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Spurs draft Wembanyama and now look for French phenom to help end NBA playoff drought

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:46:52 GMT

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs are looking to end their four-year playoff drought with the addition of Victor Wembanyama.The Spurs selected the French phenom with the top pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft that was held in New York. There was little to no doubt San Antonio would select Wembanyama, who is listed at 7-foot-4 but says he is 7-3.An emotional Wembanyama said hearing NBA Commissioner Adam Silver call his name brought him to tears, saying he has been waiting for the moment. “I’ve dreamed of this … I got to cry.” It marks the third time in San Antonio’s 51-year history that the Spurs have held the No. 1 pick. They are hoping Wembanyama fulfills predictions that he is a generational big man and follows in the championship footsteps of the franchise’s previous top picks of David Robinson in 1987 and Tim Duncan in 1997.In four professional seasons in France, the 19-year-old Wembanyama showcased his versatility as a skilled ball handler, 3-point shoo...

Hornets select Brandon Miller over Scoot Henderson with No. 2 pick in NBA draft

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:46:52 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets selected Alabama’s Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft, giving them an athletic 6-foot-9 wing with a smooth shooting stroke who can knock down shots from the perimeter. The Hornets chose Miller, the Southeastern Conference’s player of the year as a freshman, over NBA G League Ignite star Scoot Henderson despite some potential character questions.Miller is tied to a case that led to former Crimson Tide player Darius Miles and another man being indicted on capital murder charges. A police investigator testified in February that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun that night. Miller hasn’t been charged with wrongdoing, though the ongoing case brought intense scrutiny during the second half of the season for Miller and the Alabama program.The Hornets targeted just two players leading up to the draft, and general manager Mitch Kupchak said the team would take the best player available instead of selecting for need.Still, M...

Denver weather: Storm, flood watch before drier days

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:46:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver's weather saw another day of severe storms before dry, hot days return to the forecast.Weather tonight: Storm, flood watch Storms were strong once again on Thursday afternoon and evening, a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day. Some turned severe with large hail and strong winds. Tornado in Highlands Ranch damages buildings, downs trees The strongest storms were expected between 2-6 p.m.However, it will be best to keep cars in the garage through Tuesday evening. Denver is under a severe thunderstorm watch through 9 p.m. and a flood watch until midnight.A slight risk is in place (yellow) for the Front Range and plains for large hail and strong wind.The Front Range will dry out late Thursday night, with temperatures falling into the 50s. Weather tomorrow: Drying outFriday will be hot and dry with temperatures hitting the mid-80s. There will be a 10% chance for storms on the northern Front Range and northeast plains.Denver is expected to stay dry. Looking ahead: Hot and...

Missing Titanic tourist sub experienced ‘catastrophic’ implosion, US Coast Guard says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:46:52 GMT

A robot on the seafloor found a debris field near the Titanic shipwreck, the Coast Guard announced Thursday. The discovery is a possible lead in the search for a missing tourist submersible that disappeared during a dive to the site of the Titanic shipwreck.“A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic,” the U.S. Coast Guard Northeast District said in a tweet Thursday. “Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information.”The nature of the debris field is unclear. Rear Admiral James Mauger, who has led the search-and-rescue operation, will lead a media briefing at 3 p.m. EST in Boston.The Titan, a 21-foot tourist submersible, lost contact with its Canadian-owned parent ship, Polar Prince, on Sunday morning, sparking a wide-reaching search led by the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards that has garnered round-the-clock international attention. Commercial, research and private vessels and aircraft, as well as teams from the U.S., Canada and ...

Thousands of dead fish spill into Salem Harbor after equipment failure on fishing boat, officials say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:46:52 GMT

An equipment failure on a fishing boat recently left thousands of dead fish floating in Salem Harbor, officials said, creating a stinky situation for many in the area.SKY7-HD was over the scene on Thursday, where fish were still visible in the harbor. “I feel bad for the people that live here, this isn’t going to be fun for a little while,” said Jarod Martin, who came out to see the fish. Martin and his daughter, Devin, said they heard about the fish and wanted to check things out. “It’s pretty cool,” Devin said. “Like, this normally doesn’t happen.”According to Salem’s harbormaster, there is not a water quality issue. He also said he expects the wind to shift south in the coming days, carrying the fish out to sea. In the meantime, one woman who grew up in Salem said the smell and sight of the fish are less than bewitching. “I feel like it should be something that’s picked up just because it’s a strong odor and there are people living here,” said Brandy Cami...

