MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa's teammates have used words like “commanding” and “lights out” to describe the way he has played recently. The quarterback has had one of the best stretches of his career since he returned from a concussion in Week 8, keeping alive the playoff hopes for the Miami Dolphins. Tagovailoa threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns — including the winning TD in overtime — to lead Miami to the victory against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on Sunday. With the win, the Dolphins (6-7) have the same record as Indianapolis, and they two games back of Denver (8-5) for the final AFC wild card. “I don’t think two years ago this game occurs,” coach Mike McDaniel said Sunday of Tagovailoa. “He continues to get better. ... It’s a lot of work, and all of his work is paying off because he’s a naturally gifted quarterback, not only the skill sets but people gravitate towards him. He makes people better. That’s an incredibly important part of that position.” After an up-close look at the way Tagovailoa operates Miami's offense by throwing with anticipation, Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich called him one of the fastest processors in the NFL. Tagovailoa's teammates had just as much praise about his impact. “He’s been playing lights out. He’s been a great leader for this team, not only on offense but also for defense, getting those guys going," wide receiver Tyreek Hill said. "We’ve just got to follow him, man, like follow his standard because the standard is the standard, and he’s been playing at a high level and guys around him just got to match it.” The numbers back up Hill's words: Sunday was Tagovailoa's third straight 300-yard passing performance, joining Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks in Dolphins history to record three consecutive games with that many yards. Tagovailoa entered Sunday's game with a league-best 74.5% completion rate. He recorded his seventh straight game with a completion rate of 70% or better, tying the third-longest streak in NFL history. Going back to Week 10 against the Rams, Tagovailoa has attempted 184 passes without throwing an interception, which is the second-longest streak in his career, and he has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 34 of his last 35 games. He was 6 for 7 for 67 yards on the Dolphins' winning touchdown drive Sunday, which he capped with a 10-yard throw to tight end Jonnu Smith. “He was commanding," receiver Jaylen Waddle said. “He really made sure we didn’t kill ourselves with penalties. He wanted everybody to lock in and just hone in on the details. That’s was big. He came through, made big plays, was calm in the pocket, o-line had great protection, he delivered the ball.” What's working A big part of Tagovailoa's growth has been his ability to not force plays down the field that aren't there. Unlike earlier in his career, he is much more willing to take checkdowns or dump the ball off to running back De'Von Achane or the tight end Smith, who have been excellent this season at gaining yards after the catch. What needs help Third down continues to pose problems for the Dolphins. Miami converted just 1 of 9 third-down attempts and are 9 of 35 on third downs in its last three games. Stock up Receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill. Hill had his first 100-yard receiving game since the opener with 115 yards on 10 catches. With his 4-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, Hill has a TD catch in four of the past five games. Waddle caught nine passes for 99 yards that gave him 4,085 in his career — the most in a player's first four seasons in Dolphins history. Stock down The secondary, which allowed a combined 223 yards by Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams and 339 yards passing from Aaron Rodgers. It was just the second time this season that Miami's defense has allowed more than 300 yards passing. There were also several instances of miscommunication in the secondary. Injuries LT Terron Armstead was limited to just five snaps because of a knee injury that he's been dealing with for weeks. Armstead was visibly frustrated when he came out of the game and was replaced by rookie Patrick Paul. ... LB Anthony Walker Jr. appeared to re-aggravate a hamstring injury that happened last week. Key number 0 — The number of times Tagovailoa was hit Sunday on 47 pass attempts. Next steps Three of Miami's final four games are on the road, starting at Houston on Sunday. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Alanis Thames, The Associated Press
Missing S.C. Grandmother with 'Serious Medical Conditions' Found Dead in Submerged Vehicle“This is about as nefarious and Nimrodian as you can get,” Reaugh said during the broadcast. Rempe’s hit was egregious. He came from behind, raised his elbow and delivered a blow to Heiskanen’s head and neck area. Not every questionable hit will be so “Nimrodian.” But under current NHL head-contact rules — or more so the interpretation of them — it feels like they have to be in order to result in discipline. Saturday’s game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Calgary Flames featured a couple of questionable hits by Flames forward Martin Pospisil that officials didn’t flag. In the first period, Pospisil clipped Connor Bedard in the head with his shoulder a split second after Bedard passed the puck. Looking at replays, Bedard’s head twisted around, with his neck