But no one appears to have connected the factual dots yet, and it’s unclear whether they will.

The Internal Revenue Service has a major role in carrying out the health care law, because financial assistance to help the uninsured afford coverage will be funneled through the tax system. At the same time, the IRS is also responsible for penalties on individuals and employers who fail to comply with the law’s requirements.

In the latest twist, it turns out that the former head of the office that subjected tea-party groups seeking tax exemptions to tougher scrutiny is now running the tax agency’s division in charge of implementing the health care law.

That official apparently switched roles before internal alarm bells went off about the problem. But feed all that into today’s frenzied world of online speculation, and red-meat associations are irresistible.

“Now we’ve learned that the IRS, which is tasked with enforcing this very unpopular bill of Obamacare, the IRS admitted they targeted Americans,” Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., said during floor debate this week on repealing the health care law.

“And so this gargantuan government expansion known as Obamacare will allow bureaucrats access to our most intimate, personal health information,” she added. “It will be a huge database that government is putting together and building right now. Under Obamacare, the average American will pay more, they’ll get less, and now they have to worry that their government may punish them because of their beliefs.”

Nonsense, says Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the IRS.

“There really isn’t a tie,” said Levin. “This is another effort by the Republicans to essentially try to score political points.”

The head of the IRS health care office, Sarah Hall Ingram, was in charge of the tax exempt division when agents first started improperly targeting conservative groups over their applications for tax-exempt status. The fallout has already led to the ouster of acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, followed by the announcement that the current head of the division will retire.

But the IRS said Ingram was re-assigned to help the agency implement the health care law in December 2010, about six months before a Treasury inspector general’s report said her subordinate, the director of exempt organizations, learned about the targeting.

“There isn’t any evidence that Sarah Ingram had any inkling of the problems,” said Levin. By comparison, Levin continued, ousted commissioner Miller failed to adequately inform Congress after he learned.

Tom Davis, a former Republican congressman from Virginia, said GOP lawmakers are right to be looking for a connection, but must be careful not to overplay their hand.

The health care law “is 50-50 with the public on a good day,” said Davis. “You put that together with the IRS and it’s combustible. For Republicans, I think they need to go a little slower and get some facts in.”

“I don’t think it’s just a couple of underlings, but they don’t have any smoking gun yet,” he added.

Though it plays a crucial role in carrying out the health care law, the IRS is part of the back-office operation. IRS agents won’t be setting up health insurance markets, and they won’t have a say in which health plans people get to pick or what doctors they see.

However, agency officials will determine who is eligible for financial assistance under the law — and who must pay penalties.

The reason the IRS is involved in what’s essentially a social program is that lawmakers crafted the financial subsidies available under the health law as tax credits. The agency already administers another major social program, the earned income tax credit, which long ago surpassed welfare as the main source of government assistance for low-income families.

The IRS is involved with four major components of the health care law. The most important one is determining if individual Americans are entitled to new tax credits to help pay private insurance premiums. It’s a complex calculation.

Keyed to income on a sliding scale, the credits are available starting in 2014 to households making up to four times the federal poverty level, or about $94,000 for a family of four. Individuals or families are eligible if they don’t have affordable coverage on the job. But if you understate your income to get a bigger credit, you’ll owe more taxes next year.

The agency is also in charge of assessing penalties on people who ignore the law’s requirement to carry health insurance, which applies to virtually all Americans starting next year.

On the employer side, the IRS administers a tax credit to help small businesses with low-wage employees afford coverage, and it’s also in charge of imposing penalties on companies with 50 or more employees that don’t offer coverage.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (CBSDC/AP) — As many as twenty five people were injured when two trains collided in Fairfield, Conn., authorities announced Friday, after what the train line is calling a “major derailment.”

Metro-North tells CBS New York an eastbound train derailed and collided with a westbound train around 6:10 p.m.

As of 8:45 p.m., authorities announced at least 50 people were injured. However, none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening, according to the transit agency.

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(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

A new paper published this week detailed how military personnel in Iraq who had suffered multiple concussions were more prone to think about or go through with suicide compared to people who had suffered one or no concussions.

According to the paper, 161 subjects who had suspected concussions were questioned about their history of head trauma. Amongst the subjects with two or more concussions, 12 percent said they had considered suicide, by far the largest number among the tested groups. For those subjects who had never suffered a concussion, none of them reported having suicidal thoughts with in the past year. And only 3 percent of those people with one concussion had considered suicide.

“All of a sudden the likelihood of being suicidal increased dramatically once you had the second head injury,” Craig Bryan, lead author of the study, told the Los Angeles Times.

The study, which was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, is the latest research to support the idea that two of the U.S. military’s two biggest epidemics are indeed linked to each other, and that more is needed to address the issue. Bryan told the LA Times that the troops who suffer multiple concussions are hesitant to recognize the problems that come with the pain.

“They very much want to be returned to duty,” Bryan said. “They feel guilty letting everybody else down while they are in a clinic.”

When asked for his opinion on the matter by reporter Jake Russell, the esteemed member of the Hogs was outspoken, calling the movement to change the name “ridiculous.”

So Lavar and Dukes got him on the air to clarify his statements, and he remained pretty consistent with the tone he’d already taken publicly.

Bostic: "Where in America does anybody get the right to tell you what you name an organization? Tell me one thing that this organization...

—
Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) May 17, 2013

"...does that demeans, defaces or devalues anybody from an Indian background anywhere.”

—
Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) May 17, 2013

“Well I think number one, where is the American public entitled to tell someone that’s a business owner, what they will and will not name their team?” Bostic asked, in his interview on 106.7 The Fan Friday. “And secondly, show me where the Redskin name has been offensive to the Native Americans, in any way, shape or form.”

“It’s offensive to the Native Americans. Why?” Bostic later asked.

He asked a lot of questions, all of which were directed at those who’ve aligned themselves on the anti-Redskins side of the debate.

“Tell me specifically what the Redskins have done to make the nickname Redskins so offensive. Have we portrayed the Native Americans in a less than glamorous light?”

Bostic, calling in from Mark Rypien’s charity golf tournament, repeated himself a lot, assumingly for dramatic effect, but still managed to put a button on the entire, tired conversation.

“We’re probably going to talk about this and spin it around all day long,” Bostic said.

“At the end of the day, I still get back to one point. Tell me where the Redskin organization has ever – not one time, two times – has ever presented the Native American in anything than a glamorous light.”

There was a lot more.

Listen below…

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A new study from the Pew Charitable Trusts found that the youngest groups of people have less wealth than their older counterparts had at the same ages, especially Gen-Xers, which lost almost half of their wealth. In a four-year span, Gen-Xers lost 45 percent of their wealth, totaling an average of almost $33,000 per person.

The study, Retirement Security Across Generations: Are Americans Prepared for Their Golden Years?, concluded that early boomers, those people born between 1946 to 1955, could be the final group “on track to retire with enough savings to maintain their financial security through their golden years.”

“Late boomers and Generation-Xers lost significant amounts of wealth during the Great Recession, eroding their already low levels of assets,” said Erin Currier, director of Pew’s economic mobility project. “As policymakers focus on Americans’ retirement security, particular consideration should be paid to how younger generations of workers can make up for these losses and prepare for the future.”

Data supported the study’s projection that the youngest cohorts, such as Gen-Xers, will not have enough assets to secure a stable retirement.

Findings for the report were made from data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, collected by the Federal Reserve Board, and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, conducted by the University of Michigan.

Investigators say Mary Josephine Fish, 52, was walking on the median around 9 a.m. when a white 1998 Honda Accord made an unsafe lane change from the middle lane to the left lane, striking a white 2012 Nissan van. The impact propelled the van up onto the curb where it struck Fish.

Neither driver was injured in the collision.

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But here’s the rub: About a dozen current and former Republican lawmakers took the same cash.

Among them is Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a GOP establishment favorite running to claim a Democratic-held Senate seat next year in West Virginia. Capito took $2,000 from the union last September, Federal Election Commission records show.

