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Yankees Notebook: Aaron Boone’s unpredictable bullpen remains effective, Carlos Rodon resumes throwing

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:42:53 GMT

The Yankees bullpen which was once loaded with prominent names such as Aroldis Chapman and Zack Britton has a much different look this season. It hasn’t always been pretty, but it’s been effective as the group of lesser-known relievers has pitched to a 3.24 bullpen ERA which ranks fourth in baseball.Aaron Boone’s use of his stable of relievers has been unpredictable — thanks in part to injuries to Jonathan Loaisiga (elbow) and Tommy Kahnle (biceps) on the IL — as seemingly none of his pitchers have a cemented role with the absence of a lockdown closer as the most glaring vacancy. Clay Holmes entered the season as the presumptive ninth-inning arm but his 4.11 ERA and inconsistency since the second half of 2022 have forced the Yankees’ skipper to do a lot of mixing and matching.“The good part about it is, I feel like we got a lot of really good options,” Boone said before Sunday’s series finale against the Rays. “And obviousl...

Jalen Brunson scores 38 points, goes the distance as Knicks top Heat to force Game 6

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:42:53 GMT

The Knicks needed a hero to keep their season alive. Jalen Brunson strapped on the cape.Backed by strong efforts from his sidekicks RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, Brunson played all 48 minutes — a rarity in today’s NBA, even under the must-win circumstances like Wednesday — and carried the Knicks through a rollercoaster of a 112-103 victory.His gutsy performance cut New York’s series deficit to 3-2, with Friday’s Game 6 in Miami fast approaching. And in the short meantime, Brunson can collect his kudos.“What can you say about the guy?” Tom Thibodeau said. “He’s incredible.”Brunson did it all at Madison Square Garden, scoring and making whatever plays the circumstances dictated while finishing with nine rebounds and seven assists. Despite zero rest, the point guard’s production never tapered. His ten points in the fourth quarter were timely and necessary.Then the 26-year-old was all business in his postgame presser.R...

Ja Morant flashes gun on Instagram Live again, gets suspended again

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:42:53 GMT

NBA superstar Ja Morant was suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday after he flashed a gun on social media again.Morant, 23, had been suspended by the team and the NBA in March after he showed off a gun while filming himself in a Denver-area nightclub.That suspension included a public reconciliation process, in which Morant spent two days in a counseling program in Florida and then sat down for an apology interview with ESPN’s Jalen Rose.But on Saturday night, one of Morant’s friends hopped on Instagram Live while riding in a car with Morant in the driver’s seat. The man then panned over to Morant, who appeared to be holding a gun in his left hand.The Grizzlies’ season ended two weeks ago with a first-round playoff series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the team still released a statement Sunday announcing that Morant had been suspended again.“We are aware of the social media video involving Ja Morant,” the Grizzlies said. “He is su...

Partial results in Turkey’s election show President Erdogan leading, state-run news agency says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:42:53 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Early returns from Turkey’s national election Sunday had President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with a solid lead after some 47% of ballot boxes were counted, the Turkish state-run news agency said, while the longtime leader’s main challenger disputed the numbers that showed him trailing. Erdogan, who has governed Turkey as either prime minister or president for two decades, had 52.2 of the vote from the partial count, compared to 41.9% garnered by opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the Anadolu Agency reported.In the run-up to the election, opinion surveys had indicated the increasingly authoritarian Erdogan narrowly trailed his challenger. The race had appeared to be shaping up as the toughest re-election bid of the Turkish leader’s 20-year rule of his NATO member nation. With the partial results showing otherwise, members of Kilicdaroglu’s center-left, pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, disputed Anadolu’s numbers, contendi...

