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Pac-12 business affairs: New CFO hired with revenue growth, financial controls in mind

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:57 GMT

The dead-of-summer appointment of a senior-level staffer by one of the Power Five conferences typically wouldn’t rise to the level of significant news. But when the conference is the Pac-12, the role is chief financial officer and the executive is Morane Kerek, our attention feels warranted.Kerek joins the conference in the midst of its existential crisis following her seven-year tenure as CFO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee — a major role in the sports space that seemingly prepared her for the unique challenges awaiting in the Pac-12.The terms of her contract were not revealed, but we suspect the deal comes with unlimited use of a bucket and mop.The conference has been without a full-time CFO since Brent Willman was fired in January for his role in the Comcast financial scandal, which resulted in the media company overpaying the Pac-12 Networks by at least $50 million over the course of a decade even though Willman and networks president Mark Shuken were aw...

Stanford Health Care ultrasound technician arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting patients

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:57 GMT

PALO ALTO — A Stanford Health Care ultrasound technician arrested Wednesday stands accused of fondling two patients, according to Palo Alto police.Mitchell Van Vu, 56, was arrested at his Bay Point home on suspicion of six counts of sexual battery after two male victims alleged he touched their genitals during ultrasound procedures, police said.One of the men contacted Palo Alto police on April 10 claiming to have been sexually assaulted by an ultrasound technician at Stanford Health Care on 500 Pasteur Drive two weeks earlier. The victim said he was assaulted on two separate occasions and police identified Vu as the suspect with help from hospital staff, authorities said.A second man contacted police on May 16, alleging that Vu fondled his genitals during a procedure the previous day. The man told hospital staff immediately following the incident and police said that the hospital placed Vu on administrative leave.Police said a forensic medical examination was performed on the secon...

Defending champion Hurkacz out of Halle Open in dramatic tiebreaker as Rublev and Sinner advance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:57 GMT

HALLE, Germany (AP) — Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner reached the quarterfinals of the Halle Open on Thursday as defending champion Hubert Hurkacz was eliminated after a dramatic final-set tiebreaker.Rublev won his second-round match against German wild card Yannick Hanfmann 7-6 (6), 6-3 after turning around a 5-3 deficit in the first-set tiebreaker. Rublev lost to Hanfmann in Rome last month.“The last time he beat me and he’s playing better and better,” Rublev said. “Especially on grass, he’s even tougher to play against because he has such a good serve and a good game at the net. I was able to win the match in two sets so I’m really happy.”Rublev next faces Tallon Griekspoor after the Dutch player upset Hurkacz 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (8). Griekspoor converted his fifth match point for the win after saving a match point at 8-7 down. Griekspoor is coming off his second title of the season at the Libema Open.Sinner needed nearly three hours to win 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 against fellow ...

Dude, where’s my car? DC region sees a dramatic spike in auto thefts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:57 GMT

The number of cars being stolen continues to rise in the D.C. area.Compared to this time last year, auto thefts are up 84% in Montgomery County, 118% in D.C. and a staggering 180% in Prince George’s County.“We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of auto thefts, compared to last year, so far this year,” said Nicholas Augustine, assistant chief of police for the Montgomery County Police Department.He said a majority of cars are stolen by teenagers, many of whom are inspired by TikTok challenges involving Kia and Hyundai cars.Augustine said while many of the cars taken have been made by those manufacturers, they are not the only ones disappearing. While most stolen cars are recovered, not all are, according to Augustine.Some stolen cars being shipped overseas“We also are seeing an increase of vehicles being stolen, and then taken into certain ports and sent overseas for sales,” Augustine said.While cars are being stolen from all over the county, Augustine said the ...

Rays shortstop Wander Franco benched for the way he has handled frustration this season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:57 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco has been benched and will not play in Thursday and Friday’s games against Kansas City at least by Rays manager Kevin Cash for the way he has handled frustrating situations this year.“Wander is a really good kid, really good person,” Cash said before Thursday night’s game with the Royals. “He’s a young player that is learning and dealing with the challenges of being a major league player, and some of the frustrations that come with it. “Over the course of this season there’s been probably multiple times that the way he has handled his frustrations have not been the way that we ask our players to uphold being the best teammate.”Cash declined to give specifics about any incidents, but the 22-year old has not run out grounders at times and has some baserunning lapses.Also, Franco has thrown his bat after striking out, and last Sunday declined to talk to reporters after making two errors on one pl...

