Seth Curry scored 25, and Cook added 18."Said Plumlee: "I didn't show up to play today, and I let my teammates down.The crowd increased its volume with every subsequent basket by the Terps, whose previous win over Duke came in March 2010, when Greivis Vasquez celebrated Senior Night with a 20-point performance. We talked about playing with those two things for us and for our fans. He's been great. I thought he looked exhausted the whole game."Oh, but it's very important to Maryland and its coach.That cut the gap to three points, and seconds after a 3-pointer by Cook got the Blue Devils to 55-53."The Terps (18-7, 6-6 ACC) did not trail after halftime but never could pull away. Dez Wells then stole the ball from Cook and went in for a dunk for a seven-point lead with 5:20 left."Maryland committed a whopping 26 turnovers, eight by Allen. "We're playing on fumes, and I think you could tell that with Mason. Quinn Cook then fouled Allen as the freshman guard drove through the lane, and Allen made both shots.The Blue Devils were worn out, and it showed. It's all on me.This score was 39-39l before Allen hit a 3-pointer to spark a 10-2 run that included five points from freshman Shaquille Cleare."I have a great deal of respect for Maryland," Krzyzewski said. After the Blue Devils closed to 71-63, James Padgett made a layup for Maryland and Wells made two foul shots for a 10-point cushion. After Wells was called for a charge, Curry had a 15-footer bounce in and out of the basket. "If it was such a rivalry, they'd still be in the ACC. "That wears on you as the season goes on. That enabled Duke to close to 59-57 on a dunk by Murphy, but four straight free throws by Len gave Maryland a 64-59 advantage with 7:20 remaining.

It was 53-43 before Curry bagged a 3-pointer, Alex Murphy made a layup and Curry drove the lane following Maryland's third turnover in a 60-second span.In this one, it was 80-72 before Curry made two straight 3-pointers to bring Duke to 80-78 with just under a minute left.Duke was outrebounded 40-20, never led in the second half and got only four points and three rebounds from 6-foot-10 senior center Mason Plumlee.As the final horn sounded and Maryland fans rushed the Comcast Center court to celebrate a rare victory over its bitter rival, weary Duke had just enough energy left to escape the mayhem for the safety of its locker room. Obviously they don't think it's that important or else they wouldn't be in the Big Ten. "There's also a lot of passion about Maryland basketball.The first half featured two ties, 10 lead changes and ended with the Terps up 35-34.Maryland played without reserve guard Pe'Shon Howard, who was suspended for violating team rules.Alex Len had 19 points and nine rebounds for Maryland, and Allen scored 16."I told our players before the game, there's a lot of pride in Maryland basketball," coach Mark Turgeon said. The Terrapins shot an impressive 60 percent from the floor and finished with a 40-20 rebounding advantage."There's so much pressure for Mason to play outstanding," Krzyzewski said. Despite being demoted from his starting role last month, Howard still leads the Terps in assists.7 seconds to go. The Terps had lost 12 of 13 against Duke, including a 20-point embarrassment last month. But Plumlee was completely outplayed by the 7-1 Len, who went 6-for-8 from the field and 7-for-8 at the foul line. Curry (14 points) was one of only four Duke players to score before bulkhead light halftime. Obviously not good tonight."The Blue Devils had their six-game winning streak end."I thought it was in when I got it off," Cook said of his final attempt. He just didn't look fresh tonight. "I know what this win means for our fan base, and I really wanted to beat Duke.

Coming off a five-day break, Maryland notched its most significant win of the season at the expense of a tired Duke playing its fourth game in 10 days."From the end of the national anthem to the final buzzer, the crowd never stopped shouting for the Terps, who rewarded their fans with a memorable victory in a rivalry that appears destined to end when Maryland leaves for the Big Ten in 2014.8 seconds left, and the Terrapins stunned the second-ranked Blue Devils 83-81 on Saturday night to end a six-game skid in the series.Maryland led 66-63 before Allen scored on a drive.Seth Allen broke a tie by making two free throws with 2. Our fans were just tremendous."This has been an exhausting schedule for our team," coach Mike Krzyzewski said.It was that kind of night for the Blue Devils.After the Terps went up by six, they committed turnovers on three straight possessions. Chaos ensued as the fans immediately rushed the court."This win was for my family and the fans," Turgeon said.After a Duke timeout, Cook's desperation 30-footer bounced off the back rim.Duke (22-3, 9-3) was down by 10 with 3:39 left but pulled even when Rasheed Sulaimon made three foul shots with 16.

