MINNEAPOLIS — Just over a week ago, the Lakers’ mission was clear. But what has transpired over the last week has been a reversal of what was desired. The Lakers’ offense was humming coming off a frustrating 119-118 home loss to the Orlando Magic on Nov. 21 that ended their six-game winning streak. Their 118.3 offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions) ranked No. 4 through the first 15 games, delivering on the belief that the Lakers could be an elite offensive team. They scored at least 110 points in seven of eight games through the loss to the Magic and 12 of the first 15 games, helping them to a 10-5 record. The next step was clear: improve on the defensive end of the court, with the Lakers’ defensive rating of 117.4 in the first 15 games ranking 26th. The Lakers accomplished their goal: their defense has improved, with a defensive rating of 114.9 in their past six games (19th), including 109.8 (12th) in their last four. But it’s come at a cost – their once elite offense has fallen off significantly over the last week-plus, most evident in their 109-80 road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night . “It’s very frustrating,” All-Star big man Anthony Davis said. “We were really good offensively and our defense was a problem and we kind of start just focusing on defense and now our offense is kind of shifted. So we got to get back to how we were [at] the beginning of the year, playing on both sides of the ball very well. “The good thing about it is, offensively it doesn’t take that much to get back going. Defense is a little bit tougher. So with the guys that we have in this locker room, I think we will be fine to figure it out.” The Lakers’ offensive rating has plummeted to 102.4 in their past six games for the league’s third-worst mark (28th) in that stretch. The absence of Austin Reaves, the team’s third-leading scorer who has missed the last two games because of a bruised left pelvis and is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game in Miami, has impacted the offense. But the Lakers’ offensive regression started before Reaves’ injury. The ball and player movement has taken a notable dip compared to earlier in the season. The Lakers are passing fewer times per game during this offensive lull. Old habits have replaced the ones Coach JJ Redick tried to replace with an offensive system that values player and ball movement. Related Articles “I feel like the offense was fun,” Redick said. “I really believe we’ve gotten better defensively. We’ve spent a lot of time as a staff defensively. And this is the nature of the NBA season. You don’t have a ton of time. The things you emphasize, hopefully you get better at. And sometimes when you don’t emphasize something, or you don’t work on something because you don’t necessarily have time, or you think you’re good at it and you think you have buy-in at it, you just get slippage. We gotta clean that up.” To LeBron James, the Lakers improving their offense will come down to investing similar energy as they did to improve their defense. “Just watching the film and seeing ways we can do better,” James said. “We did that a lot when we wanted to get our defense corrected and we corrected it. You spend a little bit more time on offense things too.” When: Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. Where: Kaseya Center, Miami TV/radio: NBA TV, Spectrum SportsNet/710 AM7xm casino review philippines 。

DRINK and drug drivers are being targeted with a pioneering AI camera. The mobile tech can detect driving behaviour consistent with those who may be under the influence at the wheel. 1 Drink and drug drivers are being targeted with a pioneering AI camera Police further up the road can then stop the vehicle, talk to the driver and do a roadside test for alcohol and narcotics. A trial is under way in Devon and Cornwall. The Heads Up system was developed by Australian firm Acusensus, whose devices have previously been used to help police catch drivers using mobile phones at the wheel or not wearing seatbelts. The firm’s UK boss Geoff Collins said: “We are delighted to be conducting the world’s first trials of this technology. READ MORE ON A.I. SEXIEST PUNDIT AI reveals sexiest male football pundit on TV according to 'golden ratio' VIRTUAL VERSE AI is better at writing poems than Shakespeare, a bizarre new study has found "We are all safer if we can detect impairment before it causes an incident that could ruin lives.” Supt Simon Jenkinson's team polices around 14,000 miles of roads in Devon and Cornwall. He said: “Our officers cannot be everywhere. “We’re committed to doing everything we can to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads. Most read in Motors NEED FOR SPEED Aston Martin unveil sports car to take on Ferrari with 217mph top speed DRIVE DOWN COSTS 10 used electric cars that have seen the BIGGEST price drops this year END OF THE ROAD Car colour once 'most popular' in UK may be AXED in 13yrs - do you own one? BEEMER BLAZE My new BMW exploded months after I got it - it could have happened at any time "Embracing emerging technology such as these cameras is vital in that quest.” Your car could soon detect if you've had a drink and stop you from driving home under the influenceKUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — Loan sharks have traded posters on trees and lamp posts for flashy