一 | LOS ANGELES -- By the time the scuba dive boat sank off the Southern California coast after catching fire, 34 people had been killed in the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history.The Labor Day tragedy in 2019 spurred changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and civil lawsuits. Now four years later, a federal trial for the Conception's captain, Jerry Boylan, is set to begin Tuesday with jury selection in Los Angeles.It's been a long, frustrating wait for the families of those who perished. They say a judge's ruling that their loved ones should not be called “victims” at trial has only added to their pain. “The past four years have been like living in a nightmare that you don’t wake up from,” said Kathleen McIlvain, whose 44-year-old son Charles was killed. The 75-foot (23-meter) boat was anchored off the Channel Islands, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Santa Barbara, on Sept. 2, 2019, when it caught fire before dawn on the last day of a three-day excursion, sinking less than 100 feet (30 meters) from shore. The National Transportation Safety Board blamed Boylan for the tragedy, saying his failure to post a roving night watchman allowed the fire to quickly spread undetected, trapping the 33 passengers and one crew member below. Those on board included a new deckhand who’d landed her dream job and an environmental scientist who did research in Antarctica, along with a globe-trotting couple, a Singaporean data scientist, three sisters, their father and his wife. U.S. District Judge George Wu on Oct. 12 granted Boylan's request to bar most if not all references to “victims” — which the captain's attorneys say is a prejudicial term that jeopardizes his right to a fair trial. It's the latest setback for the prosecution.A grand jury in 2020 initially indicted Boylan on 34 counts of a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as “seaman’s manslaughter” that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters. Each count carries up to 10 years in prison in a conviction, for a total of 340 years.Defense lawyers sought to dismiss those charges, arguing the deaths were the result of a single incident and not separate crimes. Prosecutors got a superseding indictment charging Boylan with only one count.Then in 2022, Wu ruled the superseding indictment failed to specify that Boylan acted with gross negligence, saying that was a required element to prove the crime of seaman’s manslaughter. He dismissed that indictment, forcing prosecutors to go before a grand jury again.Boylan is now charged with one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer. The single count means he faces only 10 years behind bars if convicted.He has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. His federal public defenders did not return The Associated Press' repeated requests for comment, and a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.Some of the dead were wearing shoes, prompting investigators to believe they were awake and trying to escape. Both exits from the below-deck bunkroom were blocked by flames. Coroner’s reports list smoke inhalation as the cause of death, though official autopsies were never conducted.What exactly started the predawn fire remains unknown. Early official scrutiny appeared to focus on a spot where divers plugged in phones and other electronics. But a Los Angeles Times story, citing a confidential report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the