No. 2 UConn falls again in Maui, losing 73-72 to Colorado on Jakimovski's off-balance layup LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Andrej Jakimovski converted an off-balance layup with 8 seconds left, and Colorado handed No. 2 UConn its second loss in two days at the Maui Invitational, beating the two-time defending national champion 73-72. A day after a 99-97 overtime loss to Memphis that left Huskies coach Dan Hurley livid about the officiating, UConn couldn’t shake the unranked Buffaloes, who shot 62.5% in the second half. Elijah Malone and Julian Hammond III scored 16 points each for Colorado, and Jakimovski had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Liam McNeeley led UConn with 20 points. Rodgers says he's undecided about playing next season, but Jets are his 'first option' if he returns Aaron Rodgers is still contemplating whether he wants to play football next season. And if he does return, he said during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday that he prefers it to be with the New York Jets. The star quarterback, who turns 41 next Monday, denied a recent report that he wants to keep playing next year but not with the Jets. He said he needs to see how he feels physically and where the Jets stand with a new general manager and coach. He added that the Jets will also have to want him playing for them. That will all factor into his decision. Court rejects request to sideline San Jose State volleyball player on grounds she’s transgender A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that allows a San Jose State women’s volleyball team member to play in the Mountain West Conference tournament after complaints said she should be ineligible on grounds that she’s transgender. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a U.S. Magistrate in Denver was correct in allowing her to play. The magistrate and the appeals court said the players and others who sued should have filed their complaint earlier, rather than waiting until less than two weeks before the tournament was to begin to seek an emergency injunction. Lewandowski joins Ronaldo and Messi in Champions League 100-goal club. Haaland nets 2 but City draws ROME (AP) — Robert Lewandowski joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the only players in Champions League history with 100 or more goals. But Erling Haaland is on a faster pace than anyone after boosting his total to 46 goals at age 24. Lewandowski’s early penalty kick started Barcelona off to a 3-0 win over previously unbeaten Brest to move into second place in the new single-league format. Ronaldo leads the all-time scoring list with 140 goals and Messi is next with 129. Haaland scored a brace as City was held 3-3 by Feyenoord. Inter Milan beat Leipzig 1-0 to move atop the standings. Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0. Atalanta, Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen also won. Traffic citations against Dolphins' Tyreek Hill dismissed after officers no-show at hearing MIAMI (AP) — Traffic citations issued to Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill after a September altercation with police have been dismissed after the charging officers didn’t attend a court hearing. Hill’s tickets for careless driving and failing to wear a seat belt were dismissed after the Miami-Dade Police officers failed to show up for a Monday hearing. The tickets were issued after Hill was stopped outside Hard Rock Stadium for allegedly speeding before the Dolphins' season opener on Sept. 8. The stop escalated and an officer pulled Hill from the car, forced him to the ground and handcuffed him. North Carolina football coach Mack Brown won't return for 2025 season North Carolina coach Mack Brown won’t return for the 2025 season. The school announced the move Tuesday with a statement from athletic director Bubba Cunningham. The school said Cunningham informed the 73-year-old College Football Hall of Fame member that there would be a coaching change. Brown is set to coach the regular-season finale on Saturday against rival N.C. State, though a decision hasn’t been made about whether Brown will coach a bowl game. Brown is in his second stint with the program and won a national championship at Texas. Juan Soto could decide on his next team before or during baseball's winter meetings NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto appears on a timetable to decide on where to sign either before or during baseball’s winter meetings in Dallas, which run from Dec. 8-12. Soto met with the Yankees, Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox, a person familiar with the negotiations said last week, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details were not announced. Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, asked teams to submit initial offers by Thanksgiving, a second person familiar with the talks said, also on condition of anonymity because it was not announced. Dejounte Murray is rejoining the Pelicans vs. Toronto and drawing inspiration from his mother METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Dejounte Murray says he plans to return to the New Orleans Pelicans’ lineup on Wednesday night for the first time since fracturing his left hand in a season-opening victory over Chicago on Oct. 23. And Murray says his mother will be on his mind when he takes the court against the Toronto Raptors. Murray says his mother had a stroke in September and disclosed that her condition was the previously unspecified “personal matter” that took him away from the team during the final days of the preseason. Murray had 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in his lone game with New Orleans. Lionel Messi has his new coach: Javier Mascherano's hiring by Inter Miami is now complete FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano are together again, this time with Inter Miami. The former Barcelona and Argentina teammates have reunited, with Inter Miami announcing Tuesday that Mascherano’s hiring as the club’s new coach is complete. The sides struck a deal late last week for Mascherano to replace Gerardo “Tata” Martino, who stepped aside for personal reasons. Mascherano most recently was Argentina’s under-20 team coach. Mascherano says he was “drawn to the organization’s undeniable ambition." Will Utah State or Boise State forfeit vs. San Jose State in the Mountain West semifinals? LAS VEGAS (AP) — A team that previously boycotted at least one match against the San Jose State women’s volleyball team will be faced with another decision whether to play the school, this time in the Mountain West Conference semifinals with a shot at the NCAA Tournament on the line. Five schools forfeited matches in the regular season against San Jose State, which carried a No. 2 seed into the conference tournament in Las Vegas. Among those schools: No. 3 Utah State and No. 6 Boise State, who will face off Wednesday with the winner scheduled to play the Spartans in the semifinals on Friday.vip99bet 。

