What’s New

The moves follow the revelation in February that none of the 87 journalists in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the awards, are Black.

Amid growing pressure on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, NBC said Monday that will not air the Golden Globes in 2022.

In a statement, the network said it believes the press association — which is facing possible boycotts from Netflix, Warner Bros. and many Hollywood stars — is committed to reform.

“However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right,” the network said. “As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes. Assuming the organization executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January 2023.”

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, long a subject of ridicule from even its own telecast hosts, has come under fire following an investigative report by The Los Angeles Times that recounted the organization’s questionable record on diversity — including, presently, no Black members among its approximately 90 voting members.

The press association has pledged to thoroughly reform, and last week approved a plan to, among other things, diversity its membership. But that hasn’t stopped several studios from threatening to pull out of the Globes.

Last week, Netflix cast doubt on its future involvement with the HFPA.

“We don’t believe these proposed new policies — particularly around the size and speed of membership growth — will tackle the HFPA’s systemic diversity and inclusion challenges, or the lack of clear standards for how your members should operate,” said Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos wrote in a letter to the group.

Warner Bros. earlier Monday said it would cease holding screenings and other events for the HFPA until it made more substantial changes.

“For far too long, demands for perks, special favors and unprofessional requests have been made to our teams and to others across the industry,” WarnerMedia executives said in a letter. “We regret that as an industry, we have complained, but largely tolerated this behavior until now.”

The outcry against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has also included strong statements from Time’s Up, a group of 100 Hollywood publicity firms and stars including David Oyelowo, Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson.

On Monday, Tom Cruise reportedly returned to the HFPA office the Golden Globe Awards he won for “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Magnolia,”

The Globes, produced by Dick Clark Productions, have suffered ratings drops in recent years but still rank among the most-watched award shows — usually third to the Oscars and the Grammys. The 78th Golden Globes, held Feb. 28, attracted 6.9 million viewers, a 63% drop from the 2020 telecast, watched by 18.4 million.

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DMX’s longtime producer and collaborator, Grammy winner Swizz Beatz, announced on Monday that “EXODUS” will feature new material and drop on May 28.

NEW YORK — A new album from DMX will be released later this month.

DMX’s longtime producer and collaborator, Grammy winner Swizz Beatz, announced on Monday that “EXODUS” will feature new material and drop on May 28.

“My brother X was one of the most pure and rare souls I’ve ever met. He lived his life dedicated to his family and music. Most of all, he was generous with his giving and loved his fans beyond measure. This album, X couldn’t wait for his fans all around the world to hear and show just how much he valued each and every single person that has supported him unconditionally,” Swizz Beatz said in a statement.

The posthumous album will be released on Def Jam, where DMX released most of his albums and made music history. The Grammy-nominated performer’s first five albums all debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart. His hits include “Get at Me Dog,” “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem,” “Party Up (Up in Here)” and “X Gon’ Give It to Ya.”

DMX, whose birth name was Earl Simmons, died last month at age 50. His life and legacy was celebrated at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where Kanye West, Nas, Busta Rhymes and members of DMX’s Ruff Ryders collective — Swizz Beatz, Eve, The Lox — attended and spoke highly of the rapper.

His last album, “Undisputed,” was released in 2012.

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STOWE, Vt. — Eduardo Rovetto is hoping the state of Vermont’s reinstated requirement that people who are collecting unemployment benefits must seek work to qualify will help him hire enough staff for his restaurant in the resort town of Stowe.

After more than a year of coronavirus restrictions on his business, Piecasso Pizzeria & Lounge, he’s expecting a breakout summer tourism season, but like employers across the country he’s worried he won’t have enough workers.

“We’ve been getting many excuses as to why not to return,” said Rovetto, who is offering a signing bonus of up to $600 to try to add 15 to 20 employees who agree to stay through the middle of October. “Obviously, it was a legitimate one with COVID, but, you know, I think that’s getting used less and less now. The vaccines are free, they are out there for anyone.”

