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Ravens observations from ‘football school’ practice, including missing pieces on offense, rookie insight and more

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:14 GMT

In a busy Ravens offseason that included Lamar Jackson’s trade request and eventual contract extension, the addition of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and the declining of linebacker Patrick Queen’s fifth-year option, among other news, Wednesday marked the first time the team opened practiced to the media.While several high-profile players weren’t in attendance at the voluntary “football school” — notably Jackson — it did provide an opportunity to see offensive, defensive and special teams players on the field for the first time since the offseason programs began. Rookie minicamp ended over the weekend, so no first-year players were present, but there was plenty of intrigue among the group that did arrive in Owings Mills. Here are a few observations:Monken takes chargeThe biggest change on the coaching staff was the addition of offensive coordinator Todd Monken. He replaced Greg Roman, who resigned in January amid frustration from players a...

Julius Randle on Heat rebounding: ‘Maybe they want it more’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:14 GMT

Maybe they want it more.That was Knicks’ All-Star Julius Randle’s answer when asked why his team has struggled to dominate the glass against a Miami Heat team that ranked toward the bottom of the NBA in the category during the regular season.The Knicks finished third in regular-season rebounding rate this season and were projected to lean on that strength against a Heat team that finished the year ranked 26th on the glass.In Games 1 and 2 against the Heat, the Knicks won the rebound margin, 98-73, and headed to Miami with the series tied at one game apiece. Yet entering Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, the Knicks had been outrebounded in each of their previous two games: They lost on the glass, 50-48, in Game 3, then were embarrassed in Game 4, when the notoriously undersized Heat outrebounded them by nine in an eight-point victory that sunk the Knicks into a 3-1 series hole.“Maybe they want it more, I don’t know,” Randle said at the team&#...

Wildlife conservation advocates say towns, cities should regulate pesticides, not the feds and state

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:14 GMT

Wildlife conservation advocates are urging state lawmakers to give cities and towns the power to regulate pesticides as a means of pest control.The Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Agricultural Resources review registered pest control products before they enter the market, but advocates say that is hurting and killing countless animals across Massachusetts.Arlington residents and representatives made their pitch during a hearing Wednesday for the state Legislature to approve a home rule petition that would allow the suburban town to regulate rodenticide use on private property.Arlington made headlines earlier this year when MK, a bald eagle, died after consuming rat poisoning at a town cemetery. A mother gray horned owl and two of her fledgling owlets suffered the same fate in an Arlington park last spring before another owl died in December.“We are not saying we want rats in our community, but what we are saying is we don’t need to kill a bald eagle or our ow...

Pilot landing at Boston Logan International Airport reported a laser being flashed at the plane

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:14 GMT

A pilot who was landing at Boston Logan International Airport Tuesday night reported that a green laser was flashed at the plane, according to FAA officials who are investigating the incident.SkyWest Flight 3984, an Embraer 175, was traveling from Baltimore/Washington International Airport to Logan. As the plane was landing at around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, a green laser was apparently flashed at the aircraft.“The pilot of SkyWest Flight 3984, an Embraer 175, reported being illuminated by a green laser near Boston Logan International Airport in Massachusetts around 9 p.m. local time Tuesday, May 9,” the FAA said in a statement.“The FAA notified local authorities and will investigate,” the FAA added.Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal offense, and the FAA can impose civil penalties up to $30,800 against people who commit multiple laser violations. It creates a serious safety risk to pilots, and may damage their vision.The number of reported laser strikes h...

Kidney cancer patients have ‘more and more hope’ after promising Dana-Farber study

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:14 GMT

A promising new study out of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute showing that a three-drug combination slows the progression of advanced kidney cancer gives patients “more and more hope,” the lead researcher told the Herald on Wednesday.Kidney cancer patients treated with the three-drug combo — a targeted kinase inhibitor added to a two-drug immunotherapy combo — had a 27% lower risk of progression or death compared to those on the two immunotherapy drugs.“There had never been a study that showed the three drugs were superior to the two,” said Toni Choueiri, the director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Cancer at Dana-Farber, and who’s the lead author of the COSMIC-313 study.“This gives kidney cancer patients more and more hope,” he later added.Rates of kidney cancer in the U.S. are on the rise, especially among men, and an estimated 82,000 Americans will be diagnosed with kidney cancer this year.The COSMIC-313 study looked at the c...

