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NFL preseason could be a good test of how teams approach the league’s new kickoff rule

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:06 GMT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — As a player who solidified his place in the NFL as a special teams standout with his skill covering kicks and blocking for returns, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Oren Burks has a keen interest in the preseason.With a new rule on kickoffs giving return teams the ball at the 25 after fair catches in the field of play, Burks is waiting to see how often teams utilize the option and how often kicking teams try to prevent it with squib kicks.“I’m sure the preseason will be a time for coordinators to kind of play with the rules and see what works and what doesn’t,” Burks said. “But for a guy that loves covering kicks, I’m not a big fan of a lot of fair catches.”Burks is far from alone, as many of his fellow special teams standouts have been vocal about a rule change that was put in for safety reasons but could take away an aspect of the game that got many players into the NFL.Despite their opposition, owners voted in May for a one-year trial of an en...

Contentious Mississippi GOP primary race for lieutenant governor exposes rift among conservatives

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:06 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Republican primary challenger spent months telling people that first-term Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann is insufficiently conservative and labeling him “Delbert the Democrat.”That tactic fell short in Tuesday’s GOP primary as Hosemann defeated the challenger, state Sen. Chris McDaniel, in a contentious race that exposed rifts among conservative voters and Republicans in the Mississippi Senate.During this year’s campaign, Hosemann called McDaniel a “pathological liar.” Both men largely ignored the primary’s third candidate, educator Tiffany Longino, who ran a low-budget campaign and received a small share of the vote in her first try for public office.In his victory speech late Tuesday, Hosemann said shady groups spent almost a million dollars of undocumented money to support McDaniel of Ellisville in the final days of the campaign, and he said the spending “screams for reform.”Mississippi lieutenant governors wield considerable...

Brazil’s Amazon Summit ends with a plan to protect the world’s rainforests, but no measurable goals

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:06 GMT

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s Amazon Summit closed Wednesday with a roadmap to protect tropical rainforests that was welcomed as an important step in countering climate change, but without the concrete commitments sought by some environmentalists to end deforestation.Leaders and ministers from eight Amazon nations signed a declaration Tuesday in Belem, Brazil, that laid out plans to drive economic development in their countries while preventing the Amazon’s ongoing demise “from reaching a point of no return.”Several environmental groups described the declaration as a compilation of good intentions with little in the way of measurable goals and timeframes. However, it was lauded by others, and the Amazon’s umbrella organization of Indigenous groups celebrated the inclusion of two of its main demands.“It is significant that the leaders of the countries of the region have listened to the science and understood the call of society: the Amazon is in danger, and we do not have much time t...

Archdiocese of Philadelphia settles child sex abuse case against a deceased priest for $3.5 million

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:06 GMT

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will pay $3.5 million to settle a civil case alleging a now-deceased priest sexually assaulted a teenage boy nearly two decades ago, and church officials knew of similar reports about the priest dating back to the 1970s, attorneys for the victim announced Wednesday.The plaintiff was a 14-year-old student in religious classes at St. Katherine of Siena Parish in Wayne when the sexual assault occurred in 2006, his attorneys said. They said Monsignor John Close assaulted the boy after hearing his confession. The plaintiff, now 30, reported the episode in 2018. Many survivors of child sexual abuse do not report the abuse until years later.Close died in 2018. Attorneys for the plaintiff say the archdiocese knew Close was a danger to children in the 1970s, after a priest reported teenage boys were sleeping overnight in Close’s room. Close was reassigned. Other alleged victims have come forward, attorneys said.“We deeply regret the pain suffered by any surviv...

4 armed suspects attempt break-ins, steal cars in Cherry Hills Village

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:06 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Police are warning residents in Cherry Hills Village of recent attempted break-ins and car thefts.Commander Brennen Leininger with the Cherry Hills Village Police Department said the incidents happened late Monday night into early Tuesday morning.Four armed suspects allegedly went to several homes and tried to open doors. Two high-end vehicles, that police said the thieves found the keys to, were stolen.Armed suspects caught on surveillance camera in Cherry Hills Village (Photo distributed by Cherry Hills Village Police Department) Body found in Denver dumpster linked to Aurora weekend shooting The surveillance photos show the suspects carrying what looks like firearms during the crime spree. The department said it's working with other Denver area agencies that are investigating similar incidents involving four suspects stealing cars.

