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San Antonio Spurs win top pick, chance at French star in highly-anticipated NBA Draft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:18 GMT

(KTLA) - The San Antonio Spurs have won the No. 1 pick in the NBA's Draft Lottery, clearing the way for them to select French phenom Victor Wembanyama in June's draft.The Spurs were tied for the best odds to win the top prize in Tuesday's Draft Lottery, beating out the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons, each having a 14% chance to win the top pick. Odds were not in the favor of Detroit, who had the worst record in the league but fell out of the top four picks.The NBA "flattened" lottery odds in 2017 in an effort to deter teams from intentionally losing games to better their draft odds, a practice known among NBA circles as "tanking."Despite reduced odds for the league's worst teams, there was no shortage of NBA franchises willing to spend a season in the muck for any chance to be the team to ultimately draft Wembanyama. 11 teams have never won the NBA Finals: Could that change this year? The 7-foot-5 French center is widely regarded as the most dominant and high-upside NBA prosp...

Willie Nelson's 90th birthday concerts getting a theatrical release

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:18 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- If you missed out on Willie Nelson's 90th birthday concerts last month in Los Angeles, you can see all the special performances honoring the 12-time Grammy winner in a limited theatrical run.“Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90” will be shown in theaters on June 11, with an encore presentation on June 13 and 14. Recorded at the Hollywood Bowl over two nights in April, the concert film will include performances by Nelson, Keith Richards, Neil Young, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Snoop Dogg and many more.Nelson, who was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, is having a banner year as a nonagenarian. He was honored with an educational endowment at the University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs and will have a new book about his songwriting called “Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind My Songs,” coming out on Oct. 31 through William Morrow.The Texas actor, activist and songwriter penned hits like “Crazy,” “Funny How Times Slips Awa...

That’s a really big snowbird: Vintage train makes annual migration north from St. Paul to Osceola

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:18 GMT

For train buffs like Brian and Sandra Rockholt, the annual train migration of the Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway from St. Paul to Osceola, Wis., is as exciting as Christmas or a birthday celebration.“It’s like the first day of school,” Sandra Rockholt said Tuesday as she waited for the restored vintage train to pass under the pedestrian bridge just north of Hamline Avenue and Pierce Butler Route in St. Paul. “I’m a retired teacher, and there’s that same feeling of excitement.”Rockholt and her husband, Brian, a volunteer brakeman for the railway, joined a group of about a dozen people Tuesday morning at the Jackson Street Roundhouse, the headquarters of the Minnesota Transportation Museum, to send off the freshly restored and newly painted train.“There it goes!” said Brian Rockholt as it departed the roundhouse at 10:43 a.m.The Rockholts ran to their blue Subaru Outback to “chase” the train as it made its way along BNSF track to the Northtown Yard in Minneapolis. Yes, the tra...

A recipe for Escarole and White Bean Soup, from Lidia Bastianich and her new PBS special

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:18 GMT

Lidia Bastianich offers this classic Escarole and White Bean Soup recipe from her new special on PBS. She says it was one of the first dishes on the menu when she and her husband opened their first restaurant, and it is still a family favorite at home. The vegetables are typically served in a loose broth under stuffed calamari, but they are great on their own or with simply grilled calamari or octopus, and delicious with sauteed or grilled shrimp. It is a recipe featured in “PBS’ Lidia Celebrates America: Flavors that Define Us.”ESCAROLE AND WHITE BEAN SOUPServes: 6Ingredients1 1/2 cups dried cannellini or other white beans, soaked overnight and drained 2 fresh bay leaves 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling kosher salt 2 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled 2 whole dried pepperoncini 8 cups packed coarsely shredded escarole leaves, preferably the tough outer leaves, washed and drained 1 cup prepared tomato sauce 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chivesDirectionsTransfer t...

Lidia Bastianich honors immigrants and their food in PBS special ‘Lidia Celebrates America’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:18 GMT

NEW YORK — In her new PBS special, Lidia Bastianich samples the foods of the world without ever crossing the U.S. border.The Emmy-award winning TV host, author and restaurateur explores the immigrant experience through food in “Lidia Celebrates America: Flavors That Define Us.” It airs May 30 on PBS and will also stream starting that day on PBS.org and the PBS app.Bastianich visits a Bhutan refugee who has built a new life in Ohio, Cuban immigrants feeding people in Kentucky, and Indian Americans creating businesses in California. In Texas, she meets Afghan refugees helping new arrivals, and a second-generation Vietnamese American who has multiple restaurants.“There were a lot of interesting connections between the food and them and the new culture and me,” Bastianich says. “Food somehow opens the doors for me all the time.”Bastianich herself was a Cold War refugee who turned a knack for homestyle Italian cooking into an empire of restaurants, products and media.“I came here when I ...

