NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks tiptoed to more records amid a mixed Tuesday of trading, tacking a touch more onto what’s already been a stellar year so far. The S&P 500 edged up by 2 points, or less than 0.1%, to set an all-time high for the 55th time this year. It’s climbed in 10 of the last 11 days and is on track for one of its best years since the turn of the millennium. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 76 points, or 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to its own record set a day earlier. AT&T rose 4.6% after it boosted its profit forecast for the year. It also announced a $10 billion plan to send cash to its investors by buying back its own stock, while saying it expects to authorize another $10 billion of repurchases in 2027. On the losing end of Wall Street was U.S. Steel, which fell 8%. President-elect Donald Trump reiterated on social media that he would not let Japan’s Nippon Steel take over the iconic Pennsylvania steelmaker. Nippon Steel announced plans last December to buy the Pittsburgh-based steel producer for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden also came out against the acquisition. Tesla sank 1.6% after a judge in Delaware reaffirmed a previous ruling that the electric car maker must revoke Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package. The judge denied a request by attorneys for Musk and Tesla’s corporate directors to vacate her ruling earlier this year requiring the company to rescind the unprecedented pay package. All told, the S&P 500 rose 2.73 points to 6,049.88. The Dow fell 76.47 to 44,705.53, and the Nasdaq composite gained 76.96 to 19,480.91. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady after a report showed U.S. employers were advertising slightly more job openings at the end of October than a month earlier. Continued strength there would raise optimism that the economy could remain out of a recession that many investors had earlier worried was inevitable. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.23% from 4.20% from late Monday. Yields have seesawed since Election Day amid worries that Trump’s preferences for lower tax rates and bigger tariffs could spur higher inflation along with economic growth. But traders are still confident the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate again at its next meeting in two weeks. They’re betting on a nearly three-in-four chance of that, according to data from CME Group. Lower rates can give the economy more juice, but they can also give inflation more fuel. The key report this week that could guide the Fed’s next move will arrive on Friday. It’s the monthly jobs report , which will show how many workers U.S. employers hired and fired during November. It could be difficult to parse given how much storms and strikes distorted figures in October. Based on trading in the options market, Friday’s jobs report appears to be the biggest potential market mover until the Fed announces its next decision on interest rates Dec. 18, according to strategists at Barclays Capital. In financial markets abroad, the value of South Korea’s currency fell 1.1% against the U.S. dollar following a frenetic night where President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law and then later said he’d lift it after lawmakers voted to reject military rule. Stocks of Korean companies that trade in the United States also fell, including a 1.6% drop for SK Telecom. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9% to help lead global markets. Some analysts think Japanese stocks could end up benefiting from Trump’s threats to raise tariffs , including for goods coming from China . Trade relations between the U.S. and China took another step backward after China said it is banning exports to the U.S. of gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications. The counterpunch came swiftly after the U.S. Commerce Department expanded the list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls to include many that make equipment used to make computer chips, chipmaking tools and software. The 140 companies newly included in the so-called “entity list” are nearly all based in China. In China, stock indexes rose 1% in Hong Kong and 0.4% in Shanghai amid unconfirmed reports that Chinese leaders would meet next week to discuss planning for the coming year. Investors are hoping it may bring fresh stimulus to help spur growth in the world’s second-largest economy. In France, the CAC 40 rose 0.3% amid continued worries about politics in Paris , where the government is battling over the budget. AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Geir Otto Pedersen issued the warning while briefing the UN Security Council during an emergency meeting on recent developments in Syria on Tuesday local time. If we do not see de-escalation and a rapid move towards a serious political process that includes the Syrian parties and key international players, it is feared that we will witness a deepening of the crisis, he said. At the