Ex-Heat Markieff Morris: Heat too ‘talented’ and ‘tough’ for Knicks

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:14 GMT

Before the Knicks tackled their 3-1 deficit and a must-win Game 5, Markieff Morris, an NBA veteran and a recent Heat player, predicted their quick downfall because the matchup was unfavorable.“When you talk about Miami, they’re more talented, more tough and battle tested,” Morris, who played last season with the Heat, said on his Youtube series “Run Your Race.” “The three things you need, bro. Miami gets to the point when you need one more guy. And they’re doing this without Tyler Herro. Imagine if they had Tyler. This would’ve probably been a sweep.”Herro, the Heat’s third leading scorer in the regular season, has missed the entire series because of a broken right hand. Still, the Heat emerged from the Play-In Tournament to pummel the top-seeded Bucks in the first round. Then they pushed the Knicks to the brink before Wednesday’s Game 5.“I got Heat, 4-1. I think they close it out in five,” said Morri...

David Pastrnak a finalist for Ted Lindsay Award

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:14 GMT

David Pastrnak is one of the three finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award, which is given out by the NHL Players Association to the league’s most outstanding player as voted on by the players.Pastrnak became the first Bruin to hit the 60-goal mark since Phil Esposito did it in 1974-75. With 61-52-113 totals, Pastrnak also broke the 100-point plateau for the first time in his career.The other finalists are San Jose Shark Erik Karlsson, who topped the 100-point mark as a defenseman, and Edmonton Oiler Connor McDavid, who has to be considered the favorite after posting 64-89-153 totals.

Thousands of illegal immigrants flood the border as Title 42 nears end

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:14 GMT

The floodgates will open at the border at 11:59 p.m. Thursday when Title 42 ends and asylum restrictions are lifted.There are already reports of more than 10,300 migrants being apprehended Tuesday after they illegally attempted to enter the country, Fox News reported.The Biden administration said it will admit at least 100,000 Latin Americans seeking to reunite with family members in the United States, the Associated Press is reporting.It’s unclear why the administration has said it intends to welcome as many as 100,000 people from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador under the family reunification parole processes.Julia Gelatt of the Migration Policy Center said U.S. State Department data shows at least 284,000 Latin Americans have filed family sponsorship petitions. That includes 78,000 Salvadorans, and up to 57,000 Hondurans, 58,000 Guatemalans, and 56,000 Colombians.“Our plan will deliver results, but it will take time for those results to be fully realized,” Homeland Secu...

Huge number of asylum seekers at US-Mexico border as COVID-19 restrictions end, new rules begin

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:14 GMT

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through. It marks a fundamental shift in immigration policy as the U.S. readies for the end of a key pandemic restriction.Asylum seekers have been showing up at the border in huge numbers in anticipation of this week’s end of the use of a restriction known as Title 42. That rule has allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. U.S. officials warned of difficult days ahead as the program tied to the COVID-19 pandemic expires this week.The rule announced Wednesday is part of new measures meant to crack down on illegal border crossings while creating new legal pathways. Families who cross the border will face curfews and monitoring; the head of household will wear an ankle bracelet as their cases are heard within 30 days.But there’s also a plan to open 100 ...

Prosecutors reveal link between terror defendant in Virginia and Islamic State ’empress’ from Kansas

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:14 GMT

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A northern Virginia man arrested on terrorism charges has a husband-wife relationship with another American who was dubbed by authorities as an “ empress of ISIS ” for her work to establish an all-female battalion of the Islamic State, prosecutors said Wednesday. Mohammed Chhipa, 33, of Springfield, Virginia, was arrested last week on charges that he provided support to a terrorist group. Prosecutors allege that he transferred nearly $200,000 in cryptocurrency, with some of that money traced back to the Islamic State, to support Chhipa’s stated goal of helping smuggle female ISIS members from detention camps. Other funds remain unaccounted for. At a detention hearing Wednesday, prosecutors also disclosed a relationship between Chhipa and Allison Fluke-Ekren, an American from Kansas who is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Fluke-Ekren pleaded guilty last year to organizing and leading the Khatiba Nusaybah, a battalion in which roughly 100 women and girls...