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There's finally NBA buzz in Charlotte again. That's because the Hornets, amid the league's longest active playoff drought, have won eight games in a row for the first time since the 1998-99 season.

They extended that head-turning streak with a109-99 road winover the Houston Rockets, despite Kevin Durant scoring at least 30 points for the fifth time in his past eight games.

In their first game sinceacquiring Coby White in a trade with the Chicago Bulls before the deadline, the Hornets (24-28) pulled away from the Rockets (31-19), causing the Western Conference's fourth-place team to pull its starters for the back half of the fourth quarter in a game that wasn't even as close as the 10-point differential suggests.

Continuing his standout rookie campaign, Kon Knueppel poured in a team-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting. LaMelo Ball made five 3s and wasn't far behind with 20 points.

White didn't play, and he's not expected to until after the All-Star break due to a lingering calf injury, but the former UNC star is excited for this new chapter of his career.

"Every time I come back to Charlotte to play, I would just tell people it just felt different,"White, a Goldsboro, North Carolina, native told The Charlotte Observer on Thursday.

"I just felt the love every time I was in the building just being there, it was just weird. ... Something triggers every time I was in there. So I'm excited I get to play there more."

White was talking about the Spectrum Center. The guard averaged 22.5 points per game in his two outings there with the Bulls earlier this season.

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It's also where Hornets fans will anxiously await their up-and-coming squad on Monday, when Charlotte returns home to host the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.

That matchup will mark the first of four consecutive home contests for the Hornets.

But first they'll head to Atlanta to play the Hawks on Saturday. With a win there, they'll officially match that 1999 surge, which occurred during a strike-shortened season that saw the late Paul Silas take over as interim head coach afterDave Cowens resigned in the wake of a 4-11 start.

That Hornets team lost eight of its first nine games. Similarly, the 2025-26 Hornets recorded only three victories in their first 10 games and were a meager 4-14 by late November.

This time, a coaching change hasn't precipitated the turnaround.

In his second year on the job, Charles Lee has overseen the midseason transformation.

The Hornets are getting production from an assortment of young players. In addition to the 20-year-old Knueppel and 24-year-old Ball, Brandon Miller is making a sizable impact. In his third season, Miller, 23, is leading the team in scoring at 20.4 ppg. Plus, it helps that big man Moussa Diabaté, 24, has become a reliable rebounder for the group.

Miles Bridges is still doing his thing, too. The Hornets' future is bright, and they're suddenly 1.5 games back of the Hawks for ninth place in the East — prime play-in position.

Charlotte plays Atlanta twice in the next three games, starting on Saturday night.

The head of the coordinating committee for the 2028Olympic Games in LosAngeles is facing calls to step down after emails released by the Justice Department last week show he exchanged racy messages with Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago.

The messages between Casey Wasserman – who, along with chairing LA28, is also a prominent entertainment and sports agent – and Maxwell were included in themillions of documents released by DOJlast week related to its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

They show that the pair exchanged several intimate messages in 2003, prompting calls from city officials that Wasserman step down.

Duringone exchange in March, Wasserman asks Maxwell: "So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?"

In another email, datedApril 1, 2003,Wasserman, who was married at the time, says to Maxwell: "Where are you, I miss you," before asking to book a massage.

Wasserman has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. Messages for Wasserman left through his talent management company and a crisis public relations firm that represents him were not immediately returned on Thursday.

In a statement to other news outlets, Wasserman apologized for his communications with Maxwell while adding he "never had" a personal or business relationship with Epstein.

Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, was convicted of sex trafficking and other crimes in 2021 and is serving a 20-year sentence. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

While some aspects of Wasserman's association with Epstein were already known, the emails show a deeper and far more intimate relationship with Maxwell than had previously been revealed.

Wasserman's communications with Maxwell took place years before she was convicted of a crime.

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The messages between the pair threaten to create a major distraction as Los Angeles gears up to host the 2028 games, whichare forecasted to generatebetween roughly $13.6 billion and $17.6 billion in additional gross domestic product for the region and create tens of thousands of new jobs.

