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Texas president says building relationships priority in SEC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:04 GMT

AUSTIN. Texas (AP) — University of Texas President Jay Hartzell said Thursday he’ll attend the Southeastern Conference’s annual meeting later this month with a goal of building relationships, not immediately trying to flex Longhorns muscle in their new league.Texas and Oklahoma leave the Big 12 after the 2023-24 season and join the SEC next summer.Hartzell said he’ll be watching how the conference addresses its football scheduling dilemma — eight or nine conference games — and its potential impact on future media rights contracts. The SEC meets May 30 in Destin, Florida.“It’s going to be weird. I’ll be there with no voting rights. We’re not officially in yet,” Hartzell said Thursday.“My impression is scheduling is tough for them, probably will be the topic of the day, and then figuring out what is the latest in terms of media discussions and how those two interact,” Hartzell said. “I’ll be there mainly to start building relationships.”Hartzell sai...

Authorities: Killings in south Georgia town, including at fast food restaurant, leave at least 2 dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:04 GMT

MOULTRIE, Ga. (AP) — Authorities: Killings in south Georgia town, including at fast food restaurant, leave at least 2 dead.Source

California lawmakers OK emergency loans to failing hospitals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:04 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Alarmed by the closure of a rural hospital earlier this year, California lawmakers on Thursday voted to loan $150 million to struggling medical centers in the hope of preventing a cascade of similar failures across the state.The only hospital in Madera County closed in December, leaving the community of nearly 160,000 people with no medical center within a 30-minute drive. The closure was a startling reminder of the plight of many community hospitals in mostly rural areas of the country that have struggled to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic.Since then, hospitals in El Centro, Montebello, Hawkins and Visalia have all teetered on the brink of collapse, with one declaring bankruptcy and another being taken over by a state university to prevent its closure. A report last month paid for by the California Hospital Association warned that 20% of the state’s more than 400 hospitals were at risk of closing.California lawmakers typically don’t a...

LOCALIZE IT: Attendance falls at Black Protestant churches

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:04 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:As most Americans try to return to normalcy more than three years after the COVID-19 pandemic, emptier pews have become a common reality among many Black Protestant churches across the nation.Attendance fell 15 percentage points at Black Protestant churches after the COVID outbreak, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Researchers say “no other religious group has registered a decline of this magnitude.”A story published Monday by the AP explores the reasons behind the drop at congregations across the U.S., and how parishioners still feel that the Black church remains crucial to the Black community as a source of refuge and hope.___READ AP’S STORY Black Protestant church still vital despite attendance drop ___SEE THE DATAThe recent Pew survey also found that Black Protestants are the only group in which more than half (54%) still attend services virtually.Read the survey here.Pew defines Black Prote...

Los Angeles Rams sign QB Brett Rypien

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:04 GMT

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams signed quarterback Brett Rypien on Thursday.Rypien spent his first four NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos, passing for 778 yards with four touchdown passes and eight interceptions in eight appearances. He made two of his three career starts last season for Denver, which signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Boise State in 2019.Rypien will compete for a backup job in Los Angeles behind Super Bowl winner Matthew Stafford, who was limited to just nine games by injuries last season. The Rams also drafted Stetson Bennett, Georgia’s two-time national championship-winning quarterback, in the fourth round last weekend.Rypien’s arrival makes it unlikely the Rams will re-sign John Wolford and Bryce Perkins, their two backup quarterbacks for the past three seasons. Wolford had modest success after replacing an injured Jared Goff in 2020, but both Wolford and Perkins struggled in place of Stafford last season.The Rams eventu...

Evenepoel and Roglič favorites for upcoming Giro d’Italia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:04 GMT

MILAN (AP) — This year’s Giro d’Italia is being billed as a two-horse race between the experienced Primož Roglič and the younger Remco Evenepoel.But the Italian Grand Tour, which starts on Saturday, is often wet, wild and unpredictable — especially with a brutal final week.Both Roglič and Evenepoel know that anything can happen over a three-week race and that even unheralded outsiders could lift the “Trofeo Senza Fine” in Rome at the end of the month.Evenepoel became world champion last year and the Belgian also claimed his first Grand Tour success when he won the Spanish Vuelta, ending a run of three straight victories for Roglič.The 23-year-old Evenepoel comes into the Giro having won the prestigious Liège–Bastogne–Liège last month for the second year in a row.“I think I can be here only with a positive feeling,” Evenepoel said Thursday. “I just won Liège for a second time, so that’s a good way to start the Giro. The season has been very good so far. I won the UAE tour, we came se...

Boy hospitalized after being struck by car while on bicycle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:04 GMT

A boy riding his bicycle has been airlifted to the hospital after, officials said, he was struck by a vehicle in North Lauderdale. According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred Thursday afternoon just outside Broadview Elementary on the 1800 block of SW 63rd Avenue. Officials said the boy was struck while crossing the street and ended up pinned under the car. He was able to communicate with first responders who were able to free him. The boy, believed between the ages of 9-10, was airlifted to Broward Health Medical Center as a precaution because of his age but is said to be in stable condition. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

All clear given after Stranahan High School evacuated due to bomb threat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:04 GMT

A South Florida high school was evacuated Thursday afternoon due to a bomb threat. Police were on the scene at Stranahan High School, located at 1800 SW 5th Place in Fort Lauderdale. 7Skyforce hovered over the school where the student body was seen on the football field.

MSPCA saves rare purebred dogs from Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:04 GMT

Nine purebred Bichon Frisés flew to Massachusetts Thursday after being rescued from an animal cruelty investigation in Texas, MSPCA-Angell announced. The small, hypoallergenic dogs are expensive and rare in shelters.The MSPCA-Angell and the Northeast Animal Shelter took the dogs in after the investigation removed more than 100 dogs and cats from the breeder in Montgomery County, Texas. The shelter there was overwhelmed, even before this surrender, MSPCA said. “Now, they’ve been rescued, and some of the dogs will soon be in Massachusetts, where we’re confident they’ll be able to find the loving homes they deserve,” said Mike Keiley, MSPCA-Angell director of adoption centers and programs and NEAS executive director.Image provided by MSPCA-AngellThis was MSPCA’s largest transport of Bichon Frisés ever, and the nine dogs range from 5 months to 8 years of age. An American pit bull terrier is also headed to Massachusetts. After a two-day quarantine, the dogs will be available fo...

Study Cites Everett Casino’s “Limited Impact” On Crime

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:04 GMT

The region around Encore Boston Harbor in Everett has not experienced a sizable increase in crime rates attributable to the casino’s presence, according to research presented to gaming regulators on Thursday. Consultants for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission studied crime data for Chelsea, Malden, Melrose, Saugus, Lynn and the casino’s hometown of Everett over a period of nearly four years from Sept. 30, 2018 to July 2, 2022. That includes Encore’s opening on June 23, 2019, its brief closure early in the COVID-19 pandemic and then its reopening. They found that while offense rates fluctuated, the trends indicate the casino “has limited impact on crime in the region.” Noah Fritz, the principal investigator at consultant Justice Research Associates, told commissioners on Thursday that the data pointed to a significant increase in crime rates after Encore shut its doors to minimize COVID-19 risks and before the casino reopened, suggesting the hub for leg...