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Protesters, police clash near home of Senegal opposition leader

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

By Babacar Dione | Associated PressDAKAR, Senegal — Police fired tear gas and demonstrators burned cars Monday near the home of Senegal’s main opposition leader, as tensions rise in the capital days before a court verdict is expected on charges against the politician.Ousmane Sonko is being tried for rape and death threats against a woman working at a massage parlor, and could face up to 10 years in prison. If convicted, he would would be barred from running in next year’s presidential elections. Sonko and his supporters maintain his legal troubles are part of an effort by President Macky Sall’s government to derail his candidacy.The clashes came a day after police stopped Sonko’s “freedom caravan,” traveling from his hometown of Ziguinchor, in the south and where he is the mayor, to the capital, Dakar, where he was forced into a home he has in the city.The interior minister, Antoine Felix Diome, said Sonko had not been arrested but was caught brea...

Births decline in 35 states, continuing a long-term trend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

Tim Henderson | Stateline.org (TNS)Fast-growing Texas and Florida had the biggest increases in the number of births last year, while a dozen other states — half of them in the South — continued to rebound from pandemic lows.In the United States as a whole, however, the number of births has plateaued after a modest increase following the worst of the pandemic, according to preliminary data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Births increased in only 15 states from 2021 to 2022, compared with growth in 43 states between 2020 and 2021. More detailed statistics, which could shift slightly, are due for release June 1.Overall, the new data shows the continuation of a long-term trend toward fewer births in the United States, said Phillip Levine, an economics professor at Wellesley College who studies birth trends. Births were down more than 650,000 or 15% over the past 15 years.“We’re back where we started before COVID hit,” Levine said. “Births are still declining,...

Kurtenbach: What made Bob Myers great also brought about his Warriors exit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

The Golden State Warriors can’t replace Bob Myers.Sure, someone else will succeed him as the Warriors’ president of basketball operations — the head honcho in the front office. And perhaps that person can match Myers’ team-building aptitude.But no matter how smart, qualified, and affable that person (or persons) might be, they won’t come close to matching the soft skills Myers brought to his job.It was those soft skills that helped build a dynasty. It’s those same skills that are behind Myers’ exit on Tuesday.Myers is tired. Can you blame him?He has spent the last decade-plus building the Warriors into the greatest sports dynasty of the 21st century and the most valuable sports franchise in the world. The Warriors — the one-time laughingstock — became the organization that all others, no matter the sport, want to emulate.Myers did that with people skills.(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Related ArticlesGolden State Warriors | Im...

Shot teen Ralph Yarl walks in brain injury awareness event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

Associated PressKANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ralph Yarl — a Black teenager who was shot in the head and arm after mistakenly ringing the wrong doorbell — walked at a brain injury awareness event in his first major public appearance since the shooting.The 17-year-old suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was shot while trying to pick up his younger brothers in April, the Kansas City Star reported.Yarl walked with family, friends and other brain injury survivors Monday at Going the Distance for Brain Injury, a yearly Memorial Day race at Loose Park in Kansas City, Missouri.“It takes a community. It takes a family. It takes a support group, all of that,” Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe, said ahead of the race, adding: “Let’s raise more awareness to stop the things that cause brain injuries and should not be causing them, especially gun violence.”As many as 1,000 people raced through the park, including many in neon green T-shirts who registered to be part of ...

Rufus Wainwright gives himself the most amazing present for 50th birthday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

Rufus Wainwright is turning the big 5-0.And the singer-songwriter is marking the occasion with the release of “Folkocracy,” a new 15-song set featuring contributions from Brandi Carlile, John Legend, David Byrne, Sheryl Crow, Nicole Scherzinger, Chaka Khan, Andrew Bird, ANOHNI, Susanna Hoffs, Van Dyke Parks, Madison Cunningham and other artists.“The guests on the album are all people whose music and voices I have admired for years,” says Wainwright, who is known for such acclaimed efforts as 2001’s “Poses” and 2003’s “Want One.” “Having them on the album is a bit like a birthday present to myself.”The new album, which leans into Wainwright’s folk roots as the child of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, is due out June 2 — the same day he launches his tour with a star-studded show featuring Khan, Cunningham, Hoffs and other special guests at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.Wainwrig...

