NBA announces All-Star tournament plan for this season: 4 teams, 3 games, 1 night
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- The NBA's All-Star Game is going to be an All-Star tournament this season, with the league announcing that it has finalized plans to use a different format for the upcoming midseason showcase in San Francisco. And scoring is sure to be down -- way, way, way down. This season's format announced Tuesday is a four-team, three-game, one-night tournament, three teams of eight All-Stars apiece and the fourth team being the winner of the Rising Stars challenge for first- and second-year players. The winning team in all games will be the first to score 40 points.
About 3 dozen high-rise buildings in South Florida are sinking
SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Almost three dozen high-rise condos and luxury hotels are sinking or settling along South Florida beaches. A new study from the University of Miami says 35 buildings along an almost 12-mile stretch from Miami Beach to Sunny Isles Beach have sunk or settled in a range of 0.8 to 3.1 inches. In some cases the changes are being caused by nearby construction. It's not uncommon for buildings to sink a little during construction and right afterward. But the scientists say the revelations in their recent study are surprising because the changes occurred several years after construction.
The winter solstice is almost here, the Northern Hemisphere's darkest day
The winter solstice is Saturday, bringing the shortest day and longest night of the year to the Northern Hemisphere. The good news for those who like more sunshine is that starting Sunday, days will get a little bit longer every single day until late June. As the Earth travels around the sun, it does so at an angle. For most of the year, the Earth's axis is tilted either toward or away from the sun. That means the sun's warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet.
Two stars may be orbiting each other near a supermassive black hole in our Milky Way galaxy
NEW YORK (AP) -- Scientists have spotted what appear to be two stars whipping around each other near the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Nearly every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its heart. Scientists know stars can form near and even orbit these black hole behemoths, but they've never seen a pair of stars survive so close by. At about 2.7 million years old, the twin stars seem to be fairly young. In the next million years, scientists say they could merge into one. The research was published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.
Woman who stowed away on flight to Paris arrested again in Buffalo
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- A Russian woman who was arrested after she stowed away on a flight from New York City to Paris last month has been arrested again in Buffalo. Authorities say Svetlana Dali was scheduled to appear in federal court in Buffalo Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors say Dali evaded security at John F. Kennedy International Airport and flew to Paris as a stowaway on a Delta Air Lines flight on Nov. 26. She was flown back to New York and arrested on a federal stowaway charge. Prosecutors have not released details of her arrest in Buffalo on Monday. A message seeking comment was sent to her attorney.
Most US teens are abstaining from drinking, smoking and marijuana, survey says
NEW YORK (AP) -- Teen drug use hasn't rebounded from its drop during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. That's according to the results from a large annual national survey released Tuesday. About 67% of 12th graders this year said they hadn't used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days. That's the largest percentage seen in an annual national survey. Among 10th graders, 80% said they hadn't used any of those substances recently. That's also a record. The only significant increase occurred in nicotine pouches. About 6% of 12th graders saying they'd used them in the previous year.
'Bluey' is bound for the big screen with a feature film coming in 2027
NEW YORK (AP) -- "Bluey" is heading to the big screen. The Walt Disney Co. and BBC Studios announced Tuesday that a film based on the hit Australian animated series will arrive in theaters in 2027. The movie will be written and directed by series creator Joe Brumm, with a voice cast led by the series' regulars, including Melanie Zanetti and David McCormack. According to the companies the film will "continue the adventures of Bluey, a lovable, inexhaustible, blue heeler dog, who lives with her Mum, Dad and her little sister, Bingo." After Brumm launched the Australian production in 2018, the series has grown into a worldwide sensation and regularly ranks among the most-watched series worldwide on Disney+.
Pharrell Williams is named a UNESCO goodwill ambassador
PARIS (AP) -- Pop star and fashion designer Pharrell Williams has been named UNESCO's goodwill ambassador for artistic education and entrepreneurship on Tuesday in Paris. It continues his cultural dominance of the French capital as Louis Vuitton menswear artistic director and performer at Notre Dame Cathedral's reopening earlier this month. The role of goodwill ambassador for the Paris-based U.N. cultural agency involves promoting its initiatives that include protecting Indigenous cultures, advancing education and health care for women and raising awareness about genocide prevention. Williams is American, and his selection as goodwill ambassador also may be highlighting the readmission of the United States to UNESCO last year.
Conor McGregor says he's in negotiations with Logan Paul for boxing exhibition in India
Conor McGregor says he's in negotiations to fight Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India. McGregor said early Tuesday morning on social media he's in "preliminary agreements" with the family of billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani to fight Paul. McGregor also said that rumors of a potential bout with Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Ilia Topuria were false. McGregor said he would make his "return to the Octagon" after his boxing exhibition with Paul.
A zoo elephant dies in Indonesia after being swept away in a river
GIANYAR, Indonesia (AP) -- An elephant that lived at the zoo on Indonesia's tourist island of Bali has been found dead after being swept away by a strong river current. Molly, a 45-year-old female Sumatran elephant, was one of two being guided by a mahout to a holding area outside of the zoo grounds through a river on Monday afternoon as part of their daily routine of mental and physical stimulation. The first elephant had made it across and Molly was in the river when the current suddenly increased due to heavy rain upstream, the zoo said in a statement Tuesday.