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Suspended Noah Gragson asks for release from contract with Legacy Motor Club

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Suspended NASCAR driver Noah Gragson has asked Legacy Motor Club to release him from his contract so he can begin working toward reinstatement.The 25-year-old rookie was suspended indefinitely by Cup officials last Saturday after liking an insensitive meme with a photo of George Floyd’s face. Floyd, who was Black, died in 2020 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for 9 1/2 minutes.Series officials said Gragson violated the member conduct of its rule book without providing details.“I love racing, and I am looking forward to a second chance to compete for wins at the highest level of NASCAR — and most importantly, make my family, my team and the fans proud of me once again,” Gragson said in a statement in which he sought the release.Legacy already had announced two-time Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller would replace Gragson in the No. 42 car for Saturday’s race at Indianapolis and next weekend’s race at Watkins Glen.“Noah has a ton...

Iran transfers 5 Iranian-American prisoners to house arrest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has transferred five Iranian-Americans from prison to house arrest, U.S. officials said Thursday. The move comes after Tehran has spent months suggesting a prisoner swap with Washington in exchange for billions of dollars frozen in South Korea.Iranian officials at the United Nations confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press.The complicated, multinational deal comes amid months of heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. A major American military buildup in the Persian Gulf is underway, with the possibility of armed U.S. troops boarding and guarding commercial ships traveling through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of all oil traded passes. It remains unclear whether the Iranian-Americans’ transfers, however, guarantee they’ll make it home. Iran in past months has overstated progress in talks, likely conducted with mediation from Oman and Qatar, on a potential trade. The U.S. in March called remarks by Iranian F...

Iranian officials at UN confirm agreement to release 5 Americans to house arrest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian officials at UN confirm agreement to release 5 Americans to house arrest.Source

Neymar heading toward exit from Paris Saint-Germain, AP source says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Neymar is headed for an exit from Paris Saint-Germain to follow his former teammate Lionel Messi away from the French champion in its turbulent summer.A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press talks are moving toward Neymar leaving the club this month. The person spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential negotiations.The 31-year-old Brazil international was widely reported to have told PSG this week he wants to leave, just days before the team begins its French title defense. His expected preference is a return to Barcelona, which he left for a world-record fee of 222 million euros ($244 million) six years ago.The Qatar-owned club is also dealing with uncertainty over Kylian Mbappé’s future at his hometown club.New PSG coach Luis Enrique is expected to address the media Friday ahead of the team’s season opener against Lorient on Saturday.Luis Enrique coached Neymar for some of the Brazilian’s peak years at Barcelo...

Deputies: Alleged naked predator admits to exposing himself to female hikers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — An alleged naked predator reportedly told the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office that he would purposely expose himself to lone female hikers.On Aug. 8, deputies arrested 20-year-old Glenn Braden of Evergreen on three counts of unlawful sexual contact and five counts of indecent exposure.On Aug. 10, the Jeffco sheriff's office released the arrest affidavit. Female hikers warned about sexual predator along Jeffco trails Within the affidavit, Jeffco deputies spoke to at least eight victims who described their experience with a naked man approaching them while they hiked in Conifer and Evergreen.Updated timeline of a sexual predator reported on Jeffco trailsThe following timeline provides the dates and locations of each reported incident.April 3: Suspect approached a woman at Flying J Ranch Park.May 4: A person reports seeing a naked man at the Flying J Ranch Park.June 13: Suspect approached a woman at the Alderfer/Three Sisters Park.July 11: Suspect approached a woman...

Former Miami-Dade school volunteer accused of forcing student to have sex appears in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

There was an alarming arrest of a former school volunteer in Miami-Dade.Forty-seven-year-old Morris Chaney appeared in bond court Thursday and is accused of forcing a student to have sex with him, as well as threatening the boy if he told anyone.The crime allegedly happened while Chaney was a band instructor at Booker T. Washington High School back in 2019He faces three charges, which include engaging in sex acts with a child, offenses against students by authority figures and written threats to kill or bodily injury.

Russia shoots for the moon as space race against US heats up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

Despite war and sanctions, Vladimir Putin is trying to haul Russia back into the space race.In the early hours of Friday morning, state space agency Roscosmos is poised to launch the country’s first lunar mission in nearly half a century as an ambitious play in the scramble to build a base on the moon.“If they pull it off, it will be a massive technological and scientific achievement,” said Tim Marshall, author of “The Future of Geography” on the geopolitics of space. He argues a successful Russian landing, and fruitful year of research, would mark a big step forward in plans to build a moon base with China by the 2030s.Russia’s Luna-25 mission is being dispatched to scope out the lunar south pole, where scientists believe there’s a plentiful supply of water locked in ice in the perpetual shade of mountain ridges. Firming up water reserves is a critical requirement for supporting life on the moon with breathable oxygen, drinking water and...

Boston police arrest suspect, return dog stolen from owner in Back Bay

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

The Boston Police Department says a suspect is in custody and a dog has been reunited with its owner after it was stolen over the weekend in the city’s Back Bay neighborhood.“Alejandro,” an 8-year-old Chihuahua, was reunited with its owner after police received a tip on the dog’s whereabouts and tracked the pet down, a news release from the department said.According to Boston PD, a Sergeant Detective worked off of the tip and was searching the area of Old Colony Avenue Thursday morning when the official saw an individual who matched the description of a suspect seen on video walking away from a Whole Foods with the stolen dog on Aug. 5.“The Sergeant Detective said to the female, ‘Where is the dog?’ which she replied that she did not know,” the news release stated. “The Sergeant Detective advised the female of the reward for the dog, and the female responded she wanted the money first. The Sergeant Detective stated to the female t...

Prosecutors seek Jan. 2 trial date for Donald Trump in his 2020 election conspiracy case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s team asked a judge on Thursday to set a Jan. 2 trial date for former President Donald Trump in the case charging him with plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss.Prosecutors said in court papers that they want the case before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to move to trial swiftly in Washington’s federal court, setting up a likely battle with defense attorneys who have already suggested they will try slow things down. Smith’s team says the government’s case should take no longer than four to six weeks.The date is just under two weeks before the first votes are set to be cast in the Republican presidential race, with Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses scheduled for Jan. 15.The early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary faces charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States for what prosecutors say was a weekslong plot to subvert the will o...

Suicide deaths reached a record high in the US in 2022, provisional data shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

(CNN) — More people died from suicide in the United States last year than any other year on record, according to provisional data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.At least 49,449 lives were lost due to intentional self-harm in 2022 — nearly 15 deaths for every 100,000 people.The suicide rate spiked in 2021, reversing two years of decline. And with the continued increase in 2022, rates surpassed the previous record from 2018.Last year’s suicide rate — 14.9 deaths for every 100,000 people — is 5% higher than 2018’s previous record high of 14.2 deaths for every 100,000 people and marks a 10% jump over the two years.The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics compiles data that states and other jurisdictions report into the National Vital Statistics System each month. The latest update, published Thursday, represents a “set of provisional data for 2022,” but data won’t be final until later in the year.Suicide rose to the 11th leading cause o...