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Mississippi county closes jail pod plagued by fights and escapes, sends 200 inmates 2 hours away

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:54 GMT

RAYMOND, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s largest county is no longer using a section of its jail that has been plagued by fights, escapes and other security problems.Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said Monday that 200 inmates were transferred last week from Pod A at the Raymond Detention Center to the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility, which is nearly 150 miles (241 kilometers) to the north and is run by the private prison company CoreCivic.Jones said the jail in the Jackson suburb of Raymond now has fewer than 400 people being held in the other pods, which should alleviate some concerns about short staffing and help ensure public safety.“That is one of our worst pods at the detention center, and I think that it’s pretty much on record that that particular pod was not secure, and it was one of our most unsafe areas within the facility,” Jones told news outlets.In July 2022, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves ordered a rare takeover of the jail in Raymond after he said def...

SEC media panel picks No. 9 Tennessee to win league, Texas A&M’s Taylor as preseason player of year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:54 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Tennessee is the favorite to win the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball title and Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV is preseason player of the year, according to votes compiled by the league.The Volunteers, who enter the season ranked No. 9, are favored for the first time since the 2020-21 season and fifth time overall in voting by a panel of SEC and national media members. The league released the preseason predictions on Tuesday.The seven preseason first-team All-SEC picks: Taylor, Alabama’s Grant Nelson, Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith, Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi, Kentucky freshman Justin Edwards, Arkansas’ Trevon Brazile and Auburn’s Johni Broome.No. 15 Texas A&M was picked to finish second, followed by No. 14 Arkansas, No. 16 Kentucky and No. 24 Alabama, the defending champion.___Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 Basketball Polls throughout the season. Sign up here___AP college basketball: https...

Wyndham rejects hostile bid from Rockville’s Choice Hotels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:54 GMT

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has rejected a hostile acquisition offer from Rockville, Maryland-based Choice Hotels, hours after Choice made details of its offer public.Choice went public with the $7.8 billion offer Tuesday after Wyndham executives and its board broke off protracted negotiations over a potential sale that began in April. Choice’s latest offer was worth $90 per share, a 30% premium over Wyndham’s closing share price on Oct. 16. The offer for Wyndham shareholders was 55% cash and 45% in Choice stock.In rejecting the acquisition offer, Wyndham cited the likelihood of a protracted regulatory approval process with no certain outcome, potential franchisee churn and excessive leverage levels for a combined company.“Choice’s offer is underwhelming, highly conditional, and subject to significant business, regulatory and execution risk. Choice has been unwilling or unable to address our concerns,” said Stephen Holmes, chairman of the Wyndham board...

The Washington Spirit and coach Mark Parsons part ways after disappointing finish

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Spirit have parted ways with coach Mark Parsons after the team narrowly missed the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs. No specific reason was given for the move Tuesday. The Spirit finished the season 7-9-6, losing 1-0 at home in the final match of the season Sunday to the North Carolina Courage. The Courage fell to eighth in the league standings and below the playoff line. Parsons missed the final game because of yellow card accumulation. Forward Trinity Rodman was sent off with a red card in the 23rd minute and North Carolina’s Tyler Lussi scored the game’s lone goal in the 25th. Parsons previously coached the Spirit from 2013-14. “It has been a privilege to be back in Washington DC and the NWSL this past year. I am proud of the work the players and the staff have put in this season, and I know the Spirit is well-positioned for success moving forward given the foundation that has been built,” Parsons said in a statement.Parso...

Prosecutors are seeking to recharge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in fatal 2021 shooting on movie set

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:54 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors are seeking to recharge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in fatal 2021 shooting on movie set.Source

Peruvian Brothers, a diplomat favorite, opens restaurant at Amazon HQ2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:54 GMT

Mario and Giuseppe Lanzone. (Courtesy Peruvian Brothers/Sylvia Sabogal) Mario and Giuseppe Lanzone. (Courtesy Peruvian Brothers/Sylvia Sabogal) Peruvian Brothers, a 10-year-old food truck business started by immigrant brothers focusing on food from their namesake country, opened its second brick-and-mortar location last Friday at Metropolitan Park, Amazon’s HQ2 campus in Pentagon City.Brothers Giuseppe and Mario Lanzone, who came to Washington from Lima, Peru, as teenagers in the 1990s, started their food truck business in 2012. It has since grown to multiple food trucks and a catering business, whose clients include the White House, the State Department, the Pentagon and embassies of Latin American countrie...