Many employers are telling similar stories. Fourteen months after COVID-19 put hundreds of thousands of people out of work, the U.S. economy is rebounding and employers are desperate for workers.

The challenge was highlighted Friday when employers nationwide added 266,000 jobs, far fewer than expected, and businesses reported they couldn’t find people to fill the openings they have to keep up with the rapidly strengthening economic rebound.

To encourage people to return to work, more states are making it harder for people to stay on unemployment. Many blame the easy benefits that followed the pandemic, including what is now a $300 a week supplemental federal payment on top of state benefits. The argument is that people make more money staying home than going back to work.

Several states have begun requiring those receiving unemployment benefits to show they are actively searching for work, and a few will stop providing the additional federal supplement.

It’s not just the hospitality sector that is scrambling to fill positions. Alene Candles, based in Milford, New Hampshire, is looking to fill 1,500 positions for its facility there and another in New Albany, Ohio, to meet demand for the holiday season. Company representatives will be participating in a number of virtual job fairs this month.

“We have had more than 100 positions open since the start of the year, and just recently we increased sign-on bonuses to $1,200 for hourly positions — in-part because we are competing with an entity that can print its own money — the federal government — and its $300 per week additional unemployment benefit,” said CEO Rod Harl. “I would love to welcome those searching for work to join our team.”

Labor experts say the shortage is not just about the $300 payment. Some unemployed people also have been reluctant to look for work because they fear catching the virus. Others have found new occupations rather than return to their old jobs. And many women, especially working mothers, have had to leave the workforce to care for children.

The details and the timing of the state-led efforts to get people back to work differ, but they are coming from states led by both Republicans and Democrats.

In addition to Vermont, states reinstating the work-search requirement include Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

“As President Reagan said, the best social program is a job,” Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said when announcing the resumption of the work-search requirement. “This statement rings true today. Unemployment benefits are still available to Arizonans who need them, but now that plenty of jobs are available, those receiving the benefits should be actively looking for work.”

Montana, South Carolina and Arkansas are planning to stop accepting the $300 benefit.

In announcing last week that beginning June 27 unemployed workers will no longer receive the $300 benefit, Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte said it was “doing more harm than good.”

Rachel Mata, an area manager for a Fayetteville, North Carolina-based staffing company, said it’s been increasingly difficult to find people for positions since the passage of the latest federal COVID-19 relief bill.

“We get candidates who will mention, ‘Hey, you know, why would I go to work when I get paid more on unemployment to sit at home?'” said Mata.

At a recent job fair, only one candidate showed up, said Mata, whose company, Mega Force Staffing Group Inc., mainly focuses on manufacturing jobs. In other cases, candidates have gone through the staffing company’s onboarding process, only to not show up on their start date.

William Spriggs, an economist at Howard University and the chief economist for the AFL-CIO, said the issue isn’t as simple as the unemployed being able to receive more benefits. He says the economy has changed.

He said he didn’t think the job-search requirement is bad, but it won’t solve the labor shortage.

“Matching workers to employers isn’t as easy as people think, which is what some of these employers are finding out,” Spriggs said.

There might be a lot of jobs available, but in some cases they don’t fit for the unemployed with specialized work skills.

“I am a master technician with 30 years experience. You think I am going to go work in a pet store?” said Harry Chaikin, an out-of-work stagehand from Burlington, Vermont, who lost his job last year when the theater where he works stopped offering performances.

Chaikin says he is eager to return to work when theaters resume normal performances. He’s receiving unemployment, including the $300 supplemental benefit, but he’s still months behind in his rent.

“The sense of optimism I feel is that human nature being what it is, I know that sooner or later people are going to gather again in big groups to be entertained, and when that happens I will have work,” he said.

And people are still losing their jobs.

Crystal Dvorak, 41, an audiologist in Billings, Montana, with two teenage daughters, weathered a furlough early in the pandemic, dipping deep into her savings, only to find out last month that she would lose her job when the clinic where she worked for nearly nine years had been sold.

Gianforte announced on June 27 the $300 benefit would end, Dvorak’s second day of unemployment.

