18+ min ago (498+ words) P.J. Fleck might soon feel like Richard Pitino did in March 2019. Six years ago, Pitino had taken the Gophers men's basketball team back to the NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons, but the head coach was not thrilled with the selection committee's pick for Minnesota's first-round opponent: Louisville. That, of course, was the school his father, Rick Pitino, had led to a national championship in 2013. But in 2019, Rick was embroiled in scandal with the Cardinals and was actively suing them. Facing a familial tie to that controversy, Richard had to answer questions about his dad and the matchup on Selection Sunday, and a few days later, before their opening round game in Des Moines. The Gophers' eventual win over Louisville made it a bit sweeter for son. For Fleck, this year's bowl selection Sunday on Dec. 7 might develop…...

31+ min ago (225+ words) By DAVID KLEPPER, Associated Press The findings reflect the evolving tools and tactics of Russia's cyber war and demonstrate Moscow's willingness to attack a growing list of targets, including governments, organizations and private companies that have supported Ukraine, even in a tenuous way. "They routinely go after organizations that support Ukrainian institutions directly, provide services to Ukrainian municipalities, and assist organizations tied to Ukrainian civil society, defense, or government functions," said Ismael Valenzuela, Arctic Wolf's vice president of labs, threat research and intelligence. The attack on the engineering firm was identified by Arctic Wolf in September before it could disrupt the engineering company's operations or spread further. A message left with officials at the Russian Embassy in Washington seeking comment was not immediately returned. Many towns and cities around the world enjoy sister-city relationships with other communities, using the program…...

1+ hour, 14+ min ago (161+ words) The Tommies volleyball team is one win away from the school's first-ever Division I NCAA tournament berth. St. Thomas knocked off second-seeded South Dakota in the Summit League Tournament semifinals Monday via a thrilling five-set victory in which the third-seeded Tommies rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win 25-22, 22-25, 16-25, 25-19, 15-9 in Brookings, South Dakota. St. Thomas will meet top-seeded South Dakota State in the title match at 6 p.m. Tuesday with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line. The Jackrabbits swept the two regular season meetings between the two teams, winning both in four sets. Anya Schmidt paced the Tommies with 19 kills, while Tezra Rudzitis added 17. Ella Voegele had a team-high 25 digs. The semifinal marked the first match to go the distance for St. Thomas this season since the team's season opener against Ball State....

1+ hour, 31+ min ago (393+ words) By WAFAA SHURAFA, Associated Press Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced it found the body earlier this week in Nuseirat, a refugee camp in central Gaza. The body will be handed to the International Committee of the Red Cross Tuesday afternoon, Hamas said on Telegram. Palestinian militants have released the bodies of 25 hostages since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire started on Oct. 10. Three are believed to still be in Gaza. The process has been slow, threatening the truce. Hamas says it has not been able to reach all of the remains because they are buried under rubble from Israel's two-year offensive in the Palestinian territory. Israel has accused the militants of dragging their feet and threatened to resume military operations or withhold humanitarian aid if all remains are not returned. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement Tuesday that the delay…...

1+ hour, 45+ min ago (468+ words) As holiday travel begins ahead of Thanksgiving, an updated weather forecast now has the Twin Cities under a winter storm warning starting at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. This system is expected to bring snow, gusty winds and hazardous travel conditions to parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin. As of early Tuesday, the weather service predicts four to eight inches of snow is possible in the Twin Cities before the winter storm warning expires at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Here's what we know as of early Tuesday: "An overnight forecast update has increased snow amounts which has led to an expansion of the Winter Storm Warning across the area," the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service reported on X early Tuesday. The winter storm warning begins at 9 p.m. on Tuesday and ends at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. During the day on Tuesday, expect a drizzly high of…...

1+ hour, 46+ min ago (806+ words) If he ever felt like sleeping in and skipping his workouts over the summer, Cretin-Derham Hall senior forward Maverick Timmons needed only to think back on the last day of February and how his junior season ended. The Raiders trailed rival St. Thomas Academy by a goal in the closing seconds of their section title game before forging a tie with 13 seconds to play. But the storybook ending eluded Cretin, as STA won in double overtime and advanced to the state tournament. "That game stung," Timmons said after a preseason Raiders practice at their home rink in Highland Park. "The whole summer, every single day, waking up early, practicing, lifting, it's the only thing that was on my mind." The Raiders went 23-4-1 last season, with all of their losses coming at the hands of state tournament teams. Looking at the…...

3+ hour, 41+ min ago (1415+ words) Imagine, for a moment, that you're an American pilot flying an F-16 over Iraq. The troops on the ground have been pursuing a small group of Iraqi insurgents. They report that they've cornered the insurgents in a small farmhouse. Rather than take the risk of assaulting the house on the ground, the commander has called you in to make a precision strike from the air " to blow up the entire building. But you have concerns. You've been briefed over and over again about the law of war, and you're worried that there might be civilians in the house. You can't see any, but you don't know for sure. A legal principle called "distinction" requires you to discriminate between military and civilian targets, and you're worried about who might be behind those walls. In fact, since you were called in after the…...

6+ hour, 45+ min ago (734+ words) Well, it's Groundhog's Day " Again. After the Wolves squandered an eight-point lead in the final minute in Friday's loss in Phoenix, Minnesota held a 10-point advantage over the Kings in Sacramento on Monday after Anthony Edwards tallied an and-1 with three minutes to play. Surely that would be good enough to seal the deal this time around. Yes, it happened again. Sacramento went on a 10-0 run over an 81-second span to knot the game and force overtime, where the Kings beat Minnesota, 117-112. The Wolves committed four turnovers in the extra session to offset the easy offense Edwards generated with the ball in his hands " offense Minnesota could've used at the end of regulation. The Timberwolves led by 12 with nearly 10 minutes to play in the fourth frame after Mike Conley drilled a triple. From that point forward, Minnesota went 2 for 19 from…...

7+ hour, 21+ min ago (380+ words) The Gophers punched a ticket to their Thanksgiving tournament title game with a win Monday, and with it, earned a matchup with a tournament team from a year ago. Minnesota downed South Florida 57-45 in the opening game of the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship in Nassau, Bahamas. The Gophers will meet Alabama in the Junkanoo Division title bout Wednesday. The Crimson Tide (6-0), who beat Harvard, 80-60, in the other matchup, were a No. 5 seed in last year's NCAA Tournament who reached the second round before falling to Maryland in double overtime. That could very well serve as Minnesota's best nonconference game on its slate this season, and is another chance for the Gophers to earn a quality win away from the confines of Williams Arena after Minnesota fell in Kansas last week. Minnesota controlled the game from the outset against…...

9+ hour, 36+ min ago (474+ words) Minnesota United's defensive-first game plan was panning out almost to perfection through 70 minutes of a Western Conference semifinal in San Diego. The Loons were conceding a ton possession but few scoring chances and providing some threats on their own counter attacks. Then San Diego's do-everything attacker Anders Dreyer got space and ripped a powerful shot into the upper corner of the net in the 72 minute for a 1-o win at Snapdragon Stadium. The top-seeded San Diego end the fourth-seeded Loons' season and will host second-seeded Vancouver in the West final at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Loons season ends in the Western Conference semifinal for a second straight year. Dreyer headlined the Loons' scoring report. The Dane won MLS newcomer of the year with 36 combined goals and primary assists " second to only Lionel Messi (45) this season. After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, the second…...