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The New England Patriots are entering the homestretch of the 2024 season as one of the worst teams in NFL. Owning a 3-10 record coming out of their bye week, they have already secured a losing season and elimination from playoff contention. In order to wrap up in a positive fashion, it’s all about building some positive momentum toward 2025. This starts in Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals . For the first time since 2022, when they celebrated a 27-13 victory, the Patriots will return to Arizona. As opposed to the Cardinals team from two years ago, this one is a formidable opponent still very much alive in the hunt for a postseason spot. Kickoff in Glendale, AZ, is set for 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 15. As always, we here at Pats Pulpit will do our best to keep you informed and up to date before, during, and after the game. So, in order not to miss any news or analysis from the Patriots’ Week 15 contest versus the Cardinals, please make sure to bookmark and regularly re-visit this story stream.
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From wealth and success to murder suspect, the life of Luigi Mangione took a hard turnSportscaster Greg Gumbel dies from cancer at age 78TORONTO — Jakob Poeltl, Kelly Olynyk and Davion Mitchell will all return to the Toronto Raptors lineup tonight against the Dallas Mavericks. Poeltl missed Toronto's 129-92 loss to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday due to illness. Mitchell was listed as questionable with right hip stiffness after that loss, but Raptors head coach Dakro Rajakovic says he's available against Dallas. It will be Olynyk's first time playing in the 2024-25 season after missing the entire pre-season and first 23 games of the campaign with back spasms. Olynyk, who was born in Toronto but grew up in Kamloops, B.C., will add significant depth to the Raptors' rotation. He averaged 12.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 28 games for Toronto last season after he was traded to the Raptors by the Utah Jazz on Feb. 8. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2024. Follow @jchidleyhill.bsky.social on Bluesky John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
A signing ceremony of an intergovernmental agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project is held in Beijing, capital of China, June 6, 2024. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) "It will certainly reshape regional logistics, bringing significant economic benefits." BISHKEK, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The commencement ceremony for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was held in Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan, on Friday. Representatives from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan highlighted the railway's potential to promote regional connectivity and prosperity. Sanjar Mukanbetov, director of the National Institute of Strategic Initiatives under the President of Kyrgyzstan, told Xinhua that the support of China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan's leaders has made the railway project possible. "Residents and nearby settlements will directly benefit from the economic impact of the project," Mukanbetov said. "It will certainly reshape regional logistics, bringing significant economic benefits." According to the current progress of the project, the construction of the Kyrgyz section of the railway project is scheduled to begin in July 2025 and last for six years, the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. said. This aerial photo taken on Nov. 8, 2023 shows the Torugart port of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Igor Shestakov, an expert from Kyrgyzstan, said the railway would help showcase Belt and Road cooperation projects and significantly benefit projects under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Kyrgyz economist Iskender Sharsheev said he believed that the project would attract more investments in energy, transport, and agriculture. "The infrastructure will open opportunities for logistics, product processing, and export-oriented production," he said, adding that the railway will drive change, fostering economic growth and social stability in the region. Abdurasul Abdukhalilov, head of Uzbekistan's Tashkent regional department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the railway will link China with European and Middle Eastern markets, facilitating freight transport. Calling the railway the "road of the new century," Azamat Seitov, head of the Laboratory of Anthropology and Conflictology at Uzbekistan's University of World Economy and Diplomacy, said there is no doubt that it will open up new opportunities for trade, tourism and industry, while strengthening regional economic interconnectivity.
In the wake of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, an unexpected cultural phenomenon is unfolding. Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of the fatal Dec. 4 shooting in New York, has become the subject of several regional Mexican ballads posted online. In recent years, regional Mexican music — which encompasses corridos, norteño mariachi and more –has experienced an unprecedented global revival, particularly with the emergence of corridos tumbados in early 2019, pioneered by Natanael Cano. This genre was further popularized by artists such as Fuerza Regida, Junior H and Peso Pluma. The style quickly spread across the Internet on platforms such as SoundCloud and TikTok, and by the end of that year, it had impacted the Billboard charts and continues to do so. And now, a wave of new songs has emerged on various platforms, seeking to cast Mangione within the corridos tradition. These corridos — historically used to narrate tales of revolutionaries and rebels that date back to the Mexican Revolution of 1910 — are now casting the accused killer of the health insurance CEO as a complex figure caught between villainy and vigilantism. This musical portrayal is igniting discussions about justice, corporate ethics and the makings of modern antiheroes amid a backdrop of deep-seated societal discord. While a developed country, the United States still grapples with health care access and affordability disparities. Despite boasting cutting-edge medical technologies and treatments, people often face