beginning of his speech, the UN official called on all parties to protect the lives of civilians, stating that the recent developments in northern Syria pose severe risks to civilians and have dangerous effects on regional and global peace and security. While referring the Tahrir al-Sham (previously Nusra Front) to a designated terrorist group by the UN, Pedersen also warned that the resurgence of terrorism puts Syria at grave risk of further division, deterioration and destruction, and endangers the Arab country’s sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity. Fourteen years of conflict have conclusively shown that none of the Syrian parties or existing actors and groups can resolve the Syrian conflict militarily, Pedersen told the Security Council and stressed: "We must de-escalate and ensure a cooperative approach to confronting terrorist groups." While calling for serious international efforts and negotiations in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254 to find a way to end the conflict, and prevent bloodshed, the UN envoy clarified that he is in contact with the Syrian parties and international actors to this end, including the Syrian government, the Syrian opposition, Turkey, Russia, Iran, the United States, and Arab and European countries. The emergency meeting of the UN Security Council convened at the request of Damascus and with the support of Russia, China and Algeria, following attacks by foreign-backed terrorist on parts of several provinces including Aleppo, Idlib and Hama. The permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, and the ambassador and permanent representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN are scheduled to speak at the meeting. 4399
Two people, including a teenage girl, are dead after a house fire on a northern Saskatchewan First Nation, police say. The identity of the second person killed in the fire has yet to be confirmed, RCMP said Tuesday. The fire occurred on Clearwater River Dene Nation, about 600 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. RCMP spokesperson Keely Grasser said the girl was transported to hospital, where she died, while the other person was found dead inside the house. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is investigating the cause of the fire, Grasser said. Clearwater River Dene Nation Chief Teddy Clark posted on social media that the First Nation is putting together a crisis team to support the community and families involved.
BluSky Carbon Announces Extension of Strategic Marketing AgreementThe unprecedented pardon of Hunter Biden by his father, President Joe Biden , has ignited a firestorm of criticism from legal and political experts, with some viewing it as a pointed rebuke of the Justice Department and others downplaying it as political theater. In conjunction with the sweeping 11-year pardon, the president announced Sunday that he believed his son, who was convicted on three federal gun charges for lying on a firearms application and pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges earlier this year, was being unfairly targeted by his political rivals. Since then, the president's decision has incited public skepticism about both the impartiality of the justice system and the motivations behind the president’s decision. The pardon was an "acknowledgment that this Justice Department has engaged in lawfare and the weaponization of criminal justice,” Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz told the Washington Examiner. Dershowitz said he viewed the pardon as a denunciation of Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel David Weiss, whom Garland appointed in 2023 amid pressure from Republicans to investigate Hunter Biden over his foreign business dealings that GOP critics said were tailored to benefit the elder Biden. "It’s a rebuke to Garland, it’s a rebuke to the special prosecutor Weiss, it’s a rebuke to the entire system," said Dershowitz, who represented Trump during his first impeachment trial. The conservative Article III Project's senior counsel, Will Chamberlain, said Biden's pardon and the accompanying criticism of the cases amounts to a "criticism of Garland." "Garland appointed Weiss and would have had to sign off on major investigative steps," Chamberlain said. "Biden can’t criticize the prosecution as political without implicitly criticizing Garland." In a recent Washington Post op-ed, the editorial board described Biden's decision as an "unquestionable legal right" but one that "maligned" the DOJ under Garland. The article asserted that the pardon "invited" President-elect Donald Trump to "draw equivalence between the Hunter Biden pardon and any future moves Mr. Trump might take against the impartial administration of justice." Garland has not issued any public comment since the pardoning of the first son on Sunday. His most recent comments about pardons date back to August, when he was asked about Trump's floated plans to pardon defendants from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. “The convictions