How Trump’s bet on voters electing him managed to silence some of his legal woes

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Michael Gray Jr. had 19 points and Byron Ireland made two free throws with 6 seconds left to rally Nicholls to a 76-75 victory over Louisiana on Saturday night. Gray shot 6 for 11, including 5 for 10 from beyond the arc for the Colonels (4-4). Jamal West added 15 points and nine rebounds. Jaylen Searles hit three 3-pointers and scored 15. Ireland also finished with 15 points. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get updates and player profiles ahead of Friday's high school games, plus a recap Saturday with stories, photos, video Frequency: Seasonal Twice a weekWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday he intends to nominate real estate developer Charles Kushner , father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France. Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post, calling Charles Kushner “a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker." Kushner is the founder of Kushner Companies, a real estate firm. Jared Kushner is a former White House senior adviser to Trump who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka. The elder Kushner was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations. Prosecutors alleged that after Charles Kushner discovered his brother-in-law was cooperating with federal authorities in an investigation, he hatched a scheme for revenge and intimidation. Kushner hired a prostitute to lure his brother-in-law, then arranged to have the encounter in a New Jersey motel room recorded with a hidden camera and the recording sent to his own sister, the man’s wife, prosecutors said. Kushner eventually pleaded guilty to 18 counts including tax evasion and witness tampering. He was sentenced in 2005 to two years in prison — the most he could receive under a plea deal, but less than what Chris Christie, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey at the time and later governor and Republican presidential candidate, had sought. Christie has blamed Jared Kushner for his firing from Trump’s transition team in 2016, and has called Charles Kushner’s offenses “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted when I was U.S. attorney.” Trump and the elder Kushner knew each other from real estate circles and their children were married in 2009. Tucker reported from Newtown, Pennsylvania.KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Duhaney Park Community Development Committee (CDC) marked its 60th anniversary with a grand celebration and award dinner recognising 15 individuals for their outstanding contributions to the community over the years. Hosted at Pollyanna’s Caterers, the event brought together residents, community leaders, and other dignitaries who were crucial to the construction and development of Duhaney Park. In his opening address, Godfrey Williams, president of the CDC, highlighted the significance of the evening, noting that the awardees were being celebrated for their unwavering commitment and dedication. “This evening, we will have the privilege to recognise the tireless, incredible contributions of some wonderful human beings that over the years have shaped this community,” Williams said. He spoke of the resilience embedded in the people, which, he said, has defined Duhaney Park since its establishment in the early 1960s, when it was created to meet the housing demands of an urbanising population. “In sculpting the form and the framework that drives our community, they have cloaked our space with resilience. We are resilient, and our desire to overcome the tremendous stresses of life that are hurled us is the epitome of resolve,” he said. Among the awardees were Dr Noel Watson, the Social Development Commission, the National Solid Waste Management Authority and Wihcon (West Indies Home Contractors) who were presented with special awards. Presented with honorary donor awards were Hardware & Lumber, K’s Pharmacy, and the Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Joan Duncan Foundation. Category awards were also presented to Earl Jones for volunteerism; BelliBuss Restaurant for entrepreneurship and innovation; Michelle Dixon for education and mentorship; Nurse Palmer for health; Michael Montague for exceptional dedication and leadership in youth service; Luther Blade for sports, Thompson Beckford, JP for philanthropy and Yvonne Jacobs, who was presented with a surprise award as the longest living resident. Keynote speaker Damion Hylton, a community transformation specialist, reflected on the community’s evolution during his speech. “Your community has gone through many different seasons. From its inception when people were looking at Duhaney Park as the ideal place to live...And then as your community started to blossom and working class people started to participate in family life and community life, your community started to experience its own kind of ethos and character formation,” Hylton noted. He continued, “And then you had war and gang activity breaking out in different sections of your community. The community became a place where a lot of people started to wonder if they made the right investment. And then of course you had interventions and you had people who made sacrifices and the thing settled down again and Duhaney Park nice again.” Noting that communities, like individuals, go through seasons, Hylton said the people of the community were what determined its