UR MAG

PORTLAND (AP) — Jerami Grant had 23 points and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a six-game losing streak, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 135-115 on Friday night to open a two-game set.

Grizzlies Trail Blazers Basketball

The teams will meet again Saturday night in Portland.

Jrue Holiday had 20 points and seven assists for the Blazers, who led by 30 points after pulling away in the second half. Eight Portland players finished in double figures.

Cam Spencer had 18 points off the bench for the Grizzlies, who had won their previous two straight after a six-game losing streak. GG Jackson II added 15.

Ja Morant missed his eighth straight game with left elbow injury. Morant remained with the team at Thursday's trade deadline despite speculationthe Grizzlies might move him.

The Grizzlies were adjusting to a sweeping trade that sent Jaren Jackson Jr., Jock Landale, John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. to Utah in exchange for Georges Niang, Kyle Anderson, Walter Clayton Jr. and Taylor Hendricks.

Anderson was out Friday because of illness but Clayton and Hendricks came in off the bench for Memphis.

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The Grizzlies led 15 points in the opening half but Portland tied the game at 51 on Jerami Grant's dunk. Grant followed with a layup that gave the Blazers the lead and they were ahead 68-64 at the half.

The Blazers said at halftime that Shaedon Sharpe would not return with a sore left calf.

Portland extended the lead to 94-77 on Grant's 3-pointer in the third quarter and Memphis never challenged.

Scotty Pippen Jr. started in his first gameof the season for Memphis after undergoing surgery on his left big toe. He had 13 points and six assists in 22 minutes.

Portland guard Scoot Henderson also playedin his first game of the seasonafter recovering from an offseason left hamstring injury. He had 11 points, nine assists and five rebounds in just over 21 minutes.

Donovan Clingan finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds for Portland.

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

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez is not eligible to play for Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic due to his ongoing suspension for marijuana use, multiple media outlets reported on Friday.

Baez, 33, tested positive for the substance on March 12, 2023. The three-time All-Star received a two-year ban from World Baseball Softball Confederation events that began on April 26, 2024, and therefore it lasts until April 26, 2026.

The 2026 WBC runs from March 5-17.

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Major League Baseball has permitted marijuana use since the 2020 season, therefore Baez will not face any discipline from the league or the Tigers.

Baez was an All-Star last season when he batted .257 with 12 homers and 57 RBIs in 126 games.

--Field Level Media

Ryo Hisatsune chipped in for birdie in surprising fashion to cap a back-nine hot streak and overtake Japanese countryman Hideki Matsuyama for the second-round lead at the WM Phoenix Open on Friday in Arizona.

Hisatsune is 11 under for the week after his stellar 8-under-par 63. The 23-year-old is searching for his first win on the PGA Tour.

Hisatsune went birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie at TPC Scottsdale's 13th through 17th holes, including an 8-footer for eagle at the par-5 15th and a 7 1/2-foot birdie putt at the "Stadium Hole," the par-3 16th. The latter tied him with Matsuyama, who was in the clubhouse at 10 under after a 64.

On the short par-4 17th, Hisatsune attempted to drive the green but ended up in the adjacent water hazard. After a penalty drop, he faced about 29 feet to the pin, and his chip tracked straight to the cup for the go-ahead birdie.

"It was very lucky, especially like little bit pulled. Really nice tee shot but I kind of a little bit into the water," Hisatsune said. "Yeah, some more reset and then I going to make some chip-in."

Now the youngster will play in the third round's final group with Matsuyama, who was the first male golfer from Japan to win a major when he claimed the 2021 Masters.

"Yeah, yeah. Absolutely dream to play (with Matsuyama)," Hisatsune said. "Especially in the Phoenix, yeah."

Matsuyama started his second round on the back nine and made his move early with six consecutive birdies at Nos. 13-18. At the Stadium Hole, he drained a putt from nearly 30 feet.

"It's always exciting to finish 15, take a couple deep breaths, and, boy, you feel it when you walk through that tunnel out onto the 16 tee," Matsuyama, the champion at Phoenix in 2016 and 2017, said through a translator.

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"Then when I hole out there at 16 it's kind of a relief, 'Oh, I did it.'"

First-round leader Chris Gotterup settled for a 71 and is tied for third with Pierceson Coody (68) at 8 under. Si Woo Kim of South Korea had the round of the day, a 9-under 62 that vaulted him to 7 under, where he's tied for fifth with Akshay Bhatia (67), Sahith Theegala (65) and Englishmen John Parry (65) and Matt Fitzpatrick (70).