On Facebook and search engine StumbleUpon, House Republicans are running paid ads blasting Democrats for feigning “faux outrage” over the IRS scandal, in which the agency apologized for unfairly targeting tea party groups, while furtively holding on to donations from the agency. They’re calling on Democrats to give the cash back.

“Scandal widens,” the NRCC’s policy director, Jordan Davis, wrote on Facebook.

The argument goes something like this: Not only did the IRS favor Democrats by impeding their opponents through the tax code, they’re also funneling money directly to Democratic candidates. And that makes Democrats complacent in the whole mess.

Not quite. The IRS, as a government agency, can’t donate to candidates. The National Treasury Employees Union, which made the donations, represents employees from more than 30 federal agencies ranging from divisions of the Agriculture Department to the Social Security Administration. The IRS is just one of those agencies.

The rush to cast Democrats as tainted by an issue that also touches a number of Republicans could give Democrats an opening to argue that the GOP is overplaying its hand as the Obama administration defends itself over the IRS scandal, the terrorist attack in Libya, and the government’s seizure of The Associated Press’ telephone records.

Capito’s spokesman said the contribution came at the request of union members in her district, and she plans to keep the money. National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brad Dayspring defended his group’s attack by pointing out that unlike Capito, Democrats like New York Sen. Charles Schumer took the money while also calling for tighter IRS restrictions on tax-exempt groups like the ones the IRS has admitted it targeted.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which promotes House GOP candidates, said it isn’t calling on Republican lawmakers to give back the money — just Democrats — but rejected the suggestion that unidirectional criticism was hypocritical. Spokesman Dan Scarpinato noted that the overwhelming majority of the union’s donations went to Democrats.

“Clearly this agency is not only scandal-ridden but also highly biased, which is reflective in both the cash they’ve pumped into Democrat candidates and the fact that they have targeted conservative groups,” he said.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

But if you’d rather not pay any money at all for a big screen experience, you can still get your sci-fi fix. At least one of those space adventures is of the B-grade variety, but at least you can’t say you wasted any money on it.

There are also more movies coming that you’ll have to wait for the cover of actual darkness to see, as more outdoor summer movie festivals get rolling.

Here’s the full list of free movies for the week starting May 18th:

Saturday:

• 11am: State of Aloha (2009), a documentary about Hawaiian statehood on the occasion of the Aloha State’s 50th anniversary. Repeats at 3pm at the National Museum of the American Indian’s Rasmuson Theater, 3rd St. & Independence Ave. SW.
• 2pm: Tess (1979), starring Nastassia Kinski as a young peasant woman torn between two potential suitors. Written and directed by Roman Polanski and playing at the National Gallery of Art’s East Building Auditorium, 4th St. and Constitution Ave. NW.
• 2pm: Francis Joins the WACs (1954). The fifth movie in the classic series about a talking mule who enlists in various military branches. This time, like the title says, he joins the Women’s Army Corps! A salute to the Navy as part of the “Tribute to the Armed Forces” at the Library of Congress’s Packard Campus. 19053 Mount Pony Rd., Culpeper, Va.
• 7pm: The weekly screening of a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” episode at the Black Cat. This week, it’s “Older and Far Away”, from season 6. 1811 14th St. NW.

Sunday:

• 2pm: A River Called Titas (1973). A raw story about the lives of fishermen on a dying river in Bangladesh. Part of the series “The Revolutionary Cinema of Ritwik Ghatak” at the Freer Gallery’s Meyer Auditorium, 1050 Independence Ave. SW.
• 3pm: The Wind (1928), starring Lillian Gish as a woman from the east who moves in with her cousin in the west, and causes strife within the family. With Andrew Simpson providing live piano accompaniment at the National Portrait Gallery’s McEvoy Auditorium, 8th and F St. NW.
• 4:30pm: Miss Julie (1951), perhaps the most successful film adaptation of August Strindberg’s 1888 play about class divisions and repression in 19th century Sweden. Star Anita Björk Dagerman’s daughter Lo will make a live appearance at the National Gallery of Art’s East Building Auditorium, 4th St. and Constitution Ave. NW.

Monday:

• 8pm: Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), a Roger Corman-produced sci-fi B-movie starring Richard Thomas of “Waltons” fame as a farmboy who protects his planet from alien invaders. Hosted by the Washington Psychotronic Film Society at McFadden’s, 2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.

Tuesday:

• 11am: State of Aloha (2009). Repeats at 3pm at the National Museum of the American Indian. See Saturday.
• 7pm: The Prodigal Son (2008). A South African documentarian traces his family tree back to a freed slave in the Caribbean. A $10 donation is requested to benefit BloomBars, 3222 11st St. NW. RSVP here.

Wednesday:

• 7pm: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), starring Harrison Ford as the adventuresome architect and Sean Connery as his impatient dad in a quest for the Holy Grail. The film kicks off NoMa Summer Screen at Loree Grand Field, 2nd St. and L St. NE.

Thursday:

• 11am: State of Aloha (2009). Repeats at 3pm at the National Museum of the American Indian. See Saturday.
• 11am: Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story (2010), an hourlong documentary about how development has changed America’s river. At the Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE.
• 7:30pm: Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Clint Eastwood’s dramatic rendering of the Marines who hoisted the flag atop Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi. Part of the “Tribute to the Armed Forces” at the Library of Congress’s Packard Campus. 19053 Mount Pony Rd., Culpeper, Va.

Friday:

• 11am: State of Aloha (2009). Repeats at 3pm at the National Museum of the American Indian. See Saturday.
• 7pm: The weekly screening of a “Doctor Who” episode at the Black Cat. Tonight, it’s “The Fires of Pompeii”, from season 4. 1811 14th St. NW.
• 7:30pm: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Steven Spielberg’s classic tale of a boy and his space alien, plays at The Alden at McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean, Va.
• Around dusk: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), the John Hughes classic about the ultimate sick day in the streets of Chicago. Part of the “Summer School” themed Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival at Gateway Park, 1300 Lee Hwy., Arlington, Va.

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Police say 40-year-old Anthony Nyrekie Edwards, 24-year-old David Benjamin Neal and 21-year-old Jamal Cooke, all of Oxen Hill, took weapons, computers, jewelry, televisions and other personal belongings from the homes they struck. In one case, they stole a safe with valuables worth nearly $70,000.

Investigators believe the men would knock on doors and, if no one answered, break in and get out within minutes. They would then unloading what they stole in exchange for cash or drugs.  All three are charged with burglary.

A break in the case came when a concerned civilian flagged down a patrol officer and tipped him off to a suspicious sight he witnessed, a man selling televisions out of the back of a vehicle.

While Prince George’s County police say the men were targeting homes in Oxon Hill and Fort Washington, they are also facing similar charges in Charles County and Fairfax County.

Edwards and Neil are in the custody of the Department of Corrections on a no bond status. Cooke was released from custody on a $25,000 bond.

WNEW’s Kevin Rincon contributed to this report. Follow him and WNEW on Twitter.

Washington selected Amerson, a corner back out of N.C. State, with the 51st pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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Tim Duncan had 19 points and six rebounds, Kawhi Leonard scored 16 points and the Spurs won the series in six games.

Tony Parker shook off a poor start to score 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. Tiago Splitter added a career-playoff high 14 points for San Antonio, which led by 13 late in the third quarter.

Stephen Curry shot 10 of 25 from the floor to score 22 points on a nagging left ankle. Jarrett Jack had 15 points as the injury-saddled Warriors wore down. The Spurs outshot Golden State 45 percent to 39 percent.

Second-seeded San Antonio will open the conference finals at home against Memphis on Sunday. The fifth-seeded Grizzlies eliminated Oklahoma City in five games.

The Spurs became the first team to win consecutive games in the series and hand the Warriors consecutive losses in the playoffs—and they did it at just the right time.

The Spurs quieted a standing-room-only crowd late in the third quarter and seemingly seized control for good. Instead, the Warriors roared back.

Klay Thompson, who had 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting, made a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter that sliced San Antonio’s lead to three. And Curry’s pull-up jumper brought the Warriors within 77-75 with 4:52 to play.

