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Analysis: What makes a fair election? Recent redistricting the most politically balanced in years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

Democrats have for years bemoaned partisan redistricting plans that helped Republicans win far more congressional seats than expected. But that advantage has disappeared.In the first elections held with 2020 census data, Democrats battled back with their own gerrymandering that shaped districts to their advantage and essentially evened the outcome. Though Republicans won control of the House from Democrats, the closely divided chamber more accurately reflects the ratio of Republicans to Democrats among voters nationally than at any time in recent years, according to a new Associated Press analysis.“On the one hand, we have fairer, more representative outcomes. But it looks like we have more gerrymandering happening,” said Doug Spencer, a law professor at the University of Colorado Boulder who administers the All About Redistricting website. The AP’s analysis found that Republicans won just one more U.S. House seat in 2022 than would have been expected based on the average shar...

Florida center says ‘Grey Team’ technology, exercise help veterans overcome PTSD and other ailments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Before Fred Kalfon began exercising at the Grey Team veterans center a couple months ago, the 81-year-old rarely left his Florida home.Parkinson’s disease, an inner ear disorder and other neurological problems, all likely caused by the Vietnam vet’s exposure to the infamous defoliant Agent Orange, made it difficult for him to move. His post-traumatic stress disorder, centering on the execution of a woman who helped his platoon, was at its worst. Treatment through the federal Department of Veterans Affairs didn’t work, he said.“I felt stupid the way I walk around and stumble,” said Kalfon, who led a medical aid unit as a first lieutenant in 1964-65. “I was depressed.”But after months in a veteran-specialized gym and recovery program, the retired pharmaceutical researcher and sales manager is socializing and has thrown aside his walker for a cane. He’s among the latest of 700 veterans of all ages working with the Grey Team, a 7-year-old ...

Kiszla: Nuggets one win away from a championship dream come true

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

MIAMI —  For 56 years, from the first game the Rockets rolled out that red, white and blue ABA basketball to the time Nikola Jokic’s magic made us believe it was not longer an impossible dream, everybody who loves hoops in Colorado has been waiting for this day.The Nuggets are coming home to claim a championship.And you better believe there’s no stopping them now.Denver beat the Heat 108-95 to take a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals and move one victory away from the first championship in franchise history.“Let’s go Nuggets!” chanted feisty basketball fans from the Rocky Mountains, making their presence known in South Florida while staging a takeover of the Kaseya Center.And on this Friday night, the Nuggets did it without Jokic being their most dominant player.Although Jokic finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, he did not score in the final 18 minutes, 29 seconds of Game 4. sitting many of the most crucial minutes of the fourth quarter, when Miami ...

PHOTOS: Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat in NBA Finals Game 4

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

The Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 108-95 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Friday, June 9, 2023. Game 5 moves back to Denver on Monday night with the Nuggets one win away from their first NBA title.Related ArticlesDenver Nuggets | Kiszla: Nuggets one win away from a championship dream come true Denver Nuggets | Keeler: How did Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon beat the Heat in NBA Finals? By being coolest shooter of Game 4. Denver Nuggets | Nuggets-Heat Game 4 superlatives: Denver on verge of NBA championship thanks to non-Jokic minutes late Denver Nuggets | Gritty Nuggets stymie Heat in fourth quarter to take commanding 3-1 lead in NBA Finals Denver Nuggets | Nuggets 3-pointers: Bam Adebayo, that flop you pulled on Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic deserved a yellow card

Keeler: How did Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon beat the Heat in NBA Finals? By being coolest shooter of Game 4.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

MIAMI — Miami sent the Heat at Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. And Aaron Gordon responded by being the coolest cat on the floor.“That’s why we got him,” Murray said of Gordon, who stunned an amped-up Kaseya Center crowd by dropping a team-best 27 points and three 3-pointers on host Miami, powering the Nuggets to a 108-95 win and stranglehold on the NBA Finals.“He’s a dawg. He’s strong. He’s physical. He’s tough. He’s chill … he brings everybody together off the court. He’s a selfless player. He’s been solid this whole playoff (run). This whole season. This whole time he’s been here, he’s been great.”The Heat, recognizing Murray’s importance as the head of the snake, blitzed the Blue Arrow at almost every turn. But No. 27 kept his head on a swivel and looked to distribute. Murray finished with 12 assists and AG wound up with the most shots he’s taken for the Nuggets in a postseason game (15) since Game 1 of the Nuggets-Portland series two years ago.“I thought Aaron Gordon was hu...

