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Fox has 20 points, playoff-bound Kings beat Blazers 138-114

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:21:19 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — De’Aaron Fox had 20 points and 11 assists and the playoff-bound Sacramento Kings won their second consecutive game against Portland Trail Blazers 138-114 on Friday night.Malik Monk had 20 off the bench for the Kings, who had already secured their first postseason berth since 2006 and home-court advantage for the playoffs with a 120-80 rout of the Trail Blazers on Wednesday. Domantas Sabonis added 20 points and 12 rebounds.Shaedon Sharpe had 27 points for Portland, which has won just one of their last 12. The Blazers were officially eliminated earlier in the night when the Los Angeles Lakers beat Minnesota 123-111.Sharpe’s layup got Portland within 110-103 in the fourth quarter, but Monk answered for the Kings with a 3-pointer and Sacramento pushed the lead to 124-105 with 4:23 left on Sabonis’ dunk.“I feel like our offense is really flowing right now,” said Kings rookie Keegan Murray, who also finished with 20 points. “We’re ...

Robertson has goal and 3 assists, Stars beat Coyotes 5-2

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:21:19 GMT

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Jason Robertson had a goal and three assists, with his goal breaking a tie with 22 seconds remaining in the second period in the Dallas Stars’ 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night.Robertson has 42 goals, tied with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin for seventh in the NHL.Joe Pavelski, Roope Hintz and Jamie Benn also scored for Dallas, which swept the four-game season series while outscoring the Coyotes 19-6. Benn scored his 32nd on a power play five minutes into the third period for a 4-2 lead, and Max Domi scored into an open net with 1:01 remaining.Dallas (41-20-14) moved a point behind Minnesota and two points ahead of Colorado for the Central Division lead. The Stars play the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche in Denver on Saturday. Colorado has a game in hand on both.Jake Oettinger had 15 saves for the Stars.Jusso Valimaki and Connor Mackey scored for Arizona and Karel Vejmelka had 26 saves. The Coyotes have lost six straight.Pavels...

Small areas reopen near Fukushima nuclear plant, few return

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:21:19 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Evacuation orders were lifted in small sections of Tomioka, a town just southwest of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, on Saturday, in time for the area’s popular cherry blossom season and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida joined a ceremony there to mark the reopening.The area of about 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles) where entry restrictions were lifted is part of Tomioka town, most of which had already been reopened.Former residents and visitors celebrated the latest reopening as they strolled along a street known as “the cherry blossoms tunnel.”“The lifting of the evacuation is by no means a final goal, but the start of the recovery,” Kishida said at the ceremony, pledging to keep working to lift all no-go zones. An earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 triggered triple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Massive amounts of radiation spewed from the plant, causing more than 160,000 residents to evacuate from across Fukushima, including ab...

Charles wins hearts in Germany as soft power pays off

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:21:19 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — King Charles III won plenty of hearts during his three-day visit to Germany, his first foreign trip since ascending to the throne following the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, last year. Charles’ tour saw a number of firsts that show the importance both countries placed on it — at a time when London and Berlin are trying to rebuild relations frayed by Britain’s departure from the European Union.German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier took the unprecedented step of welcoming Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, at the Brandenburg Gate with military honors Wednesday. A day later, Charles became the first monarch to address the Bundestag, the German parliament, stressing the long-standing close ties between both countries and the importance of future cooperation.Observers in both Germany and the U.K. said the trip sent a strong signal about the enduring strength of British-German relations.Jens Zimmermann, a lawmaker from Germany’s center-left Soc...

Credit Suisse takeover hits heart of Swiss banking, identity

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:21:19 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The UBS takeover of embattled rival Credit Suisse has shaken Switzerland’s self-image and dented its reputation as a global financial center, analysts say, warning that the country’s prosperity could grow too dependent on a single banking behemoth.The uncertain future of a union of Switzerland’s two global banks comes at a thorny time for Swiss identity, built nearly as much on a self-image of finesse in finance as on know-how with chocolate, watchmaking and cheese.Regulators who helped orchestrate the $3.25 billion deal have a lot on their plates as UBS checks the books of its rival, cherry-picks the parts it wants and dispenses with the rest.“The real question is what’s going to happen, because we’ll now have a mastodon — a monster — that will be increasingly too big to fail,” said Marc Chesney, a finance professor at the University of Zurich. “The danger is that over time, it will take more risks knowing that it is too big for the Swiss state to abandon it.”After st...

