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A new film sheds light on the history of Black players in the NBA, but doesn’t tell the whole story | GUEST COMMENTARY

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:28 GMT

Most Americans are familiar with how Major League Baseball was integrated, the 76th anniversary of which was recently observed. Jackie Robinson broke the color line in 1947, and before then Black players had to play in the Negro Leagues.But what about pro basketball? Who was the first African American in the NBA, and when did he join?A recently released film, “Sweetwater,” sheds light on this previously little-known chapter in professional sports history. It’s an important story and a good film, recognizing former New York Knick Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton as the trailblazer he was for African American players in the NBA. But like many Hollywood tales, it doesn’t tell the whole story.On May 24, 1950, Clifton signed a contract with the Knicks. While the film and elsewhere have identified him as the first Black player to sign an NBA contract, many sources say that distinction actually belongs to Harold Hunter, who signed with the Washington Capitols a ...

Jimmy Butler ready for 48 minutes and confident about eliminating Knicks in Game 6: ‘We’ll win’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:28 GMT

Jimmy Butler seems confident the Heat will eliminate the Knicks on Friday — especially if he never leaves the court.“If [coach Erik Spoelstra] tells me to play 48 minutes, I’ll be suited and booted and ready to do that,” Butler said. “And we’ll win.”The delivery made “we’ll win” feel more like a throwaway than a guarantee from Miami’s best player, but it certainly continued Butler’s theme of assuredness in his postgame presser. For the first time in these playoffs, he was decidedly outplayed by an opponent, Jalen Brunson, who actually played all 48 minutes in Wednesday’s Game 5 and kept New York’s heart beating for at least a couple more days.Now some of the pressure shifts back to the Heat, which needs to win at home on Friday night to avoid a Game 7 on the road.“I don’t ever think losing is encouraging,” Butler said. “I hope that the only way is up from here. So we will be b...

Suspect arrested in potential hate crime on elderly Asian man

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:28 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A suspect has been arrested in connection with a potential 2021 hate crime against an 81-year-old Asian man, authorities said Thursday.The attack occurred on Dec. 17, 2021 when the victim, identified as Mark Sanouvong, was on a morning walk around the Lincoln Park neighborhood shortly after 9 a.m., according to the San Diego Police Department. Woman shot during e-bike robbery in North County Authorities say Sanouvong was walking southbound past Porter North Elementary School on South 47th Street and Franklin Avenue when he was severely attacked. SDPD explained that the assault spilled into the middle of South 47th Street and Ocean View Boulevard, bringing traffic in the area to a halt.After an extensive investigation, 35-year-old Jesus Baucer has been identified as the suspect in this potential hate crime attack, SDPD said. Authorities say Baucer was already in custody on unrelated charges and currently remains in custody.Anyone with information on this case is asked...

US ambassador accuses South Africa of providing arms to Russia; president cites investigation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:28 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The U. S. ambassador to South Africa accused the country Thursday of providing weapons to Russia via a cargo ship that docked secretly at a naval base near the city of Cape Town for three days in December. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said an investigation was underway.Ambassador Reuben Brigety said the U.S. was certain that weapons were loaded onto the vessel at the Simon’s Town naval base and then transported to Russia, according to reports of his comments carried by multiple South African news outlets.Ramaphosa was in Cape Town answering questions in Parliament when news of Brigety’s comments broke. When a lawmaker asked about the weapons, the president replied that “the matter is being looked into, and in time we will be able to speak about it.”Ramaphosa declined to comment further, citing the need for an investigation to play out.The leader of the political opposition, John Steenhuisen, asked the president if South Africa wa...

Mpox no longer a global emergency, WHO says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:28 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization said Thursday that the global outbreak of mpox, which initially baffled experts when the smallpox-related disease spread to more than 100 countries last year, is no longer an international emergency, after a dramatic drop in cases in recent months. Last July, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared mpox, also known as monkeypox, to be an “extraordinary” situation that qualified as a global crisis. In doing so, he overruled WHO’s expert committee, which didn’t recommend the emergency designation. Tedros said the novel way mpox was infecting people, via sexual contact in many countries that had never before identified cases, raised numerous concerns that warranted more attention; nearly all cases were in men who were gay, bisexual or had sex with other men. It was the biggest-ever outbreak of mpox.He said at a media briefing on Thursday that his expert committee had concluded that the recent dramatic decline in cases, ...

