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South Carolina faces conference rival Mississippi State

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:59 GMT

Mississippi State Bulldogs (11-2) at South Carolina Gamecocks (12-1)Columbia, South Carolina; Saturday, 12 p.m. ESTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bulldogs -3; over/under is 135.5BOTTOM LINE: Meechie Johnson Jr. and the South Carolina Gamecocks host Cameron Matthews and the Mississippi State Bulldogs in SEC play.The Gamecocks have gone 8-0 at home. South Carolina scores 75.5 points while outscoring opponents by 12.4 points per game.The Bulldogs have gone 0-1 away from home. Mississippi State scores 76.2 points and has outscored opponents by 13.5 points per game.South Carolina makes 45.0% of its shots from the field this season, which is 6.3 percentage points higher than Mississippi State has allowed to its opponents (38.7%). Mississippi State has shot at a 44.9% clip from the field this season, 4.7 percentage points greater than the 40.2% shooting opponents of South Carolina have averaged.The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.TOP PERFOR...

Williams and UT Arlington host SFA

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:59 GMT

UT Arlington Mavericks (6-8, 1-2 WAC) at Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (9-5, 2-1 WAC)Huntsville, Texas; Saturday, 3 p.m. ESTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: ‘Jacks -7; over/under is 145.5BOTTOM LINE: UT Arlington visits the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks after Makaih Williams scored 24 points in UT Arlington’s 78-76 loss to the Tarleton State Texans.The ‘Jacks have gone 4-2 in home games. SFA is sixth in the WAC at limiting opponent scoring, allowing 68.8 points while holding opponents to 39.9% shooting.The Mavericks have gone 1-2 against WAC opponents. UT Arlington has a 1-2 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.SFA’s average of 6.6 made 3-pointers per game is 1.4 fewer made shots on average than the 8.0 per game UT Arlington allows. UT Arlington averages 72.5 points per game, 3.7 more than the 68.8 SFA allows.The ‘Jacks and Mavericks square off Saturday for the first time in WAC play this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Sadaidriene Hall is averaging 10.2 points...

Council and the Wagner Seahawks host conference foe Saint Francis (PA)

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:59 GMT

Saint Francis (PA) Red Flash (5-9, 0-1 NEC) at Wagner Seahawks (6-7, 0-1 NEC)Staten Island, New York; Saturday, 1 p.m. ESTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Seahawks -4; over/under is 127.5BOTTOM LINE: Melvin Council Jr. and the Wagner Seahawks host Eli Wilborn and the Saint Francis (PA) Red Flash.The Seahawks are 3-1 on their home court. Wagner is 2-1 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.The Red Flash have gone 0-1 against NEC opponents. Saint Francis (PA) has a 2-5 record in games decided by 10 points or more.Wagner averages 7.7 made 3-pointers per game, 1.1 more made shots than the 6.6 per game Saint Francis (PA) allows. Saint Francis (PA) averages 6.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.1 fewer makes per game than Wagner allows.The Seahawks and Red Flash face off Saturday for the first time in NEC play this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Council is scoring 14.3 points per game with 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Seahawks. Tahron Allen is averaging 7.9 points over the last 10 games for...

Saint Peter’s hosts Mount St. Mary’s following Washington’s 20-point game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:59 GMT

Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (6-8, 2-1 MAAC) at Saint Peter’s Peacocks (7-5, 3-0 MAAC)Jersey City, New Jersey; Sunday, 2 p.m. ESTBOTTOM LINE: Saint Peter’s takes on the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers after Corey Washington scored 20 points in Saint Peter’s 69-57 victory against the Iona Gaels.The Peacocks are 3-1 in home games. Saint Peter’s has a 2-2 record in games decided by 10 or more points.The Mountaineers are 2-1 in conference matchups. Mount St. Mary’s is 1-4 against opponents over .500.Saint Peter’s scores 63.8 points per game, 7.2 fewer points than the 71.0 Mount St. Mary’s gives up. Mount St. Mary’s averages 10.5 more points per game (73.9) than Saint Peter’s allows (63.4).The Peacocks and Mountaineers square off Sunday for the first time in conference play this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Washington is averaging 12.4 points and 5.7 rebounds for the Peacocks. Latrell Reid is averaging 11.2 points and 3.9 assists...