Deputies search for evidence in shooting near Ken Caryl

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:06 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Deputies in Jefferson County are investigating a targeted shooting in a Ken Caryl neighborhood.Around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office responded to a shooting in the 7300 block of South Alkire Street in the Ken Caryl Ranch North Plains neighborhood. Deputies located a male victim who was taken to a local hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. Alleged high-profile sexual predator arrested in Jeffco As of Wednesday morning, deputies said they are still searching for the suspect. Deputies tweeted about a heavy police presence just north of Ken Caryl and Simms at around 10:30 a.m. while they continued their search for evidence.Jeffco deputies said there is no known threat to the public at this time as the shooting appears to be a targeted attack.

Coloradans defy National Lazy Day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:06 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- It is not in the nature of Colorado's hikers, bikers, skiers, joggers, kayakers and hunters to pay homage to National Lazy Day. Aug. 10 is National Lazy Day, where Americans are encouraged to relax and let work and stressors take care of themselves for the day. An analysis of CDC data from ColoradoBet, though, says Coloradans aren't likely to join in the restful festivities. Colorado is the nation's third most active state, according to the most recent federal data. Of the state's adults, 27.4% meet federal activity guidelines -- 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and two days of muscle-strengthening activity each week. Did Colorado just record its largest hailstone ever? Only two states -- both relatively remote and mountainous -- have a greater activity level. Vermont has the nation's least lazy citizens, with 28.5% meeting federal guidelines. Montana comes in second with 28.3% meeting guidelines. After Colorado, the District of Columbia and ...

At least six dead as people fleeing Hawaii wildfires pulled from ocean

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:06 GMT

KAHULUI, Hawaii (AP) — A wildfire tore through the heart of Maui on Wednesday with alarming speed and ferocity, destroying dozens of homes and businesses in a historic tourist town, killing six and injuring at least two dozen people while forcing panicked residents to jump into the ocean to flee the flames.In a press conference Wednesday, Mayor Richard Bissen confirmed six fatalities have been caused by the fire. Additional details about the victims have not been released. Fire was widespread in Lahaina Town, including on Front Street, a popular shopping and dining area, County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin said by phone early Wednesday.Photos posted by the county overnight showed a line of flames blazing across an intersection and leaping above buildings in the town center that dates to the 1700s and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Aerial video from after sunrise revealed entire blocks of buildings reduced to ash and thick smoke in the air. “Do not...

New variant EG.5 is on the rise as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations go up

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:06 GMT

(CNN) — There’s a new coronavirus variant topping the leaderboard in the United States: EG.5.Nationally, EG.5 is causing about 17% of new COVID-19 cases in the country, compared with 16% for the next most common lineage, XBB.1.16, according to the latest estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.EG may sound like a whole new flavor of the virus, but it’s not; it’s a spinoff of the XBB recombinant strain of the Omicron family. And it represents another incremental tweak to the virus rather than a major evolutionary leap like the original Omicron strain.Compared with its parent XBB.1.9.2, it has one extra mutation to its spike, at position 465. This mutation has appeared in other coronavirus variants before. Scientists aren’t sure exactly what new tricks it enables the virus to do, but variant hunters are paying attention because many of the new XBB descendants have adopted it.The 465 mutation is present in about 35% of coronavirus sequences repor...

Coral Springs ‘Big Brother’ star Luke Valentine ousted from show after using racial slur

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:06 GMT

(CNN) — Luke Valentine has been kicked off of “Big Brother 25” after using the n-word on Tuesday night’s live feed.“Luke violated the BIG BROTHER code of conduct and there is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur. He has been removed from the house,” CBS and the show’s producers said in a statement emailed to CNN. “His departure will be addressed in Thursday night’s show.”Valentine, who is White, was captured on camera using the slur during a conversation with fellow cast members Jared Fields, Hisam Goueli and Cory Wurtenberger.“We were in the f***ing (inaudible) room, n***er,” Valentine could be heard saying before he quickly attempted to laugh it off and added, “Dude…I’m sorry.”Fields, who is Black, then told Valentine “I don’t give a f**k.”Fields also told Valentine, “In situations that should be uncomfortable for a Black man, White people get more uncomfortable.”Valentine responded, “Well, I’m in trouble now. I’ve been in worse trouble.”He has yet to publicly ...