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Celtics ride another hot start, crush Pacers in 155-104 victory

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:26:41 GMT

There was an understandable expectation that the Celtics’ new-look starting five would need a little time to jell this season. Even with all this talent, it wasn’t entirely realistic for the chemistry to be built right away.They’re starting to debunk that theory.While their first two victories of the season required some grit and toughness, the Celtics and their stacked talent have begun to exert their will on opponents, showing how scary good they can be. For a second consecutive game, they took care of an inferior team with extreme ease. Sparked by another hot start, the Celtics dominated the Pacers – who were without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton – with a 155-104 victory at TD Garden that was never in doubt from the opening tip.The 155 points mark the second-most the Celtics have scored ever in a regular-season game, only behind the 173 they scored in a win over the Minneapolis Lakers on Feb. 27, 1959Jayson Tatum scored 30 points with 12 rebounds, Derrick White had 18 points a...

Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles is ‘really confident’ he can sign Montez Sweat to a long-term contract. What will it take?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:26:41 GMT

Montez Sweat hadn’t even visited his Chicago Bears locker at Halas Hall when he stepped in front of reporters Wednesday afternoon. He didn’t know yet that he was going to wear jersey No. 98.“I’m still trying to figure out where I’m going to lay my head at tonight,” Sweat said.So the new Bears defensive end will have to be excused for still figuring out what it’s going to take for the Bears to sign him to a contract extension.It’s one of the most relevant questions for the Bears after general manager Ryan Poles traded a 2024 second-round draft pick to the Washington Commanders on Tuesday to acquire Sweat, who is in the final year of his rookie contract. In order to make that investment in draft capital worth it, the Bears obviously want Sweat for more than nine games.Poles said the Bears are working to make a deal with Sweat. He didn’t have a timeline for when it might be completed but said he was hopeful “it won’t tak...

Uruguay’s foreign minister resigns following leak of audios related to a passport scandal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:26:41 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Uruguay’s Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo resigned late Wednesday, shortly after audio messages were published in which he appears to ask a former official to not hand over evidence in an ongoing investigation over a passport issued to an accused drug trafficker.Bustillo said in a news release that he had submitted his resignation “to dispel any suspicion that, as an authority figure, I might exert undue influence over third parties, protected by the privileges of my position.”He resigned from his post after audios were revealed in which he appears to call on former deputy Foreign Minister Carolina Ache to not hand over her phone to investigators.According to the audios, Bustillo was trying to make sure investigators wouldn’t see conversations Ache had with another official relating to the granting of a passport to Sebastian Marset while he was detained in Dubai in 2021.Ache resigned last year.Bustillo claims Ache “decontextualized conversations an...

Officer charged in Elijah McClain’s death says he feared for his life after disputed gun grab

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:26:41 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A police officer charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain testified Wednesday that he put the 23-year-old Black man in a neck hold because he feared for his life after another officer said McClain grabbed for one of their guns.Prosecutors have refuted that McClain ever tried to grab an officer’s gun, and it can’t be seen in body camera footage, which is shaky and dark before all the cameras fall off during the ensuing struggle. Lawyers for two other officers tried earlier in McClain’s death also raised the alleged gun grab as part of their defense. “I was expecting to get shot, and I thought I’d never see my wife again,” Aurora officer Nathan Woodyard said on the stand, his voice shaking a bit, in his trial in McClain’s death. His death became a rallying cry at social justice protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Lawyers for Woodyard have argued he had to react to what he ...

Raptors snap 3-game losing streak, starters dominate in win vs. Bucks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:26:41 GMT

Pascal Siakam scored a game-high 26 points as Toronto Raptors starters dominated in a 130-111 win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. Jakob Poeltl, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Dennis Schroder and Siakam all scored in double figures as Toronto (2-3) put together its best offensive performance of the early season. Barnes was particularly effective with a double-double, scoring 21 points and adding 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. The third-year forward also hit four of his six attempts from three with his fellow starters lighting it up from beyond the arc. ???? @ScottBarnes561 ???? https://t.co/cJE96JClPR pic.twitter.com/7mrDUTGptZ— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 2, 2023Siakam added five three-pointers of his own with the Raptors finishing the game 12-19 from deep (63 per cent). Schroder had a double-double, his third in five games, with 24 points and 11 assists. Poeltl added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Anunoby chipped in 16 points, finishing a per...