Several local officials in Los Angeles have called for Wasserman to step away, describing the stakes of the Olympics as too great to be put at risk.

"Los Angeles cannot trust our financial future to someone connected with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell," City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a post on X, calling for Wasserman to "take accountability and resign."

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, who also called for Wasserman to step aside, saidin an interview with Spectrum Newsthat she was "incredibly disappointed" to learn of Wasserman and Maxwell's close relationship, adding it "really undermines the legacy of what these Games are supposed to represent."

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, also calling for Wasserman to resign, said her opposition to his leadership in LA28 was "not about shaming him for his past indiscretions."

"This is about the message we are sending to Epstein survivors and to the world about our values — especially as we work to combat any sex trafficking associated with the Games," Hahn told CNN. "I worry Casey Wasserman's continued leadership almost guarantees that our Los Angeles Olympic Games will be tied in subsequent press coverage to his association with a notorious sex trafficker."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that it is "critical to be 100% focused on making our city shine and ensuring the 2028 Games are the best in Los Angeles' history," but did not go as far as asking for Wasserman's resignation. Instead, the mayor added that any decision pertaining to the leadership of LA28 must rest with its board.

Several members of the LA28 board, which includes nearly three dozen prominent names in business, entertainment, sports and politics, also did not respond to requests from CNN asking if they maintain confidence in Wasserman's ability to lead.

Both the International and US Olympic committees did not respond to requests for comment, but when asked during recent press conferences about Wasserman, leaders of both committees referred to his earlier statement and said they would have nothing to add.

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A charge of felony aggravated assault against Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna has been withdrawn by the Centre County, Pennsylvania district attorney.

McKenna, the potential No. 1 overall pick in the2026 NHL Draft, was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault and a misdemeanor charge of simple assault, plus summary offenses for disorderly conduct and harassment following an altercation Saturday,according to Onward State.

The 18-year-old Penn State freshman forward was reportedly at a downtown State College, Pennsylvania, bar with the team and friends and family following theNittany Lions' outdoor game at Beaver Stadium against Michigan State. It's unknown how the altercation began, but McKenna reportedly broke the jaw of an unidentified individual.

Centre County District Attorney's Office is withdrawing the felony count of Aggravated Assault against Penn State hockey player Gavin McKenna, expected to go first overall in this summer's NHL Draft.Details here:pic.twitter.com/UgeLVdo5LG

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski)February 6, 2026

"A review of the video does not support a conclusion that Gavin McKenna acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or with reckless indifference to the value of human life," District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said during a press conference on Friday,via StateCollege.com.

"In order to establish probable cause for the crime of Aggravated Assault, the Commonwealth must establish that a person acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or acted recklessly under circumstances showing an extreme indifference to the value of human life," Cantorna explained.

According to thePennsylvania court docket, McKenna is awaiting a preliminary hearing on Feb. 11 at Centre County Courthouse.The State College Police Department confirmed the charges in a statement released Wednesday night, adding that McKenna was released on $20,000 bail.

The Penn State athletic department released the following statement to Onward State a few hours after the arrest was reported:

"We are aware that charges have been filed; however, as this is an ongoing legal matter, we will not have any further comment."

In July, McKenna announced that he would be attending Penn State following three seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League, one of three leagues that makes up the Canadian Hockey League. The move was made possible after theNCAA's ruling that allowed CHL players to play collegiately.

Through 24 games this season, McKenna has 11 goals and 32 points for the Nittany Lions, who are in third place in the Big Ten. He was recently ranked as theNo. 1 North American skater by NHL Central Scoutingahead of June's NHL draft.

British police said they are searching two properties linked toPeter Mandelsonas part of their investigation into misconduct in public office, following revelations about the former UK ambassador to the US' links to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Since the US Justice Department's latest release of materials related to Epstein,Mandelson has been accused of passing on market-sensitive government information that was of clear financial interest to Epstein in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

London's Metropolitan Police said Friday that its officers were carrying out search warrants at two addresses, one in the southern county of Wiltshire and one in Camden, a neighborhood in the north of the capital.

