No. 6 Purdue eyes better start in Marquette matchup

Sixth-ranked Purdue will be looking to build on a decisive bounce-back victory when it hosts Marquette in a nonconference game on Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind.

Purdue (9-1) defeated visiting Minnesota 85-57 on Wednesday, led by a dominant second half after holding a 35-32 edge at the break. The Boilermakers were coming off their first loss of the season, 81-58 to then-No. 10 Iowa State on Dec. 6, a result that dropped them out of the top spot in the poll.

"I didn't walk away from the Iowa State game and say, 'Well, we're not No. 1 anymore,'" Painter said following the Minnesota game. "I walked away from the Iowa State game saying we got our ass kicked and how could I have stopped that?"

Purdue opened the second half against Minnesota with a decisive 21-0 run, the Boilermakers' third run of 20-0 or longer this season.

"Obviously you can't go on runs like that unless you get stops," Painter said. "And so, I thought our attention to detail defensively was pretty good."

Purdue's Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff each finished with a double-double.

Smith had 15 points with 12 assists, six rebounds, five steals and two blocks. Kaufman-Renn recorded his fifth double-double this season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Cluff had his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Purdue averages 85.2 points per game while allowing 67.9. The Boilermakers have been dominant on the glass, outrebounding opponents by 10.4 per game.

Fletcher Loyer averages a team-high 14.0 points per game for the Boilermakers, while Kaufman-Renn adds 13.9 points and 10.6 boards. Cluff averages 11.4 points and 9.1 rebounds, and Smith contributes 13.3 points and 8.8 assists -- the latter figure ranking second in the nation.

Marquette (5-5) has been inconsistent in losing four of its past six games. The Golden Gophers are coming off a 96-76 nonconference road loss against in-state rival Wisconsin on Dec. 6.

The Golden Eagles hit just one of their first 13 shots against Wisconsin and one of their first 12 3-point attempts. In their previous game, a 75-72 overtime home win over Valparaiso, Marquette started 1 of 13 from beyond the arc.

Marquette scored eight of its 10 points in overtime from the free-throw line to beat the Beacons. Against the Badgers, the Golden Eagles made just 9 of 19 shots from the stripe.

The Golden Eagles average 80.9 points while giving up 76.4, but they are shooting just 42.5% on the season, including 31.1% from 3-point range.

Marquette shot 42% against Wisconsin after shooting just 35% against Valparaiso. In three of their losses, the Golden Eagles shot 38.5% or less.

"I thought we got a lot of good shots that did not go in," Marquette coach Shaka Smart said following the Wisconsin game. "So far the story of our season. So we've got to get better at making those, and we will."

Chase Ross averages 19.5 points per game, freshman Nigel James Jr. adds 12.2 points and Ben Gold chips in with 9.5 points and team-best 7.2 rebounds.

Marquette defeated Purdue 76-58 last season in Milwaukee behind a triple-double by Kam Jones.

"We have been blessed and fortunate to have some really good teams of late, and this team's behind those teams right now," Smart said. "That's a fact. And we need to get better and we will."

--Field Level Media

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No. 6 Purdue eyes better start in Marquette matchup

Sixth-ranked Purdue will be looking to build on a decisive bounce-back victory when it hosts Marquette in a nonconfere...

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The wild story behind Deion Sanders' new coaching hire at Colorado

Coloradofootball coachDeion Sandersventured outside his usual comfort zone to make arguably the most important hire of his coaching career. He hired somebody he didn't personally know who didn'tplay or coach in the NFLand didn't come directly from another major college program.

His name isBrennan Marion, Colorado's new offensive coordinator. And his unconventional Go-Go offense is just part of why he's such a compelling pickup for Sanders.

This is a coach who overcame homelessness in college, whoidolized Sanders as a kidand whose mom taught him the value of hard work by selling roses at nightclubs and bars.

