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Suicide bomber attacks police station in northwest Pakistan, killing 13 officers and wounding 28

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:20:20 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vehicle at a police station’s main gate in northwest Pakistan early Tuesday, killing at least 13 officers and wounding 28 others, and causing a part of the building to collapse upon impact, officials said. Some militants also opened fire and a shootout ensued for hours between them and security forces before three attackers were gunned down, local police officer Kamal Khan said.The death toll from the attack was likely to rise as at least 10 officers were in critical condition, authorities said. The bodies of the 13 security forces killed were transferred to a hospital. Police launched a search operation in the surrounding area to apprehend the militants who got away, officials said. The attack happened in Dera Ismail Khan, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Khan said. The province is a former stronghold of the militant Pakistani Taliban group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pak...

Appalachian State visits Queens following Ashby’s 21-point showing

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:20:20 GMT

Appalachian State Mountaineers (7-2) at Queens Royals (6-5)Charlotte, North Carolina; Wednesday, 7 p.m. ESTBOTTOM LINE: Queens takes on the Appalachian State Mountaineers after Chris Ashby scored 21 points in Queens’ 112-64 win against the Carolina University Bruins.The Royals have gone 5-0 at home. Queens is 3-4 in games decided by 10 points or more.The Mountaineers are 0-2 in road games. Appalachian State is fourth in the Sun Belt scoring 79.9 points per game and is shooting 46.9%.Queens makes 43.4% of its shots from the field this season, which is 9.4 percentage points higher than Appalachian State has allowed to its opponents (34.0%). Appalachian State averages 8.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.8 more made shots on average than the 6.3 per game Queens allows.TOP PERFORMERS: AJ McKee is shooting 41.5% and averaging 17.1 points for the Royals. Ashby is averaging 3.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Queens.Donovan Gregory is averaging 13 points for the Mou...

Withers leads Bryant against Cincinnati

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:20:20 GMT

Bryant Bulldogs (6-5) at Cincinnati Bearcats (7-1)Cincinnati; Tuesday, 7 p.m. ESTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bearcats -19; over/under is 152BOTTOM LINE: Bryant plays the Cincinnati Bearcats after Connor Withers scored 32 points in Bryant’s 86-75 loss to the Stony Brook Seawolves.The Bearcats are 6-0 on their home court. Cincinnati ranks second in the Big 12 with 12.4 offensive rebounds per game led by Viktor Lakhin averaging 3.4.The Bulldogs are 3-4 in road games. Bryant ranks third in the America East shooting 34.4% from 3-point range.Cincinnati averages 9.0 made 3-pointers per game, 1.4 more made shots than the 7.6 per game Bryant gives up. Bryant averages 9.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.6 more made shots on average than the 5.9 per game Cincinnati allows.TOP PERFORMERS: Lakhin is scoring 15.6 points per game and averaging 8.4 rebounds for the Bearcats. CJ Fredrick is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers for Cincinnati.Sherif Kenney is scoring 16.7 points per game and ave...

A missile strikes Norwegian-flagged tanker off Yemen in an apparent expansion of rebel attacks

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:20:20 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels slammed into a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen near a key maritime chokepoint, the rebels and authorities said Tuesday.The assault on the oil and chemical tanker Strinda expands a campaign by the Iranian-backed rebels targeting ships close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into apparently now striking those that have no clear ties to Israel. That potentially imperils cargo and energy shipments coming through the Suez Canal and further widens the international impact of the Israel-Hamas war now raging in the Gaza Strip. Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree issued a video statement saying the rebels only fired on the vessel when it “rejected all warning calls.”The U.S. military’s Central Command issued a statement Tuesday saying an anti-ship cruise missile “launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen” hit the Strinda. “There were no U.S. ships in the vici...

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis launch missile at Norwegian tanker

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:20:20 GMT

Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched a cruise missile at a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea, in the latest violent attack by the Iran-backed militants targeting commercial vessels in the area.The militant group claimed responsibility for the attack on the Strinda, with its spokesperson Yahya Sare’e claiming without any evidence that the tanker was “loaded with oil and headed to the Israeli entity,” according to the Associated Press and a social media account purporting to belong to Sare’e.J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, which owns the Strinda, said the tanker was loaded with palm oil and en route from Malaysia to the Suez Canal and then on to Italy when it was attacked 60 nautical miles north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Norwegian national broadcaster NRK reported. Houthi rebels have ramped up hostile actions against American and international vessels in the region, attacking several commercial ships and launching missiles and drones targeting Israel...