"The searches are related to an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office offenses, involving a 72-year-old man," said Hayley Sewart, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Met.

Mandelson, 72, has not been arrested and enquiries are ongoing, she said.

Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday and quit the House of Lords, the upper chamber of Britain's parliament, on Wednesday.

CNN has been unable to contact Mandelson this week.

The Mandelson scandal has plunged Keir Starmer's government into crisis and raised questions about the prime minister's political judgment. Starmer appointed Mandelson as ambassador last year, despite his well-known friendship with Epstein, which continued after the financier was convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.

Mandelson has offered scant comment to British media this week. Previously, he has said: "I want to say loudly and clearly that I was wrong to believe (Epstein) following his conviction and to continue my association with him afterwards. I apologize unequivocally for doing so to the women and girls who suffered."

Starmer fired Mandelson as ambassador in September, following a previous release of Epstein files which showed that Mandelson had penned a handwritten note for the financier's 50th birthday, describing him as "my best pal." A trove of emails reported by British media at the same time showed that Mandelson said he felt "hopeless and furious" after Epstein's conviction. Mandelson's sacking as ambassador marked the third time he had been removed from a senior role in government due to his ties to wealthy individuals.

The DOJ's latest release of Epstein files revealed that Mandelson – while serving as business secretary in the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown – appeared to leak sensitive UK government information to Epstein as the country considered a raft of policy measures to aid its recovery from the 2008 financial crisis.

Newly released emails from June 2009 showed that Mandelson forwarded Epstein a memo written for Brown, which advocated £20 billion of asset sales to help relieve Britain's debt burden and revealed Labour's tax policy plans.

Bank statements from the DOJ's latest release also appeared to show that Epstein paid a total of $75,000 into bank accounts linked to Mandelson between 2003 and 2004. Email exchanges also suggested that the financier may have sent £10,000 to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, now Mandelson's husband, to help fund his osteopathy course.

Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, Starmer said the revelations about Mandelson were "beyond infuriating" and that the former ambassador had "lied repeatedly" about his relationship with Epstein. "Mandelson betrayed our country, our parliament, and our party," he said.

Starmer is under intense pressure to explain what the vetting process uncovered about Mandelson's ties to Epstein before his appointment as ambassador a year ago. Following a public outcry, the government has agreed to release documents surrounding Mandelson's appointment.

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There have been at least 733 confirmed measles cases reported across the nation, thelatest datafrom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed Friday.

In just a few weeks, the United States reported four times as many cases than typically seen throughout an entire calendar year, the CDC said.

Before last year, which had a record breaking 2,276 cases, the U.S. averaged 180 cases annually since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.

The record numbers come asSouth Carolinais dealing with the largest outbreak recorded in recent memory.

Other states that have reported cases and are dealing with ongoing outbreaks include Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Most of the outbreaks occurring across the country are in pockets of under-vaccinated or unvaccinated communities.

"Because it's such an infectious virus, whenever you see measles outbreaks, it in effect, highlights areas of the country or communities in which vaccination rates are low," Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the former head of the CDC's branch that tracks diseases including measles, told ABC News.

1 year since measles cases found in Texas, US still seeing surge of infections with elimination status at risk

The rate of kindergartners vaccinated with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine has fallen from 95% in 2019 to below 93% in 2025, CDC data shows. Herd immunity, a threshold for vaccination rates that slow a virus' ability to spread, is typically achieved at 95% vaccination rates, public health experts say.

"I think that this highlights that our defenses are down, especially in some parts of the country and in some communities where vaccination rates aren't high enough to stop measles outbreaks in their tracks," Daskalakis said.

Declining vaccination rates have left approximately 300,000 kindergarteners unprotected from measles infection.

The MMR vaccine is given in two doses, the initial shot given after the first year of life and the second shot given after the fourth year of life.

Low vaccination rates in communities may lead to further outbreaks and spread of the virus, potentially even putting those who are vaccinated at risk.

"If you have someone vaccinated for an infection and expose them to enough of that pathogen, you can overwhelm that immunity," Daskalakis said.

