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No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini take on the No. 11 Florida Atlantic Owls

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:12 GMT

Florida Atlantic Owls (7-1) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (6-1, 1-0 Big Ten)New York; Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. ESTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Owls -2; over/under is 147.5BOTTOM LINE: The No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini take on the No. 11 Florida Atlantic Owls in New York City, New York.The Fighting Illini are 5-1 in non-conference play. Illinois is the Big Ten leader with 11.9 offensive rebounds per game led by Coleman Hawkins averaging 1.8.The Owls are 7-1 in non-conference play. Florida Atlantic ranks fourth in the AAC allowing 67.1 points while holding opponents to 40.6% shooting.Illinois averages 8.3 made 3-pointers per game, 1.3 more made shots than the 7.0 per game Florida Atlantic gives up. Florida Atlantic averages 25.3 more points per game (83.9) than Illinois allows to opponents (58.6).TOP PERFORMERS: Terrence Shannon Jr. is shooting 45.8% from beyond the arc with 3.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Fighting Illini, while averaging 20 points. Dain Dainja is shooting 66.0% and aver...

Greta Thunberg accuses Israel of ‘war crimes’ and ‘genocide’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:12 GMT

Greta Thunberg accused Israel of committing war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip, demanding an end to “inexcusable violence” days after Israeli forces resumed attacks against Palestinian militant group Hamas.“The horrific murders of Israeli civilians by Hamas cannot in any way legitimise Israel’s ongoing war crimes,” the Swedish activist said in an opinion piece published Tuesday in several outlets. “Genocide is not self-defence, nor is it in any way a proportionate response.”Thunberg, whom Israel has lambasted for publicly showing her support for the Palestinian cause, pushed back against accusations that her activist movement, Fridays for Future, has “been radicalised” or “become political.”“We have always been political, because we have always been a movement for justice,” she wrote. “Standing in solidarity with Palestinians and all affected civilians has never been in question for us.”In the fiery op-ed with other members of the Fridays for Future Sweden gro...

DOJ watchdog slams Rachael Rollins in scathing report to Congress

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:12 GMT

The DOJ’s top watchdog highlights Rachael Rollins in a scathing report to Congress, saying the ex-U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts was an example of significant misconduct — citing her case in the same sentence as sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide.Right off the top in his introduction, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz calls out Rollins’ resignation in May for an attempt to “influence” the Suffolk DA’s race, “among other things,” as a focus of his policing.It’s a harsh indictment that Horowitz stressed along with a probe into the shoddy “supervision” of pedophile Epstein, who committed suicide while in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Manhattan in 2019.“The OIG’s Investigations Division closed 125 criminal or administrative misconduct cases, andits work resulted in 44 convictions or pleas and 84 terminations, administrative disciplinary actions, and resignations,”  Horowitz wr...

At least 85 confirmed killed by Nigerian army drone attack, raising questions about such misfires

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:12 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least 85 people have been confirmed dead after a “mistaken” army drone attack on a religious gathering in northwest Nigeria, authorities said. The president on Tuesday ordered a probe into the latest in a series of misfires in Nigeria’s conflict zones.“Eighty-five dead bodies have so far been buried while (a) search is still ongoing,” Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said in a statement that listed children, women and the elderly among the victims. At least 66 people were injured, the agency added.Since 2017, some 400 civilians have been killed by airstrikes the military said were targeting armed groups in the deadly security crisis in the country’s north, according to the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence security firm.The victims in the latest misfire were observing the Muslim holiday celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, Mawlid al-Nabi. They were killed Sunday night by drones “targeting terrorists and bandits” in Ka...

Moody’s cuts China credit outlook to negative, cites slowing economic growth, property crisis

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:12 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Credit rating agency Moody’s cut its outlook for Chinese sovereign bonds to negative on Tuesday, citing risks from a slowing economy and a crisis in its property sector. Moody’s said the downgrade, its first for China since 2017, reflects risks from financing troubles of local and regional governments and state-owned enterprises. The world’s second-biggest economy had been slowing before a 2020 crackdown on excessive borrowing brought on defaults by dozens of property developers. Those troubles have crimped local government finances and also imperiled some lenders, further dragging on the economy. The need for government intervention to support banks and local governments poses “broad downside risks to China’s fiscal, economic and institutional strength. The outlook change also reflects the increased risks related to structurally and persistently lower medium-term economic growth,” Moody’s said in a statement. China’s Ministry of Finance said it was “disappoin...