“It had me in tears,” she said.

After learning that unemployment benefits would be discontinued and replaced with a return-to-work, one-time bonus of $1,200, Dvorak began applying for waitressing jobs, even though it could complicate her search.

“Knowing that change is coming, I’m having to be open to other positions,” she said. “I have shown interest in more jobs in the last week than I have applied for my entire 25 years of working.”

—

Associated Press writers Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, Iris Samuels in Helena, Montana, Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, and statehouse reporters across the country contributed.

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NEW YORK — It will come as little surprise to its legion of fans that the first professional musical to be mounted in the U.S. during the pandemic was “Godspell.”

The Berkshire Theater Group in western Massachusetts put on a production in August with plexiglass partitions between the actors and temperature checks for the audience. Why “Godspell”? Its message of hope and love.

?’Godspell’ just felt like the one,” says the Berkshire Theater Group’s Artistic Director and CEO Kate Maguire. “All of a sudden the story of ‘Godspell’ and what it’s about became more important.”

The John-Michael Tebelak and Stephen Schwartz musical is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month, a golden milestone for a show with roots in the hippie era but which can still speak to those on TikTok.

Some who traveled to western Massachusetts to see the pandemic “Godspell” were veterans from the show, like Peggy Gordon, who was in the original cast. “It was unbelievably emotionally powerful for us,” she says. Maguire told her she hoped the production would make Gordon proud. “I said, ‘You already have.'”

“Godspell” was an off-Broadway hit in 1971. It was made into a 1973 movie and jumped to Broadway in 1976, nominated for best score at the Tony Awards and a Grammy winner. One of the songs, “Day by Day,” reached No. 13 on the Billboard pop singles chart. It has been a springboard for everyone from Aaron Tveit, whose first real acting gig was on a “Godspell” tour, to Uzo Aduba, who was in a Broadway revival in 2011.

The musical is a retelling of Jesus’ ministry structured around a series of parables, mostly from the Bible’s Gospel of St. Matthew, with songs interspersed. Tebelak created it as a college project in 1970 while at Carnegie Mellon University and the student-led original cast helped fill it out.

“Although I’m not a very religious person, it was in many ways an act of love,” says Robin Lamont, who took the original show to Broadway and then to film. “I think many actors feel that way when they help create a show. But this was a particular love.”

The genesis of the show was sparked by an unhappy encounter: The spiritual Tebelak went to an Easter Sunday church service but was deemed inappropriately attired and was frisked by a parishioner who was an off-duty cop with the assent of the rest of the congregation.

“He was devastated. He walked out of there heartbroken and furious as many deeply spiritual Christian kids in the early ’70s,” says Gordon. It made him return to the message of Jesus, his relationship with the poor and his message of love.

The musical has fueled countless school, regional and community theater productions, a natural choice because of it’s uplifting message and also because it calls for 10 actors in the ensemble and few props. It’s nimble and athletic.

The original concept was a collection of clowns gathered at a playground — and Jesus clad in a Superman T-shirt with suspenders — but it can adapt. Lamont saw a production where the cast was doubled and another set in an abandoned church. Tebelak directed a production in the ’70s in South Africa that challenged South African race laws by insisting that the cast be multiracial.

Most of the initial score’s lyrics were from the Episcopal hymnal and the songs were atonal. When it moved on to a bigger stage, Schwartz was brought in by producer Edgar Lansbury to write a new score, incorporating a variety of musical styles, from pop to folk rock to gospel and vaudeville.

Schwartz had just four weeks between the transfer from La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club to the Cherry Lane Theatre to write new music to eight existing songs, write five additional songs and musicalize the prologue.

When Schwartz returned, he had gems like “Day by Day,” ?All for the Best” and “All Good Gifts.” He charmed Gordon when he admitted that he couldn’t improve her contribution, “By My Side.”

“His first words to me when we reassembled was ‘Peg, I tried to write something to go in the spot when you have ‘By My Side’ and I couldn’t come up with anything I like better so I’m keeping it,'” she says.

