Category: News
Entregan los restos del último rehén tailandés en Gaza
Associated Press
BANGKOK (AP) — Autoridades tailandesas dijeron el jueves que los restos entregados a Israel por insurgentes en Gaza han sido identificados como pertenecientes al último rehén tailandés capturado durante el ataque del 7 de octubre de 2023 que provocó la guerra en la Franja.
El Ministerio de Exteriores de Tailandia señaló que las autoridades israelíes les notificaron que los restos de un cautivo entregados el miércoles fueron identificados como los de Sudthisak Rinthalak, un ciudadano tailandés que trabajaba en el campo en Israel.
Los restos entregados por los insurgentes el martes no coincidieron con ninguno de los dos últimos rehenes.
La devolución de todos los rehenes capturados durante el asalto sobre el sur de Israel que desencadenó la guerra es un elemento clave de la primera fase del alto el fuego mediado por Estados Unidos, que comenzó en octubre y que tanto Hamás como Israel se han acusado mutuamente de violar. A cambio, Israel ha liberado a prisioneros palestinos.
Nikorndej Balankura, vocero del ministerio, afirmó que la familia de Sudthisak había sido notificada. El hombre fue asesinado el día del ataque insurgente y su cuerpo fue llevado a Gaza, agregó.
Balankura dio las gracias al gobierno israelí por su ayuda, que permitió la liberación de los 31 rehenes tailandeses, 28 de ellos con vida.
Desde el inicio del último alto el fuego a principios de octubre, 20 rehenes vivos y los restos de otros 27 han sido devueltos a Israel.
A falta de la devolución de un único rehén, los dos bandos están cerca de concluir la primera fase del alto el fuego.
Desde que comenzó la tregua, Israel ha entregado los cuerpos de cientos de palestinos a Gaza, a cambio de rehenes o de sus restos. La mayoría permanecen sin identificar.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/entregan-los-restos-del-ltimo-rehn-tailands-en-gaza/
Bucks pierden a Antetokounmpo por lesión pero vencen 113-109 a Pistons
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kevin Porter Jr. anotó 26 puntos, Ryan Rollins agregó 22 y los Bucks de Milwaukee superaron la pérdida de Giannis Antetokounmpo por una lesión tres minutos después de iniciado el juego para vencer 113-109 a los Pistons de Detroit la noche del miércoles.
AJ Green tuvo 19 unidades y Jericho Sims terminó con un récord personal de 15 tantos y empató su mejor marca con 14 rebotes mientras Milwaukee ganaba por segunda vez en diez juegos.
Antetokounmpo salió con lo que los Bucks dijeron era una distensión en la pantorrilla derecha, poco después de que el entrenador Doc Rivers dijera antes del juego que no ha habido conversaciones entre los oficiales del equipo y el dos veces MVP sobre una posible salida de Milwaukee.
Tobias Harris tuvo 20 puntos, Cade Cunningham 17 y Jaden Ivey 15 para los Pistons, que habían ganado 15 de 17.
La jugada de tres puntos de Sims con 1:34 por jugar le dio a los Bucks una ventaja de 109-108. Un par de tiros libres de Rollins con 13 segundos restantes aumentaron la diferencia para los Bucks a tres. Después de un fallo de Detroit, Green aseguró la victoria con un par de tiros libres.
Los Pistons lideraron 27-9 en el primer cuarto. Los Bucks redujeron la diferencia a 52-49 al medio tiempo con Porter sumando 16 puntos en la primera mitad.
Los Bucks tomaron su primera ventaja de 56-55 al inicio del tercer cuarto con un triple de Myles Turner, pero Detroit mantuvo una ventaja de 85-78 al final del período.
Al final del tercero, Bobby Portis de Milwaukee e Isaiah Stewart de Detroit tuvieron un intercambio acalorado después de que Portis cometiera una falta sobre Stewart en la zona. Se sancionó una falta técnica doble, lo que llevó a la expulsión de Stewart, quien ya había recibido una técnica anteriormente en el cuarto.
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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Cooper Flagg y Mavs extienden su 1ra racha ganadora a 3 partidos con victoria sobre Heat
DALLAS (AP) — Cooper Flagg anotó 22 puntos, Anthony Davis sumó 17 unidades y el mismo número de rebotes, y los Mavericks de Dallas extendieron su primera racha de victorias de la temporada a tres, al imponerse el miércoles por 118-108 sobre el Heat de Miami.