Ukrainian officials say Russian shelling has hit a southern city, killing 2 people in the street

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:12 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian artillery struck the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Tuesday morning, local officials said, killing at least two people in the street as the 21-month war drags into another winter.Regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin posted a video of the attack’s aftermath, showing two bodies in a city center street and blood near holes in the road caused by the shelling.“The medics who arrived promptly at the scene could only declare their deaths,” Prokudin said of the victims on Telegram.The head of the Kherson city administration, Roman Mrochko, added that a medical facility also was struck, wounding two medics.Russian attacks on the Dnieper river port city have become routine since the Ukrainian army liberated the city last year, with civilian deaths reported almost daily.With the war’s front line apparently static along most of its more than 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) length, and amid wintry weather, both sides in the war have used aerial bombardment to keep up t...

Danish union to take action against Tesla in solidarity with Swedes demanding collective bargaining

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:12 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The labor conflict against Tesla in Sweden is spreading to neighboring Denmark where transport workers with the country’s largest trade union said Tuesday they will take action in solidarity with Swedish workers against the Texas-based automaker.Tesla is non-unionized globally, but the Swedish workers are demanding that the carmaker sign a collective bargaining agreement, which most employees in Sweden have. Tesla has no manufacturing plant in Sweden but has several service centers.The United Federation of Workers in Denmark, known in Danish as 3F, said there had been speculation that Tesla would deliver its cars to Danish ports and transport them on trucks to Sweden after Swedish dock workers blocked the reception of Tesla cars there. “Concretely, this means that dock workers and drivers will not receive and transport Tesla’s cars going to Sweden,” 3F said in a statement. “With the sympathy action, that model is no longer possible.”Jakob Lykke, local head...

Students around the world suffered huge learning setbacks during the pandemic, study finds

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Students around the world suffered historic setbacks in reading and math during the COVID-19 pandemic, with declines in test scores so widespread that the United States climbed in global rankings simply by falling behind less sharply, a new study finds.The state of global education was given a bleak appraisal in the Program for International Student Assessment, the first study to examine the academic progress of students in dozens of countries during the pandemic. Released Tuesday, it finds the average international math score fell by the equivalent of three-quarters of a year of learning. Reading scores fell by the equivalent of half a year.The setbacks spanned nations rich and poor, big and small, with few making progress. In the countries where students were tested, a quarter are now considered low performers in math, reading and science, meaning they struggle to perform basic math problems or interpret simple texts.Usually given every three years, the latest te...

Senior EU official warns of huge security risk in Europe over Christmas as Israel-Hamas war rages

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:12 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Europe faces a “huge risk of terrorist attacks” over the Christmas holiday period due to the fallout from the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the European Union’s home affairs commissioner warned on Tuesday.The warning came as French investigators probe a fatal weekend attack near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Questions were raised about the mental health of the suspect, who swore allegiance to the extremist Islamic State group before stabbing a German-Filipino tourist to death and injuring two other people with a hammer.“With the war between Israel and Hamas, and the polarization it causes in our society, with the upcoming holiday season, there is a huge risk of terrorist attacks in the European Union,” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told reporters.“We saw (it happening) recently in Paris, unfortunately we have seen it earlier as well,” she said, as EU interior ministers gathered in Brussels....

Greater Toronto home sales fall amid affordability challenges but relief forecasted

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:12 GMT

TORONTO — Greater Toronto home sales fell six per cent last month compared with November 2022 despite an influx in new listings, as high borrowing costs and uncertain economic conditions persisted.The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says last month’s 4,236 home sales were also down 8.7 per cent from the 4,640 sales in October.The board says a lack of affordability has taken its toll on the market, which remains sensitive to the current environment of high interest rates, but that relief seems to be on the horizon.TRREB president Paul Baron says that with an increasing number of forecasters anticipating Bank of Canada rate cuts in the first half of 2024, this would “help alleviate affordability issues for existing homeowners and those looking to enter the market.”The average home price reached $1,082,179, which was essentially flat compared with November 2022 as the market saw more supply come online.New listings rose 16.5 per cent to 10,545 in November compared ...