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President Biden pardons son; Trump slams ‘miscarriage of justice’Lou Carnesecca, a Hall of Fame coach who took St. John’s University to national basketball prominence and who was known for his quick wit and colorful courtside persona, died Saturday. He was 99. His death was confirmed by Brian Browne, a spokesperson for the university, who provided no other details. When Carnesecca took over as the St. John’s head coach in 1965, the university, while rich in basketball tradition, played as an independent. It had begun a gradual move to the Jamaica section of the New York City borough of Queens from the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn 10 years earlier, and its Alumni Hall athletic building was only 4 years old. With the founding of the Big East Conference in 1979, St. John’s began competing regularly against leading basketball programs. Carnesecca took St. John’s to 18 NCAA Tournaments and six NITs, including the 1989 championship, and his teams won the Big East Tournament championship in 1983 and 1986. St. John’s won 526 games while losing 200 in Carnesecca’s two stints there, from 1965-70 and then, after his three seasons coaching the New York (now Brooklyn) Nets in the old American Basketball Association, from 1973-92. St. John’s was ranked No. 1 in the two major national polls for five consecutive weeks late in the 1984-85 season. Led by the All-American Chris Mullin (a future St. John’s coach), Mark Jackson, Walter Berry and Bill Wennington — all New Yorkers except for Wennington, who was from Montreal — St. John’s reached the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four that season before falling to Georgetown in the semifinals. Midway through the season, Carnesecca caught a cold, and his wife, Mary, suggested that he wear a sweater for his next game. He went through his closet and picked out a garish dark brown one with large red and blue chevrons across the front, a gift he had received a few years earlier from a visiting Italian coach. He wore the sweater through a prolonged winning streak, though as Carnesecca remarked to reporters at one point, “It’s ugly, isn’t it.” Fans sent him sweaters after that, and Carnesecca began wearing them regularly at courtside while roaming the sidelines, dancing up and down as he exhorted his players to greater feats. Carnesecca, known to just about everyone as Looie, spent hours watching game films at his home, though he wasn’t always the most organized at times, as a former St. John’s trainer, Lou DelCollo, told it. “You’d pick up the reel that was labeled as the first half of the Georgetown game, put it on the projector and find out it was the second half of the Providence game,” DelCollo told the Los Angeles Times in 1985. Although Carnesecca never won an NCAA championship, longtime Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was highly impressed. “In sports you’re often judged by what you haven’t done,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1991. “But what Louie has done is just incredible.” Carnesecca was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1992. Luigi Carnesecca was born Jan. 5, 1925, in Manhattan, the only child of Alfredo and Adele Carnesecca, Italian immigrants who owned an East Harlem delicatessen. He attended St. Ann’s Academy in Manhattan (now Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens), sitting on the bench as a basketball scrub, but he did experience a thrilling moment at the old Madison Square Garden on Eighth Avenue. “I was a terrible player,” he once told George Vecsey of The New York Times. “But I always wanted to be a coach. I was coaching little kids in the neighborhood, so they put me on the team at St. Ann’s, but I never played.” He added: “This was in the days when we played high school games in the Garden, and we were up by 40 points against St. Simon Stock, and the coach put me in, Dave Tobey, God rest his soul. “I was smart enough not to take the ball out of bounds, because, hah, I knew I would never get it back, so I got the ball and as soon as I cross the 10-second line, I let it fly. I didn’t even hit the rim or the backboard. The coach just took me right out of the game, and that was it.” After service in the Pacific with the Coast Guard during World War II, Carnesecca enrolled at St. John’s, where he got into three games as a junior varsity basketball player and played the infield for the baseball team. Following his graduation in 1950, he coached basketball and baseball at St. Ann’s. He returned to St. John’s in 1957 as an assistant basketball coach under Joe Lapchick, a former New York Knicks coach, and was succeeded in his high school posts by Jack Curran, who coached at Archbishop Molloy for 55 years. Carnesecca was named head coach at St. John’s when Lapchick retired. He won his 100th game in 1970, then left St. John’s for a lucrative contract as general manager and coach of the Nets. His teams made the ABA playoffs in each of his seasons and reached the league finals in 1972, losing to the Indiana