Column: There’s a place for women to play golf with men, not against them

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:54 GMT

Lexi Thompson missed the cut by three shots on the PGA Tour in Las Vegas, and expectations are only going to get bigger the next time she plays.Not against the men, but on the LPGA Tour.While she played remarkably well in the Shriners Children’s Open — especially her 69 in the second round when she had social media buzzing about whether Thompson might make the cut — it raised one question about the state of her game.How can someone that talented go more than four years without winning on the LPGA Tour?Perhaps her inspiring week in Las Vegas will provide the spark she needs. It was all the more amazing that Thompson could handle the spotlight and the TPC Summerlin course amid a season so difficult she might have only one tournament left.Thompson is No. 87 in the CME Race to the Globe — she was outside the top 150 until a pair of top-10 finishes after the Solheim Cup — and will need to finish fourth or better at The Annika tournament on Nov. 9-12 to qualify for the season-ending...

Video shows fire at tent in downtown Denver

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:54 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A fire broke out at a tent in the area of 22nd Street and Curtis Street Tuesday morning.A man on the scene who said it was his camp told FOX31's Jim Hooley that the fire originally broke out around 9 a.m. He said he left the area for a few minutes and, when he came back, it was on fire. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox He claimed there were not any propane tanks inside the tent. However, FOX31 observed the man moving a propane tank out of the rubble at one point.The Denver Fire Department confirmed that the fire did start around 9 a.m., but did not have an exact time.The fire happened on 22nd Street between Arapahoe Street and Curtis Street.Additionally, DFD confirmed that there was one possible injury, but that the person left the scene.Viewers told FOX31 that they heard an explosion on the scene. Download the FOX31 App: Breaking news alerts & Pinpoint Weather Video taken of the fire showed flames that were a few feet high...

Want to buy a house in Denver? Here's how much you need to earn to afford one

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:54 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA/NEXSTAR) — Buying a house in the U.S. isn't cheap, and according to a report from Redfin, it is now harder than ever to afford one — even in Denver.Sky-high mortgage rates and rising home prices have made it more difficult than ever, especially for first-time home buyers, Redfin said in the report, which was released Tuesday.The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.57% from 7.49% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said earlier this month. It's the highest level in more than two decades.To afford a median-priced U.S. home now, Redfin said buyers must earn $114,627, up 15% ($15,285) from a year ago and up more than 50% since the start of the pandemic. The real estate website said a typical household earns about $40,000 less than that. This is the wealthiest person in Colorado, new Forbes report shows "Hourly wages have risen in 2023, but not nearly as fast as the income necessary to afford a home is rising: The average U.S. hourly wage has i...

This Florida nurse’s killing remained unsolved for 3 decades. Now, DNA evidence connects the crime to her killer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:54 GMT

(CNN) — Teresa Lee Scalf’s family has searched for the name of the person who killed their loved one for over three decades.Now, thanks to new DNA analysis, Scalf’s family has an answer – and some semblance of closure – because investigators say they have solved the 1986 murder case.Donald Douglas, who was 33 at the time, is responsible for Scalf’s death, Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday. Douglas died of natural causes in 2008 at the age of 54, the department said.Scalf, 29, was the target on October 27, 1986 of a “sexually motivated” attack that ended in her killing in her Lakeland, Florida, home, where she was “severely cut and had significant defensive wounds on her hands,” according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.“He aggressively stabbed her and cut her,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news conference Monday, noting Scalf was nearly decapitated.In 1986, investigators collected evidence from the crime scene, including blood that did n...