indicate that both juries and judges have agreed with our charges," Garland told reporters in August when asked about Trump's plans to pardon defendants from the riot. "Pardons are another matter, and I really don’t have anything to say about that." Former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy was more skeptical of the substance of Biden's criticisms of the Garland DOJ and likened the president's statement to "play-acting." "Biden knows the things he said about his son’s case are not true and that, in fact, Hunter was given special treatment, not selective prosecution," McCarthy said. "This is all being said politically (for public consumption), and none of it is real." McCarthy also said that "Weiss did not conduct a real investigation" and added that "Garland tried to disappear Hunter's case," but instead endured humiliation once a prenegotiated plea deal blew up before a federal judge in Delaware in July 2023. In Biden's statement, he blamed Republicans in Congress for "instigating" an investigation into his son, claiming "No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong." But Weiss's lead prosecutor, Leo Wise, vehemently objected to the president's assertion in court filings on Tuesday, citing that no court has agreed when the "defendant falsely claimed that the charges were the result of some improper motive." McCarthy also noted that the pardon was always a failsafe that Biden had under his tool belt if all else failed and that Weiss's role as special counsel was merely a way to "pretend" that the prosecution of Hunter Biden was being handled by an "independent" lawyer. "But Weiss not only is not independent, he is the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware," McCarthy said, adding, "This means that if Biden really thought Weiss abused his power, he could fire Weiss immediately — U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president. So the whole thing is nonsense." Georgetown law professor Jonathan Turley said Hunter Biden managed to escape from any consequences in part because he "flaunted his status as a protected person among the Washington elite. He is one of Washington’s untouchables." "In order to rationalize this abusive use of the pardon power, the president is now attacking his own Justice Department as politically motivated and engaged in lawfare," Turley added. Although the indictments against the first son never included any allegations of influence-peddling investigated by the House Oversight Committee, Republicans charged that the president's family, through dealings handled by his son, had used their influence and status to make more than $20 million beginning at the end of Biden's vice presidency in 2015. Now, questions linger over what Republicans can or will do in the 119th Congress that could move forward an investigation into whether the sitting president benefited from his son's alleged influence operation. Even though Hunter Biden can no longer be prosecuted for any alleged actions since around 2014, his pardon means that he can be brought in to testify under oath during future congressional inquiries or court hearings. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has not said much about the future of investigations into the Biden family but suggested in a statement to reporters Tuesday that he is not done with the first son yet. "We still don’t have the pseudonym emails, which we believe will show Joe Biden was communicating secretly with the shady associates that were a part of the money laundering scheme with the money from our adversaries around the world," Comer told the Daily Beast. CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER “I look forward to talking to Attorney General [Pam] Bondi about this," Comer added, referring to Trump's nominee for attorney general. The Washington Examiner contacted the DOJ for comment.
SVB to pay nearly 40 million florins in pensions
NoneBoise State's legacy includes winning coaches and championship moments
Democrats strike deal to get more Biden judges confirmed before Congress adjournsJack Kronis, a prolific career conman and serial fraudster from Toronto, still owes more than $1,720,000 in court-ordered restitution to his victims from previous swindles, unpaid over decades, but this time, he told a U.S. judge at his sentencing for another big fraud, he really means it when he says he’s sorry, and his top priority is to repay his new victims. To do that, however, he cannot be in prison, he needs to be out working, the judge was told. “He has recognized the error of his ways,” Catherine Meehan, lawyer for Kronis, argued in U.S. federal court in Cleveland. “He is actively engaging in counseling and is properly medicated for his mental health conditions. He strives to be better and wants nothing more than to help assure the victims are made whole. “He will work every day to ensure restitution is made, and he offers nothing but the sincerest of apologies for the impact his conduct had on so many people,” Meehan said in her sentencing submission. “(Kronis) recognizes