Alaska Airlines grounds 737-9 aircraft after midair window blowout on flight from Portland, Oregon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:59 GMT

Alaska Airlines grounded all of its Boeing 737-9 aircraft late Friday, hours after a window and piece of fuselage on one such plane blew out in midair and forced an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.The incident occurred shortly after takeoff and the gaping hole caused the cabin to depressurize. Flight data showed the plane climbed to 16,000 feet (4,876 meters) before returning to Portland International Airport. The airline said the plane landed safely with 174 passengers and six crew members.“Following tonight’s event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a statement.Each of the aircraft will be returned to service after full maintenance and safety inspections, which Minicucci said the airline anticipated completing within days.The airline provided no immediate information about whether anyone was injured or the possible cause.The plane was diverte...

Alaska Airlines is grounding all Boeing 737-9 aircraft after midair window blowout on flight from Portland, Oregon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:59 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Alaska Airlines is grounding all Boeing 737-9 aircraft after midair window blowout on flight from Portland, Oregon.Source

Azerbaijan taps former oil industry leader to head this year’s climate talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:59 GMT

Azerbaijan has selected its minister of ecology — a former state oil executive — to helm the United Nations climate talks later this year, in a move that stands to fuel debate about the oil and gas industry’s role in international negotiations aimed at reducing fossil fuel use.Mukhtar Babayev worked for the country’s state-owned oil company SOCAR for nearly 25 years before taking his current post as minister of ecology and natural resources in 2018.It marks the second year in a row that an official with ties to the fossil fuel industry will oversee global climate negotiations, following the controversial COP28 presidency of Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber during the climate talks that ended last month in the United Arab Emirates.Al-Jaber, who leads the UAE’s state-run oil company, faced backlash from climate advocates and lawmakers who feared that his connections to the industry created a conflict of interest.COP28 ended with a broad agreement to transition away from oil, gas and coal, the fi...

US Supreme Court to take up Trump’s eligibility to run for president

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:59 GMT

Plunging into a political minefield, the Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case challenging Donald Trump’s eligibility to run for president.The court agreed Friday to consider whether states have the power to disqualify Trump from the ballot due to his attempts to upend the 2020 election and his role in stoking the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.In a brief order on the eve of the three-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack, the high court indicated it will review a Colorado Supreme Court decision that found Trump ineligible to run under a provision of the 14th Amendment that strips insurrectionists of the ability to hold U.S. government posts.The justices announced an accelerated timetable to hear the extraordinary election dispute, setting oral arguments for Feb. 8.The high court battle is the most explosive election-related fight the justices have waded into since the court’s 5-4 decision effectively handing George W. Bush the White House dur...

Death toll in Islamic State-claimed suicide blasts rises to 91

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:59 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The death toll from a suicide bombing in Iran claimed by the Islamic State group has risen to at least 91, state TV reported Saturday.The TV quoted Babak Yektaparast, a spokesman for the country’s emergency services, as saying an 8-year boy and a 67-year-old man who were wounded in the attack have now died.Yektaparast added that there are 102 people still being treated in hospitals, of whom 11 are in critical condition. In Wednesday’s attack, one suicide bomber detonated his explosives, then another attacked 20 minutes later as emergency workers and other people tried to help the wounded. The attack took place in Kerman, about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran. It targeted a commemoration for Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, killed in 2020 by a U.S. drone strike as he led its expeditionary Quds Force.The intelligence ministry said Friday that one of the two suicide bombers was a Tajik national and 11 people linked to the attack have been arr...

Myanmar confirms a key northeastern city on border with China has been seized by an ethnic alliance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:59 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government has acknowledged that it withdrew its forces from a key city on the northeastern border with China after it was taken over by an alliance of ethnic armed groups it has been battling for months.The fall of Laukkaing late Thursday is the biggest in a series of defeats suffered by Myanmar’s military government since the ethnic alliance launched an offensive Oct. 27. It underlines the pressure the government is under as it battles pro-democracy guerrillas in the wake of a 2021 military takeover as well as ethnic minority armed groups across the country.Ethnic armed organizations have battled for greater autonomy for decades, but Myanmar has been wracked by what amounts to civil war since the army seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking nationwide armed resistance by pro-democracy forces.The Three Brotherhood Alliance that took Laukkaing is composed of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Arm...