Draisaitl propels Oilers past Kings, into 2nd in Pacific

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

Draisaitl propels Oilers past Kings, into 2nd in Pacific LOS ANGELES (AP) — Leon Draisaitl broke a tie with 7:20 left and the Edmonton Oilers vaulted into second place in the Pacific Division with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night in a pivotal game for playoff seeding.The win not only put the Oilers one point ahead of the Kings, it gave them 100 points for the second straight season. The last time Edmonton reached the century mark in back-to-back seasons was 1987 under a different points structure.The teams split the four-game season series and are on course to possibly meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second straight year. Edmonton had home ice in last year’s series and won in seven games.Draisaitl, who also had two assists, extended his points streak to 13 games with 10 goals and 27 points during that span. Draisaitl had the go-ahead score on a power play when he put in a rebound past Pheonix Copley in front of Los Angeles’ net. It was Draisaitl’s 51st goal of the seas...

Urías throws 6 shutout innings, Dodgers beat Rockies 5-2

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

Urías throws 6 shutout innings, Dodgers beat Rockies 5-2 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Will Smith is settling in quickly batting third in the Dodgers’ order. Smith hit a two-run homer, Julio Urías tossed six scoreless innings to outpitch Germán Márquez, and Los Angeles defeated the Colorado Rockies 5-2 on Tuesday night.A night earlier, the Dodgers pounded out 13 hits and 13 runs to beat the Rockies.“I wish we could spread some of these runs out,” manager Dave Roberts said.Smith has homered in three straight games. Jason Heyward connected for the second consecutive game and Max Muncy added a solo shot for the Dodgers, who have gone deep in six in a row. They lead the majors with 13 home runs.“I always feel good when you swing at good pitches and you’re not missing them,” said Smith, who early on is picking up the offensive slack left by the departure of Trea Turner. “To me, I treat every at-bat the same. That’s what I can control.”Smith got his third RBI of the game with a double that scored Mookie Betts in the eighth for a 5-0 lead...

Athanasiou scores twice as Blackhawks beat Flames 4-3

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

Athanasiou scores twice as Blackhawks beat Flames 4-3 CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Andreas Athanasiou scored twice, and the Chicago Blackhawks stopped an eight-game slide by topping the desperate Calgary Flames for a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night.Jujhar Khaira and Austin Wagner also scored for Chicago (25-46-6), which began the night in last place in the NHL. The Blackhawks swept the three-game series against the Flames.“Obviously we know some teams are fighting for playoff spots and it’s a good way to come into a game and be a heartbreaker,” Athanasiou said. “All the boys want to come out here and play hard and first and foremost try to get the win.”Noah Hanifin had a goal and an assist for Calgary (36-27-15), which had won four in a row. Tyler Toffoli got his team-leading 34th goal, and Mikael Backlund also scored.With four games left in the Flames’ regular season, Calgary remains two points back of Winnipeg for the second wild card in the Western Conference. The Jets, who host the Flames on Wednesday, have a game in hand and also own the ...

Condenan a Stormy Daniels a pagar otros US$ 120.000 al equipo legal de Trump

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

Condenan a Stormy Daniels a pagar otros US$ 120.000 al equipo legal de Trump (CNN) — A 5.000 kilómetros de su drama legal neoyorquino, Donald Trump se aseguró una importante victoria en otro tribunal.El Tribunal de Apelaciones del Noveno Circuito de EE.UU. se puso del lado del expresidente en su intento de recuperar los honorarios legales adicionales de la estrella de cine para adultos Stormy Daniels, que había presentado y perdido una demanda por difamación contra él.Daniels fue condenada a pagar a los abogados de Trump algo más de US$ 120.000 en honorarios legales. Eso se suma a los más de US$ 500.000 en pagos ordenados por el tribunal a los abogados de Trump que ya se le ordenó pagar.¿Quién es Stormy Daniels y por qué es la figura clave en un caso judicial contra Donald Trump?El litigio civil no está oficialmente relacionado con el arresto de Trump y los cargos presentados en su contra en Nueva York, pero ambos involucraron a Daniels, a quien se le supuestamente pagaron US$ 130.000 en dinero durante la campaña presidencial de 2016 para que guardara ...

NATO treads fine line on Ukraine membership

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

NATO treads fine line on Ukraine membership BRUSSELS — An awkward dynamic was on full display as NATO foreign ministers met with their Ukrainian counterpart on Tuesday.Arriving at NATO headquarters in Brussels on the day Finland formally became a member of the alliance, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba offered congratulations and declared that “Ukraine is aiming at reaching the same goal, becoming a full member of NATO.” “It will be one of the topics of our conversations here in Brussels, of how can we move forward,” he said. Despite vast amounts of Western military assistance to Ukraine amid the war with Russia, NATO’s direct support has been limited to nonlethal aid. And while Kyiv formally requested “accelerated accession” to join NATO in September last year, the alliance is divided on how to tackle that demand. As Finland’s flag was raised in front of its HQ, across the street a group of pro-Ukrainian protesters chanted: “Ukraine in NATO!”And while Kuleba was more diplomatic, he conveyed a similar m...

