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Ja Morant’s lawyers cite ‘stand your ground’ law, self-defense in pickup basketball lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:11 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The future of a lawsuit accusing Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant of assaulting a teenager during a pickup basketball game hinges on whether Morant will be allowed to say that he was acting in self-defense and can receive immunity under Tennessee law.A judge on Wednesday ruled that Morant’s lawyers can proceed for now with their argument that Morant was acting in self-defense when he punched Joshua Holloway during a game at the All-Star player’s Memphis-area home in July 2022.Morant’s lawyers have acknowledged he punched Holloway one time after Holloway threw a basketball at Morant and the ball hit Morant in the chin. In a July 26 motion, the player’s lawyers said he should be immune from liability under the state’s “stand your ground” law, which allows people who feel threatened at their homes to act with force in certain situations.Circuit Court Judge Carol Chumney said the next step would be to hear from lawyers in the case, including...

Jasper Philipsen secures 4th sprint win at Tour de France. Vingegaard keeps yellow jersey

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:11 GMT

MOULINS, France (AP) — Jasper Philipsen is in a class of his own when it comes to sprinting at the Tour de France. He is so strong that even when the teammate in charge of setting him up is not there, he still wins in the end.The Belgian sprinter posted his fourth stage win at this year’s Tour de France on Wednesday, taking his career tally to six.“It’s been an incredible Tour so far,” Philipsen said after outclassing the field. “I can’t realize how good it is all going, so I’m super proud and really happy with my shape. And also, to get through the final without problems is also a big challenge, and we managed to do it four times, so I’m super happy.”There were no major changes in the general classification: Jonas Vingegaard kept his 17-second lead over two-time champion Tadej Pogacar. Jai Hindley remained in third place, 2 minutes, 40 seconds off the pace.Philipsen, who rides for Alpecin–Deceuninck, had been perfectly guided by his leadout man Mathieu van der Poel in h...

Schauffele and Spieth say PGA Tour Commissioner Monahan has to earn back trust

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:11 GMT

GULLANE, Scotland (AP) — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan returns to work next week and some top players believe he has to regain their trust after leaving members in the dark over an about-face deal with the Saudi Arabia wealth fund behind LIV Golf.“I’d say he has a lot of tough questions to answer in his return,” Xander Schauffele said Wednesday at the Scottish Open, where he is the defending champion. “And yeah, I don’t trust people easily. He had my trust and he has a lot less of it now.“So I don’t stand alone when I say that.”A week after Monahan announced a commercial partnership with the Public Investment Fund, the tour said a “medical situation” led Monahan to turn over daily operations of the tour to two executives.He sent a memo to players last week saying he would resume his role July 17. Monahan did not take part in the Senate hearing Tuesday in which documents outlined some of the conversations that led to the framework agreement.Players were se...

Victim of Coconut Grove beating undergoes facial reconstruction; police seek 2 suspects

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:11 GMT

A South Florida man was forced to undergo surgery after suffering a brutal beating in Coconut Grove, which he said was an attack motivated by hate.Gregory Breidenbach suffered a black eye and broken bones, but that wasn’t all. He remains in pain emotionally and physically. “I’m going through a big wave of a rollercoaster of emotions from everything that happened,” Breidenbach said. The victim was walking home in Coconut Grove on Saturday just after midnight when all of a sudden two men jumped him. They called him an offensive slur for a gay man, while punching and kicking him repeatedly and left him for dead.“My brain has blocked it all out, I do know I was cognizant enough when the cops found me and they said I was lying in the street and that I didn’t have my clothes on.”7News spoke to Breidenbach just before his preparation for surgery.“All of my face has to be redone, everything is busted, from nasal cavity, nasal and sinus is sepa...

A Florida sinkhole that claimed a man’s life in 2013 reopens, this time harmlessly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:11 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sinkhole that in 2013 fatally swallowed a man sleeping in his own house has reopened for a third time, only now it’s behind chain-link fencing and doing no harm to people or property.Hillsborough County officials said the sinkhole located in the Tampa suburb of Seffner appeared again Monday, which they said is not unusual for such underground formations especially in central Florida with its porous limestone base. The hole was about 19 feet (6 meters) wide at its largest point.“None of the homes surrounding this appear to be in any danger,” said Jon-Paul Lavandeira, director of the county code enforcement department. “This is not uncommon, what we’re seeing here.”A decade ago, 37-year-old Jeff Bush was sleeping in a bedroom when the earth opened up and devoured him and part of the house. Five other people escaped unharmed and Bush’s brother, Jeremy, tried in vain to dig him out of the hole. Jeff Bush’s body has never been...