In ‘Every Body,’ a galvanizing moment — and celebration — for the intersex community

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Like some 260,000 Americans, Sean Saifa Wall was born with significant intersex traits. The sex on the birth certificate was checked “ambiguous” and then crossed out. Wall was instead labeled female on the document and, at the age of 13, after his mother was inaccurately warned of a cancerous threat, his testes were removed. Doctors told his parents to raise him as a girl, though Wall later developed masculine features and now identifies as a man. “They literally stopped my development — I was starting to develop as male. And they stopped it right there and changed course. It was a hard left,” says Wall. “It was disappointing and almost devastating that what I wanted could never be achieved. I wanted to pass. I wanted to be read as cis.”“I had to tap into something else because it was hard being misgendered all the time and people not seeing me the way I saw myself,” Wall adds. “That’s when I was like: I need to really fight back.”Wall, co-founder of the Intersex Jus...

Josh Bell’s long homer sends Guardians to 6-1 win, sweep of Oakland as A’s drop 8th straight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:57 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — Josh Bell nearly dotted the “i.”Bell homered off an “Ohio” sign beyond the left-field wall and Myles Straw hit an RBI triple, leading the Cleveland Guardians to a 6-1 win Thursday and three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics, who lost their eighth straight.Bell’s 430-foot shot in the fifth inning off JP Sears (1-5) smacked the “H” on the beer sign affixed to a pedestrian walkway in Progressive Field and tied it 1-1.“I knew it was gone off the bat,” said Straw, who followed Bell’s belt with his go-ahead triple two batters later. “I was hoping it would stay fair. I saw it on the replay hit whatever it is out there, the concourse or the walkway. “So that was pretty cool. Pretty good blast.” Bell’s shot helped the Guardians complete their first sweep of 2023 and extend their winning streak to four games. They’re one game behind first-place Minnesota in the AL Central. The A’s were swept for the 11th time and they dropped to 19-...

German soccer players face racist abuse on social media at U21 European Championship

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:57 GMT

KUTAISI, Georgia (AP) — German soccer player Youssoufa Moukoko condemned online racist abuse directed at him and teammate Jessic Ngankam as they played at the European Under-21 Championship on Thursday.Moukoko and Ngankam each missed penalties in Germany’s opening 1-1 draw with Israel on Thursday at the tournament in Georgia. After the game, numerous comments including monkey emojis were left under recent posts on both players’ Instagram accounts.“If we win we are all Germans. If we lose, then these monkey comments arrive. Jessic received them, I’ve received them. Things like this simply do not belong in football,” Borussia Dortmund forward Moukoko said in comments reported by Germany’s dpa news agency.Germany’s general manager Joti Chatzialexiou said earlier this month that players on the national Under-17 team had faced online racist abuse on their way to winning the European title. ___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/A...

Tracking severe weather in Denver area: Live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:57 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) – A second day of severe storms is bringing hail to the Denver area Thursday. While not expected to last as late into the night as Wednesday’s storms, the severe threat includes much of the Front Range and eastern Colorado.The Pinpoint Weather Team forecast the strongest risk for severe weather for the Denver area to start around 2 p.m. and continue through the evening before moving east onto the plains.Get real-time updates from FOX31 and the Pinpoint Weather team in the live blog below, and all afternoon on TV.Live video above and on FOX31.Live blog with updates below.Weather Quick LinksRadar: Interactive mapLatest forecastWatches & WarningsLatest Weather AlertsThe live blog below will not include all warnings, watches, advisories, and other alerts issued by the National Weather Service. For all alerts in your area, check the following:Pinpoint Weather AppCustom alerts on your phoneAlerts on KDVR.comFull list and mapLive Updates

Titan pilot, crew believed to be dead after 'catastrophic implosion': US Coast Guard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:57 GMT

(AP) – A submersible carrying five people to the Titanic imploded near the site of the shipwreck and killed everyone on board, authorities said Thursday, bringing a tragic end to a saga that included an urgent around-the-clock search and a worldwide vigil for the missing vessel.Coast Guard officials said during a news conference that they've notified the families of the crew of the Titan, which has been missing since Sunday.The sliver of hope that remained for finding the crew alive was wiped away early Thursday, when the submersible's 96-hour supply of oxygen was expected to run out and the Coast Guard announced that a debris field had been found roughly 1,600 feet (488 meters ) from the Titanic.The Coast Guard said the submersible likely imploded in the North Atlantic waters. How long had the Titan journeyed before its ‘catastrophic implosion’? “The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber,” said Rear Adm. John Mauger, of the First Coast Guard Dist...