"The lowest hanging fruit strategy to end the measles outbreak is to increase rates of vaccination," he added.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The U.S. government wants a judge to dismiss a lawsuit from survivors and relatives of the victims ofMaine's deadliest mass shooting, who say the Army failed them by not intervening before the killings.

The familiesallege the government was negligentin failing to act on warning signs displayed by the shooter, an Army reservist.

Eighteen people were killed when the 40-year-old reservist opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar and grill in Lewiston in October 2023. An independent commission appointed by Maine's governor later concluded that there were numerousopportunities for interventionby both Army officials and civilian law enforcement.

In a filing Thursday in Maine federal court, the government urged a judge to toss the lawsuit, saying the court lacks the authority to hear the case and that the families' claims don't meet the legal standard to move forward.

The lawsuit alleges that the Army was negligent when it failed to properly investigate the shooter's mental condition. But the government says the shooter was "solely responsible" for the attack and the government should not be held liable for his actions.

Attorneys for 100 survivors and victims' family members announced the filing of the lawsuit last year. They thenrefiled their lawsuitin September following a U.S. Department of Defense watchdog report that faulted the Army for a high rate of failure to report violent threats by service members.

"Unfortunately, the government's motion was predictable and expected. The government's motion is a lengthy denial of any legal responsibility for broken promises to protect the community it pledges to defend. We look forward to filing our response," said Travis Brennan and Ben Gideon, attorneys for the families, in a Friday statement.

The lawsuit faults the Army, U.S. Department of Defense and Keller Army Community Hospital for negligence, and names the U.S. government as the defendant. The lawsuit said the defendants failed to "respond to warning signs and an explicit threat to commit a mass shooting" by the shooter, Robert Card.

Card was found dead by suicide two days after the shootings.

The attorneys have said the Army did not act despite being aware of Card'smental health decline. Card's mental health spiral led to his hospitalization and left him paranoid, delusional and expressing homicidal ideations, plaintiffs said. He even produced a "hit list" of those he wanted to attack, they said.

The Lewiston shootings led to new guns laws in Maine, a state with a long tradition of hunting and gun ownership. The laws promptedlegal actionon the part of gun rights advocates in the state and remain a contentious topic more than two years later.

Mike Conley Jr. is returning to Minnesota after a trade deadline pinball trip through the league.

After being traded twice and waived this week,the longtime NBA veteran is planning to return to the Timberwolvesas a free agent, according to ESPN. Conley and Minnesota are working out the timing of him re-signing with the team.

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Conley, 38, was first dealt this week from the Wolves to the Chicago Bulls as part ofa three-team tradethat sent Kevin Huerter and Dario Šarić to the Detroit Pistons. Detroit also received a 2026 protected first-round swap with Minnesota. Also in the deal, Jaden Ivey went from the Pistons to the Bulls.

A day later, Conley was on his wayto the Charlotte Hornets with Coby Whitein exchange for Collin Sexton and three second-round picks. The Bulls also acquired Ousmane Dieng from Charlotte in a deal in which the Oklahoma City Thunder got Mason Plumlee.

Yet neither the Bulls nor Hornets intended to keep Conley and his $10.7 million salary for the 2025-26 campaign. He can be a free agent after the season.

[Get more Timberwolves news: Minnesota team feed]

The NBA's collective bargaining agreement says teams are not allowed to trade a player and then re-sign him if he's waived. However, Conley can return to Minnesota since he was traded a second time before he was let go.

Following the brief interruption to his stay, Conley will resume his fourth season with the Timberwolves. He returns to a Minnesota team thatadded Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillipsin another deadline deal that sent Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks to Chicago.

Before being dealt, Conley was averaging 4.4 points, 2.9 assists and 1.8 rebounds while limited to 44 games with back spasms and tendinopathy in his right Achilles.

Overall, Conley has played 19 seasons in the NBA, 12 for the Memphis Grizzlies and four with the Utah Jazz. During his career, he has averaged 13.7 points and 5.6 assists while shooting 39% on 3-pointers.

Minnesota is 32-20 and in sixth place in the West.