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‘Shaft’ actor Richard Roundtree has died at 81

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:22:16 GMT

(CNN) — Richard Roundtree, the stage and screen actor best known for his performance as a tough-talking private eye in 1971’s “Shaft,” has died, according to multiple reports.He was 81.The news was confirmed by Roundtree’s manager Patrick McMinn in a statement to Variety. McMinn told the outlet that the actor died Tuesday afternoon after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.“Richard’s work and career served as a turning point for African American leading men in film,” McMinn said. “The impact he had on the industry cannot be overstated.”The CNN has reached out to representatives for the actor for comment.Roundtree has the distinction of being among a handful of actors who enjoyed top billing with his first-ever screen credit. Until then a theater actor, his starring role in the 1971 Blaxploitation epic “Shaft” propelled him into the cultural limelight, launching a franchise that would see sequels, a TV series and a 2019 reboot starring Samuel L. Jackson.The actor wou...

Bruins handle Blackhawks, 3-0, remain perfect on season

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:22:16 GMT

No, offensive wizardry has not been the Bruins’ calling card so far this season. But when you keep the puck out of the net like they have in their first six games, it’s no surprise their record is spotless thus far.Again, the B’s got the timely goals – Pavel Zacha, Matt Poitras and Trent Frederic tallied – and Jeremy Swayman (23 saves) delivered the B’s first shutout of the season to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 at the United Center on Tuesday.The B’s 6-0 start ties the season start by the 1937-38 squad for the franchise’s best start, sweeping their four-game road trip. They have allowed a grand total of seven goals in those six games.It appeared the Blackhawks had taken a 1-0 advantage with 6:44 left in the first off an egregious turnover from Charlie Coyle, who threw a blind backhand pass into the slot, setting up super rookie Connor Bedard for a one-timer goal. But the B’s challenged that the Hawks were offside – a good 22 seconds be...

Source: Craig Breslow accepts Red Sox offer, will be Chief Baseball Officer

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:22:16 GMT

The Red Sox offered “the smartest man in baseball” the top job, and he accepted.A source echoed Alex Speier’s and Michael Silverman’s report in the Boston Globe on Tuesday evening: the club offered Craig Breslow the job as head of baseball operations and he accepted.Breslow had two stints with the Red Sox during his 11-year Major League career. He was instrumental to the 2013 championship, anchoring the bullpen with a career-best 1.81 ERA over 61 regular-season appearances. He made 10 relief appearances during that year’s postseason, including nine scoreless outings (eight consecutively).In his post-playing career, the 43-year-old found a different way to impact a franchise’s pitching; as the Cubs’ assistant general manager and vice president of pitching, he’s transformed their farm system into a well-oiled arms development machine.Breslow is widely respected in the baseball world. Sources within and outside of the Red Sox organization...

San Diego teacher arrested on suspicion of attempting to pay for sex with minor

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:22:16 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A University City High School science teacher suspected of trying to pay for sex with a minor was arrested Tuesday, prosecutors said.Sean Stevenson, 58, is charged with attempted enticement of a minor, Kelly Thornton with the Office of the United States Attorney Southern District of California said in a news release.Authorities identified Stevenson, of San Diego, as a suspect while investigating another sex trafficking case, per the criminal complaint. Detectives reviewed messages from the investigation of Stevenson allegedly interested in paying for sex with a minor, prosecutors said.An undercover law enforcement officer, who claimed to be sex trafficking her 16-year-old cousin, was text messaging Stevenson with the Pinger application, the news release read. San Diego takes top spot in ranking of most expensive places to live in U.S. "The complaint states that on October 23, 2023, Stevenson messaged the undercover officer and negotiated a price of $140 for oral sex f...

Japan’s automakers unveil EVs galore at Tokyo show to catch up with Tesla, other electric rivals

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:22:16 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — “We love battery EVs.”Takero Kato, the executive in charge of electric vehicles at Toyota, said that not once, but twice, to emphasize what he considers the message at this year’s Tokyo auto show.It’s a message ringing clear at the Tokyo Mobility Show, which will run through Nov. 5 at Tokyo Big Sight hall and where battery-powered electric vehicles are the star at practically every booth.Mazda Motor Corp. is highlighting a sportscar concept that is a plug-in EV packed with its signature rotary engine. Honda Motor Co. is showing off its Prelude sportscar EV concept. Toyota Motor Corp.’s lean angular Lexus concept, set to go on sale in 2026, is an electric vehicle running on lithium-ion batteries. Journalists got a preview Wednesday ahead of the show’s public opening Saturday. U.S. automakers like General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Cor. aren’t exhibiting at the show and have not taken part for some years. The Americans make up a very tiny fraction of Japanese auto sa...