El novato Ryan Nembhard, no seleccionado en el draft, logró 15 puntos y estableció su mejor número de asistencias en la temporada con 13, un partido después de imponer una marca personal de 28 unidades en un triunfo por 131-121 sobre Denver.
Klay Thompson anotó 17 puntos en su papel relativamente nuevo desde el banquillo.
Kel’el Ware consiguió 22 puntos y diez rebotes por Miami, mientras que Tyler Herro anotó 20 unidades pero no sumó más después del descanso en su quinto encuentro de la temporada tras someterse a una cirugía para reparar un problema que afectaba su tobillo y pie izquierdo.
El Heat jugó sin su máximo anotador Norman Powell, quien sufre un esguince en el tobillo izquierdo. El pívot de Dallas, Daniel Gafford, salió en la segunda mitad con una lesión en el tobillo izquierdo y no regresó.
Flagg, el novato seleccionado como número uno en general en el draft, se combinó con Davis para anotar los últimos ocho puntos de Dallas después de que Miami redujo un déficit de 17 puntos en la segunda mitad a cuatro con tres minutos restantes gracias a una canasta de Bam Adebayo, quien anotó 21 puntos.
Davis jugó partidos consecutivos por primera vez desde que se perdió un mes de actividad debido a una distensión en la pantorrilla izquierda.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Photos: Brooklyn Nets 113, Chicago Bulls 103
The Chicago Bulls faced their fifth consecutive loss on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, as the Brooklyn Nets won 113-103 at the United Center.
Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) puts up a layup against Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Saraf (77) in the second half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Dalen Terry (7) steals the ball from Brooklyn Nets guard/forward Drake Powell (4) in the second half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) scores on a layup in the second half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) and forward Matas Buzelis (14) celebrate after Buzelis scored in the second half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) drives to the hoop in the second half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vučević (9) reacts on the floor in the second half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) feels pressure from the Brooklyn Nets defense as he looks for an open teammate in the second half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) blocks the shot of Chicago Bulls guard Jevon Carter (5) in the second half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls players, including Nikola Vučević, Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey, and Patrick Williams, sit on the bench late in the second half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Brooklyn Nets forward/center Noah Clowney (21) shoots a 3-pointer over Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) in the second half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams (1) gestures toward the Chicago Bulls bench after hitting a 3-pointer in the second half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. Williams was called for a technical foul for the gesture. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams (1) gestures toward the Chicago Bulls bench after hitting a 3-pointer in the second half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. Williams was called for a technical foul for the gesture. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams (1) dunks the ball beside Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (44) and guard Josh Giddey (3) in the second half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) agrees with a referee after a technical foul was called on Giddey in the first half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan gives direction to his team in the first half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) walks down the court in the first half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Brooklyn Nets forward/center Noah Clowney (21) shoots over Chicago Bulls forward Dalen Terry (7) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) reacts to a loose ball in the first half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Brooklyn Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe (20) collects the ball after blocking the shot of Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (left) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Dalen Terry (7) drives on Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. (17) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) scores over Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Dëmin (8) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. (17) steals the ball from Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) drives to the hoop in the first half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) drives to the hoop on Brooklyn Nets forward/center Noah Clowney (21) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. (17) pulls down a rebound in front of Chicago Bulls center Lachlan Olbrich (47) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) drives in for a layup in the first half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) drives in for a layup on Brooklyn Nets forward Danny Wolf (2) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vučević (9) puts up a shot as Brooklyn Nets players defend on the play in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. (17) passes the ball as Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) and center Nikola Vučević (9) apply pressure in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Brooklyn Nets forward/center Noah Clowney (21) is unable to stop Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) from scoring on a layup in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) tries to drive through the defense of Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Dëmin (8) and forward Ziaire Williams (1) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) drives on Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Dëmin (8) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) drives to the hoop in the first half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) puts a move on Brooklyn Nets forward Danny Wolf (2) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) puts up a shot over Brooklyn Nets forward Danny Wolf (2) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) passes the ball over Brooklyn Nets guard/forward Drake Powell (4) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) fouls Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. (17) as Porter Jr. hits the shot in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls center Lachlan Olbrich (47) tries to block the shot of Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Saraf (77) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (right) steals the ball from Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams (1) in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/photos-brooklyn-nets-113-chicago-bulls-103/
3 takeaways from a 5th consecutive loss for the Chicago Bulls, who are now 3 games below .500
The roar of the United Center crowd drowned out Dalen Terry as he smashed his hands together.
