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For Panthers coach Paul Maurice, this Florida run is no everyday fish story

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:00 GMT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Paul Maurice never considered himself retired. He was good.Here’s what that means: When Maurice stepped down as coach of the Winnipeg Jets in December 2021, it wasn’t clear if he would take another job. Some teams called. He’d listen. He’d then hang up the phone still convinced that his time would be better spent continuing to fish for walleye on Lake of the Woods, where he has a little spot.And then the Florida Panthers called.“Pardon the pun,” Maurice said. “I was hooked.”This is no wild fisherman’s tale anymore. The Panthers are in the NHL’s final four for the first time in 27 years, set to take on the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final starting Thursday. They’re eight wins away from their first Stanley Cup. So is their coach, someone with the sixth-most regular season wins in NHL history but who has yet to hoist the grandest silver chalice in all of sports over his head.“I think he’s got a phenomenal feel for what we have in our ...

Illinois girl found safe in North Carolina nearly 6 years after being allegedly kidnapped by her mother

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:00 GMT

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WSVN) – A nine-year-old girl was found safe in North Carolina, nearly 6 years after she was allegedly kidnapped by her mother in Illinois. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children said Kayla Unbehaun was “abducted by her non-custodial mother, Heather Unbehaun from South Elgin, Illinois on July 5, 2017.” Heather Unbehaun (Courtesy NCMEC)On May 13, the Asheville Police Department responded to a business located at 26 Westgate Parkway in Asheville, North Carolina to a report of a kidnapping. Police said a witness believed she had recognized a woman who kidnapped a child in 2017. APD was able to confirm the identity of Heather and Kayla with the South Elgin Police Department. Kayla’s father, Ryan, said he was “overjoyed that Kayla is home safe,” and thanked those who helped share her story.“I want to thank the South Elgin Police Department, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and all of the l...

Man arrested after stealing K-9 police cruiser in Winter Haven

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:00 GMT

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (WSVN) — A man was arrested in Winter Haven, a city east of Lakeland after he stole a police cruiser with a K-9 inside.Police said the ordeal occurred on Saturday night after 20-year-old Menylek Jarrett threw a rock at the door of Amscot Financial. When officers showed up to investigate, Jarrett ran to one of the cruisers that still had the ignition on but was locked. He busted through the driver’s side window, jumped in, and took off.Then the situation turned chaotic when he took the cruiser and crashed into other cars.As he drove recklessly through a busy intersection and slammed into other cars along the way, Logan the police K-9 was stuck in the back.Officers eventually caught up with Jarrett when they tased him and then took him into custody. The cruiser was left with significant damage, while the K-9 was not hurt.As for the suspect, he was arrested and charged with business burglary, reckless driving and tampering with a police K-9.

Trapper says 12-foot alligator captured after attacking dog in Oviedo was not biggest he encountered

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:00 GMT

OVIEDO, Fla. (WSVN) — A dog was attacked by a 12-foot-long alligator in the Econ River Wilderness Area in Oviedo, a city northeast of Orlando, but trappers said it was not even the biggest they have encountered in the area.Alligator trapper Jerry Flynn said the econ, short for Econlockhatchee River, seemed to hold many massive gators as he tracked another large one before. His nephew, who works for him, was the one who took down the nuisance gator.“It seems like the Econ does hold a lot of alligators,” said Flynn. “A lot of them are in the neighborhoods and when the retention ponds get low or hot, then they tend to go back into the Econ. So, we stay kind of busy.”As the giant reptile lurked when a couple was walking their dog, the alligator targeted its prey and snatched the canine. Flynn said the gator could have easily taken down a human.“We knew that it was a dangerous alligator, a very large alligator,” said Flynn.In a situation like thi...

EU on Chinese spy balloons: Nothing to see (up) here

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:00 GMT

Ninety-nine spy balloons, but none over Europe.EU countries did not flag the presence of any Chinese spy balloons to the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch has told the European Parliament. “Air surveillance and in particular military air surveillance, does not fall under EU competence and is a matter of national competence of each individual member state,” Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean said in a written reply to Renew Europe MEP Engin Eroglu dated Tuesday. “The EU has not been informed by any member state of the detection of a Chinese surveillance balloon over its territory,” she added. In February, the U.S. shot down what it identified as a Chinese surveillance balloon, heightening tensions between Washington and Beijing. After the incident, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a visit to China. At the time, EU institutions acknowledged the U.S.’s right to defend its airspace, and Estonia was one of the few European...

