Bethlehem (West Bank), Dec 25 (AP) Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza. The excitement and cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week were nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists that usually fill the square. Palestinian scouts marched silently through the streets, a departure from their usual raucous brass marching band. Security forces arranged barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a severe blow to the town's economy. Tourism accounts for an estimated 70% of Bethlehem's income — almost all from the Christmas season. Salman said unemployment is hovering around 50% — higher than the 30% unemployment across the rest of the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Finance Ministry. Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, noted the shuttered shops and empty streets and expressed hope that next year would be better. “This has to be the last Christmas that is so sad,” he told hundreds of people gathered in Manger Square, where normally tens of thousands would congregate. Pizzaballa held a special pre-Christmas Mass in the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City. Several Palestinian Christians told the Associated Press that they have been displaced in the church since the war began in October of last year with barely enough food and water. “We hope by next year at the same day we'd be able to celebrate Christmas at our homes and go to Bethlehem,” said Najla Tarazi, a displaced woman. “We hope to celebrate in Jerusalem ... and for the war to end. This is the most important thing for us and the most important demand we have these days because the situation is really hard. We don't feel happy.” Bethlehem is an important center in the history of Christianity, but Christians make up only a small percentage of the roughly 14 million people spread across the Holy Land. There are about 182,000 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the U.S. State Department. The number of visitors to the town plunged from a pre-COVID high of around 2 million per year in 2019 to fewer than 100,000 in 2024, said Jiries Qumsiyeh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Tourism Ministry. After nightfall, the golden walls of the Church of the Nativity were illuminated as a few dozen people quietly milled about. A young boy stood holding a pile of balloons for sale, but gave up because there were no customers to buy them. The war in Gaza has deterred tourists and has prompted a surge of violence in the West Bank, with more than 800 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and dozens of Israelis killed in militant attacks. Palestinian officials do not provide a breakdown of how many of the deceased are civilians and how many are fighters. Since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war, access to and from Bethlehem and other towns in the West Bank has been difficult, with long lines of motorists waiting to pass through Israeli military checkpoints. The restrictions have prevented some 150,000 Palestinians from leaving the territory to work in Israel, causing the economy there to contract by 25%. In the Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took more than 250 Israeli hostages. Israeli officials believe that around 100 hostages remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip. Elsewhere, Christmas celebrations were also subdued. Syrians protest after Christmas tree burned Scores of Syrian Christians protested Tuesday in Damascus, demanding protection after the burning of a Christmas tree in Hama the day before. Videos and images shared on social media showed the large, decorated tree burning at a roundabout in Suqalabiyah, a town in the Hama countryside. It remains unclear who was responsible for setting the tree on fire. In a video that circulated on social media, a representative of Syria's new leadership, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, could be seen visiting the site and addressing the community. He said: “This act was committed by people who are not Syrian, and they will be punished beyond your expectations.” Germans mourn after Christmas market attack German celebrations were darkened by a car attack on a Christmas market on Friday that left five people dead and 200 people injured. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier rewrote his annual recorded Christmas Day speech to address the attack. He plans to acknowledge that “there is grief, pain, horror and incomprehension over what took place in Magdeburg,” while urging Germans to “stand together,” according to an early copy of the speech. Heavy snow hits the Balkans A snowstorm in the Balkans stranded drivers and downed power lines, but some saw the beauty in it. “I'm actually glad its falling, especially because of Christmas,” said Mirsad Jasarevic in Zenica, Bosnia. “We did not have snow for Christmas for 17 years here, and now is the time for wonderful white Christmas.” Planes grounded in the United States American Airlines briefly grounded flights across the U.S. on Tuesday due to a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive. Winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Meanwhile, the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 1,447 flights entering or leaving the U.S., or serving domestic destinations, were delayed