The Chicago Bulls didn’t have much to cheer about. They trailed the Brooklyn Nets by double digits deep in the third quarter of a game that was meant to be a guaranteed win. Terry had just cut that lead down to seven points by scooping a pass to Ayo Dosunmu on the fast break, but that didn’t amount to much.
Still, the Bulls needed something. A little energy. A little edge. And even in limited minutes, Terry is always a reliable source of both.
Terry wasn’t afraid to run over a defender for a putback layup or bark at Ziaire Williams after colliding on a play. After missing the last five games with a calf strain, the forward had grown restless. That was a good thing. Terry is never quiet — and to break out of their current slump, the Bulls needed to get loud.
Even that wasn’t enough. The Bulls couldn’t stop the Nets from claiming their fifth win of the season, a dismal 113-103 affair that highlighted the weaknesses of both teams. Chicago took the latest blow in a five-game losing streak with something bordering on acceptance.
Things went from good to bad to worse in Chicago, a whiplash fast enough to steal the air out of this team’s lungs. The Bulls played Wednesday’s game without seven players: Zach Collins (left wrist surgery), Kevin Huerter (groin), Isaac Okoro (back), Jalen Smith (left hamstring), Coby White (left calf), Tre Jones (left ankle sprain) and Noa Essengue, who will miss the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Chicago Bulls players, including Nikola Vučević, Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey, and Patrick Williams, sit on the bench late in the second half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Those absences tested the limits of the team’s concept of depth. Josh Giddey sat for fewer than five minutes of the first half. Coach Billy Donovan pulled out a rare white flag in the final two minutes, subbing in two-way players like Trentyn Flowers and Emanuel Miller to give his starters some sparing rest.
It would be enough to blame the loss on the injury report. But for the most part, the Bulls who were cleared to play didn’t show up. They coughed up five turnovers in the first quarter alone and took 12 minutes to score 11 points in the second quarter. The offense fell flat in the half-court, stalling out as players turned to isolation drives that have never profited for an assist-based team.
“I’m not going to make any excuses because I always think players want opportunities to play and compete,” Donovan said. “And you know what? For some guys, this may be the best opportunity they got. And to me, you should be playing all-out crazy hard and really, really physical. … And I did not think we did that.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
1. Josh Giddey continues his triple-double onslaught.
The Bulls still need a motor, even during a losing skid. And that has continued to be Giddey, who recorded another triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in Wednesday’s loss.
Giddey struggled in the first half, turning the ball over twice as the Bulls found themselves mired in stagnant offensive sets. But the guard became a rare source of creativity as the game progressed, slinging eight assists in the latter half. Giddey stopped taking 3-pointers in the second half, forcing himself downhill to tally 13 points in a combination of paint and free-throw scoring.
This is Giddey’s 14th double-double and fifth triple-double of the season. He is nearly averaging a triple-double with 20.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game.
2. Nikola Vučević fell flat.
Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vučević (9) puts up a shot as Brooklyn Nets players defend on the play in the first half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Without two of their primary ballhandlers in White and Jones, the Bulls needed to rely more heavily on center Nikola Vučević to power the offense — both as a facilitator and a finisher. But the center never found his rhythm in the loss, turning the ball over six times as he allowed the Nets to speed up his pace of play.
Vučević went 6-for-18 from the floor against Brooklyn — including five misses from behind the arc — and didn’t tally a single assist. And while his defensive deficiencies weren’t showcased too heavily against a perimeter-heavy Brooklyn side, his inability to sustain the offense held the Bulls back.
“It was just a rough game,” Vučević said. “I just didn’t play really well and the team wasn’t playing well. You get down and you’re losing, your frustration is going to show at times. That’s part of it.”
3. Bleeding at the arc.
Photos: Brooklyn Nets 113, Chicago Bulls 103
Call it luck or execution, it didn’t matter — the Bulls could not land a blow from behind the 3-point arc. The ball bounced off the backboard and the bracing and every conceivable inch of the rim, yet it refused to drop through the net.
The Bulls made only two 3-pointers in the first half. They finished the game shooting 7-for-30 (23.3%) from deep. Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams were the only players to make multiple 3s.
The Nets, meanwhile, continued to source their salvation from long range. Despite having one of the worst 3-point shooting percentages in the league (33.9%), the Nets prosper by simply slinging it. They average 41.2 shots from behind the arc per game. They make 14 of them. And that accounts for nearly 40% of their total scoring.
This pattern continued in Chicago. The Nets poured it on from behind the arc, making 19 3-pointers — more than half of their total points.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/chicago-bulls-5th-consecutive-loss/
Only five games in, Hall of Fame coach Mike Taylor takes over Marian Catholic’s girls program. ‘Best equipped.’
