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ERIE, Pa. (AP) — Alex Chaikin's 20 points off of the bench helped Lafayette to a 77-73 victory against Mercyhurst on Saturday. Chaikin went 7 of 8 from the field (6 for 7 from 3-point range) for the Leopards (5-5). Justin Vander Baan added 13 points while shooting 3 of 5 from the field and 7 for 9 from the line while he also had six rebounds and five blocks. Andrew Phillips had 10 points and shot 4 of 6 from the field and 1 for 3 from the line. Shemar Rathan-Mayes finished with 21 points and four assists for the Lakers (5-6). Aidan Reichert added 18 points, six rebounds and three steals for Mercyhurst. Jeff Planutis also recorded 13 points. Chaikin scored nine points in the first half and Lafayette went into the break trailing 38-31. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Inquirer files MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday reminded candidates running in next year’s midterm polls that they have less than a week to register their online campaign platforms. Comelec Chair George Garcia, in a Viber message to reporters, said 27 out of 66 senatorial aspirants and 117 out of 156 party list groups have registered their online campaign platforms using a portal set up by the poll body’s Education and Information Department (EID). There are also 4,359 local aspirants who have registered their online campaign platforms. READ: Over 3,900 online registrations for digital poll campaign received, so far At total of 2,372 national and local aspirants have also so far transmitted hard copies of their registrations as required by Comelec. Speaking to the media while attending a voter’s education program in Davao City, also on Saturday, Garcia said the poll body is “serious” about registering and monitoring online campaigning, especially through social media. “This is the first time we are going to regulate, at least social media [campaigning], even if it’s not that widespread, by political parties and candidates. At the same time, we will definitely fight fake news, misinformation and disinformation,” Garcia said. Under Comelec Resolution No. 11064 issued last September, all official social media accounts and pages as well as websites, podcasts, blogs, vlogs and other online and internet-based campaign platforms of candidates and parties intending to participate in the 2015 elections must be duly registered with the EID by Dec. 13. Failure to register online media platforms shall result in the filing of a complaint as well as the Comelec’s requesting technology companies and law enforcement bodies to remove, take down or block such platforms. The Comelec earlier created a task force to monitor online campaigning, including the use of artificial intelligence, deep fakes and false amplifiers, in spreading disinformation or misinformation to endorse or campaign against a candidate or political party. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy .Williams-Dryden has 19 in West Georgia's 78-73 win over Tennessee Tech

Trump isn't back in office but he's already pushing his agenda and negotiating with world leaders

Dylan Hernández: MLS deal with Apple TV could be hurting league's efforts to grow its fan base

European countries suspend Syrian asylum decisions after Assad's fallCrypto entrepreneur Justin Sun on Friday fulfilled a promise he made after spending $6.2 million on an artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall - by eating the fruit. At one of Hong Kong’s priciest hotels, Sun chomped down on a banana in front of dozens of journalists and influencers after giving a speech hailing the work as “iconic” and drew parallels between conceptual art and cryptocurrency. “It’s much better than other bananas,” Sun said after getting his first taste. “It’s really quite good.” Titled “Comedian”, the conceptual work created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York last week, with Sun among seven bidders. Sun said he felt “disbelief” in the first 10 seconds after he won the bid, before realizing “this could become something big”. In the 10 seconds after that, he decided he would eat the banana. “Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork’s history,” he said Friday. The debut of the edible creation at the 2019 Art Basel show in Miami Beach sparked controversy and raised questions about whether it should be considered art - Cattelan’s stated aim. And Sun on Friday compared conceptual art like “Comedian” to NFT art and decentralized blockchain technology. “Most of its objects and ideas exist as (intellectual property) and on the internet, as opposed to something physical,” he said. ‘Apolitical’ investment Sun this week also became an advisor to World Liberty Financial, a crypto initiative backed by US president-elect Donald Trump, following a $30 million investment. He earlier wrote on social media platform X that he was “excited to help make crypto great again in the US” with Trump’s leadership. On Friday Sun denied that the investment - which made him the largest investor in the project - was an attempt to influence Trump or American politics. “We are apolitical,” Sun told AFP in an interview. “Me (serving) as advisor also contribute a lot of value... I can be a great bridge for traditional financial and the (decentralized finance) industry.” The 34-year-old crypto businessman was last year charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission with fraud and securities law violation in relation to his crypto project Tron. Sun has rejected the allegations and the case is ongoing. At a function room at the Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong, two men dressed as auction house staff stood in front of a featureless wall with the yellow banana offering the only splash of color. Sun said he only recently decided to bid for the artwork, adding he had “dumb questions” such as whether the banana had decayed and how to value the work. The artwork owner is given a certificate of authenticity that the work was created by Cattelan as well as instructions about how to replace the fruit when it goes bad. Sun told AFP that his artwork may well benefit from the same kind of speculative craze usually associated with crypto. “I think (the price) probably is going to go up even more in the future, just like Bitcoin,” he said. — AFP

