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Two UCF men’s basketball players file for early entry to NBA Draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:29 GMT

The NBA released a list of 242 players from colleges and professional teams who have applied for early entry into the 2023 draft and two members of UCF men’s basketball appeared.Taylor Hendricks, a projected top-10 pick in the June 22 draft, was included as expected.A name that’s somewhat surprising to see listed is UCF guard Ithiel Horton.While Hendricks had already publicly declared for the draft more than a month ago — first by telling ESPN and then sharing a graphic on social media — Horton’s decision to file for early entry comes with little to no fanfare.The redshirt senior guard was one of two Knights to start all 34 games this past season. Hendricks, the program’s first one-and-done, was the other player to do so.It’s unclear when Horton made the decision to enter the draft early but the deadline was Sunday night.If Horton wants to return and join the Knights in the Big 12 Conference for his final year of eligibility, the NCAA’...

Woman hospitalized after being struck by vehicle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:29 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A pedestrian was critically injured after being struck by a vehicle on Wednesday morning, authorities said.The San Diego Police Department told FOX 5 the incident happened around 7 a.m. at the intersection of Westmore Road and Camino Ruiz in the Mira Mesa neighborhood. Workers strike could impact MTS routes Police say the driver of a truck hit a woman who authorities say was in critical condition at the scene. The pedestrian was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The circumstances surrounding the collision have not yet been determined and SDPD is investigating.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

One year after taking on new name, Toronto Metropolitan University reflects on change

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:29 GMT

A year after Ryerson University was reintroduced to the public with a new name – a major move in addressing problematic colonial legacies – its president says the school’s updated identity has helped bring a previously divided campus community together.But some Indigenous faculty say they’re worried progress on reconciliation has slowed considerably since Toronto Metropolitan University took on its new name.University president Mohamed Lachemi said renaming the school has been an important part of its commitment to reconciliation.“The new name proved to be a source of unity,” he said in an interview. “A couple of years ago, the old name was a source of division and frustration, and I’m not feeling that anymore.”The university had faced calls for years to change its name and cut ties with its former namesake, Egerton Ryerson, considered an architect of Canada’s residential school system.Those demands ramped up in 2021 follow...

Montana transgender lawmaker faces possible discipline

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:29 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Republican leaders in Montana are voting Wednesday on whether to discipline transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr for saying her colleagues would “see the blood on your hands” over votes to ban gender-affirming medical care for children.Lawmakers began their session shortly after 1 p.m.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Republican leaders in Montana will vote Wednesday on censuring or expelling transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr for saying her colleagues would “see the blood on your hands” over votes to ban gender-affirming medical care for children.For the past week, Zephyr has been forbidden from speaking on the House floor. A protest against lawmakers silencing Zephyr disrupted Monday’s House session. Authorities arrested seven people in a confrontation that Republicans claim Zephyr had encouraged. The first-term Democrat received notice from House leaders Tuesday night informing her of the plan to consider disciplinary action a...

Stock market today: First Republic falls more, tech rallies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is falling again Wednesday, though a rally for Microsoft and some other Big Tech stocks is helping to limit the losses. The S&P 500 was 0.5% lower in late trading after erasing an earlier gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 237 points, or 0.7%, at 33,283, with less than an hour to go in trading, while the Nasdaq composite was leading the market with a 0.4% gain.Wall Street is coming off its worst day in a month, hurt by concerns about the strength of U.S. banks. The spotlight has been harshest on First Republic Bank, which lost another 33% after nearly halving the day before. That’s when it detailed for the first time how many of its customers bolted amid last month’s turmoil in the industry.The worry is that it and other smaller and mid-sized banks could suffer debilitating runs of deposits from customers, similar to the ones that caused the second- and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history last month.PacWest Bancorp., a...