success. “The fibre and the fabric of Duhaney Park is the result of some people who have been here from the inception. So when you gather this evening celebrating 60 years and honouring the accomplishments and the resilience of the people, I want to suggest to you that you couldn’t get it any better because it is the resilience of the people who have chosen to stay in a community regardless of the season that the community is going through,” Hylton said. Accepting the Wihcon award on behalf of his family, Joseph Matalon commented, “I remember the four Matalons that were basically responsible for this project. Mayer was the financier, Moses was the conceptualiser, Aaron, my father, was the marketer, and Owen was the builder. And that team cooked together not only this particular project but Harbour View and Mona Heights and went on into the Independent City.” Former executive director of a National Civic Dialogue Initiative under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr Noel Watson, shared his memories of working with Duhaney Park more than 20 years ago. “I was invited to the community and we dialogued...There were people from JLP, PNP, all walks of life because the whole point of these civic dialogue programs is to get people to dialogue to reduce crime, to reduce unemployment, and to reduce corruption. And the Duhaney Park CDC was so strong, they invited me into their homes and we dialogued, and they were just such a faithful, loyal community. So it doesn’t surprise me that after 60 years we’re doing this,” Dr Watson said. In his address, Member of Parliament (MP) for St Andrew Western, Anthony Hylton, encouraged the community to continue working with the CDC for more years to come. “Duhaney Park still stands as a community that is vibrant, it’s alive, and I believe its best future is ahead of us. The point I wish to make is that the CDC by itself cannot do the work unless its citizens are engaged and themselves respond,” MP Hylton said. — Kelsey Thomas

DANIA BEACH, Florida (AP) — Border Patrol agents are tasked with enforcing hotly contested immigration policies as many Americans at both ends of the political spectrum look askance at the border — and the agents. That's taking a mounting toll, so the agency is training more among its ranks to become chaplains and provide spiritual care for their fellow agents on and off the job. “That’s a really hard thing to deal with, as things tend to flip from one side to the other, and we’re still in the crossfire,” said Border Patrol assistant chief and chaplaincy program manager Spencer Hatch. Unlike the police or military, which recruit faith leaders to serve as chaplains, the Border Patrol trains mostly lay agents endorsed by their faith denominations to become chaplains through a 2.5 week academy. Their numbers have grown to about 240 from 130 four years ago. Three times a year, an academy is held at a different Border Patrol station. About a dozen Border Patrol personnel, plus a few Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management officers, graduated from the most recent academy, held near Miami earlier this month. The program, and a nonreligious, mental-health focused peer support program, were started by grassroots efforts in the 1990s. Chaplains stay in their regular jobs, but are on call to assist. Border Patrol agents say they're motivated by the desire to protect U.S. borders from security threats, including the powerful cartels that control much of the border dynamics. They also often rescue migrants lost and dying in the harsh deserts that line the southern U.S. border. But many agents feel the American public sees them as obstacles to migrants seeking a better life in the United States. They often tell their children to say their parent does “government work” for fear of reprisals, especially in the border communities where they live. That dissonance between upholding a duty they feel proud of, and getting called “terrible names” for it, adds an emotional toll to the already dangerous, often isolating work the agents do. That's where the chaplains come in — to help their fellow 20,000 agents cope and prevent the trauma from degenerating into family crises, addiction or even suicide. While most chaplains are Christian, with a smattering of Muslim and Jewish agents, they don’t offer faith-specific worship and only bring up religion if the person they’re helping does first. Rather, they are a comforting presence during critical moments like assisting a suicidal colleague, notifying a family their loved one was killed on the job, and counseling those dealing with addiction, survivor guilt and other traumas. Those are the scenarios that chaplains-in-training practice role-playing at the academy. They also learn about communication and family dynamics, because constant redeployments — some up to 9 times over 18 months during the record border crossings early in the Biden administration — affect their families too. Hatch teaches about the need to maintain both the “hypervigilance” of law enforcement and the humanitarian instinct to empathize with fellow agents as well as migrants. Many agents say they are especially affected by the plight of migrant children at the hands of smugglers. “One tries to give them support within the limits of what your work allows. I always have the biggest smile,” said a newly minted chaplain, Yaira Santiago, a former schoolteacher who runs a Border Patrol migrant processing center in Southern California. By relying on their faith, their commitment to help their colleagues, and their training, chaplains can make a difference. "Even in moments of uncertainty, your presence is often enough,” said Matt Kiniery, an agent in El Paso, Texas, for 15 years and a graduate of the latest chaplain academy. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Connections: Sports Edition is a new version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans. Like the original Connections , the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle , Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. What is Connections Sports Edition? The NYT 's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic , the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common. Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends. Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media. Here's a hint for today's Connections Sports Edition categories Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try: Here are today's Connections Sports Edition categories Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories: Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle. Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions. Drumroll, please! The solution to today's Connections Sports Edition #68 is... What is the answer to Connections Sports Edition today Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands . If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.None