blaze began in a plastic trash can on the main deck though an official cause remains undetermined. Boylan and four crew members sleeping in the upper deck told investigators they tried to save the others but were ultimately forced to jump overboard to survive. Boylan made a mayday call at 3:14 a.m. just before abandoning ship.Dozens of family members have since formed “Advocacy34” to push for strengthened boating regulations. While seeking answers, they’ve comforted each other during loved ones’ missed birthdays and mourned each anniversary.“We have no idea when we’ll get those answers, or if we ever will,” McIlvain said.At the time of the fire, no owner, operator or charterer had been cited or fined for failure to post a roving patrol since 1991, Coast Guard records showed.The NTSB faulted the Coast Guard for not enforcing that requirement and recommended it develop a program to ensure boats with overnight passengers actually have the watchman.The Coast Guard has since enacted new regulations regarding fire detection systems, extinguishers, escape routes and other safety measures as mandated by Congress. But it has yet to implement a comprehensive safety management system after industry advocates pushed back, citing costs.Victims' families have sued the Coast Guard in one of several ongoing civil suits.Three days after the inferno, Truth Aquatics Inc., which belongs to the Conception’s owners, Glen and Dana Fritzler, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability to the remains of the boat, which was a total loss. The time-tested legal maneuver has been successfully employed by the owners of the Titanic and other vessels, and requires the Fritzlers show they were not at fault.The couple's attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.In response to the families' outcry, federal lawmakers last year updated the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 so owners can be held liable for damages regardless of the boat’s value afterward. The law is not retroactive, however, and will not apply in the case of the Conception.。 随着各家球星转会完成，休赛期市场也逐渐降温；而随着联盟各队阵容确定，媒体又开始为未来操心了。 近日，美媒BF对外公布了一份名单，分别是27年夏天可能进入自由市场的超级球星名单，其中不乏约基奇、库里、伦纳德、詹姆斯、字母哥、杜兰特、唐斯、浓眉、巴特勒、欧文等一批明星球员。 对于这份名单，仅从阵容来看，绝对足够夸张；毕竟这一批球员，基本直接代表了过去十几年NBA的最高竞争力。
二 | 只是对比来看，相比较于大多数下家稳定的球员，真正让外界讨论最多的，来自于掘金核心主将：尼古拉·约基奇。 从目前的情况来看，掘金的局面已经相当微妙了，一个很关键的问题摆上台面： 这位带队夺冠的MVP约基奇，会不会离开掘金呢？ 先从结论来看，目前还没有任何消息证明约基奇决定离开掘金，但问题在于他的一系列操作，确实很容易让外界产生遐想。 按照联盟规则，约基奇在2027-28赛季拥有球员选项，届时他完全选择跳出合同重新决定未来；而回看过去两个休赛期，掘金主动向他递上超级合同，但约基奇全都选择了等待。 时间回到25年夏天，掘金一度开出一份三年2.12亿的提前续约合同；对于普通球员这绝对是无法拒绝的天价，但约基奇选择了拒绝。 而后来到今年夏天，掘金再次提高报价，摆出了两个方案： 一份是三年2.14亿美元，另一份是四年2.78亿美元。
三 | 这两笔更高价合约依旧没有能打动约基奇，这就不得不让人思考了，如果钱不是问题，那约基奇到底在犹豫什么呢？ 理性来看，背后的原因其实并不复杂。
四 | 对于约基奇而言，现在提前续约，直接意味着少拿一大笔钱；而根据ESPN薪资专家Bobby Marks分析，如果约基奇选择跳出合同，他最高可以和掘金签下五年3.595亿级别的超级顶薪。 对比来看，五年3.595亿，年薪甚至超过7000万。 如果这笔合约达成，又将直接刷新NBA历史最高合同纪录，甚至直接让约基奇生涯总薪资突破7亿大关。 对于任何超级球星而言，一次足以改变历史排名的机会，约基奇自然不会轻易放弃。此前他也公开表示，自己打NBA的目标之一就是赚钱。 那么问题就来了： 如果约基奇一心想拿超级顶薪，那么掘金会不会对续约有所犹豫呢？ 根据名记Mark Stein报道，由于约基奇连续两个休赛期拒绝提前续约，目前联盟多队都在关注掘金内部情况。 摊开目前球队现状看，随着队中核心薪资不断上涨，球队未来大概率陷入奢侈税困境；甚至有美媒直接发文预测，新赛季掘金问鼎西部冠军的概率，仅有7%。 当然，这个预测并不代表最终结果，毕竟约基奇一直具备改变球队的能力；但对于球队高层而言，他们必须考虑一个现实问题： 为了留下约基奇，掘金还愿意付出多少钱呢？ 有意思的是，今日美媒预测网站给出了约基奇的未来下家预测概率榜单，而约基奇留队掘金的概率正在下降，反而是金州勇士，以5%升到了第二的位置。 焦点回到约基奇身上，现在摆在他面前的就是一道关键选择题了： 如果他选择暂缓续约，最终和掘金完成一份超级续约，他很可能拿下NBA历史的最大合同；但如果掘金因为财政压力而选择放弃，那么约基奇在其他球队最高只能拿到四年2.46亿美元。 对比来看，两个选择前后差距甚至超过1亿美元。 所以，最后把选择留给球迷讨论： 对于现在的约基奇，你觉得他该怎么选呢？。
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