Ingested Articles

A jury in Rome will soon be weighing the fate of two young American men, charged with slaying an Italian police officer while they were on vacation in 2019. The trial of Finnegan Lee Elder, now 21, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, now 20, began in February 2020, just as the pandemic was bearing down on Italy. They were taken into police custody on July 26, 2019, hours after Carabiniere Vice Brigadiere Mario Cerciello Rega was fatally knifed 11 times on a street near their hotel. The officer and his partner, both in plainclothes, were pursuing an alleged extortion attempt after a botched drug deal. Elder testified that he stabbed the officer in self-defense and both defendants said they thought the officers were thugs.

From the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to the Tri-City Dust Devils, minor league teams are set to host opening day across the country following more than a year of uncertainty and empty ballparks. Much has changed since the end of the 2019 campaign. The pandemic wiped out the entire 2020 season, Major League Baseball eliminated 40 affiliates, and Commissioner Rob Manfred instituted experimental rules changes that will differ by level in an effort to speed up play and improve player safety. Meanwhile, Dodgers pitcher Dustin May needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the season.

There will be three types of people in the NBA two weeks from now. Group 1 is those who won’t be in the play-in tournament. Group 2 is those who will use it to get to the playoffs. Group 3 is those who will make the tournament and see their seasons end there. Let’s make a few things clear about the play-in tournament, which starts May 18, just two weeks away. Fans are going to embrace it and the ratings will be big, since the games will all absolutely matter and that’s what everybody wants. The games will have an NCAA Tournament feel. All six games will either send a team to the playoffs, or send a team home, or both. There’s a lot to like about all of that.

Anthony Davis scored 25 points and had key plays on both ends of the floor in the final minute as the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 93-89 victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers led by 14 points midway through the fourth quarter before the Nuggets got within 89-87 with a late rally. Davis hit a jumper with 41.8 seconds remaining to give the Lakers a 91-87 lead. Nikola Jokic hit a pair of free throws to cut it in half but Talen Horton-Tucker though hit a reverse layup with 15.1 seconds left to push the advantage up to four. After a Denver timeout, Davis blocked Facundo Campazzo’s 3-point attempt to end any hopes of a Nuggets’ comeback and end their five-game winning streak. 

When more than 100 Africans hoping to reach Europe on a rubber boat called repeatedly for help in late April, a rescue never came. In all, approximately 130 people are believed to have died off the Libyan coast. It was the deadliest wreck so far this year in the Mediterranean Sea and has renewed accusations that European countries are failing to help migrant boats in trouble. Instead, human rights groups and U.N. agencies say European countries too often outsource operations to the Libyan coast guard. This is despite its limited capacity, reports of its ties to human traffickers, and the fact that those intercepted are placed in squalid detention centers.

Connor McDavid had two goals and two assists as the Edmonton Oilers clinched a playoff spot with a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Jesse Puljujarvi had a goal and an assist, Tyson Barrie and Dominik Kahun also scored and Leon Draisaitl added two assists for Edmonton in the opener of a four straight games between the teams. Mikko Koskinen stopped 20 shots for his 12th win of the season. McDavid leads the NHL in scoring with 91 points (31 goals, 60 assists). Nate Schmidt, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks, who lost their fifth straight. Braden Holtby had 27 saves.

Willy Adames and Manuel Margot homered, Mike Brosseau had a two-run single and the Tampa Bay Rays opened a seven-game California road trip with a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Tyler Glasnow pitched six innings of four-hit ball with three walks for the Rays, largely dominating the Angels’ lineup until a rocky sixth. Shohei Ohtani hit his ninth homer after being scratched from his scheduled pitching start for the Angels, who have lost eight of 12. Anthony Rendon also homered in the sixth, but left the game in the eighth after sharply fouling a ball off his left knee.

Julius Randle scored 28 points, Derrick Rose added 25, converting 11 of 15 shots and the New York Knicks held off the Memphis Grizzlies 118-104. RJ Barrett added 15 points for the Knicks. Dillon Brooks scored 25 for Memphis, while rookie Desmond Bane added 22 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 15 points for the Grizzlies. Memphis, which trailed by as many as 17 in the second half, tried to rally in the fourth quarter and cut the New York advantage to 101-96 with 5:28 left. Randle answered with a 3-pointer with 3:57 remaining. But with Memphis still within five points as the game headed down the stretch, the Grizzlies received five technicals in a span of 18 seconds to spell the end.

