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ASK IRA: Has Heat’s Jimmy Butler put himself into the MVP discussion?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:13 GMT

Q: Hi, Ira. If Jimmy Butler continues to play the way he has of late and because of it the Miami Heat end up capturing the No. 5 seed, should Jimmy Butler be in the conversation for NBA MVP? – Carlos, West Park.A: Probably still not the won-loss record or high enough playoff seed for that. But with Jimmy Butler, I would put it this way: When Jimmy Butler wants to play like an MVP, he is as good as any two-way candidate this side of say Giannis Antetokounmpo or Joel Embiid. There have been plenty of Jim-V-P games lately, and likely will have to be several more for the Heat to get where they want in the playoff seeds. Beyond that, all of a sudden, missing 15 games is not necessarily an outlier among NBA leading men. There are spots for five players on each MVP ballot. Three locks are Antetokounmpo, Embiid and Nikola Jokic, so the question is whether Jimmy could enter the next group, which many have including Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic.Q: Ira, in a season full of frustrating up...

Kyle Gibson is coming off a down season. The Orioles’ defense could help him bounce back. | ANALYSIS

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:13 GMT

A good defense is a pitcher’s best friend, and for Kyle Gibson, he’s had few years with a best friend.Gibson, a 10-year veteran, has largely spent his career in front of poor defenses — a tall task for any pitcher, but especially one with a low 90s mph fastball who relies on soft contact more than swings and misses. Last season, Gibson posted a 5.05 ERA with the Philadelphia Phillies, a team that made it to the World Series despite having one of the worst defenses in the major leagues.Now the Orioles’ opening day starter, Gibson is looking to have a renaissance at 35 years old behind a defense that could be one of the best in baseball.When the Orioles signed Gibson in December, executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said he believed the lanky right-hander was a bounce-back candidate after his disappointing 2022 with Philadelphia. The $10 million dollar contract was the most money Elias has handed out to any free agent since taking over Baltim...

Lucas: Putin’s photo op from hell

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:13 GMT

History has a way of repeating itself.Especially if you do not learn from it.A special case is Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who has been handed his head following his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.He is like Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini who in 1940 thought he could invade Greece, walk over the small Greek army and take over the country in a matter of days.Mussolini wanted to show his World War II ally German Chancellor Adolph Hitler, who had just conquered Poland and France, that he too could invade and conquer a country.Mussolini launched his unprovoked invasion from occupied Albania after right-wing Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas refused Mussolini’s demands that Greece turn over parts of its country to the fascist leader.Metaxas famously said, “Oxi” (No), which is what Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky said to Putin, only in Ukrainian.Like Mussolini dreaming of having his photo taken at the Acropolis in Athens, Putin believed he would be in the Ukrainian capit...

Coroner: 13 dead in tornado that ripped through US South

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:13 GMT

ROLLING FORK, Miss. (AP) — A powerful tornado tore through rural Mississippi and Alabama on Friday night, killing at least 13 people, destroying buildings and knocking out power as severe weather that produced hail the size of golf balls moved through several southern states and prompted authorities to warn some in its path that they were in a “life-threatening situation.”The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado caused damage about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of Jackson, Mississippi. The rural towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork were reporting destruction as the tornado continued sweeping northeast at 70 mph (113 kph) without weakening, racing towards Alabama through towns including Winona and Amory into the night.Sharkey County Coroner Angelia Easton told ABC News that 13 people were killed by the tornado in Mississippi. Rolling Fork is located in Sharkey County.ABC News early Saturday reported an additional six deaths, including three in Carroll County...

Spiking violence strains sectarian ties in Iraqi province

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:13 GMT

MUQDADIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Hussein Maytham and his family were driving past the palm tree grove near their home after a quiet evening shopping for toys for his younger cousins when their car hit a bomb planted on the moon-lit road.“I only remember the explosion,” Maytham, 16, said weakly from his hospital bed, his pale arms speckled brown by shrapnel. The attack took place earlier this month in the Shiite-majority village of Hazanieh. The force of the blast hurled the teenager out of the vehicle, but his family – his parents, an aunt and three cousins – perished in the fiery carnage. Residents say gunmen hidden nearby in irrigation canals opened fire, killing two others.This is the latest in a series of attacks witnessed over the last month in the central Iraqi province of Diyala, located north and east of Baghdad. Security officials say at least 19 civilians have been killed by unidentified assailants, including in two targeted attacks.The violence is pitting communities against...

