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Healthy LaMelo Ball, Hornets look to surprise the East, snap 7-year playoff drought

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:41 GMT

CHARLOTTE HORNETSLast season: 27-55, missed playoffs.Coach: Steve Clifford (2nd season back with Hornets, 27-55; 10th season overall, 319-400).What to expect: With 2022 All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball and several other key players returning from injuries and off-the-court issues, the Hornets believe they’re ready to snap a seven-year playoff drought. Ball is back on the floor after three ankle injuries in 2022-23, including a fracture in February, limited him to 36 starts last season. The Hornets believe he could be ready to take the next step toward becoming an elite NBA player. Charlotte desperately needs Ball on the floor to have a chance in the improved East. He’s the triggerman for the offense. When Ball played last year he shined, averaging a career-best 23.3 points, 8.4 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game. The Hornets averaged 6.8 more points per 100 possessions with Ball on the court — the best mark on the team. He plans to wear ankle braces this season in an effort to preven...

Celtics embracing championship expectations after shaking up roster during busy offseason

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:41 GMT

BOSTON CELTICSLast season: 57-25, lost to Heat in Eastern Conference finals. Coach: Joe Mazzulla (2nd season with Celtics, 57-25)What to expect: The Celtics didn’t stand pat after coming up a game short last season of making back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals. Instead, Boston was one of the busiest teams this offseason. It started when the team did what was previously unthinkable and shook up its core, trading defensive specialist Marcus Smart, reigning Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon and big man Robert Williams III in a flurry of activity that netted it 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis and five-time all-defensive selection Jrue Holiday. It’s created a win-now mentality and a formidable top 6 anchored by All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who inked the richest contract in NBA history in July. They should get plenty of support backed by Holiday, Porzingis, Derrick White and veteran Al Horford. There’s also been tweaks on the sideline, with sophomore coach Joe Mazzulla adding...

Maryland judge presided over divorce case of man identified as person of interest in judge’s killing, court records show

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:41 GMT

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — Maryland judge presided over divorce case of man identified as person of interest in judge’s killing, court records show.Source

Lawyers call for ousted Niger president’s release after the junta says it foiled an escape attempt

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:41 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Lawyers for Niger’s ousted president called for his immediate release Friday, a day after the ruling military junta said it had thwarted an overnight attempt by the president to escape house arrest with his family nearly three months after he was detained in the wake of a coup. Mohamed Bazoum, his wife and son are being held without access to lawyers or the outside world, said an international group of lawyers representing Bazoum said in a statement. They denied the junta’s accusations that he tried to flee. The president and his family have been under house arrest since the end of July when mutinous soldiers toppled him and has refused to resign. The junta had cut off his electricity and water. Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said late Thursday in a statement that Bazoum tried to reach a waiting vehicle at around 3 a.m. that was to take him to the outskirts of the capital, Niamey, along with his family, two cooks and his security personnel.From there, they we...

Photos: 1st avalanche reported this season

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:41 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The snowfall in the high country during mid-October and the warmer temperatures this week led to the perfect conditions for the first reported avalanche on Mountain Boy Peak.On Oct. 15, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center reported the first known avalanche of the season. Warning: How to recognize red flags for avalanches Two skiers saw the avalanche, and one triggered it by measuring the snow depth on the northwestern side of the mountain. During this time, it was 37 degrees with winds at 10 mph.Avalanche on Mountain Boy Peak. (Courtesy of Colorado Avalanche Information Center)Avalanche on Mountain Boy Peak. (Courtesy of Colorado Avalanche Information Center)Avalanche on Mountain Boy Peak. (Courtesy of Colorado Avalanche Information Center)Avalanche on Mountain Boy Peak. (Courtesy of Colorado Avalanche Information Center)Avalanche on Mountain Boy Peak. (Courtesy of Colorado Avalanche Information Center)According to CAIC, the slide ran for about 300 feet befor...