Adam Wainwright came off the COVID-19 injured list and hung tough, St. Louis got a lights-out performance from its bullpen and the Cardinals beat the New York Mets 6-5 for their fifth straight win. After the game, the Mets fired hitting coach Chili Davis and assistant hitting coach Tom Slater. New York has struggled badly with runners in scoring position this season. The Cardinals were clinging to a one-run lead in the ninth with two outs and a runner on base when the lights at Busch Stadium flickered, then went out for a moment. When play resumed, reliever Alex Reyes walked Pete Alonso before retiring Smith on a flyball for the final out.

U.S. companies that cheat their workers out of pay are unlikely to be fined or punished even after they're caught. An analysis of Labor Department data found that in 2019, 8,500 employers were cited for taking about $287 million from workers. Companies that hire child care workers, gas station clerks, restaurant servers and security guards are among the businesses most likely to get caught. The analysis found, however, that the government rarely penalizes repeat offenders and often lets companies pay workers back less than they owe.

The Golden State Warriors took a big step toward locking up a postseason berth with a 123-108 victory over the desperate New Orleans Pelicans. Stephen Curry scored 41 points, and Draymond Green had 10 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds for the Warriors. Golden State moved four games ahead of 11th-place New Orleans with seven games remaining for one of the final Western Conference play-in spots. But these teams meet twice more. Zion Williamson scored 32 points and Brandon Ingram added 19 for New Orleans. The Pelicans missed 20 of 25 3-point shots.

A top expert is warning that the coming weeks in India will be “horrible,” as COVID-19 infections and deaths mount with alarming speed and there is no end in sight to the crisis. The country of nearly 1.4 billion has witnessed scenes of people dying outside overwhelmed hospitals and funeral pyres lighting up the night sky. India’s official count of coronavirus cases surpassed 20 million, nearly doubling in the past three months, while deaths officially exceed 220,000. But the true figures are believed to be far higher, the undercount an apparent symptom of the troubles in the health care system.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — China’s U.N. ambassador expressed hope Monday that President Joe Biden’s policy toward North Korea will give more importance to diplomacy and dialogue instead of “extreme pressure” to try to stop Pyongyang's nuclear program and denuclearize the…

Asian shares were mixed after strong corporate earnings and economic data lifted stocks on Wall Street. Hong Kong and Sydney advanced while Seoul declined. Tokyo and Shanghai were closed for holidays. On Monday, a strong dose of positive earnings reports…

Russell Westbrook had the third game in NBA history with 20-plus rebounds and 20-plus assists, and the surging Washington Wizards moved closer to Indiana in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. The Wizards outgunned the Pacers 154-141. Westbrook finished with 14 points, a career-high 21 rebounds and a career-high-tying 24 assists. He has 32 triple-doubles this season and is three short of Oscar Robertson's NBA record of 181. Rui Hachimura scored 27 points and Bradley Beal had 26 as Washington scored a season high and moved within one-half game of Indiana for ninth place in the East.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (AP) — The Marine Corps inspector general, Major General Robert Castellvi, has been suspended amid the ongoing probes into last summer's fatal sinking of a seafaring tank off the Southern California coast, a newspaper reported Monday. Nine…

From the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to the Tri-City Dust Devils, minor league teams are set to host opening day across the country following more than a year of uncertainty and empty ballparks. Much has changed since the end of the 2019 campaign. The pandemic wiped out the entire 2020 season, Major League Baseball eliminated 40 affiliates, and Commissioner Rob Manfred instituted experimental rules changes that will differ by level in an effort to speed up play and improve player safety. Meanwhile, Dodgers pitcher Dustin May needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the season.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — China’s U.N. ambassador on Monday urged stronger diplomatic efforts to resolve the confrontation in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 military coup, warning that further violence could lead to a chaotic situation “and even a civil war.”…

Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Dustin May will have Tommy John surgery next week, sidelining one of baseball’s top young pitchers for the rest of the season. May threw just 27 pitches before leaving Saturday’s 11-inning loss to Milwaukee. After his final pitch, May reacted with obvious pain, took a few steps and called for attention. The team says he will have ligament reconstruction surgery on May 11 in Los Angeles.

White Sox center fielder Luis Robert could miss the remainder of the season because of a torn right hip flexor, another major blow for a team eyeing a deep playoff run. General manager Rick Hahn said a scan confirmed the injury. There will be more consultations with specialists in the next few days before they determine whether Robert needs surgery. Either way, Hahn said Robert won’t resume baseball activities for three to four months. It’s not clear if he will play again this year. The White Sox were already without slugging outfielder Eloy Jiménez, who is expected to miss most of the season after rupturing his left pectoral tendon in spring training.