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Dave Hyde: Can Miami and FAU shock the basketball world again at Final Four?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:26 GMT

Among the thousand-odd texts filling Miami coach Jim Larrañaga’s phone in the moments after making the Final Four last Sunday, one stood out for its uniqueness.“Congrats, see you in Houston!” Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball coach Dusty May wrote.Larrañaga texted back, “Looking forward to it!”Here they were Friday, too. Practicing in the 70,000-seat NRG Stadium where the NFL’s Houston Texans play. Answering national media questions. Sitting on the biggest stage in college basketball and, well, looking comfortable.“I’m having fun,’’ May said.FAU is the national surprise, a small-name school having a big moment. Miami is so known as a football school Larrañaga was jokingly asked if he feared football coach Mario Cristobal might recruit 6-foot-7 center Norchad Omier.“I hadn’t thought of that,’ Larrañaga said, laughing.The rub-your-eyes aspect for a sports market that̵...

Rams coach Sean McVay says Jalen Ramsey, Mike McDaniel will ‘vibe really well’ with Dolphins

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:26 GMT

There may not be a better person in NFL circles to speak on the unique personalities of new Miami Dolphins star cornerback Jalen Ramsey and coach Mike McDaniel than Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay.McVay coached Ramsey the past four seasons with the Rams, and he previously spent time with McDaniel on the same coaching staff in Washington a decade ago.The Rams coach feels McDaniel and Ramsey will mesh in Miami.“I think they’ll vibe really well,” McVay said at the NFL annual league meeting Tuesday morning at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. “You talk about two guys that are refreshingly secure in who they are. They both got a swagger, a confidence, a passion for this game.”McVay got word of McDaniel’s quip with Ramsey that he’s going to try to be the best head coach the cornerback has had, a playful jab at McVay which Ramsey revealed at his introductory press conference in Miami.“I said, ‘He might be that, but he’ll definite...

Several riders rescued from SeaWorld rollercoaster

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:26 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- First responders on Friday rescued several people from a rollercoaster that stopped working at SeaWorld San Diego, fire officials said.The incident occurred around 4:11 p.m. in the 500 block of Sea World Drive, where crews removed the riders, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department tweeted. Firefighters were clearing the scene as of 5:05 p.m.SDFD initially reported 30 were rescued, but SeaWorld San Diego spokesperson Tracy Spahr later confirmed to FOX 5 16 people were helped off the ride. Multi-vehicle crash delays traffic on I-805 Firefighters said there were no injuries.The name of the ride impacted was "Tidal Twister," a rollercoaster that opened in May 2019, Spahr said.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Federal judge temporarily blocks Tennessee’s anti-drag law

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:26 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law placing strict limits on drag shows just hours before it was set to go into effect, siding with a group that filed a lawsuit claiming the statute violates the First Amendment.The decision comes after Memphis-based Friends of George’s, an LGBTQ+ theater company, filed the federal lawsuit Monday against Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy and the state.U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker issued the temporary injunction after hearing arguments on both sides Thursday.Parker wrote that the state has failed to make a compelling argument as to why Tennessee needed the new law, adding that the court also agrees the statute is likely vague and overly broad.The word “drag” doesn’t appear in the new law, which instead changed the definition of adult cabaret in Tennessee to mean “adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors.” Furthermore, “male or female impersonators...

1 dead, 28 injured in Illinois theater roof collapse

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:26 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Authorities say one person was killed and 28 were injured when the roof collapsed Friday night during a concert at an Illinois theater.Belvidere Fire Department Chief Shawn Schadle said 260 people were in the venue at the time. He said first responders also rescued someone from an elevator and had to grapple with downed power lines outside the theater.Belvidere Police Chief Shane Woody described the scene after the collapse as “chaos, absolute chaos.” THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A monster storm system tore through the South and Midwest on Friday, spawning deadly tornadoes that shredded homes and shopping centers in Arkansas and collapsed a theater roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois.At least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, in the Little Rock area, authorities said. The town of Wynne in northeastern Arkansas was also devastated, and officials repo...