But the arrival of Schwartz, who would go on to fame as the composer of songs for “Pippin” and “Wicked,” was not initially viewed positively by some in the cast.

“I think we as a group were somewhat resistant and it did feel like someone was taking our baby and turning it into something horribly commercial. And in 1971, you know, that was sort of a dirty word,” says Lamont.

“In retrospect, I think we were incredibly foolish and naive. Looking back, I think Stephen’s score made the show what it is, and it would not have succeeded in any stretch of the imagination without it,” she adds.

While it’s easy for “Godspell” to appear formless and allows for pockets of improv, Gordon knows better. “The show was meticulously constructed but constructed in a way to appear spontaneous,” she says.

Gordon recalls the invite-only dress rehearsal at the Cherry Lane — the first time they’d performed the new version in front of an audience. The cast came out, held hands and bowed at the curtain call.

“As we were bowing, I heard thunderous applause,” she says. “They were standing on their feet and they were applauding and they were crying. I thought to myself, ‘Oh, my God, I guess it’s good!’ We never thought about it. We were so focused on trying to manifest John-Michael’s vision. I thought, ‘Oh, I guess it’s good.'”

Many critics also were charmed. New York magazine called it “a frisky, exhilarating little show” and the Daily News said it was “cheerfully irreverent and spirited.” The Boston Globe called it “‘Hair’ with a halo.'” As a sign that the show had entered the fabric of the nation, it was lampooned on “The Simpsons,” with Homer singing “Day by day/I’ve got three kids/ And two are OK.”

Gordon went on to have a varied career in theater, publishing, television, film and recordings, including writing music for soap operas and the show “Taboo in Revue.” But “Godspell” looms large.

“It sort of killed me for any other job because I just thought, ‘How do you go to another job when you authored your own character, you’re singing a song you wrote and doing all the choreography you created?'”

Lamont would later star on Broadway as Sandy in “Grease” and performed in Schwartz’s show “Working.” But “Godspell” also looms large: “When I talk to people about their experience of doing ‘Godspell,’ actors just love it. I think maybe that really comes through,” she says.

Both Gordon and Lamont are proudly part of a network of the 10 original “Godspell” companies. They have a private Facebook group and plan reunions every decade, with a big one this year. They reflect the spirit of “Godspell”: “We are a loud, noisy, incredibly active group of friends who adore each other,” says Gordon.

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The three men who died after apparently igniting an explosive powder near Starved Rock State Park were relatives from Chicago, the coroner’s office said Monday.

They have been identified as Immer Rivera Tejada, 39, Guillermo Rivera Tejada, 26 and Rafael Rivera Tejada, 36, according to LaSalle County Coroner Rich Ploch. He said the men were related but couldn’t provide specifics.

He said autopsy results were likely at least a few weeks from being released as investigators continue to investigate what caused the explosion along the Illinois River near the state park, about 75 miles southwest of Chicago.

The men were found around 7 p.m. last Thursday about 100 yards west of the Route 178 bridge in Utica, authorities said.

Investigators have determined the men had apparently been fishing before igniting black powder, Ploch told the Chicago Sun-Times last week.

No foul play was suspected, he said, adding that the men were likely trying to light a fire to cook food that was found nearby.

Illinois State Police said the investigation was ongoing.

Contributing: David Struett, Associated Press

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday accused a hacker gang of demanding ransom — from the city and a private law firm hired to investigate a botched police raid — in exchange for keeping secret a massive cache of City Hall emails that are now getting widespread attention.

The ransom demands weren’t met and the emails were ultimately posted to the “dark web,” a shadowy portion of the internet that’s a haven for cybercriminals. Last month, Distributed Denial of Secrets, a nonprofit whistleblower group likened to WikiLeaks, republished the massive document dump, which lifts the veil on some of the inner workings of the Lightfoot administration.

On Monday, the mayor tried to walk a political tightrope on the issue.

She alternately questioned the legitimacy of the emails, claimed they were taken out of context and urged reporters to be “very, very cautious” before drawing any conclusions.