advertisements on social media platforms like TikTok, targeting school students in a worrying new trend. The illegal lenders are luring students, particularly those hooked on online gambling or frequent travel, with offers of “emergency loans” or “quick loans” that appear easy and hassle-free. The shift came to light when a 15-year-old boy from Selangor recently revealed he had racked up RM13,000 in debt to 12 loan sharks. The teenager said he borrowed the money to indulge his girlfriend’s craving for siakap tiga rasa — barramundi cooked in a spicy, sweet, and sour sauce. While students may seem like unlikely targets due to their limited pocket money, loan sharks are finding the strategy profitable, thanks to the reach and influence of social media. Isaac, a loan shark agent who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that TikTok and other platforms have become lucrative avenues for illegal moneylenders. “They hire agents to scout for influencers with a large following, offering them advertisement deals to promote loan services,” he said. This new tactic highlights how loan sharks are evolving to exploit digital platforms, raising concerns about the risks posed to vulnerable young users. He said some social media influencers can earn up to RM2,000 by pinning loan shark advertisements on their pages for just two days. If their followers show interest in borrowing money, the influencers connect them to an agent, who then refers them to the loan sharks. “If you just type ‘loans’ on TikTok or Facebook, you’ll see many ‘ah long’ advertisements using phrases like ‘emergency loans’, ‘fast loans’, or ‘loans for those not working’. “No ‘ah long’ will openly admit they are one. “School students usually borrow from loan sharks because they want to go on vacations or cover expenses that their pocket money can’t accommodate. “Loan sharks typically lend between RM2,000 and RM5,000 to school students, charging interest rates of 10 to 20 per cent per week. “They conduct background checks on the students, and the wealthier their parents are, the higher the loan amounts they approve. “If a student introduces another friend to the loan shark, they receive a commission of about RM100 to RM200. While it’s not a significant amount, students looking to make quick cash often fall for this,” Isaac told Malay Mail . When students fail to repay their debts on time — which is almost always the case — their parents are often forced to step in and negotiate with the loan sharks for a lump sum settlement. According to Isaac, the loan sharks typically demand that parents settle only the accumulated interest, which is still significantly higher than the amount initially borrowed by the student. If parents refuse to pay, loan sharks resort to public shaming by putting up posters in the student’s neighbourhood, declaring that they owe money to ‘ah longs’. To avoid such embarrassment, most parents end up paying. Some parents, however, fall into deeper trouble by turning to middlemen who claim they can make the loan sharks go away. Isaac explained that these intermediaries often present themselves as champions fighting against illegal moneylenders on social media. While they negotiate settlements on behalf of the victims, these middlemen secretly take a cut from the payment without the victim or the loan shark realising it. “The victim believes they’ve fully settled the loan, but the loan shark continues to chase them, thinking there’s still an outstanding balance,” he said.'Sheer insanity': Conservative watchdog puts ‘sanctuary’ officials on notice ahead of Trump deportation push

Lieutenant of Mid-South police department arrested for domestic violence

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S.Korea political upheaval shows global democracy's fragility - and resilienceSANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 23, 2024-- Last Wednesday, attorneys from Susman Godfrey LLP and Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, LLP filed an antitrust lawsuit on behalf of CDS Litigation, LLC, against Align Technology, Inc. (“Align”), the American Dental Association (“ADA”), and the American Association of Orthodontists (“AAO”). The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of California, alleges that the Defendants engaged in a multi-year coordinated and illegal conspiracy to eliminate their most serious market competitor to protect their industry dominance at the expense of consumers’ ability to access effective, affordable, and proven orthodontic care. This lawsuit arises from evidence described in the complaint that the Defendants colluded to drive SmileDirectClub, a leading provider of affordable and effective telehealth-based orthodontic solutions, out of business. Align initially invested tens of millions of dollars in SmileDirectClub and supported its business model as an investor, board member, lender, and manufacturer. All that changed, however, after SmileDirectClub rejected Align’s proposed buyout bid and an arbitrator later forced Align out of the company entirely for improperly using its access to confidential and proprietary SmileDirectClub information to try to copy SmileDirectClub’s business. The complaint explains how Align, no longer able to profit off of SmileDirectClub’s growth, turned to colluding with the ADA and AAO on a years-long campaign to destroy SmileDirectClub. Despite