Suspect in Larry Nassar stabbing said ex-doctor made lewd remark watching Wimbledon, AP source says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A prisoner suspected of stabbing Larry Nassar at a federal penitentiary in Florida said the disgraced former sports doctor provoked the attack by making a lewd comment while they were watching a Wimbledon tennis match on TV, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.The inmate, identified as Shane McMillan, was previously convicted of assaulting a correctional officer at a federal penitentiary in Louisiana in 2006 and attempting to stab another inmate to death at the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado in 2011, court records show.McMillan attacked Nassar in his cell Sunday with a makeshift weapon, stabbing him multiple times in the neck, chest and back before four other inmates rushed in and pulled him off of Nassar, according to the person familiar with the matter.Correctional officers assigned to the unit at the United States Penitentiary Coleman responded to Nassar’s cell and performed what officials said were life-saving measur...

Deputies arrest 55-year-old man accused in hit-and-run crash during illegal street race in Pompano Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:11 GMT

Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a man Wednesday accused of a hit-and-run crash during an illegal street race that left a pedestrian injured. Charles Standifer, 55, is facing four charges, which include speeding/racing on the highway, failure to stop and remain on the scene of the accident involving serious injury, reckless driving causing serious bodily injury and failure to provide proof of liability security. According to BSO, the illegal street race took place on Sunday evening in the 300 block of Northwest 31st Avenue. During the race, the vehicle lost control and collided with a pedestrian, Warren Ferrell, who was on a sidewalk before the vehicle crashed into a construction fence and ended up in a ditch. The driver left the scene of the crash without rendering any aid to Ferrell. Ferrell was then transported to Broward Health North for treatment. He had injuries to his left side and head trauma. He has since been released from the hospital but his family said h...

EU conservatives’ anti-Green Deal push falls short

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:11 GMT

STRASBOURG — In an extremely tight vote on Wednesday, lawmakers in the European Parliament sent a message to their conservative colleagues: Don’t mess with the Green Deal. The result — after a bruising debate — saw MEPs fend off a deeply polarizing right-wing effort to kill EU legislation aimed at restoring nature.It was an embarrassing outcome for European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber, who for months had plotted to ensure the Parliament would torpedo the proposal, arguing against scientists and the Commission that it will destroy farmers’ livelihoods and put food security at risk. “We have fought for our convictions and we came very close,” Weber said at a press conference, seeking to downplay the defeat, which saw 15 of the EPP’s 176 members breaking ranks by refusing to kill the bill outright.The campaign saw Weber square off with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a fellow EPP member and the Green Deal’s original architect. Von der ...

How Ukraine lost its battle for a NATO membership commitment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:11 GMT

VILNIUS — Ukraine wanted this year’s NATO summit to end with a clear declaration that it will become an alliance member once the war ends, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is leaving Lithuania without that ultimate prize.For weeks, Ukrainian officials pushed their counterparts in the United States and Europe to draft language that offered a timeline and clear path toward membership. The communiqué allies released Tuesday fell short of that, stating instead that “we will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine when allies agree and conditions are met.”That line proved a deep disappointment for Kyiv, which raged behind the scenes as the U.S. and Germany resisted pressure to offer Ukraine concrete pledges. It was particularly upset at the vague reference to conditions, seeing it as a potential arbitrary roadblock to membership.Ukraine’s leadership reached out to Washington and Berlin to make its displeasure felt, ending in Zelenskyy firing off an irritated tweet on Tuesday...

How do you buy a home with little or no credit? Turn rent payments into credit score points

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:11 GMT

Lizzie Kane | Chicago Tribune (TNS)Zhiqiang Su, 50, and Yuping Liang, 50, moved from China to Chicago in 2020, seeking a life with better education opportunities for their now 21-year-old daughter and more freedom.They have been renters since they immigrated, living in a single-family, two-bedroom home in Bridgeport for $1,200 a month, never having missed or been late on a payment.But, Su said, they want a place to call their own to help them achieve their American Dream.“I want to purchase a house because it will allow me to have a more stable life,” Su said in Cantonese as Ivan Man and Sharon Wong, two members of his real estate team, translated.Being immigrants, however, adds extra layers of difficulty to the already challenging housing market.The couple works hard to make a living: Su works 10-hour days, six days a week making sushi in a restaurant, and his wife does the same while working a part-time job as a home care aide. But their real estate team expects them to run into c...