Pacers. He had an overall record of 114-138 with the Nets. Carnesecca grew weary of the pro basketball grind. “It’s pretty hard to give the same halftime talk 118 times a year,” he said while announcing his retirement as St. John’s coach in April 1992. St. John’s renamed Alumni Hall as Lou Carnesecca Arena in November 2004. When Mullin was introduced by Carnesecca at his own Hall of Fame induction in 2011, he said, “I chose the best coach in the best city.” Following his coaching years, Carnesecca became a special assistant to the St. John’s president, working in community relations. St. John’s said in a statement that Carnesecca is survived by his wife of 73 years, Mary (Chiesa) Carnesecca; a daughter, Enes Carnesecca; a granddaughter, Ieva; a niece, Susan Chiesa; and a nephew, John Chiesa. In January 2001, Madison Square Garden raised a red and white banner emblazoned “526,” for Carnesecca’s 526 career victories in 24 seasons at St. John’s. “I’d be less than honest if I said I wasn’t thrilled,” he told the Times days before the ceremony, reflecting on how a boy raised by immigrant parents who ran a deli had succeeded in big-time sports. “I could have been slicing salami.” ——— This article originally appeared in The New York Times . © 2024 The New York Times CompanyHow Barbie Project Friendship Imparts an Important Lesson to Kids
AMGEN TO PRESENT AT CITI'S 2024 GLOBAL HEALTHCARE CONFERENCEAs Americans are beyond burned out, Tricia Hersey’s Nap Ministry preaches the right to restOpposition continues to build against the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, a proposed transmission line that would carry electricity from Pennsylvania to Virginia, cutting across Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties to do so. The process surrounding this project raises serious issues and questions that remain unanswered. The MPRP will compromise no fewer than 156 properties, 476 acres of farmland, 125 acres of forest and 17 acres of wetlands in Carroll County alone. The Board of Carroll County Commissioners opposes the Project, along with our governor, Wes Moore, our entire delegation to Annapolis, friends in Baltimore and Frederick counties, other state and federal officials, environmental organizations, and above all, our citizens and citizen groups like Stop MPRP. The project was dropped on us. Regional power operator PJM unilaterally decided it was necessary to increase the energy supply for data centers in Virginia by using Maryland as an expedient byway from Pennsylvania. Public Service Enterprise Group, or PSEG, the New Jersey company awarded with the construction of the powerline, is prepared to preempt local control while threatening the use of eminent domain to fulfill its contract, pending approval from Maryland’s Public Service Commission. Last month, PSEG hosted three public meetings concerning the project. Attending citizens were treated with disdain when they confronted PSEG with legitimate concerns and reasonable objections. PSEG, meanwhile, unconvincingly claims that it is seeking citizen input regarding the proposed route, as if potential minor adjustments to a massive transmission line are somehow a magnanimous concession to the local community from whom land will be seized for a project from which they will not benefit. As Governor Moore , “I’m still not certain what the benefit is to Marylanders and I’m going to stand with the people on this.” PSEG claims there is no alternative. Yet using existing rights-of-way, rebuilding, upgrading, running lines underground, on-site generation and 70-some alternate routes and remedies are all conspicuously absent from a real discussion about the project — a discussion that has not actually happened. Questions have been posed about how energy demand was estimated, whether those estimates are accurate and whether PJM is correctly gauging existing energy supply. PSEG has been less than forthcoming. Initially, the company blamed a data center in Frederick, Maryland, as if this might make the MPRP more acceptable for Marylanders — but the data center denies requesting or needing the additional energy. PSEG subsequently admitted that the power will be for Virginia. Importantly, commissioners have sought to learn on what specific legal grounds the project was authorized in the first place without needing local consent. To this date, no one has provided Carroll County with that critical information. Carroll’s commissioners have therein adopted a resolution to invoke coordination, a process under federal law whereby a local government, objecting to projects like MPRP, can seek to meet with the federal government to express opposition, find answers and address local concerns. We commissioners also recently formalized our opposition in a resolution sponsored by Commissioner Tom Gordon. In our opposition to the project, we recognize the justifiable concerns of citizens, property rights, community integrity, the environment and more. It is no wonder backers of the project do not recognize these concerns. They do not make their homes here. If they did, or