2023 NBA Draft: Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller first players off board

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:46:52 GMT

With the first pick, the “Wemby Draft” went according to plan. We’ll see if Victor Wembanyama’s career follows suit. Wembanyama, the giant Frenchman, shook Adam Silver’s hand in a dark green suit and officially joined the San Antonio Spurs. The process was drawn out by the NBA to achieve maximum airtime for ESPN, with the Spurs requiring the full five minutes for the pick.Then the clock started on the real drama, with Michael Jordan making his final pick as Hornets owner at No. 2. Here were the top-4 picks from Thursday’s draft:1. SPURS: VICTOR WEMBANYAMAPrevious Team: Metropolitans 92 (France)Age: 19Height: 7-4Weight: 209 poundsThe Frenchman is considered a talent without rival because of his combination of height, athleticism and skill. His presence places the Spurs back on the national map after four years without a playoff appearance. It also probably extends the career of Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich. The talent and uniqueness is undenia...

Celtics’ Jayson Tatum reacts to Marcus Smart trade: ‘My brotha for life’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:46:52 GMT

The trade of Marcus Smart is going to sting his former Celtics teammates. Naturally, it hit Jayson Tatum hard.A day after the Celtics reportedly sent Smart – their franchise cornerstone and key player for the last nine seasons – to the Grizzlies in a three-team trade that landed them Kristaps Porzingis from the Wizards, Tatum took to Instagram to post some love for his point guard after six seasons together. The Celtics star posted an Instagram story on Thursday night that included Smart’s post from last season when they made the NBA Finals together.From Jayson Tatum’s Instagram story: pic.twitter.com/VOIsvaeXLR— Souichi Terada | 寺田惣一 (@SouichiTerada) June 22, 2023“My dawg forever grateful for you and how you pushed me and helped me along my journey. Never change keep being you, one of kind can never be replaced! My brotha for life We gone link back up one day and get us one no doubt about that! Until then, Much love Brodie!”

Mets option Tylor Megill to Triple-A Syracuse after ugly start against Astros

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:46:52 GMT

The Mets optioned pitcher Tylor Megill to Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday.The move comes a day after Megill surrendered five runs (four earned), four walks and four hits over 2.1 innings of work in a loss against the Houston Astros on Wednesday.“It’s more so the embarrassing part for me,” Megill said after the Mets lost, 10-8, on Wednesday. “Our offense has gone out there and they’re putting up great at-bats and getting the run support. It’s the frustrating part for me — I’m not helping the team out because I’m not doing my job”The right-hander is having a rocky 2023 campaign, going 6-4 with a 5.17 ERA over 15 starts. The team hoped Megill would get on track after allowing just one run and no walks over six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 16. But his subsequent performance in Wednesday’s loss to the Astros continued Megill’s trend of inconsistency that has plagued him the whole season.Tylor Megill ...

Colleagues demand justice for environmentalist slain near Mexico City

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:46:52 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Academics and colleagues demanded an investigation Thursday into the slaying of Mexican researcher and environmentalist Álvaro Arvizu, who was killed with an axe or hatchet earlier this month. Colleagues said the slaying appeared to be in retaliation for Arvizu’s work defending forests and water resources in the mountains that ring Mexico City. Official reports initially suggested he was killed during a robbery June 13 at an environmental educational center where he worked near the Iztaccihuatl volcano, which is not far from the more famous Popocatépetl volcano.Pedro Moctezuma, the founder of the environmental research and education center where Arvizu worked, disputed that idea. “We are certain that this was a planned, pre-meditated attack,” said Moctezuma, who is now a reseacher at the Autonomous Metropolitan University, a public institution that finances tne center.Two of Arvizu’s colleagues were badly beaten in the incident. A state official ...

AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio to make applications of the technology that aren’t dangerous

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:46:52 GMT

TORONTO — Artificial intelligence pioneer Yoshua Bengio says he will be reorienting his research to ensure he is working on applications of the technology that are not dangerous. The 2018 winner of the A.M. Turing Award and director of the Mila Quebec AI institute says his research will look at areas such as health care or the environment and aim to prevent bad things that can happen with AI.Bengio’s remarks came at the conclusion of a Munk debate hosted in Toronto.He and MIT physics professor Max Tegmark sparred with other technology experts about whether AI poses an existential threat.As part of his arguments, Bengio said humanity needs to take care of all of the potential downsides of AI and should move toward regulation, because anyone using the technology with malicious intentions could create catastrophe.Fellow AI pioneer Yann LeCun and Davis Professor of Complexity Melanie Mitchell rebutted that AI can be used for good and does not have the agency to make the kind of decision...