Marion's hiring was announced by Colorado Dec. 5. USA TODAY Sports spoke with his mom, brother and uncle to get a better sense of his story. Here are 10 things to know about him:

1. He was homeless in college

Marion, 38, was raised by a single mom in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. He went off to play junior college football in California, where the state's abundance of junior college players often attracts the attention of major college recruiters. But he didn't have the means to pay for his own apartment near DeAnza College in Cupertino, home of Apple, one of the world's richest companies. So he lived in the team's locker room or press box for a while eating electrolyte pillsuntil a coach took him in. He later was recruited to Tulsa by assistant coachesGus MalzahnandMike Norvell, now the offensive coordinator and head coach at Florida State.

"This guy is fearless," said Rich Gillcrese, Marion's uncle. "I mean, nothing in front of him is unachievable."

2. His mom sold roses to help pay the bills

His mom, Richelle Gillcrese-Hines, taught him the value of hard work at an early age when she would take him and his older brother with her while she sold roses at nightclubs and bars.

"I was showing them how to make money" instead of selling drugs, his mother said. Her children came along, she said, because they didn't want a babysitter.

Marion's brother D. Brandon Gillcrese is about six years older than Marion and remembers cutting the flowers and selling them during the wee hours of the morning.

"We'd try to sell the whole bucket, and that used to be a good night," D. Brandon Gillcrese said. "Then we'd go to a diner and have breakfast at like 4 in the morning."

3. He's been sober for more than three years

This is according to apost from Marion on social mediain July that alluded to his youth.

"3 years no alcohol, wine, beer nothing!" he wrote on social media site X. "I grew up in a bar I didn't want to die in one! Just gotta go 1-0 everyday!"

Asked what he does in social settings instead, he said he drinks Shirley Temples, water and cranberry juice.

"I try to DJ & make sure everyone is having fun," hesaid on X. "Stop thinking or worrying about the drinking.

4. He runs the Go-Go offense

It's an uptempo and creative run-heavytriple-option-style schemewith a vertical passing game. In 2025, his Sacramento State team ran the ball 71.9% of the time and finished 7-5, one year after finishing 3-9 before Marion's arrival.

Marion has been running versions of it since he coached high school football and beyond, including stops at Howard University and UNLV. His system helps give lesser talented or undersized rosters a better chance.

"He had to find a way to maximize the talent and kind of create a new way to be deceptive in his playcalling," said Rich Gillcrese, Marion's uncle.

For example, as offensive coordinator at Howard, he led amassive upset against 45-point favorite UNLV in 2017, when the Bison won, 43-40. Sanders wants him to use it to revive a team that finished 3-9 in 2025.

5. He's a cowboy

He wears cowboy hats and likes country music, according to his older brother. His time as a player at Tulsa and as an assistant coach at Oklahoma Baptist (2016) and Texas (2022) played an influence in this regard.

"He's always loved country music, and he's been all over the place in his football journey," his brother said.

6. Deion Sanders is his childhood idol

He had Sanders' trademark gloves, jersey and durag,according to his mom. She said his birthday cake at age 8 said "Neon Brennan" in honor of "Neon Deion."

He played defensive back and wide receiver like Sanders did, too. Hedidn't know him before recently, but now he's working for him.

7. His mom came up with $25 for him to start football

She said she was making $4.35 an hour when Marion started his youth football career around age 7. She could barely afford the $25 fee for him to join a team. She paid it anyway, saying she threw the money on the floor and warned they might not have enough money for electricity and food.

But it was worth it. She said he scored five touchdowns in his first game.

"They kept saying Brennan Marion touchdown, Brennan Marion on the stop," she recalled. "They did that five times."

8. A knee injury derailed his NFL aspirations

It came in his final college game at Tulsa in 2008, all but ending a career that includes setting theall-time single-season record for yards per catch in 2007 with 31.9. He didn't get drafted into the NFL but signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent before more knee trouble doomed his NFL chances.

Marion, who couldn't be reached for comment, soon moved on to coaching at multiple levels, including high school and smaller colleges.

