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HOUSTON — JJ Redick has made it clear: he doesn’t just want the Lakers to be a good team; he wants them to be a great team.And not only does he want them to be great, but he believes they can be.But what does it look like for Redick to hold his team to a standard of looking to become great rather than simply trying to be good?In Friday’s home win against the Atlanta Hawks, it was criticizing his team’s lack of game-plan discipline.“Why that stuff matters, the reason why executing a personnel-based scouting report that we talked about, is…

By BERNARD CONDONNEW YORK (AP) — Your car is spying on you.That is one takeaway from the fast, detailed data that Tesla collected on the driver of one of its Cybertrucks that exploded in Las Vegas earlier this week. Privacy data experts say the deep dive by Elon Musk’s company was impressive, but also shines a spotlight on a difficult question as vehicles become less like cars and more like computers on wheels.Is your car company violating your privacy rights?“You might want law enforcement to have the data to crack down on criminals, but can anyone have access to it?”…

LOS ANGELES — Lincoln Riley has been saying it loud for months, in rooms private and public, as the NCAA’s definition of amateurism has been increasingly buried under a heap of pay-for-play cash: the current model of college football is now a professional model.“We’re having to make some tough decisions,” Riley said on an early-December appearance on USC’s radio show “Trojans Live.” “We’re having to decide where to allocate reps, or where to allocate resources, roster spots, all of those things. You’re getting ready to to reduce the roster size. You’re getting ready to have a salary cap, essentially.”“I mean,” Riley…

By Paige Smith | BloombergA lender owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. knowingly issued “unaffordable” home mortgages by ignoring the insufficient income or assets of some borrowers, a top financial regulator alleged in a lawsuit Monday.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance Inc. in US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, claiming the firm’s lending process “ignored clear and obvious red flags that certain consumers would not be able to repay their loans according to their terms,” according to the complaint.“Vanderbilt knowingly traps people in risky loans in order to close the deal on…

As California lawmakers returned Monday to Sacramento for the legislative session, Democrats acknowledged a clear message from voters: California’s sky-high cost of living needs to drop back down to Earth.“We get it,” Democratic state Sen. Dave Cortese said. “The Democratic Party, has, in effect, just been called out by the voters on that issue.”The state’s Democrats say they’ll focus this year on making California more affordable, and party leaders are increasingly railing on the high costs of staples such as groceries and home electricity bills.The reason? Even though Democrats kept their supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature after November’s…

LOS ANGELES — A few years ago, Lincoln Riley might have panicked if he only had two quarterbacks in his room come December. Times have changed. This was a yearly occurrence, USC’s head coach reflected on National Signing Day, expressing faith in returning starter Jayden Maiava and highly touted freshman Husan Longstreet heading into 2025.Still, Miller Moss was gone to the transfer portal, as was backup Jake Jensen. The room had no buffer, by sheer depth. And USC, Riley confirmed then, would need to add a third quarterback.“Coach Huard, the rest of our staff,” Riley said, referring to USC quarterbacks…

Winter weather often causes flight delays and cancellations. While airlines can’t control the weather, they are required in the U.S. to provide refunds to customers whose flights are canceled. Here’s what to know about your rights, and what to know when cancellations start piling up: Keep an eye on weather forecasts Related Articles Travel | 6 tips to keep teenagers happy on vacation Travel | Teachers get free annual passes to SeaWorld San Diego Travel | Climate change-driven weather risks are reshaping the way US consumers travel Travel | 17 tips for having a great cruise down the Nile River…

By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK, FARNOUSH AMIRI and MATT BROWN, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — Congress certified President-elect Donald Trump as the winner of the 2024 election in proceedings Monday that unfolded without challenge, in stark contrast to the Jan. 6, 2021, violence as his mob of supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.Lawmakers convened under heavy security and a winter snowstorm to meet the date required by law to certify the election. Layers of tall black fences flanked the Capitol complex in a stark reminder of what happened four years ago, when a defeated Trump sent his mob to “fight like hell” in what became the most gruesome attack on the seat of American…

Sean McVay had a coaching tree before most NFL people figured he was old enough to develop one.Here it is, eight seasons after he was hired by the Rams – following two seasons as Washington’s offensive coordinator – and he’s still probably viewed in some quarters as the kid coach. He turns 39 later this month – those of us who passed that number long ago can only sigh – and he has already reached the Super Bowl twice, won one, and earned a reputation as a coach whose teams (a) are never out of the hunt and (b) are…

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated PressMcDonald’s is ending some of its diversity practices, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision outlawing affirmative action in college admissions.McDonald’s is the latest to shift its tactics in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling and the conservative backlash that followed. Walmart, John Deere, Harley-Davidson and others have also rolled back diversity programs.McDonald’s said Monday that it planned to retire specific goals for achieving diversity at senior leadership levels. It also intends to end a program that encourages its suppliers to develop diversity training and increase the number of minorities in their own leadership ranks.McDonald’s…