Judge: No prison in Uhuru-Russian conspiracy case; ‘This was political speech’
Drop in Boxing Day footfall ‘signals return to declining pre-pandemic levels’KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — Jamarques Lawrence's 16 points helped Rhode Island defeat Central Connecticut 77-69 on Sunday. Lawrence added seven assists for the Rams (10-1). David Green scored 14 points and added five rebounds. Tyonne Farrell shot 5 of 7 from the field and 2 of 6 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points. The Blue Devils (6-4) were led by Devin Haid, who posted 24 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Central Connecticut also got 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists from Joe Ostrowsky. Davonte Sweatman also had 11 points. Rhode Island took the lead with 3:45 to go in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 35-32 at halftime, with David Fuchs racking up eight points. Rhode Island used an 8-0 run in the second half to build a 10-point lead at 54-44 with 14:41 left in the half before finishing off the win. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by and data from . The Associated PressNORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Rashad King's 21 points helped Northeastern defeat Old Dominion 75-71 on Sunday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Rashad King's 21 points helped Northeastern defeat Old Dominion 75-71 on Sunday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Rashad King’s 21 points helped Northeastern defeat Old Dominion 75-71 on Sunday. King added nine rebounds for the Huskies (8-3). LA Pratt added 15 points while going 7 of 14 from the field while they also had six rebounds. Masai Troutman shot 4 for 7 (0 for 3 from 3-point range) and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line to finish with 15 points. Robert Davis Jr. led the way for the Monarchs (3-8) with 17 points and six rebounds. Caelum Swanton-Rodger added 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks for Old Dominion. Sean Durugordon finished with 10 points. Harold Woods put up seven points in the first half for Northeastern, who led 31-26 at halftime. Northeastern turned a four-point second-half lead into a 13-point advantage with a 9-0 run to make it a 52-39 lead with 9:50 left in the half. King scored 14 second-half points in the victory. Northeastern’s next game is Wednesday against UMass on the road, and Old Dominion visits UL Monroe on Saturday. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. AdvertisementNone
WASHINGTON — Miles Wood scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 on Thursday night. Mikko Rantanen also scored for the Avalanche, who have won five of their last six games. Alexandar Georgiev stopped 29 shots to get his fourth straight win in his return after missing the last two games due to an upper-body injury. Pierre-Luc Dubois scored for the Capitals, who snapped a three-game win streak. Logan Thompson had 25 saves while taking his first regulation loss of the season. Earlier in the day, the Capitals learned they will be without superstar Alex Ovechkin for the next four to six weeks due to a broken left fibula, an injury he suffered on Monday against Utah. Takeaways Avalanche: Although Nathan MacKinnon was held off the scoresheet for the second time in three games — both against the Capitals — Rantanen kept his hot streak alive and has points in five of his last six games. Capitals: Without Ovechkin, Washington struggled to get much going offensively. The power play, which had found life in recent games thanks to its captain, went 0 for 2. Key moment Just 3:29 into the third period, Wood got to the front of the net and deflected a point shot from Cale Makar past Thompson for the go-ahead goal. Colorado Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev (40) deflects the puck against Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Washington. Credit: AP/Nick Wass Key stat Dating back to the 2021-22 season, Washington has gone 4-14 without Ovechkin in the lineup. The captain was leading the league with 15 goals at the time of his injury and is just 27 away from Wayne Gretzky's record. Up Next Avalanche visit defending Stanley Cup champion Florida on Saturday, and Capitals host New Jersey.
West Virginia knocks off No. 3 Gonzaga in overtimeBy MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution’s suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies. They called the idea “absurd.” Related Articles National Politics | Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time National Politics | Ruling by a conservative Supreme Court could help blue states resist Trump policies National Politics | A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list National Politics | Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ on official trip to Luxembourg National Politics | Veteran Daniel Penny, acquitted in NYC subway chokehold, will join Trump’s suite at football game The Manhattan district attorney’s office is asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to “pretend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a blistering 23-page response. In court papers made public Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books after Trump’s lawyers filed paperwork earlier this month asking for the case to be dismissed. They include freezing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, agreeing that any future sentence won’t include jail time, or closing the case by noting he was convicted but that he wasn’t sentenced and his appeal wasn’t resolved because of presidential immunity. Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove reiterated Friday their position that the only acceptable option is overturning his conviction and dismissing his indictment, writing that anything less will interfere with the transition process and his ability to lead the country. The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment. It’s unclear how soon Merchan will decide. He could grant Trump’s request for dismissal, go with one of the prosecution’s suggestions, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. In their response Friday, Blanche and Bove ripped each of the prosecution’s suggestions. Halting the case until Trump leaves office would force the incoming president to govern while facing the “ongoing threat” that he’ll be sentenced to imprisonment, fines or other punishment as soon as his term ends, Blanche and Bove wrote. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. “To be clear, President Trump will never deviate from the public interest in response to these thuggish tactics,” the defense lawyers wrote. “However, the threat itself is unconstitutional.” The prosecution’s suggestion that Merchan could mitigate those concerns by promising not to sentence Trump to jail time on presidential immunity grounds is also a non-starter, Blanche and Bove wrote. The immunity statute requires dropping the case, not merely limiting sentencing options, they argued. Blanche and Bove, both of whom Trump has tabbed for high-ranking Justice Department positions, expressed outrage at the prosecution’s novel suggestion that Merchan borrow from Alabama and other states and treat the case as if Trump had died. Blanche and Bove accused prosecutors of ignoring New York precedent and attempting to “fabricate” a solution “based on an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump” who survived assassination attempts in Pennsylvania in July and Florida in September “and a hypothetical dead defendant.” Such an option normally comes into play when a defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether it is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Merchan could innovate in what’s already a unique case. “This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding,” prosecutors wrote in their filing this week. But at the same time, it wouldn’t “precipitously discard” the “meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers.” Prosecutors acknowledged that “presidential immunity requires accommodation” during Trump’s impending return to the White House but argued that his election to a second term should not upend the jury’s verdict, which came when he was out of office. Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution . Other world leaders don’t enjoy the same protection. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges even as he leads that nation’s wars in Lebanon and Gaza . Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records . Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies. In their filing Friday, Trump’s lawyers citing a social media post in which Sen. John Fetterman used profane language to criticize Trump’s hush money prosecution. The Pennsylvania Democrat suggested that Trump deserved a pardon, comparing his case to that of President Joe Biden’s pardoned son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges . “Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,” Fetterman wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. Trump’s hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon — issued by Biden or himself when he takes office — would not apply to the case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases , which pertained to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in all. Trump had been scheduled for sentencing in the hush money case in late November. But following Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president’s sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. A dismissal would erase Trump’s conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.
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