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By ERIC TUCKER, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith said Tuesday that his team was finalizing a two-volume report on its investigations into President-elect Donald Trump and that at least one volume of it could be released by the Justice Department as early as Friday.The disclosure came in response to a request by defense lawyers, filed in court and in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, to preemptively block the report from being made public.The report is expected to describe charging decisions made in separate investigations by Smith into Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago…

Socialists are wrong about virtually everything. It’s no surprise, then, that democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has come out swinging against the H-1B visa program.The program allows up to 65,000 foreign workers in “specialty occupations” with a college education and “practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge” to work in the United States. The tech sector is among the biggest beneficiaries of this program, which enables American companies to benefit from global talent.The H-1B program has recently been the subject of much debate among supporters of President-elect Donald Trump, with some demonizing the program for allegedly…

OK, so the competition was what it was, which wasn’t elite, but the Chargers’ offense sizzled during their three-game winning streak to end the regular season. They scored 34 points in a victory over the Denver Broncos, dropped 40 on the New England Patriots and another 34 on the Las Vegas Raiders.That’s – let’s see here – 108 total points for an average of 36 points per game during the most important stretch of the season to date. It’s quite a departure from the middling offense the Charger put on the field for the first 14 games of the season,…

By JIM VERTUNO AP Sports WriterAUSTIN, Texas — The expanded College Football Playoff has a decidedly old-school feel: Smothering defenses have carried the last four teams still in the hunt for the national championship.If you want offense, look elsewhere this weekend. The defenses, with All-Americans spread throughout the lineups, are the story of the semifinals. Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Notre Dame all rank among the top eight defenses nationally this season.The eighth-seeded Buckeyes (12-2) meet the No. 5 Longhorns (13-2) in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night. The Buckeyes are No. 1 in total defense and scoring defense. Texas…

After the Rams’ date with the Minnesota Vikings in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs was cemented Sunday night, Sean McVay turned in. He wanted to make sure he got a full eight hours before he went about the task at hand.“You want to make sure that we’re getting rolling,” McVay said over Zoom on Monday.The Rams (10-7) have a week to prepare for the Vikings (14-3), a team they beat in Week 8 and have plenty of familiarity with given the former Rams staffers now in Minneapolis, first and foremost among them head coach Kevin O’Connell.But the Vikings…

By MIKE COOK The Associated PressMINNEAPOLIS — The Clippers were on the verge of a big road win, but Anthony Edwards took control late … again.Edwards scored 28 of his 37 points in the second half and the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame a 19-point first-half deficit to beat the Clippers, 108-106, on Monday night. Edwards also helped Minnesota hold off the Clippers by one point in an NBA Cup group-play game in the same arena earlier this season.Edwards, who had a career-high 53 points in Saturday’s loss at Detroit, finished 14 for 29 from the field in this one, including a…

LOS ANGELES — The distribution hasn’t changed, regardless of who’s behind center. It didn’t change for Caleb Williams. It didn’t change for Miller Moss. It didn’t change for Jayden Maiava.Ever since he arrived at USC, Lincoln Riley’s offense has been predicated on a spread-out target share, a rotating carousel of playmakers popping out one game and fading away the next. In three years, no single Trojan receiver has received more than a 17% share of USC’s total targets in the passing game, largely eschewing a No. 1 or No. 2 option at wide receiver in favor of a balanced attack.“Whether…

An extreme and rare wind event is on the way to Southern California this week, with 80-100 mile per hour winds expected in some regions.The National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard noted on Facebook that areas not typically impacted by wind will be affected during this weather event.In preparation for what it is calling “critical fire weather,” Cal Fire is moving firefighting resources from Northern California to Southern California, deploying additional crews and engines to  Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties, according to a news release from the agency.Units in San Bernardino, San…

The Dodgers made a move to unclutter their middle infield logjam on Monday, trading second baseman Gavin Lux to the Cincinnati Reds for outfield prospect Mike Sirota and a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick, the team announced.Lux, who hit .251 with career-highs of 10 home runs and 50 RBIs last season, has been a potential trade candidate since the season ended.With Mookie Betts moving back to the infield next season, versatile Tommy Edman signing a contract extension and the addition of KBO All-Star Hyeseong Kim last week, the reigning World Series champions had a glut of middle infielders and…

By JONATHAN LANDRUM JR. and HALELUYA HADEROWill TikTok be banned this month?That’s the pressing question keeping creators and small business owners in anxious limbo as they await a decision that could upend their livelihoods. The fate of the popular app will be decided by the Supreme Court, which will hear arguments on Jan. 10 over a law requiring TikTok to break ties with its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, or face a U.S. ban.At the heart of the case is whether the law violates the First Amendment with TikTok and its creator allies arguing that it does. The U.S. government, which…