Tesla shouldn’t call driving system Autopilot because humans are still in control, Buttigieg says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tesla shouldn’t be calling its partially automated driving system Autopilot because the cars can’t drive themselves, the top U.S. transportation official says. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he’s concerned about Tesla’s marketing of the system, which is under investigation by his department in connection with crashes that have caused at least 14 deaths.“I don’t think that something should be called, for example, an Autopilot, when the fine print says you need to have your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road at all times,” Buttigieg said in an interview with The Associated Press.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an agency within Buttigieg’s department, has sent investigative teams to more than 30 crashes since 2016 in which Teslas suspected of operating on Autopilot or its more sophisticated automated Full Self-Driving system have struck pedestrians, motorcyclists, semi trailers and parked emergency vehicles.The probes...

‘Chaotic’ down south, concern up north as U.S. ends COVID border, immigration rules

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:28 GMT

WASHINGTON — It’s a tale of two borders today as the U.S. braces for the end of its COVID-19 restrictions: chaos in the Rio Grande Valley and concern along the 49th parallel. President Joe Biden says it will be “chaotic for a while” at the U.S.-Mexico border once the public health measure known as Title 42 ends at midnight. Up north, lawmakers and border communities say they worry that cross-border tourism may never fully recover from the pandemic without more federal help. The U.S. is lifting its vaccination requirement for foreign travellers at the same time as Title 42, a Trump-era rule that allowed the immediate expulsion of asylum seekers. More than 150,000 would-be migrants are amassing along Mexico’s northern border, and the U.S. is sending thousands more border officials and troops to deal with the influx. No such surge is expected at the Canada-U.S. border, however, which worries tourism operators and elected officials in communities that depend on r...

S&P/TSX composite posts triple-digit decline, U.S. stock markets also lower

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:28 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index posted a triple-digit decline as losses in the base metals sector helped lead stocks lower, while U.S. stock markets were also lower in late-morning trading.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 126.34 points at 20,372.97.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 271.31 points at 33,260.02. The S&P 500 index was down 15.77 points at 4,121.87, while the Nasdaq composite was down 4.55 points at 12,301.89.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.17 cents US compared with 74.77 cents US on Wednesday.The June crude contract was down 91 cents at US$71.65 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.24 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was down US$12.70 at US$2,024.40 an ounce and the July copper contract was down 13 cents at US$3.71 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Fun in the sun: Balmy temperatures in Toronto ahead of Mother’s Day cool down

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:28 GMT

Mother Nature is gifting mothers with plenty of sunshine in Toronto and the GTA this weekend; just don’t expect the same balmy temperatures by Sunday.After a rough and cool stretch to open the month, the city and GTA have seen much better conditions in the second week of May, with Friday looking particularly delightful on the weather front.The daytime high is expected to reach 26 C — a lot higher than Toronto’s average temperature of 17 C in May. To make it even better, it will feel more like 28 C tomorrow at its peak.Elsewhere in the GTA, the daytime high across two regions in Halton-Peel on Friday could surpass what Toronto will see, as it could feel more like 30 C in Mississauga and 31 C in Brampton.RELATED: Rainy and cold — Toronto, GTA long-term forecast looks bleak as May arrivesToronto will open the weekend on a slightly cooler but equally pleasant note, with tons of sunshine and a high of 22 C on tap, closer to what is expected this time of the year.T...

Israel kills 2 militant commanders in Gaza as Egypt presses on with efforts to mediate truce

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:28 GMT

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip killed two militant commanders on Thursday, the army said, as the Palestinian death toll from the latest burst of fighting rose to 28. Rocket fire toward southern Israel continued even as Egypt pressed on with attempts to broker a cease-fire.It has been the worst bout of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza in months, and among the dead were also women and children. The conflagration, now in its third day, comes at a time of soaring tensions and spiking violence over the past year in the occupied West Bank. Early on Thursday, the Israeli military carried out strikes against the Islamic Jihad militant group and said a senior commander in charge of the group’s rocket launching force, Ali Ghali, was killed when his apartment was hit. Later in the day, Israel said it killed another Islamic Jihad commander who was meant to replace Ghali in southern Gaza. Islamic Jihad confirmed the man, Ahmed Abu Daqqa...