House Republicans prep for debt vote; Biden open to meeting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:29 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy rushed ahead Wednesday toward a vote on his sweeping debt ceiling package despite a veto threat from the White House, shoring up support after making post-midnight concessions to Republican holdouts in the slim GOP majority.Passage of the sprawling 320-page package in the House would be a turnaround for the embattled McCarthy as he unites his fractious Republican majority confronting President Joe Biden with demands for spending restrictions and cuts in exchange for approving $1.5 trillion more in debt to pay the nation’s bills. While the president has refused to negotiate over the debt limit and has threatened to veto the broad Republican bill — which would almost surely die in the Democratic Senate anyway — McCarthy is challenging Biden with his plan to kickstart negotiations and prevent a potentially catastrophic federal default this summer. The two men could hardly be further apart on how to resolve the issue.Biden, on Wednesd...

Teck says Glencore bid remains ‘non-starter,’ but leaves door open for suitors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:29 GMT

Teck Resources Ltd.’s move to cancel a key shareholder vote on its plan to separate its businesses may be seen as a win for Glencore in its ongoing campaign to acquire the Vancouver-based mining company.But Teck is standing by its assertion that the offer by the Swiss commodities giant remains a “non-starter,” and Teck CEO Jonathan Price indicated Wednesday the company may be receptive to other suitors. “We have premium businesses. And when it comes to M&A, we firmly believe that competition for assets drives value,” Price told a conference call with analysts.Teck announced just hours before its annual meeting Wednesday that it will not go ahead with the vote on its plan to split its metals and steelmaking coal businesses into two companies.The move suggested the company did not believe it had the two-thirds approval from shareholders required for its proposal, which would have split the company into Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources (EVR).Glenco...

Senate talks terror prevention since Boston Marathon bombing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:29 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — The chair of the U.S. Senate subcommittee on emerging national security threats said at a hearing Wednesday that much has been learned about enhancing emergency response and counterterrorism efforts in the decade since the Boston Marathon bombing, but more can still be done.Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire used her opening remarks at the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight Hearing in Washington to reflect on changes since two pressure-cooker bombs went off near the finish line of the race on April 15, 2013.“I am proud of the rapid response to the horror of the attack on that day, and last week, on the 10th anniversary of the bombing, I was proud to watch joyful crowds urging on determined race participants,” she said. “However, there is still much work to do to strengthen our ability to prevent and respond to emerging threats.”Former Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis testified that among the biggest changes since the bombing have...

We Build The Wall founder sentenced to 4 years in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The co-founder of a fundraising group linked to Steve Bannon that promised to help Donald Trump construct a wall along the southern U.S. border was sentenced to four years and three months in prison on Wednesday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors.Brian Kolfage, a decorated Air Force veteran who lost both of his legs and an arm in the Iraq War, previously pleaded guilty for his role in siphoning donations from the We Build the Wall campaign.A co-defendant, financier Andrew Badolato, was also sentenced to three years for aiding the effort. He had also pleaded guilty. A third man involved in siphoning funds from the wall project, Colorado businessman Tim Shea, won’t be sentenced until June.Kolfage and Badolato were also ordered to pay $25 million in restitution to the victims.Absent from the case was Bannon, Trump’s former top political adviser. He was initially arrested aboard a luxury yacht and faced federal fraud charges along with ...

Cedric the Entertainer has novel coming in September

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Call him the Cedric the Novelist. Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Wednesday that it will publish a novel in September by Cedric the Entertainer. “Flipping Boxcars,” billed as a “valentine” to 1940s crime fiction, is scheduled for Sept. 12.“Flipping Boxcars is an homage to my grandfather, who I never met, but I’ve been told I am a lot like,” Cedric the Entertainer, who stars in the CBS-TV comedy “The Neighborhood” and has appeared in dozens of films and TV shows, said in a statement. “This is an intriguing novel filled with surprises, thrills, triumphs, and the heartaches of a family connected through time and circumstance.”The novel is co-written by Alan Eisenstock, who has worked on books with George Lopez and Robert Schimmel.The Associated Press