South Korea to test sewage samples for COVID-19

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

South Korea to test sewage samples for COVID-19 SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea this month will begin weekly tests of sewage produced by its major cities and towns to track the spread of COVID-19 and identify future waves.Officials at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Wednesday that wastewater surveillance will potentially provide a cheaper and more sustainable tool in the country’s pandemic response. They say it could also improve the detection of other outbreaks, such as influenza, norovirus or drug-resistant bacteria. According to the plans, health workers will conduct tests on sewage samples collected from 64 wastewater facilities nationwide at least once a week and regularly release analyses of the test results on its website.KDCA said its recent trial runs with cities and provincial governments showed that the levels of pathogens found in sewage samples largely aligned with infection trends in those areas, confirming the value of testing water released from faucets, toilets and bathtubs. Similar tes...

Israeli strikes on Syria intensify, raise tensions with Iran

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

Israeli strikes on Syria intensify, raise tensions with Iran BEIRUT (AP) — Suspected Israeli airstrikes in Syria in recent weeks have killed two Iranian military advisers, temporarily put the country’s two largest airports out of service, and raised fears of regional escalation.While Israel has fought a shadow war with Iran in Syria for years, it has intensified recently, with near-daily airstrikes attributed to Israel by Syrian officials over the past week.The escalation of attacks comes after what appears to be a rare infiltration by an armed man from Lebanon into Israel and Iran’s reconciliation with regional rival Saudi Arabia last month. It also comes against the backdrop of a major domestic crisis in Israel over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government plan to overhaul the judiciary.Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in neighboring Syria, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of that country in recent years — but rarely acknowledges them. Since the beginning of 2023, Syrian...

Finland set to join NATO in historic shift while Sweden waits

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

Finland set to join NATO in historic shift while Sweden waits Finland became a member of NATO on Tuesday (4 April), completing a historic security policy shift triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while neighbour Sweden is kept in the waiting room.The military alliance will welcome Finland as its 31st member in a flag-raising ceremony at NATO headquarters on the outskirts of Brussels, attended by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and government ministers."It will be a good day for Finland's security, for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Monday.The event marks the end of an era of military non-alignment for Finland that began after the country repelled an invasion attempt by the Soviet Union during World War Two and opted to try to maintain friendly relations with neighbouring Russia.But Russia's recent invasion of another neighbour, Ukraine, which began in February 2022, prompted Finns to seek security under the umbrella of NATO's collective defence pact, which states that...

British suspect in Danish fraud case to be extradited from UAE

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

British suspect in Danish fraud case to be extradited from UAE A Briton charged with defrauding Danish tax authorities, Sanjay Shah (pictured), will be extradited to Denmark from the United Arab Emirates, authorities on both sides said on Monday.Shah is suspected of running a scheme that involved submitting applications to the Danish Treasury on behalf of investors and companies from around the world for dividend tax refunds worth more than 9 billion Danish crowns ($1.32 billion).He denies any wrongdoing.Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said in a statement that he understood Dubai authorities' decision was final but must still go via his UAE counterpart."We as a society can now send a clear signal to this type of criminal in a suit that no hiding place is safe, no matter where in the world you are," he added.The emirate's state media office confirmed that Attorney General Essam Issa Al Humaidan had rejected Shah's appeal."Sanjay Shah can be extradited to Denmark over fraud and money laundering charges," it said on Twitter.Shah's media ...

Eberle has goal, assist as Kraken rally to beat Canucks 5-2

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

Eberle has goal, assist as Kraken rally to beat Canucks 5-2 VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Jordan Eberle had a goal and an assist as the Seattle Kraken rallied from two goals down to beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Tuesday night.Yanni Gourde, Brandon Tanev, Jayden Schwartz and Matty Beniers also scored for the Kraken, who have consecutive wins for the first time since March 7. Martin Jones made 14 saves as the Canucks registered a season-low 16 shots.“That’s a character win down the stretch here when there’s not many games left and two points mean that much more,” Tanev said.Elias Pettersson and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Canucks, who lost their fourth straight. Collin Delia stopped 23 shots.Coach Rick Tocchet believes, with the team out of playoff contention, some players may be viewing the final games of the season as meaningless.“Some guys are maybe getting tired. … A lot of people in and out of the lineup. Maybe that’s it, I don’t know,” he said. “But the fact of the matter is you can’t think that way. We have to be s...