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Tornado-ravaged communities look to rebuild after storms level homes and leave 32 dead

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:53 GMT

(CNN) — Tornado-ravaged towns in the American South and Midwest are already facing a long road to recovery after a multi-state storm outbreak leveled homes and left at least 32 people dead — and another round of damaging storms is still on the way.An onslaught of tornado-spawning storms reduced homes into piles of wood, ripped roofs off buildings, splintered trees, knocked out power, injured dozens of people across several states and prompted governors to announce disaster declarations.Now, as the focus shifts to clean-up efforts and those who lost their homes try to salvage what they can, some of the same areas walloped by tornadoes Friday — including central Arkansas, eastern Iowa, and northern Illinois — will see a new round of storms Tuesday that threaten to bring more tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds.In one of the hardest hit areas, Wynne, Arkansas, a lengthy process of cleaning up lies ahead, and it’ll take “resou...

Mid Week Roller Coaster

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:53 GMT

Brrr…. a little bit of a chilly start to the new workweek with temps running in the low to mid 20s for most early this morning. With clear skies, light winds and a lot of sunshine this morning, the recovery will be nice as highs head up into the 50s. The breeze does pick up the pace this afternoon, gusting 20-30mph out of the south. The gusty southerly breeze will keep in coolest along the south coast. It’ll be cool, but dry for baseball at Fenway Park tonight. Clouds increase tonight and a few spotty showers developing past midnight. It won’t be as cold tonight with temps staying in the 40s. Clouds and a few spotty showers are around tomorrow, more so in the morning vs. the afternoon as we’ll likely get the game in at Fenway tomorrow night too. Temps tomorrow run 55-65 in the early afternoon, warmest inland, especially south of the Pike. Those numbers fade fast near sunset as winds turn east to northeast. We’re back into the upper 40s by first pitch at...

Christopher Morel was sent to Iowa to get more playing time. But a laid-back Chicago Cubs clubhouse misses his exuberance.

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:53 GMT

Christopher Morel brought something to the Chicago Cubs last year that couldn’t be measured with numbers.From a bat-flipping celebration after homering in his first at-bat to hugging opposing players and fist-bumping umpires, Morel’s exuberance was impossible to ignore.“He’s such a positive guy, and I do think with any team, bringing up guys like that really energizes the group,” Cubs President Jed Hoyer said last May.The Cubs gave Morel playing time in center field and at second base, shortstop and third base — his preferred position — after calling him up from Double-A Tennessee. The super-utility role suited him, and he quickly became a fan favorite.But with Cody Bellinger signed to play center, Nico Hoerner moving over to second and Morel having a difficult time defensively at third in an extended audition last September, the Cubs decided to send him to Triple-A Iowa to start the season instead of playing him sporadically off the bench.M...

Ravens draft preview: If quarterback is in play, there are plenty of intriguing options

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:53 GMT

The calendar has officially flipped to April, which can only mean one thing: It’s time to get ready for the NFL draft.The first round begins April 27 in Kansas City, but until then, the Ravens have plenty to figure out. Most notably, their contract stalemate with star quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has requested a trade while under the $32.4 million nonexclusive franchise tag. If he gets his wish, the Ravens’ draft could look a lot different.Baltimore owns five picks: Nos. 22 (first round), 86 (third round), 124 (fourth round), 157 (fifth round) and 199 (sixth round). A blockbuster deal for Jackson would significantly increase the size of that haul, but the Ravens are guaranteed at least one additional first-rounder this year if Jackson signs an offer with another team before the draft and Baltimore declines to match it.As we get closer to the draft, The Baltimore Sun will examine which players at each position of need (quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback, edge rusher...

Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond advocates for vulnerability in mental health conversations: ‘That superhero cape has to come off’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:53 GMT

For Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond, returning to the court alongside his teammates this weekend came as a relief.Drummond stepped away from the team for one game — Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers — after sharing on Twitter and Instagram that he was deleting all social media apps and changing his phone number.“Time to focus on my mental health,” Drummond wrote. “If you too are struggling with your mental health, you are not alone. It’s okay to ask for help.”Even without knowing the full details of what he was facing, Drummond’s teammates and coaches were quick to show support when he returned to the team for last week’s trip to Charlotte, N.C.“Everybody was there for me,” Drummond said after Sunday’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies at the United Center. “Nobody really knew what was going on. I was going through a lot mentally and I had to take some time to really clear my mind and addre...