It was quite an eight-day stretch for former Marian Catholic boys basketball coach Mike Taylor.
Taylor, who is also the school’s athletic director, had a heart-to-heart talk before Thanksgiving with girls basketball coach Tom Nichin, who gave up the job after five games, citing health reasons.
A Hall of Fame boys coach, Taylor decided he would take over the girls program.
“Just throwing someone in would be a disservice to the kids and a disservice to a coach,” Taylor said. “I thought right now at this point, I would be best equipped to get them through this period.”
With the 64-year-old Taylor at the helm, the host Spartans opened the East Suburban Catholic Conference season Wednesday night with a 51-12 loss to Carmel in Chicago Heights.
Ty Jackson led Marian Catholic (4-3, 0-1) with six points. Josie Hartman scored 10 points for Carmel (5-1, 1-0). Freshman guard Liv Johnson, whose dad Lucas played at Illinois, added nine points and 13 rebounds.
Marian Catholic’s Ty Jackson (1) drives to the basket against Carmel during an East Suburban Catholic Conference game in Chicago Heights on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (John Smierciak / Daily Southtown)
Nichin took over in September for Dan Murray, who left to form the first girls basketball program at Marmion that will begin in 2026-27. In 12 seasons at Marian, Murray won 11 regional titles and five sectional titles and took third place in the state in Class 3A in 2014.
But on Friday, Taylor held his first practice with the team. On Saturday, a tournament game at the Elmhurst Classic was snowed out. On Tuesday, he made his girls coaching debut with a 61-31 win over Unity Christian.
“These girls have been through a lot these past four months,” Taylor said. “They lost one coach after being with him all summer. Then they were with another coach basically six weeks or so.
“It’s tough. This is a great group and we’re trying to do the best for them. They have been listening to three different voices and we’re going to have to figure that out.”
Marian Catholic coach Mike Taylor talks to his team in a huddle against Carmel during an East Suburban Catholic Conference game in Chicago Heights on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (John Smierciak / Daily Southtown)
Jackson, a senior forward who has been on the varsity for four years, has been a part of three straight sectional championship teams for the Spartans. She likes the latest voice.
“I love him already,” Jackson said of Taylor. “He pushes us, he’s super intense and he wants the best for us. He’s a really good coach, and he has so much knowledge to give to us.
“I’ve already learned so much from him. I’m excited to see how much he can teach us in the next three months.”
Taylor was the boys coach for 20 years and ended up a 361-222 record, which included nine regional titles and three sectional titles and a Class 3A third-place finish 2018. He gave up the position after the 2022-23 season.
Marian Catholic’s Ty Jackson (1) calls out a play against Carmel during an East Suburban Catholic Conference game in Chicago Heights on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (John Smierciak / Daily Southtown)
Taylor, who is in the Hall of Fame for the ESCC and Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, took over as Marian Catholic’s athletic director in 2024.
The Carmel loss, in which the Spartans trailed 33-3 at halftime and didn’t get their first field goal until 5:47 in the third quarter, was ugly but it’s a building point for Taylor and the girls.
“That is a state championship-caliber team,” Taylor said of Carmel. “We’re going to fight and see where it goes. We’ve been down that road before.”
That road included a bump when Tyler Ulis, who went on to play in the NBA, was with the Spartans.
Marian Catholic coach Mike Taylor pulls in his team for a huddle against Carmel during an East Suburban Catholic Conference game in Chicago Heights on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (John Smierciak / Daily Southtown)
“The first game he ever played, we lost to Mount Carmel by 50 points,” Taylor said of Ulis. “I’ve got references and can say that we can recover from this.”
Jackson also believes that.
“This is going to be the worst game you are going to see out of us,” Jackson said of Wednesday’s loss. “By the time January comes, we’re going to be one of those top teams.
“We’re going to get back in the lab and keep working.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/mike-taylor-marian-catholic-carmel-ihsa-girls-basketball/
Un banco de esperma para guepardos podría salvar algún día al animal terrestre más rápido del mundo
Por GERALD IMRAY
CIUDAD DEL CABO, Sudáfrica (AP) — Durante 35 años, la zoóloga estadounidense Laurie Marker ha estado recolectando y almacenando muestras de esperma de guepardo en Namibia con la esperanza de que los conservacionistas nunca tengan que usarlas.
Le preocupa que el animal terrestre más rápido del mundo pueda estar algún día al borde de la extinción y se llegue a necesitar de reproducción artificial para salvar la especie.