Longshot World Series: Diamondbacks vs Rangers is a Fall Classic few saw coming

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:22:16 GMT

Tell the truth: How many people picked Arizona and Texas to meet in the World Series?A Rangers-Diamondbacks matchup had 1,750 to 1 odds when wagering opened last fall.But in an era when 12 teams make the playoffs, sustained excellence over the six-month regular season has become a boarding pass, not the journey, leading to a Longshot Series that opens Friday night at Globe Life Field.“Once you get into the big dance, anything can happen,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said before Tuesday night’s 4-2 win at Philadelphia advanced Arizona to its first World Series since 2001. “Throw it all out the window. The teams that get in deserve to be in.”All the glamour teams are watching at home: the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves stumbled in the Division Series, defending champion Houston was ousted by Texas, and the New York Yankees didn’t even make it to the postseason.Instead, Major League Baseball has its third all-wild card meeting. a Grand Canyon vs. Lone Star finale o...

Vietnam’s Vinfast committed to selling EVs to US despite challenges, intense competition

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:22:16 GMT

HAIPHONG, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese automaker Vinfast plunged right into the crowded and hypercompetitive U.S. auto market, gambling that if it can sell its electric vehicles to finicky Americans, it can succeed anywhere.So far, that gamble has yet to pay off. Its CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said in a recent interview with The Associated Press that the U.S. market is “difficult.” It has sold just 2,009 electric vehicles in the U.S., less than 1% of total of total U.S. EV sales, according to Motorintelligence.com. Worldwide, Vinfast sold just 19,562 EVs from April-September, well below its 2023 target of 50,000. But Vinfast is committed to riding the wave of countries trying to switch to EVs to cut emissions, Thuy said while speaking with The Associated Press at Vinfast’s sleek headquarters in Hanoi.Prioritizing the U.S. market, despite its stringent regulations, tough scrutiny by the media, and opposition from Vinfast’s advisers was a deliberate decision, she said.“We wanted to ...

Diamondbacks stun Phillies 4-2 in Game 7 of NLCS to reach first World Series in 22 years

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:22:16 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Corbin Carroll went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, and the Arizona Diamondbacks advanced to the World Series for the first time in 22 years Tuesday night by stunning the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series.Arizona plays the Texas Rangers in the World Series, with Game 1 set for Friday night at Globe Life Field. In their only other trip to the Fall Classic, the Diamondbacks won a seven-game thriller against the New York Yankees in 2001.The young Diamondbacks, who at 84-78 squeezed into the playoffs as the final NL wild card, completed their comeback from an 0-2 hole in the NLCS. They won Games 6 and 7 in Philadelphia, where the defending National League champions had been 12-2 over the past two postseasons — including 11-0 in NL playoff games. Brandon Pfaadt struck out seven in four innings and five relievers combined to pitch their way out of late-inning jams for the surprising NL pennant winners.Bryce Harper and the rest...

Air Canada accused of holding up British MP ‘because his name is Mohammad’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:22:16 GMT

LONDON — Air Canada is being accused in the U.K. House of Commons of delaying a British MP from boarding a flight “because his name is Mohammad.”Clive Betts, raising a point of order in the House this week, said fellow Labour MP Mohammad Yasin was pulled aside for questioning recently at London’s Heathrow airport “for a considerable period” while other lawmakers he was travelling with were allowed through.Betts told the House that Yasin was asked whether he was carrying a knife and where he was born. He said the questioning was being done by “officials from Air Canada and, we believe, the Canadian government” despite Yasin having a visa to enter Canada. Betts said Yasin was eventually allowed to get on the flight, but he was “challenged” again at the Montreal and Toronto airports.He said while Yasin has received apologies from Air Canada as well as Canada’s parliamentary secretary to the federal immigration minister, it was important to put Yasin’s expe...

Rantanen has goal, 3 assists as Avalanche beat Islanders 7-4 for record 15th straight road win

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:22:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Mikko Rantanen scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and had three assists as the Colorado Avalanche beat the New York Islanders 7-4 on Tuesday night for their NHL-record 15th straight road win.Ryan Johansen scored twice, Cale Makar had a goal and an assist, and Bowen Byram, Nathan MacKinnon and Ross Colton also scored for Colorado, which won its sixth straight to open the season. Valeri Nichushkin had two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev stopped 27 shots to also improve to 6-0-0 this season. The Avalanche’s winning streak, which includes the last 11 road games of last season, topped the previous mark of 14 set by Buffalo bridging the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. They also matched the 2013-14 team for the best start (6-0-0) since moving to Colorado before the 1995-96 season — one win behind the 1985-86 Quebec Nordiques for tops in franchise history.Cal Clutterbuck had a goal and an assist, Kyle Palmieri and Simon Holmstron also scored, and Noah Dobson ...