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Mike Rockenfeller to replace suspended Noah Gragson in next NASCAR Cup Series races

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:10 GMT

STATESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Mike Rockenfeller, a two-time Le Mans winner, has been chosen to replace suspended driver Noah Gragson in the next two NASCAR Cup Series races.Legacy Motor Club CEO Cal Wells announced Tuesday that Rockenfeller will be in the No. 42 Chevrolet this week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and in the following race at Watkins Glen.Gragson has not been released, according to Wells.“Noah is suspended indefinitely by NASCAR so we will have to identify drivers to compete in the No. 42 in the interim,” Wells said. “NASCAR will determine the timeline when Noah can return to the sport. We are working with Noah and his representation through this process.”Gragson was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR on 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. NASCAR said Gragson violated the member conduct of its rule book, w...

Walker Buehler meets Jon Rahm — on the mound, not the golf course

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:10 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Walker Buehler is scheduled to throw to hitters Wednesday for the first time since he had a second Tommy John surgery two years ago.At least the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher has some experience throwing to someone standing in the box — Masters champion Jon Rahm, of all people.Both were nervous, even without Rahm holding a bat.“The first time I was about 6 feet from the plate because I was freaked out,” Rahm said Tuesday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. “Then I got as close as you can get. It seemed like the confidence I would have for making a 2-foot putt, he had for making sure he hit his spots.”For Buehler, his concern last Friday was more his footwear. He was wearing tennis shoes for what normally is a turf mound at the Titleist Performance Institute in Oceanside, California. But with renovation at TPI, he was throwing off dirt.“All I could think was I could smoke this guy in the hand,” Buehler said Tuesday in a telephone interview. “If I slip ̷...

Mega Millions: How much of the $1.58 billion will you actually take home?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:10 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The next Mega Millions drawing happens Tuesday night, and with a historic estimated jackpot of $1.58 billion, you might be wondering how much of that you'll see if you win.First, you should know that the estimated cash value is $783.3 million, not $1.58 billion. That's what you'd get if you chose the popular lump sum option.So, assuming you win, and assuming you take the lump sum, how much would you actually pocket after state and local taxes?How much taxes are taken out?The federal government automatically takes 24% in tax withholdings on all prizes over $5,000.So, at a cash value of $783.3 million, the federal taxes withheld from your prize before you even see a cent would be a little over $187.9 million. That leaves you with $595.3 million.And the tax withholdings don't end there, because Colorado takes 4% of your prize, which in this case works out to around $31.3 million. Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot largest in US history So, after that combined 28% in tax...

Only 2 Colorado athletic programs paid for themselves last year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:10 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Colorado's college athletic programs have wracked up more expenses than they're able to pay for on their own, according to a state report. The Colorado Office of the State Auditor released a report to the Colorado General Assembly in August detailing how much support athletics programs need from their respective universities and colleges. Since 2013, athletic expenses grew faster than their revenue from ticket sales, contributions and media licensing. In total, 11 schools with athletics programs did not pay their own way in 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2022. ‘The brr is back’: Farmers’ Almanac releases winter forecast for Colorado All told, Colorado's college athletics programs needed $54 million from their institutions to cover their financial shortfalls.Last year, only two of dozens of Colorado programs managed to pay their own expenses: University of Colorado Boulder Buffaloes football and men's basketball. In the case of football, CU's program made handsomely more tha...

6-year-old boy who shot teacher later boasted about it, affidavit says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:10 GMT

(CNN) — A 6-year-old who shot his teacher in January later boasted in a conversation with a school employee that “I shot that b[ ] dead,” according to unsealed redacted search warrants.The documents obtained from CNN affiliate WTKR describe what happened after first grade teacher Abigail Zwerner was shot on January 6 at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia.“I did it,” the boy told school officials, according to police in an affidavit. “I got my mom’s gun last night.”Unsealed records of Zwerner’s statement to police at the hospital said that when the boy drew the weapon from his pocket and pointed it at her, she asked, “What are you doing with that?”Zwerner told authorities the boy paused, “then fired one shot that struck Zwerner in her left hand and upper torso,” the affidavit obtained by affiliate WTKR said. Zwerner fled the classroom to the school office, according to the affidavit.The teacher suffered gunshot wounds to her hand and chest but survived.A lawyer for ...

