p777 login The NBA got viewers for Christmas, even while going up against NFL games. The NBA's five-game Christmas lineup was the league's most-watched in five years, with the games averaging about 5.25 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and its platforms, the league said Thursday based on Nielsen's preliminary numbers. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, obituaries, sports, and more.

How did Elphaba become wicked? There’s a hidden message people keep missing.Thursday's Thanksgiving night matchup will be notable for the Miami Dolphins for a number of reasons. For starters, it's set to be the first time they've played on Turkey Day since 2011 . It also gives them an opportunity for a statement win against the 8-3 Green Bay Packers. If they can pull it off, they'd be exorcising one of their biggest demons. As is generally the case in Green Bay in the late fall, the forecast for Thursday night's game is set to be exceptionally cold . Generally that has not boded well for the Dolphins in the Tua Tagovailoa era. During Tagovailoa's career in Miami, he's never won a game in which the temperature has been below 40 degrees. In fact, the Dolphins have lost their last 11 such games as a team, dating all the way back to Christmas Eve in 2016. Tagovailoa is carrying some momentum into the contest, though. In his past two games -- both Dolphins wins -- he's thrown seven touchdowns and no picks. In five games since returning from a concussion earlier in the season, that extends to 11 touchdowns and only one interception. The Dolphins are winners of three straight, and currently sit 5-6 on the year. None of their wins have been against teams above .500, though, and the Packers on the road will certainly be a tough test. If Miami is going to climb its way into playoff contention, it's a test they'll need to pass. With winter on the horizon, Tagovailoa and company must bust the cold weather narrative to keep their season alive.

Max George ‘staying positive’ amid hospital stay due to heart issuesMid-Penn boys basketball stars for Thursday, Dec. 12WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, has not served in the military or had a civilian leadership role in the service. While officials and defense experts said the Navy is in sore need of a disruptor, they cautioned that Phelan's lack of experience could make it more difficult for him to realize Trump's goals. Trump late Tuesday nominated Phelan, a major donor to his campaign who founded the private investment firm Rugger Management LLC. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment on his qualifications. According to his biography, Phelan's primary exposure to the military comes from an advisory position he holds on the Spirit of America, a non-profit that supports the defense of Ukraine and the defense of Taiwan. Not all service secretaries come into the office with prior military experience, but he'd be the first in the Navy since 2006. Current Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth similarly does not have prior military service. She, however, has spent her career in a host of defense civilian positions. The appointment comes at a critical moment for the Navy, which has been stretched thin with deployments around the world and must contend with a shrinking fleet even as the naval forces of its main rival, China, are growing. Trump has campaigned on expanding the Navy and would need to fight bureaucratic inertia to do so. But it’s uncertain whether a secretary with no military experience — either in uniform or as a defense civilian — would be well-positioned to lead that effort. “It will be difficult for anyone without experience in the Pentagon to take over the leadership of a service and do a good job,” said Stacie Pettyjohn, a senior fellow and director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security. “Services are sprawling organizations with distinct cultures, subcultures and bureaucratic interests, and where decisions are made through many formal processes. To change a service’s plans, one must understand this Byzantine landscape.” Experts said Phelan's nomination reflects that Trump is seeking service branch heads who will not push back on his ideas — but that Phelan's lack of experience is likely to create issues and delays of its own, They say the Navy can't afford to lose time. One of the Navy’s biggest challenges is preparing for a potential military confrontation with China over Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China claims as its own. " The stakes are high ," said Brad Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The success or failure in addressing key problems in the U.S. Navy over the next couple years may have a decisive effect on war and peace in the Taiwan Strait and elsewhere.” Trump has called for a 350-ship Navy since his 2016 presidential campaign, but he experienced first-hand the difficulty in realizing that goal, given the challenges to shipbuilding and the erratic and often delayed congressional budget process. There are just under 300 battle force ships in the fleet — vessels that have a direct role in conducting combat operations. “The Navy is stretched covering Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific. Strategists have wanted to pull back from Europe and the Middle East, but recent conflicts have prevented that,” said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “So the next secretary will have a shrinking fleet, expanded overseas commitments, and an uncertain budget environment.” The Marine Corps has called for 31 amphibious warships to help it maintain a close-to-shore presence around the globe. The Navy regularly has had to extend the deployments of its aircraft carriers and escorting destroyers, for example, to respond to the unstable security situation in the Middle East. Each extension can create rippling effects: Ships don’t get maintained on schedule, and forces get tired of the lack of predictability for their families and leave the service. Service branch chiefs spend vast amounts of time not only responding to the White House but also appeasing members of Congress in frequent hearings on Capitol Hill, shaping budget requests, holding constant meetings on service member issues, attending industry conferences and filling speakers requests. That all requires a nuanced understanding of the service that a secretary is leading, because major change in any of the branches often involves a lengthy process to review directives and past policy. Any changes to the many weapons systems the Navy and Marine Corps need and pursue are subject to lengthy contract award challenges. “The Navy’s problem here is money,” Cancian said. “Even if the defense budget goes up, there will only be a relatively small increase available for shipbuilding. (If) the budget stays steady or goes down, then the Navy will have a major problem. The fleet will continue to shrink." Trump has signaled through multiple appointments, such as his selection of SpaceX founder Elon Musk to co-lead a nongovernmental Department of Government Efficiency, that he seeks to cut through red tape. But the service secretary can't do that without moving through Congress, which has produced many of those regulations and processes the military must follow. “It might help that he has a personal relationship with the president. However, his lack of experience in defense and the Pentagon will hurt the Navy," Cancian said. "It will take him a while to learn the levers of power.”Merseyside is covered in a thick blanket of fog that is due to persist until tomorrow. The Met Office has said the "mist and fog will be continuing" as we head throughout the evening and overnight period. It said the fog will turn thicker and denser in places, with some notable reductions in visibility around. It was so bad on Wirral , that this afternoon's match between Tranmere Rovers and Accrington Stanley at Prenton Park was called off. The Met Office warned those heading back to work tomorrow that there could be some delays on the road and other transport issues due to the mist and fog. It added that the fog "could persist right throughout the day" and said it would be "very murky, very grim in places". We will be monitoring the situation throughout the evening, so follow our live blog for updates on the weather. Flights affected at Manchester Airport The fog is thick in Greater Manchester too. There are flight delays at Manchester Airport this evening as a result of the fog. According to the Manchester Evening News, most flights scheuled to arrive at the airport this afternoon seem to have been delayed, with some landing up to two hours late. Some flights that were due to arrive from 5.30pm onwards, including from Turkey and Greece, have still not landed. Meanwhile, most flights that were due to depart from the airport earlier today were also delayed by an hour or more. Passengers are being told to continue to arrive at the airport in line with their airline's advice - two hours in advance for short haul flights and three hours for long haul. Share Comments Images from across Merseyside ECHO photographer Colin Lane has been out and about today taking photos of the thick fog affecting the region. Here is a selection of images taken on the Liverpool waterfront. Share Comments Match going ahead at Anfield despite thick fog Many people have taken to social media to comment on the poor visibility at Anfield due to the thick fog, but the game has gone ahead, with kickoff taking place at 8pm as planned. You can follow live updates on the match here . Theo Squires says "the fog looks worse on TV that it is in person. We can see the entire pitch from the press box." Share Comments

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