UConn loses to Memphis in OT as rally falls short

Chaikin scores 20 as Lafayette takes down Mercyhurst 77-73

JuJu Watkins scores 21, No. 6 USC downs Oregon 66-53 in Big Ten opener

Gov. Wes Moore says Piedmont Reliability Project must ‘put people first’

Freya Cox, the vegan baker who appeared on season 12 of the Great British Bake Off , has launched a range of vegan baking box kits called Freyas . Read more: Deliciously Ella Announces Long-Awaited US Launch The Freyas range include Choc Chip Marble Cookies, Lemon Drizzle Loaf, Sticky Toffee Pudding, and Choc Chip Brookie (a combination of cookies and brownies). In promotional posts on her Instagram, Cox described the cookies as “crispy on the edges but soft inside and filled with loads of chocolate.” The lemon drizzle kit creates “a fluffy loaf with a moist, light sponge, soaked in a tangy lemon glaze.” The sticky toffee pudding produces “Soft fluffy sponge, packed full of chewy dates and drenched in sticky toffee sauce...true heaven.” The brookies “use proper melted chocolate so they really are THAT good.” Read more: From Lindt to Nomo: Vegan Christmas Chocolates For 2024 A post shared by @wearefreyas The kits are designed to make vegan baking as easy as possible while delivering top quality results. “I want to be the vegan Betty Crocker,” Cox said in an Instagram post. “They are my all time favourite recipes and I know you’re going to love them.” Building a vegan business and brand After delighting audiences on Bake Off in 2021 at the first vegan contestant, Cox published Simple Vegan Baking , an award-winning recipe book. She has amassed a large following on social media, where she regularly posts baking recipes. The Freyas box kit range has been a “dream” since leaving Bake Off , Cox has said. Each box costs £11.99, or a bundle of all four costs £39.99. Read more: Vegan Athlete Group Unveils High Protein Meal Plan

