DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers were delayed for 18 minutes in the third quarter by a blaring horn Friday night after a power surge caused the overhead scoreboard to malfunction.
During a timeout with the Pistons leading 65-64 in a 122-119 overtime victory, the horn sounded to signal the teams to return to the floor. However, it kept blasting despite frantic work from workers at Little Caesars Arena.
The teams returned to the benches for a few minutes and were eventually told to go back on the floor to warm up. After 13 minutes, the arena staff shut down the entire overhead scoreboard and the horn stopped to loud cheers. The scoring crew used a manual airhorn when play resumed.
The officials brought Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson to midcourt for a brief discussion, before announcing the game would resume without the main scoreboard. However, moments after the game got back underway, the scoreboard came back on.
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Detroit Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins (24) drives against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Craig Porter Jr., right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden, right, who is out injured with a right thumb fracture, talks with Cavaliers guard Tyrese Proctor (24) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Detroit Pistons, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Argentine President Javier Milei scored a crucial victory in congress Friday with the approval of a sweeping labor reform aimed at radically altering labor relations in the South American country.
With 42 votes in favor, 28 against and two abstentions, the Senate passed the government-backed initiative into law. The reform seeks to modernize labor relations, lower labor costs and limit the historical power of unions.
“Historic! We have a labor modernization," Milei said after the overhaul was approved.
Shortly before the debate began in Argentina's upper house, clashes broke out between police and protesters participating in a demonstration organized by unions, opposition political groups and left-wing social organizations outside the Parliament building to oppose the reform. At least three people were arrested.
The bill, which grants employers greater flexibility in matters of hiring, firing, severance and collective bargaining, has drawn fierce opposition from critics who argue it would roll back measures that protect workers from abuse and Argentina's notoriously frequent economic shocks.
“It makes me incredibly angry. Passing a law is one thing, but implementing it is another,” said Ariel Somer, a 48-year-old railway worker protesting near Congress. “In Argentina, progress only happens when workers organize. We will find ways to resist.”
Supported by allies of the ruling La Libertad Avanza party, the initiative’s approval provides Milei with a major legislative victory. He can now showcase profound economic reforms during his Sunday address at the opening of the ordinary sessions of Congress.
The legislation won initial support from the Senate last week, but had to go back for a final vote before becoming law. The government was forced to amend a clause that halves salaries for workers on leave because of injury or illness unrelated to work, after an outcry from opposition lawmakers.
The Senate on Friday could have either accepted the amendment — marking the final passage of the law — or insisted on the original text to reinstate the article. The former outcome is widely anticipated.
The legislative process has been fraught with tension between the governing party and the opposition. The friction boiled over last week during the bill's debate in the lower house of Congress, as the General Confederation of Labor — Argentina’s largest trade union group — launched a 24-hour nationwide strike, while demonstrators from various leftist groups clashed with police outside Congress.
Milei considers the changes to Argentina’s half-century-old labor code crucial to his efforts to lure foreign investment, increase productivity and boost job creation in a country where about two in five workers are employed off the books.
Unions argue that the law will weaken the workers’ protections that have defined Argentina since the rise of Peronism, the country’s dominant populist political movement, in the 1940s.
Roughly 40% of Argentina’s 13 million registered workers belong to labor unions, according to union estimates, and many are closely allied with Peronism.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Cristian Valderrama kisses his husband Lucas Garcia during a protest outside Congress against a labor reform bill proposed by President Javier Milei's government in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A protester holds a banner depicting Argentine President Javier Milei during a protest against a labor reform bill proposed by Milei's government in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Demonstrators rally outside Congress with signs in defense of retired people during a protest against a labor reform bill proposed by President Javier Milei's government in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Argentine Vice President and Senate President Victoria Villarruel presides over debate on a bill that would lower the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14, before discussing a labor reform bill proposed by President Javier Milei's government, at Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Demonstrators rally outside Congress as they protest against a labor reform bill proposed by President Javier Milei's government in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Senators debate a bill that would lower the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14, before discussing a labor reform bill proposed by President Javier Milei's government, at Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Protesters rally during a march by trade unions and opposition groups against a labor reform bill proposed by President Javier Milei's government in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