momentarily contorted, before he fell to the ice, but there was no visible reaction from teammates or officials. In the second period, Pospisil popped Frank Nazar so hard, he went reeling backward into the boards. Hawks teammate Ryan Donato jumped in and dished out the appropriate punishment. But that’s where the punishment stopped — and Pospisil was rewarded. He drew a roughing penalty on Donato, which set up Matt Coronato’s power-play goal that weighed heavily in the Flames’ 6-4 win. I talked to several Hawks as well as a couple of retired NHL players about the hits — whether they were legal and whether they should be — and the reactions varied. Some thought the hit on Bedard crossed the line and the one on Nazar didn’t, but one person had the opposite view. “From the bench that one (on Nazar) looked a little high,” Bedard told the Tribune. “He (Pospisil) came up on him a bit. So it was good that Dono stepped in there for sure.” Asked about the hit on himself, Bedard said he hadn’t watched a replay of it. “I don’t think I really had a big reaction (to the refs),” he said. “I didn’t care. I mean, obviously you feel it in the head, but he’s bigger, too, so I’d have to watch it to have an opinion. ... So maybe, maybe not.” Hawks defenseman Alex Vlasic said Pospisil has “had a track record of some pretty dirty hits in the past, so that definitely doesn’t look good on him.” “But it’s tough. He’s a big guy (6-foot-2), and both Bedsy (5-10) and Frank (5-9) are a little shorter,” the 6-6 Vlasic said. “So if it was me going to try to hit those guys, it would look like shoulder-to-head contact just because of the way that they line up. “I didn’t think either of those were crazy egregious, (but) the one on Bedsy was a little bit more of a blindside hit, which was pretty dirty to be honest with you. But that’s just the kind of player (Pospisil) is. He likes to get under the other team’s skin and he does a good job of it.” Vlasic added that Pospisil “knows what he’s doing going after a young guy, brand new to the league” in Nazar. And he acknowledged that players have “to know when he’s out there” on the ice. That speaks to some of the nuances some of the current and former players brought up, echoed by fans online. When it comes to legislating hits, the NHL should consider doing more to protect its stars and to look out for younger players who haven’t yet learned the height-discrepancy part of the game. I’m not trying to make the case for any of those reasons. I’m saying the NHL is too conservative in how it applies its head-contact rule. Under Rule 48, an “illegal check to the head” is defined by contact to the head that’s avoidable. And avoidable contact is determined by, among several factors, “whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not ‘picked’ as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward.” Did Pospisil make any contact with Bedard’s body beyond maybe a glancing blow? I’m sure I’ll get shouted down for this, but I agree with Bedard: It looked like Pospisil’s forearm was rising to make contact with Nazar. One of the old-timers I talked to, who has lived and watched more hockey than most of us could in a lifetime, held out his arm straight to demonstrate what should be considered an attempt to hit through the body. He then raised it 45 degrees to demonstrate a target to the head. Neither he nor I is saying it’s that simple, technically, but you know what passes the eye test. Or perhaps I should say, with a nod to Razor, the Nimrodian test. If Pospisil’s hit on Nazar wasn’t full-on Nimrod, it at least was on the scale. The NFL community waged intense debates over how to define a catch until the competition committee changed the rule in 2018 to require a “football move.” We need to continue examining the “hockey moves” that define an illegal hit to the head. It’s not about getting an extra penalty for your team or banishing that pesky agitator you don’t like to his couch for a few games, with his wallet a little bit lighter. Rule 48 was instituted during the 2010-11 season to reduce concussions in the NHL. Some studies and reports differ on how successful the rule has been in meeting that goal, but a Boston University study published this month found that “among 28 former professional ice hockey players (who donated their brains), 27 players (96.4%) were diagnosed with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), including 18 of 19 former NHL players (94.7%).” Whatever strides have been made on this front, more should be done. That goes hand in hand with a culture change. Another retired player said the NHL polices hits up to a point, and where it’s lacking, the players pick up the mantle from there. Vlasic said as much during our conversation. “It’s up to the league to obviously look at the hits that are suspension-worthy or fine-worthy,” he said. But “in the moment, on the ice, it’s up to the team, it’s up to our players, to police the game and support each other in any way we can. “Like I said, Dono did a good job of stepping in there and doing what needed to be done and kind of letting them know that you can’t keep running around and doing this. Someone’s going to do it to you.” I can’t speak for behind the scenes, but players and coaches seemed reluctant to tell the league publicly how to judge hits. An opinion, even a recommendation, can easily come off as criticism. When asked about Saturday’s hits, Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen said: “I don’t know, it’s tough to say. It