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On Jan. 29, 2002, in his first State of the Union address, President George W. Bush said terrorists were still threatening America — and warned of “an axis of evil” consisting of North Korea, Iran and Iraq.

Also on this date:

In 1891, following the death of her brother Kalākaua, Lili‘uokalani was sworn in as the first and only queen of the Hawaiian Kingdom. (Her reign would end two years later when the Hawaiian monarchy was abolished following a U.S. military-supported coup d’état.)

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In 1936, the first five inductees of baseball’s Hall of Fame — Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson — were elected in Cooperstown, New York.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter formally welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping (dung shah-oh-ping) to the White House, following the establishment of full diplomatic relations.

In 1995, the San Francisco 49ers became the first team in NFL history to win five Super Bowl titles, beating the San Diego Chargers, 49-26, in Super Bowl XXIX.

In 1998, a bomb rocked an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, killing a security guard and critically injuring a nurse. (The bomber, Eric Rudolph, also admitted to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and other attacks and is serving multiple life sentences.)

In 2013, the Justice Department ended its criminal probe of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and Gulf of Mexico oil spill, with a U.S. judge agreeing to let London-based oil giant BP PLC plead guilty to manslaughter charges for the deaths of 11 rig workers and pay a record $4 billion in penalties.

In 2017, six people were killed in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque during evening prayers. (Alexandre Bissonnette, who was arrested nearby, pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder charges and drew a life prison sentence.)

In 2025, a midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft as the jet was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy Potomac River.

Today’s birthdays:

Feminist author Germaine Greer is 87.
Actor Katharine Ross is 86.
Actor Tom Selleck is 81.
R&B singer Charlie Wilson is 73.
TV host and media mogul Oprah Winfrey is 72.
Olympic diving gold medalist Greg Louganis is 66.
Football Hall of Famer Andre Reed is 62.
Hockey Hall of Famer Dominik Hašek is 61.
Actor-director Edward Burns is 58.
Actor Sara Gilbert is 51.
Pop-rock singer Adam Lambert is 44.
Actor Jakob Davies is 23.

Reneau, Donaldson lead Miami over Stanford 79-70

South Florida Local News - Wed, 01/28/2026 - 21:41

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Malik Reneau scored 20 points, Tre Donaldson added 18, and Miami pulled away inside the final seven minutes to beat Stanford 79-70 on Wednesday night.

Miami used an 11-2 run to tie it at 51-all with 9:35 to play. About two minutes later, Dante Allen’s 3-pointer sparked another 11-2 surge that gave the Hurricanes a 67-58 advantage with 2:46 remaining before they sealed it from the free-throw line.

Shelton Henderson and Tru Washington added 12 points apiece for Miami (17-4, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which has won consecutive games since a two-game skid ended a 10-game win streak.

Ebuka Okorie scored 19 points and Benny Gealer added 17 to lead Stanford (14-7, 3-5). Ryan Agarwal chipped in with 11 points and AJ Rohosy scored 10.

Okorie scored 11 points and Agarwal added nine to help give Stanford a 40-35 halftime advantage. The Cardinal hit 7 of 14 from distance and shot 52% (16 of 31). Donaldson and Reneau scored 13 points apiece in the first half for the Hurricanes.

Miami made half of its 28 field goals after the break while Stanford shot 35.5% (11 of 31) from the floor.

Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu lead No. 19 Florida to 95-48 win over South Carolina

South Florida Local News - Wed, 01/28/2026 - 21:18

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Thomas Haugh scored 18 points while Rueben Chinyelu had 14 points and 11 rebounds as No. 19 Florida pounded South Carolina 95-48 on Wednesday night.

The Gators (15-6, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) came in off a disappointing home loss to Auburn this past Saturday and, once they got going, took it out on the Gamecocks (11-10, 2-6).

Neither team look sharp early, with Florida missing five of its first seven shots and South Carolina going 1 of 6 as the Gators led 12-8. Then Florida turned it into a rout with a 36-12 run.

Urban Klavzar got things going with back-to-back 3s. Haugh made four straight shots — the Gators had a stretch of 10 in a row — including a three-point play and a 3 to put Florida up 46-18.