Parker was 1 for 13 before hitting a corner 3-pointer to give San Antonio an 80-75 lead. Leonard followed with two free throws to put the Spurs up seven.

Jack made a jumper and two free throws to bring the Warriors back again. Then Leonard hit another corner 3-pointer for the Spurs to go ahead 85-79.

Curry and Thompson had consecutive 3s rim out on the same possession. Parker hit another 3-pointer to put San Antonio up 88-79 with 1:15 remaining and send some of the yellow-shirted crowd of 19,596 heading to the exits.

Fans serenaded the home team with chants of “Warr-i-ors!” in the final seconds. Curry also grabbed the microphone after the game and thanked fans at half court, breaking the huddle with the crowd, “Just us!”

The Spurs showed incredible ball movement all game and had the Warriors playing from behind most of the way. San Antonio’s first 10 field goals came on an assist, going ahead by 10 points twice in the second quarter and maintaining that cushion until late.

Golden State stayed close despite more injury setbacks in a season full of them. Andrew Bogut walked gingerly to the locker room with 8:31 remaining in the second quarter to get his troublesome left ankle re-tapped. Upstart rookie Harrison Barnes fell awkwardly while leaping to contest a layup in the second quarter from Boris Diaw.

Barnes hit the court hard and his teammates immediately called for the training staff to attend to him as the arena fell silent. He received six stitches above his right eye at halftime and ran on the court late to start the third quarter, bringing fans to their feet roaring once more.

At least for a moment.

Barnes left the game in the fourth quarter because of a headache, the team said. He finished with nine points and four rebounds in 31 minutes.

The steady Spurs kept making the Warriors work for every shot and grinding out points on the other end. San Antonio took a 61-48 lead late in the third quarter before Golden State started its final surge.

The Spurs made sure it wasn’t enough.

NOTES: NBA Commissioner David Stern, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and prospective Kings owner Vivek Ranadive attended the game. … The Spurs are 10-1 in closeout games since the start of the 2007 playoffs. … Parker’s worst shooting performance in the playoffs with more than five shot attempts came when he was 1 of 12 against New Jersey in the 2003 NBA Finals won by the Spurs. … The Warriors fell to 4-1 after a loss in the playoffs.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

By Peter Russell

Reviewed by Farah Ahmed, MD

Miami survived a feisty Chicago Bulls team in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Friday night. Chicago was missing its top three players, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, and Derrick Rose, and still took Miami to the final buzzer in Game 5.

While Miami had a commanding 3-1 lead heading into Game 5, Heat fans were concerned with the condition of guard Dwyane Wade’s right knee. Wade has battled a knee problem throughout the playoffs and at times it’s forced him to completely change his game, but never to the detriment of the team.

During Game 5, Wade went into the locker room to have his knee re-wrapped heading into the fourth quarter. When he re-entered the game, he helped the Heat push ahead of the Bulls for the rest of the game.

Wade scored six points in the fourth quarter and in 45 seconds had a blocked shot, defensive rebound, offensive rebound, and a massive putback dunk that had the crowd of the AmericanAirlines Arena rocking.

“Dwyane is uncanny,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “When the competition is at its highest, and its fiercest, he finds a way.”

“I’ll go on and on about how great he is,” Heat superstar LeBron James said. “I really don’t care for the trash talk that he receives.”

The Heat shut down center Joakim Noah in Game 5, limiting him to three points and nine rebounds. But, the Bulls did manage to get Carlos Boozer free for 26 points and 14 rebounds and Nate Robinson had 21 points, but needed 15 shots to get there.

Miami had another solid effort from the entire roster with LeBron, Udonis Haslem, Wade, and Chris Bosh all scoring in double-figures. Mario Chalmers added six points while Shane Battier added 9 points and Chris Andersen had six points in the victory.

Through nine playoff games, Miami is tops in points allowed per game at just 84.7. The Heat’s defense is only allowing teams to hit 29.8 percent of its three-point shots and just 40.9 percent of their overall shots, both of which are best in the league. Miami is also forcing 16 turnovers per game.

On the flip side, Miami is leading the league in field goal percentage at 49.1 percent in the playoffs and is sixth overall during the playoffs in points per game at 98.6.

Miami will open the East finals at home next week. If Indiana beats New York on Thursday — the Pacers lead that series 3-1 — then the Heat and Pacers will meet in Game 1 in Miami on Monday. If the Knicks extend the Pacers to at least six games, then the East finals open Wednesday, regardless of opponent.

“It only gets more difficult and more challenging,” Spoelstra said.

Miami has just one victory over each team this season and lost the season series to both the Knicks and the Pacers. But, that was outside of the playoffs and Miami will be able to rest Wade’s knee until Monday at the earliest.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

He also just happens to have a penchant for low-class hookers.

“In the city of Dubai, there’s these nightclubs where it’s specifically hooker nightclubs and you pretty much have your pick of the litter,” HS told the Junkies on 106.7 The Fan Friday.

But what drives one to develop such an insatiable urge for purchasing sex?

“Now you’ve seen me. Like I said, I’m incredibly ugly,” HS  said. “Well there’s a bunch of eights, nines and tens walking around all of them are willing to do it for $100 U.S. currency.”

That answers that.

For instructional purposes, let’s get to the part where money is actually exchanged for intercourse.

EB: Where you do you find out the price?

HS: You negotiate it with them in the club.

LB: So you say ‘How much is it?’

HS: They’ll usually try to start off with $300 and you say ‘That’s not happening home girl.’

Normally I’d take this opportunity to insert some Big Time commentary, but scaling the edges of the earth to engage in the unholy act of coitus with a cheap hooker is about as ‘nubbs’ as it gets.

This whole thing sounds dangerous though.  You’re in a foreign country, in a sketchy nightclub that’s really more of a heavy petting zoo.

“I’ve been to Panama City, Panama, where there’s guys with machine guns on street corners, you know, military guys, and nothing’s more dangerous than Baltimore,” HS said.

Huh.

Listen below for the full tutorial on how to purchase sexual union with a woman overseas.

Please follow Hagerstown Steve on Twitter.

By Kathleen Doheny

Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD

By Bara Vaida

Reviewed by Lisa Zamosky

The defenses in this series are too good, so the difference is something else.

“It’s just a matter of who wants it more,” Anthony said.

On Thursday night, that was the Knicks.

Anthony scored 28 points and New York avoided elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals with an 85-75 victory over Indiana in Game 5.

“I was totally impressed because we met the challenge,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “I think as a coach you come into games like this and you want to see who’s going to step up and make plays, and I thought we did that tonight. We were the better team in terms of doing that.”

Reserves J.R. Smith and Chris Copeland each had 13 points for the Knicks, who trail 3-2 and will need a victory Saturday in Indiana to force a seventh game back here Monday. They are trying to become the ninth NBA team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series.

“It’s a blessing. I’m extremely excited that I could have some kind of impact on the game,” said Copeland. “I’m going to stay aggressive, my teammates and coaching staff want me to stay aggressive. … And I’m going to keep shooting.”

Anthony, who didn’t make a basket in the fourth quarter of either game in Indiana, made a jumper midway through the fourth quarter after Indiana closed within four points. He followed with two free throws, Raymond Felton made a layup, and the Knicks were never in jeopardy again.

Paul George had 23 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Pacers. They played without point guard George Hill because of a concussion and committed 19 turnovers.

“We’ve just got to play more solid. There’s no other way to put it,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said.

George battled foul trouble and couldn’t contain Anthony quite as well as he had while the Pacers easily won the previous two games.

Anthony made his first two shots as New York raced to a 7-0 lead in a game in which it never trailed. He finished only 12 of 28, but got plenty of bench help.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well, but we made shots at the crucial time,” Anthony said.

David West had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who were trying to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2004.

“We didn’t play well. It was a bad game for us and we were still there,” George said.

The winner will face the defending NBA champion Miami Heat in a series that will start Wednesday.

New York didn’t really shake its scoring slump, shooting only 41 percent from the field, but put together a few runs during the game to open just enough space against a Pacers team that shot 36 percent and was a dismal 19 of 33 at the free throw line.

