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Butler scores 32, Heat beat Hornets 111-105 to remain unbeaten in NBA In-Season Tournament play

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:03 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 32 points, Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 11 rebounds and the Miami Heat remained unbeaten in NBA In-Season Tournament play with a 111-105 victory over the short-handed Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.Duncan Robinson added 18 points for Miami, which has scored 113.8 points per game during its six-game win streak. The Heat averaged 102.4 while stumbling to a 1-4 start this season.No wonder Butler offered a simple explanation for the Heat’s turnaround.“We’ve been scoring more points,” Butler said.Miami is 2-0 in group play; the Hornets are 1-1.The Heat finished off a 4-0 road trip that included wins against San Antonio, Atlanta and Memphis. But they still have a big challenge ahead. Miami returns home Thursday night, then heads back on the road for another five games.“We talked at the start of this trip that this month would be an opportunity for us to be able to galvanize around a tough schedule and see if we can become bette...

This iconic jingle is making a comeback, and you won’t be able to get it out of your head

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:03 GMT

New York (CNN) — One of the most recognizable jingles in history is making a return.Chili’s is bringing back its “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back…ribs” jingle for a new advertising campaign promoting the dish that’s been a staple on the chain’s menu since the late 1980s.The chain has hired Boyz II Men to sing an updated version of the jingle, a nod to the misconception that many people might have thought the R&B group originally recorded it — around the same time their fourth studio album was released, “Evolution,” which sold two million copies in the US.The jingle, last used in the mid-2000s, became an earworm for anyone watching TV during the ’90s when it seemingly blanketed the airwaves nonstop. Chili’s is hoping that nostalgia will draw renewed interest in the restaurant chain that’s in the midst of a turnaround.Chili’s is in a crowded field of chain restaurants all fighting for customers who aren’t particularly loyal to any one brand. Stale menu offerings sen...

Reckless crime spree ends in high-speed crash for Florida felons

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:03 GMT

LAKELAND, Fla. (WSVN) — Startling surveillance footage captures a Florida man, Timothy Hogue, engaging in a car crime spree at a breakneck speed of 80 miles per hour in a Lakeland residential neighborhood. The spree culminated in a head-on collision with a parked car, fortunately causing no injuries.Hogue and his alleged accomplice, Rebecca Kozub, were apprehended by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office after a 911 call reported their early Monday morning escapades of breaking into cars and theft.Hogue, boasting a criminal record spanning over 15 years, now faces a litany of charges, including resisting an officer, burglary, possession of meth, and petty theft. This arrest adds to his staggering tally of 31 criminal felonies, encompassing armed burglaries, grand theft, identity theft, and drug possession.Kozub, implicated as Hogue’s partner in crime, carries her own history with 19 felonies, including charges of grand theft.The Polk County Sheriff’s Office emphas...

OutKast’s André ‘3000’ is releasing an instrumental flute album

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:03 GMT

(CNN) — André “3000” Benjamin is set to release his debut solo album, “New Blue Sun,” an entirely instrumental album centered around woodwinds.Co-produced by Benjamin and multi-instrumentalist Carlos Niño, the album will feature instrument playing from Nate Mercereau, Surya Botofasina, Deantoni Parks, Diego Gaeta, Matthewdavid, V.C.R, Diego Gaeta, Jesse Peterson, and Mia Doi Todd.According to a press release, the album is a “a celebratory piece of work in the form of a living, breathing, aural organism.”“Over the past decade, André 3000 has lived without anchors, gently floating in a breeze. Blink and you might miss him: There he is in Japan, flashing a bright smile and a peace sign, his other hand holding a custom wooden flute,” the release states. “There he is again, this time in an airport terminal, playing a few spare notes to pass the time. Wait, is that André in SoHo with a latte? Casually walking around like he’s not who he is?”It continues: “André is...

Israel slams Belgian parliament for not showing Hamas attack video

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:03 GMT

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Wednesday lambasted Belgium’s Chamber of Representatives for refusing to screen footage of Hamas’ violent attack on Israel, accusing the chamber’s president of “turning a blind eye” to the militant groups’s crimes.“In your decision not to screen in parliament the video depicting the atrocities, the President of the Parliament of Belgium [Eliane Tillieux] is turning a blind eye to the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Hamas,” Cohen wrote on X.Over the past month, a 45-minute video of Hamas’ October 7 attack, which killed 1,200 people, has been played to selected groups of journalists and politicians around the world, including in Brussels. The video, distributed by Israeli officials, reportedly includes gruesome unreleased body-cam footage taken from Hamas militants, clips from security cameras and social media posts shot on the day of the attack.On Tuesday, Israeli Ambassador to Belgium Idit Rosenz...