happens fast. But I didn’t like how it went at their heads, especially Connor’s.” I asked to talk to a Player Safety official and was told that, while the department evaluates every hit, it doesn’t answer such requests because 1) it probably would get such a request for every game and 2) even addressing a certain hit then calls that hit into question in the minds of many fans. Also, the league source pointed out that the department could be reviewing the Pospisil hits and decide later to issue a suspension or fine, though there’s nothing to indicate it is. The league just wrangled with this issue last month, examining three high-profile hits to the head and clarifying its reasons for suspending the Los Angeles Kings’ Tanner Jeannot for three games and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Ryan Reaves for five while deciding against suspending the Vegas Golden Knights’ Zach Whitecloud for a hit against Toronto’s Matthew Knies. The league said Whitecloud hit Knies’ core, and the force of the collision caused him to elevate into Knies’ head — therefore “unavoidable.” Donato was familiar with all of those cases but didn’t want to overstep with an opinion. “Player Safety has to do their job in that, but I’m not really the judge in that,” he said. “Like, I watch hits. Sometimes you could say you think it might be dirty, it might be clean. It’s kind of just preference-based. I’m guessing they have a system where they can decide. “But for me, I (don’t) really mind it, I just watch it and let them be the judge.”DETROIT — Fifty years later, a man who grew up in suburban Detroit tried to return a very overdue baseball book to his boyhood library. The answer: You can keep it — and no fine. Chuck Hildebrandt, 63, of Chicago said he visited the public library in Warren while in town for Thanksgiving, carrying a book titled "Baseball's Zaniest Stars." He borrowed it in 1974 as a 13-year-old "baseball nut" but never returned it. Chuck Hildebrandt of Chicago holds the book "Baseball's Zaniest Stars," which was due Dec. 4, 1974, at the Warren, Mich., library, on Dec. 10. "When you're moving with a bunch of books, you're not examining every book. You throw them in a box and go," said Hildebrandt, who lived in many cities. "But five or six years ago, I was going through the bookshelf and there was a Dewey decimal library number on the book. 'What is this?'" Inside the book was a slip of paper indicating it was due back at the Warren library on Dec. 4, 1974. People are also reading... Hildebrandt told The Associated Press he decided to keep the book until 2024 — the 50th anniversary — and then try to return it. He figured the library might want to publicize the long overdue exchange. Chuck Hildebrandt of Chicago shows the library slip in the overdue book "Baseball's Zaniest Stars" on Dec. 10. He said he recently met library director Oksana Urban, who listened to his pitch. Hildebrandt said he hasn't heard anything since then, though Urban told the Detroit Free Press that all is forgiven. "Some people never come back to face the music," she said of patrons with overdue books. "But there was really no music to face because he and the book were erased from our system." So "Baseball's Zaniest Stars" is back on Hildebrandt's shelf. In return, he's now trying to raise $4,564 for Reading is Fundamental , a nonprofit literacy group. The amount roughly represents a 50-year overdue library fine. Hildebrandt seeded the effort with $457. The right book can inspire the young readers in your life, from picture books to YA novels Taylor Swift 'Eras' tie-in book is a smash, selling more than 800,000 copies in first weekend Charles Dickens' characters come alive in a Dutch town enamored with the English author Best draft picks of all-time for every MLB team Best draft picks of all-time for every MLB team The Major League Baseball draft is unique among professional sports drafts. The 30 organizations pick teenagers and college students who will not join their big league clubs for years—if ever. These athletes will spend that time honing their craft in the minor leagues, where long bus rides and minuscule paychecks are the norm. A few will move quickly up the ranks, seizing playing time opportunities to advance their careers and making their names known to scouts, fans, and other observers around the country. Some of the best will become MLB stars, but there's minimal correlation to draft position. Four of the players on this list were picked after hundreds of other diamond darlings, and only two were #1 overall selections. There's also more than a handful who didn't do much for the teams that drafted them, including superstars such as Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith, and Randy Johnson. Each of these players was traded before they evolved into Hall of Famers. Still, calling the draft a "crapshoot" might be going too far. College players are " slightly more likely " than high schoolers to reach the revered stadiums of the majors, and third-rounders have a better chance than fifth-rounders, for example, though the margins are slim, as Vice reported. Teams not only make picks based on years-in-advance projections but also whether they can sign players, a step that must be completed before those youngsters begin playing professionally. To see how clubs have fared since the inaugural draft in 1965, ATS.io compiled a list of the best draft pick by each franchise using data from Baseball Reference . The players were ranked using career