Janet “Jan” Kittley

The suspect in the high-profile killing of a health insurance CEO that has gripped the United States graduated from an Ivy League university, reportedly hails from a wealthy family, and wrote social media posts brimming with cerebral musings. Luigi Mangione, 26, was thrust into the spotlight Monday after police revealed his identity as their person of interest, crediting his arrest to a tip from a McDonald's worker. He has been connected by police to the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week in broad daylight, in a case that has laid bare deep frustrations and anger with the nation's privatized medical system. News of his capture triggered an explosion of online activity, with Mangione quickly amassing new followers on social media as citizen sleuths and US media try to understand who he is. While some lauded him as a hero and lamented his arrest, others analyzed his intellectual takes in search of ideological clues. A photo on one of his social media accounts includes an X-ray of an apparently injured spine, though no explicit political affiliation has emerged. Meanwhile, memes and jokes proliferated, many riffing on his first name and comparing him to the "Mario Bros." character Luigi, sometimes depicted in AI-altered images wielding a gun or holding a Big Mac. "Godspeed. Please know that we all hear you," wrote one user on Facebook. "I want to donate to your defense fund," added another. According to Mangione's LinkedIn profile, he is employed as a data engineer at TrueCar, a California-based online auto marketplace. A company spokesperson told AFP Mangione "has not been an employee of our company since 2023." Although he had been living in Hawaii ahead of the killing, he originally hails from Towson, Maryland, near Baltimore. He comes from a prominent and wealthy Italian-American family, according to the Baltimore Banner. The family owns local businesses, including the Hayfields Country Club, per the club's website. A standout student, Mangione graduated at the top of his high school class in 2016. In an interview with his local paper at the time, he praised his teachers for fostering a passion for learning beyond grades and encouraging intellectual curiosity. He went on to attend the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, where he completed both a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science by 2020, according to a university spokesperson. While at Penn, Mangione co-led a group of 60 undergraduates who collaborated on video game projects, as noted in a now-deleted university webpage, archived on the Wayback Machine. On Instagram, where his following has skyrocketed from hundreds to tens of thousands, Mangione shared snapshots of his travels in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. He also posted shirtless photos flaunting a six-pack and appeared in celebratory posts with fellow members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. However, it is on X (formerly Twitter) that users have scoured Mangione's posts for potential motives. His header photo -- an X-ray of a spine with bolts -- remains cryptic, with no public explanation. Finding a coherent political ideology has also proved elusive. Mangione has linked approvingly to posts criticizing secularism as a harmful consequence of Christianity's decline. In April, he wrote, "Horror vacui (nature abhors a vacuum)." The following month, he posted an essay he wrote in high school titled "How Christianity Prospered by Appealing to the Lower Classes of Ancient Rome." In another post from April, he speculated that Japan's low birthrate stems from societal disconnection, adding that "fleshlights" and other vaginal-replica sex toys should be banned. ia/nroEx-defense secy: Too early to say Hegseth nomination is deadWASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump on Monday, acknowledging that Trump’s return to the White House will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in political and law enforcement history, as federal officials attempted to hold accountable a former president while he was simultaneously running for another term. Trump emerges indisputably victorious, having successfully delayed the investigations through legal maneuvers and then winning re-election despite indictments that described his actions as a threat to the country's constitutional foundations. “I persevered, against all odds, and WON," Trump exulted in a post on Truth Social, his social media website. He also said that “these cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.” The judge in the election case granted prosecutors' dismissal request. A decision in the documents case was still pending on Monday afternoon. The outcome makes it clear that, when it comes to a president and criminal accusations, nothing supersedes the voters' own verdict. In court filings, Smith's team emphasized that the move to end their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the legal shield that surrounds any commander in chief. “That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” prosecutors said in one of their filings. They wrote that Trump’s return to the White House “sets at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: on the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law.” In this situation, “the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” they concluded. Smith’s team said it was leaving intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case — Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” Steven Cheung, Trump's incoming White House communications director, said Americans “want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.” Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will start his second term free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead. The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was indicted for plotting to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supporters' violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But the case quickly stalled amid legal fighting over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House. The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial. The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this year’s election. Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden. In dismissing the case, Chutkan acknowledged prosecutors' request to do so “without prejudice,” raising the possibility that they could try to bring charges against Trump when his term is over. She wrote that is “consistent with the Government’s understanding that the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office.” But such a move may be barred by the statute of limitations, and Trump may also try to pardon himself while in office. immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office. The separate case involving classified documents had been widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency. The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. The case quickly became snarled by delays, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slow to issue rulings — which favored Trump’s strategy of pushing off deadlines in all his criminal cases — while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts said other judges would have dispensed with without hearings. In May, she indefinitely canceled the trial date amid a series of unresolved legal issues before dismissing the case outright two months later. Smith’s team appealed the decision, but now has given up that effort. Trump faced two other state prosecutions while running for president. One them, a New York case involving hush money payments, resulted in a conviction on felony charges of falsifying business records. It was the first time a former president had been found guilty of a crime. The sentencing in that case is on hold as Trump's lawyers try to have the conviction dismissed before he takes office, arguing that letting the verdict stand will interfere with his presidential transition and duties. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is fighting the dismissal but has indicated that it would be open to delaying sentencing until Trump leaves office. Bragg, a Democrat, has said the solution needs to balance the obligations of the presidency with “the sanctity of the jury verdict." Trump was also indicted in Georgia along with 18 others accused of participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there. Any trial appears unlikely there while Trump holds office. The prosecution already was on hold after an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Four defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty. Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Michael Sisak and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.