Colin Firth talks about starring in ‘Lockerbie: A Search for Truth’ on Peacock
Utah helmets, explained: What to know about Utes' hand-painted 'Malama Lahaina' lids | Sporting NewsAdams 1-3 2-4 4, Anderson 1-7 4-6 6, Doty 0-2 0-0 0, Pass 2-3 1-2 5, Preston 6-11 1-2 14, Dereje 2-3 0-0 4, Wadkovsky 0-0 0-0 0, Angel 7-13 3-5 20, Ervin 3-6 3-4 10, Khalil 0-0 0-0 0, Morrow 0-1 3-4 3, Shaw 0-0 3-3 3, Walton 0-1 0-0 0, Willard 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 22-52 20-30 69 Baker 3-7 1-2 7, Micheaux 8-12 3-7 19, Ekh 5-12 2-2 16, Wenzel 2-10 6-8 11, Lani White 2-7 2-2 7, Ramiya White 0-1 0-0 0, Nelson 5-7 2-2 12, Petersen 2-6 0-0 4, Suffren 2-2 2-2 6, Wells 2-3 1-1 5, Totals 31-67 19-26 87 3-Point Goals_Elon 5-15 (Anderson 0-2, Preston 1-3, Angel 3-7, Ervin 1-2, Willard 0-1), Virginia Tech 6-18 (Baker 0-2, Ekh 4-8, Wenzel 1-4, L.White 1-1, Nelson 0-1, Petersen 0-2). Assists_Elon 9 (Pass 4), Virginia Tech 21 (Micheaux 10). Fouled Out_Elon Adams, Virginia Tech Suffren. Rebounds_Elon 30 (Angel 6, Preston 6), Virginia Tech 42 (Micheaux 14). Total Fouls_Elon 21, Virginia Tech 19. Technical Fouls_None. A_5,156.
The government expressed confidence on Monday that the 2001 memorandum of understanding on joint development in the Gulf of Thailand signed by Thailand and Cambodia would not trigger mass protests. This was in response to former yellow-shirt movement leader and media firebrand Sondhi Limthongkul's threat to hold regular activities next year, which some observers have warned could escalate into mass demonstrations against the Pheu Thai-led government. At a forum on Sunday at Thammasat University's Tha Prachan campus, Mr Sondhi, the former leader of the now-defunct People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), criticised Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for her lack of knowledge and accused the government of disregarding the law. Mr Sondhi suggested now is the time to arm people with knowledge and suggested holding a monthly public forum starting next year. His remarks were seen as a threatening to move to oust the Paetongtarn government. Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai on Monday brushed aside the prospect of street protests and said Mr Sondhi has the constitutional right to hold rallies. He said the government is ready to face scrutiny and pointed out that there are already channels in place to keep the government in check. Mr Phumtham, the defence minister and a Pheu Thai Party heavyweight, also urged the former PAD leader to consider the possible impacts that street protests could have on the economy. The prolonged street protests to oust previous governments, which prompted authorities to close some areas, caused extensive damage to the country, he argued, referring to PAD protests, which shut down the city's airports for more than a week. Asked about Mr Sondhi's planned weekly meetings, the deputy prime minister said he was not concerned despite Mr Sondhi having led the mass protests in 2006, culminating in a coup toppling the Thaksin administration. Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul echoed Mr Phumtham's opinions, saying Mr Sondhi is free to lawfully exercise his constitutional right. However, Mr Anutin, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, denied any internal struggle between his party and the Pheu Thai Party in the wake of the Khao Kradong land controversy . He said the coalition parties are working in unity and operate under the prime minister's instructions. In a media interview, Mr Sondhi, 77, said that it is undecided if he would lead a street protest against the Paetongtarn government. He said he did not want to, but he would do it if necessary. However, he said that the current political situation is not intense enough to proceed with such a drastic measure, although it was nearing that point. Panthep Phuaphongphan, a former PAD leader, said the Nov 24 forum was a test of people's readiness and designed to energise the PAD supporters. He insisted that no gatherings are planned at this stage. Mr Panthep said the public did not believe Thaksin was ill during his detention at the Police General Hospital. They were also sceptical about the government's planned negotiations with Cambodia over the sharing of natural resources in the Gulf of Thailand under the 2001 MoU. He stressed that Mr Sondhi would submit a petition to Ms Paetongtarn next year. "But whether or not people will join him, it is kept as a surprise [by Mr Sondhi]," he added.
Charles Barkley roasts TNT after saying he was blindsided by ESPN 'Inside the NBA' move
The Gophers have been working on a couple trick plays during closed practices in recent weeks. Unveiled Saturday, one worked to huge success and one didn’t pan out in a 26-25 loss to No. 4 Penn State. ADVERTISEMENT They busted out a double-reverse pass that resulted in a 21-yard touchdown from Max Brosmer to a wide open Jameson Geers in the first half to take a 17-10 lead at Huntington Bank Stadium. Then in the fourth quarter, the U called a throwback pass from Brosmer to left tackle Aireontae Ersery on second and goal from the 8-yard line. Brosmer intentionally threw it incomplete because Penn State’s All-America candidate, defensive end Abdul Carter, was waiting to make a tackle on the U’s athletic-but-massive lineman. “The reverse pass worked, so it’s a good call,” coach P.J. Fleck said postgame. “We were in the perfect defense for (the throwback pass). We practiced it all week. The only thing that they showed ... was pop (Carter) out. If he doesn’t pop out, there is nobody there. “It just didn’t come together,” Fleck continued. “It came together in practice. I love the call. I loved the look that we put it into. I would call it all over again based on the look that we had.” ADVERTISEMENT Brosmer shared that players were comfortable with the throwback call until Carter spoiled it. “Rather than taking a negative spot (by trying to complete it), we just went onto the next play,” Brosmer said. After the second trick play didn’t work, Brosmer’s third-down pass to Elijah Spencer fell incomplete and the U opted to kick a 26-yard field goal to make it 26-25 with five minutes left. “Kicking the field goal is the smart decision,” Fleck said. ADVERTISEMENT ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here .