Zelensky’s latest Washington visit comes at critical moment for Ukraine on the battlefield and Capitol Hill

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:20:20 GMT

Washington (CNN) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives for talks in Washington on Tuesday at a critical moment, as the White House warns American aid to Ukraine could imminently dry up and talks over new assistance are stalled in Congress.The eleventh-hour invite from President Joe Biden underscores the urgency in approving the new package, worth tens billions of dollars, as he and other administration officials are warning the already-approved American aid will be exhausted by year’s end.Biden has requested around $60 billion in new aid to Ukraine, part of a larger emergency funding package that also includes assistance for Israel and funds for border security. Republicans have sought to use the request as leverage to extract tough new rules limiting migration across the US southern border.The hope among Biden’s team is that Zelensky can convince lawmakers, and particularly Republicans, of the necessity for more aid to replenish his war...

DeMar DeRozan joins Michael Jordan in Chicago Bulls record books with a high-scoring, high-assist performance

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:20:20 GMT

DeMar DeRozan entered rarefied air Monday as he matched a scoring performance that had only been recorded by one other player in Chicago Bulls history: Michael Jordan.DeRozan tallied 41 points and 11 assists in a 133-129 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Before Monday’s game, Jordan was the only Bulls player to ever finish a game with more than 40 points and 10 assists.The final stat line reflected DeRozan’s evolving role for the Bulls, who have relied on their veteran star to serve as a distributor more this season than in previous years. And DeRozan still delivered his necessary scoring production, knocking down the tying basket to send the game into overtime.DeRozan’s new standing in Bulls history came as a surprise postgame. The 15-year league veteran is accustomed to setting and breaking records, but matching Jordan in Bulls history made a significant impression.“Anything with Michael Jordan in it is a hell of a compliment,” DeRozan said. ̶...

UK leader Sunak is racing to persuade lawmakers to back his Rwanda migration bill in a key vote

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:20:20 GMT

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was trying to cajole recalcitrant lawmakers into supporting his signature immigration policy in a vote Tuesday, with defeat likely to leave his authority shredded and his government teetering.The House of Commons is due to vote on whether to approve in principle a bill that Sunak says will revive a plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda that was ruled illegal by the U.K. Supreme Court.Normally the vote would be a formality. Sunak’s Conservatives have a substantial majority, and the last time a government bill was defeated at its first Commons vote — known as second reading — was in 1986.But the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill faces opposition from hard-liners on the Conservative right, who say it does not go far enough to ensure migrants who arrive in the U.K. without permission can be deported.With opposition parties also saying they will oppose the bill, it would take fewer than 30 Conservatives to vote against the leg...

Australians prepare for their first cyclone of the season

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:20:20 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia: (AP) — Residents have begun evacuating and battening down homes and businesses as the first tropical cyclone of Australia’s season is forecast to cross the northeast coast on Wednesday, bringing destructive winds and flooding rain.Tropical Cyclone Jasper — category 2 on a 5-tier scale — was tracking west on Tuesday across the Pacific Ocean and was expected the cross the Queensland state coast near the tourist destination of Port Douglas, authorities said.Winds of up to 140 kph (87 mph) were expected as the cyclone approached, Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles told reporters in Brisbane.“We are also expecting very heavy rainfall which will cause life-threatening flash flooding,” Miles said.Locals and tourists were moving to evacuation centers in Port Douglas and neighboring Cairns and Cooktown.The Associated Press

In the news today: Liberal support sinking as inflation and interest rates rise

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:20:20 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…How inflation, interest rates, tanked the LiberalsExperts say the Liberals will have to find a way to sell Canadians on the economy again after inflation and interest rates took a big bite out of their popularity.The Trudeau government has been badly trailing the Conservatives as cost-of-living issues dominate federal politics. David Coletto, the CEO of Abacus Data, says the Conservatives started overtaking the Liberals in polls around the time of the Bank of Canada’s first interest rate hike in March 2022.That gap widened considerably this summer, leading to a double-digit lead for the Tories.Tyler Meredith, a former head of economic strategy and planning for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, says that’s because Canadians have begun renewing their mortgages at much higher interest rates. Trudeau: Canada’s digital tax not a Biden priorityCan...