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College athletes who transfer twice can play for now as judge sets aside NCAA transfer rule

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — College athletes who were denied the chance to play immediately after transferring a second time can return to competition, for now, after a federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order Wednesday against the NCAA.U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in northern West Virginia issued the order against the NCAA from enforcing the transfer rule. A lawsuit filed by West Virginia and six other states alleged the rule’s waiver process violated federal antitrust law.A hearing on the restraining order is scheduled for Dec. 27, Bailey said.The NCAA didn’t immediately indicate whether it would appeal the ruling. Colorado joins lawsuit accusing NCAA of antitrust violation in athlete transfer rule NCAA rules allow underclassmen to transfer once without having to sit out a year. But an additional transfer as an undergraduate generally requires the NCAA to grant a waiver allowing the athlete to compete immediately. Without it, the athlete would have to si...

Police: Nearly $1M in cocaine, stolen merchandise recovered from Miami home amid drug, retail theft ring probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

Police said officers executing a search warrant in Miami have made a big bust, not only involving drugs, but hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise. Speaking with reporters on Wednesday evening, City of Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said the discovery is part of an investigation by the department’s Special Investigation Section.Detectives said there was an organized drug ring as well as an organized retail theft ring being operated from inside a house along Northwest 24th Avenue.Investigators said the officers who executed the narcotics search warrant recovered large quantities of cocaine, several firearms and large sums of U.S. currency.What officers were not expecting, police said, was to find stolen merchandise from various retail stores.Police said they have also secured an offender. Investigators said the individual would exchange stolen material for narcotics.The stolen goods include products from CVS, T.J. Maxx, Home Depot and other retailers. In tot...

The 2 days that salvaged a climate deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Hopes for a historic climate deal appeared dead.The U.S., EU and a host of other countries were pushing for the COP28 summit, held in the glitzy petro-metropolis of Dubai, to yield a worldwide commitment to end the use of fossil fuels. But a fierce counterattack from Saudi Arabia and its oil-producing partners in OPEC had beaten that effort back — leading, by Monday night, to a draft agreement that one Pacific island minister labeled a “death warrant” for communities threatened by the warming planet’s rising seas.“I was very depressed,” Danish Climate Minister Dan Jørgensen said afterward.It looked as though the Saudis had prevailed, just as they had succeeded three months earlier in defanging a fossil fuel proposal at G20 talks in Goa, India.But by Wednesday morning, it all turned around. Nearly 200 nations, the Saudis included, consented to a compromise deal that fell short of promising an end to fossil fuels — but which acknowledg...

House votes to formalize impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden with floor vote

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

(CNN) — House Republicans voted Wednesday to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as their investigation reaches a critical juncture and right-wing pressure grows.In a 221-212 vote, all GOP members supported the resolution to formalize the inquiry – including Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, who had said earlier this week he was leaning against it.Up until this point, House Republicans had not had enough votes to legitimize their ongoing inquiry with a full chamber vote. The probe has struggled to uncover wrongdoing by the president, which is why it hasn’t garnered the unified support of the full GOP conference.House Oversight Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan took a victory lap after vote, overcoming the lack of support for the inquiry when it was first unilaterally launched in September under then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy.“We are very pleased with the vote today,” Comer, a Kentucky Republican, told reporters. “I think tha...

Waltham police ask for public’s help as investigation into crash that killed officer, utility worker continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

Police in Waltham asked for the public’s help Wednesday as their investigation into the crash that killed a police officer and utility worker continues. The crash happened on Dec. 6 on Totten Pond Road. Though officials said the alleged driver in the incident fled the scene and at one point allegedly stole a police cruiser, he was later arrested and arraigned on charges including manslaughter. Now, one week after the crash, Waltham police and the Massachusetts State Police in a statement urged anyone who saw or heard anything potentially related to their investigation to reach out.“Even if you think it may not be of value, trained investigators may find evidentiary value in what appear to be the most minor of details and would like to hear from you,” officials said.Police said they are interested in speaking with anyone who drove through the scene immediately before the crash. Police additionally asked anyone who was at the accident scene who has not been interviewed so far to ...