wins above replacement , so not one recent choice was named. The amazing Mike Trout, a 32-year-old selected in 2009, is the youngest player. Unsigned picks were not considered, and players who were traded as picks were credited to their acquiring teams. Data is as of June 5, 2024. Arizona Diamondbacks: Max Scherzer - Draft: 11th overall pick in 2006 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 457 - Career stats: 214 wins, 3.15 earned run average, 1.08 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: University of Missouri (Columbia, Mo.) - Wins above replacement: 75.0 Boston Red Sox: Roger Clemens - Draft: 19th overall pick in 1983 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 709 - Career stats: 354 wins, 3.12 earned run average, 1.17 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas) - Wins above replacement: 139.2 Chicago White Sox: Frank Thomas - Draft: 7th overall pick in 1989 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 2,322 - Career stats: 521 home runs, .301 batting average, .974 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Auburn University (Auburn, Ala.) - Wins above replacement: 73.8 Cincinnati Reds: Johnny Bench - Draft: 36th overall pick in 1965 - Position: Catcher - Games played: 2,158 - Career stats: 389 home runs, .267 batting average, .817 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Binger HS (Binger, Okla.) - Wins above replacement: 75.1 Colorado Rockies: Todd Helton - Draft: 8th overall pick in 1995 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 2,247 - Career stats: 369 home runs, .316 batting average, .953 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.) - Wins above replacement: 61.8 Detroit Tigers: Justin Verlander - Draft: 2nd overall pick in 2004 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 518 - Career stats: 260 wins, 3.25 earned run average, 1.12 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Va.) - Wins above replacement: 81.7 Houston Astros: Kenny Lofton - Draft: 428th overall pick in 1988 - Position: Outfielder - Games played: 2,103 - Career stats: 130 home runs, .299 batting average, .794 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: University of Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.) - Wins above replacement: 68.4 Kansas City Royals: George Brett - Draft: 29th overall pick in 1971 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,707 - Career stats: 317 home runs, .305 batting average, .857 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: El Segundo HS (El Segundo, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 88.6 Los Angeles Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw - Draft: 7th overall pick in 2006 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 425 - Career stats: 210 wins, 2.48 earned run average, 1.00 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Highland Park HS (Dallas, Texas) - Wins above replacement: 79.7 Miami Marlins: Giancarlo Stanton - Draft: 76th overall pick in 2007 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 1,589 - Career stats: 417 home runs, .258 batting average, .874 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Notre Dame HS (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 44.3 Milwaukee Brewers: Robin Yount - Draft: 3rd overall pick in 1973 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,856 - Career stats: 251 home runs, .285 batting average, .772 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: William Howard Taft Charter HS (Woodland Hills, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 77.4 New York Mets: Nolan Ryan - Draft: 295th overall pick in 1965 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 807 - Career stats: 324 wins, 3.19 earned run average, 1.25 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Alvin HS (Alvin, Texas) - Wins above replacement: 81.3 New York Yankees: Derek Jeter - Draft: 6th overall pick in 1992 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,747 - Career stats: 260 home runs, .310 batting average, .817 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Central HS (Kalamazoo, Mich.) - Wins above replacement: 71.3 Oakland Athletics: Rickey Henderson - Draft: 96th overall pick in 1976 - Position: Outfielder - Games played: 3,081 - Career stats: 297 home runs, .279 batting average, .820 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Oakland Technical HS (Oakland, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 111.1 Philadelphia Phillies: Mike Schmidt - Draft: 30th overall pick in 1971 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,404 - Career stats: 548 home runs, .268 batting average, .908 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Ohio University (Athens, Ohio) - Wins above replacement: 106.9 Pittsburgh Pirates: Barry Bonds - Draft: 6th overall pick in 1985 - Position: Outfielder - Games played: 2,986 - Career stats: 762 home runs, .298 batting average, 1.051 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Arizona State University (Tempe, Ariz.) - Wins above replacement: 162.8 San Diego Padres: Ozzie Smith - Draft: 86th overall pick in 1977 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,573 - Career stats: 28 home runs, .262 batting average, .666 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 76.9 San Francisco Giants: Will Clark - Draft: 2nd overall pick in 1985 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 1,976 - Career stats: 284 home runs, .303 batting average, .880 