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China’s other top leaders bring loyalty to Xi, experience

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:30:38 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Six men sit alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, handling major portfolios from propaganda to corruption fighting. All are party veterans with close personal and professional ties to Xi, China’s most powerful figure in decades. Their roles are expected to come more into focus during the ongoing session of the National People’s Congress, China’s ceremonial legislature. The backgrounds of the six show the continued “prominence of politics in Xi Jinping’s vision for China’s governance,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.The standing committee has only male representatives and the 24-member Politburo, which has had only four female members since the 1990s, also has no female officials after the departure of Vice Premier Sun Chunlan.Some details about the standing committee members in order of their party rank:LI QIANG Perha...

Malaysian ex-PM Muhyiddin arrives at anti-graft agency

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:30:38 GMT

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin arrived Thursday at the anti-graft agency office for a second time in a matter of weeks over alleged corruption in the awarding of government projects under his rule.A large crowd of supporters gathered outside the agency building amid speculation that he might be arrested and charged for graft. Muhyiddin, 75, got out of his car and prayed with his supporters before he went into the building. In a Facebook statement hours earlier, Muhyiddin denied rumors that he was arrested Wednesday on a golf course. He said he has been called to the anti-graft agency but didn’t say why.If Muhyiddin is charged, he will be the second former leader to be indicted after leaving office. Ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak began a 12-year jail term in August after losing a final appeal in a graft case.Shortly after taking power in November, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered a review of government projects approved by past administ...

AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:30:38 GMT

Lawsuit against Fox shows the news behind the Trump newsNEW YORK (AP) — Fresh revelations flowing from a major defamation lawsuit are shedding light on what was happening inside Fox News following the 2020 presidential election. Here are some things to know about the case.THE CASEDominion Voting Systems is suing Fox for $1.6 billion, claiming the news outlet repeatedly aired allegations that the company engaged in fraud that doomed President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign while knowing they were untrue. Fox contends that it was reporting newsworthy charges made by supporters of the president and is supported legally by libel standards. The case is scheduled for trial next month.ELECTION DISCONNECTDominion has produced evidence that prominent people at Fox knew the fraud allegations were untrue, even as they and the president’s allies were given airtime to repeat them. Fox’s Sean Hannity said in a deposition that he did not believe the fraud claims “for one sec...

Disabled actors shine in basketball comedy ‘Champions’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:30:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The new comedy “Champions” stars Woody Harrelson and Kaitlin Olson, but the veteran actors have tough competition for the spotlight with some charismatic newcomers.Harrelson plays a college basketball coach with a bad temper who’s facing jail time or community service for some bad behavior. To avoid punishment, he finds himself coaching a basketball team of young adults with intellectual disabilitie , who help him rediscover the joy of the game.Harrelson’s agent and another producer wanted to remake the original film, called “Campeones” — Spain’s biggest box-office hit in 2018 — and thought the actor and basketball lover would be a great fit. Harrelson loved the story and signed on as star and executive producer, and tapped his longtime friend Bobby Farrelly to direct.Casting was challenging as the producers wanted the athletes played by disabled actors, who also needed basketball skills. They auditioned hundreds of people before finding the 10 standout personalities...

Man sexually assaulted woman in east Toronto after offering her a ride: police

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:30:38 GMT

Toronto police are searching for a man that sexually assaulted a woman in his vehicle after he offered to give her a ride east of the city.Authorities say on Feb. 25 at approximately 3 a.m., the suspect stopped his vehicle in the Danforth Avenue and Greenwood Avenue area and asked to give the woman a ride. She accepted and entered his car.Police say the suspect drove to a dead-end street in the Felstead Avenue and Lamb Avenue area and sexually assaulted the female victim.It’s alleged the sexual assault was interrupted when the driver of a black sedan approached the dead-end street, and the man was startled. That’s when the woman was able to exit the vehicle, and the man sped away.Investigators are looking to speak to the driver of the black sedan and any other possible witnesses or victims.The male suspect is described as South Asian and in his 20s with a thin build. He was wearing dark clothing at the time of the incident.The suspect was also driving a light-coloured fo...

Chicago PD searching for 13-year-old girl missing from Roseland

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:30:38 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department is looking for a missing 13-year-old girl last seen Monday in Roseland.Aniya Curry is described by police as being about 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing about 115 pounds with brown eyes and black braided hair, according to police. Her front tooth is chipped. Candlelight vigil honors victims killed in Bolingbrook home invasion She may be wearing a black hooded coat with fur trim and tan Ugg boots.Chicago police said she was last seen in the 9800 block of Harvard Avenue and is frequently in the 9700 block of Lowe Street. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 911 or Area 2 SVU detectives at 312-747-8274.

Northwestern students help Parkinson's patients put pen to paper

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:30:38 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — There is a new innovation to help patients continue an old-fashioned habit. Two resourceful college students put their heads together so those with Parkinson’s disease can put pen to paper.Izzy Mokotoff attends Northwestern University.“My grandfather had Parkinson’s disease for about a decade and he had a lifelong love of writing,” Mokotoff said.She says his handwritten letters and cards are her treasures.“His Parkinson’s symptoms reached sort of a debilitating stage and he lost the ability to write, which for him wasn’t only a loss of ability but also a loss of self,” she said. “Because writing was so integral to his identity and who he was and what he loved to do.”The journalism major researched possible solutions. What it’s like to live — and even thrive — with Stiff Person Syndrome “And very quickly realized there isn’t anything on the market designed specifically for people with Parkinson’s to counteract their most writing-inhibitive symptoms,” Mokotoff said....

Texas baseball kicks off 14-game homestand with pair of midweek wins

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:30:38 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — That bats were hot for Texas baseball in an 11-3 win over Mercer on Wednesday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.Rylan Galvin smashed a 2-run home run for the first hit of his Longhorns career and ended the night 3-for-4 with four RBIs and Dylan Campbell collected three hits as well. Texas hammered 15 hits and scored nine of their runs in the first three innings.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersLampasas native Ace Whitehead made his first start on the mound for the Longhorns and allowed two hits with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings pitched. Texas split duties between six pitchers.Garret Guillemette went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Eric Kennedy was 2-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.After Guillemette's RBI single in the first inning got the Longhorns on the board, the floodgates opened. Galvan clubbed a 1-2 pitch over the left-field wall for a homer to g...

No. 10 Texas softball pummels UT-Arlington 12-3 to win 10th consecutive game

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:30:38 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (KXAN) — The No. 10 Texas Longhorns have won 10 consecutive games ahead of a showdown with one of the best pitchers in the country.The Longhorns thumped Texas-Arlington 12-3 on Wednesday to run their winning streak to double digits with seven of their runs over the last three innings.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersYeah, we had a pretty good bounce back after the first few innings tonight," Longhorns coach Mike White said. "I don’t think we were really locked in to start the game – maybe it was the bus drive or being away from home – but we turned it on there in the later innings."Katie Cimusz and Baylea Brandon hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning and Alyssa Washington added a big fly in the fifth. Cimusz hit a 3-run shot over the left-center field wall on a 3-1 pitch to break a 1-1 tie, and then Brandon connected on a 2-2 pitch and drove it...

Men’s basketball: Gophers top Nebraska, 78-75, in first round Big Ten tournament

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:30:38 GMT

The goal for the Gophers men’s basketball team on Wednesday was to take the next step.It was a modest movement, but Minnesota did what they couldn’t in Ben Johnson’s first postseason a year ago: win a first-round Big Ten tournament game.The 14th-seeded Gophers overcame an ugly start to take an 11-point lead and weathered a late drought to knock off 11th-seed Nebraska 78-75 in Chicago. Minnesota will play Maryland at approximately 8 p.m. Thursday.The last-place seed in the conference tournament had lost in the opening round in four straight years since 2018, including the Gophers falling 60-51 to Penn State last year.Dawson Garcia, who was voted Big Ten honorable mention Tuesday, led Minnesota with 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.The Gophers (9-21) won for the second time in three games in March. Minnesota was in a similar spot Sunday vs. Wisconsin, with halftime and late-game leads but couldn’t make free throws down the stretch in another close loss.The Gophers didn’t score a...