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Casey and Turnbull lead UE against UNI
Panthers finish with 62-48 victory
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the fourth time in five Missouri Valley Conference games, AJ Casey reached double figures to pace the University of Evansville men’s basketball team in a 62-48 loss to Northern Iowa on Sunday afternoon at the Ford Center.
Casey recorded a game-high 17 points hitting seven of his nine field goal tries. He tied for the team high with five boards. Connor Turnbull registered 12 points while blocking two Panther shots. Ben Schwieger led a balanced UNI attack with 14 points. Seven different Panther players scored at least six points.
“Northern Iowa is a really good team who is similar to Illinois State. They are one of the top defensive teams in the nation and that poses difficulties for any opponent,” UE head coach David Ragland said. “I thought we did a really good job defensively against their top two scorers but did not do as well against their supporting cast. Once you dig a hole like we did in the first half, it is hard to climb out of.”
Connor Turnbull tied the game at 2-2 just over two minutes in before the Panthers converted back-to-back triples to take an 8-2 advantage Following a 1-for-7 start from the field, AJ Casey converted consecutive baskets to cut the UNI lead to 11-6. With just under 13 minutes left in the half, the fourth consecutive 3-pointer by the Panthers extended their lead to 14-6.
Casey’s third basket of the game made it a 6-point game at 14-8 with 11:35 showing on the clock. The defense for the Panthers took over at that point holding the Aces off the scoreboard for the next 5:32 while the offense scored nine in a row to take its largest lead at 23-8. Evansville missed four shots during the stretch while committing five turnovers.
Leif Moeller’s first basket of the afternoon ended the cold streak while Turnbull and Casey added field goals in a 6-0 spurt that cut the deficit to single digits (23-14) with 4:39 remaining in the period. UNI quickly responded with three triples over the next two minutes to extend its lead to 32-14. UE posted the next four points before a basket at the buzzer sent the Panthers into the break with a 34-18 edge. Over the first 20 minutes, UNI was 8-for-15 from downtown while the Aces were 0-for-6. Casey had 10 of Evansville’s 18 first-half tallies.
Baskets by Turnbull and Moeller in the opening two minutes of the final period cut the gap to 12 points, but another run by UNI gave them their first 20-point lead at 44-24 inside of the 14-minute mark. UE did not give up and worked to chip away in the final minutes. Alex Hemenway’s triple got the Aces within 13 (52-39) with 6:29 left, but the Panthers went back up by 18 before completing the day with a 62-48 win.
The Panthers shot 45.8% for the game while UE shot 42.2% including 11-of-22 in the second half. UNI had a 33-25 rebounding lead.
Another home game is on tap Wednesday when the Aces welcome Murray State at 7 p.m.
THUNDERBOLTS UNABLE TO RALLY IN 3RD PERIOD, FALL 3-1 AT QUAD CITY
Evansville, In.: After a strong first two periods of play, the Thunderbolts simply ran out of gas in their 6th game in 10 days, losing 3-1 at Quad City on Sunday afternoon. The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, January 14th against the Birmingham Bulls at 7:00pm CT.
Following a scoreless first period in which Evansville outshot the Storm 10-6, the Thunderbolts continued to push in the second period until they were finally rewarded at 11:32, as Derek Contessa deflected a shot into the net from Max Thiessen and Evan Miller to give Evansville the 1-0 lead. Terrible luck struck with 1:30 remaining, as a shot blocked away by Kristian Stead spun up in the air and dropped in the crease, and a Thunderbolts defenseman accidentally banked the puck in off Stead as he was trying to cover up for a face-off, leading to the Storm tying the game 1-1. Evansville stumbled in the third, and Jake McDonald scored on a 2-on-1 rush for the Storm at 2:14 to give Quad City the lead, with Jesper Tarkiainen adding a late empty net goal to defeat Evansville 3-1.
Contessa scored Evansville’s goal, while Kristian Stead finished with 24 saves on 26 shots on goal. The Thunderbolts and Storm meet again on Saturday, January 24th at Ford Center, with the regular season series tied 5-5.
Supporting local road projects
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Local communities recently received over $2 million in state funding for road and bridge projects. The Community Crossings Matching Grant Program offers funding to local communities for road repairs, bridge maintenance, intersection upgrades and other infrastructure projects. Nearly 200 communities received $100 million in state matching grants for this round of funding. Area grant recipients include:
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To be eligible for funding, smaller municipalities must contribute 20 percent in local funds, while larger communities are required to provide a 50 percent match. State guidelines also ensure that half of the available matching funds each year are directed to communities in counties with populations of 50,000 or fewer. Since 2016, the Community Crossings program has invested over $2 billion in enhancing local roads and bridges.
Local economies thrive when investments are made in infrastructure and improving the quality of roads. I am thrilled to see Southwest Indiana towns and counties utilizing funds from the Community Crossings program. Visit in.gov/indot/communitycrossings to view a full list of grant recipients and learn more about the program. |
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Congressman Baird Statement on Successful U.S. Military Operation and Capture of Nicolás Maduro
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jim Baird (IN-04) released the following statement on the U.S. military operation that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela:
“We are fortunate to have a President willing to follow through on protecting American lives. Decisive leadership as Commander-in-Chief matters, and it gives our men and women in uniform the confidence they need to carry out difficult missions against those who threaten our country.
“Holding indicted criminals accountable and denying drug traffickers a safe haven sends a clear message: the United States will not tolerate foreign actors who enable the flow of fentanyl and other deadly drugs into our communities.