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Mississippi State University (Mississippi State, Miss.) - Wins above replacement: 56.5 Seattle Mariners: Alex Rodriguez - Draft: 1st overall pick in 1993 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,784 - Career stats: 696 home runs, .295 batting average, .930 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Westminster Christian School (Miami, Fla.) - Wins above replacement: 117.6 Tampa Bay Rays: Evan Longoria - Draft: 3rd overall pick in 2006 - Position: Third baseman - Games played: 1,986 - Career stats: 342 home runs, .264 batting average, .804 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 58.6 Texas Rangers: Kevin Brown - Draft: 4th overall pick in 1986 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 486 - Career stats: 211 wins, 3.28 earned run average, 1.22 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Ga.) - Wins above replacement: 67.8 Toronto Blue Jays: Roy Halladay - Draft: 17th overall pick in 1995 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 416 - Career stats: 203 wins, 3.38 earned run average, 1.18 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Arvada West HS (Arvada, Colo.) - Wins above replacement: 64.2 Washington Nationals: Randy Johnson - Draft: 36th overall pick in 1985 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 618 - Career stats: 303 wins, 3.29 earned run average, 1.17 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: University of Southern California (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 101.1 Data reporting by Karim Noorani. Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Robert Wickwire. Photo selection by Clarese Moller. This story originally appeared on ATS.io and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Atlanta Braves: Chipper Jones - Draft: 1st overall pick in 1990 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,499 - Career stats: 468 home runs, .303 batting average, .930 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: The Bolles School (Jacksonville, Fla.) - Wins above replacement: 85.3 Baltimore Orioles: Cal Ripken Jr. - Draft: 48th overall pick in 1978 - Position: Third baseman - Games played: 3,001 - Career stats: 431 home runs, .276 batting average, .788 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Aberdeen HS (Aberdeen, Md.) - Wins above replacement: 95.9 Chicago Cubs: Greg Maddux - Draft: 31st overall pick in 1984 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 744 - Career stats: 355 wins, 3.16 earned run average, 1.14 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Valley HS (Las Vegas, Nev.) - Wins above replacement: 106.6 Cleveland Guardians: Jim Thome - Draft: 333rd overall pick in 1989 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,543 - Career stats: 612 home runs, .276 batting average, .956 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Illinois Central College (East Peoria, Ill.) - Wins above replacement: 73.1 Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout - Draft: 25th overall pick in 2009 - Position: Centerfielder - Games played: 1,518 - Career stats: 378 home runs, .299 batting average, .991 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Millville Senior HS (Millville, N.J.) - Wins above replacement: 86.1 Minnesota Twins: Bert Blyleven - Draft: 55th overall pick in 1969 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 692 - Career stats: 287 wins, 3.31 earned run average, 1.20 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Santiago HS (Garden Grove, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 94.5 St. Louis Cardinals: Albert Pujols - Draft: 402nd overall pick in 1999 - Position: Third baseman - Games played: 3,080 - Career stats: 703 home runs, .296 batting average, .918 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods (Kansas City, Mo.) - Wins above replacement: 101.4 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!
Ruling on Monday after an emergency hearing at Belfast High Court, judge Mr Justice McAlinden rejected loyalist activist Jamie Bryson’s application for leave for a full judicial review hearing against Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn. The judge said Mr Bryson, who represented himself as a personal litigant, had “very ably argued” his case with “perseverance and cogency”, and had raised some issues of law that caused him “some concern”. However, he found against him on the three grounds of challenge against Mr Benn. Mr Bryson had initially asked the court to grant interim relief in his challenge to prevent Tuesday’s democratic consent motion being heard in the Assembly, pending the hearing of a full judicial review. However, he abandoned that element of his leave application during proceedings on Monday, after the judge made clear he would be “very reluctant” to do anything that would be “trespassing into the realms” of a democratically elected Assembly. Mr Bryson had challenged Mr Benn’s move to initiate the democratic consent process that is required under the UK and EU’s Windsor Framework deal to extend the trading arrangements that apply to Northern Ireland. The previously stated voting intentions of the main parties suggest that Stormont MLAs will vote to continue the measures for another four years when they convene to debate the motion on Tuesday. After the ruling, Mr Bryson told the court he intended to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Any hearing was not expected to come later on Monday. In applying