The Los Angeles Chargers announced Friday that running back J.K. Dobbins has been activated from injured reserve after missing the last four games due to a knee injury. Dobbins, officially listed as questionable, is set to play against the New England Patriots on Saturday. The Chargers’ leading rusher was placed on IR on Nov. 30 after exiting the Week 12 loss to his former team, the Baltimore Ravens, in the second quarter following an awkward tackle. Gus Edwards and Kimani Vidal have been the primary beneficiaries in Dobbins’ absence, though his 766 yards and eight rushing touchdowns still pace all Chargers backs by a wide margin. Advertisement Los Angeles (9-6) went 2-2 without Dobbins in the backfield and finish out the regular season with two road games against the Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders. In addition to Dobbins, the team also elevated safeties Eddie Jackson and Kendall Williamson from the practice squad for Saturday’s tilt at Gillette Stadium. What Dobbins’ return means for Chargers Dobbins missed the minimum four games before being activated Friday, four days after the Chargers designated him to return to practice. He was listed as limited in Tuesday’s practice and was estimated as a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice. The Chargers did not practice that day because of Christmas. Dobbins was then a full participant Thursday before the Chargers departed for New England. Dobbins was having a resurgent season before the injury. He battled multiple lower-extremity injuries from 2021-23. He missed all of 2021 with knee injury that included a torn ACL and damage to his LCL, meniscus and hamstring. He was limited to eight regular season games in 2022 after undergoing a clean-up procedure on the injured knee. And in Week 1 of 2023, he sustained a season-ending ruptured Achilles. The Chargers took a flier on Dobbins in the offseason by signing him to a cheap one-year deal. First-year general manager Joe Hortiz was familiar with Dobbins after coming to the Chargers from the Ravens. He repaid Hortiz and the Chargers with 900 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns through the first 11 games of the season. Even after missing the past four games, Dobbins still leads the Chargers in rushing yards with 766. Only receiver Ladd McConkey has more scrimmage yards with 960, and Dobbins is tied with receiver Quentin Johnston for the team lead with eight scrimmage touchdowns. Dobbins’ return comes at an important time. Edwards is dealing with an ankle injury he suffered against the Broncos in Week 16 and has been ruled out for Saturday’s game at the Patriots. Edwards aggravated the injury in practice this week, according to coach Jim Harbaugh. He also missed four games earlier this year with an ankle injury. Advertisement With Edwards out, there will be an opportunity for Dobbins to take on a significant role this week. We will see if he is fully in game shape after missing the past month. The Patriots rank 24th in EPA per designed rush on defense, according to TruMedia. — Daniel Popper, Chargers beat writer Required reading (Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)Groundbreaking Directive Ensures ALS Patients on Medicare Advantage Gain Access to Qalsody
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OTTAWA — The Israeli expert leading a civilian commission into sexual violence by Hamas is calling for global bodies to recognize "a new crime against humanity" involving violence targeted at families. Cochav Elkayam-Levy said the world should take a stance against the destruction of families as a specific, identifiable weapon of war, aimed at terrorizing one's kin. She is proposing the crime be called "kinocide." In an interview, she also said Canadians can demand Hamas be brought to justice while also seeking accountability when Israeli troops commit sexual violence against Palestinians, without drawing a false equivalence. "We have to see Canada's leadership in addressing the lack of moral clarity of international institutions," Elkayam-Levy said in an interview during a visit to Ottawa last month. Elkayam-Levy is an international-law professor at Reichman University and a former Hebrew University researcher, who chairs Israel's Civil Commission on Oct. 7 Crimes Against Women and Children. That non-governmental body originally set out to document patterns in sexualized violence by Hamas and its affiliates during the 2023 attack and against hostages it took into the Gaza Strip. The aim wasn't to come up with a tally of assaults, but to instead document systemic factors in how women were raped, tortured and mutilated. The idea was to have an understanding that could help victims and their descendants cope with intergenerational trauma, and to create an archive for researchers and prosecutors to use for possible investigations. Elkayam-Levy's team reviewed hours of footage featuring "very extreme forms of violence" from closed-circuit cameras and what militants themselves recorded. They started to notice six patterns of violence involving among the circumstances of more than 140 families. These include using victims' social media to broadcast that person being tortured to their friends and family, including hostages and those killed. Another involved murdering parents in front of their children or vice versa, while another is the destruction of family homes. "We started understanding that there is something here, a unique form of violence," she said. "The abuse of familial relations to intensify harm, to intensify suffering." Elkayam-Levy said she developed the term with the help of experts, including Canadians like former attorney general Irwin Cotler. The rules undergirding the International Criminal Court only mention families in procedural contexts, but not as a factor in war crimes, she noted. "It's a crime without a name," she said, arguing that impedes victims' healing. She said experts in past conflicts have agreed with her, saying kinocide should have been a factor in how the world understood and sought justice for atrocities on various continents, such as how Islamic State militants targeted Yazidi families from 2014 to 2017. "Justice