“This mission underscores Congress’ responsibility to ensure our military has the resources it needs to defend the nation. A strong national defense is essential to our national security and to keeping American families safe.”
Progressive Democrats of America Condemns Trump’s Attacks On Venezuela
Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) condemns Donald Trump and his administration for launching unprovoked, unwarranted, illegal military attacks against the people of Venezuela. We further condemn their operations abducting Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. No democratic nation can tolerate illegal secret warfare, clandestine regime change operations, or removal of foreign leadership carried out in our name.
PDA joins with the Congressional Progressive Congress (CPC) in demanding passage of H.Con.Res. 61 and H.Con.Res. 64, Described by the CPC as “Congressional directives to remove U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Western Hemisphere without delay.”
We support the CPC’s advocacy for what they described as “[T]wo resolutions led by House Foreign Affairs and Rules Committee Ranking Members Meeks and McGovern to end Trump’s brutal military campaign that has killed at least 87 people and is driving us toward a catastrophic forever war in Venezuela. The resolutions are privileged under the War Powers Resolution and are available for floor action this week.”
PDA calls upon the U.S. Congress to act immediately, employing its authority under the Constitution to force the Trump Administration to halt all military operations targeting Venezuela. This, by passing privileged emergency War Powers legislation directing the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from the area and cessation of hostilities, as well as defunding all regime‑change, assassination or kidnapping plots, or other military or paramilitary operations.
The Congress must move swiftly to end, prohibit, and defund all offensive actions against Venezuela, including sanctions, blockades, strikes, and other so‑called “counter‑narcotics” missions that serve as a pretext for war. The Congress must exercise its Constitutional appropriations, investigative, and legislative powers to halt and prevent any further illegal actions and war crimes.
Every moment of delay further endangers innocent Venezuelan lives, and risks setting a catastrophic precedent: that a president may unilaterally launch unprovoked and unwarranted, military attacks, air strikes, invasions, covert operations, and illegal attempts to impose regime‑change.
Additionally, the Congress must immediately demand a full accounting about these illegal attacks. This, including who ordered the operations, where the detainees are being held, and how the administration plans to remediate these outrages.
Furthermore, the Congress must launch a full and comprehensive independent investigation into any and all violations of U.S. and international law, including the U.N. Charter’s prohibition against aggressive war and the kidnapping of foreign officials. This by holding hearings, examining witnesses and documents, and other fact finding procedures, in order to hold those responsible accountable.
Finally, Progressive Democrats of America calls upon Congress to reject the shameful bipartisan complicity in this campaign of escalating aggression, and to replace it with a sound, sensible foreign policy grounded in diplomacy, human rights, and the self‑determination of all people, including the Venezuelan people.
In conclusion, history will judge whether Congress stood up in this moment to stop an illegal war; or stood by while unilateral executive branch actions were allowed to proceed, weakening the Constitution, our democracy, and the rule of law. Carried out without congressional authorization or clear evidence of an imminent threat, Trump’s actions blatantly violated the U.S. Constitution as well as U.S. and international law. As Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) stated:
The American people did not ask for this act of war to bring about regime change in Venezuela—nor did Congress authorize it. President Trump has put our troops in harm’s way, and he has not provided a clear, fact-based rationale for these actions, nor the long-term strategy following these strikes….
This act of war is a grave abuse of power by the President. The Trump Administration is repeating the worst mistakes of our past and endangering American lives—and their motive for doing so is a farce. Trump seized Maduro and his wife just weeks after he pardoned former Honduran President—and notorious convicted drug kingpin—Juan Orlando Hernández….
This is not about demolishing a dictatorship, as we’ve seen Trump cozy up to dictators around the world. This is about trying to grab Venezuela’s oil for Trump’s billionaire buddies. Congress must not abdicate its constitutional authority and allow control of the world’s most powerful military to fall into just one set of hands.
We agree. This is not foreign policy. This is militarized authoritarianism. We must act to stop it now, before it spreads to enflame the entire region, if not the entire globe in a dangerous, unnecessary conflict. We are outraged, but this moment demands more than outrage. It demands organized, coordinated resistance.
Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) is helping lead the charge, organizing with our allies inside and outside of Congress to push back. We’re mobilizing support for the Progressive Caucus’ War Powers Resolutions and coordinating protests demanding an immediate ceasefire and all party negotiations to achieve a just and durable peace as soon as practicable.
Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) was founded in 2004 to transform the Democratic Party and U.S. politics by working inside and outside of the party. This, by electing empowered progressives and by building the progressive movement in solidarity with with peace, justice, civil rights, environmental, and other reform efforts. For more information about the organization, please see https://PDAmerica.org
Table of references:
- https://nymag.com/
intelligencer/article/us- attacks-venezuela-maduro- captured-trump-war-updates- reaction-commentary.html - https://progressives.house.
gov/2025/12/as-trump- threatens-land-strikes-on- venezuela-progressive-caucus- urges-passage-of-privileged- resolutions-to-stop-illegal- war - https://www.cbsnews.com/live-
updates/venezuela-us-military- strikes-maduro-trump/ - https://abcnews.go.com/
International/wireStory/ latest-us-strikes-venezuela- captures-maduro-wife-128863070 - https://www.nytimes.com/live/
2026/01/03/world/trump-united- states-strikes-venezuela - https://www.reuters.com/world/
americas/trump-rejected- maduro-requests-call-options- narrow-venezuela-leader- sources-say-2025-12-01/ - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/
world/venezuela-detains-6- foreigners-including-3- americans-over-alleged-plot- to-kill-maduro
