Clippers throttle Knicks 144-122 for their NBA-best 7th straight victory

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:08 GMT

Clippers throttle Knicks 144-122 for their NBA-best 7th straight victory LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points, Paul George added 25 and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the New York Knicks 144-122 on Saturday night for their NBA-best seventh straight victory.The Clippers used a 42-point second quarter to lead 77-66 at the break.Leonard hit a 3-pointer that launched a personal 8-0 run early in the third and later he and George combined to make three straight 3-pointers in building a 22-point lead.George was back in the lineup after missing a game because of a sore hip. He overcame a slow start in the first half when he had six points.New York’s Jalen Brunson followed up his career-high, 50-point effort in Phoenix on Friday night with 22 points. Julius Randle added 22. RJ Barrett and Donte DiVincenzo had 18 points each, with DiVincenzo making five 3-pointers.Brunson, who was 9 of 9 from 3-point range against the Suns, was just 2 of 5.Leonard and George took over in the third. They combined to score 30 of LA’s 37 points, with the Clippers ...

Israel presses ahead in Gaza as errant killing of captives adds to concern about its wartime conduct

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:08 GMT

Israel presses ahead in Gaza as errant killing of captives adds to concern about its wartime conduct DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel pressed ahead with its Gaza offensive on Sunday after a series of shootings, including of three hostages who were shirtless and waving a white flag, raised questions about its conduct in a 10-week-old war that has brought unprecedented death and destruction to the coastal enclave.Gaza remained under a communications blackout for a fourth straight day — the longest of several outages over the course of the war, which aid groups say complicate rescue efforts after bombings and make it even more difficult to monitor the war’s toll on civilians.Israel could come under further pressure to scale back major combat operations when U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits this week. Washington has expressed growing unease with civilian casualties and the mass displacement of 1.9 million Palestinians — nearly 85% of Gaza’s population — even as it has provided vital military and diplomatic support to its close ally.The air and ground war ha...

Keeler: Broncos coach Sean Payton didn’t just quit on his team. He quit on Broncos Country during a playoff chase.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:08 GMT

Keeler: Broncos coach Sean Payton didn’t just quit on his team. He quit on Broncos Country during a playoff chase. DETROIT — Arrogant. Prickly. Defensive. Petty. Paranoid. But who knew Sean Payton was a quitter, too?“They were close. The problem is, they were right at that (borderline),” the Broncos coach said of the challenge flags that were apparently too heavy for the wee man to hurl Saturday night at Ford Field.“You know, when you start challenging spots, it becomes difficult. The frustrating part of the sequence was the next (fourth-down) run. We’ll leave it at that.”No. No, we won’t.The frustrating part of the sequence was that the Broncos scored a touchdown three times, down 28-7 against playoff-bound Detroit, and came away with all of three points to show for it.The frustrating part of the sequence is that even if Javonte Williams’ knee was down on third-and-goal from the 1 before he broke the plane, it shouldn’t have mattered. Because Jaleel McLaughlin was already in for a score on a second-and-goal from the 9 on the play immediately prior...

Nikola Jokic thinks Chet Holmgren’s ambition shouldn’t be limited to Rookie of the Year: “He can be much better than that”

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:08 GMT

Nikola Jokic thinks Chet Holmgren’s ambition shouldn’t be limited to Rookie of the Year: “He can be much better than that” There were mistakes the Nuggets could’ve, would’ve, should’ve avoided as their lead slipped away in the last four minutes Saturday night: one-on-one defensive coverages blown, uncharacteristic turnovers committed, possessions stretched too dangerously to the tail end of the shot clock.But on the other side of those failures was a team Denver recognizes as a serious Western Conference challenger. In a 118-117 loss to Oklahoma City, there might have been regret, but there wasn’t shame.The Nuggets (17-10) will get another home-court swing at the Thunder two weeks after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s mid-range jumper with less than a second to go handed them their second home loss of 2023-24.“You kind of see some of us in them,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “A young, promising team that is going through the building blocks of getting better, and going from a team that is trying to be a playoff team and then trying to be a team that can ad...