The White House details its $105 billion funding request for Israel, Ukraine, the border and more

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Friday released a sweeping set of proposals to bolster Israel and Ukraine in the midst of two wars as well as invest more in domestic defense manufacturing, humanitarian assistance and managing the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.The total cost of the supplemental funding request was pegged at just over $105 billion. President Joe Biden hopes Congress will move urgently on the legislation, and he made the case for deepening U.S. support for its allies during a rare Oval Office address on Thursday night.The Democratic president’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters on Friday that Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’ attack on Israel represent a “global inflection point.”“This budget request is critical to advancing America’s national security and ensuring the safety of the American people,” Sullivan said.However, next steps are in doubt while the House of Representatives remains ...

Ex-Florida lawmaker gets 4 months in prison for defrauding Covid relief program

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:41 GMT

(CNN) — A former Florida state lawmaker who acquired more than $150,000 in Small Business Administration loans by lying on applications was sentenced Thursday to four months in federal prison, the US Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Florida said.Former state Rep. Joseph Harding, a Republican, pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements in connection with Covid-19 relief fraud. Following his prison term, he will face two years of supervised release, a court record said.CNN affiliate WKMG reports that Harding tearfully addressed the court, saying he had “no one to blame but myself.”“I want to express my remorse for the decisions and failures I’ve made,” he said, according to WKMG.CNN has reached out to attorneys for Harding.Prosecutors have said Harding listed dormant business entities on his Covid-19 relief loan applications, fabricated the numbers of people he employed and submitted fake bank statements.Brian J. Payne, a special ...

Dashcam video shows reckless driver head-butting car window following pursuit to escape deputies in Ocala

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:41 GMT

OCALA, Fla. (WSVN) – Marion County deputies released dash camera video of a pursuit when a man, dubbed a “hard-headed criminal” by onlookers, used an unconventional method to evade police – head-butting his way out of an SUV.The eight-minute pursuit occurred on Sunday when Marion County deputies noticed a man, later identified as Tyler Fayconsolo, leaving a Circle K gas station at a high rate of speed. Authorities witnessed him running red lights as he drove erratically through a residential neighborhood. Deputies were led on a high-speed chase, where the driver reached speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. The reckless driving nearly resulted in disaster as Fayconsolo narrowly avoided colliding with pedestrians before crashing through a fence and striking a concrete wall behind a home.Tom Anderson, the Homeowners Association President, expressed his relief that the incident did not have more severe consequences. “Gratefully enough, when he went through, ...

Authorities in Maryland are hunting for a man suspected in the killing of a judge who’d heard his divorce case hours earlier

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:41 GMT

(CNN) — Authorities are searching for a man accused in the fatal shooting of a judge who’d presided hours earlier over a hearing in his divorce case, according to Maryland authorities and court records.Pedro Argote, 49, is suspected in the killing Thursday of County Circuit Court Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.Argote may be driving a silver 2009 Mercedes GL450 with Maryland plates, the agency said. He is 5-foot-7 and 130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.The public should “not approach him but to immediately notify law enforcement,” authorities said.Wilkinson was killed in a shooting in a driveway in the northern Maryland city of Hagerstown, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies responding around 8 p.m. found Wilkinson in a residential driveway suffering from what appeared to be gunshot wounds, it said.The judge was taken to a medical facility where he died, according to the sheriff’s office.Maryland State Police troopers were...

2024 NFL draft watch: How QB Drake Maye is elevating North Carolina’s profile while boosting his own stock

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:18:41 GMT

Drake Maye didn’t slowly materialize as a prospect for the 2024 NFL draft last fall at North Carolina. He burst upon teams’ radar as a redshirt freshman with a blazing start that featured 16 touchdown passes and only one interception through the first four games.“I had three scouts call me last year when they were leaving North Carolina, and they were all like, ‘Holy (crap)! This kid at UNC is the real deal,’” one senior personnel evaluator said. “I know he’s got a ton of physical talent. When we get down to nitpicking time, which is inevitable, I don’t know what it’s going to be for Drake.”The uphill battle for Maye — who has led the 10th-ranked Tar Heels to a 6-0 record this season with an average margin of 16.3 points — is closing the gap between himself and USC quarterback Caleb Williams as the potential No. 1 draft pick in April.The consensus among the 11 evaluators the Tribune spoke to for this story...