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Gators launch ‘Florida Victorious’ to revamp, streamline NIL

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:51:22 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Three months after losing blue-chip quarterback Jaden Rashada over of a failed name, image and likeness deal worth nearly $14 million, the University of Florida is revamping and streamlining its fundraising collective.Florida Victorious formally launched Tuesday with hopes of raising money to fund NIL deals for student-athletes — and ultimately help the Gators get back to national prominence in football and men’s basketball. Florida was one of six Power Five programs (along with Boston College, Cal, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and Stanford) to finish below .500 in both revenue-generating sports.Most alarming, the Gators endured consecutive losing seasons in football for the first time since 1978-79.Florida Victorious is tasked with supporting the program’s planned turnaround. The nonprofit organization will work closely with the school’s University Athletic Association to raise money that should assist all 19 sports, most notably football.A recent amendment...

Jurors never heard of accomplice letter in death row case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:51:22 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Sixteen years after David Phillip Wilson was sentenced to death for killing a man during a 2004 burglary, the state of Alabama turned over a letter allegedly written by an accomplice saying she was the one that beat the victim with a bat until he fell.A federal judge last month ordered the Alabama attorney’s general’s office to turn over a copy of the letter, noting the jurors never got a chance to hear about it even though prosecutors possessed the letter before Wilson’s trial and believed it to be authentic. The judge said while it’s “plausible” Wilson might still have been convicted and sentenced to death, the letter must be turned over to determine its importance.“The jury was not told that an accomplice of petitioner’s who admitted entering (the victim’s) home also claimed that she beat the victim with a baseball bat while he was alive,” U.S. District Keith Watkins wrote in the March 27 court order.A portion of the letter was turn...

First Capital REIT selling four properties for a total of $184 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:51:22 GMT

TORONTO — First Capital REIT says it has signed deals to sell four properties including the Hazelton Hotel in Toronto for a combined total of $184 million.The real estate trust says it is selling the Hazelton Hotel and a 50 per cent interest in the hotel’s restaurant, One Restaurant, to Hennick & Co. for $110 million.The other properties being sold include a residential condominium development site in Toronto, a residential development site at Montreal’s Wilderton Shopping Centre, and Carre Queen Mary, a small apartment building with retail space in Montreal.First Capital CEO Adam Paul says the successful continuation of the trust’s portfolio optimization plan first outlined last September remains a top priority.The trust expects the four transactions to be completed in the second and third quarters of 2023, subject to closing conditions.It says once the deals are complete it will have monetized approximately $360 million of the more than $1 billion of assets t...

Free COVID testing will fade with US health emergency in May

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:51:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When the COVID-19 public health emergency ends in the U.S. next month, you’ll still have access to a multitude of tests but with one big difference: Who pays for them.For the first time, you may have to pick up some or all of the costs, depending on insurance coverage and whether the tests are done at home or in a doctor’s office.But there’s still time to get some free tests before the May 11 change, and there could still be free ones available afterward. Some state and local governments may continue to distribute free home tests through clinics, libraries and community centers. And the federal government, for now, is still sending free tests through the U.S. Postal Service to households that haven’t already received two shipments.And don’t discount those old tests you haven’t used. The expiration date on the package may have been extended. The Food and Drug Administration’s website provides a list to check and see which tests ar...

Gunmen kill 5 soldiers in Niger convoy ambush

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:51:22 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Gunmen killed five soldiers and wounded others during a weekend ambush of a military convoy performing escort duties in northern Niger, the army said Tuesday. No one has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack, which occurred in the Agadez region on the road to Arlit town, the chief of staff for Niger’s army, Abdou Sidikou Issa, said in a statement. The convoy, which included four Toyotas mounted with machine guns, was leaving the a gold mining site when it was hit. Armed groups and people who come to steal gold frequent the area, according to local residents. Three of the wounded soldiers were evacuated to Niger’s capital, Niamey, and military reinforcements have been sent to the area, Issa said.Niger has been battling a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that’s killed thousands. While attacks by jihadi groups in the Agadez region have been rare in recent years, analysts said the insurgency could not be r...