Crowds gather near state funeral home as China’s former Premier Li Keqiang is being put to rest

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:26:41 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered near a state funeral home Thursday as former Premier Li Keqiang was being put to rest.According to precedent, retired high-level officials usually lie in state briefly as top leaders pass the body and offer wreaths of white flowers, the traditional color of mourning. State media had said Li would be cremated Thursday but didn’t mention funeral plans.Flags were lowered to half-staff at government and party offices around the country and at Chinese embassies and consulates abroad. Police moved people away from a subway station near the Babaoshan cemetery where state funerals are held and many top leaders are buried. Li died last Friday of a heart attack at age 68.Li was China’s No. 2 leader and helped guide China’s economy for a decade before being dropped from the Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee in October 2022. He left office in March 2023, despite being two years below the informal retirement age of ...

Biden calls for humanitarian ‘pause’ in Israel-Hamas war

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:26:41 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Joe Biden said he thought there should be a humanitarian “pause” in the Israel-Hamas war, after his campaign speech Wednesday evening was interrupted by a protester calling for a cease-fire. “I think we need a pause,” Biden said. The call was a subtle departure for Biden and top White House aides, who throughout the Mideast crisis have been steadfast in stating they will not dictate how the Israelis carry out their military operations in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.But the president has faced intensifying pressure from human rights groups, fellow world leaders and even liberal members of his own Democratic Party, who say that the Israeli bombardment of Gaza is collective punishment and that it is time for a cease-fire.In his comments, Biden was exerting pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give Palestinians at least a brief reprieve from the relentless military operation that’s left thousands dead and mired the 141-square-m...

Ex-Rep. Trent Franks, who offered aide $5million to have his child, is running for Congress again

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:26:41 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Former Arizona Congressman Trent Franks, who resigned in 2017 after two female staffers said he offered them money in exchange for carrying his child, announced Wednesday he is running for his old congressional seat, according to multiple media reports.“I truly believe the 2024 election is vital to the survival of a free, prosperous, and strong America in the world,” he said in a statement cited by the Arizona Republic. “Thus, I have chosen to run for Congress again with the very deepest prayer in my heart being.”U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, who represents Arizona’s conservative-leaning 8th Congressional District, announced in October she will not seek reelection.Several other GOP contenders have entered the race, including Blake Masters, who lost a Senate race to Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly in last year’s midterm election.In December 2017, a former Franks aide told The Associated Press the congressman repeatedly pressed her to carry his child, at one point...

Bob Knight, legendary college basketball coach, dead at 83

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:26:41 GMT

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Former Indiana Hoosiers Men's Basketball head coach Bob Knight died at the age of 83 Wednesday, according to the Knight Legacy.A press release from the family organization said Knight passed away in his Bloomington home surrounded by family."It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family.  We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as Coach requested a private family gathering, which is being honored.  We will continue to celebrate his life and remember him, today and forever as a beloved Husband, Father, Coach, and Friend."Knight LegacyKnight was a three time national champion as head coach at Indiana, where he collected 662 of his 902 career wins. Knight currently stands sixth all-time in coaching wins across the history of DI college basketball, behind former protégé Mike Krzyzewski (1,202), Jim Boeheim (1,015), Bob...

Search underway for missing 5-year-old from Portage Park

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:26:41 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department is asking for the public's help in locating a missing 5-year-old boy who was last seen Saturday, Oct. 28.Kennier Petit was last seen by his mother on the 5300 block of West Dakin Street in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood around 11 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28. Missing 15-year-old girl last seen 2 weeks ago on Chicago’s Near West Side, police say Petit is described as 3-feet tall, weighing 40 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a grey and black stripped hat, a grey fluffy sweater, and blue pants.According to the Chicago Police Department, Kennier may be with his father, Josual Petit, who has also been reported missing.Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of both Kennier and Josual Petit are asked to contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-746-6554.