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Ticker: UMass board votes to raise tuition; Jobless claims rise  

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

The University of Massachusetts has agreed to increase tuition, room and board next academic year, as leaders on Beacon Hill disagree over creating a “tuition lock” system and how much to invest in public higher education.The UMass Board of Trustees voted during their quarterly meeting on Wednesday to increase tuition for in-state undergraduates by 2.5%, and increase room and board on the Amherst campus by 4.5% and on the Dartmouth and Lowell campuses by 2.7%.Tuition for graduate students is also going up — 2.5% for in-state graduate students at the Amherst, Boston and Lowell campuses, 3.5%  for medical students at the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and 2% at UMass Law.As government aid has struggled to keep pace with demand and tuition increases, university-generated financial aid has grown to represent 69% of free aid available for students — $395 million in fisca...

How the Magic are affected by the results of the play-in tournament

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

Even though they aren’t taking part in postseason play, the Orlando Magic and their draft-day plans will be impacted by how the play-in tournament ends.The Chicago Bulls, who may owe the Magic a first-round pick in June’s draft, will match up against the Heat in Miami while the Minnesota Timberwolves host the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday to close out the tournament.The winners of each game will become the No. 8 seed for their respective conference’s playoff bracket.The Bulls owe the Magic a first-round pick as part of the March 2021 trade that sent Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu to Chicago for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., a 2021 first-round pick (which became Franz Wagner, the No. 8 pick) and a 2023 first-round pick that’s protected for selections Nos. 1-4 in 2023 and 1-3 in 2024.If the pick hasn’t been conveyed to the Magic by 2024, then the Bulls will instead send their 2026 second-round pick and 2027 second-r...

Wicked Gravity: TV Star Cat Runner on climbing, male privilege and being trans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

When Cat Runner climbed to the top of El Diablo — an overhanging limestone wall above the sea — in Mallorca, Spain, he won the eight-episode HBO rock climbing reality show, “The Climb.”Chris Weidner Wicked GravityOn the show, which aired its finale in January, 10 amateur climbers vied for a $100,000 prize plus a one-year PrAna sponsorship. Contestants faced different climbing challenges, including deep-water soloing: climbing without a rope on sea-side cliffs like El Diablo.But Runner’s success, while lucrative, can best be measured by achieving his goal of representing the trans community in a highly visible way.As a teenager, Runner came out as a transgender man. He began taking testosterone but wasn’t allowed to play on the boys’ team in high school sports. In 2015 he underwent top surgery, or, chest masculinization — a procedure to remove breast tissue and contour the chest.Cat on set for The Climb last year in Spain. Photo: courtesy HBO Max“That was the most pivotal moment of m...

Mortgage rates drop for 5th straight week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate inched down for the fifth straight week, positive news for potential home buyers and a real estate market that’s been chilled by the Federal Reserve’s series of interest rate hikes the past year.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate ticked down to 6.27% from 6.28% the previous week. The average rate last year at this time was 5%.The average long-term mortgage rate hit 7.08% in the fall — a two-decade high.The recent decline in mortgage rates is good news for prospective homebuyers, many of whom were pushed to the sidelines during the past year as the Federal Reserve raised its main lending rate nine straight times in a bid to beat back stubborn, four-decade high inflation.Though supply remains low, home prices are retreating slightly, another development that could lure buyers back into the market. The national median home price slipped 0.2% from February last year to $363,000,...

Celtics’ Marcus Smart relishing playoff matchup against Hawks’ Trae Young

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

The last time Marcus Smart saw Trae Young, tempers flared.Late in the Celtics’ victory over the Hawks on March 11 in Atlanta, Smart got angry at Young. The Hawks guard was making a drive past Smart and put up a shot when he inadvertently kicked the Celtics guard in the groin. Smart confronted Young and a skirmish ensued that resulted in the two falling to the ground.Smart was ejected, ruled that he grabbed Young and slammed him to the ground. The Hawks guard wasn’t disciplined.Fast forward one month, and the two will face off in a playoff series as the Celtics meet the Hawks in the first round. There doesn’t seem to be any animosity between the two guards, but they represent the most intriguing matchup of the series as Smart, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, battles one of the most offensive gifted players in the league in Young.“I’m looking forward to it,” Smart said after Thursday’s practice. “Any player that I go up against, especially one of the greatest players in thi...