Bob Myers stepping down as Warriors GM

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Golden State Warriors General Manager Bob Myers is stepping down from his position, the Associated Press has confirmed. The news was first reported on Tuesday morning by ESPN. Myers, a two-time executive of the year, has been with the Warriors for 12 years and helped guide the team to four NBA Championships. Astros mock A’s attendance in now-deleted tweet "It's just time," Myers reportedly told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Myers' contract was set to expire at the end of June and there has been speculation for some time about his future, given that the sides had yet to reach an agreement on an extension or a new deal. Myers, 48, grew up in suburban Danville and played basketball at UCLA. Before becoming a top NBA executive, he was an agent. Myers was known for maintaining a close working relationship with Warriors coach Steve Kerr and would sometimes talk to players during games, something rare for an NBA GM to do. That included working to calm down fiery forw...

Inmate allegedly stabs deputies with 'jail-made' knife at Santa Clara County main jail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

(BCN) -- Two Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies were stabbed by an inmate at the Main Jail in an alleged unprovoked attack Sunday, according to sheriff's officials. At about 7:20 p.m., the inmate allegedly left his cell in Module 6B and attacked the deputies with a "jail-made" knife. He was eventually restrained with the help of additional deputies but not before allegedly stabbing the first two in their hands and shoulders. The deputies were taken to a hospital and treated for moderate lacerations and puncture wounds, according to the Sheriff's Office. Elizabeth Holmes enters Texas prison to begin 11-year sentence for notorious blood-testing hoax The names of the inmate and deputies weren't released. The attack is being investigated by Sheriff's Office homicide detectives and crime scene investigators. "Our correctional deputies play a critical role in maintaining law and order within the correctional facilities and this attack serves as a stark reminder of the ris...

Brazil president proposes South America currency, as he hosts summit to rebuild regional bloc

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

BRASILIA (AP) — Brazil’s president proposed the creation of a regional trade currency to rival the U.S. dollar on Tuesday as he hosted a regional summit in a bid to revive a bloc of South America’s 12 politically polarized countries.The Union of South American Nations, or Unasur, was launched in 2008 to boost cooperation, but became largely defunct about a decade later in disputes over leadership. Countries with right-leaning leaders at the time — including Brazil — saw the bloc as having a leftist bent and objected especially to the inclusion of Venezuela’s authoritarian leftist President Nicolás Maduro.Brazil’s new leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has proposed restarting the bloc now that the region has a greater number of leftist and centrist leaders. He called a South America Summit in Brasilia that has drawn all but one of the region’s presidents.In his opening speech, Lula said the group should discuss creating a currency to challenge the hegemony of the U.S. dollar...

Play ball: Things to know entering NCAA baseball regionals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

The NCAA baseball tournament opens Friday with play in 16 double-elimination regionals. Regional winners advance to best-of-three super regionals next week, and the final eight go to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning June 16. Some of the top storylines:WHO’S HOTOral Roberts (46-11) has won 18 straight, the longest active win streak in the country, and 36 of 39. The Golden Eagles won’t be an easy out as the No. 4 regional seed in Stillwater. They won both regular-season meetings with host Oklahoma State, including 8-5 in Stillwater in April.Clemson (43-17) has won 16 straight for its longest win streak since 2006, and 21 of its past 22. WHO’S NOTSouth Carolina (39-19) is a regional host despite losing 13 of 18 since its 34-6 start. The Gamecocks were rewarded for eight early wins over top-50 RPI opponents and cut slack by the selection committee for dealing with significant injuries to three infielders.West Virginia (39-18) has the longest losing streak ent...

Las Vegas Aces celebrate title and are dominating WNBA once again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:57 GMT

The Las Vegas Aces celebrated last season’s championship over the weekend and are looking once again like the team to beat n the league.The Aces unveiled the championship banner on Saturday before dismantling a short-handed Los Angeles team. An easy win over Minnesota the next day has Las Vegas at 4-0, winning by an average of 24.75 points.“This team has not given me any reasons to think they will not show up on any given night,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “No matter the circumstances, they come to compete, they come to play and they play hard.”The Aces, who now begin a four-game road trip, once again were the top team in the AP WNBA power poll. They were followed by Connecticut, New York, Chicago and Washington. Dallas was sixth with Los Angeles, Phoenix and Atlanta next. Indiana, Seattle and Minnesota round out the rankings.Jackie Young has been a big reason why Las Vegas has gotten off to a hot start. Young, who was the AP Player of the Week, is averaging 23 points this ...