They clearly missed Hill after learning about four hours before the game they would be without him.

Vogel said Hill was hurt after a collision with Knicks center Tyson Chandler during the first half of Indiana’s 93-82 victory on Tuesday. Hill finished the game and scored 26 points, but experienced some headaches and showed concussion symptoms since and wasn’t able to pass the league’s concussion tests so he could play Thursday night.

The Knicks went back to their regular lineup, reinserting Pablo Prigioni, after going with a bigger group in Game 4 in a futile effort to match Indiana on the boards. The smaller group did a better job, getting outrebounded only 43-40.

“We’re not going to go out without fighting,” Chandler said.

The Knicks finally opened it up midway through the third quarter with a 12-4 run, started by Smith’s bank shot and featuring a 3-pointer and follow shot from Copeland, who got more playing time while Woodson gave little to veterans Amare Stoudemire and the slumping Jason Kidd, who missed his only shot and remains scoreless in the series.

“Coaching is a feel. It’s not always what players want at the end of the day, it’s about winning,” Woodson said. “That’s all I’m in it for.”

Anthony made a jumper and a 3-pointer on his first two shots, and Iman Shumpert followed with another jumper for a 7-0 start. Smith got a big ovation when he checked in, which grew much louder when he made his first shot, dribbling back behind the arc for a 3-pointer that made it 17-12 with 2:56 left in the opening quarter.

Smith has endured a miserable stretch since elbowing Boston’s Jason Terry in the fourth quarter of Game 3 in the first round. Suspended for Game 4, he hasn’t relocated his shot since, hitting 28 percent in the first four games and has been criticized for not being focused after he was seen out a nightclub with singer Rihanna the night before Game 1 — a day game.

He was only 4 of 11, but hit the jumper that started the Knicks’ run in the third quarter.

“Still didn’t shoot the best but it always helps coming home and playing in front of these fans,” Smith said. “Hopefully the little bit of rhythm that I did get carries me over.”

The Knicks extended their 19-15 lead after one to 32-23 on Copeland’s 3-pointer with 7:06 remaining in the second. The Pacers chipped away for most of the half, but couldn’t take the lead in part because of their sloppy free throw shooting, going 8 of 16 in the half that agonizingly wouldn’t end when both Chandler and the Pacers’ Sam Young committed fouls more than 30 feet from the basket in the final 2.4 seconds.

NOTES: Kidd is 0 for 8 in the series, part of a 0-for-17 skid that began with Game 3 against Boston in the first round. The 40-year-old point guard, surely headed for the Hall of Fame, is 3 of 25 in the postseason and hasn’t scored since hitting a 3-pointer against the Celtics in Game 2 on April 23. He played 5 minutes and Stoudemire played 6½. … The Phoenix Suns are the last team to win a series after trailing 3-1, beating the Los Angeles Lakers in 2006. The Brooklyn Nets forced Chicago to a seventh game in the first round, but dropped Game 7 on their home floor. … West was 5 of 13 in the first half. The other four Indiana starters were 5 for 23.

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• Nats Place Ramos on 15-Day DL, Recall Solano

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Krissa Hillman, an 11-year-old 5th grader at Bollman Bridge Elementary in Jessup, is a finalist in Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club Grow Your Own Business Challenge. The national competition encourages student to come up with fresh business concepts. About 4,000 contestants between the ages of 7 to 16 entered this year.

Krissa’s standout idea was Cupcakes for Literacy, a business created to sell baked goods benefit reading programs, libraries and local schools. It has already enjoyed some success. Krissa organized a bake sale during parent-teacher conferences and was able to raise $258 in six hours. The funds were given to the school’s library.

She will be flying to Omaha, Nebraska, with other finalists this weekend to personally present her idea to Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Forbes-ranked billionaire Warren Buffett. The winner of the competition will receive $5,000.

WNEW’s John Domen contributed to this report. Follow him and WNEW on Twitter.

After a week that put him on the defensive and consumed by a trio of political controversies, Obama left the turmoil behind on a short helicopter flight about 40 miles north to Baltimore. The city has had its share of tough times in its move from an industrial to service economy, but Obama wanted to highlight its progress. Maryland overall has experienced job growth this year as part of a nationwide economic recovery.

Obama cited growth in the economy, a drop in unemployment nationwide and improvements in the housing and auto industries. But he said Washington still needs to do more to build a “rising, thriving middle class” that will boost economic growth even more.

“We’re now poised for progress, but our work is not done and our focus cannot drift,” he said in remarks to employees of a factory that makes digging and pumping equipment for the mining industry. “We’ve got to stay focused on our economy and putting people back to work and raising wages and bringing manufacturing back to the United States of America.”

“That has to be what we’re thinking about every single day,” Obama said.

Obama’s comments seemed almost like a plea to his political opponents, and even some supporters, to stay focused on the economy and jobs and to shift from all the questions that have been dogging the president, including about the administration’s handling of the deadly September 2012 terrorist attack at a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya. The past week also brought revelations that the Internal Revenue Service had been targeting conservative political groups and that the Justice Department had seized telephone records for Associated Press journalists as part of a leak investigation.

“Others may get distracted by chasing every fleeting issue that passes by,” Obama said. “But the middle class will always be my No. 1 focus. Period. Your jobs, your families and your communities.”

The White House said Obama’s visit would focus on three areas of needed investment to grow the middle class: jobs, skills and opportunity.

He highlighted the manufacturing base that still thrives here by speaking at Ellicott Dredges, maker of equipment for underwater excavation. He visited with students in an early childhood education program along with a community center that provides job training. Obama has proposed making public preschool available for all 4-year-olds from low-income families.

At the elementary school, Obama watched a group of youngsters learn to write about their favorite zoo animals and quizzed them on simple arithmetic. When one girl had a hard time coming up with the answer to one equation, Obama said in a sympathetic tone that “subtraction is tougher than addition.”

Obama’s turn to the economy came in a state that added 31,200 jobs over a year, making for a 6.5 percent unemployment rate in April, according to the most recent data by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. April saw a downturn, with Maryland losing 6,200 jobs after four consecutive months of job growth. The state unemployment rate for April was still a percentage point below the national rate of 7.5 percent for the month.

“Last year, we had the best-rated job creation of any state in our region and we have very nearly recovered 100 percent of the jobs that we lost during the recession,” Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said at a bill-signing ceremony on Thursday.

Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s only Republican congressman, criticized Obama’s trip as a photo opportunity and said the president should have stayed in Washington to work on economic problems. Harris said Obama has been dragging his feet on developing the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry oil from western Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast and create jobs. The administration has not yet taken a position on the project, which is opposed by environmentalists but supported by the president of Ellicott Dredges, Peter Bowe, in testimony before Congress Thursday.

“That would boost jobs at Ellicott Dredges, but other than that, it’s just going to be another photo op on a campaign-style tour when the president should be in Washington tending to the nation’s business and to address the huge scandals that are popping up on a daily basis in Washington,” Harris said in a conference call with other Maryland Republicans.

At the plant, Obama touted another effort to create jobs faster. He signed a memorandum Friday directing federal agencies to update infrastructure permit processes, aiming to cut their timelines in half. The White House said it’s an important step in the president’s goal of creating jobs by making urgent repairs to roads, bridges and railways.

The White House cited as an example the recently approved replacement of the aging Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River in the suburbs just north of New York City, which saved two to three years on the timeline.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

In her 15-minute address, the first lady touched on the university’s founding in 1865 to train black teachers; the difficulties confronted by black students after emancipation from slavery and during the civil rights movement; and the sacrifices made by her own parents, who were not college graduates.

“I am thinking about all the mothers and the fathers just like my parents, who dug into pockets for their last dime,” Mrs. Obama said. “Their sacrifice is your legacy.”

Located in suburban Washington, Bowie State has about 5,400 undergraduate and graduate students. The university invited the first lady to speak and moved its commencement to the University of Maryland’s College Park campus to accommodate a crowd of thousands, which greeted the first lady with a standing ovation.