9. Video games influenced him

Playing football video games in his youth played a role in his development, too, according to his uncle, whose only about five years older than his nephew. He remembers one year "you could create your own formations and plays."

"And I don't think I ever saw him play the game other than that way after that," Rich Gillcrese said.

It led him to figure out that he could "do his own thing."

"When he started coaching, I was the least surprised person in the family," Gillcrese said.

10. His brother is a basketball coach

Marion has one brother, who now lives in Los Angeles. He is a chef and a basketball coach of the California Storm women's youth basketball team.

Both have come a long way from those humble beginnings near Pittsburgh with their mom selling roses.

"That's what fed us," D. Brandon Gillcrese said. "We saw the streets from a different lens. We saw a lot of things, but I think it shaped us."

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer@Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:The wild story behind Deion Sanders' new coaching hire at Colorado

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The wild story behind Deion Sanders' new coaching hire at Colorado

Coloradofootball coachDeion Sandersventured outside his usual comfort zone to make arguably the most important hire of hi...

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Kirby Smart whines from his soap box, but does he have a point?

Kirby Smartpicked a peculiar time to climb upon the soap box. And soap box is a polite way of saying, Smart started whining aboutGeorgia's 2026 schedule, a year in advance. Seriously.

Say this for Smart: He's consistent. A year ago, heroasted commissioner Greg Sankey about Georgia's 2024 schedule, right after accepting the SEC trophy.

This time, the Bulldogs had just finished offa beatdown of Alabama in the SEC Championship, when a reporter asked Smart about young players stepping up in the victory.

A few seconds into his answer, Smart took a left turn. He wanted to discuss something else. By discuss, I mean lament.

Smart, like some of hisSECcoaching peers, aren't crazy about the conferenceadding a ninth league gamenext season.

Swapping in another SEC opponent in place of a nonconference game stands to make the schedule tougher. Coaches work relentlessly to minimize risk. Playing another SEC game heightens risk. Plus, it complicates Smart's quest to win every game.

"I mean, the coaches in our league are concerned about" adding a ninth SEC game, Smart said. "Very concerned about it. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't speak my piece and say it's concerning."

As Smart put it, half of the SEC's teams lose a conference game. Clearly, he'd prefer to dunk on overmatched nonconference foes.

Well, boo-hoo.

We're supposed to pity a coach who must play Arkansas in place of Louisville?

More conference games help improve CFP auto bid process

Consider the upside of a ninth SEC game. If the CFP is going to keep guaranteeing bids for the SEC's championand its runner-up, wouldn't it be helpful to know the conference's two best teams are actually playing for the conference championship?

Officially, CFP rules don't guarantee a bid for the SEC runner-up, but, let's be real, that's happening. The committee proved in recent weeks it has no intention of omitting the SEC's runner-up, just as it never rejected the SEC's champion from the four-team bracket.

The committeebent over backward to preserve a spot for Alabama. It went to such farcical lengths as elevating the Tide in the penultimate rankings after an ugly win against Auburn. That provided a rankings cushion, in caseAlabamalost the SEC Championship game and Brigham Young won the Big 12 championship.

Georgia clobbered Alabama for the SEC title, and the Tide didn't budge an inch in the rankings.

The SEC deserves multiple bids in a bracket of this size. No argument there. No argument with Alabama qualifying, either. It built a case, courtesy of the Tide's 10 wins against a stout schedule. But, before the committee hands out awink-winkauto bid to the loser of the SEC Championship, let's at least employ additional measures to help ensure the conference's two best teams are actually playing in Atlanta.

Alabama reached the conference championship by beating seven teams in a 16-team conference.

When I played first base for a three-time E League champion slow-pitch softball team, we faced everybody in the league en route to the titles. No automatic bid to a slow-pitch playoff awaited. Just a free T-shirt.

The E League respected what college football does not: To call yourselves champs (or runners-up), you need to face everyone in the league. (Also, $1 off draft beers if you reused the same plastic cup week after week.)