if they had taken time to get to know us, they would see how closely knit our citizens, small towns, rural villages and farming communities are. They would know how carefully we’ve managed our agricultural preservation program for half a century nand how unfailingly our citizens have defended that program. They would know how much the land and the natural world mean to us — the open skies, the woods, the streams, the wildlife and wild meadows. To PSEG, it’s just a field. To us, it’s a farm. To PSEG, it’s just a right of way. To us, it’s a way of life. To PSEG, it’s the latest job site. To us, it’s home. This isn’t rhetoric. This is reality. This is our home. We have built our lives here; and we matter just as much as anyone else in any other county or any other state, despite what some in Washington might otherwise contend. We are not just a place to build through. Our open land has been protected for a reason, and that reason is not for sale. It is staggering that, as we approach 2025, progressive government agencies aligned with corporations, which can spend billions of dollars on green energy policies, can find no alternative for increasing the power supply except by threatening people’s property, scarring the land, and erecting massive, Soviet-style powerlines. Home is everything we are, and Carroll County citizens could not be clearer: this project is not for us. The fight is nowhere close to over, and we will carry our opposition before the Public Service Commission.
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Ahamad Bynum scored 19 points off of the bench to help lead UTEP over Seattle U 88-72 on Saturday night. Bynum shot 7 of 9 from the field and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line for the Miners (6-2). Otis Frazier III added 18 points while going 6 of 9 from the floor, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, and 4 for 4 from the line while he also had five assists. Kevin Kalu had 13 points and shot 5 of 6 from the field and 3 for 3 from the line. The Redhawks (3-6) were led in scoring by Paris Dawson, who finished with 18 points and two steals. Seattle U also got 14 points and eight rebounds from Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe. John Christofilis had 13 points. UTEP took the lead with 18:55 left in the first half and never looked back. The score was 48-23 at halftime, with Frazier racking up 12 points. UTEP extended its lead to 77-49 during the second half, fueled by a 7-0 scoring run. Bynum scored a team-high 12 points in the second half as their team closed out the win. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Kylian Mbappe’s spot-kick woe goes on as Real Madrid lose at Athletic Bilbao
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Minister removes N.W.T. health authority's leadership councilTrump's threat to impose tariffs could raise prices for consumers, colliding with promise for reliefLONDON (AP) — A woman who claimed mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in a Dublin hotel penthouse was awarded nearly 250,000 Euros ($257,000) on Friday by a civil court jury in Ireland. Nikita Hand said the Dec. 9, 2018, assault after a night of partying left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced the woman to do anything against her will and said she fabricated the allegations after the two had consensual sex. His lawyer had called Hand a gold digger. The fighter, once the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship but now past his prime, shook his head as the jury of eight women and four men found him liable for assault after deliberating about six hours in the High Court in Dublin. He was mobbed by cameras as he left court but did not comment. He later said on the social platform X that he would appeal the verdict and the “modest award.” Hand's voice cracked and her hands trembled as she read a statement outside the courthouse, saying she would never forget what happened to her but would now be able to move on with her life. She thanked her family, partner, friends, jurors, the judge and all the supporters that had reached out to her online, but particularly her daughter. “She has given me so much strength and courage over the last six years throughout this nightmare to keep on pushing forward for justice,” she said. “I want to show (her) and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.” The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual violence unless they come forward publicly, as Hand has done. Under Irish law, she did not have the anonymity she would have been granted in a criminal proceeding and was named publicly throughout the trial. Her lawyer told jurors that McGregor was angry about a fight he had lost in Las Vegas two months earlier and took it out on his client. “He’s not a man, he’s a coward,” attorney John Gordon said in his closing speech. “A devious coward and you should treat him for what he is.” Gordon said his client never pretended to be a saint and was only looking to have fun when she sent McGregor a message through Instagram after attending