prohibitive costs and inadequate coverage. This paradox has fueled a national discourse on health care injustice and attempts to overhaul the health care system, with some sympathizing with and/or glorifying the accused killer, who is facing federal murder and stalking charges. Separately, the Manhattan district attorney, in addition to multiple murder charges, also charged Mangione with murder as an act of terrorism; he has pleaded not guilty to the state charges. If he’s convicted on the federal charges, Mangione could potentially face the death penalty, while the state charges could mean a maximum of life without the possibility of parole. On Dec. 22, a SoundCloud user named Alan Rendon posted an accordion-led track called “El Corrido de Luigi Mangione,” which goes, “In the cold December morning in New York, his law was laid/ A man on a bicycle crossed with a plan that lived in his mind/ On 54th Street his fate was met, Brian Thompson fell by the bullets/ Justice Luigi wanted to serve.” The song continues, “In his message, he left his reason/ He did not seek riches or fame, only justice for his nation/ Today his name travels the streets, a dark message he left/ The industry he blamed so much, his own sentence he signed.” The corrido frames Mangione as a dark symbol of resistance against corporate misconduct, and some have compared the accused to the antihero from V for Vendetta . Artist Gabriela MC echoed this sentiment in a TikTok posted Dec. 15, singing, “One day, Dec. 4, it is said that the businessman had a meeting pending/ With high-ranking people, when three precise bullets snatched his life/ People are not moved by the rich man slain/ ‘Deny,’ ‘depose’ and ‘defend’ — keys to the murder/ And although he died suddenly, the meeting was not canceled/ Do not believe that for millions [of dollars] you have bought your life/ He was dedicated to that and could not secure it/ How life turns around, and karma claims it.” She cites the three bullets found on the crime scene with the engraved words “deny,” “defend” and “depose.” According to The Associated Press , those three words are often used to describe insurance companies’ practices when denying claims. The phrase also mirrors the title of Jay M. Feinman’s book Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It . Published in 2010, this tome provides a critical look at the practices commonly used by insurance companies that negatively affect policyholders . “Six days after his death they came upon the Italian/ A sharp young man graduated from Pennsylvania,” she sings. “He was playing Monopoly/ Don’t insult the intelligence of those American people/ His mother asked for clemency, as many were denied/ Luigi ran out of patience and adjusted them.” During the initial manhunt after Thompson’s murder, a backpack containing Monopoly money believed to be the killer’s was found abandoned in Central Park on Dec. 6. According to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by The AP , Mangione was carrying a handwritten note at the time of his arrest on Dec. 9 in Pennsylvania, and the document slammed “parasitic” health insurance companies. A TikTok user going by the name Cruzistojose1978 posted a corrido introducing a first-person perspective of Mangione’s narrative. “I am a young, intelligent man, I graduated from Penn/ Life gave me its tests, and fate has collected them/ Today I find myself behind bars, but my motive is marked,” he sings. While he awaits trial, Mangione’s story as depicted in corridos could challenge listeners to confront realities about the power imbalances within society — or, at least, that’s what the origin of corridos claim, if Américo Paredes’ 1958 book With His Pistol in His Hand: A Border Ballad and Its Hero can be applied to this case. The title is about Gregorio Cortez, a Mexican-American outlaw who killed a sheriff in self-defense against racism and injustice in the late 1800s. This incident sparked the creation of corridos that celebrated his deeds as a symbol of resistance against the discriminatory actions of the Anglo authorities toward Mexican-Americans in Texas. The book argues that the origin of corridos such as those about Gregorio Cortez served not just entertainment, but powerful expressions of protest against oppression.Bronson Reed has been receiving a significant push within WWE in recent weeks. His feuds with Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman both drew high ratings on television and across social media. He was rewarded by being placed into the New Bloodline's roster for its War Games match at Survivor Series. Unfortunately for Reed, he suffered an injury to his ankle and foot after hitting a Tsunami off the top of the cage at Survivor Series. According to Mike Johnson of Pro Wrestling Insiders, Reed is set to undergo surgery at some point next week. "The word making the rounds among WWE talents is that Bronson Reed will undergo surgery sometime next week for his ankle/foot injury suffered at WWE Survivor Series," Johnson reported. "Reed was injured hitting a Tsunami off the top of the cage through a table...Reed was slated to wrestle Seth Rollins in steel cage matches as part of the company's past-holiday live event week, so those lineups will change in the days to come." This injury couldn't have come at a worse time for Reed. He had finally generated some momentum within the company and had multiple big matches and angles lined up. His role alongside Solo Sikoa and the rest of the new bloodline would have helped increase his popularity with the fans, too. Now, Reed will be sidelined indefinitely. Once he returns, he must begin working his way back into a strong position. That could take months if it happens at all. Professional wrestling moves quickly. Fans will forget about his feuds while he's off television, and new storylines will take their place. There's no guarantee Rollins or Strowman will be available for new creative angles when he returns. And nobody knows where the Bloodline story will go next. Considering Reed's injury occurred during a dangerous spot within a match, which was undoubtedly part of the creative process, the hope is that WWE will do right by him once he returns. However, he may need to show some patience. Reed had earned this moment. Hopefully, when he's back and healthy, he will have opportunities to earn another big spot and can use that to springboard himself back toward the top of the "Monday Night RAW" card.