begins with this recognition; healing begins with recognition," she said. Elkayam-Levy noted "gender-based violence" existed for centuries before the United Nations officially recognized the term in 1992. She's also taken aim at "the silence of many international organizations, and the lack of moral clarity," in calling out sexual violence by Hamas, which Ottawa deems a terrorist group. In particular, UN Women did not condemn Hamas' sexual violence until nearly two months after that attack, and Elkayam-Levy argued the institution has stayed largely silent, setting a bad precedent for upholding global norms. "They have fuelled denial of the sexual atrocities," she said, adding that a constant demand for physical evidence pervades social media "in a very antisemitic way." Israeli police have said forensic evidence was not preserved in the chaos of the attack, and people believed to be victims of sexual assault were often killed and immediately buried. Acts of sexual violence were not part of 43-minute video that Israel's foreign ministry has screened for journalists, including The Canadian Press, which was sourced from security footage and videos filmed by militants during their October 2023 attack. In March, a UN envoy said there are "reasonable grounds" to believe Hamas committed rape and "sexualized torture" during the attack, "including rape and gang rape," despite the group's denials. That same month, released hostage Amit Soussana went public about her captors groping her and forcing "a sexual act" that she asked not be specified. As part of its avowed feminist foreign policy, Canada funds initiatives abroad to prevent sexual violence and support victims. Yet the Conservatives have lambasted the Liberals for not condemning Hamas' sexual violence until five months after the attack. In March, Ottawa came under fire for pledging both $1 million for groups supporting Israeli victims of Hamas sexual violence and $1 million for Palestinian women facing "sexual and gender-based violence" from unspecified actors. Global Affairs did not say whether that referred to domestic abuse or sexual violence by Israeli officials, drawing a rebuke from a senior Israeli envoy. Human-rights groups have long accused Israeli officials of sexually assaulting Palestinian detainees in the West Bank. In July, those concerns escalated when Israeli soldiers were accused of perpetuating the filmed gang rape of a Palestinian prisoner from the Gaza Strip. Far-right Israeli cabinet ministers voiced support for mobs attempting to free soldiers under investigation. Elkayam-Levy said Canadians can call out the patterns of sexual violence by Hamas against Israelis, while still demanding the Israeli state investigate and prosecute its soldiers who undertake individuals acts of sexual violence. "The fact that (Western leaders) are trying to make the right political decision, instead of the right moral decision, is creating confusion, is creating moral blur — instead of making space for all victims to be heard for what they have endured," she said. To her, there is a "false parallel" being made between individual cases of sexual assault from soldiers who should be held to account, and a group using patterns of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Elkayam-Levy said people should uphold the principles of international law instead of what she deems to be weaponizing global institutions against Israel. She is aware that many have instead argued that Israel's military campaign has broken international law and undermined the systems meant to uphold human rights. Elkayam-Levy has been critical of the Israeli government, arguing before the war that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought anti-democratic reforms to the country's judiciary. She has been critical of his war cabinet for lacking any women, and has highlighted extensive media reports that female military personnel had detected Hamas was planning a large attack only to be dismissed by male leaders. She said the world needs to condemn Hamas' violence against families and try prosecuting those responsible. Otherwise, she fears combatants in other countries will take up its brutal tactics. Otherwise, "we are going to see an international system that will not last for long," she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 22, 2024. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian PressWhere's Santa? Follow his route on the NORAD tracker as he travels around the worldEUGENE, Ore. (AP) — JuJu Watkins scored 21 points to lead No. 6 Southern California to a 66-53 win over Oregon in the Big Ten opener for both teams on Saturday. Watkins was 6 for 15 from the field, including 3 of 9 on 3-pointers, in 28 minutes before fouling out. Kiki Iriafen added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Trojans (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten). Deja Kelly scored 16 points and Peyton Scott added 13 to lead the Ducks (7-3, 0-1). Oregon led 13-12 after the first quarter, but USC scored the first 18 points of the second quarter and never trailed again. The Trojans built the lead to 40-19 at halftime with 15 points from Watkins. Scott opened the third quarter with four straight points, but USC scored five straight points right after and kept the lead in double digits the rest of the way. USC: The Trojans won their fourth straight since a loss to No. 10 Notre Dame. USC returns to nonconference play over the next three weeks, including a trip to No. 2 UConn. Oregon: The Ducks started the season 6-0 and moved up to No. 23 in the AP poll but have now lost three of four games. Kelly scored to put Oregon up 13-12 early, but USC held the Ducks scoreless for more than five minutes to start the second quarter while scoring 18 straight points. Watkins had a seven-point run of her own within that span. USC outrebounded Oregon 45-31, including 34 defensive rebounds. The Trojans are averaging nearly 12 more rebounds per game than their opponents on the season. USC hosts Fresno State on Tuesday night, and Oregon hosts Air Force on Dec. 17. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketballOver three years have passed since the Taliban’s takeover, and heart-wrenching scenes of farewell among girls graduating from sixth grade have widely circulated on social media. These children have shared deeply emotional moments during their goodbyes, stirring the emotions of those who believe in education and gender equality. The Taliban’s closure of girls’ schools beyond the sixth grade has had a profound negative impact on the mental and emotional well-being of female students. By closing these schools, the Taliban have deepened grief and despair among girls, women, and their families. This group has not only jeopardized the future of these children but also the collective future of society. Every year, as the academic year ends, thousands of girls leave school in tears, expressing their frustration and disillusionment with this unjust situation in Afghan society. Moreover, after the closure of medical institutes for girls and women, depression and suicidal thoughts have been on the rise. In the most recent case, a girl from the Khair Khana area in Kabul took her own life. As the academic year ends in Afghanistan, the painful scenes of farewell among sixth-grade graduates add to the endless sorrow of the mothers and fathers of these children and others who support women’s education. Instead of celebrating the winter holidays, these children embrace their classmates in tears, as if they are forever deprived of education. Anbarin, a sixth-grade student from Badakhshan province, speaking with the Hasht-e Subh Daily , says she completed six years with excellent grades and had big dreams and plans for her future. Now, she considers those dreams impossible due to the continued closure of educational institutions. With deep regret and sorrow, she says, “I am one of the girls who graduated from sixth grade. I completed six years with excellent grades and had dreams and plans for my future. Now, I see them as impossible to achieve because the doors to knowledge are closed to us, and there is no hope for schools to reopen.” Anbarin continues, “I see my destiny as dark and hopeless, thinking I am a useless being who is of no benefit to my family and society, as change and transformation in society can only happen through education. I do not know what the future holds for me and all my peers. Sometimes, I lose hope, and my family’s efforts to encourage me do not comfort me. May God have mercy on the girls of this land and save us from the pit of ignorance and illiteracy.” Saliha, a student from Baghlan Province, says that when she became a sixth-grade student, she was constantly worried and anxious about the end of the academic year. She adds, “Every day, I went to school with excitement, but when the academic year ended, I thought about what I would do at home if I couldn’t go to school. The thought of it was very hard for me. I always wanted to become a doctor, but now I think I will never become one, and that will remain one of my unfulfilled dreams.” Maryam, a student who says she graduated from sixth grade two years ago, recalls feeling a pain in her heart, fearing she might never return to school. She remembers that her only comfort came from her teachers, who promised they would return to school the following year. This student, deprived of education, says she had just realized the importance of studying and had eagerly learned English and mathematics. She adds, “I was so eager to study that I didn’t realize they would close the schools and make us stay at home. My dream was to finish school and university and help myself and my family. I was deeply disappointed when the schools were closed.” Meanwhile, videos have circulated on social media showing young girls crying as they say goodbye to their classmates. These sixth-grade girls had planned their free time, but now they are confronted with the painful truth that they can no longer return to their class. They cry with their hopes and regrets, saddened by the fact that they can no longer continue their education in the coming academic year. Additionally, a video from a student, shared with the Hasht-e Subh Daily but not made public due to fear of the Taliban, shows the child remembering school and lessons with longing. She fears she may never see her teachers and classmates again. She says, “How sorry I am that I have been deprived of education just because I am a girl. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to go to school. There is so much pain in my heart, and sadly, there is no hope for schools to reopen anytime soon.” At the same time, an audio clip has circulated on social media in which a student, during a farewell moment from her sixth-grade class, cries and says, “Let this be my last farewell with my classmates at this desk and chair. God, what is our crime?” Meanwhile, a source speaking with the Hasht-e Subh Daily says that on Sunday, a 19-year-old midwifery student in the Khair Khana area of Kabul committed suicide due to depression and despair from the closure of educational institutes. The source states, “On Sunday, a 19-year-old girl, a midwifery student, hanged herself in the bathroom of her house in the 500 Family area, District 15 of Kabul. Before her death, she asked her father for 50 Afghanis, which she used to purchase a rope for the act.” In contrast, some girls and their families have secretly tried to continue their education. In certain areas, families have worked to rescue their daughters from educational deprivation through homeschooling and informal classes. As sixth-grade girls cry and mourn their graduation, a report by the Hasht-e Subh Daily reveals that the Taliban have intensified their efforts to recruit girls into religious schools. According to the report, girls and women are being taught a Taliban-centric curriculum, inciting them against human rights values and Western societies, and spreading misinformation. The findings indicate that the Taliban tell girls that men who allow their women to work are “shameless” and that civilization and humanity are tools of the West to oppress Muslims. You can read the Persian version of this daily report here: فراغت از صنف ششم؛ دختران با حسرت و اشک به خانه برمیگردند | روزنامه ۸صبح
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