Marker asegura que el banco de esperma en el Cheetah Conservation Fund, el organismo que fundó en esta nación del sur de África, es un “zoológico congelado” de guepardos, el cual ha estado construyendo desde 1990. Las muestras que contiene se utilizarían en el peor de los casos para estos felinos, cuyas cifras han disminuido alarmantemente en estado silvestre durante los últimos 50 años.
“No haces nada con esto a menos que sea necesario”, dijo Marker, una de las principales expertas en guepardos, desde su centro de investigación cerca de la ciudad de Otjiwarongo, Namibia. “Y no queremos llegar a ese punto nunca”.
Los conservacionistas conmemoran el jueves el Día Mundial del Guepardo con menos de 7.000 ejemplares en estado silvestre, cifras similares a las del rinoceronte negro en peligro crítico. Hay únicamente alrededor de 33 poblaciones de guepardos distribuidas en distintos puntos a lo largo de África, la mayoría de ellas con menos de 100 animales, dijo Marker.
Como tantas especies, los elegantes felinos que pueden alcanzar hasta 112 km/h (70 mph) están en peligro de extinción por la pérdida de su hábitat, el conflicto entre el ser humano y la vida silvestre y el comercio ilegal de animales. Sus grupos, cada vez más pequeños y aislados, significan que su reserva genética también se está reduciendo a medida que las pequeñas poblaciones se reproducen continuamente entre sí, con repercusiones en sus tasas de reproducción.
A nivel mundial, el número de guepardos en la naturaleza ha disminuido en un 80% en el último medio siglo y esta especie ha sido expulsada del 90% de su hábitat histórico.
Los científicos creen que los guepardos evitaron por poco su extinción al final de la última era glacial, hace unos 10.000 o 12.000 años, el primer factor que redujo su reserva genética.
Marker señaló que la falta de diversidad genética –junto con el hecho de que los guepardos tienen un 70-80% de esperma anormal– significa que podrían necesitar ayuda en el futuro.
“Por lo mismo, un banco de esperma tiene mucho sentido, ¿verdad?”, dijo Marker.
Una táctica común en los esfuerzo de conservación
Almacenar esperma no es un esfuerzo exclusivo para los guepardos en el mundo de la vida silvestre. Es una táctica que los conservacionistas han desarrollado para otras especies, como elefantes, rinocerontes, aves, antílopes y otros grandes felinos.
El valor de la investigación de la reproducción animal, destacó Marker, queda al descubierto en la desesperada batalla por salvar al rinoceronte blanco del norte de la extinción.
Sólo quedan dos rinocerontes blancos del norte, ambos hembras, lo que hace que la especie esté funcionalmente extinta al no tener posibilidad de reproducirse naturalmente. Su única esperanza radica en la reproducción artificial con esperma de la especie recolectado y congelado hace varios años.
Como las dos rinocerontes restantes —una madre y una hija— no pueden quedar gestantes, los científicos han intentado implantar embriones de rinoceronte blanco del norte en sustitutas de rinoceronte blanco del sur. Las sustitutas no han logrado llevar ninguno de los embarazos a término, pero el equipo de conservación sigue comprometido a tratar de salvar a los rinocerontes blancos del norte contra todo pronóstico.
Otros esfuerzos de reproducción artificial han tenido éxito, incluido un proyecto que crió hurones de patas negras después de que la especie quedó reducida a una sola población en estado natural en Wyoming, Estados Unidos.
Último recurso
Marker no persigue a los guepardos para recolectar su esperma, sino que aprovecha cualquier oportunidad para tomar muestras. En Namibia, el principal riesgo para los guepardos son los agricultores que los ven como una amenaza para su ganado, lo que significa que el equipo de Marker se presenta cuando algún ejemplar ha resultado herido o fue capturado y recolectan muestras mientras los atienden para liberarlos posteriormente.
También pueden recolectar muestras de esperma de guepardos muertos. “Cada guepardo es, en realidad, una mezcla única de un número muy pequeño de genes. Intentaremos almacenar cada animal que podamos”, declaró Marker.
Las muestras de aproximadamente 400 guepardos, y contando, se encuentran almacenadas actualmente a temperaturas ultrabajas en tanques de nitrógeno líquido en el laboratorio del Cheetah Conservation Fund. La investigación de Marker no involucra ninguna inseminación artificial, debido a que la cría de animales salvajes en cautiverio está prohibida en Namibia.