An injury will keep Tim Anderson out of White Sox lineup early in 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:51:22 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS — One of the unfortunate narratives for the White Sox the past few years is continuing in 2023, and the injury bug has hit one of their best players this April.White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson will miss 2-4 weeks after suffering a sprained left knee against the Twins on Monday..As he officially goes on the 10-day IL, infielder Lenyn Sosa has been called up from Charlotte..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/jGxuvHG0NQ— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) April 11, 2023The White Sox announced on Tuesday afternoon that Tim Anderson will miss 2-to-4 weeks with a sprained left knee suffered against the win over the Twins on Monday. The shortstop was injured in the fourth inning in the field when Minnesota's Matt Wallner hit Anderson's knee while he covering third base in a rundown. He was immediately removed from the game with what was described as left knee soreness before tests revealed the full injury on Tuesday.Infielder Lenyn Sosa has been called up from Triple-A Charlotte to take ...

Trump widens lead over DeSantis to 33 points in new survey

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:51:22 GMT

(The Hill) -- Former President Donald Trump widened his lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in a hypothetical Republican primary matchup to 33 points, according to a new poll. A Morning Consult poll found Trump with 56 percent of the vote among a group of current and potential GOP challengers for the nomination, with DeSantis in second with 23 percent. This marks Trump’s widest lead in the poll since Morning Consult started tracking the hypothetical primary in December. The most recent poll found Vice President Pence came in third with 7 percent, followed by former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley with 4 percent and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) with 3 percent. Almost half of respondents who said they supported Trump would support DeSantis as their second choice, while 41 percent of those who prefer DeSantis said they would support Trump as their second option.  Haley campaign rips Trump, DeSantis in donor memo Pollsters found Trump and DeSantis ...

Haley campaign rips Trump, DeSantis in donor memo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:51:22 GMT

(The Hill) -- Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign is sharpening its attacks on her Republican rivals, arguing that former President Trump is “consumed by the grievances of the past” and that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) isn’t “ready for prime time,” according to a campaign memo to donors obtained by The Hill. The memo from Betsy Ankney, Haley’s campaign manager, casts Haley as above the political fray in the nascent GOP presidential primary, recapping her more than $11 million fundraising haul in the first quarter and early efforts in critical primary and caucus states like New Hampshire and Iowa. In contrast, Haley’s campaign argues, Trump is campaigning on “the promise of more drama in the future, rather than a forward-looking vision for the American people,” noting that while the former president was facing arraignment last week in a New York courtroom, Haley “was on the U.S.-Mexico border offering her plan for stopping illegal immigration.”“Donald Trump had a pretty good Q1, if...

Cedar Park Police: Bank jugging victim went after, shot suspect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:51:22 GMT

 Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for April 11, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) — Cedar Park police said a man who had money stolen in a "jugging" situation took it upon himself to follow the suspect and it led to a shooting.Jugging, according to previous KXAN reporting, happens when a suspect watches a victim withdraw money, then follows them to another location and steals it from them. What is ‘jugging’? Austin police see uptick in cases That's what Cedar Park police said happened Monday, when a man withdrew cash from a bank near Ranch to Market Road 1431 and U.S. Highway 183, then went to a gas station in Lago Vista, where he said someone broke his car window while he was inside. Police got a call from a man at 4:10 p.m., telling them he was "following a car who had just stolen money from him and was trying to stop the car." At that time, he was near South Lakeline Boulevard and Cypress Creek Road.Police said the man pulled in front of the car he believed...

School choice center stage in Texas House

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:51:22 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Just four days after the Texas House voted to prohibit state funding for education savings accounts, the House Committee on Public Education is considering a bill to establish just that.House Bill 4340, by Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, is the lower chamber's proposal to use state dollars to subsidize educational costs for families looking for alternatives to public education. "The entire discussion around school choice... comes down to perspective in my opinion. Should parents be given options to educate their children?" Frank said to the committee on Tuesday. "When viewed through the eyes of the parent or child, I believe it's hard to come to any other answer than 'yes.'"Frank's bill would establish education savings accounts (ESAs), just like Texas Sen. Brandon Creighton's Senate Bill 8, but with some key differences.HB 4340 would prioritize families who would qualify for the ESAs into four tiers based on income level. The first priority group includes stu...