BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. (AP) — Po'Boigh King had 28 points in North Carolina Central's 78-77 victory over Gardner-Webb on Saturday. King added six rebounds for the Eagles (4-7). Isaac Parson scored 13 points and added seven assists and three steals. Keishon Porter shot 2 of 7 from the field, including 1 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 3 for 4 from the line to finish with eight points. The Runnin' Bulldogs (4-6) were led in scoring by Anthony Selden, who finished with 25 points. Jamaine Mann added 15 points for Gardner-Webb. Shahar Lazar finished with 10 points and four assists. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .What happens if Syria falls to jihadis?None
Title: Inside Industry: Personal Pension Plans Will Be Fully Implemented, System Optimization Enhances Expectations
SAN DIEGO (AP) — With his stellar America’s Cup career behind him, Jimmy Spithill introduced his new Red Bull Italy SailGP Team on Thursday in Dubai just ahead of the opening regatta of the global league’s fifth season. Spithill, the team’s CEO and founder, pulled a major coup by hiring his old America’s Cup crewmate and fellow Australian, wing trimmer Kyle Langford, from the Australian team that dominated SailGP for the first three seasons. Italy, SailGP's 12th team, sailed its foiling 50-foot catamaran for the first time Thursday. After practice racing on Friday, the opening regatta will be Saturday and Sunday. “It’s been definitely a big push,” Spithill said in a video interview with The Associated Press. “It’s all come up really quick. We’re almost there.” Spithill left the U.S. SailGP team in November after 2 1⁄2 seasons to focus on starting the Italian team and on sailing in this year’s America’s Cup. He was co-helmsman of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, which was eliminated by INEOS Britannia in the challenger finals. Double Olympic gold medalist Ruggero Tita will helm the Italian team, while two-time bronze medalist and recent Women’s America’s Cup winner Giulia Fava will be the strategist and Italian national champion Andrea Tesei will be the flight controller. Alex Sinclair also followed Spithill, joining grinders Matteo Celon and Enrico Voltolini, who have extensive high-performance and America’s Cup experience. Spithill said his crew has “some absolute next-generation stars, from different backgrounds, Olympics, America’s Cup, and it’s just awesome having Kyle come in.” Spithill, 45, said he’ll be on the boat only if someone gets hurt or sick. “These young guys are too good at it,” he said. “The talent that’s coming through in Italy, I mean, the results do the talking.” More stars having been switching teams in SailGP, which was co-founded by tech billionaire Larry Ellison. Signing Langford is a big deal for the new team. Shortly before the 2013 America’s Cup on San Francisco Bay, Langford was promoted to Oracle’s race crew after wing trimmer Dirk de Ridder was suspended by an international jury. With Emirates Team New Zealand at match point at 8-1, Spithill skippered Oracle to eight straight wins in one of the greatest comebacks in sports to retain the Cup. “One thing that really attracted him was a chance to start out and really play a major role with the new team and especially the emerging talent,” Spithill said. “It would have been really easy for him to say, ‘You know what? I’m comfortable with the Aussies.’ But the fact that he’s stepped out of his comfort zone and he’s challenging himself as an athlete in this stage of his career is just massive.” While talented, the Italian crew will have the least experience together in the high-performance F50 catamaran. Spithill said Langford “is going to play a huge role in getting this team up to speed. I mean, the F50 is, without a doubt, probably the hardest boat to sail out there.” After sailing for Luna Rossa in three of his eight America’s Cup campaigns, Spithill has seen how passionate Italian fans are. “When you talk about an exciting market for the sport, I mean, it doesn’t get any better than Italy,” he said. “It has a huge following in Italy and they’ve got a real cultural attachment to the ocean and the sport itself.” Spithill said immediately after Luna Rossa’s loss in early October that it was time to step away from the America’s Cup. “The point is, we didn’t get the job done so I hold myself accountable for that. And I also am seeing firsthand that this next generation of talent coming through and I believe they deserve a shot, you know?” “I really think SailGP is the future of the sport. The whole regular season, the concept makes a lot of sense,” he said. Dubai is the first of 14 regattas. At season’s end, the top three crews will race in the $2 million, winner-take-all Grand Final. Also Thursday, Rolex was announced as SailGP's first title sponsor as part of a 10-year deal. Bernie Wilson has covered sailing for The Associated Press since 1991.The sight of the injured cow sent shockwaves through the community, as they realized that the presence of a tiger in the vicinity posed a potential threat not only to livestock but also to human lives. Aware of the urgency of the situation, the villagers swiftly mobilized a team to assess the extent of the cow's injuries and devise a plan to protect both the livestock and themselves from further harm.NEW YORK — Stoli Group USA, the owner of the namesake vodka , has filed for bankruptcy as it struggled to contend with slowing demand for spirits, a major cyberattack that has snarled its operations and several years of fighting Russia in court. The company in its bankruptcy filing said it is “experiencing financial difficulties” and lists between $50 million and $100 million in liabilities. Stoli vodka and Kentucky Owl bourbon will continue to be available on store shelves while the company navigates the Chapter 11 process, which only pertains to its U.S. business. Until 2022, Stoli was sold as Stolichnaya in the United States, which loosely translates to “capital city” in Russian. The company shortened its title