Si los guepardos estuvieran amenazados nuevamente con la extinción, el primer respaldo serían los aproximadamente 1.800 felinos que viven en zoológicos y otros entornos en cautiverio. Pero, los guepardos no se reproducen bien en cautiverio y el banco de esperma podría ser, como en el caso de los rinocerontes blancos del norte, el último recurso, puntualizó.
Sin él, “no vamos a tener muchas posibilidades”, subrayó.
___ Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Porter anota 33 puntos y conduce a Nets hacia victoria 113-103 sobre Bulls, su 2do triunfo seguido
CHICAGO (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. anotó 33 puntos y consiguió diez rebotes por los Nets de Brooklyn, quienes hilvanaron victorias por primera vez en la campaña, al vencer el miércoles 113-103 a los Bulls de Chicago.
Noah Clowney anotó 18 de sus 20 puntos en la segunda mitad para ayudar a que los Nets mejoraran su récord a 5-16. Nic Claxton sumó 14 puntos, nueve asistencias y ocho rebotes.
Josh Giddey registró 28 puntos, 11 rebotes y 11 asistencias para su quinto triple-doble de la temporada por Chicago. Los Bulls cayeron a 9-12 tras sufrir su quinta derrota consecutiva.
Chicago careció de siete jugadores lesionados, incluido el novato Noa Essengue, la 12ª selección general en el draft de la NBA, quien se someterá a una cirugía en el hombro izquierdo y se perderá el resto de la temporada.
Porter había brillado el lunes con 35 puntos, su número más alto de la temporada, en una victoria como local por 116-103 sobre Charlotte. Contra Chicago, Porter encestó cuatro de sus cinco triples en la segunda mitad.
Brooklyn se recuperó así, después de que Chicago redujo la ventaja de los Nets a tan sólo cinco puntos.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Kornet bloquea la bandeja de último segundo de Wagner y Spurs vencen 114-112 a Magic
ORLANDO, Florida, EE.UU. (AP) — Luke Kornet bloqueó la bandeja de último segundo de Franz Wagner, De’Aaron Fox anotó 31 puntos y los Spurs de San Antonio vencieron 114-112 al Magic de Orlando la noche del miércoles.
Fox anotó los últimos diez puntos de los Spurs, los últimos en dos tiros libres con 1,4 segundos restantes después de una falta de Jonathan Isaac de Orlando. Orlando pasó el balón a Wagner bajo el aro, pero Kornet lo desvió fuera de los límites cuando sonó la bocina, su tercer tiro bloqueado del juego.
San Antonio ha ganado siete de nueve con Victor Wembanyama fuera por una distensión en la pantorrilla izquierda.
Wagner lideró a Orlando con 25 unidades. Jalen Suggs agregó 24 tantos y tres robos antes de salir por faltas con 25,6 segundos restantes. Desmond Bane, que venía de dos juegos consecutivos de 37 puntos, terminó con 14 y seis asistencias después de encestar dos tiros importantes en el tramo final.
Fue la tercera derrota del Magic en diez juegos desde que perdieron a Paolo Bancherro por una distensión en la ingle.
Dylan Harper salió de la banca de San Antonio con 16 puntos, cinco rebotes y cinco asistencias, y Devin Vassell tuvo 15 unidades y seis rebotes.
Fox tuvo siete de las 19 pérdidas de balón de los Spurs.
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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
How Obama Paved The Way For Trump’s Venezuelan Killings
How Obama Paved The Way For Trump’s Venezuelan Killings
The Trump administration’s killings of scores of Venezuelans are justifiably provoking outrage. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recently proclaimed, “We have only just begun to kill narco-terrorists.” Donald Trump and Hegseth are cashing a blank check for carnage that was written years earlier by President Barack Obama.
In his 2017 farewell address, Obama boasted, “We have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists.” Drone strikes increased tenfold under Obama, helping fuel anti-US backlashes in several nations.
As he campaigned for the presidency in 2007, then-Senator Barack Obama declared, “We will again set an example for the world that the law is not subject to the whims of stubborn rulers.” Many Americans who voted for Obama in 2008 expected a seachange in Washington. However, from his first weeks in office, Obama authorized widespread secret attacks against foreign suspects, some of which spurred headlines when drones slaughtered wedding parties or other innocents.
On February 3, 2010, Obama’s Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair stunned Washington by announcing that the administration was also targeting Americans for killing. Blair revealed to a congressional committee the new standard for extrajudicial killings:
“Whether that American is involved in a group that is trying to attack us, whether that American has—is a threat to other Americans. We don’t target people for free speech. We target them for taking action that threatens Americans.”
