Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant to team up at All-Star Game. Kawhi Leonard added to roster

Stephen Currywill be joiningOlympic teammatesLeBron James and Kevin Durant once again, this time at the All-Star Game.

The NBA announced the rosters for this season's midseason showcase event on Tuesday night, splitting 25 names onto three squads. It's the debut of another new All-Star format — this oneU.S. vs. The World, on Feb. 15 at the Los Angeles Clippers' home in Inglewood, California.

It's a concept that Commissioner Adam Silver thinks will tap into national pride for the players and comes at a fitting time. The game will be aired on NBC, which is also broadcasting theMilan Cortina Olympicsthat start later this week and run through Feb. 22.

The U.S.-vs.-World concept was talked about for years beforebecoming a realitythis season. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association unveiledthe long-awaited planin theirlatest attemptto spark renewed interest in the game following a largely panned tournament format last season.

The Clippers' Kawhi Leonard, likely the most deserving name left offthe original list of 24 All-Stars,was added to the pool of U.S. players Tuesday shortly before the rosters were unveiled. And that move likely was what sent New York's Karl-Anthony Towns to the World team.

Towns was born in New Jersey but has played international basketball for the Dominican Republic — his late mother's homeland.

The NBA had said in recent months that it would adjust roster sizes as needed to ensure all three teams had at least eight players, the minimum required under the new format. Giannis Antetokounmpo is not expected to play for the World team because of injury, which is why that squad has nine players.

The U.S. teams were split by age: The older players were assigned to USA Stripes, the younger ones to USA Stars.

The rosters:

USA Stripes

Jaylen Brown, Boston; Jalen Brunson, New York; Stephen Curry, Golden State; Kevin Durant, Houston; LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers; Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers; Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland; Norman Powell, Miami.

Coach: Mitch Johnson, San Antonio.

Scottie Barnes, Toronto; Devin Booker, Phoenix; Cade Cunningham, Detroit; Jalen Duren, Detroit; Anthony Edwards, Minnesota; Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City; Jalen Johnson, Atlanta; Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia.

Coach: J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee; Deni Avdija, Portland; Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City; Nikola Jokic, Denver; Jamal Murray, Denver; Pascal Siakam, Indiana; Karl-Anthony Towns, New York; Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.

Coach: Darko Rajakovic, Toronto.

All games will be 12 minutes.

— Game 1: USA Stars vs. World.

— Game 2: USA Stripes vs. winning team of Game 1.

— Game 3: USA Stripes vs. losing team of Game 1.

— Game 4: Championship (top two teams from round-robin play). If all three teams finish 1-1 after the round-robin games, the first tiebreaker will be point differential across each team's games.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant to team up at All-Star Game. Kawhi Leonard added to roster

Stephen Currywill be joiningOlympic teammatesLeBron James and Kevin Durant once again, this time at the All-Star Game. ...

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Falcons' new regime not committing to Michael Penix Jr. as starting QB

If Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was looking for a vote of confidence from the revamped Atlanta front office, he didn't get it during new GM Ian Cunningham's introductory press conference on Tuesday.

When asked if Penix, who is recovering from a torn ACL that prematurely ended his second NFL season in November, will be the team's starter in 2026, new Falcons president of football operations Matt Ryan -- also a former Atlanta quarterback from 2008-2021 -- did not give a definitive answer.

"Neither of us are the head coach of the football team, so we can't answer your question on that," Ryan said. " ... I think as we start to get into this process and dive deeper into the roster -- how it currently stands, where it's going in the future -- I think those are conversations that'll be a part of it.

"Quarterback's obviously very important, and we're excited about Mike and what he's doing with his rehab. I've been up at the facility the last three weeks, and Michael's been in there attacking that and he's in a good space right now, so we're excited about where he is at. But certainly, a lot of discussions for us about the entire roster."

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Penix, who Atlanta selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft months after signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal in free agency, took over the starting job late in his rookie season and entered 2025 as the starter.

This past season, he completed 60.1% of his passes for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions in nine starts. The Falcons went 3-6 in games he started compared to a 5-3 record in Cousins' starts after he replaced Penix following his injury.

Cousins is likely to be released this offseason due to his significant salary, especially after the team restructured his contract in January.