there is nothing he can say to help the victims gain back the trust that he took advantage of. He can only hope that one day, they may all offer forgiveness for his conduct, which he continues to be ashamed of every day.” Meehan asked Judge Philip Calabrese to sentence Kronis, 65, at the low-end of the federal sentencing guidelines. Prosecutor James P. Lewis, however, asked Calabrese to do the opposite, to sentence Kronis at the high-end of the guidelines. Lewis cited the damage Kronis caused to nearly 200 victims, and Kronis’ long history as a silver-tongued conman who spent most of his adult life swindling and scheming. Kronis, with his audacious swindles over thirty years in Canada, the United States and Europe, was the subject of an investigation by National Post published in August, in which Kronis was dubbed the Jack of Diamonds because for years he sold over-valued coloured diamonds through lies, tricks and smooth talking manners. Kronis was indicted in the United States , along with three other Canadian conmen, in 2022 because their sprawling boiler room operation guzzled money from victims on both sides of the border. Their company was called Paragon International Wealth Management and it had a boiler room on Toronto’s Finch Avenue West, where international students arrived by bus to make cold calls, while Kronis arrived in his luxury Bentley sedan to joined the other managers in large offices pumping out diamond investment sales. “Paragon would often send the victim appraisal certificates that fraudulently inflated the value of the green or yellow diamonds,” Lewis told court. “Paragon also fabricated online auctions to make the victim think that their green or yellow diamonds would be sold for large amounts of money.” Prosecutors said that Kronis oversaw the fake auctions. Kronis also made calls to keep victims in the Paragon grinder of ever-increasing buying to chase promises of a big pay day that never came. “The impact of this crime on Paragon’s victims was profound,” Lewis told the judge. Prosecutors identified about 200 victims. Victims, identified publicly only by initials, spoke of financial ruin and stress that damaged their health and relationships. “I charged a large amount of money on my credit card to purchase the diamonds which were supposedly (going to) sell within 30 days and pay off the credit card,” S.S. told court. “I could not sell the diamonds anywhere to pay what I could because I never received any diamonds just excuses. I had to sell my company using the equity to pay off the debt as my failing health made work difficult. I was going to use the money to help retire with.” Another victim, identified as A.S., said: “It is an embarrassing thing to be taken advantage of.... I am 79 years old. I continue to work to mitigate the financial effect of the fraud on me and my family ... my continued employment at my age cannot be discounted as factors in my illness.” “This crime has created both financial and mental anguish for not only me but my wife and immediate family,” D.S. said in a victim statement. His wife “has a difficult time trying to believe that I, with my experience and education, got conned by these vicious and greedy scam artists.” Kronis’s long history of ripping people off with similar schemes was finally raised in U.S. court. I was going to use the money to help retire Lewis told the judge of Kronis’s conviction in Buffalo, N.Y., for fraudulently selling obscure metals as if they were rare and valuable, between 1990 to 1993, from a boiler room in Toronto, tricking victims into paying large amounts again and again. The loss to victims in the metals scam was US$10 million, Lewis said, with Kronis personally making US$3.9 million in fraudulent sales. Kronis was given a 10-month prison term. He still hasn’t paid US$820,000 restitution that was ordered by court back then, according to court records. Kronis was also convicted in Canada for selling fraudulent stocks between 1989 and 1990, Lewis said. It was a large investment scandal in Canada at the time because the firm, Durham Securities, was licensed to sell stocks and bonds in Ontario. Kronis was given a six-month sentence then. He was also ordered to pay $837,081 in restitution, of which $575,000 he still owes, according to court records. Court was also told of Kronis’s arrest in Belgium in 1995 for his role in a large-scale telemarketing stock fraud based in Amsterdam. European investigators said at the time that $250 million was fleeced from at least 1,227 victims. The U.S. court did not record the outcome of that case, but National Post was told he was convicted in 2000 after cooperating with investigators. Lewis asked the court to again impose a restitution order on Kronis. Kronis presented eight letters of support to the judge asking for leniency. One stands out. It is from Irving Bielas, of Innisfil, Ont., who writes fondly of his 45-year friendship with Kronis. Bielas does not mention in his letter that he and Kronis were both indicted together in Buffalo in the 1990s metals scam run from a Toronto