Tuesday, with 28 flights canceled. Spanish ministries bring seafarers holiday cheer In the port of Barcelona, Spain, volunteers from the faith-based ministry Stella Maris visited seven ships docked there on Christmas Eve to deliver Nativity scenes and the local specialty of turrón (nougat candy) to seafarers. The volunteers met seafarers from India, the Philippines, Turkey and elsewhere, said Ricard Rodríguez-Martos, a Catholic deacon and former merchant marine captain who leads Stella Maris in this major Mediterranean harbor. (AP) AS AS (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)Princelings refer to the second generation of the founders of communist China. In a Dec. 14 interview with Chinese-language program “Pinnacle View” on NTD, a sister media outlet of The Epoch Times, Yuan Hongbing, a former Peking University law professor, talked about the letter. He said that Liu Yuan—a retired general and the son of a prominent first-generation CCP leader, Liu Shaoqi—allegedly authored the letter, warning that the CCP would face its demise if it continued on its current path under Party leader Xi Jinping. As the CCP’s first-ranking vice chairman, Liu’s father was once considered the successor of Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong before being purged during the Cultural Revolution. Yuan was Xi’s drinking buddy in the 1980s before Xi rose to power and has also maintained connections with some senior officials. Before Xi came to power in 2012, China followed the path set by Deng Xiaoping’s economic reform policies, which relaxed some state control in the technology and real estate sectors and opened part of the Chinese market to foreign investments. The princelings, of which Xi is a prominent member, became increasingly worried that if China continued on Deng’s path, the Party wouldn’t be able to continue ruling the country with the communist ideology and capitalist market under one roof. They feared this would ultimately lead people to abandon communism, causing China to break away from the CCP’s control. Consequently, Xi made a left turn in his economic policies. The letter warns that it would be a grave mistake for the CCP to expect the Chinese people to support the Party in any circumstance as they did during the late 1950s, when tens of millions died in the Great Famine, as the public’s mindset has drastically shifted. If such a crisis were to occur again, the author wrote, the CCP would face an inevitable overthrow. The author called the CCP’s efforts to unify Taiwan a failure and warned that a potential war with Taiwan would likely devastate much of China’s coastal provinces—its most developed regions—further destabilizing the CCP. The letter offers recommendations, including transforming the CCP into a social democratic party. However, Yuan expressed doubt. “The reality is that the CCP’s oppressive rule has caused immense suffering to the Chinese people—a grave injustice that will not be forgiven,” he said. “The princelings deeply fear that the CCP will collapse amid the widespread contempt of the people. They hope to avoid such a humiliating end for the Party.” Further, Yuan said the international community is “slowly moving away from its policy of appeasement toward the CCP’s regime.” “The era of hoping that the CCP will adhere to international norms or expecting any meaningful cooperation from the CCP must end,” he said. “Coexistence with the CCP is simply impossible—either communist rule will dominate the world or humanity will eventually eradicate the remnants of communism. There is no middle ground.”
London: For all the rousing revelry and festive fizz that Christmas Day can bring, for some it only ramps up the confusion and anxiety. Older relatives may find it more of a slog to host than they are used to; if they are the guests, a lively new setting can compound the feelings of bewilderment and grumpiness. But when do signs of stress actually signify something more serious? Elizabeth Leonard, 58, recalls how a few years ago, her previously capable, cheerful mother, then aged 71, had an uncharacteristic outburst a few days before Christmas – picking a fight when normally she would do anything to avoid confrontation. On Christmas Day itself she said she couldn’t cook the turkey because there was something wrong with the oven. Elizabeth took over the cooking and found it was working perfectly. It marked the beginning of a long road to accepting that there might be something wrong, followed eventually by a diagnosis of dementia. A Christmas meal disaster could be a clue. