STONY BROOK, N.Y. (AP) — Joseph Octave scored 24 points as Stony Brook beat Maine 74-72 on Saturday. Octave also added five rebounds for the Seawolves (4-8). Ben Wight shot 4 of 7 from the field and 3 for 3 from the line to add 11 points. CJ Luster II shot 3 for 8 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line to finish with 11 points. Kellen Tynes led the way for the Black Bears (8-6) with 15 points, four assists, four steals and two blocks. Jaden Clayton added 15 points, four assists and three steals for Maine. AJ Lopez finished with 13 points and four assists. Stony Brook went into halftime leading Maine 34-30. Octave put up 10 points in the half. Octave led Stony Brook with 14 points in the second half as his team was outscored by two points over the final half but held on for the victory. Both teams next play Sunday. Stony Brook visits Albany (NY) and Maine plays Boston University at home. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons have proven to be two of the top defensive players in all of the NFL, and that continued in Week 12. On "Thursday Night Football," the Browns defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-19 in Blizzard-like weather, a game Garrett finished with three sacks and a forced fumble. Meanwhile, the Dak Prescott-less Cowboys ended their five-game skid against the Washington Commanders with a 34-26 win in the nation's capital in one of the most chaotic finishes you may ever see. Parsons had one of his better games of 2024, recording a season-high eight tackles and two sacks. On Monday, Parsons took to social media to celebrate his performance with an Instagram post. It included multiple photos of himself at the game, along with a highlight clip and a picture of Russell Crowe's character Maximus from the movie "Gladiator." "Are you not entertained?!" Parsons captioned the post, taking inspiration from the 2000 film. View the original article to see embedded media. Garrett took notice of Parsons' play in the win and left his thoughts in the comment section. "This what we been waiting on," Garrett wrote. Both Garrett and Parsons have been elite over the previous three seasons, with the Cowboys star joining the league in 2021. In that time, both have made an All-Pro team each year while ranking toward the top of the league in sacks. But Garrett, the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NFL draft, has one-upped the former Penn State standout, winning the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year. Scott Galvin-Imagn Images The Cowboys and Browns met in Week 1, with Dallas stealing a win on the road by a final score of 33-17. Still, both teams own a losing record going into Week 13 and both teams pulled off an upset win over teams with a record above .500 in Week 12. Related: Myles Garrett's Blunt Message To T.J. Watt After Browns-SteelersThe AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (AP) — Abdi Bashir Jr. had 27 points in Monmouth’s 88-74 victory against Fairfield on Saturday. Bashir shot 9 of 21 from the field, including 5 for 10 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 5 from the line for the Hawks (2-10). Jack Collins scored 13 points while going 5 of 8 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) and added five assists. Madison Durr shot 4 of 6 from the field and 4 for 5 from the line to finish with 12 points. Prophet Johnson finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Stags (5-7, 1-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Braden Sparks added 16 points and two steals for Fairfield. Deon Perry finished with 12 points, six assists and three steals. Monmouth took the lead with 16:32 left in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 43-33 at halftime, with Bashir racking up 11 points. Monmouth outscored Fairfield by four points in the second half, and Bashir scored a team-high 16 points in the second half to help their team secure the victory. Monmouth plays Auburn on the road on Monday, and Fairfield visits Columbia on Saturday. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Coppin State wins 68-60 over Navy
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The largest artificial intelligence data center ever built by Facebook’s parent company Meta is coming to northeast Louisiana, the company said Wednesday, bringing hopes that the $10 billion facility will transform an economically neglected corner of the state. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry called it “game-changing” for his state's expanding tech sector, yet some environmental groups have raised concerns over the center's reliance on fossil fuels — and whether the plans for new natural gas power to support it could lead to higher energy bills in the future for Louisiana residents.The outgoing head of the nation’s top public health agency urged the next administration to maintain its focus and funding to keep Americans safe from emerging health threats. “We need to continue to do our global work at CDC to make sure we are stopping outbreaks at their source,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. “We need to keep that funding up. We need to keep the expertise up. We need to keep the diplomacy up.” Philadelphia news 24/7: Watch NBC10 free wherever you are Cohen, 46, will be leaving office in January after about 18 months in the job. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday night said he picked Dave Weldon, a former Congressman from Florida, to be the agency’s next chief. Cohen said she hasn’t met Weldon and doesn’t know him. She previously voiced concern about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine advocate and CDC critic nominated to oversee all federal public health agencies. The CDC, with a $9.2 billion core budget, is charged with protecting Americans from disease outbreaks and other public health threats. The staff is heavy with scientists — 60% have master’s degrees or doctorates. The last eight years have been perhaps the most difficult in the agency's history. The CDC once enjoyed a sterling international reputation for its expertise on infectious diseases and other causes of illness and death. But trust in the agency fell because of missteps during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, political attacks and resistance to infection-prevention measures like wearing masks and getting vaccinated. The CDC has four political appointees, out of about 13,000 employees. The rest serve no matter who is in the White House, with civil service protections against efforts to fire them for political reasons. Trump said during the campaign that he wants to convert many federal agency positions into political appointments, meaning those employees could be hired and fired by whoever wins the election. There’s also a proposal to split the agency in two: one to track disease data, and another focused on public health but with a limited ability to make policy recommendations. And then there’s a current budget proposal in Congress that would cut the agency’s funding by 22%. It would also eliminate the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, which works on topics like drownings, drug overdoses, suicides and and shooting deaths. Cohen said there’s reason to be proud of the agency’s work in recent years. The CDC has built partnerships to improve the availability of testing for different infections and to watch for signs of disease outbreaks by monitoring wastewater. There are emerging threats, as always, but no new, full-fledged public health emergencies, she said. The day after the Nov. 5 election, Cohen emailed CDC employees to urge them to keep going. “While the world may feel different with changes ahead — our mission has not changed,” she wrote. She said she’s not aware of any wave of worried CDC scientists heading for the doors because of the election results. “There is a difference between campaigning and governing,” she said. “I want to go into this in a way that we’re passing the baton.” Cohen said she doesn’t know what she’ll do next, other than spend time with her family in Raleigh, North Carolina, where her family maintained its residence while she ran the agency. Next year, for the first time, the CDC director will be subject to Senate confirmation, which could make for a gap before Trump's pick takes the helm. CDC Deputy Director Dr. Debra Houry has been assigned to help manage the transition. Aside from administration transition, the CDC has to face several looming threats. Officials this month confirmed the first U.S. case of a new form of mpox that was first seen in eastern Congo. There’s also the ongoing stream of bird flu cases, most of them mild illnesses seen in farmworkers who were in direct contact with infected cows or chickens. CDC officials say they believe the risk to the public remains low and that there’s no evidence it’s been spreading between people. “I don’t think we’re yet at a turning place. But does that mean it couldn’t change tomorrow? It could,” she said. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. 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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (AP) — Elijah Lewis had 17 points in Marist's 76-73 overtime win over UMBC on Saturday. Lewis had six rebounds for the Red Foxes (8-2). Josh Pascarelli scored 16 points, going 6 of 14 (2 for 6 from 3-point range). Jadin Collins had 14 points and shot 7 of 11 from the field. Bryce Johnson led the Retrievers (7-7) in scoring, finishing with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. UMBC also got 15 points from Marcus Banks. Louie Jordan had nine points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Kyrie Irving scores 20, Mavs win first game after Doncic's injury by beating the Suns 98-89Canadian Kurtis Rourke leads upstart Hoosiers into U.S. college football playoffs
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Naheed Nenshi is still looking to find his feet — and a seat in the legislature — after six months on the job as leader of Alberta’s NDP. “I really am still getting my skis under me,” the former Calgary mayor said of his new gig in a recent year-end interview. Without a seat in the house, he’s been watching the cut and thrust of the provincial legislature from the sidelines, and he’s trying new things. The Opposition NDP has become more targeted in its media messaging and its approach to debates in the house, in part to avoid the trap of responding to the United Conservative Party government with daily outrage, he said. “It’s almost been useful for me to have the freedom to go talk to the nurses or the teachers or the parents or the cops, rather than be sitting in that room watching really, really bad