Russia-Ukraine war: Will there be a spring counteroffensive?

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:21:19 GMT

Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II is poised to enter a new phase in the coming weeks.With no suggestion of a negotiated end to the 13 months of fighting between Russia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian defense minister said last week that a spring counteroffensive could begin as soon as April.Kyiv faces a key tactical question: How can the Ukrainian military dislodge Kremlin forces from land they are occupying? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is working hard to keep his troops, and the general public, motivated for a long fight.Here’s a look at how the fighting has evolved and how the spring campaign might unfold:HOW DID THE WAR GET HERE?Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 2022, but its attacks fell short of some main targets and lost momentum by July. Ukrainian counteroffensives took back large areas from August through November.Then the fighting got bogged down in attritional warfare during the bitter winter and into the muddy, early spr...

March Madness: Clark show continues, Iowa vs. LSU for title

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:21:19 GMT

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is the undeniable star of March Madness. Now she will get to play in April.The Hawkeyes’ high-scoring guard, who was named the Associated Press Player of the Year this week, scored 41 points to lead the Hawkeyes over previously undefeated South Carolina 77-73 in the Final Four on Friday night. The loss denied South Carolina — the No. 1 team all season — a chance at a second straight title.No. 2 seed Iowa will face LSU in Sunday’s title game after the third-seeded Tigers used a big fourth quarter to overtake top-seeded Virginia Tech 79-72.Clark has wowed fans for the past month and certainly didn’t seem fazed by any pressure against mighty South Carolina. She shot 15 of 31 from the field and hit four clutch free throws in the final minute to keep the Hawkeyes ahead.LSU used a 29-point fourth quarter to rally for its win over Virginia Tech earlier Friday. Alexis Morris led the way with 27 points.LSU coach Kim Mulkey has taken the Tigers to ...

Verstappen takes pole position at Australian Grand Prix

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:21:19 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Max Verstappen will have his best chance of claiming an inaugural Australian Grand Prix title after taking pole position in his Red Bull for Sunday’s race on the Albert Park circuit.But the two-time world champion was not pleased with the performance of his RB19 despite setting a track record around the circuit on Saturday. After setting a lap record during practice earlier on Saturday, the drivers’ championship leader set a benchmark of 1 minute, 16:732 seconds in the final session of qualifying.“I have been on the podium once, but I want to be on a different step this time,” Verstappen said after claiming his first pole position in Australia. Mercedes driver George Russell will share the front row of the starting grid after recording a time 0.236 seconds slower than Verstappen.Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will start in third position on what was an encouraging day for Mercedes, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso qualifying fourth.“Thi...

Curry, Poole, Thompson shoot Warriors past Spurs 130-115

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:21:19 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jordan Poole cherishes all of the moments around superstars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, from the practice floor behind the scenes to under the bright lights and noise of game night.Poole joined the Splash Brothers with 200 3-pointers this season, making Golden State just the second team in NBA history to ever do it. “It’s really special to be a part of, second team in history to do it,” Poole said. “Up there with really good company.”Curry, Thompson and Poole combined for 20 3-pointers with Curry scoring 33 points, Thompson 31 and Poole 27 to send the Warriors past the San Antonio Spurs 130-115 on Friday night. Poole’s first of six 3s gave Golden State three players with 200 or more 3-pointers this season. The Warriors joined Houston in 2016-17 — by James Harden, Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson — as the only teams to do so. Just one other 3 was made by the rest of Golden State’s players all night.“It’s not easy to make 200 3s in a season, so...

Lewis’ pinch-hit homer lifts D-backs over Dodgers 2-1

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:21:19 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kyle Lewis had a pinch-hit, go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Friday night.The D-backs used three consecutive pinch-hitters to open the inning against Alex Vesia (0-1). After Nick Ahmed grounded out to third, Evan Longoria doubled into the left-field corner. That set up Lewis, who sent a 383-foot shot to left-center for his first career pinch-hit homer, making it 2-1.“It was a good one,” Lewis said. “I try to just be ready for it.”The Dodgers had the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base with two outs in the eighth. Miguel Vargas walked and took second on a wild pitch by Scott McGough before James Outman drew a walk. But Miguel Rojas lined into the glove of shortstop Ahmed to end the threat in a game that lasted two hours and 41 minutes.Mookie Betts drew a leadoff walk against McGough in the ninth. He got erased when Freddie Freeman grounded into a fielder’s choic...