Brit national security adviser heads for talks with new Mauritius PM to complete Chagos Islands deal that Trump slammedThe long sports-filled Thanksgiving weekend is a time when many Americans enjoy gathering with friends and family for good food, good company and hopefully not too much political conversation. Also on the menu — all the NFL and college sports you can handle. Here's a roadmap to one of the biggest sports weekends of the year, with a look at marquee games over the holiday and how to watch. All times are in EST. All odds are by BetMGM Sportsbook. • NFL: There is a triple-header lined up for pro football fans. Chicago at Detroit, 12:30 p.m., CBS: Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears go against the Lions, who are one of the favorites to reach the Super Bowl in February. Lions favored by 10. New York at Dallas, 4:30 p.m., Fox: The Giants and Cowboys are both suffering through miserable seasons and are now using backup quarterbacks for different reasons. But if Dallas can figure out a way to win, it will still be on the fringe of the playoff race. Cowboys favored by 3 1/2. Miami at Green Bay, 8:20 p.m., NBC/Peacock: The Packers stumbled slightly out of the gate but have won six of their past seven games. They'll need a win against Miami to try to keep pace in the NFC North. Packers favored by 3. • College Football: Memphis at No. 18 Tulane, 7:30 p.m., ESPN. If college football is your jam, this is a good warmup for a big weekend. The Tigers try to ruin the Green Wave’s perfect record in the American Athletic Conference. Tulane is favored by 14. • NFL: A rare Friday showdown features the league-leading Chiefs. Las Vegas at Kansas City, 3 p.m. Prime Video: The Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes are 12-point favorites over the Raiders. • College Basketball: Some of the top programs meet in holiday tournaments around the country. Battle 4 Atlantis championship, 5:30 p.m., ESPN: One of the premier early season tournaments, the eight-team field includes No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 14 Indiana and No. 24 Arizona. Rady Children's Invitational, 6 p.m., Fox: It's the championship game for a four-team field that includes No. 13 Purdue and No. 23 Mississippi. • College Football: There is a full slate of college games to dig into. Oregon State at No. 11 Boise State, noon, Fox: The Broncos try to stay in the College Football Playoff hunt when they host the Beavers. Boise State favored by 19 1/2. Oklahoma State at No. 23 Colorado, noon, ABC: The Buffaloes and Coach Prime are still in the hunt for the Big 12 championship game when they host the Cowboys. Colorado favored by 16 1/2. Georgia Tech at No. 6 Georgia, 7:30 p.m., ABC: The Bulldogs are on pace for a spot in the CFP but host what could be a tricky game against rival Georgia Tech. Georgia favored by 19 1/2. • NBA. After taking Thanksgiving off, pro basketball returns. Oklahoma City at Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m., ESPN: The Thunder look like one of the best teams in the NBA's Western Conference. They'll host Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers. • College Football. There are more matchups with playoff implications. Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State, noon, Fox: The Wolverines are struggling one season after winning the national title. They could make their fan base a whole lot happier with an upset of the Buckeyes. Ohio State favored by 21. No. 7 Tennessee at Vanderbilt, noon, ABC: The Volunteers are a fairly big favorite and have dominated this series, but the Commodores have been a tough team this season and already have achieved a monumental upset over Alabama. Tennessee favored by 11. No. 16 South Carolina at No. 12 Clemson, noon, ESPN: The Palmetto State rivals are both hanging on the edge of the CFP playoff race. A win — particularly for Clemson — would go a long way toward clinching its spot in the field. Clemson favored by 2 1/2. No. 3 Texas at No. 20 Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m. ABC: The Aggies host their in-state rival for the first time since 2011 after the Longhorns joined the SEC. Texas favored by 5 1/2. Washington at No. 1 Oregon, 7:30 p.m., NBC: The top-ranked Ducks have been one of the nation’s best teams all season. They’ll face the Huskies, who would love a marquee win in coach Jedd Fisch’s first season. Oregon favored by 19 1/2. • NBA: A star-studded clash is part of the league's lineup. Golden State at Phoenix, 9 p.m., NBA TV: Steph Curry and the Warriors are set to face the Suns' Big Three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. • NFL: It's Sunday, that says it all. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 1 p.m., CBS: Joe Burrow is having a great season for the Bengals, who are struggling in other areas. They need a win to stay in the playoff race, hosting a Steelers team that's 8-3 and won five of their past six. Bengals favored by 3. Arizona at Minnesota, 1 p.m., Fox: The Cardinals are tied for the top of the NFC West while the Vikings are 9-2 and have been one of the biggest surprises of the season with journeyman Sam Darnold under center. Vikings favored by 3 1/2. Philadelphia at Baltimore, 4:25 p.m., CBS: Two of the league's most electric players will be on the field when Saquon Barkley and the Eagles travel to face Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Ravens favored by 3. San Francisco at Buffalo, 8:20 p.m. NBC/Peacock: The 49ers try to get back to .500 against the Bills, who have won six straight. Bills favored by 7. • NBA. The best teams in the Eastern Conference meet in a statement game. Boston at Cleveland, 6 p.m., NBA TV: The defending champion Celtics travel to face the Cavs, who won their first 15 games to start the season. • Premier League: English soccer fans have a marquee matchup. Manchester City at Liverpool, 11 a.m., USA Network/Telemundo. The two top teams meet with Manchester City trying to shake off recent struggles. • Auto Racing: The F1 season nears its conclusion. F1 Qatar Grand Prix, 11 a.m., ESPN2 – It's the penultimate race of the season. Max Verstappen already has clinched his fourth consecutive season championship.Jonah Goldberg: What if most Americans aren't bitterly divided?None
An Israeli airstrike flattened a multistory building in central Gaza, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens more, according to Palestinian medical officials, after strikes Thursday across the Gaza Strip killed at least 28 others. The latest deadly strike hit the urban Nuseirat refugee camp just hours after U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters in Jerusalem that the recent ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for a potential deal to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the deadly strike in Nuseirat. Israel says it is trying to eliminate Hamas, which led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza . The Israeli military says Hamas militants hide among Gaza’s civilian population. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine in some of the hardest-hit parts of the territory. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 250 others were taken hostage. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Here's the latest: DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike hit the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 25 Palestinians and wounding dozens more, Palestinian medics said, just hours after President Joe Biden’s national security adviser raised hopes about a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. Photos from the scene of the blast that circulated on social media showed a completely collapsed building with people walking through its mangled and charred remains, smoke rising from piles of belongings strewn over the rubble. Officials at two hospitals in the Gaza Strip, al-Awda Hospital in the north and al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, reported they received a combined total of 25 bodies from an Israeli strike on a multistory residential building in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp. Palestinian medics also reported that over 40 people, most of them children, were receiving treatment at the two hospitals. The al-Aqsa Hospital said that the Israeli attack also damaged several nearby houses in Nuseirat. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the deadly strike. Israel is trying to eliminate Hamas, which led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza . The Israeli military says Hamas militants hide among Gaza’s civilian population. Israel’s war against Hamas has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. The U.N. says Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order after Israel repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, make it extremely difficult to operate in the territory. UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. food agency is trying to deal with massive needs in Syria not only from escalating war-related food insecurity and an upsurge in displaced people fleeing Lebanon but also the dramatically new environment following the ouster of Bashar Assad, a senior U.N. official says. “It’s a triple crisis and the needs are going to be massive,” said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, in an interview with The Associated Press late Wednesday. The WFP estimated that 3 million people in Syria were “acutely food insecure” and very hungry. However, that estimate was made before the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon pushed many Syrian refugees back to their home country, plus the instability caused by the overthrow of Assad. Due to funding cuts, the WFP had been targeting only 2 million of those people, he said. Because WFP has been working in Syria during the 13-year civil war, he said, it has pre-positioned food in the country. It has 500 staff in seven offices nationwide and has operated across conflict lines, across borders, and with all different parties, he said. Skau said Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main rebel group now in control of Syria, has promised to provide security for WFP warehouses. Humanitarian aid supplies had been looted at U.N. warehouses in the disorder after Assad fell. “We’re not really up and running in Damascus because of the continued kind of uncertainty there,” he said. WFP initially thought of relocating non-essential staff but the situation in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, has been “quite calm and orderly," he said. In the short term, Skau said, “what we’re seeing is that markets are disrupted, the value of the currency dropped dramatically, food prices are going up, transport lines don’t work,” and it’s unclear who will stamp required papers for imports and exports. This means that a bigger humanitarian response is needed initially, he said, but in the next phase, the U,N. will be looking at contributing to Syria’s recovery, and ultimately the country will need reconstruction. Skau said he expects a new funding appeal for Syria and urged donors to be generous. JERUSALEM — President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters in Jerusalem on Thursday that Israel’s ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for another deal to end the war in Gaza. He plans to travel next to Qatar and Egypt — key mediators in the ceasefire talks — as the Biden administration makes a final push on negotiations before Donald Trump is inaugurated. Sullivan said “Hamas’ posture at the negotiating table did adapt” after Israel decimated the leadership of its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and reached a ceasefire there. “We believe it puts us in a position to close this negotiation,” he said. Sullivan dismissed speculation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was waiting for Trump to take office to finalize a deal. He the U.S. believes there are three American hostages still alive in Gaza, but it’s hard to know for sure. He also said “the balance of power in the Middle East has changed significantly” since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, especially with the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally of Hezbollah and Iran. “We are now faced with a dramatically reshaped Middle East in which Israel is stronger, Iran is weaker, its proxies decimated, and a ceasefire that is new and will be lasting in Lebanon that ensures Israel’s security over the long term,” he said. KHIAM, Lebanon — An Israeli strike killed at least one person Thursday in the Lebanese border town of Khiam, the Health Ministry said, less than a day after Israeli troops handed the hilltop village back to the Lebanese army in coordination with U.N. peacekeepers, Khiam is the first Lebanese town Israel has pull out of since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants began two weeks ago, and marks an important test of the fragile truce . Lebanon's Health Ministry and state news agency did not provide details on who was killed, and did not report airstrikes elsewhere on Thursday. The Israeli military said an airstrike targeted Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, without saying if the strike was in Khiam. Lebanese troops deployed in the northern section of the town on Thursday morning and were coordinating with U.N. peacekeepers to finalize Israel’s withdrawal before fully entering into other neighborhoods. An Associated Press reporter who visited Khiam on Thursday observed widespread destruction, with most houses reduced to rubble. Entire neighborhoods were flattened, with collapsed walls and debris scattered across the streets. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, sharply criticized Israel for striking the town less than 24 hours after the Lebanese army returned, saying it was “a violation of the pledges made by the parties that sponsored the ceasefire agreement, who must act to curb Israeli aggression.” The truce was brokered by the U.S. and France. Israel has previously said the ceasefire deal allows it to use military force against perceived violations. Near-daily attacks by Israel during the ceasefire, mostly in southern Lebanon, have killed at least 29 people and wounded 27 others. Khiam, which sits on a ridge less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the border with Israel, saw some of the most intense fighting during the war. The Lebanese army was clearing debris and reopening roads in the northern section of the town. Civilian access to other areas remained challenging as the army clears roads and works alongside the U.N. peacekeepers to ensure the area is free of unexploded ordnance. AQABA, Jordan -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is urging the many players in Syria to avoid taking any steps that could lead to further violence. Blinken spoke to reporters in Jordan on Thursday shortly after meeting King Abdullah II as he opened a trip in the region to discuss Syria's future after former President Bashar Assad's ouster. Blinken will next visit Turkey, a NATO ally and a main backer of Syrian rebel groups. Blinken called this “a time of both real promise but also peril for Syria and for its neighbors.” He said he was focused on coordinating efforts in the region “to support the Syrian people as they transition away from Assad’s brutal dictatorship” and establish a government that isn’t dominated by one religion or ethnic group or outside power. Blinken was asked about Israel’s incursion into a buffer zone that had been demilitarized for the past half century. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the move is temporary and defensive, but also indicated Israel will remain in the area for a long time. Blinken declined to say whether the U.S. supports the move, but said the U.S. would be speaking to Israel and other partners in the region. “I think, across the board, when it comes to any actors who have real interests in Syria, it’s also really important at this time that, we all try to make sure that we’re not sparking any additional conflicts,” he said. ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, arrived in Damascus on Thursday, according to Turkish media reports. Kalin was seen arriving at the Umayyad Mosque to pray, surrounded by a large crowd, according to video shown on Turkish television. The visit is highly symbolic. Turkish officials, who supported the opposition against Syria’s government, had predicted at the start of the civil war in 2011 that President Bashar Assad’s government would fall, allowing them to pray at the Umayyad Mosque. JERUSALEM — Paraguay reopened its embassy in Jerusalem Thursday, becoming one of a small handful of nations to recognize the city as Israel’s capital and marking a diplomatic victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel’s international isolation has increased as the war in Gaza drags on, and Paraguay was the first country to move its embassy to Jerusalem since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that kickstarted the war. The United States, Honduras, Guatemala, Kosovo, and Papua New Guinea are among the few countries with Jerusalem embassies. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967 but it wasn’t recognized by the international community, and most countries run their embassies out of Tel Aviv. Spirits were high at the ceremony marking the embassy’s inauguration Thursday, with Netanyahu and Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar lavishing praise on Paraguayan President Santiago Pena. “My good friend Santiago,” said Netanyahu, addressing Pena. “We’re a small nation. You’re a small nation. We suffered horrible things but we overcame the odds of history...we can win and we are winning.” Paraguay had an embassy in Jerusalem in 2018, under Former President Horacio Cartes. That embassy was moved back to Tel Aviv by Cartes’ successor, Mario Abdo Benitez, prompting Israel to close its embassy in Asuncion. Saar said Israel and Paraguay shared a “friendship based not only on interests but also values and principles.” He and the Paraguayan foreign minister, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, signed a series of bilateral agreements and Saar said he would soon visit Asunción with a delegation from the Israeli private sector. “Israel is going to win and the countries we are standing next to Israel, we are going to win," Pena said. AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is renewing calls for Syria’s new leadership to respect women and minority rights, prevent extremists from gaining new footholds in the country and keeping suspected chemical weapons stocks secure as he makes his first visit to the Mideast since the weekend ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad . Making his 12th trip to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war erupted lasted year but amid fresh concerns about security following the upheaval in Syria, Blinken emphasized Thursday to Jordan’s King Abdullah II U.S. “support for an inclusive transition that can lead to an accountable and representative Syrian government chosen by the Syrian people,” the State Department said. Blinken also repeated the importance the outgoing Biden administration puts on respect for human rights and international law, the protection of civilians and stopping terrorist groups from reconstituting. Blinken met with the monarch and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Aqaba before traveling to Turkey for talks with Turkish officials on the situation in Syria and the urgency of securing a long-elusive deal to release hostages and end the fighting in Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian territory since October 2023. Abdullah told Blinken that “the first step to reach comprehensive regional calm is to end the Israeli war on Gaza." GENEVA — The U.N. envoy for Syria is calling on authorities to save evidence from detention centers that were a hub of “unimaginable barbarity” that Syrians have faced for many years and cooperate with international investigators looking into such crimes. Geir Pederson referred to new images from the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital, Damascus, after President Bashar Assad fled Syria as armed groups stormed in to overthrow his government over the weekend. “The images from Saydnaya and other detention facilities starkly underscore the unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured and reported for years,” Pedersen said in a statement. Documentation and testimonies “only scratch the surface of the carceral system’s horrors,” he added. Pedersen urged authorities to cooperate with U.N. bodies like an independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which was created in 2011, and an independent group known as the IIIM that was set up five years later to also compile evidence of crimes. ROME — Leaders of the Group of 7 industrialized nations offered their full support for an inclusive political transition in Syria and invited all parties to preserve the country’s territorial integrity. In a message released by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office, the leaders said they were ready to support a transition that “leads to a credible government, inclusive and not sectarian, that guarantees respect for the state of law, universal human rights, including rights for women, (and) the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities.” The leaders also underlined the importance that ousted President Bashar Assad’s government is held responsible for crimes, citing “decades of atrocities.” They said they would also cooperate with groups working to prohibit chemical weapons “to secure, declare and destroy” remaining chemical arms in Syria. Italy currently holds the rotating presidency of the G-7, which also includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States. JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it struck Hamas militants in two locations in the southern Gaza Strip who planned to hijack aid convoys. Palestinian Health officials had earlier said that the two strikes killed 15 men who were part of local committees established to secure aid deliveries. The committees have been organized in cooperation with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza. It was not possible to independently confirm either account of the strikes, which occurred overnight into Thursday. Israel has long accused Hamas of hijacking humanitarian aid deliveries, while U.N. officials have said there is no systemic diversion of aid . U.N. agencies and aid groups say deliveries are held up by Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid and movement within Gaza, as well as the breakdown of law and order more than 14 months into the war between Israel and Hamas. Israel has repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, which maintained internal security before the war. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, the main aid provider in Gaza, said a U.N. convoy of 70 trucks carrying humanitarian aid in southern Gaza “was involved in a serious incident,” resulting in just one of the trucks reaching its destination. It did not provide further details on the incident but said the same route had been used successfully two days earlier. Israel’s offensive, launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, leaving the territory heavily reliant on international food aid. DAMASCUS, Syria — An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus over the weekend, overthrowing President Bashar Assad and ending his family’s 54-year rule. As video emerged online of Timmerman on Thursday, he was initially mistaken by some for Austin Tice, an American journalist who went missing in Syria 12 years ago. In the video, Timmerman could be seen lying on a mattress under a blanket in what appeared to be a private house. A group of men in the video said he was being treated well and would be safely returned home. The Biden administration is working to bring Timmerman home, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Aqaba, Jordan, without offering details, citing privacy. Timmerman later gave an interview with the Al-Arabiya TV network, saying he had illegally crossed into Syria on foot from the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle seven months ago, before being detained. He said he was treated well in detention but could hear other men being tortured. AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Jordan on his 12th visit to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year and his first since the weekend ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad that has sparked new fears of instability in a region wracked by three conflicts despite a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. Blinken was meeting in Aqaba with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Thursday before traveling to Turkey for talks with Turkish officials on Friday. The meetings will focus largely on Syria but also touch on long-elusive hopes for a deal to end the fighting in Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian territory since October 2023. Blinken is the latest senior U.S. official to visit the Middle East in the five days since Assad was deposed as the Biden administration navigates more volatility in the region in its last few weeks in office and as President-elect Donald Trump has said the U.S. should stay out of the Syrian conflict. Other include national security adviser Jake Sullivan and a top military commander who traveled there as the U.S. and Israel have launched airstrikes to prevent the Islamic State militant group from reconstituting and prevent materiel and suspected chemical weapons stocks from falling into militant hands. Blinken “will discuss the need for the transition process and new government in Syria to respect the rights of minorities, facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance, prevent Syria from being used as a base of terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors, and ensure that chemical weapons stockpiles are secured and safely destroyed,” the State Department said. The U.S. would be willing to recognize and fully support a new Syrian government that met those criteria. U.S. officials say they are not actively reviewing the foreign terrorist organization designation of the main Syrian rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, which was once an al-Qaida affiliate, but stressed they are not barred from speaking to its members. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces will remain in a Syrian buffer zone until a new force on the other side of the border can guarantee security. After the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israeli forces pushed into a buffer zone that had been established after the 1973 Mideast war. The military says it has seized additional strategic points nearby. Israeli officials have said the move is temporary, but Netanyahu’s conditions could take months or even years to fulfill as Syria charts its post-Assad future, raising the prospect of an open-ended Israeli presence in the country. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Thursday that Assad’s overthrow by jihadi rebels created a vacuum on the border. “Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7th style attacks,” it said, referring to Hamas’ 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there. “That is why Israeli forces entered the buffer zone and took control of strategic sites near Israel’s border.” The statement added that “this deployment is temporary until a force that is committed to the 1974 agreement can be established and security on our border can be guaranteed.” The buffer zone is adjacent to the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed. The international community, except for the United States, views the Golan as occupied Syrian territory. JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said Thursday that the attacker who fatally shot a 12-year-old Israeli boy in the occupied West Bank overnight turned himself in to authorities. The attacker opened fire on a bus near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit, critically wounding the boy, who hospital authorities pronounced dead in the early morning. Three others were wounded in the attack, paramedics said. The shooting took place just outside Jerusalem in an area near major Israeli settlements. JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Indonesian government has evacuated 37 citizens from Syria following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government, officials said Thursday. The evacuees were taken by land from Damascus to Beirut, where they boarded three commercial flights to Jakarta, said Judha Nugraha, director of citizen protection at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The Indonesian Embassy in Damascus said all 1,162 Indonesian citizens in Syria were safe. Indonesian Ambassador to Syria Wajid Fauzi said the situation in Syria has gradually returned to normal. “I can say that 98% of people’s lives are back to normal, shops are open, public transportation has started running,” Fauzi said, adding that most Indonesian nationals living in Syria had chosen to stay. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian medical officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 28 people in the Gaza Strip, including seven children and a woman. One of the strikes overnight and into Thursday flattened a house in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies at the hospital’s morgue. Two other strikes killed 15 men who were part of local committees established to secure aid convoys . The committees were set up by displaced Palestinians in coordination with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. The Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis received the bodies and an AP reporter counted them. The hospital said eight were killed in a strike near the southern border town of Rafah and seven others in a strike 30 minutes later near Khan Younis. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 people. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. The U.N. says Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order after Israel repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, make it extremely difficult to operate in the territory. UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved resolutions Wednesday demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and backing the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban . The votes in the 193-nation world body were 158-9 with 13 abstentions to demand a ceasefire now and 159-9 with 11 abstentions to support the agency known as UNRWA. The votes culminated two days of speeches overwhelmingly calling for an end to the 14-month war between Israel and the militant Hamas group . General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they reflect world opinion. There are no vetoes in the assembly. Israel and its close ally, the United States, were in a tiny minority speaking and voting against the resolutions.Russian security chief meets Taliban officials in Kabul
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Cardinals' feel-good month comes to a screeching halt after a head-scratching loss to SeahawksNew Jersey on Thursday took aim at Glock, the Austria-based gun manufacturer that for decades has been making semi-automatic pistols that can easily be modified into machine guns by adding a simple, homemade switch. NJ Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced a lawsuit against Glock Inc. and it Austrian parent, Glock Ges.m.b.H, demanding that the gunmaker suspend sales of switchable guns in New Jersey and seeking restitution for the damage it has caused. “For decades, Glock has knowingly sold weapons that anyone with a screwdriver and a YouTube video can convert into a military-grade machine gun within a matter of minutes,” Platkin said at a press conference held at the Boys and Girls Club in Newark. “Glock’s ownership sits in Austria is lining their pockets with profits paid for by American bloodshed fueled by their products — and we are sick of it.” To illustrate the point, the AG provided a YouTube video that showed how quickly a semi-automatic could be turned into a machine gun. Platkin said the lawsuit wasn’t an attack on the Second Amendment right to bear arms, but aimed to protect public safety in New Jersey, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country. “This is not about curtailing legal gun ownership,” Platkin said. “This is about protecting our communities from irresponsible business practices that contribute to unsafe gun proliferation, the kind that leads to mass shootings in our churches, synagogues, schools, shopping malls, concerts, and supermarkets.” The lawsuit, which was filed in Essex County Superior Court, seeks a court order requiring Glock to stop selling switchable handguns in New Jersey. The state of Minnesota filed a similar lawsuit on Thursday. NJ Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin at a press conference at the Boys and Girls Club in Newark on 12/12/24 where he announced a lawsuit against Glock for manufacturing handguns that can easily be made into machine guns. Richard Cowen/NJ Advance Media for NJ.Com New Jersey’s complaint says Glock has been manufacturing semi-automatic pistols since 1982.The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has repeatedly asked Glock to change its design to prevent switches, but the gunmaker as not complied. Glock, which has its U.S. headquarters in Smyrna, Georgia, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Thursday. A Glock switch resembles a Lego piece and can be fitted to the handgun in less than five minutes, the AG says. Once the switch is made, the gun can fire 28 rounds a second, an 1,200 rounds in a minute, Platkin said. That’s a level of firepower that surpasses the most powerful weapons used by the military, making a switched Glock the weapon of choice for gangsters and mass shooters, Platkin said. It’s illegal to possess a machine gun under federal law, but that hasn’t stopped the proliferation of switching devices. The ATF says 5,400 machine-gun conversion parts were sized between 2017 and 2021 — an increase of 570% from the previous five-year period. In New Jersey, the number of Glock seizures rose by 104% — more than double — from 2020 to 2023, Platkin said. Thursday’s lawsuits are the first legal actions taken by a 16-state coalition that has formed to hold gunmakers liable for the harm caused by their products. The legal approach is similar to lawsuits that New Jersey and other states filed recently against giants TikTok and Meta alleging those social media companies maintain platforms that are harmful to kids. “Glock knows that its guns are commonly switched to machine guns and routinely used to perpetrate violent crime but has done nothing meaningful to stop it,” said Ravi Ramanathan, the director of the AG’s Statewide Affirmative Firearms Enforcement Office. “Just like any other product, in any other industry, the manufacturer of a product that could be so easily, illegally and dangerously altered is legally required to modify its design to keep the public safe.” Joining Platkin at the news conference were police officers from around the state, and members of two gun control groups, Moms Demand Action and Brady United Against Gun Violence. “I am thrilled that we have an attorney general who understands this is an epidemic and we have to hold the gun industry accountable,” said Jeanne Stifleman of Moms Demand Action. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com .Richard Cowen may be reached at rcowen@njadvancemedia.com .