Mrs. Obama typically gives a few commencement addresses each year and has spoken at several other historically black colleges and universities since President Barack Obama became the nation’s first black chief executive. She received an honorary doctorate from Bowie State on Friday.

The first lady said education was a lifeline to the first students at the nearly 150-year-old school. Its founding “was in many ways an act of defiance, an elegant rebuttal to the idea that black people couldn’t or shouldn’t be educated,” she said. “Back then, people were hungry to learn.”

But Obama said too much of the black community has lost that desire. One in 3 African-Americans are dropping out of high school, she said, and only 1 in 5 between the ages of 25 and 29 has a bachelor’s degree. She also cited statistics that show college graduates make more money and live longer than high school dropouts.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Lottery officials say the prize is growing quickly Friday because so many people have been purchasing the $2 tickets. The jackpot has grown by an estimated $236 million since the last drawing on Wednesday.

The last jackpot was won on March 30, so it’s been growing for about six weeks. The next drawing is Saturday night.

The largest jackpot ever was a $656 million Mega Millions prize won in March 2012. The prize was split three ways with winners in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.

Odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are about 1 in 175 million.

Follow WNEW on Twitter.

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CHICAGO (AP) — Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has a habit of attracting attention.

Maybe you recall the former No. 1 overall pick hitting the Internet last season, when photos show him partying in Madison, Wis. Or the 2009 arrest in his hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., after an altercation with a cab driver.

All that seems so long ago for Kane, who on Thursday was named one of the finalists for the Lady Byng trophy given to the NHL player who exhibits the best sportsmanship and “gentlemanly conduct” along with top skills on the ice.

That shouldn’t be a surprise given Kane’s dazzling talent. He stepped right into the Blackhawks lineup and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year. He scored 30 goals and 88 points in the 2009-10 regular season, then added 10 goals and 18 assists in the playoffs as the Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years.

Then came this lockout-shortened season and the 24-year-old Kane has had the most effective season of his six-year career, according to coach Joel Quenneville, whose team holds a leads 1-0 in its Western Conference seminal series against Detroit. Game 2 will be played in Chicago on Saturday.

“I thought Kaner really progressed in his game this year,” Quenneville said. “Offensively he had the puck more than he ever did. I thought he had more speed, more pace to his game. He seemed to be more aware positionally and technically. He definitely improved his play in his own end. It thought his overall game was to a new level this year.

Kane led Chicago this season with 55 points, on 23 goals and 32 assists. More than his passing and playmaking — including a handful of jaw-dropping 360-degree pirouettes — have improved.

“I though each and every year Kaner has gotten better as a player in all aspect of his game,” Quenneville said. “He’s gotten stronger, he’s gotten better and he’s growing up as well.”

Kane, who has never taken a fighting major in the NHL, has been smarter, too. His penalty minute total has dropped from 52 as a rookie to just eight last season.

“I thought maybe I’d have a chance at this one (award) and I think it kind of speaks volumes for where my game has gone since my rookie season,” Kane said. “I remember I used to take a lot of penalties that were kind of unnecessary. I kind have got that out of my game a little bit. I’m definitely happy about it. It’s an honor.”

Kane has yet to score in six playoff games this season. But he has been visible on the ice, with six assists and a plus-4 rating.

“I just play my game and if the pass is there I’ll try to make the pass,” he said. “If it’s a shot, then I’ll shoot. That’s the thing with our team. If one or two guys aren’t scoring, then other guys are stepping up. That’s the way it’s been all year. Whoever it might be, that’s why we’ve been so successful.”

The Blackhawks anticipate a stiffer challenge from the Red Wings in Game 2. After Chicago defeated Detroit 4-1 on Wednesday night, coach Mike Babcock said his team was tired, coming off a seven-game upset of Anaheim in the opening round.

“I expect them to be better for sure,” Quenneville said. “Those Western trips back-and-forth add up.”

Babcock, who gave his team a day off Thursday, predicted the Red Wings will be re-energized on Saturday

“We have no reason not to be very good in the next game,” he said. “We got to get back at her and playing at a high tempo because obviously they were playing at a level (in Game 1) that we weren’t playing at.”

Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall added: “We know we’re better than this.”

Kane will be ready. As for the Lady Byng award, seven Blackhawks have won it but none since Stan Mikita in 1968.

“It’s an award that definitely a great honor,” he said. “I think it’s got a little different view now from players. Like it says in the (description), it’s skill and sportsmanship put together.”

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — The ousted head of the Internal Revenue Service apologized to Congress on Friday for his agency’s tougher treatment of Tea Party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. He said they resulted from a misguided effort to handle a flood of applications, not political bias.

“I want to apologize on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service for the mistakes that we made and the poor service we provided,” Steven Miller, who has been acting IRS commissioner, told the House Ways and Means Committee as the panel held Congress’ first hearing on the episode. “The affected organizations and the American public deserve better. Partisanship and even the perception of partisanship have no place at the Internal Revenue Service.”

At a hearing that saw lawmakers from both parties harshly criticize his agency, Miller conceded that “foolish mistakes were made” by IRS officials trying to handle a flood of groups seeking tax-exempt status. He said the process that resulted in conservatives being targeted, “while intolerable, was a mistake and not an act of partisanship.”

Though Miller and another top IRS official are stepping down, the chairman of the committee said that would not be enough.

“The reality is this is not a personnel problem. This is a problem of the IRS being too large, too powerful, too intrusive and too abusive of honest, hardworking taxpayers,” said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich.

At one point, anti-IRS sentiment was voiced by spectators, who included members of grass-roots conservative groups. They broke into cheers after Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., said, “This is absolutely an overreach, and this is an outrage for all Americans.”

Camp also said the tougher examinations that conservative groups encountered seemed to be part of a “culture of cover-ups and intimidation in this administration.” He offered no other examples.

Camp’s remark about cover-ups drew a sharp retort from the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan. Levin said if the hearing became a preview of the 2014 political campaigns, “we’ll be making a very, very serious mistake.”

The administration has been forced on the defensive about last September’s terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, and the government’s seizure of The Associated Press’ telephone records as part of a leaks investigation.

Republicans are hoping to link the issues in an effort to raise questions about President Barack Obama’s credibility and make it harder for him to press a second-term agenda.

Friday’s hearing is the first of what are expected to be many on the subject by congressional panels. Underscoring the seriousness of the episode, Miller was sworn in as a witness, an unusual step for the Ways and Means panel and one that could put Miller in jeopardy if he is later shown to have misled lawmakers with his testimony.

When the hearing ended after nearly four hours, Camp said, “I promise the American people, this investigation has just begun.”

Levin said that the IRS’s mistreatment of conservative groups meant the agency “completely failed the American people.” He said Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that makes decisions about tax-exempt groups, should be “relieved of her duties.”

Miller said the IRS struggled to efficiently handle growing numbers of applications for tax-exempt status.

The agency has said between 2008 and 2012, the number of groups applying for tax-exempt status as so-called social welfare groups more than doubled. Along with that was an increase in complaints that such groups were largely engaging in electoral politics, which is not supposed to be their primary activity.

“I do not believe partisanship motivated the people” at the IRS who engaged in the harsher screening for conservative groups, Miller said, adding that the agency “learned its lesson.”

In recent months, Republicans on the Ways and Means panel had repeatedly asked the IRS about complaints from conservative groups that their applications were being treated unfairly.

On Friday, numerous Republicans wanted to know why Miller and others never told them the groups were being targeted, even after May 2012, when the IRS has said Miller was briefed on the practice. Miller was previously a deputy commissioner whose portfolio included the unit that made decisions about tax-exempt status.

“I did not mislead Congress or the American people,” Miller told Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., one of several Republicans who challenged him about why he hadn’t mentioned the targeting in the past.

Also testifying Friday was J. Russell George, the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration.

In a report he issued this week, George said IRS officials reported they were not politically pressured to target conservative groups. Asked about that conclusion, George said Friday, “We have no evidence at this time to contradict that assertion,” but in prepared testimony to the committee he said he is continuing to investigate that question.

George’s report concluded that the IRS office in Cincinnati, which screened applications for the tax exemptions, improperly singled out tea party and other conservative groups for tougher treatment. The report says the practice began in March 2010 and lasted more than 18 months.

