7 tips to prepare for next year’s taxes nowStock market today: Wall Street slips to a rare back-to-back lossKaapo Kakko scored the tiebreaking goal during a four-minute power play with 23 seconds left as the New York Rangers ended their first five-game losing streak in over three years with a 4-3 victory over the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Saturday afternoon. The Rangers, who had squandered a two-goal lead early in the third period, had the lengthy power play after the Canadiens' Kirby Dach high-sticked Mika Zibanejad behind the New York net. The Rangers cashed in after Montreal could not clear the defensive zone. Zac Jones made a backhand pass to the middle of the slot to Will Cuylle, who did the same to Kakko. Parked at the right side of the crease, Kakko lifted a one-timer over goalie Sam Montembeault's shoulder for his fourth goal of the season. Kakko's game-winner ended New York's longest losing streak since the final week of the 56-game 2021 pandemic-shortened season. The goal came after the Canadiens' Cole Caulfield and Nick Suzuki scored about 10 minutes apart for a temporary 3-3 tie. New York's Artemi Panarin and Zibanejad scored power-play goals in the opening 40 minutes while Vincent Trocheck also scored in the waning seconds of the first period before the Rangers recovered from blowing the lead. Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick made 25 saves a week after allowing six goals in a 6-2 loss at Edmonton. Mike Matheson also scored for the Canadiens. Montembeault made 24 saves. The Rangers went ahead 9:02 into the contest when Panarin lifted a shot from above the left circle over Montreal defenseman David Savard into the upper corner of the net. Montreal tied with 8:13 left when Matheson entered the offensive zone, stepped into a shot above the right hash marks and ripped a shot over Quick's right shoulder. After surviving Montreal's attempts at going ahead, the Rangers cycled the puck around the offensive zones in the final seconds of the first and took a 2-1 lead when Trocheck tipped in Alexis Lafreniere's shot from the right point with 4 seconds left. New York expanded its lead when Zibanejad faked a one-timer, waited for Chris Kreider to get in front of the net and sent a shot from between the circles by Montembeault. Caufield put a shot from the right circle by Quick at 4:16 into the third, and Suzuki slid the puck into the open net to forge a 3-3 tie nearly 10 minutes later. --Field Level Media

REFORM, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge ruled that the family of former NFL player Glenn Foster Jr., who died in law enforcement custody in Alabama, can pursue a lawsuit alleging his death was the result of excessive force. Foster, a former New Orleans Saints defensive end, died on Dec. 6, 2021, three days after being arrested and taken to jail in rural Pickens County for alleged speeding and attempting to elude police. A judge ordered Foster taken to a medical facility in Tuscaloosa for a mental evaluation. Foster was found unresponsive in the back of a law enforcement vehicle when he arrived at the facility. He was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later. His widow, Pamela Foster, filed a lawsuit against officers at the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and jail saying Foster had been beaten, shocked with a Taser and strangled while at the jail. The defendants then asked a federal judge to dismiss the case. U.S. District Judge Annemarie Carney Axon ruled Thursday refused to dismiss allegations of excessive force and failure to intervene. Axon dismissed other portions of the lawsuit. The ruling came a day before the third anniversary of Foster’s death. Foster appeared in 17 games for the Saints in 2013 and 2014.