But she was equally determined not to “credit” the hackers as a “credible news source” when, she claims, the whole episode was part of an extortion plot.

“This entity that supposedly hacked these emails tried to get a ransom from Jones Day [law firm], which was not paid, and then, from the city, which we obviously didn’t pay,” the mayor said at an unrelated news conference on vaccination clinics at downtown office buildings.

“I would just be very, very cautious. I’ve seen this happen in other instances. I’ve seen it from my perspective as a lawyer representing clients. Oftentimes, what happens is, you get things either out of context or they’ve been manipulated to make a particular political statement. So, I’m not gonna be commenting on specific emails, things that may be extrapolated out.”

Lightfoot went on to say that there is “no way knowing whether or not these emails are, in fact, legitimate.” Even if they are legitimate and they trigger a stream of stories about how her administration operates and makes decisions, the mayor made it clear she would not be making additional comment.

“As somebody who has committed a federal crime of stealing emails, I don’t want to credit them as a credible news source. So I won’t be commenting on any specifics related to that,” Lightfoot said.

The Sun-Times on Monday reported Sunday that some of the hacked emails show how Lightfoot sat on recommendations to change how fatal shootings by police were probed, since investigators with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability aren’t sworn law enforcement, as required by law.

The emails were posted online on April 19 by Distributed Denial of Secrets, or DDoSecrets, which has facilitated other recent high-profile data dumps. An unrelated hacker gang initially stole the files during a series of data breaches that swept up sensitive information from corporations, universities and government bodies.

Freddy Martinez, a local activist and member of DDoSecrets’ board, said his team discovered the files online and posted the voluminous collection of emails after realizing they contained information “the public should know.” DDoSecrets said the decision to publish the emails was a direct response to the fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.

DDoSecrets said the emails were swiped from accounts belonging to Susan Lee, the former deputy mayor of public safety; Patrick Mullane, Lightfoot’s former deputy press secretary; Tamika Puckett, the city’s former chief risk officer; and Anjali Julka, the former Freedom of Information Act officer for the mayor’s office. But the cache apparently includes emails authored by a host of city officials, including Lightfoot.

Kristen Cabanban, a spokeswoman for the city’s Law Department, didn’t immediately raise concerns about the authenticity of the hacked files when she responded on April 21 to a Sun-Times inquiry about the data breach.

But on Friday, shortly before the city issued a news release about the hack, Cabanban said city agencies wouldn’t comment on the content of the emails.

Cabanban previously said city officials learned of the breach on Feb. 11 and immediately notified federal law enforcement.

The hacked files, which also include roughly 50,000 documents and nearly 750,000 images, were taken during recent data breaches targeting Accellion, a firewall vendor whose dated file-sharing network was compromised by organized cybercriminals.

Clop, the ransomware crew that claimed responsibility for the hack, has used the stolen data as a means for extortion, threatening to make information public while negotiating for huge payoffs to make it disappear. Security researchers believe the group is based somewhere in the former Soviet Union.

The emails from members of Lightfoot’s administration were taken when the hackers targeted Accellion and stole files from Jones Day. Jones Day didn’t respond to repeated requests about the breach.

Contributing: Tom Schuba

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Chicago Blackhawks: Kevin Lankinen needed that strong finish by Vincent Parise

Andrew Shaw recently announced his retirement from the National Hockey League. It was sad to see him do it because of injuries instead of just wanting to be done but his health is the most important thing. The Chicago Blackhawks were lucky enough to have him for two separate stints and make up most of his career. There have been some great moments over the last decade or so. He has been one of the key role players for an organization that had so much success.

Andrew Shaw of the Chicago Blackhawks has been nominated for the Masterton.

Andrew Shaw is the Chicago Blackhawks nominee for the NHL’s Masterton Trophy. That trophy is presented annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. All 31 teams have a nominee and Shaw is the honorable player to receive it from the Hawks.

We will find out later who the final three nominees are and eventually who wins it. Being a team’s representative is an honor in its own right. Shaw is certainly someone who deserves this as his career comes to an end. It will be interesting to see who actually wins it due to the fact that it was a tough year for every person.

