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Presto’s Picks: Virginia plays emotional matinee while Pac-12 enjoys one final run

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:29 GMT

There are many reasons to love the Pac-12 as it enters its final season after dissolving in record time this summer. The Big East needed two poachings by the ACC to become completely toothless.And while I know many of us can’t wait for matchups that include Maryland-Oregon, Virginia-Stanford, Virginia Tech-Cal, and West Virginia-Utah, there’s something that’s going to be lost here.Those of a certain age remember when that league dominated the Rose Bowl, often against favored Big Ten teams poised for a national championship. From 1969 to 1986, the conference went 16-2 in “The Granddaddy of Them All,” while giving Ohio State and Michigan fans nightmares for months to follow. In a sport where running ruled most game plans, the conference gave the NFL big arms from Jim Plunkett to Warren Moon, and Troy Aikman to Carson Palmer.The league also delivered outstanding rivalries where the unexpected became the expected in games like USC-UCLA (did the sport ever l...

Pumas have a goalkicker to worry England at Rugby World Cup. Ireland and Australia also kick off

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:29 GMT

There’s a strong whiff of ‘missed opportunity’ when Argentina has played England at the Rugby World Cup.Missed goalkicks and a red card have undermined Argentina’s three past meetings and let England off the hook.The Pumas, for the first time, are favored against the one-time world champion when they meet on Saturday in Marseille.ENGLAND vs ARGENTINA (England leads 19-1-5 overall, 3-0 in RWC)In their first World Cup meeting in 1995 in Durban, the Pumas scored two tries to none but England won 24-18 off eight goalkicks by Rob Andrew. The next time in 2011 in Dunedin, Argentina led 9-3 on kicks until England’s go-ahead, 67th-minute converted try and Jonny Wilkinson’s late penalty to prevail 13-9. The last time was 2019 in Tokyo, where Tomas Lavanini was sent off for a shoulder shot on Owen Farrell. England led 5-3 at the time. It won 39-10.The Pumas should have won the first two games but converted only a combined five of 17 penalty kicks.This time, they are armed wi...

German lawmakers approve a contentious plan to replace fossil-fuel heating

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:29 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers on Friday approved contentious legislation for the replacement of fossil-fuel heating systems, passing a major climate policy plan that prompted lengthy infighting in the governing coalition and helped push down its poll ratings.Parliament’s lower house voted 399-275, with five absentions, for the bill — months after an initial version of it was first approved by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Cabinet. An ensuing fight over its details in Scholz’s ideologically diverse three-party coalition fueled an impression of disarray from which the government is struggling to recover.The junior partners in the coalition led by Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party — the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats — argued publicly before sealing a bare-bones compromise in mid-June on the plan to replace old fossil-fuel heating systems with alternatives such as heat pumps.It was firmed up into detailed legislation shortly b...

Trump hosts a $100,000-per-person fundraiser to help Giuliani pay legal bills

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump hosted a $100,000-a-plate fundraiser for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club as Giuliani struggles to pay his mounting legal bills.Giuliani, a longtime Trump ally who also served as the fellow Republican’s lawyer, is facing a barrage of legal fees, fines, sanctions and damages related to his work helping Trump try to overturn the 2020 election and other cases. He was indicted last month along with Trump and 17 others in Georgia for what Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has described as a wide-ranging conspiracy to subvert the will of the voters after Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.Giuliani’s son, Andrew, said in a radio interview that the Thursday night event was expected to raise more than $1 million for his father and that Trump had committed to hosting a second event at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, later in the fall or early winter.“So that will be very helpful...

Rail operator fined 6.7 million pounds in Scottish train crash that killed 3

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:29 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British rail operator was fined 6.7 million pounds ($8.4 million) Friday after pleading guilty to safety failures that led to a derailment that killed three people and injured six others in Scotland three years ago.Network Rail was punished after admitting in High Court in Aberdeen, Scotland, that several lapses endangered passengers and rail workers when extreme rainfall washed rocks and gravel over the tracks and caused the train to derail and topple down a hill. Train driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, were killed in the Aug. 12, 2020 crash near the coastal town of Stonehaven.“Very few people in the north east of Scotland will ever forget the images of the carriages,” Judge Hugh Matthews said as he delivered his sentence. “No penalty I can impose will come close to compensating those whose lives have been touched by this tragedy. The only disposal I have is a fine.”Peter Gray, the lawyer f...