In the fight to define the limits of freedom of expression, college campuses have long found themselves at the front lines. That battle continues today. Amid an ever-escalating culture war and deepening political polarization, private and public schools have struggled to accommodate competing interests between those who prioritize open debate and those worried about the potential harm caused by the spread of certain ideas, particularly to marginalized groups. Brigham Young University is no exception. So shows a new study by the think tank Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and public opinion researcher College Pulse . Based on interviews with more than 50,000 undergraduate students nationwide (and nearly 500 at BYU), the authors investigated when (if ever) respondents felt discouraged from expressing an opinion on campus — as well as their own tolerance for views that oppose theirs. Based on their answers, the researchers assigned each school a score on a scale from 0 to 100. All told, the Provo school, owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, garnered 26.27 points , placing the faith’s flagship campus near the bottom of the 250-plus private and public schools surveyed. Faith and free inquiry Or, it would have, if researchers hadn’t opted to put BYU, along with a handful of other private religious universities, in its own separate “Warning” category. This group, which included the likes of Liberty University , founded by the late televangelist Jerry Falwell, and Baptist-leaning Baylor University , was reserved for institutions whose policies, the authors wrote, “clearly and consistently state that [they prioritize] other values over a commitment to freedom of speech.” That this group was entirely populated by religious schools (although, notably, not all of those studied) speaks to an inherent friction many faith-based colleges face — a traditional role of higher education to challenge assumptions and broaden horizons vs. a targeted mission to promote belief in a particular set of teachings. It’s a tension very much alive in BYU’s academic freedom policy , a 3,800-word document that pairs expansive definitions of truth (“the gospel encompasses all truth and affirms the full range of human modes of knowing”) with an emphasis on the need to check findings against “continuing revelation” and the scriptures. Current administrators have recently focused on the latter, evidenced in a 2023 directive to department chairs and deans to revise their criteria for promotion to better reward faculty whose work supports Latter-day Saint teachings. A BYU spokesperson declined to comment on the study and its findings. Interviews with professors from several departments, however, agreed with the report’s description of an environment in which many students feel hesitant to speak freely in and out of class on hot-button issues. As one professor, who has taught at BYU for years and asked not to be named for fear of jeopardizing his job, put it: “I’m absolutely terrified to share my own thoughts, and I believe that students are also equally scared.” This is especially true, some of those interviewed said, for women, racial minorities and students who belong to the LGBTQ community. When students do speak up with views or experiences that challenge those of some of their classmates, the professors observed, they often are met with accusations of being divisive. Debate vs. doctrine (George Frey | Special to The Tribune) Students and others gather at BYU in 2020 to protest the school's LGBTQ policies. A new report examines freedom of expression on the Provo campus. Mireya Lavender is one such student. A senior from Arizona who identifies as a liberal, the 24-year-old said she has almost given up trying to share her views and experiences in class. Almost — but not entirely. Her design classes, held just off the main campus, have become her haven, Lavender said, a place where she can breathe more easily and express her thoughts more freely. “This is a general common topic of conversation among other people in the majors in that building,” she said. “We all feel a lot safer” in the West Campus Central Building, which houses the art department. In contrast, attending the main campus for general electives fills her with “dread.” Part of it has to do with professors, whom she characterized as being generally less interested in open debate than making sure students “download a set of information that has been approved.” At the beginning of the current semester, she said, her religion professor provided everyone with an approved list of resources for study on class topics. Scrutinizing the list, Lavender realized all of them were BYU or church sources. “I also just get the sense that maybe bringing up those alternative ideas isn’t necessarily welcome in class,” she said, “because it would detract from the themes.” Professors are hardly the only — or even necessarily the biggest — impediment to her feeling like she can voice her views on sensitive subjects. This is especially true for anything related to gender and sexuality, including gender roles. “Asking more questions about women’s experiences” is another no-go, Lavender said, along with LGBTQ issues and anything that might come across as trying to “paint the church in a negative light.” “I feel the pressure from students pretty strongly because it feels like there’ll be a lack of ability to hear or engage with opinions that differ from theirs,” she said, “and maybe a sense of hostility also if I were to say something that differs from their viewpoint or a church-sanctioned viewpoint.” ‘Condescension toward conservatism’ (Joshua Carr) Joshua Carr, a conservative "free speech absolutist" wishes BYU did more to foster engagement and activism on campus. Joshua Carr is a conservative “free speech absolutist” majoring in broadcast journalism with a minor in political science. The 23-year-old Provo native said he wasn’t necessarily surprised to hear that some liberal students don’t always feel comfortable sharing their opinion. “I’ve had conservative professors where I could see some liberal students feeling like they couldn’t speak as openly in those classes,” he said. “But...it was easy for me.” That’s not universally the case. Like Lavender, he said much of the environment depends on the department and the teacher. For instance, Carr said, he has found that his views are generally less welcome in his political science classes, “not because [teachers] try to shout students down, but because there is a general vibe of condescension toward conservatism.” In those moments, Carr said, he doesn’t feel inclined to engage in a debate — less out of fear of repercussions than a sense that the effort isn’t worth it. “It just doesn’t matter because, at the end of the day, it’s 20 students,” he said. “And in today’s age, you can go make a YouTube video that reaches 5,000 people.” More concerning to Carr is what he sees as the lack of political engagement and dialogue generally at BYU — a phenomenon he tied to the church’s reluctance