Florida finished by matching its largest margin of victory in an SEC road game, according to ESPN.

South Carolina fans began heading to the exits with about 30 seconds until halftime. Most did not return as the Gamecocks lost for the fifth time in six games and dropped their third straight to Florida.

Gators freshman Olivier Rioux, the world’s tallest teenager, entered for the final 1:49 after the Florida bench got supporters to call for him. The 7-foot-9 Rioux never came close to scoring.

Chinyelu shot 7 of 7 from the field in his 12th double-double of the season. Alex Condon finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Gators.

Eli Ellis led South Carolina with 13 points.

Up next

Florida: Hosts No. 23 Alabama on Sunday.

South Carolina: Hosts LSU on Saturday night.

Winderman’s view: Heat’s minds elsewhere in loss to Magic as trade deadline looms?

South Florida Local News - Wed, 01/28/2026 - 20:09

MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 133-124 loss to the Orlando Magic:

– As the entire league’s focus turned to the potential availability of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Heat was among the teams drawn into the debate.

– Now with the NBA trade deadline a week away, on Feb. 5.

– “We don’t really give it any time,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “The veteran players understand that so much of it is just conjecture.”

– But is it also a distraction?

– One would have to wonder after this performance.

– “It’s just a bunch of BS. But it is part of our business,” Spoelstra said pregame of the conjecture. “That’s what we all sign up for. You have to be a professional all the way through.”

– What matters, Spoelstra said, are these games ahead of the deadline.

– “The most important thing is we’re at an opportunity right now,” he said. “With all these games that are in front of us, it’s an opportunity to play well and move up.”

– Or there could be a second-half collapse, as there was in this one.

– Between now and the deadline, the Heat play at the Bulls on Thursday night, at home against the Bulls on both Saturday and Sunday night, and then against the visiting Hawks on Tuesday night.

– Winnable? Sure.

– But supposedly so was this one.

– Davion Mitchell missed his fourth consecutive game and six overall with his shoulder sprain.

– And, yes, Spoelstra said, he has been missed.

– “He’s our point-of-attack defender and our pace is great with him,” Spoelstra said,

– The minutes in the interim have gone to Kasparas Jakucionis and Dru Smith.

– “While he’s been out,” Spoelstra said of Mitchell, “I think Kas and Dru have done a very good job with both of those things. They just do it in a different way. We miss him, but we want to be smart about it.”

– Jackucionis was limited in this one.

– But Smith again was good.

– As for where Mitchell stands with the shoulder, Spoelstra said, “I think if he was just doing non-contact right now, he’d be fine. So we’re just going to continue to treat him and then he’s doing more and more on the court. And when he’s ready, he’ll be ready.”

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– Of opening the stretch of four games in five nights on Wednesday night Spoelstra said, “I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves. We’ll manage our energy the best that we can.”

– It was almost as if they paced themselves out of the second half.

– With Mitchell missing his sixth game with a shoulder contusion, the Heat opened for the fourth consecutive game with a lineup of Bam Adebayo, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larsson and Jakucionis.

– That lineup entered 3-1.

– It was Larsson’s 25th start.

– Adebayo was good.

– The rest of the starting lineup?

– Not so much.

– The Magic opened with a lineup of Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black, Desmond Bane, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr.

– Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic entered together first off the Heat bench.

– Smith followed.

– With Simone Fontecchio making it nine deep.

– And then Kel’el Ware as 10th man.

– The limited use of Ware was curious, to say the least.

Heat continue to be at a loss vs. Magic, falling to 0-4 vs. Orlando with 133-124 setback

South Florida Local News - Wed, 01/28/2026 - 20:07

MIAMI — Yes, the Orlando Magic have the Miami Heat’s number.

So make it 4-0 for the Magic against the Heat this season with their 133-124 victory Wednesday night at Kaseya Center, a run that also includes an NBA Cup victory.

Actually, make it 6-0 if you choose to add a couple of Heat preseason losses to the Magic.

As in the case of the previous regular-season losses to the Magic, there were moments of Heat dominance. As in those previous losses, there also were moments in the second half when the Magic simply brushed the Heat aside.