Kim actually bogeyed his opening hole, the par-4 10th, to put himself behind the 8-ball at 3 over for the tournament. He had eight birdies plus an eagle putt the rest of the way.

"I had a great start season first three (events), so it helps me little nerve going, and then helps makes comfortable maybe rest of the season," Kim said. "I think it was too much comfortable (Thursday) and helps me little fire going. And today I make bogey first hole so that makes me (think) like, whatever, just trying to good golf, and it worked."

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was in danger of missing the cut after a surprising round of 73 on Thursday. He responded with a bogey-free, 6-under 65 in his second round to climb to 4 under par.

"Struck it much better today," Scheffler said. "Yeah, felt a bit lost out there at times (Thursday), so today felt a lot better. Felt more in control of my game."

The round was suspended due to darkness late Friday afternoon, and the cut line sits at 1 under par. Notable names to miss the cut include Brooks Koepka (2 over) in his second start back on the PGA Tour, along with Billy Horschel (3 over), Jordan Spieth (3 over), Tony Finau (3 over) and Brian Harman (5 over).

Just three players were still on the course when the horn sounded, and each of them can make the cut with a solid finish: Japan's Keita Nakajima is 3 under and countryman Kensei Hirata is 1 under with one hole to finish, and South Korea's S.T. Lee is even par with two holes to go. They will resume Saturday morning.

--Field Level Media

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — It's been a week since "Today" show hostSavannah Guthrie's mother disappeared from her home in Arizona in what authorities say was a kidnapping.

Savannah Guthrie Mom Missing

Investigators have been examining ransom notes and looking for evidence but have not named a suspect. On Friday, officers returned to 84-year-oldNancy Guthrie's home near Tucson and to the surrounding neighborhood to continuetheir search.

Here's what to know about the case:

The disappearance

Family members told officials theylast saw Guthrieat 9:48 p.m. on Jan. 31 when they dropped her off at home after they ate dinner and played games together. The next day, family learned she didn't attend church. They reported her missing after they went to check on her.

Guthrie has a pacemaker and needs daily medication. Her family and authorities are worried her health could be deteriorating by the day.

Collecting evidence

Authorities think Guthrie wastaken against her willfrom her home in an upscale neighborhood that sits on hilly, desert terrain. DNA tests showed blood on Guthrie's front porch matched hers, the county sheriff has said.

Investigators found her doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday and that software data recorded movement at the home minutes later. But investigators haven't been able to recover the footage because Guthrie didn't have an active subscription to the service.

Pima County Sheriff ChrisNanos told The Associated Pressin an interview that investigators have not given up on trying to access those images.

"I wish technology was as easy as we believe it is, that here's a picture, here's your bad guy. But it's not," Nanos told the AP on Friday. "There are pieces of information that come to us from these tech groups that say 'This is what we have and we can't get anymore.'"

The president of the Catalina Foothills Association, a neighborhood group, thanked residents in a letter for being willing to speak with law enforcement, share camera images and allow their properties to be searched.

Ransom notes

At least three media organizations reported receiving purported ransom notes, which they handed over to investigators. Authorities made an arrest after one ransom note turned out to be fake, the sheriff said.

It's unclear if all of the notes were identical. Heith Janke, the FBI chief in Phoenix, said details included a demand for money with a Thursday evening deadline and a second deadline for Monday if the first one wasn't met. At least one note mentioned a floodlight at Guthrie's home and an Apple watch, Janke said.

Investigators said they are taking the notes seriously.

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On Friday, KOLD-TV in Tucson said it received a new message, via email, tied to the Guthrie case. The station said it couldn't disclose its contents. The FBI said it was aware of a new message and was reviewing its authenticity.

Family appeals

Concern about Guthrie's condition is growing because authorities say she needs daily medicine that's vital to her health. She has a pacemaker, high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff's dispatcher audio onbroadcastify.com.

Guthrie's children recordedtwo separate video messagesto their mother's abductor and posted them publicly on social media.

Savannah Guthriefilmed a sometimes emotional messageon Wednesday asking the kidnapper for proof their mother was alive. She noted that technology today allows for theeasy manipulation of voices and imagesand the family needed to know "without a doubt" that she is alive and in the abductor's hands.

Police have not said that they have received any deepfake images of Nancy Guthrie.

Savannah Guthrie described her mother as a "kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light" and said she was funny, spunky and clever.

