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No. 2 UConn beats No. 10 Marquette 73-57 to win 1st Big East Tournament title since 2011

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No. 2 UConn beats No. 10 Marquette 73-57 to win 1st Big East Tournament title since 2011

NEW YORK (AP) — Donovan Clingan had 22 points and a career-best 16 rebounds, Jaylin Stewart gave No. 2 UConn an unexpected boost with three second-half 3-pointers during a decisive surge and the Huskies beat No. 10 Marquette 73-57 on Saturday night to win the Big East Tournament for the first time since rejoining the league four years ago.

Tournament MVP Tristen Newton added 13 points and 10 assists as the top-seeded Huskies won their eighth title, matching Georgetown for the most in conference history. It was their first since 2011, when Kemba Walker led UConn to five wins in five days at Madison Square Garden — and then a national title.

Stewart, a freshman who was averaging 2.4 points off the bench, scored nine in about four minutes as UConn (31-3) pulled away from a gritty Marquette team playing without injured star Tyler Kolek (oblique) for a sixth straight game.

Kam Jones led the third-seeded Golden Eagles (25-9), the defending tournament champions, with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

On a night when the Huskies struggled from the perimeter, they relied on the 7-foot-2 Clingan inside. He was 7 for 12 from the field and, as the final seconds ticked off the clock, the sophomore big man waved on hyped-up Huskies fans who packed the Midtown Manhattan arena they like to call “Storrs South.”

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Two years after UConn’s last Big East Tournament title the conference broke up and the Huskies went with the football schools to form the American Athletic Conference, where they won another national championship in 2014 — and then fell off.

UConn returned to the Big East in 2020-21 and to national prominence. The Huskies won their fifth NCAA title last year, but the conference tournament championship had eluded coach Dan Hurley’s team. UConn hadn’t even reached the Saturday night final in its first three seasons back in the Big East.

For the New Jersey native and former Seton Hall guard Hurley, bringing that prize back to UConn was a big deal.

Hurley rattled off all his team has accomplished in the last year as he accepted the trophy Saturday night and told the crowd: “But we ain’t done yet.”

UConn improved to 8-3 in Big East finals, and 7-0 at MSG this season.

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As usual, UConn fans packed The Garden and for the second straight night Marquette faced a road-game environment. The Golden Eagles overcame a raucous Providence crowd in a rugged semifinal Friday night.

They couldn’t do it again against the mighty Huskies.

“Today was rough for sure, but we have a great team, a great seed and that’s all you need is a chance in the tournament,” said David Joplin, who had 12 points and six rebounds in the Golden Eagles’ lowest-scoring game of the season by 12 points.

Two of the country’s best teams played one of the ugliest nine minutes of basketball imaginable to start the game.

At the second media timeout, the score was tied at 4 and the Golden Eagles and Huskies were a combined 3 for 22 from the floor. The defense was aggressive and physical, but it was also hard to keep track of just how many point-blank shots rolled off the rim.

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Things picked up from there, and Newton swished a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the first half to give UConn a 26-24 lead at the break.

The shots started falling in the second half for both teams and UConn began asserting itself with about 10 minutes left, led by Stewart.

The Huskies went on a 19-5 run and led 60-44 with 5:52 remaining when Hassan Diarra made a corner 3 with 5:54 left in regulation. Stewart keyed the surge with his long-range shooting. He came into the game just 6 for 30 from 3-point range on the season.

MISSING

Kolek, last season’s Big East player of the year and tournament MVP, was relegated to the end of the bench, wearing a gray T-shirt and black joggers and coaching up his teammates during timeouts.

Marquette coach Shaka Smart has said all week the goal was to have Kolek ready to go for the NCAA Tournament.

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The Huskies, who won the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed last year, could be the No. 1 overall seed this year after both Houston and Purdue lost in their conference tournaments Saturday. The Huskies’ road to the Final Four is all but certain to start back in New York City at Barclays Center in Brooklyn next weekend.

“No one’s had a better season than we have,” Hurley said.

The Golden Eagles will land in the tournament likely as a No. 2 or No. 3 seed.

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Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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Justin Baldoni Sued by Former Publicist Amid Blake Lively Scandal

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Justin Baldoni Sued by Former Publicist Amid Blake Lively Scandal

Justin Baldoni‘s former publicist sued him, his company and his current publicity team on Tuesday, amid a spiraling scandal over an alleged smear campaign against Baldoni’s “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Lively.

Steph Jones, who owns Jonesworks, accused Baldoni of breaching their contract, which required him to pay her $25,000 per month. Baldoni dropped the firm in August, a few months into a year-long deal, after his Jonesworks publicist, Jennifer Abel, left the company to start her own publicity firm.

Jones also sued Abel and publicist Melissa Nathan, accusing them of implementing the smear campaign against Lively behind her back and without her knowledge. She alleges that they are now trying to blame her for the ensuing meltdown.

“To this day, Abel and Nathan continue to point the finger falsely at Jones now that their own misconduct is coming to light, and to defame and attack Jones in the industry,” the lawsuit states.

Lively filed a complaint on Saturday with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing Baldoni and his publicists of orchestrating negative coverage about her in retaliation for her complaints of sexual harassment on set.

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In the complaint, Lively accused Baldoni of a catalog of sexually inappropriate comments and behavior that allegedly took place on set in 2023. According to the complaint, she raised these issues through her attorneys before filming, which had been suspended during the Hollywood strikes, resumed earlier this year.