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto “It’s a time for making memories, but it’s often during Christmas that we realise that something isn’t quite right with someone,” says Simon Wheeler, a senior knowledge officer at the Alzheimer’s Society. “At first it may seem like a momentary lapse – perhaps just a sign of getting old – but after a while you start to become concerned.” Different types of dementia can cause varying symptoms – from memory loss to difficulty with everyday tasks – that can often be picked up on in a social setting. The most common kind of dementia is Alzheimer’s (early symptoms include confusion and short-term memory problems), followed by vascular dementia (problems with planning and concentration) and Lewy bodies dementia (this includes Parkinson’s dementia, difficulty focusing and delusions). Some symptoms, such as memory loss, are common to many dementias – especially in the early stages. Here’s what to look out for and what to do if you’re worried about a relative this Christmas. Forgetfulness Forgetfulness, as a symptom of dementia, generally applies to short-term memory. “People might be able to sit there and talk about Christmas 10 years ago and remember all the details,” says Angelo Makri, also a senior knowledge officer at the Alzheimer’s Society. “But if you ask them what they did yesterday and they can’t answer, that’s where you know [there may be a problem]“, as well as forgetting people’s names, or their relationship with someone; for example a nephew or niece that they haven’t seen for a year. Of course, as we get older, it is normal to experience an element of memory lapse – so when should you worry? “It will be things that are out of character for that person. With dementia, it is progressive and so can affect daily living. “The person that forgets to put the turkey in the oven, or burns the turkey, may be forgetting to put the oven on for dinner every day.” Repeating questions “As with memory loss, this is quite consistent across all types of dementia and it can happen quite early,” says Makri. “Someone might ask a question over and over again, and it gets to a point where you realise they’re not retaining this information. It’s quite upsetting to witness.” Wheeler adds: “The first noticeable sign of Alzheimer’s disease is typically failing episodic memory. This is when a person has trouble encoding new memories of events and is caused by damage to regions of the brain called the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex. “It’s declining episodic memory that causes the ‘saying the same thing, over and over’ symptom because the person doesn’t recall having said it previously. They never stored the memory in the first place so it doesn’t inform their future thoughts and actions.” Difficulties in carrying out old family traditions may hint at difficulties with daily tasks. Credit: Getty Images Difficulty carrying out familiar daily tasks While a complex matter like making a whole Christmas dinner would be enough to confuse a lot of us, there may be a problem if someone has difficulty carrying out one familiar job. “For example, if the same person always does the stuffing every year and then they forget to bring the ingredients, or they forget the process of how to do it. People will begin to have difficulty remembering the process of something, or planning, or concentrating.” Difficulty with tech “Confusion with technology is not, of course, specific to people living with dementia,” says Wheeler. “However, people with dementia can – and do – struggle with technology. “As their condition deteriorates over time, their brain will increasingly struggle to process information and think clearly, meaning that technologies that were once easy to use and navigate, for example a mobile phone or a laptop, may become increasingly difficult to use.” Time spent at end-of-year celebrations can bring comfort to the elderly and also a greater understanding of where they are at. Credit: Tribune Difficulty following a conversation “People can have difficulty finding the right word, or just following the thread of a conversation.” says Makri. “They might take longer to process the information they’ve heard, or they might just not be communicating very much. Sometimes they will become a bit withdrawn. They retreat slightly because, actually, they can’t follow the thread of the conversation any more.” Wheeler adds that although people with vascular dementia may not have problems with memory at first, in the context of a conversation they may easily lose the thread, either because they get distracted, they get overwhelmed by too much information, or because their working memory – the ability to keep a thought in your head for a few seconds or more – isn’t working as well as it used to. Spatial and temporal awareness This can be a symptom of all types of dementia. “Sometimes people might be confused about the time or the place,” says Makri. “They might not realise whose house they’re in, or not remember where the loo is. They might know it’s Christmas because they’re sitting at a Christmas table with a turkey in front of them, but they might not remember what year it is.” Difficulty controlling emotions The key is whether their behaviour is out of character. “If this is someone who’s always got really angry or anxious about politics, then you might not worry. But if this is someone who doesn’t normally react this way at that point, if they’re suddenly having mood swings and having difficulty controlling their emotions, then this might be an early sign [of some forms of dementia].” People with vascular dementia in particular tend to be more prone to mood problems as well as fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. Inappropriate behaviour This is more of a problem with frontotemporal dementia, a less common type of dementia that involves degeneration in the frontal or temporal lobes of the brain. Early symptoms include changes in personality and behaviour, and/or language difficulties. “You may find a person becomes less inhibited; they might suddenly start saying or doing inappropriate things,” says Makri. Being suddenly