Usman Tijani, a 19-year-old student of the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), was attacked on Tuesday by his friend, who lured him to a burial ground and slit his throat. According to a family member, the victim, who operates a Point of Sale (POS) business, was allegedly lured by his friend, Abdulmuqeet Musari, to the burial ground, where he was robbed of the money he used for his POS transactions. Zainab Avosuahu, a family member of the victim, narrated the incident and disclosed that the suspect allegedly lured her nephew into the bush on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, stole ₦200,000 from him, and slit his throat. She stated that her nephew, who runs a POS business, is currently undergoing surgery in a Lokoja hospital, while the suspect is on the run. “We received a shocking call from my sister on Tuesday that left us devastated. Please, this is a call for justice for my nephew, whom his friend dragged into the bush, robbed of ₦200,000, and still butchered his throat. “He is currently undergoing surgery in Lokoja, while the ‘devil in disguise’ of a friend is on the run. Please, we are on the lookout for him. This is all the information we can provide now, as the victim can’t say much,” she stated. ALSO READ: Kaduna govt builds 62 new secondary schools in 18 months However, the suspect was later apprehended by vigilantes and the local government’s security team, who tracked him to a neighboring community in Ekiti. Suleiman Abdulrazaq Acheneje, the Senior Special Assistant to the LG chairman, Hon. Bashiru Okatenwu, said the local government’s security team swiftly took action upon hearing about the terrifying situation. “In the late hours of December 23, 2024, between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., an unforeseen incident occurred around the Adavi burial ground. A young boy named Usman Tijani was attacked by one of the bad eggs in our society. Usman, a 200-level student of Cyber Security at the Confluence University of Science and Technology Osara (CUSTECH), was brutally injured by Abdulmuqeet Musari, whose intent was undoubtedly to kill him. “The victim was found barely alive and rescued around 2 a.m. on Christmas Day in New Zango, Adavi LGA. He was immediately rushed to Lokoja, where he has been receiving treatment in a well-equipped hospital.” “The culprit was already on the run, but kudos to the Executive Chairman of Adavi and the local security team for apprehending him in Ekiti State.” It was further gathered that the suspect has been handed over to the police. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Williams Aya, confirmed the incident on Thursday, along with the arrest of the suspect. Aya stated that the suspect is currently in police custody, and an investigation is ongoing. He will be arraigned in court upon the completion of the investigation.Updated December 07, 2024 at 16:21 PM ET BEIRUT — Insurgents' stunning march across Syria gained speed on Saturday with news that they had reached the suburbs of the capital and with the government forced to deny rumors that President Bashar Assad had fled the country. The rebels' moves around Damascus, reported by an opposition war monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions , led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations. In their push to overthrow Assad's government, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian army. For the first time in the country's long-running civil war, the government now has control of only four of 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Homs, Latakia and Tartus. The U.N.'s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an "orderly political transition." Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad's chief international backer, said he feels "sorry for the Syrian people." In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands went to Syria's border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country. Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told The Associated Press, and those still open ran out of staples such as sugar. Some were selling items at three times the normal price. "The situation is very strange. We are not used to that," the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions. "People are worried whether there will be a battle (in Damascus) or not." It was the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a yearslong siege. The U.N. said it was moving noncritical staff outside the country as a precaution. Assad's status Syria's state media denied social media rumors that Assad left the country, saying he is performing his duties in Damascus. He has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia is busy with its war in Ukraine. Lebanon's Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad's forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria. Pedersen said a date for talks in Geneva on the implementation a U.N. resolution, adopted in 2015, and calling for a Syrian-led political process, would be announced later. The resolution calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with U.N.-supervised elections. Later Saturday, foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, along with Pederson, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha Summit to discuss the situation in Syria. No details were immediately available. The insurgents' march Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were marching toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he added. A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the "final stage" of their offensive by encircling Damascus. HTS controls much of northwest Syria and in 2017 set up a "salvation government" to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group's image, cutting ties with al-Qaida, ditching hard-line officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance. Syria's military, meanwhile, sent large numbers of reinforcements to defend the key central city of Homs, Syria's third largest, as insurgents approached its outskirts. The shock offensive began Nov. 27, during which gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest, and the central city of Hama, the country's fourth largest city. Opposition activists said Saturday that a day earlier, insurgents entered Palmyra, which is home to invaluable archaeological sites had been in government hands since being taken from the Islamic State group in 2017. To the south, Syrian troops left much of the province of Quneitra including the main Baath City, activists said. The Syrian Observatory said government troops have withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces and are sending reinforcements to Homs, where a battle loomed. If the insurgents capture Homs, they would cut the link between Damascus, Assad's seat of power, and the coastal region where the president enjoys wide support. The Syrian army said in a statement that it carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by "terrorists." The army said it was setting up a "strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area," apparently to defend Damascus from the south. The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since conflict broke out in March 2011. Diplomacy in Doha The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey, meeting in Qatar, called for an end to the hostilities. Turkey is a main backer of the rebels. Qatar's top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to take advantage of the lull in fighting in recent years to address the country's underlying problems. "Assad didn't seize this opportunity to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people," he said. Copyright 2024 NPR