Mulkey, LSU women rally in Final Four, reach 1st title game

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:26 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Kim Mulkey is back in another national championship game, this time taking the flagship university from her home state there for the first time. It took LSU only two seasons to get there with the feisty and flamboyantly dressed coach, and a big comeback in the national semifinal game that was quite an undercard Friday night.Alexis Morris scored 27 points and had two of her misses in the fourth quarter turned into putback baskets by Angel Reese in a big run as LSU rallied to beat top-seeded Virginia Tech 79-72 in the first semifinal game. “I’m never satisfied. I’m super-excited that we won, but I’m hungry,” said Morris, who jumped on a courtside table and fired up LSU fans after the game. “Like, I’m greedy. I want to win it all so I can complete the story.”Reese finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds for LSU (33-2), which will play in the national title game Sunday against the winner of the highly anticipated matchup between Southeastern Conference foe South Caro...

Towering Monument Valley buttes display sunset spectacle

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:26 GMT

MONUMENT VALLEY, Utah (AP) — A sunset spectacle featuring two mitten-shaped rock formations played out this week at Monument Valley on the Navajo Nation along the Arizona and Utah border.Twice a year, in late March and mid-September, spectators, photographers and videographers get a visual treat. As the sun sinks, the West Mitten Butte’s shadow crawls across the desert valley floor before climbing up the side of the East Mitten Butte.The spectacle draws people from around the world to Monument Valley Tribal Park, which already is popular with tourists.TV and movie critic Keith Phipps once described Monument Valley as having “defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West.”It is a frequent filming location, including a number of Westerns by the late American film director John Ford, as well as the 1994 Oscar-winning film “Forest Gump.” In the movie, the character played by Tom Hanks is seen running on the road to Monument Valley, the park’...

Pop icon Leslie Cheung’s legacy endures 20 years after death

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:26 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Fans of late Canto-pop icon Leslie Cheung, one of the first singers to come out as gay in Hong Kong, flocked to the city this week to commemorate their idol’s death 20 years ago — revisiting his legacy of pioneering work made during a socially conservative time. Cheung, who was 46 when he died, was a superstar known for his singing, dancing and acting during the heyday of Hong Kong’s entertainment industry in the 1980s and ’90s. His supporters, who span across Asia, fondly remembered his norm-breaking works and called him “ahead of time.”The 20th anniversary of Cheung’s death was Saturday and drew crowds of both local fans and supporters from mainland China to visit exhibitions about him in Hong Kong. Even the government included concerts and film screenings about him in the city’s first pop culture festival, which is slated to officially kick off in three weeks. The local reminiscences of Cheung prove the late celebrity remains a popular ico...

As summer looms, India orders coal power plants to max out

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:26 GMT

BENGALURU, India (AP) — For the second year in a row, India’s government has ordered the nation’s coal-fired power plants to run at full power. But this year’s order is even more sweeping than last year’s — all coal and oil-fired generators will be maxed out for the entire summer, from April through June. Analysts say it will dramatically increase India’s already sky-high greenhouse gas emissions.Seventy miles from Kolkata in India’s West Bengal state, 48-year-old Kakali Halder knows the reason for the order. She and several hundred other seamstresses at Mathurapur Sanghati Swayamber Sangha, a group that make clothing items and share the proceeds between them, have struggled to get orders out when they can’t rely on the electricity.Despite their proximity to the megacity of Kolkata, they lost power almost daily over part of last year’s blistering summer. The machines would go quiet, stopping progress on the uniforms they were on contract to deliver.“Sometimes there were power ...

Jury finds ex-GOP operative Lazzaro guilty in federal sex trafficking case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:26 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal jury on Friday found Anton “Tony” Lazzaro, a one-time Minnesota Republican political operative and top donor, guilty on all counts of sex trafficking five girls, ages 15 and 16.Jurors began deliberations Friday afternoon following a trial highlighted by Lazzaro, 32, taking the stand in his own defense. While eventually acknowledging he had sex with all of the girls, Lazzaro said he did not pay for sex or the recruitment of young partners.The jury of six men and six women took only about three hours to return with a guilty verdict. Lazzaro faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.Prosecutors alleged Lazzaro met his co-defendant, Gisela Castro Medina on SeekingArrangement, a site that connects generally wealthy men with younger partners, and paid her to find other sex partners for him, including the five alleged victims who testified against him.Lazzaro maintained that the website was no different than other dating sites and disputed that he had an agreem...