suspicious Although this isn’t present with Alzheimer’s, vascular or many other types of dementia, Lewy body dementia – a broad term which includes ‘dementia with Lewy bodies’ and Parkinson’s dementia – can cause delusional beliefs or hallucinations. “Having incorrect beliefs could potentially be an early symptom,” Makri explains. “At that point it’s generally quite mild, but certainly saying something like ‘the neighbours keep having a go at me’, or having a suspicion that the neighbours are talking about them,” could be a sign that something is amiss. What should you do next? Firstly, how much should you worry? “Many of the early symptoms can be caused by other things,” says Makri. “We always say you can’t make a diagnosis at the dinner table. But if someone is presenting with a lot of these symptoms it is a good idea for them to speak to the GP.” The GP will generally carry out tests to rule out other causes, including thyroid deficiencies, urinary tract infection (UTIs) and vitamin B12 deficiency, which can all cause confusion. But how to broach the topic sensitively? Makri suggests that, after speaking to other people who were present, to nominate one close family member to bring this up with the person in question. It’s also helpful to keep notes of the symptoms. MRI brain scans showing different dementia types. Credit: Boston University Ideally, the person themselves will go to the GP, who may then follow up with a referral to a memory clinic and possibly a brain scan. If the person is in denial – which can itself be a part of dementia – a family member can ring the GP and pass on their concerns, and while the GP won’t be able to comment because of patient confidentiality, they may be able to follow up with the patient. The Telegraph, LondonWhat do Reviews of Real Mitolyn Users Say About Purple Peel Exploit for Weight Loss?NoneJordan Love has been a mediocre Fantasy quarterback this season, especially lately. But he could go off at Minnesota in Week 17 in a potential shootout. Love has scored 18.7 Fantasy points or less in three of his past five games. And even in his good games over that span, he's scored 22.9 and 21.6 Fantasy points. It's not that Love isn't capable of a big performance. The Packers have just become a dominant running team, and Love has attempted 28 passes or less in six games in a row. But he might have to air it out this week against the Vikings , who are No. 2 in fewest rushing yards allowed in the NFL . This doesn't mean to sit Josh Jacobs , but this could become a passing game for Green Bay and Love. And Love scored 36.2 Fantasy points against Minnesota in Week 4 when he attempted 54 passes, completing 32 for 389 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions. It won't be easy since the Vikings are No. 9 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. But Geno Smith just scored 27.4 Fantasy points against Minnesota in Week 16, and I would trust Love if I knew he would be throwing a lot. Keep an eye on Christian Watson (knee), who could be out in Week 17. But if Love gives Jayden Reed , Romeo Doubs , Dontayvion Wicks , Tucker Kraft , and Jacobs enough chances to make plays in the passing game, then we could get a fun game with major playoff implications. I'm excited to see what Love can do -- if he's allowed to throw. I consider him a low-end starting option in all leagues.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — A Ukrainian girls’ hockey team is in Canada for a few days of peace and hockey in an arena that doesn’t have a missile-sized hole in its roof. After 56 hours of travel to Calgary, including a 24-hour bus ride from Dnipro to Warsaw, Poland, that required army escort for a portion of it, the Ukrainian Wings will join Wickfest, Hayley Wickenheiser’s annual girls’ hockey festival, on Thursday. The squad of players aged 11 to 13 was drawn from eight different cities in Ukraine, where sport facilities have been damaged or destroyed since Russia started its invasion in February 2022. “They all have a personal story of something awful happening,” said Wickenheiser. “We give them a week of peace and joy here, and I hope they can carry that with them. “We know full well they’re going back to difficult circumstances. It’s tough that way.” Nine players are from Kharkiv, where pictures show a large hole in the roof of the Saltovskiy Led arena where the girls’ team WHC Panthers once skated. “It was our home ice arena, and we played all our national team championships in this ice arena,” said Kateryna Seredenko, who oversees the Panthers program and is the Wings general manager. RELATED COVERAGE Minnesota Frost rookie Claire Thompson trades stethoscope for hockey stick to resume playing career PWHL New York Sirens’ trajectory points up with addition of rookie star Sarah Fillier and new home PWHL releases neutral-site schedule with games ranging from North Carolina to the Pacific Northwest Ukraine’s Olympic Committee posted photos and wrote in a Facebook post Sept. 1 that Kharkiv’s Sport Palace, which was home to multiple hockey teams, was also destroyed in an attack on the city. Seredenko says the Wings’ arduous journey to Calgary was worth it because it gives the girls hope. “It’s not a good situation in Ukraine, but when they come here, they can believe that everything will be good, everything will be fine, of course we will win soon