Shaw has had multiple concussions that kept him out for a long time. Eventually, the doctors said that he would be wise to hang them up. He admitted that it was going to be the first time that he ever listened to someone other than himself. It does show how dedicated and strong he is as he kept coming back which is why he is well-deserving of this. He only played in 14 games this season after all the work he put in to be back so that says a lot.

Shaw’s career is going to end with a total of 116 goals and 131 assists for 247 points in 544 games played. He was the perfect player to plug into any situation. He could play on a top line or a fourth line, kill penalties or play on the power play. His versatility really helped Joel Quenneville (in the prime years) make up a really nice lineup that had a chance to win every night. His impact in the playoffs can’t be understated either. He came up big a lot.

Hot: Kirby Dach and Alex DeBrincat are not Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane

It would be really cool to see Andrew Shaw return to the game in some way, shape, or form. His Masterton nomination proves how much he loves the game and how he is seen by NHL organizations. His return one day in either media, coaching, or management certainly would be cool. This is a well-deserved honor for a very good player.

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Colonial Pipeline offered the update after revealing that it had halted operations because of a ransomware attack the FBI has linked to a criminal gang.

WASHINGTON — The operator of a major U.S. pipeline hit by a cyberattack said Monday it hopes to have service mostly restored by the end of the week.

Colonial Pipeline offered the update after revealing that it had halted operations because of a ransomware attack the FBI has linked to a criminal gang.

The ransomware attack on the pipeline, which the company says delivers roughly 45% of fuel consumed on the U.S. East Coast, raised concerns that supplies of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel could be disrupted in parts of the region if the disruption continues.

At the moment, though, officials said there is no fuel shortage.

The Colonial Pipeline transports gasoline and other fuel through 10 states between Texas and New Jersey, according to the company.

Colonial is in the process of restarting portions of its network. It said Sunday that its main pipeline remained offline, but that some smaller lines were operational. The company has not said when it would completely restart the pipeline.

“The time of the outage is now approaching critical levels and if it continues to remain down we do expect an increase in East Coast gasoline and diesel prices,” said Debnil Chowdhury, IHS Markit Executive Director. The last time there was an outage of this magnitude was in 2016, he said, when gas prices rose 15 to 20 cents per gallon. But the Northeast had significantly more local refining capacity at that time, potentially intensifying any impact.

Meanwhile, the FBI on Monday said the ransomware attack had been carried out by a criminal gang known as DarkSide, which cultivates a Robin Hood image of stealing from corporations and giving a cut to charity.

In response to the attack, the Biden administration loosened regulations for the transport of petroleum products on highways as part of an “all-hands-on-deck” effort to avoid disruptions in the fuel supply.

If the pipeline outage persists, the industry may want to turn to barges to transport fuel, but that could require a waiver of the Jones Act, a U.S. maritime law that requires products shipped between U.S. ports to be moved by American-flagged ships.

The pipeline utilizes both common and custom technology systems, which could complicate efforts to bring the entire network back online, according to analysts at Third Bridge.

Gasoline futures ticked higher Monday. Futures for crude and fuel, prices that traders pay for contracts for delivery at some point in the future, typically begin to rise each year as the driving season approaches. The price you pay at the gas pump tends to follow.

The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline has jumped 6 cents over the past two weeks, to $3.02 per gallon, which is $1.05 higher than it was a year ago. Those year- ago numbers are skewed somewhat because the nation was going into lockdown due to the pandemic.

The attack on the Colonial Pipeline could exacerbate the upward pressure on prices if it is unresolved for a period of time.

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Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and Coby White have been on a three-game tear, both offensively and defensively. If the Bulls want to have a chance at a play-in spot that trend will need to continue with just four games left in the regular season.

Labeling it a “Big Three’’ is a bit much.

Actually it’s way too much.

Even Zach LaVine wasn’t going to call what he, Nikola Vucevic and Coby White have done the last three games as the product of a “Big Three.’’