Ukraine Supreme Court chief held in corruption probe

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:00 GMT

The head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court has been detained as part of a $2.7 million bribery inquiry, anti-corruption authorities said Tuesday.Supreme Court President Vsevolod Kniaziev and an unnamed lawyer were detained as part of the investigation, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said in a statement.The lawyer is suspected of acting as an intermediary on behalf of a billionaire Ukrainian iron oligarch, Kostyantyn Zhevago. Zhevago is accused of bribing officials, including Supreme Court justices, with “about $2.7 million” to influence a ruling in favor of one of his companies, the Finance and Credit group, the statement said.“This is the biggest-ever case” involving the Ukrainian judiciary, the head of NABU, Semen Kryvonos, said at a press conference in Kyiv, AFP reported.Several high-level Ukrainian officials have been linked to corruption cases over the last few months as Kyiv attempts to crack down on graft to comply with the EU&#...

Combating Hate: Local leaders, Patriots owner Robert Kraft join advocates in promoting campaign against antisemitism

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:00 GMT

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft were among a number of local leaders who gathered for the launch of a campaign against antisemitism this week.The figures were at TD Garden on Monday for the launch of the “Face Jewish Hate” campaign being led by the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston.The campaign aims to educate the Boston community on how to combat antisemitism while sharing stories of Jewish hate, according to the organization, including the story of Rabbi Shlomo Noginski, who survived being stabbed multiple times outside of a Jewish day school in Brighton in 2021.At the event, leaders discussed a recent rise in antisemitic events on a national level, including in Massachusetts where antisemitic incidents rose 41 percent from 2021 to 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League of New England, from 108 to 152 incidents.“Here in Massachusetts, in my family’s hometown of four generations, we’...

Orioles recall left-hander Cole Irvin, one of offseason’s biggest additions, as bullpen shuffling continues

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:00 GMT

The Orioles have had a roulette in the final spot of their bullpen of late. Tuesday, it landed on Cole Irvin.One of Baltimore’s major acquisitions in a modest offseason, the 29-year-old left-hander opened the year as the Orioles’ No. 3 starter. But after Irvin allowed 15 runs in 12 2/3 innings across three starts — uncharacteristically issuing eight walks in that time — he was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. There, he found his footing, especially of late, with four earned runs allowed in 20 innings over his three most recent starts.With the Orioles’ five-man rotation set and largely pitching well of late, Irvin figures to provide length out of Baltimore’s bullpen. He replaces right-hander Logan Gillaspie, whose latest major league stint lasted one day. He joins left-handers Keegan Akin, Drew Rom and Nick Vespi in being optioned out of the Orioles’ bullpen in the past week. Barring an injured-list stint for another player, those pitchers must ...

76ers fire head coach Doc Rivers after being eliminated by Celtics in second round: report

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:00 GMT

Doc Rivers is the one to fall on the sword.The Philadelphia 76ers have fired Rivers after three seasons as head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.The 61-year-old has led the Sixers into the second round in all of his seasons but has never advanced into the Eastern Conference Finals.Rivers owns a 154-82 (.659) record as head coach in Philadelphia. The longtime head coach joined the Sixers after seven seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers.The Chicago native was named one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history in 2021-22 and has won one NBA championship (2007-2008 Boston Celtics) in 24 seasons as a coach.The search for a head coach in Philadelphia already includes a big list of names. Mike Budenholzer, Sam Cassell, Mike D’Antoni, Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel and Monty Williams are all in the running to take over, according to ESPN.This is a developing story. Check back for details. ()

ChatGPT’s chief testifies before Congress as concerns grow about artificial intelligence risks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:00 GMT

By MATT O’BRIEN (AP Technology Writer)The head of the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT told Congress on Tuesday that government intervention “will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful” AI systems.“As this technology advances, we understand that people are anxious about how it could change the way we live. We are too,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified at a Senate hearing Tuesday. His San Francisco-based startup rocketed to public attention after it released ChatGPT late last year. ChatGPT is a free chatbot tool that answers questions with convincingly human-like responses.What started out as a panic among educators about ChatGPT’s use to cheat on homework assignments has expanded to broader concerns about the ability of the latest crop of “generative AI” tools to mislead people, spread falsehoods, violate copyright protections and upend some jobs. And while there’s no immediate sign that Cong...