Conferences have become so bloated teams can't possibly face everyone in their own league, but at least by adding a ninth SEC game, every team will play more than half the teams in the conference.

Same goes for the ACC, which will add a ninth conference game next season. In the meantime,unranked Duke won the ACCwith an 8-5 record.

To capture the crown, the Blue Devils beat seven members of the 17-team league, showing how absurd conference championships have become.

This has made me evolve my thinking on the playoff. I'm now for a playoff with no automatic bids. I'd do away with the Power Four conference championship games and add a 13th regular-season game for everyone.

But, hey, the conference title games make a lot of money, so they endure.

In response to the addition of a ninth SEC game,Georgiacountered bycanceling future nonconference games against Louisville and NC State. So be it.

If conferences insist on retaining championship games and the CFP attaches automatic bids to them (and, in the SEC's case, attaches awink-winkbid to the runner-up), then conferences should maximize efforts to produce the top two teams in the finals. Playing a ninth conference game aids that.

Additional meaningful games will help clear up CFP selections

Also, consider how increasing the number of meaningful games helps the CFP selection committee.

The committee deserves criticism for its dubious machinations, but let's acknowledge the difficulty the committee faces while sifting through teams with identical records and similar metrics that didn't play each other, especially when those teams hail from the same conference.

Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, a pair of 10-win teams, didn't play each other. So, the committee was left to guess that the Sooners deserve a bid and not the Commodores, by virtue of OU's slightly better strength of schedule and superior record against common opponents.

There's parity like never before in the SEC. The more games that pit similar-caliber teams against one another, the easier it becomes for the committee to separate the wheat from the chaff, without the need for guesswork.

Georgia deserves its first-round playoff bye and its SEC hardware. No one disputes that. But, when a team plays 25% of its 12-game regular-season schedule against nonconference cupcakes, as Georgia did this year, that's a recipe for committee guesswork.

No matter the schedule, Smart's Bulldogs will keep winning, while he stands on the soap box.

Blake Toppmeyeris the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him atBToppmeyer@gannett.comand follow him on X@btoppmeyer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Kirby Smart complains about Georgia football 2026 schedule. Boo-hoo

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Kirby Smart whines from his soap box, but does he have a point?

Kirby Smartpicked a peculiar time to climb upon the soap box. And soap box is a polite way of saying, Smart started whini...

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US sanctions shipping companies and vessels it says move Venezuelan oil, a day after seizing tanker

The US has announced new sanctions on shipping companies and vessels it says help move Venezuelan oil, putting more pressure on a major prop of President Nicolas Maduro's regime a day after it seized a sanctioned tanker likely carrying millions of dollars' worth of oil off the country's coast.

Three nephews of Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, as well as another Maduro-affiliated businessman were also named in the sanctions list released on Thursday by the US Treasury. Two of the sanctioned nephews were previouslyconvictedof drug trafficking charges in the US before being released in a prisoner swap.

The Treasury said thesix vesselswere engaged in "deceptive and unsafe shipping practices" that provided financial resources to Maduro's government. Four of the vessels are Panama-flagged. The other two are Cook Islands and Hong Kong-flagged.

The move further escalates the Trump administration's months-long pressure campaign on Venezuela that has included moving thousands of troops and a carrier strike group into the Caribbean, strikes on suspected drug boats and repeated threats against Maduro.

On Wednesday armed US personnelseized an oil tankerin international waters off the Venezuelan coast that had allegedly been involved in an "illicit oil shipping network" supporting countries such as Venezuela and Iran, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Venezuela is home to theplanet's single-largest known mass of crude oil, but international sanctions and a deep economic crisis have crippled the country's oil industry.

State-owned oil and natural gas company PDVSA still represents the biggest revenue source for Maduro's cash-strapped government however, thanks partly to a network of shadowy vessels that smuggle Venezuelan oil into global supply chains.