for leave, the activist’s argument was founded on three key grounds. The first was the assertion that Mr Benn failed to make sufficient efforts to ensure Stormont’s leaders undertook a public consultation exercise in Northern Ireland before the consent vote. The second was that the Secretary of State allegedly failed to demonstrate he had paid special regard to protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the UK customs territory in triggering the vote. The third ground centred on law changes introduced by the previous UK government earlier this year, as part of its Safeguarding the Union deal to restore powersharing at Stormont. He claimed that if the amendments achieved their purpose, namely, to safeguard Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom, then it would be unlawful to renew and extend post-Brexit trading arrangements that have created economic barriers between the region and the rest of the UK. In 2023, the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the trading arrangements for Northern Ireland are lawful. The appellants in the case argued that legislation passed at Westminster to give effect to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement conflicted with the 1800 Acts of Union that formed the United Kingdom, particularly article six of that statute guaranteeing unfettered trade within the UK. The Supreme Court found that while article six of the Acts of Union has been “modified” by the arrangements, that was done with the express will of a sovereign parliament, and so therefore was lawful. Mr Bryson contended that amendments made to the Withdrawal Agreement earlier this year, as part of the Safeguarding the Union measures proposed by the Government to convince the DUP to return to powersharing, purport to reassert and reinforce Northern Ireland’s constitutional status in light of the Supreme Court judgment. He told the court that it was “quite clear” there was “inconsistency” between the different legal provisions. “That inconsistency has to be resolved – there is an arguable case,” he told the judge. However, Dr Tony McGleenan KC, representing the Government, described Mr Bryson’s argument as “hopeless” and “not even arguable”. He said all three limbs of the case had “no prospect of success and serve no utility”. He added: “This is a political argument masquerading as a point of constitutional law and the court should see that for what it is.” After rising to consider the arguments, Justice McAlinden delivered his ruling shortly after 7pm. The judge dismissed the application on the first ground around the lack consultation, noting that such an exercise was not a “mandatory” obligation on Mr Benn. On the second ground, he said there were “very clear” indications that the Secretary of State had paid special regard to the customs territory issues. On the final ground, Justice McAlinden found there was no inconsistency with the recent legislative amendments and the position stated in the Supreme Court judgment. “I don’t think any such inconsistency exists,” he said. He said the amendments were simply a “restatement” of the position as set out by the Supreme Court judgment, and only served to confirm that replacing the Northern Ireland Protocol with the Windsor Framework had not changed the constitutional fact that Article Six of the Acts of Union had been lawfully “modified” by post-Brexit trading arrangements. “It does no more than that,” he said. The framework, and its predecessor the NI Protocol, require checks and customs paperwork on goods moving from Great Britain into Northern Ireland. Under the arrangements, which were designed to ensure no hardening of the Irish land border post-Brexit, Northern Ireland continues to follow many EU trade and customs rules. This has proved highly controversial, with unionists arguing the system threatens Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom. Advocates of the arrangements say they help insulate the region from negative economic consequences of Brexit. A dispute over the so-called Irish Sea border led to the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2022, when the DUP withdrew then-first minister Paul Givan from the coalition executive. The impasse lasted two years and ended in January when the Government published its Safeguarding the Union measures. Under the terms of the framework, a Stormont vote must be held on articles five to 10 of the Windsor Framework, which underpin the EU trade laws in force in Northern Ireland, before they expire. The vote must take place before December 17. Based on the numbers in the Assembly, MLAs are expected to back the continuation of the measures for another four years, even though unionists are likely to oppose the move. DUP leader Gavin Robinson has already made clear his party will be voting against continuing the operation of the Windsor Framework. Unlike other votes on contentious issues at Stormont, the motion does not require cross-community support to pass. If it is voted through with a simple majority, the arrangements are extended for four years. In that event, the Government is obliged to hold an independent review of how the framework is working. If it wins cross-community support, which is a majority of unionists and a majority of nationalists, then it is extended for eight years. The chances of it securing such cross-community backing are highly unlikely.As the world prepares for the change of administration in January, current government officials and industry