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Brandon Ingram leads the Pelicans past the Kings 127-117 to advance to In-Season Tournament semis

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:44 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Sacramento Kings 127-117 on Monday night in the quarterfinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.Ingram helped New Orleans erase an early deficit and the Pelicans never trailed in the second half as they advanced to play the winner of Tuesday night’s game between Phoenix and the Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals Thursday in Las Vegas. “It’s a growth moment for us to have an opportunity to be one of the first,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said. “This is the first time we’ve had the In-Season Tournament. You put a game in front of us that’s meaningful, I don’t care who it is, where it is, we want to win. That’s the type of heart that we have in that locker room.”Herb Jones added 23 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 18 to give the Pelicans their third win over Sacramento in the past two weeks.De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points and Domantas Sabonis added 26 points...

Jake Browning steals spotlight as Bengals stun Jaguars 34-31 in OT. Trevor Lawrence injures ankle

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:44 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jake Browning insists his first career start was the real surprise. Everyone else would disagree.Browning threw for 354 yards and a touchdown in his second start — much better than the four-sack, two-turnover performance a week earlier — and the Cincinnati Bengals stunned the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-31 in overtime Monday night.“He just lit the world on fire,” coach Zac Taylor said.Browning also ran for a score as the Bengals (6-6) won a road game on “Monday Night Football” for the first time since 1990. Evan McPherson’s 48-yard field goal in overtime was the difference and ended a three-game losing streak on the season and a nine-game road skid on MNF.“After you put up 10 points in your first start, you’re excited to get another crack at it,” Browning said.This one was shocking and potentially costly for the Jaguars (8-4), who lost quarterback Trevor Lawrence to a sprained right ankle late in the fourth quarter.Left tackle Walker Little st...

An explosion leveled a home in Arlington, Virginia, as officers tried serve a search warrant

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:44 GMT

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A massive explosion at a duplex where police were investigating reports of shots fired shook a Washington, D.C, suburb Monday and destroyed the home.All officers escaped serious injury but it was unclear what happened to the suspect who was inside the home when it was leveled by the explosion, Arlington County, Virginia, police spokesperson Ashley Savage said.Officers went to the home at about 4:45 p.m. after receiving reports of shots fired. They later determined the shots came from a flare gun, Savage said. While police investigated, they obtained a search warrant for the home.When police later attempted to execute the warrant the suspect fired several rounds inside the home and the explosion occurred just before 8:30 p.m., shooting flames and debris into the air police said. Savage said it was unclear whether the rounds were fired from a flare gun or a firearm. Police don’t have any evidence that others were in the duplex but can’t rule out the possibility, ...

Lebanon’s Christians feel the heat of climate change in its sacred forest and valley

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:44 GMT

BCHARRE, Lebanon (AP) — Majestic cedar trees towered over dozens of Lebanese Christians gathered outside a small mid-19th century chapel hidden in a mountain forest to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, the miracle where Jesus Christ, on a mountaintop, shined with light before his disciples.The sunset’s yellow light coming through the cedar branches bathed the leader of Lebanon’s Maronite Church, Patriarch Beshara al-Rai, as he stood at a wooden podium and delivered a sermon. Then the gathering sang hymns in Arabic and the Aramaic language.For Lebanon’s Christians, the cedars are sacred, these tough evergreen trees that survive the mountain’s harsh snowy winters. They point out with pride that Lebanon’s cedars are mentioned 103 times in the Bible. The trees are a symbol of Lebanon, pictured at the center of the national flag. The iconic trees in the country’s north are far from the clashes between Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops along the Lebanon-Israel border ...

Spotify anuncia recorte de 17% de su fuerza laboral global

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:44 GMT

Spotify anunció que despedirá al 17% de su fuerza laboral global en un intento por reducir costos al tiempo que se enfoca en volverse rentable. Se trata de la tercera ronda de ceses del servicio de música en streaming este año.En un mensaje a los empleados publicado en el blog de la compañía el lunes, el director ejecutivo Daniel Ek indicó que la eliminación de puestos de trabajo forma parte de una “reorientación estratégica”. La publicación no especificó cuántos empleados perderán su trabajo, pero un portavoz confirmó que asciende a unas 1,500 personas.Spotify había utilizado financiación barata para expandir el negocio e “invirtió considerablemente” en empleados, contenido y marketing en 2020 y 2021, según la publicación del blog.Pero Ek señaló que la empresa se vio sorprendida cuando los bancos centrales comenzaron a subir las tasas de interés el año pasado, lo que puede desacelerar el crecimiento económico. Ambos plantean un desafío, añadió.“Ahora nos encontramos en un entorno m...