The seizure of the tanker and the latest sanctions on companies and ships accused of helping to move Venezuelan oil could inject uncertainty into those operations, said Muyu Xu, a senior oil analyst at trade intelligence firm Kpler.

"What we need to watch out the next few days is whether the loadings will get delayed, whether they (Venezuela) will see less tankers going to the Caribbean," she told CNN.

"In order to attract these vessels, they (Venezuela) probably need to pay higher freight rates for the ship owners."

Additional seizures are possible in the coming weeks as the US applies pressure on Maduro, a senior US official previously told CNN.

Maduro has claimed that Trump's escalating campaign against him is primarily motivated by a desire to get at Venezuelan oil.

Reuters reported Maduro said the boat, known as the Skipper had been carrying almost two million barrels of oil "to international markets" when it was seized.

Oil prices remain around $58 a barrel in the United States.

With the tanker carrying around 1.8 million barrels of Merey crude, Kpler's Xu told CNN the value of the landed cargo would be around $84 million.

Venezuela produces about 1 million barrels of oil per day, but only about 0.8% of global crude production. That's less than half of what it produced before Maduro took control of the country in 2013 and less than a third of the 3.5 million barrels it was pumping before the Socialist regime took over in 1999.

CNN has reached out to the Venezuelan government for comment on the latest sanctions.

Targeted tankers

The seized tanker was headed to Cuba and carrying Venezuelan crude when it was seized by US forces – around the same time as Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machadotouched down in Oslo, after she defied a travel ban and fled the country.

Previously named Adisa, the tanker was sanctioned by the US in 2022 for facilitating oil trades for Hezbollah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.

Skipper had hidden its true location while docked at a Venezuelan oil terminal last month, according to satellite and shipping data reviewed by CNN. The tanker was flying a Guyana flag, despite not being registered in Guyana, the country's Maritime Administration Department said.

None of the six vessels sanctioned on Thursday were in the Caribbean as of early Friday EST, according to AIS shipping data reviewed by CNN.

As of early Friday EST there were at least 8 tankers under US sanctions related to Iran or Russia's war on Ukraine near Venezuelan ports, or off its coast, according to AIS shipping data reviewed by CNN and matched up with US Treasury data. This includes three tankers that are around the Port Jose Oil Terminal, the same terminal the recently seized vessel Skipper was spotted on satellite imagery last month.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Skipper will now travel to an American port, where US authorities intend to take possession of its oil cargo.

Meanwhile, Maduro said the seizure marked "a new era of criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean," as his government filed a formal complaint with the International Maritime Organization.

Kpler's Xu said if the US started frequently arresting crews or detaining cargoes, it could be a problem for Venezuela's ability to ship out its oil.

"It could really be problematic, because maybe at some point these ship owners would sense that the risk is simply too high and nobody wants to come. "

CNN's Stefano Pozzebon and Donald Judd contributed to this report.

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US sanctions shipping companies and vessels it says move Venezuelan oil, a day after seizing tanker

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NATO chief warns European allies they could be Russia’s next target

NATOSecretary General Mark Rutte warned Thursday that members of the alliance could be "Russia'snext target," calling for a rapid rise in defense spending to prevent a war similar to those seen by past generations.

Rutte's comments, in a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Berlin, came as European leaders discussed a peace proposal designed to end Russia's years-long war in Ukraine against a backdrop of growing US pressure.

"We need to be ready because conflicts … are no longer fought at arm's length. Conflict is at our door," he said.

"Russia has brought war back to Europe, and we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured."

However, he added, if NATO "delivers on our commitments, this is a tragedy we can prevent."

Rutte cautioned that "Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years."

"Too many are quietly complacent. … Too many believe time is on our side. It is not," he warned. "The time for action is now. Allied defense spending and production must rise rapidly."

In June, NATO members agreed to increase their defense spending targets to 5% of their gross domestic product by 2035, more than double the current 2% target and in line with the type of increase US President Donald Trump has demanded for years.