But “involved” is a vague standard—as is “action that threatens Americans.” Blair stated that “if we think that direct action will involve killing an American, we get specific permission to do that.” Permission from who?
Obama’s first high-profile American target was Anwar Awlaki, a cleric born in New Mexico. After the 9/11 attacks, Awlaki was showcased as a model moderate Muslim. The New York Times noted that Awlaki “gave interviews to the national news media, preached at the Capitol in Washington and attended a breakfast with Pentagon officials.” He became more radical after he concluded that the Geoge W. Bush administration’s Global War on Terror was actually a war on Islam. After the FBI sought to squeeze him into becoming an informant against other Muslims, Awlaki fled the country. He arrived in Yemen and was arrested and reportedly tortured at the behest of the U.S. government. After he was released from prison eighteen months later, his attitude had worsened and his sermons became more bloodthirsty.
After the Obama administration announced plans to kill Awlaki, his father hired a lawyer to file a challenge in federal court. The ACLU joined the lawsuit, seeking to compel the government “to disclose the legal standard it uses to place U.S. citizens on government kill lists.” The Obama administration labeled the entire case a “State Secret.” This meant that the administration did not even have to explain why federal law no longer constrained its killings. The administration could have indicted Awlaki on numerous charges but it did not want to provide him any traction in federal court.
In September 2010, The New York Times reported that “there is widespread agreement among the administration’s legal team that it is lawful for President Obama to authorize the killing of someone like Mr. Awlaki.” It was comforting to know that top political appointees concurred that Obama could justifiably kill Americans. But that was the same “legal standard” the Bush team used to justify torture.
The Obama administration asserted a right to kill U.S. citizens without trial, without notice, and without any chance for the marked men to legally object. In November 2010, Justice Department attorney Douglas Letter announced in federal court that no judge had legal authority to be “looking over the shoulder” of Obama’s targeted killing. Letter declared that the program involves “the very core powers of the president as commander in chief.”
The following month, federal judge John Bates dismissed the ACLU’s lawsuit because “there are circumstances in which the Executive’s unilateral decision to kill a U.S. citizen overseas” is “judicially unreviewable.” Bates declared that targeted killing was a “political question” outside the court’s jurisdiction. His deference was stunning: no judge had ever presumed that killing Americans was simply another “political question.” The Obama administration’s position “would allow the executive unreviewable authority to target and kill any U.S. citizen it deems a suspect of terrorism anywhere,” according to Center for Constitutional Rights attorney Pardiss Kebriae.
On September 30, 2011, a U.S. drone attack killed Awlaki along with another American citizen, Samir Khan, who was editing an online Al Qaeda magazine. Obama bragged about the lethal operation at a military base later that day. A few days later, administration officials gave a New York Times reporter extracts a peek at the fifty-page secret Justice Department memo. The Times noted, “The secret document provided the justification for [killing Awlaki] despite an executive order banning assassinations, a federal law against murder, protections in the Bill of Rights and various strictures of the international laws of war, according to people familiar with the analysis.” The legal case for killing Awlaki was so airtight that it did not even need to be disclosed to the American public.
Two weeks after killing Awlaki, Obama authorized a drone attack that killed his son and six other people as they sat at an outdoor café in Yemen. Anonymous administration officials quickly assured the media that Abdulrahman Awlaki was a 21-year-old Al Qaeda fighter and thus fair game. Four days later, The Washington Post published a birth certificate proving that Awlaki’s son was only 16-years old and had been born in Denver. Nor did the boy have any connection with Al Qaeda or any other terrorist group. Robert Gibbs, Obama’s former White House press secretary and a top advisor for Obama’s reelection campaign, later shrugged that the 16-year-old should have had “a far more responsible father.”
Regardless of that boy’s killing, the media often portrayed Obama and his drones as infallible. A Washington Post poll a few months later revealed that 83% of Americans approved of Obama’s drone killing policy. It made almost no difference whether the suspected terrorists were American citizens; 79% of respondents approved of preemptively killing their fellow countrymen, no judicial niceties required. The Post noted that “77 percent of liberal Democrats endorse the use of drones, meaning that Obama is unlikely to suffer any political consequences as a result of his policy in this election year.” The poll results were largely an echo of official propaganda. Most folks “knew” only what the government wanted them to hear regarding drones. Thanks to pervasive secrecy, top government officials could kill who they chose and say what they pleased. The fact that the federal government had failed to substantiate more than 90% of its terrorist accusations since 9/11 was irrelevant since the president was omniscient.