experts convened at the New York Forum on Economic Sanctions to reflect on enforcement trends in 2024, and to speculate about the year ahead. While each regulator was careful to say they did not have a crystal ball view into what the future holds, there was universal agreement that sanctions and export controls will remain powerful enforcement tools, and the machinery that has increased inter-agency coordination is likely to remain in place. Below we highlight key observations from the Justice Department’s National Security Division (NSD), the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) and discuss how companies can best position themselves in this time of transition. Highlights include: Continued close coordination among agencies Increasing focus on technology Evolving application of sanctions approaches Role of cryptocurrency OFAC’s efforts to modernize Dan Clutch, Deputy Director of the Office of Export Enforcement at BIS, put succinctly what each regulator expressed in some fashion: in his 24 years of government service, he has never seen the type of coordination that currently exists among the various agencies and task forces, and he doesn’t see it going away as leadership transitions: “it’s for real, and it’s here to stay.” This close coordination began following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with the creation of several joint task forces and increased information sharing. Now, almost three years later, it is clear that the agencies have developed highly effective working relationships and have become adept at leveraging their specific expertise to bring enforcement actions of all kinds. For example, BIS Assistant Secretary Matthew Axelrod confirmed that in the past year his team reviewed more than 1,200 Suspicious Activity Reports from Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and actioned more than 150 of them. He also reported that there was a 50 percent increase in charged cases as a result of the Disruptive Technology Strike Force , which is a joint effort among DOJ, Commerce, the FBI and HSI, and predicted more joint resolutions, such as that brought by OFAC and BIS against Microsoft for violations of both sanctions and export controls. Another form of close coordination has been through sharing of information in voluntary self disclosures (VSDs). In the past few years, most regulators have implemented VSD programs under which companies may receive significant benefit for coming forward upon discovery of violations. The regulators confirmed that they regularly share VSDs with their colleagues at other agencies, such that companies should assume that information shared in a VSD to one agency means all have the information. Significantly, however, companies will only receive credit from the regulators to which they themselves make a VSD, meaning that companies should make VSDs to all potentially relevant agencies. Relatedly, BIS highlighted two new features of its VSD program: (1) BIS will now consider it an aggravating factor if a company was aware of misconduct but did not self-report; and (2) BIS will provide “credit in the bank” for companies that provide credible, actionable tips on misconduct by industry competitors. These changes have increased both significant VSDs as well as actionable industry tips. Ian Richardson, NSD’s Chief Counsel for Corporate Enforcement, spotlighted NSD’s first-ever declination under its VSD policy for sanctions and export controls violations. Richardson explained that although NSD’s policy provides for a presumption of a non-prosecution agreement, in this case the company’s self-disclosure was “textbook perfect” so DOJ felt it was appropriate to reward it with a full declination. He noted that the company came in exceptionally early, and proactively provided information that led to guilty pleas by two employees. This result demonstrates that the benefits of self-disclosure and full cooperation are real, even for national security-related violations. One area of significant partnership among agencies is an increased focus on key and emerging technologies. Multiple panelists asserted that we are at pivotal national security moment with foreign adversaries attempting to access these technologies that will shape our future as a country, and the balance of power in the world. DOJ highlighted the success of the Disruptive Technology Strike Force in addressing transshipment networks that convey micro-electronics overseas in violation of export controls, such as a November 2024 resolution with the founder and former chief executive officer of a California-based international logistics and freight forwarding company that pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate export laws by shipping goods to Chinese companies on BIS’ Entity list, and a September 2024 indictment against two defendants who allegedly utilized shell companies, fictitious personas, and falsified records to help Russia obtain American-made laser welding machines in support of Russia’s nuclear program. DOJ asserted that more such actions were on the way. We’ll see. This time last year, we discussed the rising importance of export controls, explaining that the targeted, agile, and less political nature of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) provide the government with a new layer of regulations well-suited to this technology-focused threat. The regulators observed that, more and more, inclusion on BIS’s End User Restriction list is akin to inclusion on OFAC’s