UCLA women want to end a Cinderella story by beating Duke

SACRAMENTO – Cori Close hasn’t seen many shots – much less game-winners – like it. The ball circling the rim, one revolution and then another, before finally falling through the net after the buzzer. “Wow,” Close said Saturday, a day after Duke’s Ashlon Jackson made the shot of a lifetime to beat LSU in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. “What a great moment. She’ll never forget that.” When it comes to facing those Blue Devils on Sunday in the Elite Eight, Close is hoping for some familiarity from her top-seeded UCLA women’s basketball team. The Bruins smashed Duke…

What would happen to Earth if the sun suddenly vanished?

The sun has been Earth’s constant companion ever since our planet emerged. But if the sun were to suddenly disappear, what would happen to our home planet?To understand the fate of a sunless Earth, it’s important to know how both arose. The sun formed about 4.6 billion years ago, when…

Mets undergoing expected defense learning curve at first, third base

In the second game of the season, it became obvious that the Mets are starting a third baseman with virtually no experience at third base and a first baseman with virtually no experience at first base. Bo Bichette committed an error and Jorge Polanco flirted with two (but was charged…

Will Smith’s late home run lifts Dodgers to season-opening sweep

The Dodgers have shown one thing in their opening three games of the season. They have no problem erasing early deficits. For a third-straight night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers found themselves in a two-run hole at the start of the game. But for a third-straight night, they managed…

Mayor Mamdani’s budget mess is creating chaos in the NYC bond market

New York City’s bonds have suddenly become a hot topic on Wall Street — and you can thank socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani for this certifiably ­bizarre development. This past week, the Big Apple went to investors to sell billions of dollars in municipal debt. With Mamdani doing his best imitation…

Rookies giving Rangers new life as disappointing season winds down

It could have been September. The practice ice was filled with smiles, with the aggressive pursuit of pucks, with crisp passes, competition and celebration of untelevised goals. It could have been confused with a team riding a six-game winning streak, rather than one that just ended a six-game skid. It…

‘No Kings!’ Tens of thousands of protestors rally in Manhattan against Trump

Tens of thousands of people marched through Manhattan Saturday, protesting President Donald Trump and his policies, as part of the larger “No Kings” movement that included more than 3,000 other planned demonstrations nationwide. Demonstrators gathered at Columbus Circle and Central Park and marched down Seventh Avenue, banging drums and railing against…

Science news this week: China turns a desert into a carbon sink, a Viking Age grave holds a giant who had brain surgery, real-life inception, and a last-minute Valentine’s gift idea from nature

This week’s science news was filled with astonishing stories about ecological transformations. Topping the list was the finding that China has planted so many trees around the Taklamakan Desert that it has turned one of the world’s largest and driest places into a carbon sink that sucks up more carbon…

CORTIS steals show at NBA All-Star Celebrity Game

In a game that featured Tacko Fall dunks, mascots playing defense and NBA and MLB MVPs on the sidelines, it was a boy band that actually stole the show on Friday night at the Kia Forum. CORTIS consistently drew the biggest cheers at the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in…

Riley Weiss’ growth makes anything possible for Columbia

The buzzer at the end of the first half Friday night signaled relief for Riley Weiss.  It was a rough start for the Columbia guard. Friday’s game against No. 24 Princeton was one of the biggest games on the Lions’ schedule and Weiss came out flat.  She scored only three…

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