The rift between Baldoni and Lively became apparent during the publicity tour for the film last summer. Baldoni feared that Lively or her team would public accuse him of sexual misconduct, and sought ways to combat that. The complaint quoted extensively from text messages among Baldoni’s publicity team, in which they plotted to “bury” Lively.

In an unusual move, Lively’s attorneys obtained the messages by sending a pre-litigation subpoena to Jones.

Abel, Nathan, and Baldoni are represented by attorney Bryan Freedman. On Monday, Freedman threatened to sue Jones for releasing the contents of Abel’s phone to Lively’s legal team. Freedman, Abel and Nathan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Jones’ suit.

In her lawsuit, Jones relates that she “forensically preserved” Abel’s company phone after Abel was fired.

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“Abel and Nathan’s covert take down and smear campaigns were revealed in black and white on Abel’s company-issued phone following her termination, which Jonesworks forensically preserved and examined in detail after receiving a subpoena for the phone’s contents,” Jones’ suit states. “Jones discovered the breadth and intensity of Abel and Nathan’s duplicity from these records, including that Abel was actively encouraging other Jonesworks clients and employees to leave Jonesworks while Abel was still employed there.”

Jones’ suit alleges that Abel conspired for months to leave her company and to “steal” her clients and trash her reputation in the industry. She accuses Nathan of encouraging Abel to leave, because Nathan would then have greater access to those clients.

“This scheme ultimately inflicted serious damage on Jones and Jonesworks,” states the lawsuit, which was filed in state court in New York.

Among other things, the suit alleges that Abel and Nathan planted negative stories about Jones in the press, including an article in Business Insider that was published last summer.

The suit alleges breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty and defamation.

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Police officer dressed as the 'Grinch' steals Christmas spirit during drug bust

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Police officer dressed as the 'Grinch' steals Christmas spirit during drug bust

A Peruvian police officer dressed as the Grinch, the cantankerous and green-furred villain, busted suspected drug traffickers in the South American country’s capital days before Christmas. 

The operation in San Bartolo in Lima resulted in the arrest of three suspects, according to a video posted online by the Peruvian National Police. 

“In an ingenious operation, agents of the Green Squad arrested the aliases La Reina del Sur, La Coneja and Pote, alleged members of the La Mafia de San Bartolo gang, dedicated to drug dealing,” a police post on X states. “Various narcotics were seized.”

FLORIDA MAN WHO WAS HALF-NAKED, ‘HIGH ON METH’ BREAKS INTO HOME, GRABS CARPET CLEANER

The “Grinch” posing with suspected drug traffickers. A Peruvian police officer dressed as the Christmas villain helped bust the alleged traffickers.  (Peru National Police)

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Using what appeared to be a sledgehammer, the officer walked down the street dressed as the infamous Christmas villain with a small heart before breaking down the front door of a home and entering, according to the video footage. 

The suspects were arrested, and the “Grinch” is seen rummaging through various items in the home before finding what authorities said were illegal drugs and other items related to drug trafficking.

MORE THAN $31M OF METH CONCEALED IN SHIPMENT OF PEPPERS SEIZED AT TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER

The Grinch with a hammer

A Peruvian police officer dressed as the “Grinch” on his way to bust suspected drug traffickers.  (Peru National Police )

Peru is the second-largest producer of cocaine and cultivator of coca in the world, according to the State Department. 

“The majority of cocaine produced in Peru is transported to South American countries for domestic consumption, or for onward shipment to Europe, the United States, East Asia, and Mexico,” the State Department website said. 

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Peru’s national police force has carried out similar operations in the past. 

The "Grinch" busting down a door

The “Grinch” busting down a door (Peru National Police)

On Halloween 2023, officers disguised as horror favorites Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Tiffany Valentine, the murderous doll in the “Child’s Play” series, also broke into the home of alleged drug dealers. 

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Are your Christmas gifts ready? Here are where EU toys come from

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Are your Christmas gifts ready? Here are where EU toys come from

While the EU saw a drop in toy exports, China was the EU’s biggest supplier, providing 80% of these imports, valued at €5.2 billion.

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In 2023, the EU imported €6.5 billion worth of toys from countries outside the bloc, a €2 billion decrease compared to 2022. 

According to the latest Eurostat figures, China was the EU’s biggest supplier, providing 80% of these imports, valued at €5.2 billion. 

Vietnam followed with 6% and the United Kingdom with 2%. 

Around a fifth of the EU’s toy imports ended up in Germany, while France and the Netherlands received 16% and 14%, respectively. 

At the same time, the EU exported €2.3 billion worth of toys in 2023.  

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This figure represents a slight decrease of €0.2 billion from the previous year. 

More than half of the toys exported from the EU came from the Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium. 

The UK was the top destination for EU toy exports, receiving 30% of the total, followed by Switzerland at 13% and the United States at 10%. 

Concerns over toy safety

A recent Toy Industries of Europe study revealed that 80% of toys purchased from third-party sellers on online marketplaces failed to meet EU safety standards.

The research tested over 100 toys from various platforms, uncovering serious health risks such as choking hazards and toxic chemicals.

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At the beginning of September, the European Parliament backed a proposal to improve the safety of toys available on the EU market.

The proposal focused particularly on decreasing the number of unsafe toys in the EU market and better protecting children from toy-related risks, including banning harmful chemicals in toys.

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