SmileDirectClub’s high customer satisfaction ratings and proven track record of offering effective care, the Defendants’ coordinated actions described in the complaint ultimately required the company to cease operations, resulting in fewer choices and higher costs for consumers. Evidence Of Anti-Competitive Behavior SmileDirectClub’s innovative model disrupted the orthodontic industry and threatened the financial interests of the Defendants by offering affordable, effective, and accessible clear aligner treatment, with clinical supervision and approval by state-licensed dentists and orthodontists on a fully remote basis, thereby doing away with the need for in-office visits and eliminating key barriers of cost and geography for millions of consumers. As detailed in the complaint, Align was initially attracted to this new model, investing $59.5 million for a 19% ownership stake in SmileDirectClub and becoming the company’s exclusive third-party supplier of clear aligners. This partnership granted Align extensive access to SmileDirectClub’s confidential business information, as well as a seat on its board of directors. But as the lawsuit explains, after SmileDirectClub rejected Align’s $1.5 billion buyout offer, Align instead used the confidential information it had learned from SmileDirectClub and opened a series of copycat “Scan Shops” modeled directly on SmileDirectClub’s innovative SmileShops. SmileDirectClub brought an arbitration against Align because of Align’s violation of the restrictive covenants it had previously agreed to, and the arbitrator ruled in SmileDirectClub’s favor in early 2019. The ruling ordered Align to divest its stake in SmileDirectClub at a steep discount, costing Align hundreds of millions of dollars. The arbitrator also enjoined Align from opening competing stores until August 2022. At this point, the complaint alleges that Align pivoted and launched its new strategy to eliminate SmileDirectClub as a competitor and secure a monopoly in the clear aligner market. The complaint details allegations as to how Align worked in concert with the ADA and AAO to spread false and misleading claims about SmileDirectClub’s safety and efficacy to damage its reputation with consumers and industry professionals, filed baseless complaints with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and leveraged exclusive agreements with dental support organizations - while also interfering with other third-party relationships - to block SmileDirectClub from accessing vital market opportunities. According to the lawsuit, these actions represented a calculated and coordinated effort by the Defendants to stifle competition and innovation in orthodontic care as part of their conspiracy to monopolize the industry and prevent consumers from accessing additional proven treatment options at more affordable prices. The lawsuit also shows how these actions directly contradicted the positions two of the conspirators—Align and the ADA—had taken up until the point when Align’s efforts to buy or copy SmileDirectClub failed. As the lawsuit explains, prior to embarking on the conspiracy, Align’s own CEO had forcefully debunked the exact same false assertions about SmileDirectClub’s services that Align and its coconspirators would repeatedly promote once Align shifted from trying to copy or buy SmileDirectClub to trying to destroy it. Similarly, as the lawsuit shows, the ADA expressly supported and endorsed “asynchronous” teledentistry (i.e., dentists treating patients without having to meet with them live) for years, only to reverse course right when it began conspiring with Align to falsely denigrate SmileDirectClub’s business model. Consumer Impact The alleged actions of Align, the ADA, and the AAO significantly reduced competition, requiring consumers to pay higher prices for orthodontic treatment while limiting their access to proven and less expensive alternative solutions. Before its bankruptcy, SmileDirectClub provided millions of consumers with an affordable and effective telehealth solution for clear aligner treatment, receiving high customer satisfaction ratings and helping those who used the company’s products achieve successful outcomes. Despite its effectiveness and proven product quality, the filing explains that SmileDirectClub was forced into bankruptcy and ceased operations in 2023 as a result of the Defendants’ systematic anticompetitive actions. The Plaintiff in this case, CDS Litigation, LLC, has the right to pursue litigation claims held by SmileDirectClub against the Defendants. ADA/AAO Involvement The filing describes the pivotal roles the ADA and the AAO played in the conspiracy to destroy SmileDirectClub, leveraging their positions as influential trade associations and active market participants to shield giant sponsors - like Align - and block disruption in the industry. The complaint alleges that the ADA and AAO participated in this monopolistic conspiracy by using their position as both market participants and powerful trade associations to preserve the profits and dominance of entrenched industry leaders and ensure that disruptive innovations – like SmileDirectClub’s affordable and accessible care model – could not succeed. About Susman Godfrey The lawsuit is being led by the team at Susman Godfrey that secured a $787.5 million settlement on behalf of Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation case against Fox News. “The filing alleges that Align Technology abused its market dominance to systematically crush competition and protect its monopoly at the expense of consumers,” said Stephen Shackelford, Partner at Susman Godfrey LLP . “According to the complaint, after Align was forced to give up its ownership interest in SmileDirectClub, it suddenly changed its tune as to SmileDirectClub’s model and conspired with the ADA and AAO to spread falsehoods, disrupt SmileDirectClub’s business relationships, and block its access to essential equipment and partnerships. Align’s conduct alleged in the complaint was anticompetitive, calculated, and illegal. The allegations in the complaint show how the entrenched and powerful incumbents in Big Dentistry manipulated the system to collude against a revolutionary and otherwise successful competitor, restrict affordable and effective options for consumers, and inflict lasting reputational damage through their dissemination of demonstrably false claims.” “As explained in the complaint, the Defendants didn’t just target their main competitor - they targeted the millions of consumers who stood to benefit from the affordable and accessible orthodontic care the competitor offered. The effectiveness of SmileDirectClub’s model and products threatened the Defendants’ market and financial interests, who, according to the filing, conspired to destroy the company rather than compete with them fairly,” said Davida Brook, Partner at Susman Godfrey LLP . “This complaint presents a textbook example of how dominant players collude to maintain market power, stifle competition, and harm consumers.” Susman Godfrey LLP is a leading national trial firm with an unmatched track record in high-stakes litigation. The firm has earned recognition as a fearless advocate for fairness, representing clients seeking justice against entrenched industry leaders. About Benesch Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff joins Susman Godfrey as co-counsel and is being led by a team that has extensive experience representing SmileDirectClub. “Having previously litigated and won against Align, we are all too familiar with the sort of abusive anticompetitive acts alleged in the Complaint against Align and other dominant players in the traditional dental market. SmileDirectClub pioneered the use of teledentistry to advance oral care with over 2 million satisfied customers, and the Complaint details the astonishing tactics the Defendants devised to run SmileDirectClub out of business,” said David Rammelt, a Partner at Benesch and Co-Chair of its Litigation Group. Benesch’s award-winning Litigation Practice Group has secured multibillion-dollar wins for plaintiffs and defendants in precedent-setting cases. An Am Law 200 firm, Benesch is nationally recognized by Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, and Best Law Firms “Best Lawyers” for earning a place of distinction representing mid-size to Fortune 100 companies in high-stakes litigation and jury trials across the country. Founded in 1938, Benesch has grown to more than 400 attorneys across six U.S. offices. Over the last five years, Benesch’s Litigation Practice Group has expanded by 40% to more than 170 attorneys, making it among the fastest-growing practices in the country. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241223208613/en/ Jeremy Adler,jeremy@uplandworkshop.com KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: LEGAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES HEALTH DENTAL SOURCE: Susman Godfrey LLP Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/23/2024 02:30 PM/DISC: 12/23/2024 02:30 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241223208613/en

Transport service to close upon owner’s retirement

The Philadelphia Eagles ruled wide receiver DeVonta Smith out for Sunday night's game at the Los Angeles Rams due to a hamstring injury. Smith did not practice all week and will miss his second game of the season and just the third of his four-year NFL career. He was inactive in a Week 4 loss at Tampa Bay due to a concussion. Smith, 26, leads the Eagles with 41 receptions and four touchdown catches ands ranks second with 516 receiving yards in nine starts this season. The former Heisman Trophy winner has 281 catches for 3,694 yards and 23 scores in 59 games (58 starts) since the Eagles drafted him with the 10th overall pick in 2021. NFC East-leading Philadelphia (8-2) takes a six-game winning streak to Los Angeles (5-5), which has won four of its last five games. --Field Level MediaSANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 23, 2024-- Last Wednesday, attorneys from Susman Godfrey LLP and Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, LLP filed an antitrust lawsuit on behalf of CDS Litigation, LLC, against Align Technology, Inc. (“Align”), the American Dental Association (“ADA”), and the American Association of Orthodontists (“AAO”). The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of California, alleges that the Defendants engaged in a multi-year coordinated and illegal conspiracy to eliminate their most serious market competitor to protect their industry dominance at the expense of consumers’ ability to access effective, affordable, and proven orthodontic care. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.