Boston Mayor Wu, city councilors answer questions after email invite to ‘Electeds of Color Holiday Party’ mistakenly sent to entire city council

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

During the final Boston City Council meeting of the year, Mayor Michelle Wu gives gifts to outgoing councilors. Not everyone was in the mood to celebrate on Wednesday, though, after the city disinvited white councilors to an upcoming holiday party. “You don’t want me at a party, I’m not going to come to a party,” District 3 Councilor Frank Baker said. 7NEWS obtained an email sent to all city councilors Tuesday. The email was from one of the mayor’s staffers and read “I cordially invite you and a guest to the Electeds of Color Holiday Party.”Fifteen minutes later, another email went out, with the staffer clarifying “I did send that to everyone by accident, I apologize if my email may have offended or came across as so.” “I think we’ve all been in a position at one point where an email went out and there was a mistake in the recipients,” Wu said Wednesday. “So, it was truly just an honest mistake.”The party got underway at the city-owned Parkman House shortly befor...

Red Sox add catching depth with Roberto Perez signing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

The Red Sox continued adding more depth on Wednesday with the signing of Roberto Perez.The veteran catcher has a minor league contract with an invite to Major League camp. Should he make the big-league roster, he’ll earn a $1.4 million base salary.Just 10 days away from his 35th birthday, Perez has been around for quite some time. The Puerto Rico native was first selected out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 29th round of the ’06 draft, but opted not to sign. Cleveland took him in the 33rd round two summers later, and he debuted with them in July ’14. He spent the first eight seasons of his big-league career in Cleveland, then played 21 games for Pittsburgh in ’22.Perez was also a Red Sox target last offseason, but chose the San Francisco Giants instead. After making the team out of spring training, he played five games before needing season-ending shoulder surgery in early April.Save for an unexpected 24-homer season in ’19, the catcher...

Massachusetts Gov. Healey looks to double down on housing affordability in her second year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey is looking to double down on affordable housing in Massachusetts in the second year of her administration, including by pushing the Legislature to pass a pending $4 billion housing bond bill she already filed.In an interview with the Herald Wednesday afternoon, Healey said housing is the greatest challenge facing the state, and part of the solution could lie in boosting production and rehabbing existing units. Healey filed the massive housing bond in October, pitching it as the largest investment in state history.“We need housing because I don’t want to see people leave this state. This is a great, great state, a great state to raise a family to grow a business,” Healey told the Herald. “I want people who come to school here, staying here. I want businesses incubating here and growing here, right. I want businesses expanding here. And I want people who grew up here to be able to afford to stay here.”Healey’s bill directs $1.8 billion to housing production and...

Luke Combs helping a fan who almost owed him $250,000 for selling unauthorized merchandise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Country singer Luke Combs is making amends to a disabled Florida woman who sells tumblers online after she was ordered to pay him $250,000 when she got snared in a crackdown his lawyers launched against companies that sell unauthorized merchandise with his image or name on it. Combs in an Instagram video posted Wednesday said he told his attorneys to remove Nicol Harness from a lawsuit they filed in an Illinois federal court and that he was sending her $11,000. She had sold on Amazon 18 tumblers she had made with his name and likeness for $20 each, grossing $360. The singer, who recently topped the country charts with his remake of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” also said he would start selling his own tumbler with the proceeds going to pay Harness’ medical bills — she has heart disease and was recently hospitalized. He also said he would fly Harness and her family to an upcoming concert so he could meet her. He said his lawyers we...

Ticker: Dow hits a record; New York removes medical debt from credit reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

A powerful rally across Wall Street sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve indicated that the cuts to interest rates investors crave so much may be coming next year.The Dow jumped 512 points, or 1.4%, to top 37,000 and surpass its prior peak of 36,799.65 set at the start of last year.Other, more widely followed indexes of U.S. stocks also leaped. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% and is within 2% of its own record. The Nasdaq composite gained 1.4%.Wall Street loves lower interest rates because they can relax the pressure on the economy and goose prices for all kinds of investments. Markets have been rallying since October amid rising hopes that cuts may be on the way.NY removes medical debt from credit reportsUnpaid medical debt will no longer appear in New York residents’ credit reports under a bill signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday.The law prohibits credit agencies from collecting information about or reporting medical debt...