateful and honored to get the support of my my fellow finance ministers to be at the helm of the European Investment Bank,” Calviño told reporters in Brussels. “[The EIB] will have an even more important role going forward to fund the green transition to provide financial support to the rebuilding of Ukraine and also support the role of Europe in the world.”The political blessing from the EU’s 27 finance ministers came at a meeting in Brussels after they had already spent much of the night discussing and failing to get a de...