Lakers’ LeBron James, Warriors’ Stephen Curry adding another chapter to rivalry on Christmas Day
MADRID (AP) — Spanish King Felipe VI used his traditional Christmas Eve speech to remember the victims of the catastrophic Valencia flash floods , and urged the country to remain calm despite public debates around hot-button issues such as immigration and housing affordability. In a pre-recorded speech that usually reviews the year's most relevant issues, Felipe said Spain “must never forget the pain and sadness" the flood have caused. The Oct. 29 floods killed more than 225 people in eastern Spain, damaging countless homes and leaving graveyards of cars piled on top of each other. In some towns, the heavy downpours that caused the floods dropped as much as a year's worth of rain in just eight hours. In early November, as Spaniards' shock at the wreckage turned into frustration, a political blame game began, directed especially at regional authorities who failed to send timely emergency alerts to cell phones on the day of the floods. The frustration of residents in hard-hit Paiporta near Valencia was on display when people tossed mud and shouted insults at the king and government officials in early November when they made their first visit to the town. “We have seen — and understood — the frustration, the pain, the impatience, the demands for greater and more effective coordination," Felipe said about how the disaster was managed, adding that he had asked that aid be sent to everyone who needed it. He also addressed the country's housing crunch and high rents, which have become a leading concern in this European Union country that is the eurozone's fourth-largest economy. Fast-rising rents are especially acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where incomes have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment. Felipe urged that “all the actors involved reflect” and "listen to each other” so that they facilitate bringing access to housing under “affordable conditions.” Spain's immigration debate should keep in mind the country's European partners and immigrants' countries of origin, Felipe said, warning that “the way in which we are able to address immigration ... will say a lot in the future about our principles and the quality of our democracy.” Felipe said Spain need to remain calm in the public sphere, even in the face of a “sometimes thunderous” contest in its politics. Suman Naishadham, The Associated Press
In his freshman season playing basketball at Chabot College in Hayward, former St. Bernard’s Crusader Aaiden Burris has quickly become a staple in the Gladiators’ rotation. Burris has shined off the bench for Chabot in the team’s first six games, averaging 9.7 points per game with four rebounds during the Gladiators 5-1 start to the season. “We got to our first tournament and I didn’t really know where I was in the rotation,” Buriss said. “First game comes around, I get in and I hit my first three.” Going into the season opener against Alameda, Burris didn’t know for certain if he’d be seeing the court at all. “We’re having our team breakfast and Coach likes to go through the rotation and all that before the game and he points at me ‘You’re coming off the bench’ and I’m like alright, I’m ready,” Burris recalled. “We were playing Gary Payton that game, Gary Payton is coaching at Alameda, that’s our first game of the season so we already knew it was going to be a packed house. I remember getting in the game, I go to the corner and my All-State point guard swings it to the corner and I just let it fly and it was nothing but net. Ever since that first shot things have been going really good.” The jump from the Little 4 to the Coast-North conference has been a substantial one for Burris but he’s adjusted along with the level of competition. “At first it was definitely a big jump for me,” Burris said. “Back in Humboldt, I was really just a three-point type of guy and now since I’ve been down here, I’ve been able to expand my game a lot to doing other things because that’s what I had to do to, I don’t want to say survive, but if I say survive, you know what I mean.” Buriss has been working hard to improve his ballhandling and defense as he’s now having to face larger and more explosive opponents at the collegiate level. Burris has played 24.7 minutes per game which is fifth most on the Gladiators, serving as a 6th man off the bench for Chabot. “I know defense was really something I needed to work on because guarding kids down here is not like guarding kids back home,” Burris said of the change in competition. “I can’t just stand still and put my hands up and get a block, down here I got to guard someone 94 feet that might have just came from a D-1 school.” In addition to the more talented opponents, Burris also has to adjust to no longer being one of the taller players on the court at any given moment. “I was always one of the biggest guys, if not the biggest guy on my team until Rowan [Cromwell] came around,” Burris said of his former Crusader teammate. “In high school I could post up anybody I wanted, I could do easy things that now at this college level, it’s like OK I can’t really do that. I got to stick to my strongsuits.” Even with the added layers to his game, Burris remains a shooter first and foremost, launching 6.7 threes a game and is currently shooting them at a 30% clip, with his overall field goal percentage at 40% for the season. Burris has gotten a lot of confidence from his head coach, Keenan McMiller, who told Burris on his first day on campus that he believes the St. Bernard’s alum is a Division 1 talent. “He instills confidence in me every practice,” Burris said of McMiller. “Sometimes me and him will talk on the phone for an hour. We have a strong relationship, I don’t have any family out here so me and him in the summer got super close. I’m an adult now but he’s kind of like my authoritative figure.” Chabot won the Chabot Classic on their homecourt before heading down to Los Angeles for the Pasadena CrossOver Tournament where the Gladiators went 2-1 with a couple of overtime games. Burris is excited for the start of conference play, where he believes Chabot can make a run at the Coast-North title. “I can’t wait for conference,” Burris said. “We have the best conference in California so I’m just excited to go play in those games and put my name out there.” Dylan McNeill can be reached at 707-441-0526Liberty 38, Western Kentucky 21
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #282 (Tuesday, December 10 2024)None