following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and boycotts against Russian-branded vodkas . Stoli Group’s founder, Russian-born billionaire Yuri Shefler, was exiled from that nation in 2000 because of his opposition to President Vladimir Putin. Intel announced on December 2 that CEO Pat Gelsinger has resigned after a difficult stint at the company. The once-dominant chipmaker’s stock cratered as it missed the AI boom and was surpassed by most of its rivals. The liquor has long been marketed as a Russian vodka, but its production facilities have been in Latvia for several decades. Stoli Group is a unit of Luxembourg-based SPI Group, which owns other spirit and wine brands. “The Stoli Group has been targeted by the Russian Federation since it was formed nearly 25 years ago,” said Stoli Group CEO Chris Caldwell in a statement. “Earlier this year the company and our owner were both named by the Russian state as ‘extremist groups working against Russia’s interests.’” Its ongoing legal battle with the Russia government has forced Stoli to “spend dozens of millions of dollars on this long-term court battle across the globe with the Russian authorities,” according to its court filing. Caldwell also said that Stoli’s global operations has been a “victim of a malicious cyber attack” that has forced the company to operate “entirely manually while the systems are rebuilt.” A slowdown in demand for alcohol has crushed several company’s bottom lines following the pandemic when people were stuck at home and stocked up. Stoli’s filings said that it has seen a “decline and softening of demand for alcohol and spirits products post-Covid and especially beginning in 2023 and continuing into 2024.” Stoli Group USA, maker of Stoli vodka, has filed for bankruptcy due to slowing demand for spirits, a major cyberattack, and ongoing legal battles with Russia. The-CNN-WireTM & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ third bid to be released on bail won’t be decided until next week
Some Atlantic City casino workers call on union boss to resign for opposing a smoking banFalcons head coach Raheem Morris was steadfast in his support of quarterback Kirk Cousins after Cousins threw four interceptions in Week 13 and he was playing the same tune after Sunday’s loss in Minnesota. Cousins threw two interceptions in the 42-21 loss and has now thrown eight interceptions and no touchdowns over the team’s last four games. During his postgame press conference, Morris showed no sign that he was considering a move to rookie Michael Penix before the team’s Week 15 game against the Raiders. “Everything is always discussed when you go watch the tape and do all those type of things but Kirk Cousins is our quarterback,” Morris said. “We’ll have the ability to go watch this tape just like we do every single week. Kirk played significantly better than he did the week before. We got a chance to go out there and focus on us and get a chance to go out there and work on what we do and what we do well. We will do whatever is best to go win football games and Kirk’s definitely a part of that.” Cousins finished 23-of-37 for 344 yards and that looks better than last week, but the result was the same for a Falcons team that is reeling after a 6-3 start to the season. Four straight losses have knocked them out of first place and they’ll need to stop the free fall against the Raiders if they want to have a real shot at moving back in front of the Buccaneers.
Ravens QB Jackson leads first NFL Pro Bowl fan voting results
Sarah Boone was sentenced to life in prison in an Orlando courtroom Monday afternoon for suffocating her boyfriend in a suitcase, bringing a nearly five-year legal saga to a close — for now. The sentence was handed down by Orange County Circuit Court Judge Michael Kraynick, who could have given Boone a minimum of 221⁄2 years for her second-degree murder conviction, at the end of a nearly two-hour hearing. Before the sentence was announced, Boone spent nearly 20 minutes addressing the court, saying the ordeal had renewed her faith in God. She said she blames herself for not ending her relationship with Torres sooner when he mistreated her, but that she still loves Torres and will see him again in the next life. She begged forgiveness from his family, who sat in the front row of the courtroom. “I think of him every day and still speak to him when alone in the rec yard,” Boone said. “I ask his forgiveness and that he looks for me at the gates of heaven so I can tell him how sorry I am endlessly and that I never stopped loving him.” Boone, 47, was convicted on Oct. 25 by a jury of five women and one man after about 90 minutes of deliberations. Boone initially told police Torres, 42, died the night of Feb. 23, 2020, in their Winter Park residence as a result of a drunken game of hide-and-seek gone horribly wrong. But her defense team later argued that she was an abused woman suffering from Battered Spouse Syndrome and killed Torres in self-defense. The trial delved deeply into Boone’s personal life, showing her often violent relationship with Torres as well as their frequent consumption of alcohol, which was described as central to their lives. At one point in her address Monday, Boone appeared to blame Torres’ family, causing Jorge’s mother and sister to temporarily leave the courtroom. “I also forgive the Torres family, his mother and father, foremost, also his two ex-wives, and daughters, all for knowing who Jorge was, capable of and had done in the past, his history of violence and where he learned it, then keep turning a blind eye when I would ask for help,” she aid. She also blamed the Internet, social media, online content creators and the media for making her a pariah. Prosecutor Dave Cacciatore Jr. said the lack of responsibility or remorse from Boone meant she didn’t deserve a lesser sentence. Torres’ mother, sister and daughter all spoke about how his death had impacted them. Family members of Jorge Torres, Jr. react at the sentencing of Sarah Boone in a courtroom of the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Florida, on Monday, December 2, 2024. Boone was sentenced to life in prison for murdering her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, Jr., in 2020 by suffocating him in a suitcase. