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Panthers find positives in 5-game Stanley Cup loss to Vegas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:54 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Aaron Ekblad controlled his emotions the best he could after the Florida Panthers were eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights in a 9-3 loss Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.As the Knights celebrated their first championship, Ekblad and the Panthers remained somber after a remarkable and improbable run through the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed.“It’s a tough feeling right now and you can’t sum it up in one game,” Ekblad said, fighting back tears. “Thought we came out, played hard tonight, so you can look back on that as a positive. The things you go through to get to this point, you couldn’t imagine.”Like overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the opening round against the NHL’s Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins, and opening the next three rounds with two road games, in Toronto, Carolina and Las Vegas.“What a team, right?” Ekblad said. “It’s not easy to do that. Some of the best teams in regular season history, so there’s a lot of positiv...

Rick Pitino, in NY state of mind at St John’s, throws out first pitch before Subway Series

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Leading off at the Subway Series, new St. John’s coach Rick Pitino.Just before the New York Yankees faced the Mets on Tuesday night at Citi Field, the Hall of Fame basketball coach threw out a ceremonial first pitch to Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell — who played for Pitino at Louisville.Mitchell’s father, also named Donovan, works for the Mets as Senior Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.“I’m friends with Donovan Mitchell Sr. as well, and when I found out that young Donovan was catching me, I thought it was awesome. Because I love him, I love everything about their family. I just hope I don’t throw it too hard for him and hurt him,” the 70-year-old Pitino said with a laugh as he spoke near the Mets’ dugout while the Yankees finished batting practice.To get ready for his big moment on the mound, Pitino practiced a bit earlier in the day.“I threw it for the first time today in 35 years,” he said. “It hurt.”Wearing a No. 7...

Giants’ Winn earns first save in first trip to a major league ballpark in victory over Cards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:54 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Keaton Winn’s first trip to a major league ballpark also became the site of his first big league save.Winn worked four solid innings of relief Tuesday night to help the San Francisco Giants to an 11-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.Mike Yastrzemski and Patrick Bailey homered and Michael Conforto added four hits and three RBIs to pace a balanced attack.The Giants have won five straight road games and six of their last eight games overall. San Francisco won the first two games of the three-game set and claimed just their third series in St. Louis in 10 tries since 2013.Winn allowed one run on one hit in a 55-pitch effort and was doused with a combination of hot sauce and toothpaste by his teammates after the contest.“It was crazy, it was awesome, I don’t even know how to describe it,” Winn said. “So awesome.”The 25-year-old right-hander from tiny Ollie, Iowa, which has a population of about 200, had approximately 30 relatives, friends and fans in attendance.“I...

Jack Eichel wins Stanley Cup with Vegas less than 2 years since neck surgery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:54 GMT

Jack Eichel is a Stanley Cup champion with the Vegas Golden Knights less than two years removed from neck surgery that no NHL player had previously come back from. It’s a triumphant moment for a player whose career was derailed by the injury and became a trailblazer for the operation he credits for fixing it.The 26-year-old Eichel was the team’s best all-around player during the playoffs, the first-line center Vegas executives knew they needed to win the franchise’s first championship. He finished with a postseason-best 26 points in 22 games and drove a lot of the play offensively and defensively.“One of the things that our scouts really felt strongly about when we acquired Jack that was almost a little bit underappreciated was his competitiveness,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said before the final. “And we’ve really seen that. His physical strength and his competitiveness have really been on display in the playoffs.”Eichel has arguably been underappreciated since being dr...

Haniger breaks forearm when hit by pitch in Giants’ 11-3 win over Cardinals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:54 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — San Francisco outfielder Mitch Haniger broke his right forearm when hit by a pitch from the St. Louis Cardinals’ Jack Flaherty in the third inning of the Giants’ 11-3 win on Tuesday night.“Any time you get hit, the hand’s warm and it doesn’t feel great,” Haniger said. “Injuries are part of the game, at same time you’ve got to focus on what’s next.”Haniger battled back from an oblique injury in spring training and was rounding into form. The 32-year-old left fielder, who is hitting .230 with four homers and 22 RBIs, drove in two runs to help the Giants beat the Cardinals 4-2 on Monday night.“He worked so hard to get back and he was just starting to get on a roll,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “He was starting to swing the bat good and feel good. This is a pretty good gut punch for Mitch and our club.”San Francisco infielder J.D. Davis sprained his right ankle in the third inning during a hard slide into third base.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb...