Dems on Beacon Hill Face Short Window For Spending Deal

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:03 GMT

The Massachusetts Senate on Tuesday night approved a plan that injects $250 million more into the state’s emergency shelter system, opening a window of just about 30 hours for House and Senate Democrats to hammer out differences before lawmakers depart on a holiday break.Senators voted 36-3 to approve a roughly $2.8 billion spending bill that, in addition to directing more funding to the emergency shelter crisis, would also close the state’s financial books for fiscal year 2023, schedule the next primary for Sept. 3, 2024, and remove barriers to construction of a professional soccer stadium in Everett.There’s consensus in both branches on most of the spending, including about $2.1 billion for MassHealth, hundreds of millions of dollars for collective bargaining agreements, and $75 million to support school districts saddled with a spike in special education costs.But House and Senate Democrats have different visions for how the state should respond to an unpre...

Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance gets props from Chiefs coach: It’s ‘a good thing’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:03 GMT

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has again endorsed Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s romance.The NFL coach endorsed the globally watched relationship again on Monday when he was asked about the media swarm enveloping Kelce and the team, specifically addressing whether he’s seen an uptick in requests for autographs and tickets due to Taylormania.“Nobody’s really mentioned much on that,” Reid said in a virtual interview with Kansas City-based reporter Tod Palmer.“It is what it is,” the coach added. “I’m just glad he’s found somebody he likes and she’s found somebody she likes. That’s a good thing.”Perhaps Reid caught that wholesome video of the “Cruel Summer” singer running straight into the tight end’s arms after her Saturday show in Buenos Aires? Yes, the same show in which Swift updated “Karma’s” lyrics to reference “the guy on the Chiefs coming straight hom...

Average home price in Canada rises to $656,625 as monthly sales slow: CREA

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:03 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold last month was up 0.9 per cent compared with October 2022 as the national average home price rose to $656,625 — up 1.8 per cent from a year ago.On a month-over-month basis, sales in October were down 5.6 per cent as the association says there were fewer sales in most of Canada’s largest markets.CREA chair Larry Cerqua says it appears many prospective homebuyers “have already gone into hibernation” while some sellers may be shelving their plans until next spring.While home price declines are still mainly occurring in Ontario, the association says some regions of B.C. are now also starting to see softening.New listings across Canada fell 2.3 per cent from September, marking the first decline since March.The national sales-to-new listings ratio fell to a 10-year low of 49.5 per cent, compared with the long-term average of 55.1 per cent for this measure.This report by The Canadian Press was first pub...

Yemen’s Houthis have launched strikes at Israel during the war in Gaza. What threat do they pose?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:03 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — For years, the Houthi rebels controlling northern Yemen have chanted slogans at their mass rallies calling for the destruction of Israel. But they never acted on it until the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7.Since then, the Iran-backed Shiite Muslim force has launched at least six drone and missile attacks toward southern Israel, causing little to no damage. Most have been intercepted by Israeli air defenses on their journey of over 1,600 kilometers (960 miles) from northern Yemen.The Houthis said the barrage is in retaliation for the Israeli army’s bombardment of Gaza and will continue until “Israeli aggression stops.” Here’s a look at the attacks and what threat they pose.THE REBELS WHO SEIZED SANAAIn 2014, the Houthis swept from their stronghold in Yemen’s northern mountains and seized the capital, Sanaa, along with other central areas of the country.The Islamist group follows the Shiite Zaydi faith, a branch of Shiite Islam almost exclusively found in northwes...

Union workers at General Motors appear to have voted down tentative contract deal with the company

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:03 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The tentative contract agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union appears to be headed for defeat.The union hasn’t posted final vote totals yet, but workers at five large factories who finished voting in the past few days have turned down the four year and eight month deal by fairly large margins.The vote tracker on the UAW’s website shows the deal winning by 686 votes. But those totals do not include votes from GM assembly plants in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Wentzville, Missouri; Lansing Delta Township and Lansing Grand River in Michigan, and a powertrain plant in Toledo, Ohio, which all voted against the deal, according to local union officials.In most cases the vote tallies ranged from 55% to around 60% against the contract. Workers were awaiting totals from a large assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, but many said they expect the contract to be voted down. A message was left seeking comment from the union’s spokesman. It wasn&#...