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Western High School’s rising star makes mark on football field

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:46 GMT

The allure of Friday Night Lights football dreams has captivated countless young athletes in the area, but few have risen to the challenge quite like Davi Belfort. Picking up a football for the first time merely six years ago, Belfort, now the quarterback for Western High School, has not only embraced the sport but has proven himself a prodigious talent.“I was born in Brazil and lived there for six years,” said Davi. “[When I] came to America I didn’t even know what a football was.”Not only did Davi fall in love with the sport, but there was something about the quarterback position that really sparked the high school senior’s attention. “[The quarterback] is the leader of the team, he always has the ball in his hand, he always has a chance to make a play,” said Davi. “That position really stood out to me, so after that year when I turned 13, I told my parents that I wanted to play quarterback for the rest of my life. After that, ...

Nazi leaflet overshadows Bavarian state election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:46 GMT

An antisemitic pamphlet circulated at a high school in southern Germany 35 years ago is at the center of a political storm affecting election campaigning in Bavaria — and beyond.Hubert Aiwanger, deputy premier and economy minister of the large and influential southern German state of Bavaria, admitted over the weekend that he was involved in distributing an antisemitic leaflet during his high school years in the late 1980s. Aiwanger now faces growing pressure to answer questions, along with calls for his resignation.Aiwanger is leader of the right-wing Free Voters party, which is active across Germany but particularly successful in Bavaria, where it’s gained increasing popularity over recent weeks — an effort largely attributed to Aiwanger. With elections slated for the state on October 8, any prolonged controversy around the politician could affect not only his party’s popularity, but also Bavaria’s Premier Markus Söder of the center-right Christian Social Union (...

EU warns of financial risks from Andorra, Monaco and San Marino

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:46 GMT

An EU plan to forge closer ties with three tiny countries that sit within its borders risks causing significant financial harm to Europe’s consumers, the bloc’s own watchdogs warned.In a dramatic intervention that threatens to blow apart trade talks with Andorra, Monaco and San Marino just months before they were due to conclude, Europe’s top finance regulators said a deeper relationship with the trio could open the backdoor to illegal money and make it easier for predatory financial firms to target people in the EU because of lax oversight.The three nations, with a combined population of 150,000 and bordering France, Italy and Spain, aren’t members of the EU but since 2015 have been negotiating with the European Commission on deeper economic ties that would give them access to the single market. The chairs of three EU regulators, which police Europe’s banks, financial markets and the insurance and pensions sectors, warned that the trio “historically maintained less rigorous f...

Elton John briefly hospitalized after a fall, now back home and in ‘good health’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:46 GMT

(CNN) — Elton John was hospitalized after he suffered “a slip” at home on Sunday.The legendary singer, 76, was in his villa outside of Nice, France, when he fell and was taken to Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco. John was monitored overnight.“Elton visited the local hospital as a precautionary measure,” John’s representative said in a statement to CNN on Monday. “Following check ups, he was immediately discharged this morning and is now back at home and in good health.”In 2021, the “Rocket Man” singer was pushed back scheduled tour dates after a hard fall that injured his hip and required surgery.“I have been advised to have an operation as soon as possible to get me back to full fitness and make sure there are no long-term complications,” he said in a statement at the time.John later explained that he was in pain most of the time due to his hip.“I wouldn’t be 100% fit, I wouldn’t be 100% confident, because I’m in pain most of the time with my hip...

WATCH: 4 injured when a fire rescue helicopter crashes in Pompano Beach, Florida

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:46 GMT

(CNN) — A Broward County, Florida, sheriff’s fire rescue helicopter crashed Monday morning, sending four people to the hospital, including two crew members and two people from an apartment complex where it came down, authorities said.All four are in fair condition, according to Veda Coleman-Wright, director of public information for the Broward County Sheriff Office.The crash occurred near an airfield just north of Fort Lauderdale as the helicopter was on its way to an emergency call, authorities said.“At approximately 8:46 a.m., emergency personnel responded to a call of an aircraft alert located southwest of the Pompano Beach Airpark. The helicopter involved in the crash is a BSO Fire Rescue helicopter. Pompano Beach Fire Rescue transported two people to an area hospital,” the Broward County Sheriff’s department said in a news release.Just before it crashed, the aircraft was smoking and on fire near the rear, video posted to CNN affiliate WPLG appeared to show.The NTSB has co...

