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Signing day: Georgia has top class with 5-star flip; Ohio St breathes sigh of relief on No. 1 player

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

The early signing period in college football opened Wednesday with some five-star drama.Georgia likely locked up the top recruiting class by flipping an in-state blue-chip player away from Florida State; the consensus No. 1 recruit in the country had Ohio State coach Ryan Day literally sighing with relief; and a five-star defensive lineman committed to Florida decided to delay his official decision — and that was the least of the bad news for the Gators.Meanwhile, the long and winding recruitment of Dylan Raiola ended bright and early with the highly touted quarterback signing a national letter of intent with Nebraska, the school where his father was an All-American offensive lineman.College football’s early signing period, jammed into what has become an overloaded December calendar with postseason games and players transferring, has become THE signing period.“The schedule is not good. It’s chaotic,” Penn State coach James Franklin told reporters.The big schools sign the...

SEC Signing Day: Georgia grabs top class after five-star flip, followed by Alabama

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

The Southeastern Conference, currently chasing its fifth consecutive national championship, racked up another collection of talent and a couple of five-star quarterbacks on Wednesday.Georgia coach Kirby Smart is bringing in the nation’s top-ranked class, just ahead of playoff-bound Alabama at No. 2, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. The early signing period runs through Friday.Two of the top three high school quarterbacks in the composite rankings have landed at SEC schools, with No. 1 Julian Sayin already practicing at Alabama ahead of the Rose Bowl against Michigan and Florida nabbing No. 3 DJ Lagway. Hugh Freeze’s first full-year recruiting efforts at Auburn are paying off with a class ranked eighth, followed by LSU (11th), Tennessee (13th) and Florida (15th). Eleven of the 14 SEC teams rank in the Top 25. And that doesn’t count incoming SEC members Texas (No. 5) and Oklahoma (No. 9), who led the way in the Big 12. LEADER OF THE PACKThe Georgia Bull...

UN Security Council again delays Gaza aid resolution vote as high-level talks try to avoid US veto

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council again Wednesday delayed the vote on a new U.N. resolution on desperately needed aid to Gaza for another day as the Biden administration struggles to change key wording in high-level negotiations seeking to avoid a U.S. veto.The United States is seeking to change the text’s references to a cessation of hostilities in the Israel-Hamas war and to putting the United Nations in charge of inspecting trucks to ensure they are actually carrying humanitarian goods, which Israel opposes.U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters on his way back from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that “we’re negotiating right now at the U.N. the contours of a resolution that we may be able to agree to.”Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh of the United Arab Emirates, which sponsored the Arab-backed resolution, said earlier that very high-level discussions are underway to try to reach agreement on a text that can be adopted.“Everyone wants to see a resolution that has impact...

Liverpool routs West Ham 5-1 and advances to the League Cup semifinals

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — After finishing last season empty-handed, Liverpool kept its four-pronged trophy pursuit alive Wednesday by advancing to the League Cup semifinals with a 5-1 win over West Ham.Curtis Jones scored twice, with Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah also getting goals in the largely one-sided game at Anfield.Jarrod Bowen struck a consolation goal for West Ham.Liverpool will play Fulham in the two-legged semifinals, and second-division Middlesbrough will face Chelsea.“The performance, the scoresheet, the result and the individual performances put together to make a team on the pitch,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said. “We were brave in our positioning, our second ball game was exceptional. It was a really, really good performance from start to finish.”Liverpool can move atop the Premier League when it hosts first-place Arsenal on Saturday, is in the Europa League round of 16, and starts its FA Cup campaign next month.The Merseysid...

Pro Picks: Rams will improve their playoff hopes with a win over the Saints

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

Pro Picks is a weekly column where AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi shares his picks for upcoming games. For all previous Pro Picks, head here.___Rebuilding the Rams took less than one season.Sean McVay has Los Angeles in the mix for an NFC wild-card spot in a season that began with low expectations for the Rams (7-7).They’ll kick off Week 16 hosting the New Orleans Saints (7-7) in a game with major playoff implications for both teams.The Saints are battling Tampa Bay (7-7) for first place in the NFC South.A healthy Matthew Stafford has played like the guy who led the Rams to a Super Bowl title. He’s thrown 13 touchdown passes and only two interceptions over the past five games while the Rams have won four of those.Derek Carr is coming off his best game with the Saints, who’ve won two in a row.The Rams are 4 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. They are 17-4-1 against the spread in their past 22 games played in December.Pro Picks expects them to improve that mark.R...