a Christmas party. He said Hand knew McGregor socially and that they had grown up in the same area. She said he picked her and a friend up in a car and shared cocaine with them, which McGregor admitted in court, on the way to the Beacon Hotel. Hand said she told McGregor she didn't want to have sex with him and that she was menstruating. She said she told him “no” as he started kissing her but he eventually pinned her to a bed and she couldn't move. McGregor put her in a chokehold and later told her, “now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times,” referring to a UFC match when he had to admit defeat, she said. Hand had to take several breaks in emotional testimony over three days. She said McGregor threatened to kill her during the encounter and she feared she would never see her young daughter again. Eventually, he let go of her. “I remember saying I was sorry, as I felt that I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again,” she testified. She said she then let him do what he wanted and he had sex with her. A paramedic who examined Hand the next day testified that she had never before seen someone with that intensity of bruising. A doctor told jurors Hand had multiple injuries. Hand said the trauma of the attack had left her unable to work as a hairdresser, she fell behind on her mortgage and had to move out of her house. Police investigated the woman’s complaint but prosecutors declined to bring charges, saying there was insufficient evidence and a conviction was unlikely. McGregor, in his post on X, said he was disappointed jurors didn't see all the evidence prosecutors had reviewed. He testified that the two had athletic and vigorous sex, but that it was not rough. He said “she never said ‘no’ or stopped” and testified that everything she said was a lie. “It is a full blown lie among many lies,” he said when asked about the chokehold allegation. “How anyone could believe that me, as a prideful person, would highlight my shortcomings.” McGregor’s lawyer told jurors they had to set aside their animus toward the fighter. “You may have an active dislike of him, some of you may even loathe him – there is no point pretending that the situation might be otherwise,” attorney Remy Farrell said. “I’m not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch.” The defense said the woman never told investigators McGregor threatened her life. They also showed surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kiss McGregor’s arm and hug him after they left the hotel room. Farrell said she looked “happy, happy, happy.” McGregor said he was “beyond petrified” when first questioned by police and read them a prepared statement. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 follow-up questions. The jury ruled against Hand in a case she brought against one of McGregor’s friends, James Lawrence, whom she accused of having sex with her in the hotel without consent.
In her new book, “We Will Rest! The Art of Escape,” the author and academic says you too can flee the toxic grind culture.
Former UN Ambassador John Bolton weighs in on Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire proposalPresident Biden pardons son; Trump slams ‘miscarriage of justice’None
NEW YORK — A judge on Tuesday cut loose Rudy Giuliani’s attorneys in his bankruptcy-related matter and denied efforts to push back his trial so he could participate in Donald Trump’s inauguration at a manic Manhattan federal court hearing that ended with an outburst from the former New York City mayor. The upcoming trial set for Jan. 16 relates to the action brought by Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, the mother and daughter election workers Giuliani owes nearly $150 million for falsely accusing them of rigging the last presidential election. It will concern his continued possession of his Palm Beach, Florida, condo, which he’s claimed is his homestead and cannot be taken away from him, and his Yankees World Series rings, which he claims he gifted his son, Andrew. He’s been forced to give up almost everything else he owns of value. After granting an application from his former attorneys Kenneth Caruso and David Labkowski to withdraw from the case, Judge Lewis Liman told Giuliani’s new legal representation, Joseph Cammarata, that his client could not fire his lawyer and “restart the clock” by hiring another, had sought multiple extensions, missed multiple deadlines, and had “not shown anything close to ‘due diligence’” concerning the deadlines for producing evidence. “My client regularly consults and deals directly with President-elect Trump on issues that are taking place as the incoming administration is afoot as well as [the] inauguration,” Cammarata unsuccessfully argued in a bid to delay the trial. “My client wants to exercise his political right to be there.” Later in the hearing, Liman expressed frustration that Giuliani had provided Freeman and Moss with his 1980 Mercedes-Benz once owned by Lauren Bacall but not the title certificate, prompting Giuliani to start yelling. “Your client is a competent