The report blamed “ineffective management” for letting IRS officials craft “inappropriate criteria” to review applications from Tea Party and other conservative groups, based on their names or political views. It found that the IRS took no action on many of the conservative groups’ applications for tax-exempt status for long periods of time, hindering their fundraising for the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Republicans have spent the past few days trying to link the IRS’ improper scrutiny of conservatives to Obama. The president has said he didn’t know about the targeting until last Friday, when Lerner acknowledged at a legal conference that conservative groups had been singled out.

Many of the groups were applying for tax-exempt status as social welfare organizations, which are allowed to participate in campaign activity if that is not their primary activity. The IRS judges whether that imprecise standard is met.

Attorney General Eric Holder has said the FBI was investigating whether the IRS may have violated applicants’ civil rights.

Obama has rejected the idea of naming a special prosecutor to investigate the episode, saying the investigations by Congress and the Justice Department were sufficient.

Obama has named Daniel Werfel, a top White House budget officer, to replace Miller.

Also Thursday, Joseph Grant, one of Miller’s top deputies, announced plans to retire June 3, according to an internal IRS memo. Grant is commissioner of the agency’s tax exempt and government entities division, which includes the agents that targeted Tea Party groups for additional scrutiny.

Grant joined the IRS in 2005 and took over as acting commissioner of the tax exempt and government entities division in December 2010. He was just named the permanent commissioner May 8.

When asked whether Grant was pressured to leave, IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge said Grant had more than 31 years of federal service and it was his personal decision to leave.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

“When you’re the elected executive in charge of the government, the buck stops with you,” Christie said during a campaign event Friday in Burlington City, “and ultimately, you’re held responsible for everything.”

He says Obama was too slow to respond as his administration has been mired in questions about the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, new details about how it explained last year’s deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, and the Justice Department’s seizure of journalists’ phone records.

Christie, a Republican, is sometimes mentioned as a possible presidential candidate for 2016. His criticism of Obama echoes what many commentators from across the political spectrum have said.

The governor, though, did not assert that Obama should have known about the IRS audits of tea party and other conservative groups or the Justice Department obtaining phone records for Associated Press journalists. “You can’t know everything,” he said.

His critique, which came in response to a reporter’s question, focused on how Obama handled matters after word was out.

The fiery Christie has often criticized the president, but he has also praised him numerous times for his handling of Superstorm Sandy when it slammed into New Jersey last year.

Christie says he’s most concerned about the IRS’s actions, saying that if people can’t believe that the agency is nonpartisan, “then everybody’s at risk.”

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

BALTIMORE (AP) — Trying to reset the agenda amid scandal in Washington, President Barack Obama turned his attention Friday to the economy and said lawmakers should spend every day resolute on how to help it grow and get people back to work. “Our focus cannot drift,” he said.

After a week that put him on the defensive and consumed by a trio of political controversies, Obama left the turmoil behind on a short helicopter flight about 40 miles north to Baltimore. The city has had its share of tough times in its move from an industrial to service economy, but Obama wanted to highlight its progress. Maryland overall has experienced job growth this year as part of a nationwide economic recovery.

Obama cited growth in the economy, a drop in unemployment nationwide and improvements in the housing and auto industries. But he said Washington still needs to do more to build a “rising, thriving middle class” that will boost economic growth even more.

“We’re now poised for progress but our work is not done and our focus cannot drift,” he said in remarks to employees of a factory that makes digging and pumping equipment for the mining industry. “We’ve got to stay focused on our economy and putting people back to work and raising wages and bringing manufacturing back to the United States of America.”

“That has to be what we’re thinking about every single day,” Obama said.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Marchand scored the game-winner for Boston 15:40 into overtime on Thursday night, giving Boston a 3-2 OT win and a 1-0 series lead over the Rangers.

For Marchand, it was all about turning the page from a goal-less series and focusing on the new task at hand.

“It’s a whole new series and we’re happy to play the Rangers,” Marchand said after the game. “They’re a very good team and a very good battle. It’s nice to finally get one there and get the monkey off the back, and hopefully they keep coming.”

Hurley: B’s Capitalize On OT Power-Play, Ride Momentum To Win

The Rangers had the upper hand during regulation, but the Bruins dominated in overtime — putting 16 shots on net. The Rangers managed just five shots, but the B’s were still worried that even though they were dictating the action, one of those silly playoff goals could do them in.

“That’s usually how it goes in the playoffs. One team does very well in overtime and then the other team gets a lucky one. We hit so many posts and had so many very good opportunities. They were bound to get one,” said Marchand. “We’re happy that we’re able to capitalize in these overtime games. They’re very tough games to be in, but we’re happy with the win tonight.”

Kalman: Chara Once Again Bruins’ Blue-Line Workhorse

Hopefully this is the start of something good for the slumping Marchand, who led Boston with 18 goals in the regular season but hadn’t scored in his last 11 games. Marchand became a hero for Boston during their Stanley Cup run in 2011, scoring 11 goals to set a new Bruins record, and he received a message from his then-linemate Mark Recchi prior to Thursday night with a few words of encouragement.

“He just texted me and told me to play my game and not to worry about anything else,” said Marchand. “The goals and stuff will come. It’s nice to hear from him. He’s obviously a guy that I went through a lot when I played with him, and it was good to hear from him again.”

Maybe Recchi should shoot Marchand a text before every game. And on that note, maybe Marchand should get morning skates off as well.

There was a scare early Thursday when Marchand appeared to leave the ice in pain during the Bruins’ morning skate. But head coach Claude Julien quickly dismissed it as anything serious, and now he’s wondering if he should let Marchand leave practice early from now on.

“I think that’s what he needed to do, get off the ice early so he could score that winning goal. Whatever works is good for us,” Julien joked after the win. “I thought Brad, personally, I thought that was one of his better games so far in the playoffs. He skated well, made some great plays, he took pucks to the net and that’s the Brad Marchand that we know. It was nice to see him really bring his A-game to the table.”

“Claude knows I hate morning skates,” said Marchand. “He used to yell at me when we won the Cup there because I wouldn’t even take a stride. I just wanted to get off early.”

Marchand wasn’t the only player on the Bruins second line to struggle during the series against the Leafs, which prompted Julien to swap out Tyler Seguin with Jaromir Jagr. No one was sure how the Marchand-Jagr-Patrice Bergeron line would pan out, but the Bruins head coach said over the last two games, the line has shown a lot of promise.

“We put them together; we weren’t quite sure how it would turn out, but the first game, which was Game Seven, as the game went on, they got a little bit better, but I thought tonight, again, they took another step in the right direction,” said Julien. “They did a great job of cycling the puck down low in the offensive zone, and hanging on to it. That was a good line for us, and we’re going to need that because we don’t want to just rely on the [David] Krejci line to produce, but we want a little bit more out of our other lines.”

After barely making a whisper last series, the Bruins’ second line is starting to make some noise. And it should come as no surprise that Marchand is the one to get that noise started.

Tune in to every Bruins playoff game on 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship station of the Boston Bruins. Pregame coverage begins 30 minutes before every game!

With three minutes left, the San Jose Sharks appeared to be cruising toward a well-deserved win over Los Angeles. After two penalties and two dynamic power-play goals, the Kings were halfway to the Western Conference finals.

And even the Kings weren’t quite sure how they got there.

Brown tied it with 1:43 left and Trevor Lewis scored the tiebreaking power-play goal 22 seconds later, propelling the defending Stanley Cup champions to a 4-3 victory Thursday night and a 2-0 series lead.

“It’s huge, I guess,” Brown said. “Two minutes left, down one, it’s about capitalizing. The power play is about scoring big goals, and we found a way to do that. We’re happy with the result, but we have to play better. We can’t let it get to that situation every night.”

Brown scored during a 5-on-3 advantage and Lewis provided the winner on a loose puck with 1:21 left, sending Staples Center into shocked celebration. The Kings won their 12th straight home game since March and their sixth straight postseason game, but only after getting outplayed for long stretches and needing late-game magic to thrive.