Zelenskyy to make surprise visit to Paris for talks with French President Macron

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:42:53 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make a surprise visit to Paris for talks Sunday night with French President Emmanuel Macron, extending a multi-stop European tour that has elicited fresh pledges of additional military support as his country gears up for a counteroffensive against Russian occupation forcesMacron’s office announced the Paris leg of Zelenskyy’s trip, and France dispatched a plane to pick up Zelenskyy in Germany, where he met Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier Sunday.Macron’s office said the two leaders will hold talks over dinner and that Macron will “reaffirm France and Europe’s unwavering support to reestablish Ukraine in its legitimate rights and to defend its fundamental interests.”The Associated Press

Social Democrats projected to retain power in north German state of Bremen

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:42:53 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Initial projections showed Germany’s Social Democrats winning regional elections held Sunday in the northern state of Bremen, making it likely they will continue running a city they’ve governed since World War II.German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF reported that the Social Democrats received about 30% of the vote, ahead of the center-right Christian Democratic Union, which had about 25%.The Social Democrats’ two junior coalition partners, the Greens and the Left party, were together projected to win more than 20%. Bremen Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte said there were “good reasons” to continue the center-left alliance but added that he would also speak with the Christian Democrats.A local protest party, Angry Citizens, received more than 10% of the vote, according to German media.Almost 500,000 voters ages 16 and older in Bremen and its North Sea exclave, Bremerhaven, were eligible to cast ballots. A final tally was not expected before Monday.The Associated ...

Shooting at Arizona neighborhood kills 2, wounds 5

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:42:53 GMT

YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — A shooting at a neighborhood gathering in Arizona left two people dead and five wounded, police said Sunday.The shooting happened just before 11 p.m. Saturday in the southwestern city of Yuma, said Yuma police spokesperson Sgt. Lori Franklin. She said an investigation is underway but no suspects have been arrested. A motive for the shooting wasn’t immediately known, but Franklin said there was no remaining threat to the community.Officers went to the gathering after getting reports of an aggravated assault, Franklin said. When they arrived, they found seven people with gunshot wounds.Two men — ages 19 and 20 — were pronounced dead at Yuma hospitals and a 16-year-old boy was airlifted to a Phoenix hospital with serious injuries, she said. Four boys ages 15-19 were being treated at Yuma Regional Medical Center for injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.The names of the dead and wounded weren’t immediately released Sunday.The Associated Press

Ukrainian president says counteroffensive won’t aim to attack Russian territory

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:42:53 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that his country is preparing a counteroffensive designed to liberate areas occupied by Russia, not to attack Russian territory.Speaking during a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s goal is to free the territories within its internationally recognized borders.The Washington Post cited previously undisclosed documents from a trove of U.S. intelligence leaks suggesting that Zelenskyy has considered trying to capture areas in Russia proper for possible use as bargaining chips in peace negotiations to end the war launched by Moscow in February 2022. This would put him at odds with Western governments that have insisted that weapons they provide must not be used to attack targets in Russia.Asked about the report, Zelenskyy said: “We don’t attack Russian territory, we liberate our own legitimate territory.”“We have neither the time nor the strength (to attack Russia),...

Family with disabled children among hundreds of Gaza’s homeless after latest fighting with Israel

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:42:53 GMT

When Najah Nabhan learned that her home was about to be bombed by Israel, she knew she had to get out quickly. What she didn’t know was how she would get her four children with special needs out of the building in time.With the help of neighbors, her children, who are unable to walk on their own, were carried to safety. But the airstrike flattened the three-story building, leaving 42 members of Nabhan’s extended family homeless and leaving her children without the wheelchairs, crutches and medical equipment they need to move about.“I needed time to think what to take and what to leave. We have important documents and reports of the children’s conditions and history, medications and tools. All of them are gone,” said Najah, sitting on a mat in the debris-strewn front yard of what used to be her home in northern Gaza. On Sunday morning, the entire family gathered in the yard, sitting under the shadow of a tree and receiving visitors who came to show solidarity.Nabhan...

Israeli cease-fire with militants in Gaza appears to hold, despite new rocket launch

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:42:53 GMT

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A fragile cease-fire between Israeli forces and militants in the Gaza Strip appeared to be holding on Sunday after a five-day clash that killed 33 Palestinians and two people in Israel.In an early test for the truce, Palestinian militants fired a rocket into southern Israel on Sunday afternoon. Palestinian media said the launch was caused by a technical error as militants were trying to deactivate the rocket. The Israeli military said the rocket landed in an open area of southern Israel and did not immediately respond.The latest round of Gaza fighting was sparked Tuesday when Israeli jets killed three top commanders from the Islamic Jihad militant group in response to earlier rocket launches from Gaza. Those killings set off a barrage of militant fire and the conflagration threatened to drag the region into another all-out war until Egypt mediated a cease-fire that took hold late Saturday.While the calm appeared to bring a sense of relief to Gaza’s...