30,000 gallons of raw sewage spills near Palos Verdes beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

Officials are monitoring a massive sewage spill near the Lunada Bay beach area in Palos Verdes Estates on Friday night.A public health warning was issued after approximately 30,000 gallons of raw sewage was released into the waters, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.Initially, closures were in effect for 3 ⁄ 4 miles both north and south of the Aqua Amarga Creek opening into Lunada Bay.Health officials removed all closure notices on Friday night after determining the spilled sewage was absorbed into a dry creek bed and did not reach the ocean.The massive leak was caused by a blocked main line at 6850 Faircove Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes, officials said.The blockage sent sewage discharging into Windport Canyon Creek which leads to Aqua Amarga Creek before ending at Lunada Bay. Closures from a sewage spill are in effect for 3 ⁄ 4 miles both north and south of the Aqua Amarga Creek opening into Lunada Bay on June 9, 2023. (L.A. County Fire Department, Life...

Woman runs off road in Ventura, car lands in Pacific Ocean

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

A woman was airlifted to a nearby hospital after she ran off a road in Ventura and into the Pacific Ocean on Friday. The woman was identified as an 18-year-old Ojai resident, according to the Ventura California Highway Patrol.Authorities with CHP, the fire department, and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to a solo car crash involving a Mercedes on SR-1 north of Yerba Buena Road at approximately 1:11 p.m.The woman driving the Mercedes was traveling northbound on SR-1 when she traveled off the west road edge of SR-1 into the Pacific Ocean. She was able to extract herself from the vehicle and was airlifted to Los Robles Medical Center for treatment of major injuries.It's unclear what initially caused the woman to crash.Police say that due to unsafe conditions and the rising tide, the woman's Mercedes was unable to be recovered. The vehicle will be recovered at a later date when conditions are safer.Anyone who witnessed this crash is encouraged to call the CHP Ventura Area office to ...

SF Giants lose to Cubs despite Joc Pederson big night against Stroman

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants’ returned home off a three-game sweep to face one of of the hottest pitchers in baseball in Marcus Stroman. But the Giants had one of his nemeses.Joc Pederson came into the game with a .455 average including four doubles in 11 at-bats against Stroman for his career. He added three hits to that tally on Friday, including a single that kept a rally to score their first run in the third inning. But Pederson’s mastery wasn’t enough as they fell to the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Friday night at Oracle Park.Pederson was key in the Giants’ threat to rally back from a two-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh. Brandon Crawford doubled on a drive down the right field line and advanced to third on an out, bringing Pederson up and prompting Cubs manager David Ross to pull Stroman.Pederson’s fourth hit of the game came off reliever Mark Leiter Jr. on a dribbler that came off his bat at 63.3 mph. He was initially called out by a hair, bu...

Gritty Nuggets beat Heat to take commanding 3-1 lead in NBA Finals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

MIAMI – As Stan Kroenke roamed the sidelines before Friday’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals, he issued a prophetic missive.“Opportunity knocks,” he said, his bold statement matched only by his blue jacket.The gritty and grimy Nuggets wrestled the Heat to the mat, seizing a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals with their resounding 108-95 win. All that was left was the pin, which could happen as soon as Monday when the series flips back to Denver for Game 5.There, the Nuggets will have a chance to clinch their first-ever NBA championship.“We’re not celebrating like we’ve done anything yet,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.Nikola Jokic picked up his fifth foul three minutes into the fourth quarter, which preempted the defining sequence of the night. As their MVP shouted and coached from the baseline, the rest of Denver’s resilient group clawed to keep the Heat at bay.Jamal Murray buried a dagger 3-pointer. Reserve Jeff Green knocked one down, too. Together, as a unit, they put the clamps on ...

A’s beat Brewers 5-2 for first 3-game winning streak of season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

By Steve MegargeeMILWAUKEE (AP) — Ramón Laureano hit a two-run triple, Jonah Bride also drove in a pair of runs and the Oakland Athletics beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 on Friday night for their first three-game winning streak of the season.The Athletics (15-50) entered the day having put together the worst 64-game start by any team since the 1982 Minnesota Twins also went 14-50, but they’ve won their last three games by a combined score of 25-9.“It’s huge,” said Ryan Noda, whose remarkable slide home highlighted the Athletics’ three-run rally in the first inning. “We’ve still got to keep doing the little things. We’ve still got to keep picking each other up. We did a great job today of situational hitting.”All three of those wins have come away from home. The A’s — planning to move to Las Vegas — had lost 15 straight road games before this streak.After winning 11-2 and 9-5 in the final two games of a series at Pittsburgh, the Athletics carried that momentum into Milwaukee and...