While Rutte acknowledged that "to some extent in Europe, we'll have to take more care of our own defense," he also sought to highlight the US commitment to NATO. He made the comments after the Trump administration on Friday released its National Security Strategy, which adopted an unprecedentedly confrontational posture toward Europe.

"It's crucial we keep the transatlantic bond as it is today," he said, pointing out that "you cannot defend the US without a safe Atlantic, and you need NATO to keep the Atlantic safe."

Rutte praised Trump for kick-starting talks on Russia and Ukraine, telling CNN's Fred Pleitgen that the US president was "the only one who could break the deadlock with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."

Trump has expressed impatience to reach a deal in recent weeks, while the Europeans have appeared more cautious, seeking both guarantees over security and further discussions on any territorial concessions.

"There have to be security guarantees (for Ukraine) in place of such a quality and level that Putin knows if he tries again the reaction will be devastating," Rutte said.

"We all know there will be a delicate, difficult discussion about territory, which in the end only the Ukrainians can decide about," he added.

Meanwhile, Russia called on the United Kingdom to "admit" what a British soldier who died in Ukraine was doing there, implying without evidence that British forces were performing more than their publicly disclosed duties in the country.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said Wednesday that the soldier died "following a tragic accident whilst observing Ukrainian forces test a new defensive capability, away from the front lines."

CNN's Anna Cooban, Anna Chernova and Fred Pleitgen contributed reporting.

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NATO chief warns European allies they could be Russia’s next target

NATOSecretary General Mark Rutte warned Thursday that members of the alliance could be "Russia'snext target," calling for a r...

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Chileans are divided in a presidential runoff tilted toward the far right

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Ask many Chileans how their country fared in the past several years and they'll describe a descent into disaster:Venezuelan gangs surgedacross porous borders, bringing unprecedented kidnappings and contract killings to one of the region's safest nations.A social uprising unleashed violentchaos on once-sleepy streets. An economy long vaunted for its rapid growth sputtered into a stall.

These are the voters who hope to elect their country's most right-wing president since its military dictatorship on Sunday.

Former lawmakerJosé Antonio Kast, 59, they argue, can bring back the simple, stable life that Chileans lost torising crime, uncontrolled migrationand left-wing excesses. Kast's rival in thisrunoff presidential electionis their worst fear: a communist.

"We need to go back in time to when Chile meant peace and quiet, when there weren't so many Venezuelans and Colombians in the streets, when you didn't have to look over your shoulder every second," said Ernesto Romero, 70, shucking corn at his vegetable stall in Chile's capital of Santiago.

A deeply polarized electorate

Ask the same question to other Chileans and they'll recount an opposite reality: A shorter workweek, higher minimum wage and more generous pension system made one of Latin America's most unequal countries more livable, they say. The homicide rate declined in the last two years, official figures show. A defiant foreign policy — outspoken againstVenezuela's autocratic President Nicolas Maduro, U.S. President Donald Trump'sdenial of climate changeandIsraeli actionsagainst Palestinians — made Chile a regional champion of democracy.

These are the voters who hope,against heavy odds, to elect their country's most left-wing president since its return to democracy in 1990.

Jeannette Jara, 51, they argue, can save Chile from the wave offar-right populismthat hasupended politicsacross the world. Jara's rival is their worst fear: The son of aNazi party memberwith a fondness forGen. Augusto Pinochet'sbrutal dictatorship.

"We need to go forward," said Lucía Poblete, a 32-year-old engineer at Jara's rally late Wednesday. "Kast will erase all the progress we've made for women, for labor rights, for civil freedoms."

The chasm between Chilean perspectives on the status quo underscores not only the depth of Chile's divisions but also the stakes of Sunday's showdown, which Kast isexpected to winafter 70% of voters backed right-leaning parties in the first round.

Kast vows to make Chile safe again

Today, Kast is hoping the third time's the charm, and his presidential run has so far been a much more effective endeavorthan the previous two. That's largely thanks to fears of organized crime and immigration driving voters to the right.