acting and really terrible drama on the other side of the aisle,” he said. Still, the question of where and when Nenshi might get a seat in that hostile theatre is likely to continue to dog him in 2025. This year was bookended by former Rachel Notley announcing in January her resignation as party leader and recently that she would leave the legislature Dec. 30. In June, Nenshi took the helm. With Notley’s Edmonton-Strathcona seat soon to be vacant, Nenshi could look to get elected in the capital, where he now spends much of his time. He said he isn’t expecting Premier Danielle Smith to call a byelection before the six-month deadline to do so in June, after the house traditionally breaks for the summer. “The premier will delay the byelection to keep me out so that I can’t be part of the budget debates,” he said. In more ways than one, the NDP is still under construction. Hanging over Nenshi’s head is a steady stream of UCP attack ads accusing the provincial New Democrats of being under the thumb of Jagmeet Singh’s federal NDP. Provincial members automatically become part of the federal party, despite clear policy differences between the two, especially when it comes to the oil and gas industry. Nenshi has long said he wants to bring the federal membership issue to his party members to decide as soon as possible. The earliest NDP members could debate, and potentially change that sticking point in the party’s constitution, is in early May at the next NDP policy convention in Edmonton. There, members are also expected to steer the direction of what has largely remained a blank slate of a plan and platform. In the new year, Nenshi said the focus will continue to be on what he says has been missing from the UCP’s legislative agenda: affordability, jobs, health care, public safety and education. “These are not priorities for this government at all.” He has moved on one front by putting his former health critic, Luanne Metz, in charge of consulting on and fleshing out a health-care plan next year. “(The UCP is) making this up as they go along and we’re going to take the time to get it right,” Nenshi said. The NDP offered a few priorities in the fall. New Democrats pitched private member’s bills that aim to protect workers’ tips from being pocketed by employers, bring in cancer care delivery standards and take action on Indigenous reconciliation. A proposal to bring back school class size reporting was defeated. There are UCP policies Nenshi hopes to one day repeal, including what he calls the “cruel, hateful” legislation that restricts transgender health care and will bring in pronoun policy in schools. And, after the first full year of the government’s loosened ethics rules for political staff to accept gifts, Nenshi has another proposal. “Throw open the curtains so that we can see all of the grift and corruption that has happened under this government to make sure it’s not repeated ever,” he said.Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) swore his "support" to the new Department of Government Efficiency when it comes to the defense budget . In the weeks since President-elect Donald Trump won the Oval Office, he has named Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy the heads of DOGE . While they aren't government officials, it is their job to create "a lean team of small-government crusaders” to work closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget. Despite Khanna's disagreements with Ramaswamy, he confirmed on CNN Newsroom on Monday that there are some areas DOGE should fix. "Let me provide an area where there could be bipartisan collaboration. I mean, the defense budget, which is nearly $1 trillion, is dominated by five crimes. There has been tremendous reporting about the waste, fraud, and abuse in that budget. The Pentagon hasn‘t passed an audit and has failed the last six or seven audits. So, if they go to say there needs to be more open competition, not the monopolization in defense contractors, and propose recommendations, that's something that I think could be supported." "When it comes to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse and opening the 5 primes to more competition, there are Democrats on [House Armed Services Committee] who will work with @elonmusk and @DOGE," Khanna captioned the clip on X. "Cool!" Musk responded to the clip. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) will head the House DOGE subcommittee under the Oversight Committee. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) will lead the DOGE Senate Caucus. Since they will be run by Republican members, Khanna issued a few warnings to avoid pushback from the Democratic Party. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER "If they find areas of truly wasteful spending across the government, they would get support. But if they start to recommend cuts in Social Security or Medicare or Title I education funding, they'll face strong resistance. So it really just depends on what they recommend," Khanna said. Ramaswamy called to abolish the department as recently as last summer while running his own campaign for president. Khanna reacted to the news that he referred to as "horrifying" that the Education Department could be in Ramaswamy's crosshairs. According to Khanna, the investment into education between 1910 and 1940 made America the superpower it is.