9 trending fall cocktails you can make at home

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:29 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Fall is in the air. It's one time a year you can shamelessly drink pumpkin spice lattes and eat anything apple-flavored. Make the most of this fall and try out these trending fall cocktails. FOX31 looked at some of the top Google search trends for fall cocktail recipes in the U.S. last year. Here are a few of the most popular searches with some recipe suggestions: 5 places to see fall leaves in Denver 1. Fall cider cocktailsIs it really fall if you don't drink some apple cider? Fall cider cocktails were one of the highest searched terms. You'll really only need five ingredients, most of which might already be in your house. Grab gin, apple cider, lemon, cinnamon and honey for a fall cider cocktail.For an example of a full fall cider cocktail recipe, check out No Spoon Necessary's version. 2. Bourbon fall cocktailsPeople across the U.S. were craving some sugar and spice with a fall bourbon cocktail. One of the first recipes that comes up on Google for bourbon fall ...

Arson investigation underway after inferno engulfs Miami mechanic shop

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:29 GMT

An arson investigation is underway after a raging inferno tore through a mechanic shop in Miami on Friday morning. At 5:20 a.m., the City of Miami Department of Fire-Rescue responded to reports of a fire at the scene. Firefighters arrived to find a vehicle fire raging on the exterior of the mechanic shop located near the intersection of Northwest Seventh Avenue and 79th Street. Investigation underway after an inferno engulfed a Miami mechanic shop.Video footage from the scene captured the flames shooting out from multiple vehicles parked within the premises. Their fire attack, which included extending hand lines, quickly brought the situation under control. Within minutes, the inferno was contained, and the fire was prevented from spreading to the interior of the structure. The business was closed at the time of the incident. As a result, there have been no reported injuries related to the fire, but fire officials said six vehicles sustained damages due to the fire’s intensity...

Miami’s latest lavish skyscraper will be courtesy of Dolce&Gabbana

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:29 GMT

(CNN) — In Miami, a city where most of the coastal metropolis’s skyline shimmers in silver or reflects blue skies and water through glass, a fashionable newcomer will be outfitted in black and ivory, and topped with an elaborate gold crown.Like the boning on a luxe corset, matte black steel beams will form its 90-story structure, topping out at 1,049 feet tall. Reaching the maximum allowable height set for the city by the Federal Aviation Admission, the skyscraper will tie for the city’s tallest building with other flashy forthcoming projects when it is completed in 2027, including the Waldorf Astoria Miami and Foster+Partner-designed The Towers.The brand behind the new residential tower and 5-star hotel is familiar, too, but more for its runway shows and red-carpet appearances — the building, on 888 Brickell Avenue in Downtown Miami, marks Dolce&Gabbana’s first foray into real estate, expanding the Italian label’s influence from where you shop to where you sleep....

Georgia special grand jury recommended charges against Sen. Graham, 2 ex-senators, Michael Flynn

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:29 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A report released on Friday revealed that a special grand jury investigating efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results recommended indictments against a much larger group than Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis ultimately charged, including one current and two former U.S. senators.The nine-page report showed jurors recommended charges against 39 number of people, compared to the 18 who were charged along with former President Donald Trump. The names of those not indicted included Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of Georgia, former U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.Parts of the report had been released in February, but a judge had delayed the release of any recommendations for specific charges against specific people until after last month’s indictment. While most of the intrigue in the inner workings of the case has diminished with the filing of charge...

Reps Air Frustration With “Less Than Desirable” Migrant Crisis Communication

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:29 GMT

As the immigrant shelter crisis worsens in Massachusetts, state lawmakers pressed Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and other administration officials Thursday to provide more detailed information about the flow of migrants into their communities, including the volume of people seeking housing and the overall price tag to the commonwealth.Grappling with rising costs to the emergency shelter system without an immediate solution in sight, the Healey administration might also be gearing up to ask the Legislature for more money, one Republican representative signaled to reporters.In the closed-door meeting Thursday afternoon, representatives also aired their concerns over the federal government’s inaction on expediting the monthslong work authorization process, which elected leaders say has prevented migrants from earning money to support themselves and their families.“The communication has been less than desirable from all aspects down to the municipal level,” Majority Leader Mic...