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Nobles star Christina Pham the girls A Shot for Life Challenge champion

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:47:47 GMT

HANOVER — As she made the ride over to Starland Sportsplex and Fun Park on Saturday, Christina Pham felt like she had an opportunity. Set to participate in the 11th annual A Shot For Life Challenge, the Nobles girls basketball standout had a chance to make a name for herself, while also supporting a meaningful endeavor.She proceeded to stun the crowd, knocking down 84.1% of her shots during the day en route to being named the 2023 ASFL girls basketball champion.“I’m just truly grateful to be here in the first place,” Pham said afterward. “There’s a lot of talent in this gym, and we’re all being a part of something greater than basketball. So, it’s exciting.”For Pham, this year’s tournament had added meaning, and she felt compelled to take part.“My grandfather passed away a few years ago from lung cancer,” Pham said. “So it does mean a lot. But whether or not cancer has directly impacted me, it’s still a great cause (to support).”Claire Keswick, a Northwestern commit, finished as the...

Striking Nigerian doctors to embark on nationwide protest over unmet demands by country’s leader

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:47:47 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Striking Nigerian doctors on Saturday said they will embark on a nationwide protest, accusing the country’s newly elected president of ignoring their demands for better pay, better work conditions and payment of owed earnings.The protest, scheduled to start on Wednesday, adds to other challenges confronting Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who is leading efforts by the West Africa regional bloc of ECOWAS — which he chairs — to restore democracy in Niger after last week’s coup.The protest became necessary “to press home our demands, which have been largely neglected by our parent ministry and the federal government,” Dr. Innocent Orji, president of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, wrote in an Aug. 5 letter to the country’s ministry of health, a copy of which was made available to The Associated Press.The resident doctors are graduate trainees providing critical care at public hospitals across Nigeria, which has one of the world’s lowest doctor...

Pilgrims brave scorching heat for pope’s vigil in Lisbon after Francis ditches Fatima peace prayer

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:47:47 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — An estimated 1.5 million young people filled a field Saturday in the Portuguese capital for Pope Francis’ World Youth Day vigil, braving scorching heat to secure a spot for the evening prayer and to camp out overnight and be in place for his final farewell Mass on Sunday morning.Temperatures soared to 38 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) on Saturday in Lisbon and were forecast to top 40 C (104 F) on Sunday. The heat forced pilgrims to shelter under umbrellas and makeshift shades of plastic canvas sheets tied between trash bins in the otherwise exposed field on the edge of the River Tagus. Crews blew misters at the pilgrims to try to cool them down as they made their way into the venue, many flying their national flags. They formed long lines in the heat of the day to fill water bottles from what organizers said were more than 400 faucets around the field. Smoke from a spate of wildfires that broke out around Portugal during a weekend spike in temperatures cast a haze o...

New York City high school student charged with hate-motivated murder in killing of gay dancer

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:47:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Police have arrested a 17-year-old high school student on a hate-motivated murder charge in the fatal stabbing of a professional dancer during an altercation between two groups of friends at a New York City gas station last weekend.Police took the teenager into custody Friday in connection with the killing of the 28-year-old O’Shae Sibley, who was gay. Authorities declined to release the defendant’s name.“Parents lost a child, a child, to something that was clearly a hate crime,” Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain, said Saturday during a news conference outside the Brooklyn gas station where Sibley was killed July 29.The stabbing occurred after the two groups got into a confrontation at one of the gas pumps, where Sibley was dancing with his friends to a Beyoncé song. Authorities said Sibley’s group was being taunted by the other group before the confrontation ended in violence.Beyoncé would later pay tribute to Sibley on her website.Security camer...

DeSantis steps up dire warning to GOP about distraction from Biden, amid Trump’s latest indictment

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:47:47 GMT

VINTON, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is increasingly urging Republicans to avoid the temptation to refight the 2020 election next year, even as former President Donald Trump remains the dominant favorite for the 2024 GOP nomination on a message of vindicating his defeat.Though DeSantis recently cast doubt on the false theories about the 2020 election at the heart of Trump’s federal indictment, DeSantis is saying in early-voting states that any focus except on defeating Democratic President Joe Biden would be dire for his party. “If that is the choice, we are going to win and we are going to win across the country,” DeSantis told reporters Saturday after a campaign stop in northern Iowa. “If the election is a referendum on other things that are not forward-looking, then I’m afraid Republicans will lose.”DeSantis was on the second of a two-day trip across Iowa, pressing his recent record in Florida of conservative education, abortion and gender policy, and an equa...