UFC and WWE combine to create $21.4B entertainment company

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:53 GMT

WWE and the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship will combine to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment company.A new publicly traded company will be formed that houses the UFC and WWE brands, with Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. taking a 51% controlling interest in the new company. Existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% stake.The companies put the enterprise value of UFC at $12.1 billion and WWE at $9.3 billion. The new business will be lead by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. Vince McMahon, executive chairman at WWE, will serve in the same role at the new company. The announcement comes after Vince McMahon, the founder and majority shareholder of WWE, returned to the company in January and said that it could be up for sale. Rumors swirled about who would possibly be interested in buying WWE, with chatter focusing on companies such as Endeavor, Disney, Fox, Comcast, Amazon and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Industry experts had viewed WWE as an attractive ac...

Borissov appears winner of Bulgaria’s parliamentary election

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:53 GMT

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — The center-right GERB party of ex-premier Boyko Borissov appeared to be the winner of Bulgaria’s parliamentary election, the country’s central electoral commission said Monday, with 99% of the ballots counted.Results showed the GERB party receiving 26.6% of the vote, nearly 2% more than the pro-Western reformist bloc led by the We Continue the Change party.Four other parties also appear to have gained seats in the 240-seat chamber, according to the latest results.Riding a wave of pro-Russian sentiment that many in this former communist nation share, the ultra-nationalist Vazrazhdane party, which opposes any actions against Putin’s Russia, boosted support to come in third with 14.2% of the vote.The ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms came in fourth with 13.4%, followed by the Socialist party and the There is Such People party, led by a popular TV entertainer, with 9% and 4.1% respectively.It could take days before the final official results are anno...

Indian opposition leader will avoid prison during appeals

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:53 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian court on Monday suspended a two-year prison sentence for Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi as he appeals a criminal conviction for mocking the prime minister’s surname that saw him expelled from Parliament, dealing a huge blow to his Congress Party ahead of general elections next year.Gandhi, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his main challenger in the 2024 polls, was ousted after a court sentenced him to two years in prison for defamation for a comment made in a 2019 election speech. The prosecution of Gandhi, the great-grandson of India’s first prime minister and scion of the dynastic Congress party, was widely condemned by opponents of Modi as the latest assaults against democracy and free speech by a ruling government seeking to crush dissent. The speed of his removal from Parliament shocked political circles in India. Gandhi appeared in a court in the western state of Gujarat Monday to file an appeal and was granted bail fo...

Finland to join NATO military alliance this week, chief says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:53 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Finland will become the 31st member of the military alliance on Tuesday.“From tomorrow, Finland will be a full member of the alliance,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.Stoltenberg said that Turkey, the last country to have ratified Finland’s membership, will hand its official texts to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday as NATO foreign ministers gather in Brussels. Stoltenberg said he would then invite Finland to do the same.A flag raising ceremony to add the Finnish flag to those of the other members will take place at NATO headquarters at on Tuesday afternoon.The Associated Press

Ex-principal of Jewish school found guilty of sexual abuse

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:53 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The former principal of a Jewish girls school in Australia was found guilty Monday of sexually abusing two students, ending a nine-year legal battle that strained relations between the Australian and Israeli governments while antagonizing Australia’s Jewish community.Malka Leifer, 56, a Tel Aviv-born mother of eight, was convicted on 18 counts, including rape, and acquitted of nine other charges, including five that related to the eldest student, Nicole Meyer. The three former students — Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper — are all sisters.Trial judge Mark Gamble had issued a gag order preventing media reporting during the trial that Leifer had fought against her extradition to Australia following her return to Israel in 2008 as allegations against her first emerged. The legal battle she waged in Jerusalem courts since 2014 ended in 2021 when she boarded a flight toward Melbourne at Ben Gurion Airport, her ankles and wrists shackled.The news of Leifer’s ...