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NBA:

In the NBA, LeBron James scored a season-high 42 points and had 11 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to their 18th victory in 20 games, 110-99 over Golden State and it was Phoenix over Oklahoma City in overtime 117-113.

A committee appointed to find a new president for the University of Massachusetts is scheduled to meet for the first time Friday.

The 21-member committee, at a meeting in Boston, is expected to vote to hire a search firm to recruit and recommend candidates for the top job in the five campus UMass system.  UMass spokesman Robert Connolly said the search committee is operating with a sense of urgency.

" The timeframe is going to be an ambitious one. The hope is to have a new president selected by July 1st.," said Connolly.

Catch up with The Academic Minute from 2.23 - 2.27

The state of Vermont is working with a conservation group to create a 1,346-acre stretch of state forest in Shrewsbury and name it after the late U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords.

Former Westfield State University President Evan Dobelle has withdrawn his federal lawsuit against state and school officials blaming them for his departure, saying the legal fight's cost was too great.

The Republican of Springfield reports that Dobelle and defendants filed a motion in federal court Thursday saying they agreed to dismiss the lawsuit.

More than 1,600 soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division will be heading to Afghanistan this year to serve as advisers to Afghan security forces and protect other U.S. troops on military bases.

The state of Vermont is providing $375,000 to five community action agencies for fuel assistance grants to help low-income Vermonters stay warm this winter.

The Saratoga Casino and Raceway says the 74th season of harness racing will begin this Sunday.

Governor Andrew Cuomo plans to visit Cuba this spring for a state trade mission to the communist nation.

Cuomo and Jose Ramon Cabanas, chief of the Obama administration's Cuban Interests Section, say Thursday that the New York Democrat will lead a delegation to Cuba on April 20.

Spain's leading electricity and natural gas utility, Iberdrola, says it will buy the northeastern U.S. utility company UIL Holdings Corporation in a deal valued at roughly $3 billion.