The Bulls guard is more into calling it “a pick your poison.’’

Whatever the label, it’s what the Bulls will have to lean on the final four games, as they try and pull off a late-season miracle and overtake Indiana or Washington for a final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.

“They’re just going to have to pick their poison,’’ LaVine said, pointing out the latest example of how the trio went to work in the one-sided win in Detroit on Sunday night. “I got it going early, then they started doubling. My next instinct is to use me as a decoy — let them double me, hit ‘Vuch’ in the pocket, let him go to work. And eventually they start spraying out the threes for Coby. We’re scoring at all three levels, and once we got that going, it’s pretty much pick your poison.’’

Is it LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh from the “Heatles’’ days? Not even in the same league. Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden? Please.

What can’t be denied, however, is the numbers throughout the three-game winning streak. The trio has combined for 209 total points, led by Vucevic’s 25.3 per game. LaVine has put up 24.3 points, while White was 20 points per.

More importantly, two of the three showings came against playoff-bound teams like Charlotte and Boston.

But a “Big Three?’’ Not even coach Billy Donovan was going to feed that beast.

“I don‘t look at it that way,’’ Donovan said. “I get it. I’ve always believed that the more guys that are — you think about, there’s 100 possessions on the offensive end of the floor — but there’s a lot of shots that go up, and I think you’ve gotta be balanced because you never know what’s gonna happen. And if they’re gonna double-team ‘Vuch’ in the low post he’s been unselfish enough to move the ball. Same thing with Zach.’’

What also helps is that while LaVine is capable of get his own shot, seemingly whenever or from wherever he wants, White and Vucevic finally understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and how to best play off of each other.

Donovan and his staff have focused on making sure that when the ball goes into the post and Vucevic’s hands, White is set at the top of the key or ball side, leaving his defender the choice of having to leave White and help on the double-team of Vucevic, or leave the post defender on Vucevic Island by himself.

Fortunately for White, he’s been on a catch-and-shoot tear from the outside, so doubling down on the big man hasn’t been benefitting the opposing defense.

The Bulls will need that to continue if they want to get past the likes of two games against the Nets and another with Milwaukee.

Veteran forward Thad Young, however, has a different approach to the success of his “Big Three’’ teammates. The way Young sees it, yeah, the offense has been great from LaVine, Vucevic and White, but it’s been their defense that has, and will need, to carry the day if they want to play extra basketball this season.

That’s what Young is buying into.

“Defensively, they’re all getting better throughout the course of the season and they’re all continuing to compete,’’ Young said. “That’s what we need. When everybody sees our ‘Big Three’ competing, then it just brings everybody else along, and our defense is what it needs to be in order to win games.’’

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The early evening attack drastically escalated what already are heightened tensions throughout the region following weeks of confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem that have threatened to become a wider conflict.

JERUSALEM — Hamas militants fired a large barrage of rockets into Israel on Monday, including one that set off air raid sirens as far away as Jerusalem, after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at a flashpoint religious site in the contested holy city.

The early evening attack drastically escalated what already are heightened tensions throughout the region following weeks of confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem that have threatened to become a wider conflict.

Shortly after the sirens sounded, explosions could be heard in Jerusalem. One rocket fell on the western outskirts of the city, lightly damaging a home and causing a brushfire. The Israeli army said there was an initial burst of seven rockets, one was intercepted, and rocket fire was continuing in southern Israel.

Gaza health officials said nine people, including three children, were killed in an explosion in the northern Gaza Strip. The cause of the blast was not immediately known. Meanwhile, Hamas media reported that an Israeli drone strike killed a Palestinian, also in the northern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army said an Israeli civilian in the country’s south suffered mild injuries when a vehicle was struck by an anti-tank missile from Gaza.

Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, said the attack was a response to what he called Israeli “crimes and aggression” in Jerusalem. “This is a message the enemy has to understand well,” he said.

He threatened more attacks if Israel again invades the sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque compound or carries out planned evictions of Palestinian families from a neighborhood of east Jerusalem that have raised tensions.