person. He was the United States attorney for this district. The notion that he can’t apply for a title certificate for the car is ...” the judge said before Giuliani cut him off. “Every implication that you’ve made is against me!” Giuliani said, claiming he had applied for it. Responding to the judge’s skepticism that Giuliani is “indigent,” Giuliani said, “I’m not impoverished. Everything I have is tied up. I don’t have a car. I don’t have a credit card. I don’t have cash. I can’t get to bank accounts that truly would be mine because they have put ... stop orders on, for example, my Social Security account, which they have no right to do.” Liman then warned Giuliani, 80, and his lawyer about continued outbursts. “I permitted Mr. Giuliani to speak. Next time, he’s not going to be permitted to speak, and the court will have to take action,” the judge said. In a statement, Giuliani’s now-ex-lawyers said they had moved to step down from the case due to “a difference of opinion.” In court, his new lawyer claimed they’d abandoned him. “We took on the representation in New York to help Rudy. We have a difference of opinion as to how best to do that. Therefore, we have withdrawn in favor of Mr. Cammarata, who appears ready, willing and able to assist Rudy. We wish them every success,” Caruso and Labkowski said. Outside the courthouse, Giuliani decried the legal proceedings and hurled unfounded accusations at Hunter Biden, including that he possessed child pornography. He told the Daily News he did not wish to clarify remarks he made the week before last about not regretting his defamation of Freeman and Moss. “I do not regret it for a minute,” he said. -------- ©2024 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.WASHINGTON — A top White House official said Wednesday at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations were impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered new details about the breadth of the sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that the number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could grow. The U.S. believes the hackers were able to gain access to communications of senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures through the hack, Neuberger said. “We don’t believe any classified communications has been compromised,” Neuberger added during a call with reporters. She added that Biden was briefed on the findings and the White House “made it a priority for the federal government to do everything it can to get to the bottom this.” The Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the accusations that it was responsible for the hack Tuesday after the U.S. federal authorities issued new guidance. “The U.S. needs to stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cyber security to smear and slander China,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. The embassy did not immediately respond to messages Wednesday. White House officials believe the hacking was regionally targeted and the focus was on very senior government officials. Federal authorities confirmed in October that hackers linked to China targeted the phones of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, along with people associated with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. The number of countries impacted by the hack is currently believed to be in the “low, couple dozen,” according to a senior administration official. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House, said they believed the hacks started at least a year or two ago. The suggestions for telecom companies released Tuesday are largely technical in nature, urging encryption, centralization and consistent monitoring to deter cyber intrusions. If implemented, the security precautions could help disrupt the operation, dubbed Salt Typhoon, and make it harder for China or any other nation to mount a similar attack in the future, experts say. Neuberger pointed to efforts made to beef up cybersecurity in the rail, aviation, energy and other sectors following the May 2021 ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline . “So, to prevent ongoing Salt Typhoon type intrusions by China, we believe we need to apply a similar minimum cybersecurity practice,” Neuberger said. The cyberattack by a gang of criminal hackers on the critical U.S. pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel used along the Eastern Seaboard, sent ripple effects across the economy, highlighting cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the nation’s aging energy infrastructure. Colonial confirmed it paid $4.4 million to the gang of hackers who broke into its computer systems as it scrambled to get the nation's fuel pipeline back online.Two masked suspects sought after shots fired inside Etobicoke's Silverthorn Collegiate on Tuesday
Stock market today: Rising tech stocks pull Wall Street to another record"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" To keep reading, please log in to your account, create a free account, or simply fill out the form below.