RCMP say Alberta teen dead after Jet Ski collision on Skaha Lake in B.C. interior

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:47:47 GMT

PENTICTON, B.C. — Police in British Columbia say one teen is dead after a Jet Ski collision on Skaha Lake in the Okanagan city of Penticton. RCMP say four youths were injured when two Jet Ski watercraft collided Friday evening in the middle of the lake. Police say all four youths were taken to the Skaha Marina on a boat where they were met by a pair of off-duty doctors and emergency health services personnel. RCMP say they were taken to a local hospital where one of them — a 14-year-old girl from Alberta — died of her injuries. In a statement Saturday, police say the other three youths were treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and have since been released.  Police say they are now investigating the incident, but don’t believe criminality or alcohol were involved. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2023. The Canadian Press

Map: Does your drinking water contain 'forever chemicals'?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:47:47 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – So-called “forever chemicals” have been found in 45% of the nation’s tap water, according to a recent government study, but is your tap water affected?If you're wondering whether or not your tap water might contain synthetic chemicals known as PFAS, nonprofit Environmental Working Group created an interactive map using official records and data from public drinking water systems to show where forever chemicals were found to be above and below the advised maximum concentration level, 4 parts per trillion (PPT). EWG notes that while researchers used the highest quality data available, contamination levels are based on a single point in time and may not reflect changes to the water system or treatment efforts.(Copyright © Environmental Working Group)Search the map for your own address.The synthetic compounds known collectively as PFAS are contaminating drinking water to varying extents in large cities and small towns — and in private wells and public sys...

VIDEO: Man steals bike from California home's garage, stops to bond with homeowner's dog

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:47:47 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) – Police on Friday released a video of a man they say stole a bike from a garage in a San Diego neighborhood, all while sharing a surprisingly sweet moment with the homeowner's dog.The theft occurred on July 15 around 10:40 p.m., after the suspect entered a garage in the Pacific Beach neighborhood and left with a 2019 black Electra three-speed bicycle, the San Diego Police Department said in a Facebook post on Thursday. Imitation In-N-Out opens in Mexico Video shared by police shows the man preparing to take off with the bike when a dog enters the garage from the house and approaches. "Hi buddy," the suspect says to the dog, setting the bike back in the garage."Alright, because you're so cool, come here," the suspect says, taking the dog's face in his hands. "You're the coolest dog I've ever known."At one point, he calls the dog a "sweetheart." "I love you too," he says. "I want you to come home with me."After asking, aloud, where the dog's "dad" is, the suspect ...

Longtime user angry after Elon's 'X' takes over his @music handle

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:47:47 GMT

(The Hill) — The longtime @music account on X, former known as Twitter, had over half a million followers until the company reclaimed the handle on Friday. Now its former owner said he’s “super pissed.”“16 years ago, I created @music and have been running it ever since," Jeremy Vaught said wrote on his personal account. "Just now, Twitter / X just ripped it away. Super pissed." Alcohol vs. cannabis vs. tobacco: Doctors answer which is worst for you The @music account posts new releases and performances from artists across genres. X took the handle and gave it to the official company music account, which was formerly @twittermusic.In an email to Vaught, X said the account was being taken over for the company and assigned him the @musicfan handle instead.It’s the second time X has taken over a user handle, after taking @X from a user last month when owner Elon Musk officially changed Twitter's branding.The social media platform has been under harsh criticism since Musk purchased Twi...

Checking in on this year’s draft class at Vikings training camp

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:47:47 GMT

There’s only so much that can be discerned watching Vikings players practice against teammates day after day at TCO Performance Center. That’s why Thursday’s preseason opener between the Vikings and Seahawks in Seattle can’t get here soon enough. It will provide a glimpse of something real.Though he hasn’t confirmed anything yet, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell likely won’t let most of his starters suit up for live action. That will put some of the younger players on the roster in the spotlight over the next month.It raises the question: How has this year’s draft class looked at training camp? Let’s take a look:Jordan AddisonThere’s no doubt receiver Jordan Addison entered training camp with the most hype of any Vikings rookie. And it’s safe to say he has lived up to the hype so far. He already runs very crisp routes, accelerating in and out of cuts with relative ease, and attacks the ball anytime it’s in the...