Anti-bullying advocate honored as Woman of Distinction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:18 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A 19-year-old from Niskayuna was honored on Tuesday for overcoming a traumatic brain injury as a result of school bullying. Isabella Sementilli was in the fourth grade when someone took the chair she was going to sit in, and she fell and hit the back of her head. She was out of school for several years and was not allowed to play tennis or enjoy rollerblading. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Now, Sementilli is an advocate for anti-bullying and brain injury awareness. She also authored the book "The Short Story of One Tough Cookie: A True Story" and created a cookie named Iznettes®️, which she sells and donates the proceeds."She turned her personal tragedy into something very positive for others," Sen. Tedisco said. Sen. Tedisco honored her with a Woman of Distinction Award at the Legislative Office Building in Albany. The award was part of a ceremony where each lawmaker selects one woman to be honor...

Ivory seized from illegal trade on display at NYS Museum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:18 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Illegal ivory, seized as part of a statewide crackdown, is now on display at the New York State Museum. The ivory was taken as part of a three-year operation launched by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to crackdown on the buyers and sellers in the illicit market.According to the DEC, New York is the largest port of entry for illegal wildlife goods. Officials said displaying the ivory will help raise awareness of the ongoing harm of the ivory trade. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "We hope that this exhibit will inspire people to act and join us all to fight to protect endangered species and stop the illegal sale and trade of ivory in our state," NYS Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said. The ivory on display is only a small amount of what was seized. The majority of it was destroyed in 2017 to remove it permanently from circulation.

Keeler: Lakers fans at Ball Arena admit it: Nikola Jokic scares them to death. “The Nuggets could beat us.”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:18 GMT

If you ripped the names and logos off the front of the jerseys and just looked at blind resumes, the Nuggets take this bad boy in five games.“I get the chills with that, man,” Rudy Perez told me as he took a reflective sip off his can of Modelo an hour before Game 1 between Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers. “Because this could happen. The (Nuggets) could beat us.”Perez wore a nervous look and a gold Lakers replica jersey with Magic Johnson’s iconic ‘32’ on the back. Rudy’s lived in Denver the last three decades, but he was born in California. And he’s never been able to let one of his first loves, the Lakers, completely go, truth be told.“People have (said to me), ‘Yeah, we’re gonna win,’” Perez said. He lofted his beer. “Get 17 of (these) in them, then they’ll talk.”Get 17 in them during a two-hour window, they’ll be in the hospital.So much history. So much … well, hate.The Lakers faithful in Colorado? Hey, they get it. National brand. Generational dominance. Eternal dream-killers...

$10,000 reward offered for information on man murdered at a San Dimas park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:18 GMT

A $10,000 reward is offered for information on the murder of a man shot to death at a San Dimas park.On Dec. 23, 2018, the victim, Michael Moreno, 35, was found with gunshot wounds on the 200 block of South Acacia Street, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.Michael was speaking with a friend at the park when the gunman approached and opened fire around 6:30 p.m. The 23-year-old friend was wounded, while Moreno died at the scene.Loved ones remembered Michael as a “giant teddy bear” by those who knew him at a vigil held a few days after the deadly shooting.The victim “wasn’t a violent person,” said Michael's father, Miguel Moreno.“Nobody would say a bad word about him,” said his uncle, Armando Moreno. “That’s the type of person he was.”Detectives are still investigating whether the incident was gang-related, but they do not believe Michael was the intended target. Michael was not a gang member and had no gang affiliations, said LASD.“I stand with Moreno’s family m...

Investigation underway after employee shot dead in Compton convenience store

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:18 GMT

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating after a man was found shot dead in Compton Tuesday morning.Deputies located the man inside a business around 10:55 a.m. on the 200 block of W. Rosecrans Avenue.He was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, the Sheriff's Department said. His identity has not yet been released.Video from Sky5 showed deputies blocking off the entrance to a convenience store, possibly a dollar store, in a shopping center.The Sheriff's Department released an update Tuesday evening, in which it identified the victim as a temporary employee of the business. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots before seeing multiple suspects fleeing the scene on foot, the Sheriff's Department said.Additional details are being withheld and it's unclear at this time if investigators have a suspect description. Officials said there is currently no known motive.The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is urged to c...