Conor McGregor must pay $250K to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rulesJoe Burrow’s home broken into during Monday Night Football in latest pro-athlete home invasion
LONDON (AP) — A woman who claimed mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in a Dublin hotel penthouse was awarded nearly 250,000 Euros ($257,000) on Friday by a civil court jury in Ireland. Nikita Hand said the Dec. 9, 2018, assault after a night of partying left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced the woman to do anything against her will and said she fabricated the allegations after the two had consensual sex. His lawyer had called Hand a gold digger. The fighter, once the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship but now past his prime, shook his head as the jury of eight women and four men found him liable for assault after deliberating about six hours in the High Court in Dublin. He was mobbed by cameras as he left court but did not comment. He later said on the social platform X that he would appeal the verdict and the “modest award.” Hand's voice cracked and her hands trembled as she read a statement outside the courthouse, saying she would never forget what happened to her but would now be able to move on with her life. She thanked her family, partner, friends, jurors, the judge and all the supporters that had reached out to her online, but particularly her daughter. “She has given me so much strength and courage over the last six years throughout this nightmare to keep on pushing forward for justice,” she said. “I want to show (her) and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.” The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual violence unless they come forward publicly, as Hand has done. Under Irish law, she did not have the anonymity she would have been granted in a criminal proceeding and was named publicly throughout the trial. Her lawyer told jurors that McGregor was angry about a fight he had lost in Las Vegas two months earlier and took it out on his client. “He’s not a man, he’s a coward,” attorney John Gordon said in his closing speech. “A devious coward and you should treat him for what he is.” Gordon said his client never pretended to be a saint and was only looking to have fun when she sent McGregor a message through Instagram after attending a Christmas party. He said Hand knew McGregor socially and that they had grown up in the same area. She said he picked her and a friend up in a car and shared cocaine with them, which McGregor admitted in court, on the way to the Beacon Hotel. Hand said she told McGregor she didn't want to have sex with him and that she was menstruating. She said she told him “no” as he started kissing her but he eventually pinned her to a bed and she couldn't move. McGregor put her in a chokehold and later told her, “now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times,” referring to a UFC match when he had to admit defeat, she said. Hand had to take several breaks in emotional testimony over three days. She said McGregor threatened to kill her during the encounter and she feared she would never see her young daughter again. Eventually, he let go of her. “I remember saying I was sorry, as I felt that I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again,” she testified. She said she then let him do what he wanted and he had sex with her. A paramedic who examined Hand the next day testified that she had never before seen someone with that intensity of bruising. A doctor told jurors Hand had multiple injuries. Hand said the trauma of the attack had left her unable to work as a hairdresser, she fell behind on her mortgage and had to move out of her house. Police investigated the woman’s complaint but prosecutors declined to bring charges, saying there was insufficient evidence and a conviction was unlikely. McGregor, in his post on X, said he was disappointed jurors didn't see all the evidence prosecutors had reviewed. He testified that the two had athletic and vigorous sex, but that it was not rough. He said “she never said ‘no’ or stopped” and testified that everything she said was a lie. “It is a full blown lie among many lies,” he said when asked about the chokehold allegation. “How anyone could believe that me, as a prideful person, would highlight my shortcomings.” McGregor’s lawyer told jurors they had to set aside their animus toward the fighter. “You may have an active dislike of him, some of you may even loathe him – there is no point pretending that the situation might be otherwise,” attorney Remy Farrell said. “I’m not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch.” The defense said the woman never told investigators McGregor threatened her life. They also showed surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kiss McGregor’s arm and hug him after they left the hotel room. Farrell said she looked “happy, happy, happy.” McGregor said he was “beyond petrified” when first questioned by police and read them a prepared statement. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 follow-up questions. The jury ruled against Hand in a case she brought against one of McGregor’s friends, James Lawrence, whom she accused of having sex with her in the hotel without consent.As Americans are beyond burned out, Tricia Hersey’s Nap Ministry preaches the right to rest