What to know about the latest dominant COVID-19 variant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:10 GMT

A fast-spreading new subvariant of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 — nicknamed “Eris” by health watchers but formally known as EG.5 — recently became the most prevalent strain in the country, according to recent official estimates, though it does not appear to cause significant illness or pose immediate danger.According to a CDC estimate from Saturday, the EG.5 variant makes up approximately 17 percent of all Covid cases in the U.S., making it the most dominant strain of the disease. That number is an increase from the roughly 12 percent share of EG.5-variant cases among all strains in a July 22 calculation. The variant has also been reported in several countries.The dangers from Covid have sharply declined with vaccinations, but new variants have continued to arise. The EG.5 variant exists under the Omicron family of strains that began circulating in late 2021 and has since birthed several mutations.New variant does not currently prompt concernMedical experts have said that EG...

Methuen police officer arrested following child pornography investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:10 GMT

A Methuen police officer is on administrative leave as he faces a charge of possessing child pornography, after state police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to officials.Matthew Bistany, 51, was arrested at his home in Methuen Tuesday morning as part of an investigation launched by the Massachusetts State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, according to MSP spokesperson Dave Procopio.Procopio said the investigation started earlier in 2023, after the task force received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children documenting how child sexual assault material had been uploaded from an IP address the MSP’s Cyber Crimes Unit later connected to Bistany.Following his arrest by state police troopers and Methuen PD, the 51 year old was arraigned in Lawrence District Court and ordered held on $5,000 bail.“Upon learning of these allegations, Officer Matthew Bistany was immediately placed...

Extreme heat is the deadliest natural disaster. FEMA can’t treat it like one

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:10 GMT

(CNN) — Extreme heat is far deadlier than other natural disasters, killing on average more than twice as many people each year as hurricanes and tornadoes combined, according to data tracked by the National Weather Service.Despite this, heat isn’t on the list of disasters eligible for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency because it’s nowhere in the Stafford Act – the federal law that gives FEMA the power to respond to emergencies and determines what qualifies as one.As President Joe Biden travels West this week to celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats’ landmark climate law, and tout his climate agenda, temperatures in the Southwest are still topping out above 100 degrees. Phoenix clocked its 44th consecutive day over 105 degrees on Monday, and the extreme heat has wilted the Southwest’s iconic saguaro cactuses and given third-degree burns to people who fell on the sidewalk.Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego rece...

Red panda twin babies born at UK zoo boost species’ endangered population

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:10 GMT

(CNN) — The endangered red panda population recently received a boost in the form of adorable twin babies.The United Kingdom’s largest zoo welcomed the cubs as part of a European breeding program dedicated to saving the species.They were born June 25 at Whipsnade Zoo in Whipsnade, England, located 35 miles northwest of London, zoo officials announced Wednesday. The conservation zoo is home to over 11,000 animals.The first children of mother Ruby and father Nilo weighed nearly 4 ounces at birth – around the same weight of a banana, according to the zoo.“We suspected Ruby was pregnant and wanted to do everything we could to make her first experience as a mum a smooth one, so we were ecstatic when we spotted her curled up in one of the nesting boxes we had prepared, using her bushy red tail to keep the two cubs warm,” zookeeper Grant Timberlake said in a news release.The young red pandas have yet to leave their straw-filled nest while under the care of their parents, the zoo ...

Moore: New banking regulations could sink economy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:10 GMT

Banking is just about the most regulated industry in America. Yet, as we saw with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and others in recent months, lenders are not invulnerable to failure due to bad management or unexpected changes in economic conditions.The inevitable response is for more regulation on all banks. But sometimes regulators can make conditions worse for healthy banks. The most famous example in recent times was when financial regulators urged banks to issue inordinate amounts of new “safe” mortgages leading up to the great financial crisis of 2008, ultimately flooding the financial system with toxic debt.Now with some banks under financial stress because of higher interest rates, Congress and the Federal Reserve want to raise bank capital reserve requirements. Presumably, this means holding more government bonds, many of which dropped precipitously in value last year as interest rates spiked higher.Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr rec...