office tower. Both men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud back then. Bielas wrote to the judge saying Kronis has been a man of “unwavering integrity, compassion and responsibility throughout our acquaintance” and that the crimes Kronis pleaded guilty to “are uncharacteristic of his true nature.” A request for comment from Bielas was not responded to prior to publication deadline. Two letters were from health professionals detailing Kronis’s medical conditions. Kronis, court was told, suffers from several health complaints — from irritable bowel syndrome, vertigo, lactose intolerance, hernia and osteoporosis to mental health problems, including severe depression that requires antipsychotic medication. His lawyer, Meehan, told the judge his conditions are linked to his crimes. “Defendant’s internal issues played a significant role in his commission of the offense. While he is certainly not offering it as an excuse for his behaviour, it is an explanation for his conduct and is something that he is working on addressing every day,” she told the judge. In the end, Calabrese sentenced Kronis late Thursday to 37 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, which, since he will likely be deported back to Canada after prison, will have little impact. Holding these individuals accountable and having their names publicly accessible and associated to this scheme should reduce the likelihood of them being able to perpetrate another similar investment scheme Kronis will also be ordered to pay restitution. How much, he doesn’t yet know. The judge agreed to postpone deciding on the amount until after a restitution hearing to be held later. One of Kronis’s fellow fraudsters, James Gagliardini, who was one of the founders of the Paragon company in 2013, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 56 months in a U.S. prison by the same judge in October. Kevin Williams, the Toronto fraud detective who first investigated the diamond fraud, which lead to the U.S. prosecution, was satisfied with the outcome. The other swindlers who pleaded guilty — Michael Shumak and Antonio Palazzolo — have sentencing hearings scheduled for the new year. • Email: ahumphreys@postmedia.com | X: AD_Humphreys Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rose to records Tuesday after Donald Trump's latest talk about tariffs created only some ripples on Wall Street, even if they could roil the global economy were they to take effect. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to top the all-time high it set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 123 points, or 0.3%, to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6% as Microsoft and Big Tech led the way. Stock markets abroad mostly fell after President-elect Trump said he plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China once he takes office. But the movements were mostly modest. Stock indexes were down 0.1% in Shanghai and nearly flat in Hong Kong, while Canada's main index edged down by less than 0.1%. Trump has often praised the use of tariffs, but investors are weighing whether his latest threat will actually become policy or is just an opening point for negotiations. For now, the market seems to be taking it more as the latter. The consequences otherwise for markets and the global economy could be painful. Unless the United States can prepare alternatives for the autos, energy products and other goods that come from Mexico, Canada and China, such tariffs would raise the price of imported items all at once and make households poorer, according to Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi, economists at High Frequency Economics. They would also hurt profit margins for U.S. companies, while raising the threat of retaliatory tariffs by other countries. And unlike tariffs in Trump's first term, his latest proposal would affect products across the board. General Motors sank 9%, and Ford Motor fell 2.6% because both import automobiles from Mexico. Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and other Mexican beer brands in the United States, dropped 3.3%. The value of the Mexican peso fell 1.8% against the U.S. dollar. Beyond the pain such tariffs would cause U.S. households and businesses, they could also push the Federal Reserve to slow or even halt its cuts to interest rates. The Fed had just begun easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high a couple months ago to offer support for the job market. While lower interest rates can boost the economy, they can also offer more fuel for inflation. "Many" officials at the Fed's last meeting earlier this month said they should lower rates gradually, according to minutes of the meeting released Tuesday afternoon. The talk about tariffs overshadowed another mixed set of profit reports from U.S. retailers that answered few questions about how much more shoppers can keep spending. They'll need to stay resilient after helping the economy avoid a recession, despite the high interest rates imposed by the Fed to get inflation under