to put its thumb on the scale one way or another. “I understand that, on one hand, the church has to be smart and be neutral politically ,” he reasoned. “But on the other hand, when you’re not having any conversations, that doesn’t breed academic success. It doesn’t breed a healthy society either.” Steps he would like to see the school take include inviting more political thinkers and lawmakers to speak on campus and to make it easier for activist organizations to set up chapters at the school. Tensions around Gaza The FIRE/College Pulse study polled students (nearly 500 at BYU, selected from a student body of nearly 33,000 undergraduates) and on a range of issues — from abortion to immigration. Also included in this list was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an issue that has grown more flammable since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that killed nearly 1,200 Israelis, and Israel’s ongoing attacks in Gaza, parts of the West Bank and now Lebanon, which some estimate have killed more than 40,000 . Across the country, the report writes, “students, student groups and faculty who expressed pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian sentiment were targeted for sanction by their peers, administrators and elected officials.” And yet, for Charlie Jacobson, a 27-year-old Jewish BYU law student, the issue hasn’t come up all that much in or out of class. “People don’t really ask,” she explained, and the Detroit native, who has complicated feelings about the war, doesn’t go out of her way to bring it up. “It could either be that I bring something up, and it’s very well received,” she said. “Or the opposite could happen. And if it’s the opposite, I don’t really have the bandwidth to stand on an island.” Sama Salah, an Egyptian Muslim undergraduate student from Lehi, has taken a different tack. Both online and off, the 20-year-old does not “shy away from sharing my opinion” about “Israel’s genocide in Gaza.” (Sama Salah) Sama Salah is a Muslim BYU student who has received support and pushback for her criticism of Israel's war on Gaza and, more recently, Lebanon. In response, Salah said, she has received the support of a “handful of faculty members” plus a group of friends who “don’t question my humanity or the humanity of my people.” The administration, meanwhile, has never interfered, she said “with my freedom of speech.” That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any pushback. Individual students and alumni have, Salah said, shared images of her on social media alongside accusations that she is pro-Hamas, anti-Christian and a “terrorist.” At one point, Salah said she and other Muslim students submitted a report about her experience to BYU leadership. The response from the school was reassuring. “Every single person [in the administration] we talked to was like, we know who you guys are,” she recalled. “We know how beautiful your culture is and...we support you guys.” Other Utah schools The University of Utah came in just below BYU with an overall score of 25.5 . But this was based on a far smaller sample size (101 of 28,000 undergraduates). Of those polled, nearly half said they self-censored on campus. Said an unnamed student in the report: “I do not feel like my Christian views or my questions about transgender topics have a safe place to be explored or included in discussion.” U. spokesperson Rebecca Walsh noted that the state’s premier public university has launched a range of initiatives aimed at fostering free debate, including across political and religious divides . Stressing the study’s sample size, Walsh added: “We want all our students and faculty to feel encouraged to engage in robust discussion of the topics of the day and emerging social issues. This includes healthy discourse and debate about sometimes controversial ideas and beliefs from all sides of the political and religious spectrums.” A sampling of 155 Utah State University students yielded a significantly higher score of 51.4 . The Logan school has nearly 26,000 undergraduates. Leading the report’s highest-scoring schools was the University of Virginia at 73.41, followed by Michigan Technological University, Florida State University, Eastern Kentucky University and Georgia Institute of Technology. At the bottom were some of the nation’s most elite schools, including the Ivy League’s Harvard and Columbia, which tied at 0.008, and the University of Pennsylvania. On the whole, “very liberal” students, regardless of the campus, were much more likely, compared with their conservative counterparts, to condone the shouting down of a speaker whose views they deemed intolerable or blocking other students from attending the individual’s speech. More conservative students, meanwhile, were more likely to report self-censoring “fairly” or “very” often on campus, including in conversations with professors. Overall, students ranked the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, followed by abortion and transgender rights/issues as the three most difficult issues to discuss at school. Editor’s note • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a pretty successful season so far as they sit on top of the AFC North at 8-3 and third in the AFC playoff standings. Coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers are looking to bounce back against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13. New additions on offense this year, like Russell Wilson and Justin Fields , have helped the team score more points and open up the playbook for Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith . The second half of the season is bringing something different for the team as they'll be featured in HBO's in-season Hard Knocks . During this past June, the Steelers announced they were one of the teams that were going to be a part of the in-season Hard Knocks this year on Max, HBO's streaming service. However, this year is different as before Hard Knocks would follow and highlight just one team, but now the show is following each team in the AFC North. This season is titled Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North. The Baltimore Ravens, Browns, and Bengals will also have cameras filming each practice and game to showcase a behind the scenes look of each of their seasons. All three other teams have been featured in the show, but this will be Pittsburgh's debut. Filming for the show began in early November, according to ESPN Steelers writer Brooke Pryor. Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked during his weekly press conference about how filming has been and if it's been a distraction for the players. “To me, it’s something to conquer, to be quite honest with you," Tomlin said. "We have to deal with it better than the other three teams. That’s how I view a lot of things that come across my plate. Particularly when others have to deal with it." Tomlin knows that all the other AFC North teams are dealing with the filming, the Steelers just have to handle it better than the rest. This season of Hard Knocks will be interesting, especially for Steelers fans, as the second half of their schedule consists of all six matchups versus the AFC North. Usually, Pittsburgh's AFC North matchups are spread throughout the season, but six out of their eight games after the bye week was AFC North teams. The Steelers are currently on a four-game stint of AFC North games and they are 1-1 so far, with a road game against the Bengals and a home rematch against the Browns coming up. With Hard Knocks debuting December 2, it'll be interesting to see the behind the scenes from each of the four teams. A lot of storylines have happened with all the AFC North teams and fans will get an inside look, something that usually doesn't happen. Tomlin reiterated that their agenda remains the same each week, but he's pushing to handle the cameras the best. "I’m less concerned about the inconvenience of it and more concerned about are we positioning ourselves to perform under those conditions better than those that we compete against," Tomlin said. "It’s something that everyone in the AFC North has to deal with, so it’s our agenda to do so better than the other three teams.” When Hard Knocks was announced, some players like Cam Heyward didn't like the decision to include the Steelers in the show. He openly stated a camera crew for a show didn't need to be in the locker room and that they may have to tone some stuff said in the locker room because viewers would take it the wrong way. The Steelers organization is known to be old school, so it'll be an interesting watch to see how the Steelers players and Tomlin act in the show, even with Tomlin assuring that it hasn't been a problem. Steelers Have Many Great Storylines For Hard Knocks On top of adding Fields and Wilson to the team, there are a lot more storylines that Steeler Nation and NFL fans will be intrigued by. One of the main storylines fan can look forward to is seeing Patrick Queen go against his former team the Ravens. The Steelers played their first matchup against the Ravens at home in Week 11, winning 18-16. Queen had a tremendous game , having 10 total tackles and also recovering a fumble that he forced. The Steelers will travel to Baltimore in Week 16 for their next matchup. A surprising trade that happened just before filming took place for Hard Knocks was former Steelers wide receiving Diontae Johnson getting traded from the Carolina Panthers to the Ravens. It was an interesting move, but so far Johnson hasn't done much for the Ravens and only got targeted twice with zero catches against the Steelers in Week 11. Are you excited to see Hard Knocks ? This article first appeared on SteelerNation.com and was syndicated with permission.
NATIONAL security adviser Jonathan Powell has flown out for talks with the new Mauritius PM to complete the deal for the Chagos Islands — despite US opposition. The UK agreed to pay Mauritius to run the tiny Indian Ocean but their government was booted out of office days later . The incoming Trump administration has slammed the deal that puts a 99 year lease on a vital US/UK naval base on the island of Diago Garcia amid fears of Chinese influence. However Jonathan Powell, who negotiated the original terms, flew out yesterday to try keep it alive despite deep American opposition. Last night Reform boss Nigel Farage blasted: “They want to surrender the Chagos Islands before Trump’s inauguration. "If we treat the USA like this, can they still regard us as an ally?” READ MORE ON CHAGOS ISLANDS Pressure has been mounting on PM Sir Keir Starmer to tear up his plan to hand over the British Overseas Territory to Mauritius. Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, urged US President-elect Donald Trump to intervene. He told The Sun on Sunday: “The Chagos islands deal is a complete surrender to China by the Starmer Government. “It is my firm hope that the new US administration will strongly oppose this deal. Most read in The Sun "Many US conservatives have been horrified by what Britain has done. “And I do think that this issue will be an important foreign policy priority for the new regime in the US. “My strong recommendation to the US President and his advisers is to sink this deal in the same way my former boss Margaret Thatcher sank the Belgrano.” The Argentine ship, the General Belgrano, was sunk by the Royal Navy in the Falklands War .Nico Iamaleava throws 4 TD passes to lead No. 10 Tennessee over UTEP 56-0
Embattled Japanese automaker Nissan has tapped Jeremie Papin, who was overseeing its U.S. operations, as its chief operating officer in a major management reshuffle billed as key to a turnaround. The move was announced in the United States on Thursday. It means Papin, chairman of Nissan’s Americas Management Committee, replaces Stephen Ma, who will oversee Nissan Motor Corp’s China operations. Ma’s replacement had been speculated about for some time, given Nissan’s problems in the key U.S. market, lately dominated by Tesla, Toyota and Ford. Last month, Nissan said it was slashing 9,000 jobs, or about 6% of its global work force, and reducing global production capacity by 20% after reporting a quarterly loss of 9.3 billion yen. That was a reversal from the 190.7 billion yen profit recorded the same quarter a year ago. Sales for the quarter through September fell to 2.9 trillion yen from 3.1 trillion yen. Chief Executive Makoto Uchida took a 50% pay cut to take responsibility for the results and acknowledged Nissan needed to become more efficient and respond better to market tastes, rising costs and other global changes. “These executive changes reflect the experience and urgency needed to get the company back on track,” Uchida said in a statement. “Nissan will continue to focus on future growth and steadily execute these turnaround efforts to ensure sustainable profitability.” Papin will steer a recovery, given his experience in strategy, business development and investment banking, according to Nissan, which makes the Leaf electric car, Rogue SUV and Infiniti luxury models. As part of the moves, effective Jan 1, Christian Meunier, the former chief executive of Jeep, returns to Nissan as chairman of the Americas Management Committee. Asako Hoshino will continue to oversee the customer experience, while Shohei Yamazaki, China Management Committee chairman, takes over a part of her role and will oversee the Japan-ASEAN region. Last month, Fitch lowered its outlook on Nissan from stable to negative, citing its performance in the North American market, noting it may lower its ratings if weakness continues. Nissan’s stock price has declined steadily over the last half year from about 500 yen to about 360 yen. The appointment of Guillaume Cartier as chief performance officer, a key figure in coordinating the managerial shifts, took effect Dec 1. He previously oversaw Nissan’s operations in Africa, the Middle East, India, Europe and Oceania. More changes are coming in April, according to Nissan, “to build a slimmer, flatter management structure that can respond flexibly and swiftly to changes in the business environment.”