The Portland Trail Blazers could complete their second season sweep Thursday night with a win over the Orlando Magic at the Moda Center. The Blazer swept the Milwaukee Bucks 2-0 with Tuesday night’s 125-112 win at the Moda Center. The Blazers won 101-79 at Orlando on Jan. 23.

Orlando comes into a matchup against Portland after losing four road games in a row. Thursday's meeting is the first of the season between the two squads.

Advertisement Article continues below this ad 3-Point Goals_Portland 9-28 (Simons 3-6, Banton 2-4, Grant 2-6, Camara 1-1, Sharpe 1-4, Henderson 0-1, Murray 0-1, Walker 0-1, Avdija 0-4), Orlando 6 ...

Percentages: FG .488, FT .632. 3-Point Goals: 9-28, .321 (Simons 3-6, Banton 2-4, Grant 2-6, Camara 1-1, Sharpe 1-4, Henderson 0-1, Murray 0-1, Walker 0-1, Avdija 0-4 ...

The Magic begin a five-game West Coast road trip on Thursday against the Trail Blazers. They fell 125-119 in double overtime in their last time out on Monday against the Miami Heat after leading by 14 points in the fourth quarter for their sixth loss in seven games.

Jimmy Butler is back from suspension. Again. Butler is expected to play for the Miami Heat against the Orlando Magic on Monday night, after completing his second suspension of the month.

EA Sports video-game developer Scott O’Gallagher also has East River High boys and girls basketball on positive trajectories.

The financial services website and app WalletHub recently listed the most vegan- and vegetarian-friendly places to live in the United States, based on criteria like affordability, diversity, accessibility and quality. Some of the criteria were further broken down into metrics like farmers markets per capita. Based on a 100-point scale, here are the top 10 places for vegans and vegetarians: 1. Los Angeles (61.26) 2. Orlando, Florida (60.60) 3. Portland, Oregon (59.63) 4. San Diego (58.08) 5. Seattle (56.68) 6. Austin, Texas (55.96) 7. San Francisco (55.65) 8. Miami (55.59) 9. Phoenix (54.11) 10. Tampa, Florida (53.92) Body of Knowledge The length of a finger dictates how fast the fingernail grows. On average, fingernails grow 3.47 millimeters per month. (The average grain of short rice, by comparison, is 5.5 millimeters.) Longer fingers grow nails faster. A number of other factors affect fingernail growth rates. Nails on your dominant hand are believed to grow faster because you expose your dominant hand to more trauma risk, such as cuts or bruises. In response, your body more often is sending additional nutrients to make repairs. Younger people's nails grow faster than those of older people, perhaps due to diminishing blood circulation. Hormones can affect the growth rate. Pregnant women and pubescent teens experience faster nail growth. Stories for the Waiting Room COVID-19 is still taking a toll on those with the long version of the disease. A study out of the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs and its College of Public Health reports that the lingering symptoms of long COVID results in negative economic effects, regardless of socioeconomic status. Sufferers struggle to pay bills, buy groceries and keep their utilities on. Almost 18 million Americans are living with long COVID. It's a chronic condition triggered by COVID-19 that can leave people suffering from extreme fatigue, memory problems and a variety of other unpleasant and sometimes incapacitating symptoms for months to years on end. Doc Talk Classic migraine: A migraine headache preceded by visual disturbances; also known as a migraine with aura. Not to be confused with "common migraines," which have no visual symptoms beforehand. Also called a migraine without aura. Mania of the Week Plutomania: An obsession with obtaining vast amounts of wealth, the odds of which for most people are about as remote as the chances of visiting the dwarf planet and finding it occupied by Disney dogs Best Medicine Doctor: You're losing a lot of blood and need an infusion. What's your blood type?! Patient: B positive. Doctor: I'm trying, but you've lost a lot of blood. Observation "I consider exercise vulgar. It makes people smell." — Artist Alec Yuill-Thornton (1917-1986) Medical History This week in 1958, The Boston Herald printed a letter from Olga Owens Huckins attacking DDT pesticide as dangerous. Huckins also sent a personal letter to her friend Rachel Carson, which ultimately prompted the writing of Carson's book "Silent Spring." Carson collected research and data. She concluded that organo-pesticides built up in sprayed crops, transferred to birds and other animals and was responsible for the poisoning of the surrounding fauna. "Silent Spring" asked important questions about balancing industrial and agricultural needs, progress, the protection of the environment and the quality of life. Her persuasive writings were an early anthem for modern environmentalism, though DDT wouldn't be banned until 1972. Self-Exam True or false: Adults need more sugar to experience the same level of sweetness as children. Answer: It's the opposite. Researchers have found that when children are given a sugary drink, they need a higher sugar concentration than adults to detect a sweet taste, reports The New York Times. Scientists have also discovered that the cells in the tongue that sense sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami tastes are spaced out across the tongue; some people are genetically more predisposed to liking sweets than others; and children tend to like the taste of sour candies more than adults do. Curtain Calls In 2008, David Phyall was a 50-year-old British man living in a block of flats in Bishopstoke, Hampshire, England. The flats had been condemned, and Phyall faced eviction. He refused multiple offers of alternative housing, even after all his neighbors had left. Instead, one day he consumed a quantity of alcohol (but no other drugs) and arranged for a chainsaw to successfully cut off his head. It's never been clear what he was thinking. To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

A man in the central Oregon city of Bend says he was responsible for some of the googly eyes placed on sculptures there.

When a toddler Taylor Huff approached her parents about putting up a soccer goal in the front yard, she had to make a promise.

WH Smith has reported a drop in High Street sales after it said it was planning to sell 500 of its UK shops. Its High Street sales fell 6% in the 21 weeks to January 25, covering the key Christmas period,

Witnessing the aftermath of a tragedy takes an emotional toll on all of us. As difficult as the images are to look at, they're important to document.