Judge rejects request to sideline SJSU volleyball player
President-elect Donald Trump's team is discussing pursuing direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, hoping a fresh diplomatic push can lower the risks of armed conflict, according to two people familiar with the matter. Several in Trump's team now see a direct approach from Trump, to build on a relationship that already exists, as most likely to break the ice with Kim, years after the two traded insults and what Trump called "beautiful" letters in an unprecedented diplomatic effort during his first term in office, the people said. The policy discussions are fluid and no final decisions have been made by the president-elect, the sources said. Trump's transition team did not respond to a request for comment. What reciprocation Kim will offer Trump is unclear. The North Koreans ignored four years of outreach by U.S. President Joe Biden to start talks with no pre-conditions, and Kim is emboldened by an expanded missile arsenal and a much closer relationship with Russia. "We have already gone as far as we can on negotiating with the United States," Kim said last week in a speech at a Pyongyang military exhibition, according to state media. During his 2017-2021 presidency, Trump held three meetings with Kim, in Singapore, Hanoi, and at the Korean border, the first time a sitting U.S. president had set foot in the country. Their diplomacy yielded no concrete results, even as Trump described their talks as falling "in love." The U.S. called for North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons, while Kim demanded full sanctions relief, then issued new threats. It was not clear what result a new diplomatic effort would yield. An initial Trump goal would be to reestablish basic engagement but further policy aims or a precise timetable have not been set, the people said. And the issue may take a backseat to more pressing foreign policy concerns in the Middle East and Ukraine, according to one person briefed on the transition's thinking. North Korean state media have not yet publicly mentioned the re-election of Trump, and Kim said this month that the United States was ramping up tension and provocations, raising the risks of nuclear war. Trump and some of his allies left office with the impression that the direct approach was Washington's best shot at influencing behavior north of the demilitarized zone, which has divided the Korean Peninsula for seven decades. The countries' war was never technically ended even as the guns fell silent. On Friday, Trump named one of the people who implemented that initial North Korea strategy, former State Department official Alex Wong, as his deputy national security adviser. "As Deputy Special Representative for North Korea, he helped negotiate my Summit with North Korean Leader, Kim Jong Un," Trump said in a statement. Tensions Rise Trump inherits an increasingly tense situation with Kim when he returns to the White House in January, as he did in 2017, an atmosphere allies expect the incoming president to confront head-on. "My experience with President Trump is he's much more likely to be open to direct engagement," said U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty, a Trump ally, in an interview with Reuters earlier this year. "I'm optimistic that we can see an improvement in the relationship and perhaps a different posture adopted by Kim Jong Un if that dialogue were reopened again." Washington has a dossier of concerns over the country's expanding nuclear weapons and missile program, its increasingly hostile rhetoric to South Korea and its close collaboration with Russian President Vladimir Putin. These topics are expected to feature in Biden administration transition briefings for Trump aides, according to a U.S. official. The Trump team has yet to sign transition agreements, which could limit the scope of some of these briefings. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Particularly concerning to Washington are the prospects of increased sharing of nuclear or missile technology between Russia and North Korea and the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia to help in the war with Ukraine. Reuters reported on Monday that North Korea is expanding a key weapons manufacturing complex that assembles a type of short-range missile used by Russia in Ukraine, citing researchers at a U.S.-based think tank who examined satellite images. U.S. officials said those factors raise the risk of a conflict between multiple nuclear armed nations in Europe or Asia, including the United States and its allies, which include South Korea and Japan. American troops are deployed throughout the region to deter North Korea, and Trump has insisted that U.S. allies share more of the cost for those deployments. In his final meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month in Peru, Biden asked for Beijing to use its leverage to reel in North Korea. Opportunity for China and the U.S. to work together may be limited as Trump vows vast tariffs on Chinese goods and stacks his inner circle with China hardliners, such as Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Representative Mike Waltz as national security adviser. Trump said last month the two countries would have had "a nuclear war with millions of people killed," but that he had stopped it, thanks to his ties with the North's leader. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the worldThe Cardinals officially have their starting running back available for Saturday night’s game against the Rams. As expected, James Conner is active after he was questionable with a knee injury. He was listed as limited on all three of Arizona’s injury reports this week. Conner has rushed for over 110 yards in back-to-back games, racking up exactly 110 in the win over New England in Week 15 before tallying 117 in the loss to Carolina in Week 16. But the Cardinals do not have fellow running back Trey Benson, who is inactive with an ankle injury. On the other side, Los Angeles will not have starting right tackle Rob Havenstein, who is inactive with a shoulder injury suffered during the practice week. Joe Noteboom is expected to start at right tackle. Arizona’s inactives are Benson, safety Jammie Robinson, safety Joey Blount, linebacker Milo Eifler, linebacker Benton Whitley, tight end Travis Vokolek, and receiver Xavier Weaver. Los Angeles’ inactives are Havenstein, quarterback Stetson Bennett, receiver Tyler Johnson, running back Cody Schrader, and offensive lineman Dylan McMahon.