“In all four games, we’ve had great first halves,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We just have not been able to sustain it against that team.”

So the momentum of those weekend victories at the end of the five-game western swing lost, instead another miserable third quarter and precious few quality Heat performances on a night the Magic scored 62 points in the paint.

“We struggled to defend them, so that stacks up their paint points,” Spoelstra said.

Bam Adebayo did his part for the Heat, with 21 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, with Simone Fontecchio adding 23 points for the Heat and Norman Powell 20.

Otherwise, too many flat performances to produce anything tangible.

“We can’t keep having games where we have an opportunity to get a good win, a signature win, and we don’t seize that opportunity,” Powell said.

The Heat again played in the injury absences of Tyler Herro (ribs) and Davion Mitchell (shoulder), with the Magic without Franz Wagner (ankle).

The Heat meet one more time this season, March 14 at Kaseya Center.

Five Degrees of Heat from Wednesday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Magic led 34-27 after the opening period, with the Heat then storming back to a 68-59 halftime lead. The Magic then reversed the momentum in the third, taking a 99-88 lead into the fourth.

“I mean, that’s our Achilles heel. I mean, it sucks, honestly,” Powell said of yet another third-quarter collapse. “This season we’ve come out very flat, knowing that we’ve come out flat in the third quarters, and we haven’t changed it as a team.”

The Heat then went down 13 early in the fourth, before closing within 107-104 with 8:27 to play on an Adebayo 3-pointer.

From there, the Magic pushed back to a 121-104 lead with 5:47 to play, with the Heat closing within 128-122 with 1:25 to play on a Powell three-point play, points that ultimately proved too little too late.

The Heat closed with 18 turnovers to seven for the Magic.

“We didn’t take care of the ball,” Adebayo said.

2. Where’s Ware?: After Kel’el Ware missed the previous four games with a hamstring strain, returned to practice Tuesday, and then was cleared two hours prior to tip-off, he was utilized as a 10th man, not entering until 7:36 remained in the second period.

Instead, Nikola Jovic entered initially in place of Adebayo and later played alongside Adebayo. In addition to starting Adebayo, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larsson and Kasparas Jakucionis, Spoelstra then played Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Dru Smith and Fontecchio off the bench ahead of Ware.

Ware played only 4:25 in the first half, then getting a three-minute stint in the third quarter.

He closed with four points and four rebounds in seven minutes.

“It was just easing him back,” Spoelstra said. “We’ll see where that goes. We’re just going to go with the normal rotation we did on the road trip. We’ll just see where it goes.”

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3. Simone sizzle: Fontecchio scored 14 points in his opening 10-minute stint, shooting 3 of 4 on 3-pointers during that run.

Fontecchio also was active on the boards, as he has been recently, with four rebounds during that initial stint.

Fontecchio stood with 17 points at halftime.

He now has scored in double figures in six of last seven appearances, after failing to do so in his previous 11.

4. Bench boosts: With Powell showing the drain of being the sole wing scoring focus for most of the season in Herro’s absence, the Heat got needed bench boosts from Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Dru Smith.

Jaquez again was solid in attack mode, while Smith outplayed Jakucionis, earning the late minutes at point guard.

Jaquez and Smith each closed with 13 points.

Of his play, Powell said his defense has to be better.

“Coach called me out about it, specifically being in the help position in the low-man area and making a stand,” Powell said. “So I’ve got to be better on that end, as well, and come out with a better defensive approach and intensity to the game.”

5. And now non-stop Bulls hit: The focus will be singular for the Heat the balance of this run of four games in five nights, with a Thursday night game in Chicago and then home games against the Bulls on Saturday and Sunday nights.

The Bulls also will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back set on Thursday night, after losing 113-110 Wednesday night in Indiana, a game that was over before the Heat began their fourth quarter against the Magic.

“This is where all the positioning and seedings and stuff start to take place if we want to do something in the playoffs and get out of the play-in,” Powell said. “We’ve just got to have a better collective approach and energy.”