"Talk to her and you'll see," she said.

She spoke some words directly to her mom, saying she and her siblings wouldn't rest until they're all together again.

Trump's involvement

The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information about Guthrie's whereabouts.

The White House said President Donald Trump called and spoke with Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday. He posted on social media that he was directing federal authorities to help where they can.

On Friday night, he told reporters flying with him to his Florida estate on Air Force One that the investigation was going "very well" and investigators had some strong clues.

Famous kidnappings

The kidnapping is the latest abduction toattract the American public's attention.

Other notorious kidnappings in U.S. history have included the son of singer Frank Sinatra, the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and the 9-year-old girl for whom the AMBER Alert was named.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys for the federal government have until next Thursday to reach an agreement with human rights lawyers who are seeking to ensure the right to counsel for people detained at anImmigration and Customs Enforcementfacility in Minnesota, a judge said Friday.

Advocates said people held at the facility on the edge of Minneapolis who face possible deportation are denied adequate access to lawyers, including in-person meetings. Attorney Jeffrey Dubner said detainees are allowed to make phone calls, but ICE personnel are typically nearby.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel told Justice Department attorney Christina Parascandola that there seemed to be a "very wide factual disconnect" between what the human rights lawyers allege and the government's claims of adequate access at what ICE depicts as only a temporary holding facility.

Parascandola said people detained at the facility have access to counsel and unmonitored phone calls at any time and for as long as they need. She conceded she had never been there.

Brasel called her argument "a tough sell," noting there was far more evidence in the case record to back up the plaintiffs' claims than the government's assurances.

"The gap here is so enormous I don't know how you're going to close it," the judge said.

Rather than ruling on the spot, Brasel told both sides to keep meeting with a retired judge who's mediating and who has helped narrow some of the gaps already. She noted at the start of the hearing that both sides agreed that "some degree of reasonable access" to legal counsel is constitutionally necessary but that they differed on the details of what that should look like.

If the sides don't reach at least a partial agreement by 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, the judge said she'll issue her order then. She didn't specify which way she'd rule.

A member of Congress decries conditions at detention center

The facility is part of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, which is a center of ICE operations and has been the scene of frequent protests.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison, of Minnesota, said in a statement Friday that conditions at the detention center continue to be poor. The physician said she learned in her visit Thursday night that the facility has no protocols in place to prevent the spread of measles to Minnesota from Texas. At least two cases were reported at a major ICE detention center in Texas this week.

Some Minnesota detaineesincluding families with childrenhave been sent to the Texas facility, and some have returned to Minnesota after courts intervened, including5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramosand his father.

"It's abundantly clear that Whipple is not at all equipped to handle what the Trump Administration is doing with their cruel and chaotic 'Operation Metro Surge,'" Morrison said in a statement. "I am stunned by the inability or unwillingness of the federal agents to answer some of the most basic questions about their operations and protocols."

Even though afederal judge ruled Mondaythat members of Congress have the right to make unannounced visits to ICE facilities, Morrison said in a statement that agents attempted to deny her entry for nearly a half-hour and demanded that she leave before eventually letting her in.

On herfirst attemptlast month, Morrison and fellow Minnesota Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig were turned away.

After she was able to enter the facility last weekend, Morrison said no real medical care was being offered to people held there.

Craig and Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum said they were turned away despite the court order when they tried to visit the facility overnight.

"We have heard countless reports that detainees are being held in unlivable conditions at Whipple," the two representatives said in a statement. "We have every reason to believe that this administration is once again lying through their teeth and trying to hide what we all know to be true -- that they are ignoring due process and treating immigrants as political pawns, not people."

Man charged with fel ony for wrecking anti-ICE sculpture

A supporter of the immigration crackdown who posted a video on social media of himself kicking down an anti-ICE sculpture outside the Minnesota state Capitol in St. Paul was released from jail Friday after being charged with a felony count of damage to property.

Lt. Mike Lee, a spokesperson for the Minnesota State Patrol, said Capitol Security observed Jake Lang, 30, of Lake Worth, Florida, damaging the display Thursday afternoon. He was arrested a short distance away. The ice sculpture spelled out "Prosecute ICE."

At his first court appearance, Lang was released pending trial but ordered to stay at least three blocks away from the Capitol. Court records don't list an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

Lang wasdrowned out by a large crowdlast month when he attempted to hold a small rally in Minneapolis in support of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping intervention on behalf of Jan. 6 defendants last year.