Colorado measles case confirmed days after patient flew into Denver airport

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Colorado health officials have confirmed an international traveler who arrived in Colorado on Dec. 13 has tested positive for measles.The adolescent allegedly visited several Colorado counties. The last confirmed case of measles in a Colorado resident before this was in January 2019, according to the state. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, Arapahoe County Public Health is leading the investigation and has been notifying people who may have been directly exposed. CDPHE provided a timeline for the adolescent in Colorado. On Dec. 13, the youth was at Denver International Airport from 4:30-8 p.m. with possible exposure to people moving through Concourse A, bridge security, baggage claim and the passenger pickup area.On Monday, Dec. 18, the adolescent went to Children's Hospital Colorado's Emergency Department at the Anschutz Medical Campus from 8:30-11 a.m. The...

Police investigating Pembroke Pines officer’s actions after suspected DUI crash led to no charges filed against driver

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

A traffic stop in Pembroke Pines is under investigation after the driver was let go without facing a charge of driving under the influence because of a language barrier, despite allegedly rear-ending two cars.The early morning June 11 crash was captured on cellphone video. The witness pulled out her phone at around 4:30 a.m.One of the cars involved was an unmarked vehicle belonging to an off-duty City of Miami Police officer.“I’m the one that stopped him. I’m off duty. He’s going to be DUI,” said the officer in body camera video. Investigators said the crash occurred as 47-year-old Alexandre Gonzalez was driving on Pines Boulevard near Southwest 150th Avenue without his lights on. The cellphone video shows Gonzalez’s SUV swaying back and forth until it crashed into the two vehicles and then kept on going. Moments later, the off-duty officer pulled Gonzalez over.Gonzalez appeared to stumble, had trouble following directions, and even made a nasty ...

Back to Breezy

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

The weather pattern has changed (again) and we’re back to feeling the effects of a strong and gusty breeze. What’s different, though, is that those same winds have turned away from the chilly north. It was that recent northerly flow that dropped temperatures at the start of the week. We’re now getting milder air and readings have returned to typical levels for this time of the year. On Thursday, look for morning lows in the 60ºs followed by an afternoon in the middle 70’s. We’ll have times of sunshine with some batches of clouds rolling-in from the Atlantic. The other change that’s worth noting involves the change in seasons. On Thursday, we officially switch from fall to winter. It’s called the winter solstice and it marks the actual, seasonal change. It happens Thursday at 10:27 pm (eastern standard time). The winter solstice marks the exact moment when half of the earth is tilted farthest away from the sun. It occurs at the exa...

Healey’s 43-year-old high court pick has never been a judge

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court nominee Elizabeth “Bessie” Dewar is not a judge, has never been a judge, and is too young for her age to go without mention or discussion, several members of the Governor’s Council told the high court nominee.Despite those qualifications, during a hearing on her appointment to the state’s top judicial body held on Wednesday, Dewar’s remarkable career as an attorney, law clerk, and state solicitor seemed enough to convince the eight elected members of the executive council that Gov. Maura Healey’s pick for the post is a good one.“You have to tell me…why I’m going to vote for someone who was three years old when I started practicing law — so help me out with that — and who has never been a judge?” Councilor Terry Kennedy asked.“I’m already voting for you,” Kennedy immediately added. “But answer the question anyway.”Dewar, 43, was nominated by Healey after Justice Elspeth Cypher announced she would retire early in 2024. If her nomination...

Massachusetts Legislature continues to ‘let down’ mother of Plymouth boy who died in dirt bike crash

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

The mother of a 14-year-old boy who died in 2012 after being struck by a dirt bike driver near a Plymouth cranberry bog is continuing to fight for justice at the State House.Jill Ward on Tuesday made her case to state lawmakers, again, that drivers of snow or recreational vehicles who injure or kill someone else should face stiffer penalties. Her testimony came a day after the 11th anniversary of when her son James was buried.“I have spoken before, written letters and continue to be let down by the Commonwealth time after time,” Ward told the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.A proposed law, dubbed ‘The James Ward Act,’ seeks to increase the penalty of a hit-and-run with a recreational vehicle that causes bodily injury from a fine between $500 and $1,000 to a jail sentence of one year, a fine between $500 and $1,000, or both.It also sets penalties for a hit-and-run that results in death of another individual with a jail sentence of no more than two-and-a-half years, a fine of no more...