and we must play hockey. We can’t stop because we love these girls and we will do everything for them,” she said. “So many girls on this Ukrainian team are future players of the national team.” Wickenheiser, a Hockey Hall of Famer , is the assistant general manager of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs and a doctor who works emergency room shifts in the Toronto area. The six-time Olympian and four-time gold medalist organized her first Wickfest after the 2010 Winter Games. She’s had teams from India, Mexico and the Czech Republic attend over the last decade and a half, but never a team that ran the Ukrainians’ gauntlet of logistics. The Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health took on the task of arranging visas and paying for the team’s travel. “We care about women and children’s health. Sport is such a symbol. When you see a group of girls coming off the ice all sweaty and having worked hard on the ice, it’s a symbol of a healthy girl,” said chief executive officer Julia Anderson. “That’s a healthy kid that’s able to participate in sport. We really believe if we can get girls there, whether they’re in an active war zone, or here in Canada, those girls will change the world.” The Wings aren’t the first Ukrainians to seek a hockey haven in Canada since the war began. An under-25 men’s team played four games against university squads in early 2023 to prepare for that year’s world university games. Ukrainian teams have also twice played in the Quebec City International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. “It’s the first time in Ukrainian history where a girls’ team is coming to Canada to a very good tournament,” Seredenko said. “They can see how they can play in their future. And they can see how it is to play hockey in Canada.” ___ AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Kaduna poor get accounts for credit ‘alerts’ from governmentI joined social media in my 30s. Back then, social media was still a new, exciting frontier. Sort of like outer space except no zero-gravity toilets. In the early days, I used Facebook to communicate with friends. I reconnected with schoolmates and marveled at how everyone had gotten old except me. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get news alerts and breaking news stories from the Albany Herald delivered to your email.
China released three Americans as part of a prisoner swap between the Biden administration and the Chinese government, according to a person familiar with the matter, a rare moment of cooperation between the adversaries. A statement from the National Security Council said the three Americans — Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung — would be reunited with their families “for the first time in many years.” The three had been designated as wrongfully detained in China, and the U.S. statement said there were no longer any Americans held in the country with that status. The NSC didn’t mention that the three were exchanged for Chinese citizens detained in the U.S. But a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public information, said they were swapped for an unspecified number of Chinese. Swidan is a Texas businessman who was on China’s death row for alleged drug trafficking, and Li is a naturalized U.S. citizen who imported solar energy technology. Leung, who is also a Hong Kong permanent resident, was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison last year on spying charges.
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It's the most wonderful—and stressful—time of the year. While the holiday season can be joyful, gatherings with family, friends, and colleagues inevitably come with some awkward encounters. And if you're one of the millions of Americans who has been on a weight loss journey in 2024, you're likely to experience even more awkwardness this year. With the rising popularity of compounded semaglutide and medications such as Ozempic ®, Wegovy® , and Zepbound ®, people may come at you with all sorts of questions and comments. Have you lost weight? Have you been taking Ozempic/Wegovy/Mounjaro/Zepbound? Have you thought about trying Ozempic ? You looked great before! Why have you lost so much weight? Why aren't you eating more tonight? Hers shares a few psychologist-approved tips to help navigate these uncomfortable encounters and offer some potential responses to specific questions. There are many dreading their family's annual ugly sweater party because they'd rather not talk about their body. It can even be tempting to reach for the phone and text that aunt to tell her you've come down with a terrible illness and won't be able to make it this year. But before hitting "send" and missing out on quality time with loved ones, consider these tips to help avoid potential Ozempic shaming and manage your stress before and during the event. While you won't be able to anticipate every question that might come your way, here are a few that may come up—and some psychologist-approved responses to them. Regardless of your specific answer, keep in mind that it's perfectly OK to be concise, straightforward, and unapologetic in your answers. Your body is your business, and you get to decide how much to say about it. "Yes" and "no" are actually complete sentences. Question: Have you lost weight? Potential Responses: Your response