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Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck defends program against allegations he calls ‘baseless’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck brushed off allegations that he runs a toxic program on Thursday, saying they mostly come from players and employees who have been dismissed or departed on their own.“These allegations are baseless,” Fleck said during Big Ten media days at Lucas Oil Stadium. “We have full support of our athletic director, Mark Coyle, and our university leadership. This is a similar story that gets peddled every single year, and the majority of the players have been dismissed or removed from our football team.”Multiple former players and employees have been quoted anonymously in reports, including by Front Office Sports, examining the program’s culture, including an accusation that Fleck has interfered with medical protocols to get injured players to return earlier than anticipated.“We also have around a half-dozen anonymous reporting avenues within our football program that players can go to if they have an issue,” Fleck said. “And our athletic director...

Denver weather: More heat and afternoon thunderstorms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver's weather will stay in a pattern of morning sunshine and hot afternoon temperatures, followed by afternoon and evening thunderstorms. After 4 months, Mount Lincoln and Mount Democrat reopen Friday Weather tonight: Clearing, mildEvening thunderstorms will start to clear and clouds will continue to clear throughout the night. Low temperatures will fall to the 60s, which is right in line with normal for this time of year. Lows on the night of July 27 will be mild.Weather tomorrow: Morning sun, afternoon thunderstorms Friday, Denver will stay in the same pattern of morning sunshine helping to boost high temperatures to the mid-90s. Then, clouds will increase through the afternoon bringing the chance for thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening.Denver will be in the mid-90s on Friday, July 28.Looking ahead: Storm chance increases The pattern of morning sunshine followed by hot temperatures and afternoon thunderstorms will continue through the weekend.Both Satu...

‘Mutant Mayhem’ director and cast talk bringing Ninja Turtles back to the big screen in new animated feature

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” have been fighting evil since the 1980s. Now, in “Mutant Mayhem,” the heroes in half shell are back in full ninja mode. Perpetual teen Alex Miranda is out of his shell with the lowdownI’m not hiding behind any shells, though, only turtlenecks. In the winter.What kind of photos do turtles take? Shell-fies! But this gang of do-gooders have more important things to do in their new movie.Nicolas Cantu (as Leonardo, voice): “To infiltrate the human world and retrieve … go-gurt!”Brady Noon (as Raphael, voice): “Go-gurt.”Shamon Brown Jr. (as Michelangelo, voice): “OK, Batman.”Nicolas Cantu (as Leonardo, voice): “Dude, what? I’m just trying to hype you guys up.”The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back, and this time around, the turtles are being voiced by teens instead of adults.Jeff Rowe, director, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”: “To shoot it ...

Police investigating deadly crash in Malden

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

One person died and another person was taken to a hospital Thursday after a crash in Malden involving a motorized scooter and another vehicle. The Malden Police Department asked the public just before 4 p.m. to avoid the intersection of Broadway and Eastern Avenue while an investigation into the crash got underway. On scene, a scooter could be seen stuck completely underneath a Jeep Wrangler vehicle.In an update, authorities said both the person who died and the person who was taken to the hospital were riding the scooter at the time of the crash. The driver of the other vehicle remained at the scene, according to police.Initially closed after the crash, the area around the crash site had reopened as of around 6 p.m. This crash happened close to the popular Northern Strand Community Trail where several people told 7NEWS it often feels dangerous to cross the street despite city efforts to slow down traffic. Thursday’s crash remained under investigation as of ...

‘Quite a surreal moment’: Underachieving Chicago White Sox trade pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the LA Angels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

Lucas Giolito walked into the Chicago White Sox clubhouse late Wednesday and saw fellow pitcher Reynaldo López saying goodbye to teammates.“I was like, ‘Oh, you’ve been traded? Where are you going?’ ” Giolito said Thursday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.The two had been in the same organization since 2012 with the Washington Nationals.“I was like ‘Oh, my God, this is going to be the first time in our whole career we’re not teammates,’ ” Giolito said.Soon thereafter, Giolito was called into the office and found out he was traded along with López to the Los Angeles Angels for switch-hitting minor-league catcher Edgar Quero and left-handed pitcher Ky Bush.“I guess they’re not going to break us up,” Giolito said.Giolito said the trade was “initially kind of shocking.”“I knew something like this was coming, but at the same time when it actually happens it is quite a surreal momen...