With Penix's return timeline for the start of the 2026 season uncertain, that could force Atlanta to look for a quarterback either in free agency or April's draft if it elects to move on from Cousins after two seasons.

--Field Level Media

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

Falcons' new regime not committing to Michael Penix Jr. as starting QB

If Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was looking for a vote of confidence from the revamped Atlanta front office, ...

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No. 23 Miami (Ohio) extends winning streak to 23 games with 73-71 victory over Buffalo

AMHERST, N.Y. (AP) — Luke Skaljac scored a career-high 19 points and No. 23 Miami (Ohio) held on for a 73-71 victory over Buffalo on Tuesday night, extending the longest winning streak in Mid-American Conference history to 23 games.

Miami Ohio Buffalo Basketball

Brant Byers added 11 points for the RedHawks (23-0, 11-0), and Peter Suder had 10 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

Miami and Arizona (22-0) remain the only unbeaten teams in Division I.

Angelo Brizzi scored 22 points and Daniel Freitag had 18 to lead Buffalo (14-9, 4-7). The Bulls have lost seven of eight games following a 13-2 start that was the second-best in the program's Division I history.

Noah Batchelor's 3-pointer got Buffalo within 73-71 with 11 seconds remaining. Skaljac missed two free throws in the final 16 seconds, including the front end of one-and-one after Batchelor's basket, but Ryan Sabol's fallaway 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim.

Miami's 73 points were a season low. The RedHawks entered the game leading the country in averaging 93.7 points.

The Bulls tied the score three times with less than seven minutes remaining before Miami took command with a 6-0 run, holding Buffalo scoreless over a 3:49 span.

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Miami led 38-35 at halftime after a back-and-forth period with nine lead changes and four ties.

This was the second close game between these teams this season. The RedHawks beat the Bulls 105-102 in overtime on Jan. 17

Miami's ranking is its highest since being No. 22 in November 1998. They are the first MAC team ranked since Buffalo finished the 2018-19 season at No. 15.

Miami (Ohio): At Marshall on Saturday in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge.

Buffalo: At South Alabama on Saturday.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphere. AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

No. 23 Miami (Ohio) extends winning streak to 23 games with 73-71 victory over Buffalo

AMHERST, N.Y. (AP) — Luke Skaljac scored a career-high 19 points and No. 23 Miami (Ohio) held on for a 73-71 victory over...

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Trump administration presses efforts to ensure supply of critical minerals outside of China

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is expected to unveil its grandest plan yet to rebuildsupply chains of critical mineralsneeded for everything from jet engines to smartphones, likely through purchase agreements with partners on top of creating a $12 billionU.S. strategic reserveto helpcounter China's dominance.

US India

Vice President JD Vance is set to deliver a keynote address Wednesday at a meeting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hosting with officials from several dozen European, Asian and African nations. The U.S. is expected to sign deals on supply chain logistics, though details have not yet been revealed. Rubio met Tuesday with foreign ministers from South Korea and India to discuss critical minerals mining and processing.

The meeting and expected agreements will come just two days afterPresident Donald Trumpannounced "Project Vault," or a stockpile of critical minerals to be funded with a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export and Import Bank and nearly $1.67 billion in private capital.

The Trump administration is making such bold moves after China, which controls 70% of the world's rare earths mining and 90% of the processing, choked off the flow of the elements in response toTrump's tariff war. The two superpowers are in a one-year truce after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinpingmet in Octoberand agreed topull back on high tariffsand stepped up rare earth restrictions.

But China's limits remain tighter than they were before Trump took office.

"We don't want to ever go through what we went through a year ago," Trump said on Monday when announcing Project Vault.

Countering China's dominance on critical minerals

Other countries might join with the Trump administration in buying up critical minerals and taking other steps to spur industry development because the trade war revealed how vulnerable Western counties are to China, said Pini Althaus, who foundedOklahoma rare earth miner USA Rare Earthin 2019.

"They're looking at setting up sort of a buyers' club, if you will," said Althaus, who now is working to develop new mines in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as CEO of Cove Capital. "The key producers and key consumers of critical minerals will sort of get together and work on pricing structures, floor pricing and other things."

The government last week also made its fourth direct investment in an American critical minerals producer when it extended $1.6 billion to USA Rare Earth in exchange for stock and a repayment agreement.