will likely depend on whether you've lost weight and how comfortable you are with disclosing so. Potential responses include: Question: Have you taken Ozempic? Potential Responses: Similar to above, your response to this question will likely depend on whether you've taken Ozempic or another weight loss medication and how comfortable you are with disclosing so. Question: Have you thought about trying Ozempic? Potential Responses: This question may stem from curiosity, or it may stem from the desire to offer a helpful suggestion. Regardless of the intent, you can kindly let your family member, friend, or colleague know that what you do with your body is up to you. Question: You looked fine before, why did you lose so much weight? Potential Response: You might consider the first part of this question a compliment while offering a gentle reminder that what you do with your body is your choice. Question: Why aren't you eating more? Potential Response: You might feel like you need to defend your current eating habits if you are on a weight loss journey and are eating in a calorie deficit . Rather than respond in defense, try to keep your response short and simple, with something along the lines of the following. Question: Is that a second slice of pie? Are you sure you need a second helping? Potential Response: Similar to above, you might feel like you need to defend your current eating habits. Remember, what you eat and how you eat is your business. You can kindly indicate as such with this potential response. Question: How does Ozempic work? Did you experience side effects? Are you worried about long-term side effects or that you're going to gain the weight back? Potential Response: The person asking this question might be curious about weight loss medications in general, or they might be curious about your unique experience with side effects of medications like semaglutide . Answering these questions could lead you down a rabbit hole of answering even more questions, so try providing a response that's just enough to close the conversation. As you prepare for this season's holiday gatherings, remember that what you say and do when it comes to your weight loss journey is entirely up to you. It's your right to decline specific questions, specific topics, and even invitations themselves. If you do end up at a holiday gathering, use the above tips to help you anticipate and navigate uncomfortable conversations as comfortably as possible. Find more psychologist-approved tips to deal with Ozempic shaming this holiday season here . (And check out these tips to answer other uncomfortable questions —from your relationship to employment status.) This story was produced by Hers and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
2024 in retrospectPandillas de Haití atacan a periodistas que cubrían la reapertura del principal hospital del país
New coach Chris Holtmann has been tasked with rebuilding DePaul to the point where it can return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004. Northern Illinois coach Rashon Burno knows what it takes to steer DePaul to the NCAAs because he was the starting point guard on the 2000 team that made the tournament -- the Blue Demons' only other NCAA appearance since 1992. Perhaps they can compare notes Saturday afternoon when Burno leads the Huskies (2-3) back to his alma mater as DePaul (5-0) hosts its sixth straight home game in Chicago. Last season, Burno's NIU squad helped accelerate DePaul's need for a new coach -- as the Huskies waltzed into Wintrust Arena and owned Tony Stubblefield's Blue Demons by an 89-79 score on Nov. 25. The Huskies built a 24-point second-half lead before coasting to the finish line. Can history repeat for NIU? There's just one problem with using last year's game as a potential barometer for Saturday's rematch: Almost no players on this year's teams were part of last year's squads. At DePaul, only assistant coach Paris Parham remains as Holtmann had the green light to bring in an all-new roster. UIC graduate transfer Isaiah Rivera (16.0 ppg, .485 3-point rate) and Coastal Carolina transfer Jacob Meyer (15.4 ppg, .406 on 3s) lead a balanced attack that focuses on getting half its shots from beyond the arc. At NIU, Burno retained only two players who competed against DePaul last year -- Ethan Butler and Oluwasegun Durosinmi -- and they combined for three points in 26 minutes in that game. The Huskies' main players used the transfer portal to join such programs as Kansas, Wisconsin, Penn State, Colorado State, James Madison, Georgia State and Niagara. With every starting job open, Butler has jumped into the lineup and produced 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. Transfers Quentin Jones (Cal Poly) and James Dent (Western Illinois) pace the Huskies with 14.4 and 14.0 points per game. NIU is on a two-game losing streak, most recently a 75-48 home defeat at the hands of Elon on Wednesday. Holtmann hopes to have Arkansas transfer Layden Blocker for Saturday's game. Blocker missed Tuesday's 78-69 win over Eastern Illinois with a quad injury. With the combo guard unavailable, point guard Conor Enright handed out a career-high 11 assists in a season-high 38 minutes. "We need (Blocker)," Holtmann said. "I don't want to play Conor 38 minutes." --Field Level Media
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