“With today's agreement, we have made concrete progress,” Obama said in a written statement. and its international partners will release a total of $4."Beginning January 20th, the administration will give the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism billions of dollars while allowing the mullahs to keep their illicit nuclear infrastructure in place," he said.S. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who chairs the Senate Democrats' re-election efforts, are defying Obama's warnings about supporting a new Iran sanctions bill and have signed on over the last week.S. 20, the Obama administration announced Sunday as it fought a push in Congress to pass new sanctions legislation that it said would derail the pact.As part of the deal, Iran must render its entire stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium unusable for further enrichment and limit its ongoing enrichment to 5 percent., has increased significantly since December, reaching 59 co-sponsors.He also pressed Congress not to move ahead with a bipartisan sanctions bill that has gained momentum during the first weeks of the new year and reiterated that he would veto any type of new sanctions measure that arrives on his desk.“Unprecedented sanctions and tough diplomacy helped to bring Iran to the negotiating table, and I'm grateful to our partners in Congress who share our goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon," he said. officials won't be able to extract lasting concessions from Tehran. Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, and Mark Kirk, R-Ill.

“A lot of Democrats we're talking to say we have no favors to give Obama right now,” a Senate aide told the Washington Examiner Friday.The initial agreement with Iran first reached in late November is only a preliminary one that would test Tehran's ability over the next six months to rein in its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of some U.Menendez and Kirk have argued that the measure would not impact the negotiations because it gives Obama more than a year to continue diplomacy before any new sanctions would kick in. The blatant Democratic defections reflect lingering frustration over the botched rollout of Obamacare, deep distrust lawmakers have for Iran, as well as concern that U. " I am worried the administration's policies will either lead to Iranian nuclear weapons or Israeli air strikes..N.House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican and strong ally of Israel in Congress, said the agreement only "legitimizes Iran's flagrant violations of multiple U. Security Council resolutions calling for the full suspension of its nuclear program""Although Congress still needs to investigate key details of this implementation plan, the underlying agreement does nothing to reverse Iran's nuclear program, allows it to continue industrial-scale enrichment of uranium and fails to address critical aspects of Iran's weaponization research," he said."But support for a bill co-authored by Sens.""It's time for the United States Senate to pass common-sense bipartisan legislation, now cosponsored by 59 senators, to ensure this process leads to the peaceful dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program," he added. "Imposing additional sanctions now will only risk derailing our efforts to resolve this issue peacefully, and I will veto any legislation enacting new sanctions during the negotiation.2 billion in restricted Iranian assets in regular installments through the six months, with the final installment only becoming available on the last day of the agreement.-led international sanctions.”Reports that Iran planned to move forward with developing an advanced nuclear centrifuge that would purify plutonium in a more efficient way also spurred more support for the bill.Obama and other senior administration officials Sunday said establishing a start date for the deal shows real, verifiable progress in rolling back Iran's nuclear program.“That means this entire [diplomatic] process has not changed their ultimate goal – they're still trying to break out and develop nuclear weapons,” the aide said.Reacting to news of the deal Sunday, Kirk said the Obama administration is rewarding Iran with billions in economic benefits while requiring far too little in return. “And when the [administration] says just give us some slack and help us out on this one – they're not inclined to do that.

The deal between Iran and six world powers to freeze led floodlight part of its nuclear program is finalized and will go into effect Jan.S.Kerry said the U.Democratic senators, including Sen. Instead, the newly inked pact outlines how the International Atomic Energy Agency will verify that Iran is keeping its commitments and the timing of different requirements and sanctions relief.The technical details of the agreement reached Sunday aren't public and they don't prevent Iran from developing a more efficient centrifuge, senior administration officials confirmed to reporters on a conference call. Senate aides say a veto-proof majority - senators numbering well into the 70s - have pledged to support the bill if it comes to the Senate floor for a vote.“As this agreement takes effect, we will be extraordinarily vigilant in our verification and monitoring of Iran's actions, an effort that will be led by the [IAEA],” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement

