PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — For more than four decades, the people of Portland, Maine, awoke on Valentine’s Day to find large and small red hearts festooning storefronts, statues, parking garages and some of the city’s biggest landmarks. That tradition was imperiled by the death of the so-called Valentine’s Day Bandit last spring. But the bandit’s admirers responded with plenty of …

In a classic “Saturday Night Live” sketch, a young man hands his girlfriend a Valentine’s Day gift: a bear dressed in a bee costume that he picked up at the drugstore. “When did you get this?” she asks with a strained smile. “One minute ago,” he replies. It has more than a ring of truth. For a day meant to …

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill learned two things from his days in youth hockey: breathing and patience. After dealing with an injury late last season, both mechanisms helped him find his way back into the rotation, where he settled in as the Golden Knights’ No. 1 netminder and helped lead them to a Stanley Cup …

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin woman accused of killing a man who sexually assaulted her and other underage girls was arrested in Louisiana after nearly two weeks on the run. U.S. marshals took Chrystul Kizer, 23, of Milwaukee, into custody on Monday. She was being held in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center, online jail records show. Kizer was free …

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Eight children were among 22 people hit by gunfire in a shooting at the end of Wednesday’s parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, authorities said, sending terrified fans running for cover as yet another high-profile public event was marred by gun violence. One of those victims — a mother of two …

LA HAYA, Holanda (AP) — La afligida madre Doris Liber dijo el miércoles que voló desde Israel a la Corte Penal Internacional con la esperanza de obtener justicia para su hijo Guy Illuz, quien murió en cautiverio después de recibir un disparo en la espalda en los ataques de Hamás del 7 de octubre en el sur de Israel. Liber, …

The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. Georgia State Panthers (11-13, 5-7 Sun Belt) at James Madison Dukes (22-3, 10-3 Sun Belt) Harrisonburg, Virginia; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: James Madison is looking to …

All Times EST (Home teams listed first) SECOND ROUND First leg Tuesday, Feb. 13 Copenhagen (Denmark) 1, Manchester City (England) 3 Leipzig (Germany) 0, Real Madrid (Spain) 1 Wednesday, Feb. 14 Lazio (Italy) 1, Bayern Munich (Germany) 0 Paris Saint-Germain (France) 2, Real Sociedad (Spain) 0 Tuesday, Feb. 20 Inter Milan (Italy) vs. Atlético Madrid (Spain), 3 p.m. PSV Eindhoven …

LONDRES (AP) — La inflación en Reino Unido se mantuvo en 4% en enero, debido a que la baja en los precios de los alimentos ayudó a compensar un alza en los costos de la energía, según muestran cifras oficiales publicadas el miércoles. La cifra fue mejor de lo esperado, pues muchos economistas esperaban que la inflación aumentara modestamente a …

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s cybersecurity authorities have accused a hacker group “sponsored” by the Iranian government of attacking the country’s Institute of Statistics earlier this month. On Feb. 1, the institute reported becoming a target of a “sophisticated cyberattack” and that some systems were affected. The National Authority for Electronic Certification and Cyber Security on Tuesday accused the Homeland …