Germany, EU reach agreement in combustion engine row

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:13 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany and the European Union announced Saturday that they have reached an agreement in their dispute over the future of cars with combustion engines, allowing the registration of new vehicles with such engines even after 2035 provided they use climate-neutral fuel only.EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans tweeted that “we have found an agreement with Germany on the future use of e-fuels in cars.”German Transport Minister Volker Wissing tweeted that the way had been cleared for vehicles with internal combustion engines that only use climate-neutral fuels to be newly registered even after 2035.“We secure opportunities for Europe by preserving important options for climate-neutral and affordable mobility,” Wissing wrote.An initial proposal by European Union member countries on new carbon dioxide emission standards for cars had been postponed amid opposition from Germany. The EU had wanted to ban the sale of all new cars with combustion engines from 2035. ...

Punishment of First World War soldiers for sexual orientation detailed in new study

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:13 GMT

OTTAWA — Frederick Lea Hardy died fighting for Canada at Vimy Ridge in the First World War. Shortly before being killed in action, the teenager spent time in prison doing hard labour as a military punishment for his sexuality.Hardy was one of at least 19 members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force involved in consensual relationships who were arrested and tried for what was then known as gross indecency.The painful, often bleak, stories of these men were uncovered by Sarah Worthman while doing research at Veterans Affairs Canada. Her findings have just been published under the auspices of the LGBT Purge Fund, a non-profit organization established through a class-action settlement.The settlement with Ottawa was a key element of a sweeping federal apology delivered in November 2017 for decades of discrimination against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.When Worthman’s Veterans Affairs contract ended in May 2022, she wasn’t finished delving int...

Security adviser warned PM of public concerns on foreign agent registry: memo

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:13 GMT

OTTAWA — A newly released memo shows the prime minister’s national security adviser warned him to expect some pushback from planned public consultations about a foreign agent registry, given that countries have used such registries as tools of control.In her memo last August, Jody Thomas told Justin Trudeau the discussions “may elicit a range of reactions” — from applause to reservations.“Concerns may be further amplified since some foreign governments, like Russia, have used ‘foreign agent registries’ to silence activists and shut down organizations critical of government,” Thomas said.However, she said, national security experts, Canada’s allies and diaspora groups targeted by hostile states “will likely welcome these measures.”The Canadian Press obtained the memo, marked Secret/Canadian Eyes Only, through the Access to Information Act. Portions of the document, including cabinet confidences and information about internal...

Ask Amy: Readers respond with helpful advice

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:13 GMT

Dear Amy: “Looking for Grief Etiquette” wrote to you about her grief after experiencing a miscarriage.As a retired obstetrician, I have had considerable experience with this. One point I discussed with patients early in pregnancy was the fact that pregnancy loss is much more common than most people realize.I suggested that they carefully consider whom they tell about their pregnancy until after the first trimester, when pregnancy loss is much less common, thus avoiding the problem of telling many people the bad news.I also found advice I was given 15 years ago, when my wife died, very helpful.The insight was that people who asked, “What can I do?” of a grieving person really are asking because they don’t know how to be helpful.My answer, at that difficult time, was: “Invite me to dinner.”I think it was win-win.This helped me, and I think they were glad to do something that I appreciated. This woman who had miscarried had her answer: “Send me some flower...

The Committee Serves to Promote Competition and Protect Consumer Rights

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:13 GMT

A large-scale work aimed at creating a compact and professional public administration system is ongoing in Uzbekistan. In this process, special attention is paid to ensuring the timely and effective implementation of administrative reforms, organizing the activities of the republic’s executive authorities based on updated requirements and principles - writes Farrukh KaraboevThe Presidential Decree “On measures to implement administrative reforms of the new Uzbekistan” from December 21, 2022, became the logical continuation of work in this direction. In accordance with the Decree, as part of the first phase of reforms, a proposal was adopted for the formation of a unified system of executive bodies of the republic from January 1, 2023.According to the established principle, state bodies in the form of a committee were divided into two categories, i.e. those that coordinate and regulate the activities of the sector within the relevant field and organize the collegial management work i...