“It’s a roller coaster, but when you go through the experience of everything we did last year, you keep your emotions in check,” Brown said. “Even when that happens, you know there’s a lot of work still to do.”

Game 3 is Saturday night at the Shark Tank.

Jeff Carter scored on the Kings’ first shot and added an assist on Brown’s goal. Drew Doughty scored an early power-play goal for Los Angeles, which didn’t really get rolling until the third period — and with two late goals, the Kings landed one of the most amazing victories in their relatively thin playoff history.

“We found a way,” Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter said. “You know what? The power play was on. We’ve been talking about it. We’ve been getting good looks and good opportunities and not finishing, and we got it from different guys.”

Jonathan Quick made 28 saves for the Kings, tying Kelly Hrudey’s franchise record with his 26th career playoff victory. Antti Niemi stopped 27 shots for the Sharks, but was powerless to stop the Kings’ power play.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored his first career playoff goal with 11:04 to play for the Sharks, who were doomed by their late penalties after rallying from an early two-goal deficit. Coach Todd McLellan left his team alone in the dressing room afterward.

“I liked our game,” McLellan said. “We’ll meet (Friday) at the rink, and I’ll tell our team that. The thing I like about our team, maybe in the past, this would have bothered our team more, but with the group of guys we have, I think we can recover from this.”

Patrick Marleau and Brad Stuart scored second-period goals for the Sharks, who largely dominated the first two periods with another barrage of superior speed and skill. None of it mattered when the Kings charged ahead.

“We’ve got to put it behind us,” said Stuart, who had a goal and an assist. “There’s two ways for us to respond. We can either fold up and say, ‘Oh, at least we tried,’ or we can say, ‘You know what? We can win.’

“I think 5-on-5, we were the better team. We keep doing those kinds of things, we’ll get our wins. That’s what we have to do. We have to respond in that way. We’re being tested, and it’s about how we’re going to respond. The key for us is to come out and do a lot of the same things we were doing tonight.”

After Vlasic’s score on a rebound of Stuart’s shot off the end boards, the Sharks seemed to be cruising to a win — until Stuart was whistled for tripping with 2:41 to play. Just 22 seconds later, Vlasic joined him in the box when he shot the puck over the glass, although Vlasic claimed the puck had deflected off Carter.

The Kings scored 36 seconds later, with Brown pounding home his second goal of the postseason. Lewis got the winner shortly after the ensuing faceoff, finding a loose puck on the back side of a scrum in front of Niemi after a shot by rookie Tyler Toffoli.

Lewis hadn’t scored in the postseason, but the depth forward scored two goals in the Kings’ Cup-clinching win over New Jersey last June.

“Power play got it done in the end when we needed it most,” Lewis said. “We’ve got some work to do to clean things up, but it’s a big win for us.”

The Kings played without veteran center Jarret Stoll, who didn’t return to Game 1 after a hit from San Jose’s Raffi Torres late in the second period. Torres was suspended for the rest of the series Thursday by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his illegal check to the head after a hearing in New York.

Brad Richardson contributed a key power-play assist while filling in for Stoll.

Los Angeles has won six straight home playoff games dating to last season’s Stanley Cup clincher, but none was more surprising than this victory. The Sharks appeared to be sure Quick couldn’t steal another win after the Kings took the opener despite getting outshot 35-20.

Quick’s streak of more than 125 minutes of shutout hockey ended in the second period with two quick San Jose goals. Vlasic then gave San Jose its first lead with a rebound goal on Stuart’s shot off the end boards midway through the period, capping a lengthy scramble near Quick’s net. Vlasic didn’t score a goal in his first 73 career playoff games.

The Kings were forced to make several changes in the absence of Stoll, the third-line center and faceoff specialist who excels on special teams. Stoll was replaced by Richardson, who played 13 postseason games during the Kings’ championship run last summer.

The Sharks replaced Torres by juggling their lineup, promoting Joe Pavelski to the second line and using several new combinations. Tim Kennedy was in uniform for just his second game of the postseason for San Jose, which also played without injured forward Marty Havlat.

NOTES: Sharks F Adam Burish sat out his second straight game after playing in all four games against Vancouver. He was replaced again by Bracken Kearns. Havlat hasn’t played since the playoff opener in Vancouver while nursing a lower-body injury. … Richardson hadn’t played since the Kings’ playoff opener against St. Louis on April 30. He appeared in just 16 regular-season games. … Quick hadn’t allowed a goal since early in the second period of the Kings’ series-clinching win over St. Louis six days earlier.

The Social Security Administration releases an official list of the top 1,000 baby names each year, dating back to 1880, when John and Mary were No. 1 for boys and girls, respectively. The list released last week was for babies born in 2012.

In addition to listing the most popular national names, the SSA breaks down popularity by state. See the most popular names in the DMV below.

Maryland

– Boys

1. Mason
2. Michael
3. Jacob
4. Noah
5. Ethan
6. Liam
7. William
8. Joshua
9. Daniel
10. Alexander

– Girls

1. Sophia
2. Emma
3. Ava
4. Olivia
5. Isabella
6. Madison
7. Abigail
8. Emily
9. Chloe
10. Elizabeth

Virginia

– Boys

1. William
2. Mason
3. Liam
4. Jacob
5. Elijah
6. Noah
7. James
8. Ethan
9. Jackson
10. Michael

– Girls

1. Sophia
2. Emma
3. Olivia
4. Abigail
5. Isabella
6. Ava
7. Madison
8. Emily
9. Charlotte
10. Chloe

Washington, D.C.

– Boys

1. William
2. Alexander
3. Henry
4. John
5. James
6. Daniel
7. Benjamin
8. Samuel
9. David
10. Jacob

– Girls

1. Sophia
2. Emma
3. Olivia
4. Charlotte
5. Genesis
6. Sofia
7. Ava
8. Chloe
9. Madison
10. Zoe

National

– Boys

1. Jacob
2. Mason
3. Ethan
4. Noah
5. William
6. Liam
7. Jayden
8. Michael
9. Alexander
10. Aiden

– Girls

1. Sophia
2. Emma
3. Isabella
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Mia
9. Madison
10. Elizabeth

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The NHL announced the suspension a few hours before the Kings hosted the Sharks in Game 2. Stoll wasn’t expected to play for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Stoll didn’t return to Game 1 after Torres hit him late in the second period of the Kings’ 2-0 victory. Torres got only a minor penalty for charging on the hit, and coach Todd McLellan and captain Joe Thornton echoed Torres’ belief that the hit was completely legal.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety sharply disagreed while handing down a fourth suspension for Torres, considered a repeat offender in dangerous hits under the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Torres flew to New York for an in-person hearing Thursday.

While playing for Phoenix last season, Torres received a 21-game suspension — initially 25 games — for a high hit on Chicago star Marian Hossa in the first round of the playoffs. Torres was suspended for two games in January 2012 for charging Minnesota defenseman Nate Prosser, and he sat out four games in April 2011 for a hit to the head of Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle while playing for Vancouver.

Stoll was bent forward while trying to play a bouncing puck when Torres approached him from the side for a violent hit. Stoll’s head snapped back violently before he fell forward onto the ice.

In an explanatory video released by Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s senior vice president of player safety, he said Stoll’s head was “the principal point of contact” in the hit, creating grounds for suspension. Although Torres initially made contact with Stoll’s right shoulder, Shanahan ruled that the shoulder hit was only a glancing blow, as evidenced by the direction both players traveled after the contact.

Torres claimed he had changed his ways during a largely incident-free season with Phoenix and San Jose, his sixth team in six seasons. He has been a dependable depth forward this season for the Sharks and Coyotes, scoring 18 points with just 17 penalty minutes in 39 games.

The Kings lose much more in the absence of Stoll, their veteran third-line center. Stoll is a faceoff specialist and a top penalty-killer with a strong two-way game.

Brad Richardson, who played 13 playoff games during the Kings’ championship run last year, is expected to take Stoll’s spot in the lineup.

Los Angeles hasn’t disclosed the nature of Stoll’s injury or a timetable for his recovery.