Medill Illinois News Bureau CHICAGO – A state watchdog has identified at least $7.2 million in fraudulent claims and more than 275 instances of misconduct by state employees accused of bilking a federal program designed to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2022, the Office of the Executive Inspector General has been investigating allegations that state employees fraudulently claimed Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses they didn’t disclose or entirely fabricated. State workers may engage in secondary employment, but only if it’s disclosed and permission is granted. Employees from 13 different state agencies are involved in the fraud and have illegally taken these federal public funds, according to the OEIG, which is charged with investigating allegations of misconduct within state government. As of April, more than 60% of those implicated to date worked for the Illinois Department of Human Services, which operates mental health hospitals and developmental centers across the state. The Paycheck Protection Program was an initiative established by the federal CARES Act in 2020. The Small Business Administration oversaw the implementation of the PPP to provide forgivable loans to cover payroll costs or other expenses for small businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. By October 2022, the program gave out $786 billion in loans and forgave 93% of them, according to the SBA. Quickly, PPP loans led to “unprecedented fraud levels,” according to the SBA inspector general. Applicants self-certified their small business status and income. The OEIG is investigating only public employees who received more than approximately $20,000 from the program. To receive a $20,000 loan, businesses investigated by the OEIG typically declared $100,000 or more of net profit or gross income on the loan application. The OEIG could not comment on whether this investigation was close to the end. Due to the sheer size of this fraud, investigations involve many different agencies. In May 2023, the Illinois legislature passed House Bill 3304, which allows criminal prosecutions for COVID-19 related fraud to start up to five years after authorities discover the fraud. Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, who filed the bill, said most of the routine checks such as cross-referencing data on the loan forms with other agency databases were suspended for this program. A large issue was also the lack of personnel. According to Crespo, between April 2020 and April 2022, the fraud hotline of the SBA received millions of calls, of which a large number went unanswered. “The vulnerabilities that led to the issues with PPP fraud weren’t really attributable to things at the state level. I would say that the issues had far more to do with the unaccountable nature of the program itself,” said State Rep. Mike Kelly, D-Chicago, who co-sponsored the bill. IDHS employees have been heavily involved in the fraud. Since 2022, at least 43 employees have been discharged and 53 resigned before further action by management. In most cases on the OEIG website, the employees either lied about being self-employed or provided false information about their income. Records show Deborah Reynolds-Jones was a human services caseworker who had been working for the IDHS since 2016. Reynolds-Jones told OEIG investigators that her barber recommended a company that could help her apply for the loan. She sent the company her personal information, including her Social Security number. The company filled out the form and simply asked her to sign. The information was inaccurate. Reynolds-Jones paid the company $3,000 for their service after she fraudulently received a $20,000 PPP loan. In another case, Shanythia Anderson admitted to the OEIG that she allowed a third party to apply for a PPP loan on her behalf and that the information provided was inaccurate. She began working as a mental health technician at IDHS in 2020. Anderson met a woman on Facebook, and she sent her personal records. In exchange for this service, the woman was to receive half of her loan, $10,000. Anderson worked at the Ludeman Development Center in Forest Park, where at least 36 other employees were accused of wrongdoing. “It happens that in one particular location when you find out there are 37 people that have done this, they’ve obviously been talking to one another at work,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a news conference last year. “Maybe somebody committed this kind of fraud and then tried to convince somebody else.” IDHS declined to comment on why so many of its employees were implicated. IDHS is the largest public agency in Illinois, which could be one explanation. Crespo said that his best guess was that public employees had early access to the loan forms, so it was easier for them to understand how to file them, fraudulently or not. “While the vast majority of IDHS’ roughly 14,000 State employees are hard-working people of strong character who work tirelessly to help the most vulnerable, it is deeply concerning any time an employee takes advantage of public programs,” IDHS said in a statement. Other state agencies where the OEIG found multiple cases of PPP fraud included the Department of Corrections (31 cases), the Department of Children and Family Services (27), Pace (10) and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (8). The OEIG, through the Executive Ethics Commission, publishes reports of wrongdoings only if there is proof of employee misconduct. It can refer cases to the Attorney General if the fraud is significant enough. The Attorney General, specifically the Public Integrity Bureau, then conducts its own investigation in order to prosecute involved public employees. Many cases mentioned third parties who applied for the PPP loan on behalf of an individual. The DOJ has gone after some of these third parties in Illinois, but it’s unclear that these are the same third parties that helped public employees. In June, the a federal jury in Chicago convicted Hadi Isbaih on charges of wire fraud. According to the DOJ, Isbaih used his company, Flash Tax Service Inc., to file fraudulent loan applications on behalf of his clients. Isbaih would ask for an upfront fee to file the loan form, and when the client received the loan, he would charge an additional fee. A sentencing date has not yet been announced for Isbaih. In September 2023, two Illinois businessmen were indicted on federal charges for obtaining $7.8 million in fraudulent business loans. According to the DOJ, they recruited self-employed individuals to provide personal information. With that, they would fill out loan forms with false data by inflating the individuals’ income, for example. They would then charge the clients up to $4,000 if the loan was successfully received. These two have not been convicted. There are severe consequences for PPP fraud. Knowingly declaring false statements to a financial institution can result in up to 30 years in prison or a fine of up to $1 million. Wire fraud, the use of the Internet or electronic communication to carry out fraud, is a federal crime that can be punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Amalia Huot-Marchand is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a Fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three American citizens imprisoned for years by China have been released and are returning to the United States, the White House said Wednesday, announcing a diplomatic agreement with Beijing in the final months of the Biden administration. The three are , all of whom had been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained by China. had been facing a death sentence on drug charges while and were imprisoned on espionage charges. “Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years,” the White House said in a statement. The release comes just two months after China freed David Lin, who had spent nearly 20 years behind bars after being convicted of contract fraud. U.S.-China relations have been roiled for years over major disagreements between the world’s two largest economies on trade, human rights, the production of fentanyl precursors, security issues that include espionage and hacking, China’s aggressiveness toward Taiwan and its smaller neighbors in the South China Sea, and Beijing’s support for Russia’s military-industrial sector. The release of Americans deemed wrongfully detained in China has been a top agenda item in each conversation between the U.S. and China, and Wednesday’s development suggests a willingness by Beijing to engage with the outgoing Democratic administration before Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January. Trump took significant actions against China on trade and diplomacy during his first term. He has pledged to continue those policies in his second term, leading to unease among many who fear that an all-out trade war will greatly affect the international economy and could spur potential Chinese military action against Taiwan. Still, the two countries have maintained a dialogue that has included a partial restoration of military-to-military contacts. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met this month to discuss potential improvements. In a separate but related move, the State Department on Wednesday lowered its travel warning to China to “level two,” advising U.S. citizens to “exercise increased caution” from the norm when traveling to the mainland. The alert had previously been at “level three,” telling Americans they should “reconsider travel” to China in part because of the “risk of wrongful detention” of Americans. The new alert removes that wording but retains a warning that the Chinese government “arbitrarily enforces local laws, including exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law.” The Biden administration had raised the cases of the detained Americans with China in multiple meetings over the past several years, including this month when Biden spoke to Xi on during the in Peru. Politico was first to report the men’s release, which it said was part of a prisoner swap with the U.S. The White House did not immediately confirm that any Chinese citizens had been returned home. Li, a Chinese immigrant who started an export business in the U.S., was detained in September 2016 after flying into Shanghai. He was placed under surveillance, interrogated without a lawyer and accused of providing state secrets to the FBI. A U.N. working group called his 10-year prison sentence arbitrary and his family said the charges were politically motivated. to life in prison on spying charges. He was detained in 2021, by the local bureau of China’s counterintelligence agency in the southeastern city of Suzhou after China had closed its borders and imposed tight domestic travel restrictions and social controls to fight the spread of COVID-19. After Leung's sentencing, — though without citing specific cases — that Americans reconsider traveling to China because of arbitrary law enforcement and exit bans and the risk of wrongful detentions. Swidan had been jailed for 12 years on a drug charge and, along with Li and Leung, had considered by the State Department to be wrongfully detained.New Orleans mayor launches own 'news' service for the city

STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) — Victor Gabalis and Kayvon Britten each accounted for two touchdowns, Darius Cooper had 190 yards receiving with a score and No. 13 seed Tarleton State won its inaugural FCS playoff game with a 43-29 victory over unseeded Drake on Saturday in a first-round matchup. Tarleton State (10-3) will travel to No. 4 seed South Dakota (9-2) in a second-round game on Dec. 7. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Wake Forest hires Washington State's Jake Dickert