Some of those Democrats have poor environmental records, so environmental groups are so far holding out. The State Department said it would halt interagency review of the pipeline while it awaits a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling on the legality of the current pipeline route.Taylor-Miesle noted that her group already has endorsed Sen.Backing Keystone XL hasn't excluded a candidate from environmental support in the past, environmental groups noted.As such, the groups have kept Sen. Still, flipping to a Republican majority is certainly not ideal for them, either.4 billion Canada-to-Texas project. Some alluded to the influence of billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer and his NextGen Climate Action PAC, which a day earlier said it would support Democrats who take a stand against the pipeline.The Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund and the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund announced earlier this month that they would join forces to coordinate donations for the November elections. She said it doesn't make sense to continue rewarding Democrats who don't support her group's aims, so Taylor-Miesle is being more strategic about her targets. Both the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund and League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, for example, endorsed Sen. "We've had Democrats in the majority for a long time. She said her group is backing the Alaska Democrat because they anticipate he will be reliable when it comes to upholding the Obama administration's greenhouse gas regulations."I think there is an argument to be made there that a Senate led by [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid [D-Nev.Support for the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline is not a deal-breaker when it comes to snagging endorsements from environmental groups for November's midterm elections.

Mary Landrieu, D-La.Environmental groups have spent the past few years building a "firewall" in the Senate to support environmental policies ranging from gases">greenhouse gas emission regulations to conservation and to block rollback measures approved by the GOP-led House., in 2012 for his record on conservation and clean air issues, despite his support of Keystone XL.But there's less leeway to be selective on Keystone XL this year. The groups are aiming to raise $5 million in donations to back environmental candidates. With regard to the pipeline, Steyer said Sunday in an interview on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" that it would be "unfair" to say any one decision would define Obama's climate legacy.But a handful of Senate Democrats running close contests in red-leaning states have presented a quandary: they back Keystone XL, and some oppose Obama administration-proposed greenhouse gas regulations for power plants, a cornerstone of President Obama's climate agenda. It's to elect environmental champions. He said on "Newsmakers" that he will play in races with a "significant difference" between candidates on energy and climate views, where there's something "important at stake" that could have a "longer term impact."While few endorsements have been rendered thus far, environmental groups are starting to gear up for the November election. But we're in a time period where we need votes," she said. Of the 11 Democrats who sent a letter to Obama earlier this month urging him to approve the project, six are running tight races.Republicans and centrist Democrats, like Landrieu, accused the White House of politicizing the pipeline, as the latest delay will likely put a final decision beyond the midterm elections."That's the ball I will be focused on in November," she said of the carbon rules."Certainly we don't agree with all of our friends on everything," she told the Washington Examiner.] is going to be friendlier to the environment, there's no doubt about that.But even Steyer has softened on attacking pro-Keystone XL Democrats. John Tester, D-Mont. Mark Begich despite his cheerleading for the $5.

The litmus test this year, officials from those groups' political advocacy arms say, is whether incumbents and candidates support Obama's climate plan. But of Keystone XL, she said the pipeline is just one of many factors it will consider when it does endorse. Lawmakers who don't back Obama's climate plans "don't even get calls back," she said."Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of governmental affairs with the League of Conservation Voters, didn't address what races it might play in.And while Steyer rose to national prominence with his opposition to Keystone XL, he said he would use the $100 million war chest he plans to amass — half of which would come from his own wallet — through NextGen Climate not specifically against pipeline advocates. A winning strategy is not just to elect Democrats., a friend to the oil-and-gas industry, at arm's length.So now those groups face a dilemma — ruling out all Senate Democrats who back Keystone XL would put its environmental firewall in jeopardy.When it comes to climate change, the power plant rules would have a far greater impact of restraining carbon emissions than the Keystone XL pipeline would have on raising them.But Taylor-Miesle noted the status quo has proved frustrating as well. It's also the sound of crickets for Alison Lundergan Grimes, a Kentucky Democrat who has been cool to the EPA's greenhouse gas rules, even though she has a chance to unseat McConnell."There's going to be more nuance in how we do our jobs," Heather Taylor-Miesle, who runs the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, told the Washington Examiner.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, floodlight R-Ky..The latest Keystone XL delay this month brought the issue into focus., for example, is trying to use a rare political maneuver to block the rules, though it's not clear whether that's possible to do until they're finalized. And, like the pipeline, the power plant rules are the subject of intense lobbying and polarization.The groups say the reasons for that are twofold: One is that the State Department is handling the Keystone XL process, so there's little chance for the Senate to have a role; the other is that a threat persists that Congress could vote to thwart the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions