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go777 log in WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump selected Charles Kushner, who Trump pardoned during his first term, to serve as U.S. Ambassador to France on Saturday. Charles Kushner is the father of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump. “I am pleased to nominate Charles Kushner, of New Jersey, to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to France,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday. “He is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests." Charles Kushner is the founder of Kushner Companies, a New York based real estate company. He t tax returns, retaliating against a cooperating witness, and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission in 2005. He served more than 16 months of a two-year sentence in federal prison and a halfway program before he was released in 2006, Trump saying at the time that Kushner was devoted to philanthropic organizations and causes. "This record of reform and charity overshadows Mr. Kushner’s conviction and 2 year sentence for preparing false tax returns, witness retaliation, and making false statements to the FEC," Trump's office said at the time. Charles Kushner New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a vocal Trump critic who ran in the 2024 Republican primaries and later dropped out. In a 2019 interview, Christie called Charles Kushner's actions “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes" he prosecuted as the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. The elder Kushner to seduce a brother-in-law and have their sexual encounter videotaped. Kushner then sent the tape to his sister in an effort to intimidate her against becoming a witness in the federal investigation.It’s as good a time as any to take a broader look at the Philadelphia Flyers , who hit the 20-game mark (10 at home, 10 on the road) with a somewhat disappointing 8-10-2 record and in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, which has already seemed to separate itself into four teams that can contend for a Stanley Cup, and four that are either rebuilding or have real issues. Advertisement Let’s get right to it. The two longtime pals have simply been the Flyers’ two best players this season. Travis Sanheim has anchored the defense group, which has endured a number of early-season injuries, while Travis Konecny has been the most consistent and dangerous forward. Sanheim is probably the Flyers’ MVP at the quarter point, contributing at both ends of the ice and playing the best hockey of his career. He’s a plus-2 on a team that’s been outscored by 17 at five-on-five. He’s third in the league in ice time with 25:33 per game, despite getting hardly any power-play time. Prior to Wednesday’s game, Sanheim eclipsed 30 minutes in three of the Flyers’ previous five games as the team continues to wait for others to get back into the lineup. All 12 of Sanheim’s points have come at even strength, putting him just one behind league co-leaders Alex Pietrangelo, Cale Makar and Owen Power. It was notable that when Rod Brind’Amour was asked before Wednesday’s game what the Flyers were doing differently from the last time they faced the Hurricanes just two weeks ago, he told reporters: “Sanheim is in the rush every play, like an old Bobby Orr back there from back in the day, which is fun to watch. ... So, we’ve got to be aware of that guy.” Konecny remains the heartbeat of the team and is on a path toward his best season yet. He’s averaging more than a point per game (23 in 20 games), is on pace for 45 goals (11 so far), and is the Flyers’ team leader with five power-play goals. We’ll see how his eight-year contract that kicks in next season ages over time, but Konecny sure isn’t slowing down. Just the opposite. While Konecny is pulling his weight, and Matvei Michkov is still producing through some inevitable rookie growing pains, every one of the other scoring forwards has been disappointing so far. Owen Tippett, Joel Farabee, Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink, four young wingers with upside that the organization was hoping would take another step, have just 14 goals in a combined 76 games. Advertisement There have been some signs that they’re all working their way out of early season slumps: Three of Tippett’s four goals have come this month and he’s had the puck on his stick more often, Farabee has had a number of scoring chances lately and has been on the receiving end of some compliments from John Tortorella, and Foerster is starting to get back to playing hard along the wall and winning his battles, which he wasn’t doing much of earlier (a demotion to the fourth line seems to have gotten his attention). But the overall consistency from this group hasn’t been there. Yes, the power play has hit a bit of a snag lately, going just 2-for-20 in the last seven games. But losing both quarterbacks in Jamie Drysdale and Emil Andrae has predictably thrown it off course, while other players have been shuffled in and out of the two units lately, too. The Flyers sit 20th in the NHL in power-play percentage (16.9 percent), which is still more than three percentage points higher than they averaged from 2021-22 through last season. Once they get all their pieces back, and assuming Michkov becomes a more dangerous threat offensively as the season moves along, they could very well end up in the top half of the league. The penalty kill has simply picked up where it left off last season, sitting in fourth place in the league at 86.6 percent. The Flyers have just one short-handed goal, but are still getting chances the other way: According to Natural Stat Trick, they are generating 9.69 scoring chances per 60 minutes on the penalty kill, third in the league. The good news on Wednesday is that Ryan Poehling’s shot from distance beat Pyotr Kochetkov in the second period, tying the game at 1-1. It was Poehling’s first goal of the season, and just the second from a Flyers center since Oct. 26 (Morgan Frost had the other on Nov. 5). Advertisement The bad news is that Poehling’s turnover later in the game helped to generate what turned out to be the game-winning goal, while Scott Laughton’s misplay early in the first period that Carolina also capitalized on earned the alternate captain some lengthy time on the bench. The Flyers just don’t have a high-end, play-driving center on the roster, while the guy that has the best chance to develop into one, Frost, has been a healthy scratch for four of the last five games. Is it time yet for general manager Daniel Briere to get a little aggressive to try and find one? Is it worth circling back to the Ducks to gauge interest in and maybe even take a chance on Trevor Zegras, perhaps? Zegras is only signed through next season, so even if the Flyers acquired him they wouldn’t be committed to him long term. It just feels like it’s time for Briere to try something different here. It was unfortunate timing for Andrae when he got hurt late in last Saturday’s win over the Sabres , as he was earning big minutes and showing that he might be ready to stick around the NHL full-time. Fortunately for him and the team, Andrae was on the ice on Wednesday, suggesting he could be back soon. He’s second on the Flyers in expected-goals share (55.6 percent), but just watching him (and speaking with him) it was becoming evident that he has a growing confidence with and without the puck. Frankly, Andrae is turning into the player that the Flyers were hoping Drysdale (1 goal, 2 assists in 15 games) would become. It’s much, much too early to write off Drysdale, who it seems was rushed into the NHL by the Ducks which may have stunted his development. But he’s going to be under the microscope when he returns from his upper-body injury, because the Flyers may not want to dress all of Andrae, York and Drysdale in the same games for fear of being too small on their back end (for his part, Tortorella said he’s not afraid of doing this, when asked a week ago. We’ll see.) Don’t blame Ersson for the Flyers being fourth from the bottom of the league in goals-against average (3.50) through Wednesday’s games. The Flyers’ No. 1 goalie has been generally solid all season, with a 2.70 GAA and .902 save percentage in 11 games. He just seemed to be hitting his stride, too, before coming out of the lineup with what’s believed to be a groin injury : in his last five appearances, Ersson stopped 109 of 116 shots for a .940 save percentage in 257 minutes, with a 3-0-1 mark. Both Ersson and Tortorella mentioned early in the season when the goalie’s stat line wasn’t so hot that they believed he was playing better than the numbers suggested. That proved to be the case, because when the Flyers finally got some structure back in their game, Ersson was outstanding. Advertisement The 25-year-old still has an outside chance to make Team Sweden for the upcoming 4 Nations tournament, although Minnesota ’s Filip Gustavsson is probably the odds-on favorite to be the No. 3 there behind Jacob Markstrom and Linus Ullmark. But, considering his injury has occurred twice in a short period of time, he may be better off sitting it out anyway. The Flyers need him healthy if they’re going to have any chance at hanging around the playoff race due to their mishandling of the backup goalie position (see below). Yes, they’ve been a bit better lately, but there’s still a tremendous amount of uncertainty with both Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov. It’s not a stretch to suggest that neither of them would be on any other NHL team’s roster at the moment. Their combined numbers are awful: 3-8-0, with an .874 save percentage and 3.70 goals-against average. Their numbers are nearly identical (Fedotov’s .875 save percentage is slightly better than Kolosov’s .872, while his GAA of 3.69 is also just a tad better than Kolosov’s 3.71). Cal Petersen seems to be an afterthought in the organization at the moment, but he would have done better than that. If there’s reason for hope it probably lies more with Fedotov, who won three straight starts and looked to be settling in before he allowed a backbreaking soft third-period goal on Wednesday in the Flyers’ 4-1 loss to Carolina. He made some decent saves before that — his stop on Jack Roslovic in the first period on a two-on-none break seemed to give the Flyers energy at the time — but his overall body of work this season has still been subpar. Kolosov should return to the AHL when Ersson recovers. It’s not fair to Fedotov to have to share the net with him, and it’s not a good message to other players currently on the Phantoms who are working hard to make the leap, either. If he doesn’t want to play in Lehigh Valley, the Flyers should simply cut ties with him. (Top photo of Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny: Kyle Ross / Imagn Images)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell says it was a really easy decision to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the presence of three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani played a part, too. Snell was introduced Tuesday at Dodger Stadium accompanied by his agent Scott Boras. The left-hander finalized a $182 million, five-year contract last Saturday. “It was really easy just cause me and Haeley wanted to live here, it’s something we’ve been talking about for a while,” Snell said, referring to his girlfriend. “Then you look at the team. You look at what they’ve built, what they’re doing. It’s just something you want to be a part of.” Last month, Snell opted out of his deal with San Francisco to become a free agent for the second consecutive offseason after he was slowed by injuries during his lone year with the San Francisco Giants. Snell gets a $52 million signing bonus, payable on Jan. 25, and annual salaries of $26 million, of which $13.2 million each year will be deferred . Because Snell is a Washington state resident, the signing bonus will not be subject to California income tax. “It just played out the way that people around me felt comfortable with, I felt comfortable with, they felt comfortable with,” Snell said. “We talked and found something that could work for both of us. You want your worth, you want your respect, and you want enough time to where you can really make a name for yourself. I've made a name for myself outside of LA, but I'm going to be invested.” Two-way star Ohtani, who signed a record $700 million, 10-year deal a year ago, had a historic first season with the Dodgers. He helped them win the franchise's eighth World Series while playing only as designated hitter and became MVP in the National League for the first time after twice winning the award while in the American League. “It helps with him in the lineup for sure. That’s big motivation,” Snell said. “You want to be around players like that when you’re trying to be one of the best in the game. Yeah, it played a big part.” Snell joins Ohtani and fellow Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto atop Los Angeles’ rotation. All-Star Tyler Glasnow will be back after having his first season in LA derailed by a sprained elbow. Ohtani didn’t pitch this year while recovering from right elbow surgery but is expected back on the mound in 2025. The rest of the rotation includes Tony Gonsolin, Landon Knack, Dustin May, Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan. “I pitched on six-man, five-man, four-man rotations,” Snell said. “I'm good with it all as long as we have a plan, we'll execute it.” Snell, who turns 32 on Wednesday, went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts this year, throwing a no-hitter at Cincinnati on Aug. 2 for one of only 16 individual shutouts in the major leagues this season. He struck out 145 and walked 44 in 104 innings. He was sidelined between April 19 and May 22 by a strained left adductor and between June 2 and July 9 by a strained left groin. Snell won Cy Young Awards in 2018 with Tampa Bay and 2023 with San Diego. He is 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA in nine seasons with the Rays (2016-20), Padres (2021-23) and Giants. He has known Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, since he was 18. In the aftermath of winning the World Series and discussing how the Dodgers could repeat next year, Friedman said, “All conversations kept coming back to Blake.” “Usually in major league free agency, you're buying the backside of a guy's career, the accomplishments that they have had,” he said. “With Blake, one thing that's really exciting for us is, as much success as he's had, we feel like there's more in there." Snell was 2-2 against the Dodgers in his career. “We couldn’t beat him, so we’re going to have him join us,” Friedman said. .___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLBAP Business SummaryBrief at 12:05 p.m. ESTStarr Jacobs and Christeen Iwuala both added 12 points and Kennedy Todd-Williams had 11 for the Rebels (5-2), who had a breather after losing to No. 2 UConn by 13 in the Bahamas. Kaitlyn Bryant had seven points to lead the Hornets (2-5), who shot 19% with 33 turnovers and were outrebounded 43-25. Alabama State was 1 of 8 with 11 turnovers in the first quarter, falling behind 24-4. The Hornets were 2 of 11 with seven giveaways in the second quarter when they were outscored 33-6 to trail 57-10 at the half. The Rebels shot 58% with 28 points off turnovers. They scored the first 16 points of the game and the first 24 points of the second quarter. Ole Miss had the last five points of the third quarter and the first seven of the fourth to get the lead to 82-22. The Hornets went 1 of 10 in the final 10 minutes with 10 turnovers. It was Mississippi's third win against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference with one more to play. The Rebels play at NC State on Thursday in the SEC/ACC Challenge. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Elevai Labs Inc. Announces Withdrawal of Offer to Exchange and Plans to ReassessTetairoa McMillan, one of the best wide receivers in Arizona history, will skip his final year of eligibility and enter the 2025 NFL Draft, he announced on social media on Thursday. Projected as a top-10 draft pick, the 6-foot-5, 212-pound McMillan finished his illustrious career at Arizona with 3,423 receiving yards, breaking the mark set by Bobby Wade (3,351). In three seasons, the Hawaii native also posted the fourth-most catches (213) and third-most touchdowns (26) in school history. "Wildcat Nation, this journey has been everything I dreamed of and more," McMillan wrote on Instagram. "From the moment I committed to the University of Arizona, to every second spent wearing that Arizona jersey ... it's been an absolute honor. "The University of Arizona has provided me with the platform to grow and chase my dreams. ... Thank you from the bottom of my heart. To the best fans in the country, I appreciate you for all of the love and support you have given me these last 3 years. I will always be a Wildcat." In 2024, McMillan totaled 84 grabs (ninth in Division I) for 1,319 yards (third in Division I) and eight touchdowns for the 4-8 Wildcats. He also ranked third in Division I with 109.9 receiving yards per game. McMillan is a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the most outstanding receiver in college football. --Field Level Media

NoneCincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow addressed the break-in that occurred at his home while the team was in Dallas. The Bengals are coming off a win against the Cowboys during Monday Night Football. While Burrow was away for the Monday night game, however, his house was broken into. It was reported around 9:14 p.m. Monday, while Burrow was playing in MNF, according to an incident report. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office confirmed the break-in, but did not share more details. “I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one.” Joe Burrow opens his press conference with a statement on the break-in at his home this week. #Bengals | @WLWT pic.twitter.com/LB470oopJc "Obviously, everybody has heard what has happened, I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one, and way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share," Burrow said. It's the latest burglary involving the homes of professional athletes across multiple sports. The NFL issued a security alert recently to teams and the players’ union last month following recent burglaries involving the homes of Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. At this moment, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department can't say if detectives think this could be connected to any of the other NFL break-ins. Speaking on Wednesday, Burrow said he felt his privacy has been violated in the aftermath of the break-in. "We live a public life and one of my least favorite parts of that is the lack of privacy, and that has been difficult for me to deal with in my entire career, still learning," Burrow said. According to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, the burglary at Burrow's house is being investigated by the Southwest Ohio Burglary Task Force. BCI said the task force is operated under the attorney general’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission and was formed to investigate a string of burglaries targeting neighborhoods in Hamilton County. The task force is led by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Indian Hills PD and includes more than a dozen different agencies.Robbins LLP Urges XRX Stockholders with Large Losses to Contact the Firm for information About the Xerox Holdings Corporation Class Action Lawsuit

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