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The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . CYPRESS LAKE, Fla. (AP) — Robert McCray scored 21 points as Jacksonville beat Siena 75-64 on Tuesday. McCray added eight rebounds and five assists for the Dolphins (4-3). Zach Bell scored 11 points, going 3 of 5 and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. Zimi Nwokeji went 3 of 7 from the field (2 for 4 from 3-point range) to finish with 10 points, while adding six rebounds. Gavin Doty finished with 21 points and nine rebounds for the Saints (3-4). Major Freeman added 12 points and four assists for Siena. Tajae Jones also had 11 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
6 Money Moves You Should Make Before the End of the YearA judge on Monday rejected a request to block a San Jose State women's volleyball team member from playing in a conference tournament on grounds that she is transgender. The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver will allow the player, who has played all season, to compete in the Mountain West Conference women's championship opening this week in Las Vegas. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by nine current players against the Mountain West Conference challenging the league's policies for allowing transgender players to participate. The players argued that letting her compete was a safety risk and unfair. While some media have reported those and other details, neither San Jose State nor the forfeiting teams have confirmed the school has a trans woman volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player's name because she has not commented publicly on her gender identity. School officials also have declined an interview request with the player. People are also reading... Crews' ruling referred to the athlete as an "alleged transgender" player and noted that no defendant disputed that the San Jose State roster includes a transgender woman player. San Jose State will "continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms," the university said in a statement, confirming that all its student-athletes are eligible to participate under NCAA and conference rules. "We are gratified that the Court rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to change those rules. Our team looks forward to competing in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week." The conference did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The players filed a notice for emergency appeal with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Crews said the players who filed the complaint could have sought relief much earlier, noting the individual universities had acknowledged that not playing their games against San Jose State this season would result in a loss in league standings. He also refused a request to re-seed the tournament without the forfeited losses. The judge said injunctions are meant to preserve the status quo. The conference policy regarding forfeiting for refusing to play against a team with a transgender player had been in effect since 2022 and the San Jose State player has been on the roster since 2022 — making that the status quo. The player competed at the college level three previous seasons, including two for San Jose State, drawing little attention. This season's awareness of her reported identity led to an uproar among some players, pundits, parents and politicians in a major election year. Crews' ruling also said injunctions are meant to prevent harm, but in this case, he argued, the harm has already occurred. The games have been forfeited, the tournament has been seeded, the teams have made travel plans and the participants have confirmed they're playing. The tournament starts Wednesday and continues Friday and Saturday. Colorado State is seeded first and San Jose State, second. The teams split their regular-season matches and both get byes into Friday's semifinals. San Jose State will play the winner of Wednesday's match between Utah State and Boise State — teams that both forfeited matches to SJSU during the regular season. The conference tournament winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. San Jose State coach Todd Kress, whose team has not competed in the national tournament since 2001, has said his team has been getting "messages of hate" and that has taken a toll on his players. Several teams refused to play against San Jose State during the season, earning losses in the official conference standings. Boise State and Wyoming each had two forfeits while Utah State and Nevada both had one. Southern Utah, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, was first to cancel against San Jose State this year. Nevada's players stated they "refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes," without elaborating. Nevada did not qualify for the conference tournament. The nine current players and others now suing the Mountain West Conference, the California State University Board of Trustees and others include San Jose State senior setter and co-captain Brooke Slusser. The teammate Slusser says is transgender hits the volleyball with more force than others on the team, raising fear during practices of suffering concussions from a head hit, the complaint says. The Independent Council on Women's Sports is funding a separate lawsuit against the NCAA for allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. Both lawsuits claim the landmark 1972 federal antidiscrimination law known as Title IX prohibits transgender women in women's sports. Title IX prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded education; Slusser is a plaintiff in both lawsuits. Several circuit courts have used a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to conclude that discriminating against someone based on their transgender status or sexual orientation is sex-based discrimination, Crews wrote. That means case law does not prove the "likelihood of success" needed to grant an injunction. An NCAA policy that subjects transgender participation to the rules of sports governing bodies took effect this academic year. USA Volleyball says a trans woman must suppress testosterone for 12 months before competing. The NCAA has not flagged any issues with San Jose State. The Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the team cancellations, citing fairness in women's sports. President-elect Donald Trump likewise has spoken out against allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. Crews was a magistrate judge in Colorado's U.S. District Court for more than five years before President Joe Biden appointed him as a federal judge in January. Be the first to know
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