‘Madness’ at home inspection as Albo scheme backfires - News.com.au

Home Inspection - Wed, 01/28/2026 - 17:45

‘Madness’ at home inspection as Albo scheme backfires News.com.au

TikTok star Shirley Raines, known for bringing meals and respect to people on LA’s Skid Row, dies at 58

South Florida Local News - Wed, 01/28/2026 - 17:44

By REBECCA BOONE

Shirley Raines, a social media creator and nonprofit founder who dedicated her life to caring for people experiencing homelessness, has died, her organization Beauty 2 The Streetz said Wednesday. She was 58.

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Raines was known as “Ms. Shirley,” to her more than 5 million TikTok followers and to the people who regularly lined up for the food, beauty treatments and hygiene supplies she brought to Los Angeles’ Skid Row and other homeless communities in California and Nevada.

Raines’ life made an “immeasurable impact,” Beauty 2 The Streetz wrote on social media.

“Through her tireless advocacy, deep compassion, and unwavering commitment, she used her powerful media platform to amplify the voices of those in need and to bring dignity, resources, and hope to some of the most underserved populations,” the organization said.

Raines’ cause of death was not released, but the organization said it would share additional information when it is available.

Raines had six children. One son died as a toddler — an experience that left her a “very broken woman,” Raines said in 2021 when she was named CNN’s Hero of the Year.

“It’s important you know that broken people are still very much useful,” she said during the CNN award ceremony.

That deep grief led her to begin helping the homeless.

“I would rather have him back than anything in the world, but I am a mother without a son, and there are a lot of people in the street that are without a mother,” she said. “And I feel like it’s a fair exchange — I’m here for them.”

Raines began working with homeless communities in 2017. On Monday, Raines posted a video shot from inside her car as she handed out lunches to a line of people standing outside her passenger window. She greeted her clients with warm enthusiasm and respect, calling them “King,” or “Queen.”

One man told her he was able to get into an apartment.

“God is good! Look at you!” Raines replied, her usual cheerfulness stepping up a notch. In a video posted two weeks earlier, she handed her shoes to a barefoot child who was waiting for a meal, protecting the girl’s feet from the chilly asphalt.

California’s homelessness crisis is especially visible in downtown Los Angeles, where hundreds of people live in makeshift shanties that line entire blocks in the notorious neighborhood known as Skid Row. Tents regularly pop up on the pavement outside City Hall. Encampments are increasingly found in suburban areas under freeway overpasses. A 2025 survey found that about 72,000 people were homeless on any given night across Los Angeles County.

Crushow Herring, the art director of the Sidewalk Project, said Raines was both sentimental and protective of the homeless community. The Sidewalk Project uses art and peer empowerment programs to help people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.

“I’ve been getting calls all morning from people, not just who live in Skid Row but Angelenos who are shocked” by Raines’ death, Herring said. “To see the work she did, and how people couldn’t wait to see her come out? It was a great mission. What most people need is just feeling dignity about themselves, because if they look better, they feel better.”

Raines would often give people on the street a position working with her as she provided haircuts or handed out goods, Herring said.

“By the time a year or two goes by, they’re part of the organization — they have responsibility, they have something to look forward to,” he said. “She always had people around her that were motivational, and generous and polite to community members.”

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 21: Shirley Raines poses in the press room during the 56th NAACP Image Awards Creative Honors on February 21, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for NAACP)

In 2025, Raines was named the NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Social Media Personality. Other social media creators lauded her work and shared their own grief online Wednesday.

“Ms. Shirley was truly the best of us, love incarnate,” wrote Alexis Nikole Nelson, a foraging educator and social media creator known as “blackforager.”

“In shock,” wrote Upworthy. “Thank you for lifting so many up. May you rest in peace and power.”

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Morning Update: South Florida’s top stories for Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

Today in History: January 29, Bush warns of ‘axis of evil’

Reneau, Donaldson lead Miami over Stanford 79-70

Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu lead No. 19 Florida to 95-48 win over South Carolina

Winderman’s view: Heat’s minds elsewhere in loss to Magic as trade deadline looms?

Heat continue to be at a loss vs. Magic, falling to 0-4 vs. Orlando with 133-124 setback

‘Madness’ at home inspection as Albo scheme backfires - News.com.au

TikTok star Shirley Raines, known for bringing meals and respect to people on LA’s Skid Row, dies at 58