Trump trial set for March 4, 2024, in federal case charging him with plotting to overturn election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:46 GMT

By ERIC TUCKER, LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge on Monday set a March 4, 2024, trial date for Donald Trump in the federal case in Washington charging the former president with trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, rejecting a defense request to push back the case by years.U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan rebuffed claims by Trump’s attorneys that an April 2026 trial date was necessary to account for the huge volume of evidence they say they are reviewing and to prepare for what they contend is a novel and unprecedented prosecution. But she agreed to postpone the trial slightly beyond the January 2024 date proposed by special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution team.“The public has a right to a prompt and efficient resolution of this matter,” Chutkan said.If the current date holds, it would represent a setback to Trump’s efforts to push the case back until well after the 2024 presidential election, a c...

Florida braces for the arrival of Idalia, which is forecast to become a major hurricane

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:46 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Idalia intensified and was expected to be a major hurricane when it reaches Florida’s Gulf Coast later this week, the National Hurricane Center said Monday, as officials declared states of emergencies in dozens of counties and ordered some evacuations in preparation for potentially life-threatening storm surges.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned of a “major impact” to the state, noting that what was originally forecast to be nothing stronger than a tropical storm was now predicted to become a Category 3 hurricane. Idalia would be the first storm to hit Florida this hurricane season and a potentially big blow to the state, which is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Ian almost a year ago. DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 46 counties, a broad swath that stretches across the northern half of the state from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast. The state has mobilized 1,100 National Guard members, who have 2,400 high-water vehicle...

A look at how Canada’s housing woes are straining the budgets of foreign students

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:46 GMT

Housing woes for international students have made headlines in recent weeks as they grapple with lack of housing, inadequate placements or fake admissions offers. Some say what drove them to come to Canada in the first place was a good education and opportunities. Now that they’re here, they’re feeling squeezed.Here’s a look at some foreign students and their experiences securing accommodation in Canada. Anubhav Gupta, 24, Saint Mary’s University, HalifaxGupta is in his fourth year of a Bachelor of Commerce degree, pursuing a double major in finance and computing and information systems. He completed much of his degree remotely from India while waiting for his visa. Since arriving in January, he has lived on campus.He’d like to move off campus this year, but his search for something more comfortable and affordable has come up empty.“Now I have to stay on campus in a room that I don’t want, basically,” says Gupta, who is from the northern Indian ci...

Biden will visit Hanoi next month as he seeks to strengthen US-Vietnam relations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:46 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is heading to Vietnam next month to meet with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other Vietnamese leaders, the White House announced on Monday.The president will arrive in Hanoi on Sept. 10, tacking on the one-day visit to the Vietnamese capital after attending the annual Group of 20 leaders’ summit in India.“The leaders will explore opportunities to promote the growth of a technology-focused and innovation-driven Vietnamese economy, expand our people-to-people ties through education exchanges and workforce development programs, combat climate change, and increase peace, prosperity, and stability in the region,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.The White House also announced on Monday that Biden will stop in Alaska on his way home from Vietnam to mark the the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. He will take part in a memorial ceremony at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson...

Arrest warrants issued in Lebanon for 2 Russians suspected of spying for Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:46 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Two Russian citizens who were recently detained in Beirut on suspicion of spying for Israel have been referred to an investigative military judge who issued arrest warrants for them, two judicial officials said Monday.The two Russians were detained “several weeks ago” in Beirut as they were leaving the country through the capital’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, the officials said. The two judicial officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.The head of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate Maj. Gen. Elias Baisari announced Friday that two foreigners were detained while leaving Lebanon through the airport, describing them as “part of a network spying for Israel.” He did not give their identities or say when they were detained.Russia’s Sputnik News on Saturday quoted “a Russian embassy source” as saying that the Russian consulate is trying to contact the detainees to know why they are being held. The Russian Embassy in Beirut refused to comm...