POLITICO Pro Morning Energy and Climate UK: Business warning — Net zero power list — Not so smart

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:54 GMT

Presented by SSE By ABBY WALLACE and CHARLIE COOPER PRESENTED BY View in your browser or listen to audioSNEAK PEEK— A major report drops from the CCC’s Advisory Group on Business. MECUK speaks to the group’s chair.— Who’s shaping U.K. net zero policy? Read our power list. — The government has targets for rolling out smart meters, but a new report from the National Audit Office finds progress has been slow. Good morning and welcome to POLITICO Pro Morning Energy and Climate UK, our second edition. We’re ready to keep the ball rolling. As always, please send tips, musings, encouragement and criticism to [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]. Or reach us on Twitter: @hargraver; @charliecooper8; @abby_wallace3.If you are not already a Pro subscriber and would like a free trial of this newsletter, sign up here.DRIVING THE DAYBRITISH BUSINESS NET ZERO ‘MANIFESTO:’ Taking action on ...

Russian cruise missile strike on southern Ukrainian city of Odesa kills 3, injures 13

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:54 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight, killing at least three people and injuring more than a dozen others in a strike that damaged homes, a warehouse, shops and cafes downtown, the regional state administration said Wednesday. The attack launched from the Black Sea involved four Kalibr cruise missiles, three of which were intercepted by air defenses, the regional administration said on Facebook.Three employees of a food warehouse were killed and seven others injured, and searchers were looking for possible survivors under the rubble, it said. Another six people — guards and residents of a neighboring house — were injured. Andriy Kovalov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s General Staff, said Russian forces have increased missile and aerial strikes on Ukraine. It comes as Kyiv moves forward with the early stages of a counteroffensive against Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine more than 15 months ago.In a briefi...

How Europe is leading the world in the push to regulate AI

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:54 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Authorities worldwide are racing to rein in artificial intelligence, including in the European Union, where groundbreaking legislation is set to pass a key hurdle Wednesday. European Parliament lawmakers are due to vote on the proposal — including controversial amendments on facial recognition — as it heads toward passage.A yearslong effort by Brussels to draw up guardrails for AI has taken on more urgency as rapid advances in chatbots like ChatGPT show the benefits the emerging technology can bring — and the new perils it poses.Here’s a look at the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act: HOW DO THE RULES WORK? The measure, first proposed in 2021, will govern any product or service that uses an artificial intelligence system. The act will classify AI systems according to four levels of risk, from minimal to unacceptable. Riskier applications, such as for hiring or tech targeted to children, will face tougher requirements, including being more transparent and usin...

Greece: More than 80 migrants rescued from capsized fishing vessel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:54 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A large search and rescue operation has been launched off the southern coast of Greece after a fishing boat carrying migrants capsized, authorities said. More than 80 people have been rescued following the nighttime incident that occurred early Wednesday some 75 kilometers (46 miles) southwest of Greece’s southern Peloponnese region.Six coast guard vessels, a navy frigate, a military transport and an air force helicopter were taking part in the search for others believed to be missing. The Italy-bound boat is believed to have sailed from the Tobruk area in eastern Libya. Smugglers are increasingly taking larger boats into international waters off the Greek mainland to try to avoid local coast guard patrols. On Sunday, 90 migrants on a U.S.-flagged yacht were rescued in the area after they made a distress call. ___Follow AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migrationThe Associated Press

China’s foreign minister airs concerns in phone call with Blinken ahead of planned visit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:54 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang shared concerns on a phone call Wednesday ahead of a planned visit by the U.S. official to China meant to shore up relations.“Spoke tonight with PRC State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang by phone,” Blinken’s official Twitter account read. “Discussed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication as well as bilateral and global issues.”The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on one of its social media pages that Qin urged the United States to respect “China’s core concerns” such as the issue of Taiwan’s self-rule, “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop harming China’s sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition.”Qin noted China-U.S. ties “have encountered new difficulties and challenges” since the beginning of the year, and the two sides’ responsibility is to work together to properly manage diff...