Rose Bowl 'superfan' has attended every game since 1946

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:08 GMT

Rose Bowl 'superfan' has attended every game since 1946 Meet John Leis who, at 91, says he has attended every Rose Bowl Game for the last 75 years - and he has the tickets to prove it. When he was just 14, John says he snuck through a fence with friends to watch his first game in 1946, but they got kicked out. Leis spoke with KTLA 5 Reporter John Fenoglio about his commitment not only to the Rose Bowl Game as an enduring institution, but also to his personal longevity.

Jan. 6 rioter sentenced to over 4 years in prison for attacking officers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:08 GMT

Jan. 6 rioter sentenced to over 4 years in prison for attacking officers (The Hill) — A Michigan man, who has described himself as a militia leader, was sentenced to more than four years in prison Friday for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the Capitol.Matthew Thomas Krol, 65, assaulted at least three officers, injuring one of them, with a baton that he stole from the officers, prosecutors said. Court documents show that he pushed his way through a crowd of rioters on the Lower West Plaza of the Capitol grounds, threw a water bottle at law enforcement and then attacked the officers.U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced Krol to four years and 3 months in prison — though he will get credit for the time he's served since his arrest in February 2022, the Associated Press reported.“The course of my life was changed that day, and he was part of the mob that ensured I’d lose my career,” former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell said in the courtroom.Ahead of the sentencing, Krol apologized to Gonell — who retired from the department a yea...

VIDEO: Thieves smash car into 7-Eleven in Vallejo

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:08 GMT

VIDEO: Thieves smash car into 7-Eleven in Vallejo (KRON) -- A group of burglars were caught in the act at 7-Eleven in Vallejo on Friday night. A car was seen ramming into the front entrance of the store on Georgia Street. The suspects were able to gain entry and steal a number of cigarettes and other tobacco products off the 7-Eleven's shelves. The group was seen arriving at the store in two cars.At least four suspects were seen entering the business after the car rammed into the 7-Eleven. No suspect descriptions have been released at this time. VIDEO: Thieves crash car into San Jose smoke shop, steal bags of vape products KRON4 reached out to the Vallejo Police Department for more information. We are waiting to hear back.

Small plane crashes into power lines in Oregon and kills 3, police say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:08 GMT

Small plane crashes into power lines in Oregon and kills 3, police say INDEPENDENCE, Ore. (AP) — A small plane crashed into power lines in Oregon late Saturday afternoon and killed all three people on board, police said.Polk County emergency services received the report of the single engine plane crash in Independence around 4:55 p.m., the Independence Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.Police said the initial investigation found the collision with electrical power lines resulted in a small brush fire and a power outage in the community about 12 miles (19.3 kilometers) southwest of Salem.Pacific Power said at least 375 customers were without power in Independence after the crash, the Statesman Journal reported.The Independence police and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating, police said.A possible cause of the crash and the names of the deceased were not immediately released.The Associated Press

Serbia’s populists look to further tighten grip on power in tense election

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:08 GMT

Serbia’s populists look to further tighten grip on power in tense election BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic is looking to further tighten his grip on power in an election on Sunday that has been marred by reports of major irregularities during a tense campaign.The main contest in the parliamentary and local elections is expected to be between Vucic’s governing right-wing Serbian Progressive Party, or SNS, and a centrist coalition that is trying to undermine the populists who have ruled the troubled Balkan state since 2012.The Serbia Against Violence opposition list is expected to mount the biggest challenge for the city council in Belgrade. An opposition victory in the capital would seriously dent Vucic’s hardline rule in the country, analysts say.“Changes in Serbia have started and there is no force that can stop that,” said Dragan Djilas, the opposition coalition leader, after he voted in Belgrade. “We, as the strongest opposition list, will defend people’s will by all democratic means.”Several right-...

Over 60 people have drowned in the capsizing of a migrant vessel off Libya, the UN says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:08 GMT

Over 60 people have drowned in the capsizing of a migrant vessel off Libya, the UN says CAIRO (AP) — A boat carrying dozens of migrants trying to reach Europe capsized off the coast of Libya, leaving more than 60 people dead, including women and children, the U.N. migration agency said.Saturday’s shipwreck was the latest tragedy in this part of the Mediterranean Sea, a key but dangerous route for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Thousands have died, according to officials.The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration said in a statement the boat was carrying 86 migrants when strong waves swamped it off the town of Zuwara on Libya’s western coast and that 61 migrants drowned, according to survivors.“The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes,” the agency wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.Libya has in recent years emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, even though the North African nation has plunged into chaos foll...