Seeking government funding these days is like meeting with private equity investors because officials are scrutinizing companies to ensure anyone they invest in can deliver, Althaus said. And the government is demanding terms designed to generate a return for taxpayers as loans are repaid and stock prices increase, he said.

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The stockpile strategy

Meanwhile, the U.S. Export-Import Bank's board this week approved the $10 billion loan — the largest in its history — to help finance the setup of the U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve. It is tasked with ensuring access to critical minerals and related products for manufacturers, including battery maker Clarios, energy equipment manufacturer GE Vernova, digital storage company Western Digital and aerospace giant Boeing, according to the policy bank.

Bank President and Chairman John Jovanovic told CNBC that the project creates a public-private partnership formula that "is uniquely suited and puts America's best foot forward."

"What it does is it creates a scenario where there are no free riders. Everybody pitches in to solve this huge problem," he said.

Manufacturers, which benefit the most from the reserve, are making a long-term financial commitment, Jovanovic said, while the government loan spurs private investments.

The stockpile strategy may help spark a "more organic" pricing model that excludes China, which has used its dominance to flood the market with lower-priced products to squeeze out competitors, said Wade Senti, president of the U.S. permanent magnet company AML.

The Trump administration also has injected public money directly into the sector. The Pentagon hasshelled outnearly $5 billion over the past year to help ensure its access to the materials after the trade war laid bare just how beholden the U.S. is to China.

Efforts get some bipartisan support

A bipartisan group of lawmakers last month proposed creating a new agency with $2.5 billion to spur production of rare earths and the othercritical minerals. The lawmakers applauded the steps by the Trump administration.

"It's a clear sign that there is bipartisan support for securing a robust domestic supply of critical minerals that both reduces our reliance on China and stabilizes the market," Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Todd Young, R-Ind., said in a joint statement Tuesday.

Building up a stockpile will help American companies weather future rare earth supply disruptions, but that will likely be a long-term effort because the materials are still scarce right now with China's restrictions, said David Abraham, a rare earths expert who has followed the industry for decades and wrote the book "The Elements of Power."

The Trump administration has focused on reinvigorating critical minerals production, but Abraham said it's also important to encourage development of manufacturing that will use them. He noted that Trump's decisions tocut incentives for electric vehiclesand wind turbines have undercut demand for these elements in America.

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

Trump administration presses efforts to ensure supply of critical minerals outside of China

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is expected to unveil its grandest plan yet to rebuildsupply chains of critica...

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Northern Japan hit by deadly snowfall, as warnings issued on more heavy snow

TOKYO (AP) — Heavy snow battering northern Japan in the last two weeks has been blamed in 35 deaths nationwide so far, including people suffering sudden heart attacks or slipping while shoveling snow, government officials said Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, 15 prefectures have been affected, with the amount of snow piled up in the worst hit areas estimated to have reached 2 meters (6.5 feet).

The biggest number of snow-related fatalities, at 12 people, was reported in Niigata Prefecture, a rice-growing region in northern Japan, including a man in his 50s who was found collapsed on the roof of his home in Uonuma city on Jan. 21.

In Nagaoka city, a man in his 70s was spotted collapsed in front of his home and rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. He is believed to have fallen from the roof while raking snow, according to the Niigata government.

Japan's chief government spokesperson warned that, although the weather was getting warmer, more danger could lie ahead because snow would start melting, resulting in landslides and slippery surfaces.

"Please do pay close attention to your safety, wearing a helmet or using a lifeline rope, especially when working on clearing snow," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters.

Various task forces were set up to respond to the heavy snow in Niigata and nearby regions, which began Jan. 20. Seven snow-related deaths have been reported in Akita Prefecture and five in Yamagata Prefecture.

Injuries nationwide numbered 393, including 126 serious injuries, 42 of them in Niigata. Fourteen homes were damaged, three in Niigata and eight in Aomori Prefecture.

The reason behind the heavy snowfall is unclear. But deaths and accidents related to heavy snow are not uncommon in Japan, with 68 deaths reported over the six winter months the previous year, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

More heavy snow is forecast for the coming weekend.

Yuri Kageyama contributed to this report. She is on Threads:https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

Northern Japan hit by deadly snowfall, as warnings issued on more heavy snow

TOKYO (AP) — Heavy snow battering northern Japan in the last two weeks has been blamed in 35 deaths nationwide so far, in...

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