Earlier, Israeli police firing tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians at the iconic compound, which is Islam’s third-holiest site and considered Judaism’s holiest. Tensions at the site have been the trigger for prolonged bouts of violence in the past, including the last Palestinian intifada, or uprising. It was not clear if the current unrest would escalate or dissipate in the coming days.

More than a dozen tear gas canisters and stun grenades landed in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as police and protesters faced off inside the walled compound that surrounds it, said an Associated Press photographer at the scene. Smoke rose in front of the mosque and the iconic golden-domed shrine on the site, and rocks littered the nearby plaza. Inside one area of the compound, shoes and debris lay scattered over ornate carpets.

More than 305 Palestinians were hurt, including 228 who went to hospitals and clinics for treatment, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Seven of the injured were in serious condition. Police said 21 officers were hurt, including three who were hospitalized. Israeli paramedics said seven Israeli civilians were also hurt.

In an apparent attempt to avoid further confrontation, Israeli authorities changed the planned route of a march by ultranationalist Jews through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City to mark Jerusalem Day, which celebrates Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem.

Monday’s confrontation was the latest after weeks of almost nightly clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops in the Old City of Jerusalem, the emotional center of their conflict, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The month tends to be a time of heightened religious sensitivities.

Most recently, the tensions have been fueled by the planned eviction of dozens of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem where Israeli settlers have waged a lengthy legal battle to take over properties.

Israel’s Supreme Court postponed a key ruling Monday in the case, citing the “circumstances.”

Over the past few days, hundreds of Palestinians and several dozen police officers have been hurt in clashes in and around the Old City, including the sacred compound, which is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

An AP photographer at the scene said that early Monday morning, protesters had barricaded gates to the walled compound with wooden boards and scrap metal. Sometime after 7. a.m., clashes erupted, with those inside throwing stones at police deployed outside.

Police entered the compound, firing tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and stun grenades, some of which enterd the mosque.

Police said protesters hurled stones at officers and onto an adjoining roadway near the Western Wall, where thousands of Israeli Jews had gathered to pray.

The tensions in Jerusalem have threatened to reverberate throughout the region and come at a crucial point in Israel’s political crisis after longtime leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition last week. His opponents are now working to build an alternate government.

Before Monday’s rocket attack on Jerusalem, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Gaza, Palestinian militants had fired several barrages of rockets into southern Israel. Protesters allied with the ruling Hamas militant group have launched dozens of incendiary balloons into Israel, setting off fires across the southern part of the country.

The rare strike on Jerusalem came moments after Hamas had set a deadline for Israel to remove its forces from the mosque compound and Sheikh Jarrah and release Palestinians detained in the latest clashes.

Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks Israel’s destruction, has fought three wars with Israel since it seized power in Gaza in 2007. The group possesses a vast arsenal of missiles and rockets capable of striking virtually anywhere in Israel.

The rocket strike on Jerusalem was a significant escalation and raised the likelihood of a tough Israeli response. Israel’s response thus far has come under growing international criticism.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled closed consultations on the situation Monday.

Late Sunday, the U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat. A White House statement said that Sullivan called on Israel to “pursue appropriate measures to ensure calm” and expressed the U.S.’s “serious concerns” about the ongoing violence and planned evictions.

Prime Minister Netanyahu pushed back against the criticism Monday, saying Israel is determined to ensure the rights of worship for all and that this “requires from time to time stand up and stand strong as Israeli police and our security forces are doing now.”

The day began with police announcing that Jews would be barred from visiting the holy site on Jerusalem Day, which is marked with a flag-waving parade through the Old City that is widely perceived by Palestinians as a provocative display in the contested city.

Just as the parade was about to begin, police said they were altering the route at the instruction of political leaders. Several thousand people, many of them from Jewish settlements in the West Bank, were participating.

In the 1967 Mideast war in which Israel captured east Jerusalem, it also took the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It later annexed east Jerusalem and considers the entire city its capital. The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future state, with east Jerusalem as their capital.

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