On March 6, 2012, Attorney General Eric Holder, in a speech on targeted killings to a college audience, declared, “Due process and judicial process are not one and the same, particularly when it comes to national security. The Constitution guarantees due process, it does not guarantee judicial process.” TV comedian Stephen Colbert mocked Holder, quipping “Trial by jury, trial by fire, rock, paper scissors, who cares? Due process just means that there is a process that you do.” One purpose of due process is to allow evidence to be critically examined. But there was no opportunity to debunk statements from anonymous White House officials. For the Obama administration, “due process” meant little more than reciting certain phrases in secret memos prior to executions.
Holder declared that the drone attacks “are not [assassinations], and the use of that loaded term is misplaced; assassinations are unlawful killings. Here, for the reasons I have given, the U.S. government’s use of lethal force in self-defense.” Any termination secretly approved by the president or his top advisers was automatically a “lawful killing.” Holder reassured Americans that Congress was overseeing the targeted killing program. But no one on Capitol Hill demanded a hearing or investigation after U.S. drones killed American citizens in Yemen. The prevailing attitude was exemplified by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-NY):
“Drones aren’t evil, people are evil. We are a force of good and we are using those drones to carry out the policy of righteousness and goodness.”
Obama told White House aides that it “turns out I’m really good at killing people. Didn’t know that was gonna be a strong suit of mine.” In April 2012, The New York Times was granted access for a laudatory inside look at “Terror Tuesday” meetings in the White House:
“Every week or so, more than 100 members of the government’s sprawling national security apparatus gather, by secure video teleconference, to pore over terrorist suspects’ biographies and recommend to the president who should be the next to die.”
It was a PowerPoint death parade. The Times stressed that Obama personally selected who to kill next:
“The control he exercises also appears to reflect Mr. Obama’s striking self-confidence: he believes, according to several people who have worked closely with him, that his own judgment should be brought to bear on strikes.”
Commenting on the Times’ revelations, author Tom Engelhardt observed, “We are surely at a new stage in the history of the imperial presidency when a president (or his election team) assembles his aides, advisors and associates to foster a story that’s meant to broadcast the group’s collective pride in the new position of assassin-in-chief.”
This is how Obama’s Press Secretary Robert Gibbs responded to questioning on the murder of the 16 year old US citizen Abdulrahman al-Awlaki in a drone strike ordered by Obama: “I ‘d suggest that you should have had a far more responsible father”. pic.twitter.com/Hp408VX08P
— Louis Allday (@Louis_Allday) June 21, 2018
On May 23, 2013, Obama, in a speech on his targeted killing program at the National Defense University in Washington, told his fellow Americans that “we know a price must be paid for freedom”—such as permitting the president untrammeled authority to kill threats to freedom. The president declared that “before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured—the highest standard we can set.”
Since almost all the data on victims was confidential, it was tricky to prove otherwise. But NBC News acquired classified documents revealing that the CIA was often clueless about who it was killing. NBC noted, “Even while admitting that the identities of many killed by drones were not known, the CIA documents asserted that all those dead were enemy combatants. The logic is twisted: If we kill you, then you were an enemy combatant.” Killings are also exonerated by counting “all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants…unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.” And U.S. bureaucrats have no incentive to track down evidence exposing their fatal errors. The New York Times revealed that U.S. “counterterrorism officials insist…people in an area of known terrorist activity…are probably up to no good.” The “probably up to no good” standard absolved almost any drone killing within thousands of square miles in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. Daniel Hale, a former Air Force intelligence analyst, leaked information revealing that nearly 90% of people who were killed in drone strikes were not the intended targets. Joe Biden’s Justice Department responded by coercing Hale into pleading guilty to “retention and transmission of national security information,” and he was sent to prison in 2021.
Sovereign immunity entitles presidents to kill with impunity. Or at least that is what presidents have presumed for most of the past century. If the Trump administration can establish a prerogative to preemptively kill anyone suspected of transporting illicit narcotics, millions of Americans could be in the federal cross-hairs. But the Trump administration is already having trouble preserving total secrecy thanks to controversies over who ordered alleged war crimes. Will Trump’s anti-drug carnage end up torpedoing his beloved Secretary of War Hegseth and his own credibility with Congress, the judiciary, and hundreds of millions of Americans who do not view White House statements as divine revelations handed down from Mt. Sinai?
Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/03/2025 – 23:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/how-obama-paved-way-trumps-venezuelan-killings