Torres, Thornton and McLellan all claimed the hit was completely legal, while Kings coach Darryl Sutter called it “careless.” Torres and Stoll are friends after three seasons as teammates in Edmonton from 2005-08.

“We were kind of shocked to hear he has to fly to New York for the hearing, because we didn’t see anything wrong on the play,” Thornton said Wednesday. “It’s unfortunate that Raffi has to go through this again.”

McLellan prepared for Torres’ likely absence by moving Joe Pavelski onto the Sharks’ second line on the left wing with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau. Scott Gomez moved into Pavelski’s spot on the third line, and Tim Kennedy is likely to suit up on the fourth line.

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The workers started the project in March, slowly building up from the base of the monument.

The National Park Service awarded a $9.6 million contract in September 2012 to begin repairing the monument. It will involve scaffolding around the entire monument to George Washington, sealing cracks, repointing the mortar and strengthening weak spots.

The marble and granite obelisk has been closed to the public since a 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook the region on Aug. 23, 2011. The upper portion of the monument sustained large cracks. The total cost of the repairs is $15 million.

The Department of the Interior published a time lapse video of the scaffolding construction Thursday. It was shot from the roof of the Department of the Interior building.

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The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in April. That’s down from 5.3 percent in March, and down from 5.9 percent a year ago.

Virginia’s unemployment rate has been trending down since joblessness peaked at 7.4 percent from December 2009 until March 2010.

The Labor Department says the national unemployment rate was 7.5 percent in April. Unemployment rates fell in 40 states, rose in three and were unchanged in seven.

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State transportation officials say the transportation bill signed Thursday includes $100 million for enhancement for MARC, including weekend service on the Penn line, which runs between Washington’s Union Station and Baltimore’s Penn Station. It will also pay for new locomotives and two more weekday roundtrips on the Camden line, which runs between Union Station and Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Maryland Transit Administration spokesman Terry Owens says the state has begun negotiations on the new service with Amtrak, which is the contractor for Penn line service. He says weekend service is still months away, but officials hope to start as soon as possible.

Owens says ticket prices would be the same as weekday service.

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The Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center says it tested 21 garden hoses from Lowe’s, Home Depot, Wal-mart, Target and Kmart. The hoses were left sitting in the sun for two days, and water was run through the hoses, collected and tested.

Levels of the toxic chemical BPA was found in the water at levels of 0.34 to 0.91 parts per million, a level that is three to nine times federal safe water drinking standards. Also, the phthalate DEHP was found at concentrations of 0.017 to 0.011 ppm in the hose water, two times higher than federal drinking water standards.

The study is a follow-up to a 2012 study that tested 90 garden water hoses. This year, 21 garden hoses were tested for lead, cadmium, bromine (associated with brominated flame retardants), chlorine (indicating the presence of polyvinyl chloride or PVC), phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA). These chemicals have been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births and early puberty in laboratory animals, among other serious health problems.

Results were released at www.healthystuff.org.

Of the 21 garden hoses tested, 33 percent contained high levels of one or more chemicals of concern, 67 percent were made of PVC, 4.5 percent contained brominated flame retardants, 29 percent contained organic tin stabilizers and 52 percent contained antimony.

Five hoses were tested for phthalate content, and the results ranged from 11 to 18 percent by weight. Phthalates are not chemically bound to the material and can be released to the air and water.

All of the PVC hoses tested contained one or more of the phthalates banned by Consumer Product Safety Commission for use in children’s products.

The percentage of hoses with greater than 100 ppm lead declined from 50 percent in 2012 to 14 percent in 2013.

According to the CDC, the figures from their tests of polls conducted during last summer’s swim season showed about 58 percent of the samples tested positive for E. coli and bacteria typically found in human feces.

However, while fecal matter was present in the majority of samples, none of the water tested contained the specific E. coli strain that causes illness.

The CDC said their findings indicate swimmers are contaminating the water either through “fecal incidents” in the pool, or because they haven’t showered properly before entering the pool.

The study also showed 59 percent of pools testing positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause skin rashes and ear infections.

The entire CDC report is available here.

The federal government now wants stronger warnings on indoor tanning beds as more young people develop a deadly form of skin cancer.

The FDA wants more oversight of indoor tanning beds. They also urged people under 18 not to use them, which would help reduce cases of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, in young people.

“So many people are coming in with skin cancers, and it’s just way too young to have them,” said dermatologist Dr. Joyce Fox.

An estimated 2.3 million teenagers tan indoors each year. Studies suggest their risk of melanoma is 75 percent higher than those who don’t use sunlamps.

“Every additional dose of what we consider a carcinogen — ultraviolet light — is another nail in the coffin,” said Dr. Fox.

The proposal also calls for tanning beds to be labeled as “Moderate Risk” devices; they already carry warning stickers.

If the FDA proposal is approved, it would require tanning beds to have new labels aiming at those under 18. It would have to include warnings to young people about the risks of using the sunlamps and that frequent users should be regularly screened for skin cancer.

“We embrace any changes that enhance our customer’s safety,” a spokesman for the indoor tanning industry said. “These changes will place unnecessary burdens and governmental costs on these businesses in an already difficult economic climate.”

Any new federal regulations won’t be announced for at least 90 days.

Honestly, how much sleep do you get a night? Missing out on those precious hours can take a toll on your productivity and your health. Here are some eye-opening statistics about the sleep you’re not getting.

You’ve heard your mother say you need more sleep, and many people have listened, but many others haven’t. According to a new survey, Americans, even the ones who are most sleep-deprived, aren’t doing anything about it. The Centers for Disease Control is calling not getting enough sleep “a public health epidemic.”

The survey shows those who don’t sleep enough are more likely to be depressed, overweight and less productive, and many simply don’t look as good when they’re not getting enough sleep. Officials with the Better Sleep Council said nearly half the people in America said they’re not getting enough sleep, but fewer than half of them take specific action to get that needed rest.

Officials said that could be because many people simply don’t believe a lack of sleep is that bad for you. About 45 percent of men, for example, said that people can learn to live with less sleep. The Better Sleep Council said that’s a myth. About 80 percent of Americans said they get stressed or have trouble concentrating when they’re sleepy, but fewer than half of them believe a lack of sleep can contribute to memory problems, heart problems or diabetes.

So how much sleep do we actually need?

Officials said for children, it’s about 10 to 11 hours per night. Teenagers should aim for at least eight hours per night, and adults should try to get between seven and nine hours.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the promotion of regular sleep is known as sleep hygiene. Here’s a few tips to help you improve your sleep:

• Keep a routine: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
• Make sure your bedroom is a quiet, dark and relaxing environment that isn’t too hot or cold.
• Use your bed for sleeping and not for activities like reading, watching television or listening to music.
• Remove all televisions, computers and other gadgets from the bedroom.
• And avoid large meals before bedtime.

Shortly before 5:15 a.m. two tractor-trailers collided with one another near exit 133, officials say.

One of the tractor-trailers was carrying barrels of phosphoric acid, described as an “organic, corrosive, liquid material.” HazMat crews are working to clear minor leakage from at least one of the barrels.

The roadway remained completely blocked during the more than five hour cleanup effort. All lanes reopened around 11 a.m.

The tractor-trailers, which did not overturn in the crash, have been moved to a nearby rest area which has been closed temporarily.

ongoing Hazmat cleanup closing all lanes I95 Southbound after #Stafford, #vatraffic forced single file off exit 133B http://t.co/Vp8vUCSvN2—
Brad Freitas (@NewsChopperBrad) May 17, 2013

No injuries were reported in the crash.

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The first lady was invited by the school to speak at Friday’s commencement ceremony. Bowie State is a nearly 150-year-old historically black institution in the Washington suburbs with 5,400 students.

The commencement was moved to the University of Maryland’s flagship College Park campus to accommodate an expected crowd of more than 10,000. It will be held at Comcast Center, the school’s basketball arena.

President Barack Obama and the first lady have been supportive of historically black colleges and universities. Michelle Obama has previously delivered commencement speeches at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Spelman College and North Carolina A&T.

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