SDN list. DOJ also discussed coordination with Commerce specifically in actions abroad, warning that although sometimes DOJ runs into problems with dual criminality — where a foreign jurisdiction does not recognize an action as criminal — DOJ has “creative lawyers and ways of getting the information we need” from other angles and partners. A new twist to protecting technology is that much of it is no longer physical, but rather information that can be transmitted, by an accomplice or through a spearfishing attack, over the internet. In these cases without a transhipping middleman, regulators have found an enforcement angle in the payment. This shift, in part, prompted BIS to develop guidance for the financial industries sector , issued on October 9, 2024, recommending that financial institutions undertake specific compliance practices to minimize their risk of violating General Prohibition 10 of the EAR. BIS emphasized that while these suggestions were not required, regulators would consider the failure to incorporate these or similar measures if a violation did later occur, because knowledge in this context goes beyond actual knowledge, and can be inferred from circumstances surrounding a transaction; in other words, a “known or should have known” standard. Michael Khoo, the Co-Director of DOJ’s Task Force KleptoCapture, discussed the evolution of sanctions tools to reflect changes in the enforcement environment. For example, he said that while the initial focus of many agencies was the primary “bad guys” such as oligarchs and arms dealers — and their movable assets, such as luxury yachts — agencies are pivoting to actions against the army of professional facilitators such as transhippers, lawyers, bankers and corporate services providers that allow the primary bad actors to hide assets and move goods. Similarly, following the initial wave of enforcement actions, regulators continue to consider whether parallel actions are necessary to fully accomplish their goal. For example, in early December, the Southern District of New York, in cooperation with DOJ and the FBI, filed a civil forfeiture complaint against more than $3.4 million in proceeds from the sale of a music studio in Burbank, California, alleging that the proceeds, which are beneficially owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, are the proceeds of sanctions violations. The action was taken despite an indictment charging Deripaska with sanctions violations had already been unsealed on September 29, 2022, and Deripaska remains at large. Khoo expressed surprise that his team did not encounter more crypto assets when pursuing oligarchs, finding that their wealth was largely comprised of luxury goods or fiat holdings. However, he said that crypto is becoming highly relevant on the procurement side of enforcement efforts. Foreign entities seeking to obtain US technology have begun to realize that paying for such goods with USD or through US banks is too risky, and have turned to USD-pegged stable coins to process these transactions, benefitting from the credibility of USD while avoiding the jurisdiction of US regulators. He said that his team is looking at this trend closely, and leveraging the expertise of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team as necessary. Michael Grady, Chief of the Banking Integrity Unit of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section at DOJ, discussed recent actions against crypto currency exchanges such as Binance for failure to comply with Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulations, and predicted such prosecutions will be a priority in the coming year. He added that AML is so crucial because it is not just a national security tool, but it also a screening measure for any other potential violation, such as sanctions, terrorism financing and export controls. Joshua Jungman, Policy Chief Compliance Division OFAC, spoke about the office’s recent modernization efforts, all geared at presenting a more unified message and more helpful information to industry. He highlighted the Office’s new compliance portal through which industry can seek guidance, saying that this new approach will allow his office to provide faster responses to simple questions, elevate the harder questions to the right stakeholders, and allow leadership to see the areas that need more guidance. OFAC is also in the process of refreshing its FAQs, and in the coming months will be putting out more information via a video series and its blog. Jungman indicated that OFAC has heard industry requests to decrease reporting requirements, but said that change won’t be happening any time soon, as it views the information as crucial to fulfilling its mission. New leadership in the incoming administration will undoubtedly make some changes, but companies should not expect a dramatic shift in the enforcement space as it relates to prioritizing the national security of the United States, particularly with respect to Iran, China and Central America. Companies should continue to enhance their due diligence and compliance programs to reflect shifts in the global risk environment including by examining shipping and payment networks and ensuring visibility into the ultimate end users of their products or services. Corporate enforcement tools that were developed and refined by the outgoing administration are likely to be retained and employed by the new team.Ursid meteor shower 2024: How and when you can witness this year's last celestial show