A top Cuban spy tells Yahoo's Michael Isikoff he is eager to serve his country again.

James Harden has been putting up MVP-caliber numbers all season for the Houston Rockets. Given the chance to go head to head with one of his biggest competitors for the award, Harden and the Rockets came out on top. Harden scored 33 points and Cleveland star LeBron James missed a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds left in overtime, helping the Rockets hold on for a 105-103 win over the Cavaliers on Sunday. Harden has led the Rockets to five straight wins, a 41-18 record and the third seed in the Western Conference with fellow star Dwight Howard out with a knee problem.

Iraqi forces launch a major offensive against Islamic State extremists.

CHICAGO (AP) -- When Minnie Minoso broke into major league baseball, the ''Cuban Comet'' was part of a wave of black players who changed the game forever. By the time he played in his final game 35 years ago, he was a beloved figure with the Chicago White Sox.

(Reuters) - A video posted online shows Los Angeles police scuffling with and shooting a homeless man during a confrontation, The Los Angeles Times reported on its web site. The video, posted on Facebook, shows several uniformed Los Angeles Police Department officers scuffling with a man in a downtown area where homeless people pitch tents at night known as skid row. A series of civilian deaths at the hands of police in the past year has become a touchstone for trouble race relations in the United States, most notably in Ferguson, Missouri, when an unarmed teen-ager was shot and killed by a police officer, triggering weeks of protests and some rioting. The homeless man in the video was declared dead at a hospital shortly after the shooting, the Times reported, citing police spokesman Sgt. Barry Montgomery.

The New York Rangers acquired a big piece in their push for another deep playoff run, picking up All-Star defenseman Keith Yandle in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday. The Rangers lost to the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals last season didn't wait until Monday's trade deadline to make a big move for this year's run. The 28-year-old Yandle has been one of the NHL's best offensive-minded defensemen, a four-time All-Star who has led the Coyotes in scoring the past three seasons. He has 41 points in 63 games this season and has been the anchor of Arizona's power play unit.

By Ernest Scheyder WILLISTON, N.D. (Reuters) - It is getting cheaper to rent an apartment in North Dakota's oil patch. Prices, which only last year rivaled levels in New York City and Geneva, have slipped about 15 to 20 percent in the past two months as dozens of new apartment buildings opened in Williston, Watford City and other oil hub cities. Growth in demand has slipped because the plunge in crude oil prices has led to cuts in capital spending by energy producers.     There are still about 1,800 energy-related jobs unfilled in the No. 2 U.S. oil-producing state, and there is still demand for apartments. "You're starting to see prices fall this year as more units come online," said Terry Metzler of Granite Peak Development, which has built apartments and a shopping center in Williston, considered capital of the state's oil boom, and has an additional 480 apartments and houses under construction.

Yet Jimmie Johnson has all but wrapped up a shot at his record-tying seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup title. Quickly establishing he's one of the drivers to beat - boy, does that sound familiar - Johnson pulled away after the final restart with 13 laps remaining to win Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. By the end, the No. 48 Chevrolet left no doubt it was the fastest car on the track, cruising across the finish line a comfortable 1.803 seconds ahead of one of the race favorites, defending Cup champion Kevin Harvick. It was the 71st victory of his career, and his fourth at the 1.54-mile Atlanta track.

By Richard Cowan and David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress narrowly averted a partial shutdown of the U.S. domestic security agency late on Friday night, but the forces behind the chaotic episode remain - fractious Republicans and House Speaker John Boehner's lack of control over them. In five to seven months, the federal debt ceiling will again be reached, and by October Congress must pass spending bills to keep the government running in the new fiscal year. Failing to deal effectively with these issues could have much more damaging repercussions - such as a broad government shutdown or a debt default - than a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Some conservatives speak of ousting Boehner, but it is unlikely they can muster enough votes, while others made clear on Friday that they were willing to take big risks to score ideological points.     Brinkmanship like this, reminiscent of 2013's 16-day federal government shutdown, was supposed to be over.

When you're sitting on the NBA's best record like the Golden State Warriors, you don't have to stress over every single game. Stephen Curry scored 37 points on Sunday night, and the Warriors erased a 26-point deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 106-101. Golden State won for the seventh time in nine tries to improve its league-best record to 46-11. I was happy that we showed good poise.'' Klay Thompson scored 20 for the Warriors, Harrison Barnes had 17 and Draymond Green scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.