Rataj double-double helps Oregon State top Cal Poly 70-63 in double OT

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:44 GMT

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Sophomore Michael Rataj finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double to help Oregon State outlast Cal Poly 70-63 in double overtime Monday night.Jordan Pope had a go-ahead layup and KC Ibekwe had back-to-back baskets to cap a 6-1 run that gave Oregon State (5-3) a 68-63 lead with 33 seconds left in the second overtime.Rataj scored what turned out to be the final basket with 1:11 left in regulation, pulling Oregon State even at 49 and forcing overtime. Kobe Sanders’ layup for Cal Poly (3-6) with three seconds to go forced the second overtime tied at 60.Rataj made 9 of 18 shots for Oregon but he missed all three of his 3-pointers as the Beavers went 0 for 10 from distance. Ibekwe totaled 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Pope scored 10 and freshman reserve Josiah Lake II pitched in with nine points and nine rebounds.Freshman Quentin Jones had a season-best 21 points for the Mustangs. He made 8 of 17 shots with three...

Ayo Dosunmu’s mindset never changed during Year 2 struggles. Now he’s set to play a key role in turning around the Chicago Bulls season.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:44 GMT

Ayo Dosunmu never was going to let one down year change the way he approaches the game.Last season was the hard side of the learning curve for Dosunmu. After winning over Chicago Bulls fans with a breakout rookie season in 2021-22, he fell out of the starting lineup and watched his minutes dwindle as he struggled with his shot.Dosunmu’s usage continued to decline early this season as he battled for playing time in the second rotation with Jevon Carter and Alex Caruso. Dosunmu averaged barely 11 minutes in the first five games.But he remained efficient during his time on the court, shooting 51.1% from the field and tallying 1.4 steals per 36 minutes. And when a handful of injuries last week threw him back into the regular rotation — and briefly into the starting lineup — Dosunmu embraced the moment to help power the Bulls to consecutive wins.In Saturday’s victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, Dosunmu reaffirmed all the reasons he can make an impact on this te...

Israel strikes in and around Gaza’s second largest city in an already bloody new phase of the war

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:44 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel intensified its bombardment in and around Gaza’s second largest city early Tuesday, as ambulances and private cars came racing into a local hospital carrying people wounded in a bloody new phase of the war in Gaza.Under U.S. pressure to prevent further mass casualties, Israel says it is being more precise as it widens its offensive into southern Gaza after obliterating much of the north. Aerial bombardment and the ground offensive have already driven three-fourths of the territory’s 2.3 million people from their homes.At the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, ambulances brought dozens of wounded people in throughout the night. At one point, a car pulled up and man emerged carrying a young boy in a bloody shirt and whose hand had been blown off.“Where is the Red Cross? … where is the United Nations?” a woman screamed outside the emergency department. “My children, since 10 p.m., are still under the rubble.”Satellite photos taken Sunday s...

Stock market today: Asian shares slip ahead of key US economic reports

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:44 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares declined Tuesday on heavy selling of property and technology shares. U.S. futures slipped and oil prices were little changed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.4% to 16,238.79, while the Shanghai Composite lost 1.7% to 2,972.30 as worries flared over weakness in the Chinese economy. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 1.4% to finish at 32,775.82. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.9% to 7,061.60. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.8% to 2,494.28. A key report on Japanese inflation showed core consumer prices in Tokyo, which excludes volatile food prices, rose 2.3% from a year ago, slowing from previous months’ increases. On Monday, the S&P 500 closed 0.5% lower. The benchmark index was coming off its best month in more than a year, and reached its highest level since March 2022 on Friday.The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.8%.Treasury yields rose broadly, putting some pressure on stocks. T...

UN agency cites worrying warming trend as COP28 summit grapples with curbing climate change

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:44 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Nations weather agency is reporting that glaciers shrank more than ever from 2011 and 2020 and the Antarctic ice sheet lost 75 percent more compared to the previous ten years, as it released its latest stark report about the fallout on the planet from climate change.The World Meteorological Organization served up more evidence of what scientists already know – the Earth is heating – on Tuesday, but this time looking at the trend over a longer period with its latest Decadal State of the Climate report.“Each decade since the 1990s has been warmer than the previous one and we see no immediate sign of this trend reversing,” its secretary-general, Petteri Taalas, said. “We are losing the race to save our melting glaciers and ice sheets.”Warming oceans and melting of ice sheets caused the rate of sea-level rise to nearly double in less than a generation, he said, and WMO says that bodes ill for low-lying coastal regions and countries.Experts a...