control. A report on Tuesday from the Conference Board said confidence among U.S. consumers improved in November, but not by as much as economists expected. Kohl's tumbled 17% after its results for the latest quarter fell short of analysts' expectations. CEO Tom Kingsbury said sales remain soft for apparel and footwear. A day earlier, Kingsbury said he plans to step down as CEO in January. Ashley Buchanan, CEO of Michaels and a retail veteran, will replace him. Best Buy fell 4.9% after likewise falling short of analysts' expectations. Dick's Sporting Goods topped forecasts for the latest quarter thanks to a strong back-to-school season, but its stock lost an early gain to fall 1.4%. Still, more stocks rose in the S&P 500 than fell. J.M. Smucker had one of the biggest gains and climbed 5.7% after topping analysts' expectations for the latest quarter. CEO Mark Smucker credited strength for its Uncrustables, Meow Mix, Café Bustelo and Jif brands. Big Tech stocks also helped prop up U.S. indexes. Gains of 3.2% for Amazon and 2.2% for Microsoft were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. All told, the S&P 500 rose 34.26 points to 6,021.63. The Dow gained 123.74 to 44,860.31, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 119.46 to 19,174.30. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady following their big drop from a day before driven by relief following Trump's pick for Treasury secretary. The yield on the 10-year Treasury inched up to 4.29% from 4.28% late Monday, but it's still well below the 4.41% level where it ended last week. In the crypto market, bitcoin continued to pull back after topping $99,000 for the first time late last week. It's since dipped back toward $91,000, according to CoinDesk. It's a sharp turnaround from the bonanza that initially took over the crypto market following Trump's election. That boom had also appeared to have spilled into some corners of the stock market. Strategists at Barclays Capital pointed to stocks of unprofitable companies, along with other areas that can be caught up in bursts of optimism by smaller-pocketed "retail" investors.Australians are rejoicing, reflecting and remembering on Christmas Day as the holiday kickstarts summer celebrations for some and bookends a difficult year for others. or signup to continue reading Almost the entire country is set to bask in a sunny day, with warm northerly winds lifting temperatures above 30C in several capitals. Few blemishes are expected elsewhere with showers in Western Australia's southwest and storms in the Top End. Millions of Australians will mark the day with present giving and lunches with family and friends. But it won't be all festive cheer, particularly for those remembering those missing around the table. That includes the 70 Palestinian Christian families marking Christmas in Australia, including a 28-year-old refugee whose wife and two daughters were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a church in 2023. He's among those granted refugee status in Australia after Israel invaded Gaza as retaliation to the October 7 Hamas attack. "There's so much trauma, the families are suffering the trauma from the war because it is ongoing and a lot of their families are still in Gaza," Palestinian Christians Association President Suzan Wahhab told AAP. "I would say it's bittersweet." Still, Ms Wahhab said the group is working hard to ensure the day can still bring joy, by throwing gift drives and church services across the country. "But the shadow of the war, the shadow of losing loved ones and thinking about them during this time is overpowering," she said. The war and the ripple effect of hatred have also cast a shadow over the Jewish Festival of Lights, which begins on Christmas Day for only the fourth time since 1900. But the leader of Sydney's Great Synagogue said the message for Hannukah was one of community strength and unity after a spate of anti-Semitic attacks across the country. "It's always better when any community - Jews or otherwise - think about their own traditions and celebrations and what they enjoy about their culture," Rabbi Benjamin Elton told AAP. "That is more sustaining than thinking about attitudes of hostile outsiders." He noted a resurgence of Jewish community spirit and interest in Jewish practices in the past year. "When there is such a sense of external aggression and hostility by a very unpleasant minority, then people come to re-examine why they value their traditions and their community," he said. Christmas Day will also be a time of reflection for Australia's northern capital as it marks 50 years since Cyclone Tracey tore Darwin to shreds, killing at least 66 people. "This will be a difficult period where people will remember lost loved ones and remember as well the traumatic experience that they had," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Darwin. He also thanked doctors, nurses, hospitality staff and all those working over Christmas to make the season of celebration and reflection possible. "I do want to wish everyone the very best and a peaceful and joyful Christmas," he said. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton celebrated Australian stoicism in the face of financial pressures in his Christmas message. "I salute our charity workers, our food banks and those feeding the poor and homeless who, although overstretched, are always outstanding in what they do," he said. 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Make more 3-pointers than your opponent in this NBA era, and you’re likely to win. Make a lot more 3s than your opponent, and you’re almost certain to win. The Boston Celtics are clearly banking on that thinking as they seek back-to-back titles. All the 3-point numbers in the NBA are on the rise yet again, with the league on yet another record pace for both 3s made and 3s attempted. This can’t come as a surprise, given there’s been a steady rise in those numbers across the league for more than a decade. But the Celtics are relying upon the 3-pointer like no team in NBA history — on pace to smash the league records for 3s made and attempted in a season — and other teams are taking note of the approach. “When we’re at our best, you have to have an understanding,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “This is what we do. ... At the end of the day, we’re trying to be the best version of ourselves more than other people.” People are also reading... The best version of the Celtics is the version that includes them shooting it from deep and shooting it from there often. They’re not alone in that sort of thinking. Of the NBA’s 30 teams, 13 are on pace to shoot more 3s this season than they ever have before. “It helps, for sure, and our guys have really worked at that,” said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team is one of the 13 — along with Boston, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio and Washington — on a franchise-record pace for 3-point attempts. “It all works together, though. It can’t just be 3s and it can’t just be paint attacks.” It’s silly to say that one stat — other than points, obviously — can dictate winning or losing, but it sure seems like an edge in 3-pointers made equates to victories. So far this season, the team that takes more 3-pointers in a game wins 53% of the time. The team that makes more 3-pointers wins 67% of the time. If a team makes five more 3s than its opponent, it wins 75% of the time. And if a team makes 10 more 3s than its opponent, game over: Those clubs, after the Celtics did it to the Heat on Monday, are now 31-0 this season. “Rhythm shots, catch-and-shoot 3s, open shots, you’ve got to be willing to take those,” Toronto coach Darko Rajaković said. “Players at this level, they spend so much time working on their shot — working in the offseason, working in-season — you’ve got to have confidence to take those shots." Only two teams in league history — the 2018-19 Houston Rockets and 2020-21 Utah Jazz — have finished a season having gotten more points off 3-pointers than they did 2-pointers. That club is going to have a new member or two when this season is over. This is an example of how what Boston is doing is never-before-seen. The Celtics are getting 47% of their points off 3s and only 37% off 2s, an unprecedented difference. (And most of those 2s are at the rim.) Meanwhile, the Charlotte Hornets are getting 45% of points off 3s, 42% off 2s. It's almost unheard of to be that 3-point reliant. The Jazz got 43% of their points on 3s in 2020-21, 42% on 2s. The Rockets got 42% of their points on 3s in 2018-19, 41% on 2s. Charlotte is in its first year under coach Charles Lee — who, it should be noted, coached in Boston last season under Mazzulla. It’s not a stretch to conclude that Lee brought the Boston-3-party mentality to Charlotte and gave his shooters a very green light. “We’re challenging them in a lot of different ways,” Lee said. There have been six instances entering this week of a player taking at least 18 3-pointers in a game this season. One was by Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton. Another was by Boston’s Jayson Tatum. The other four were by Charlotte players — three by LaMelo Ball (including the NBA’s first 20 3-point-attempt game this season) and the other by Brandon Miller. All this comes in an era where basically everybody is shooting 3s and has been for some time. The Heat had a game last week where Spoelstra played 10 players and all of them tried at least two 3s in a game. Of the top 200 scorers in the league this season in terms of total points, 95% of them have made at least one 3-pointer. And the 5% that aren't in that group, they're all post players who almost never venture outside the arc — guys like Ivica Zubac, Jakob Poeltl, Daniel Gafford, Jarrett Allen, Clint Capela and Rudy Gobert. Rajaković doesn’t see this increased 3-point reliance ending anytime soon. “If you make them, awesome, get back to the gym and work and get in more,” Rajaković said. “If you miss them, get back to the gym and work and get in more.” Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!