How to turn negative dating profile statements into positive outlooks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

Erika Ettin | Tribune News ServiceAs a dating coach, I’ve read a lot of online dating profiles … which also means I’ve read a lot of bad dating profiles. From bad grammar to lack of photos and rants about politics, many things can turn me (and my clients) off to a person’s bio, but perhaps the worst perpetrator is general negativity.More often than I wish to see (which is ever), profiles are filled with what a person is not looking for in a partner, what they don’t like to do, or what they won’t tolerate in a relationship.If I asked the authors of these bios what they are trying to achieve with these statements, they might argue they are trying to rule out anyone who doesn’t align with their values or interests. While they think they are saving time by being frank about their beliefs, they’re actually cutting out not just those who don’t perfectly match with them but also those who might, but are left with a bad taste in their mouth by the profile’s pessimism.Instead of focusing on ...

Reggie Miller explains why Knicks-Cavs series is too close to call

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

It’s the most compelling playoff series in the Eastern Conference, and Reggie Miller isn’t buying the betting odds that show the Knicks as a healthy underdog against Cleveland.“It’s a pick-em series,” Miller, the former Knicks nemesis and now an analyst on TNT, said Thursday in a conference call.Still, Miller acknowledged that the health of Julius Randle — who remained a limited participant in practice Tuesday because of a sprained ankle — can easily swing the pendulum.“Either way, one of these teams are going to be disappointed if they lose,” said Miller, who is calling Game 2 of the series on Tuesday for TNT. “The health of Julius Randle, to me — I want to see how he’s moving in Game 1 [on Saturday in Cleveland] and throughout this series. Because before this injury, he was playing at an All-Pro level. He puts so much pressure on the opposing team’s defense.“So if that’s taken away, sure it l...

‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ review: Jennifer Garner turns amateur detective seeking clues about her missing husband

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

Nina Metz | Chicago TribuneWhen a man disappears after his workplace is raided by the FBI, his wife is bluntly informed: “People don’t run for no reason.” That’s exactly what he’s done: The man has dropped out of sight. Starring Jennifer Garner and “Game of Thrones” alum Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, “The Last Thing He Told Me” on Apple TV+ is adapted from the 2021 novel by Laura Dave, and if there ever was a candidate for “shoulda been a movie,” this series is it.Instead, it clocks in at seven episodes. The good news: It gets better as it goes.Garner plays Hannah, an artist who makes wooden bowls, which is a character trait that is both specific yet tells us almost nothing about her. She’s a jeans-and-clogs kind of gal, that’s all I got. She’s recently married to a software ace named Owen (Coster-Waldau) and they live on a charming, idyllic houseboat in Sausalito, California, along with Owen’s 16-year-old daughter Bailey (Angourie Rice). Unhappy to have a stepmother foisted on her, Bailey...

Major Indiana plastics fire nearly out but residents worry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — A major industrial fire fueled by tons of scrap plastics in an Indiana city was close to being extinguished Thursday after burning for more than 48 hours, though an evacuation order for people living near the disaster remained in place, authorities said.Richmond officials also disclosed more details about the city’s dealings with a man who was operating the business where the fire occured. They said Seth Smith was barred from accepting more plastics for resale, following a 2020 cleanup order, but he was allowed to keep selling a vast collection still on hand. “Unfortunately with the pandemic, it became a down market,” city attorney Andrew Sickmann told reporters.“It was hard to specify a deadline because this was a massive undertaking. There’s a lot of material there,” Sickmann said. “Our deadline was just as fast as possible.”The fire at the 14-acre former factory site in Richmond, population 35,000, began Tuesday afternoon. Clouds of black s...

Quebec provincial police officer killed on duty remembered as mother, wife, protector

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Que. — A Quebec provincial police officer who was killed while on duty was remembered Thursday as a mother, a daughter, a friend and as a policewoman who dedicated her career to keeping others safe.Thousands of officers and first responders from across North America gathered in Trois-Rivières, Que., for the funeral of Sgt. Maureen Breau. The 20-year veteran of the force was fatally stabbed while serving an arrest warrant on March 27 in Louiseville, Que., about 100 kilometres northeast of Montreal.As her casket, draped in the Quebec flag, was carried into the church by eight officers, others watched with tears streaming down their faces. Along with her husband, Daniel Sanscartier, and two children, Khéraly and Emrick, three officers who were present the night she died accompanied the casket.During the funeral, speakers paid tribute to Breau’s long career but also to her devotion to her family. They noted that the 42-year-old was not just an officer but also a mo...