"Jara seems more grounded, more sensible. But it's not the time for that. It's time for drastic measures, for shows of force," said Eduardo Marillana, 48, a former Jara supporter who jumped ship for Kast after his truck was stolen a few weeks ago. "Whether we like it or not, we need the far right now."

In 2021, the Catholic father of ninelost the runoffelection tocurrent President Gabriel Boric, a former firebrand student protest leader who rattled investors with his promises to "bury neoliberalism" butappealed to millions of ordinary Chileanssick of fiscal austerity, angry about social inequality and eager to reexamineChile's traumatic past.

Kast's family ties to the Nazi party sparked an uproar at the time — as did his apparent nostalgia for Gen. Pinochet (who he said "would vote for me if he were alive")and his fierce oppositionto same-sex marriage and abortion without exception.

This time, Kast has dodged questions about his social views, pivoting to the more politically palatable issues of insecurity and mass migration that have ginned up voter anxiety andboosted the right from WashingtontoParis.

Taking apage from Trump's playbook, Kast vows mass deportations of the estimated 337,000 migrants in Chile without legal status —mostly Venezuelans who arrivedfrom their crisis-stricken country in the last seven years.

Studying the crime-fighting tactics ofEl Salvador's popular autocratic president, Nayib Bukele, Kast proposes boosting the power of police and expanding maximum-security prison capacity.

Borrowing from Argentina'sradical libertarian President Javier Milei, Kast aims to slash red tape, shrink the public payroll and cut state spending by $6 billion within just 18 months of taking office.

His economic team on Thursday pushed back against widespread criticism that such a budget cut was unrealistic. But it acknowledged to The Associated Press that it might be "preferable to allow for an adjustment over a longer period."

Underdog Jara faces tough odds

At any other moment, Jara would have a lot going for her. She engineered Boric's mostsignificant welfare measuresas his minister of labor. Her humble origins selling hot dogs and toilet paper to get through school makes for a compelling up-from-nothing story so rare in Chile's elite circles of power. She has a strong record of negotiating with rivals to get things done.

But experts say it'll take a miracle for her to pry a victory from Kast.

"The math doesn't add up," said Robert Funk, associate professor of political science at the University of Chile. "There are just too many things stacked against her."

The most glaring: Her identity as a communist. Although her proposals to improve living standards, boost foreign investment and promote fiscal restraint hardly smack of communism, analysts say her membership in the party since age 14 undercuts efforts to lure moderate conservatives.

"Just the name 'Communist Party scares people," said Lucía Dammert, a sociologist and Boric's first chief of staff.

Then there's the challenge ofrepresenting a governmentwith a 30% approval rating in a country where citizens have voted out incumbent leaders at every election since 2005. Add to that the difficulty of appearing tough on crime next to Kast.

"This campaign is among the most difficult I've ever run, by far," Ricardo Solari, Jara's campaign strategist and a former minister, told the AP. What keeps Jara in the game, he insisted, is her appeal as a bulwark against Kast's radicalism.

"The right exaggerates insecurity to convince people that the only possible response is extreme force," Solari said. "But we've seen elsewhere in Latin America that when that happens, ultimately what gets imprisoned is democracy itself."

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Chileans are divided in a presidential runoff tilted toward the far right

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Ask many Chileans how their country fared in the past several years and they'll describe a des...

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Week 15 Preview: 7 Bounce-Back LEAGUE WINNERS + Rookie RB Rankings This Week

Week 15 is upon us as is our fantasy preview show for the weekend slate. Justin Boone joins Matt Harmon to breakdown every fantasy angle of Week 15. The two tackle Boone's 6-pack of questions and Harmons' 3 games of the week. The two then end the show with our wildly entertaining 'hurry up offense' segment.

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(1:00) - Matt's solo TNF recap: Falcons 29, Buccaneers 28

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Week 15 Preview: 7 Bounce-Back LEAGUE WINNERS + Rookie RB Rankings This Week

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