Judge orders release of 3 of ‘Newburgh Four,’ assails FBI’s role in a post-9/11 terror sting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Three men ensnarled in a post-9/11 terrorism sting have been ordered freed from prison by a judge who deemed their lengthy sentences “unduly harsh and unjust” and decried the FBI’s role in radicalizing them in a plot to blow up New York synagogues and shoot down National Guard planes.Onta Williams, David Williams and Laguerre Payen — three of the men known as the “Newburgh Four” — were “hapless, easily manipulated and penurious petty criminals” caught up in a scheme more than a decade ago driven by overzealous FBI agents and a dodgy informant, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon said in her ruling Thursday.“The real lead conspirator was the United States,” McMahon wrote in granting the men’s request for compassionate release, effective in three months. She said that it was “heinous” of the men to agree to participate in wh...

Superintendent grades herself ‘effective,’ but more needed for Boston kids

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

Following the end of her first school year on the job, BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper rated her overall job performance as “effective” and emphasized the extensive planning for the district in a self-evaluation.“I do want to be clear there’s a lot of work ahead,” Skipper said this week. “When I came into this role I knew that, and everybody that walks through the door for a job, we make sure they know that. This is about making a commitment to building this district in a sustainable way that meets the needs of our kids for now and into the future.”Skipper rated her performance in four categories: instructional leadership, management and operations, family and community engagement and professional culture. The superintendent gave herself “effective” ratings across the board, the second highest rating on a scale from “highly effective” to “ineffective.”The self-evaluation will be followed by evaluations fro...

Senate passes defense bill with bipartisan support, but clash looms with House over social issues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a massive annual defense bill that would deliver a 5.2% pay raise for service members and keep the nation’s military operating, avoiding partisan policy battles to move the bill forward with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.Senate passage, 86-11, sets up a clash with the House, which passed its own version of the annual defense bill along party lines after repeated clashes over social issues like abortion access and diversity initiatives. The partisan debate over the House legislation veered from a bipartisan tradition of finding consensus on national defense policy.The strong bipartisan vote for the legislation in the Senate could give it momentum as the two chambers next look to settle their differences. “I don’t think either party got exactly what they wanted,” said Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, but he said the bipartisan bill would help the military improve recruitment and ...

‘Mississippi’s Giant Houseparty’ shows sharp divide between GOP governor and Democratic challenger

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

PHILADELPHIA, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s political divide was on full display Thursday in the blazing heat as Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic challenger Brandon Presley spoke to a rowdy outdoor crowd at the largest political event of this election year, less than two weeks before party primaries.Spectators cheered their own candidate — “Tate! Tate! Tate!” “Bran-don! Bran-don!” — and heckled the other — “Liar! Liar!” “Later, Tater!” — at the Neshoba County Fair, a gathering known as “Mississippi’s Giant Houseparty.”For several days, groups of friends and families live in colorful cabins on the fairgrounds. Political speeches are one form of entertainment, along with concerts and horse races.While candidates spoke Thursday, more than 1,000 people stood in the sunshine or sat on long wooden benches under a tin-roofed pavilion, fanning themselves as the temperature hovered at a humid 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36.1 degrees Celsius).Presley, a four-term state utility regulat...

Austin's 20-day streak of consecutive 100° days is the 4th-longest in recorded history

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin is currently experiencing one of the longest stretches of triple-digit heat in recorded history.Camp Mabry, Austin's official weather reporting site, has reached 100° or hotter every day since July 8.That means, as of Thursday, temperatures have reached the century mark for 20 days in a row. With records dating back to the 1890s, that ties as the fourth-longest stretch of triple-digit temperatures ever recorded in Austin. MORE HEAT RECORDS: What is Austin's hottest month ever? The KXAN First Warning Weather team is currently forecasting at least seven more days at or above 100°, which would extend the streak to 27 days. That would tie with 2011 as the longest of all time. How often does Austin hit 100°? Here’s a breakdown by date, month, year and decade The record streak currently stands at 27 days, set between July 17 and Aug. 12, 2011. That summer went on to have a record-breaking 90 days of triple-digit heat.Meanwhile, Austin-Bergstrom International Air...