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) Sarah Boone, convicted of second-degree murder in the suffocation death of her boyfriend inside a suitcase in 2020, was sentenced Monday to life in prison. The stiff sentence capped a near-five-year legal saga in which Boone went through nine attorneys and proceedings were delayed 16 times. She had rejected a 15-year plea deal prior to trial. Read the story at OrlandoSentinel.com or in the News Extra section of today's e-edition. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) Sarah Boone takes a seat as she takes the stand to read from a prepared letter during a sentencing hearing at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Florida, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. Boone was sentenced to life in prison for murdering her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, Jr., in 2020 by suffocating him in a suitcase. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) Judge Michael Kraynick hands down a sentence of life in prison during a sentencing hearing for Sarah Boone at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Florida, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. Boone was sentenced to life in prison for murdering her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, Jr., in 2020 by suffocating him in a suitcase. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) Sarah Boone makes an expression as she answers a question during her sentencing hearing at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Florida, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. She was sentenced to life in prison for murdering her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, Jr., in 2020 by suffocating him in a suitcase. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) Sarah Boone, left, carries a prepared letter that she read to the court during her sentencing hearing at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Florida, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. She was sentenced to life in prison for murdering her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, Jr., in 2020 by suffocating him in a suitcase. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) Sarah Boone takes the stand to read a prepared letter during a sentencing hearing at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Florida, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. She was sentenced to life in prison for murdering her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, Jr., in 2020 by suffocating him in a suitcase. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) Family members of Jorge Torres, Jr. react at the sentencing of Sarah Boone in a courtroom of the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Florida, on Monday, December 2, 2024. Boone was sentenced to life in prison for murdering her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, Jr., in 2020 by suffocating him in a suitcase. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) His sister, Victoria, said that even five years later she still can’t shut a suitcase the entire way. His daughter, Anna, said she now has anxiety and depression, and her younger brother still wonders when he will see their father again. “Real love is missing. Sometimes when I look out the window, I’m waiting for him to come and say, ‘Mom, I love you,'” Torres’ mother said tearfully. Victoria and her mother embraced when Boone’s life sentence was announced. Several people spoke in Boone’s defense, including Diane Smith, a chaplain at the Orange County Jail, who said Boone enrolled in a Christian program there and has worked to do better over the past four years, including as a mentor to younger inmates. Boone’s bunkmate for about three years, Christina Piña, said she has been like a big sister to her. “[When] anybody need any help, or needed anything, they come to her, and even if they did wrong she would still go back and help them, and pray with them, and pray over them and everything,” she said. Lana Albert, a friend suffering from end-stage renal disease who Boone met online while in jail, appeared by Zoom from Minnesota to say that Boone offered to donate her a kidney. Boone’s attorney, James Owens, argued that Kraynick should give Boone less than the minimum 221⁄2 years for reasons including her mental illness. Forensic psychologist Dr. Julie Harper testified that the untimely death of Boone’s father when she was in high school affected her ability to form healthy relationships. Kraynick said an appellate attorney will be appointed for Boone. Owens says he believes there are good grounds for appeal and is meeting with Boone on Tuesday to discuss if they should file one. He is open to returning as Boone’s attorney if the appeals court grants her a new trial. She must appeal within 30 days.Amazon to Launch Quick Delivery Service in India, Promising 15-Minute Delivery
In conclusion, as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region gears up for the cooling temperatures and the possibility of snowflakes falling from the sky, residents are getting ready to embrace the winter season with all its wonders and challenges. Whether it's enjoying the beauty of a snow-covered landscape or facing the practicalities of winter weather, the arrival of snow signifies a new chapter in the region's journey through the changing seasons.The surge in applications for the trade-in subsidy program reflects the growing awareness and interest among consumers in supporting initiatives that foster sustainable development and address climate change. By incentivizing the replacement of old, high-emission vehicles with newer, cleaner models, the program not only helps reduce air pollution but also drives innovation and technological advancement in the automotive sector.