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No graduation: 8th graders turned away from ceremony; parents furious

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:40 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo - St. Louis County parents are fuming after their kids were turned away from their eighth-grade graduation ceremony. The event was at Westview Middle School in the Riverview Gardens School District.Parents said they brought their dressed-up kids to the promotion ceremony to commemorate them graduating eighth grade and going on to high school.However, they said when they got to the door they were told they couldn’t come in, while other students were allowed to pass.One of the parents, Minyatta Simmons said she didn’t like that at all. $400,000 in watches stolen in St. Louis jewelry heist "This is a moment that they have to remember. You have four graduations: kindergarten, eighth grade, high school, and college," she said. "Why rob them of that privilege.”Another mother Lateasha Grant was also as angry that her daughter was not being allowed into the event on Wednesday.”Honestly, my baby missing out on this experience and the tears coming out of her eyes, the e...

Grading the Week: Move over Skyhook. Nikola Jokic’s Sombor Shuffle is now the most indefensible shot in basketball history.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:40 GMT

A message to uninitiated: Yes, Nikola Jokic meant to do that. And, yes, he does it often.It’s called the Sombor Shuffle, and in the estimation of the Grading the Week staff, it’s now replaced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Skyhook as the most indefensible shot in the history of basketball.Nikola Jokic — A+There are many variations of the Shuffle, but the general shape remains the same.It starts with two steps to create space, done in the same deliberate fashion either backwards or to the side. Then Jokic swings the ball over his head, creating a launch angle from the top of his 6-foot-11 frame that no defender in the world has a chance of contesting.And it ends with the release: A soft, high-arcing parabola that might touch a support beam in some old-school barn in middle America but always seems to drop through the net like it was guided by a laser.There is, of course, one other element of the shot that is essential: There can only be a few seconds left on the shot c...

Mathews: What California can learn from Stockton Syndrome

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:40 GMT

If California wants to curb poverty, its local governments must become richer.That’s one lesson from Stockton’s recent history, as recounted by Stanford Law School professor Michelle Wilde Anderson in her Zócalo Book Prize-winning book, “The Fight to Save the Town.” The author connects the dots between the poverty of people and the poverty of local governments.At the story’s heart are decades-long declines in federal and state support for local governments. Between 1979 and 2016, federal funding to neighborhood development decreased 80%.  Local governments responded by taking on debt, reducing services, selling land, and raising taxes and fees.“When local governments are populated mostly by low-income people, there is typically much less money for public services,” Anderson writes. “Weak, broke local governments make it harder for residents to lead decent lives on low incomes or get their families out of poverty. Entire towns become poverty traps.”In Stockton, population...

AP’s Global Week in Pictures: May 20-May 26

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:40 GMT

May 20 – 26, 2023From the U.S. debt limit negotiations in Washington, to a new Panamanian law that gives legal rights to leatherback sea turtles, this photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images from around the world made or published by the Associated Press in the past week.The selections were curated by AP photo editor Anita Baca in Mexico City.Follow AP visual journalism:Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/apnews/AP Images on Twitter:https://twitter.com/AP_ImagesSource

Deaths and tragedy from the 1973 Indy 500 opened the door for safety evolution in racing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:40 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Johnny Rutherford and Gordon Johncock delivered spectacular results at the 1973 Indianapolis 500 that were overshadowed by perhaps the worst month in the history of the storied race.Rutherford won the pole with a record-breaking, four-lap average speed of 198.413 mph and Johncock wound up with the first of his two Indy wins, but it was a grim across the rest of Gasoline Alley.Art Pollard was killed in a pole day crash. David Savage died from injuries sustained in a terrifying race-day crash. In the chaos after Savage’s wreck, pit-sign board holder Armando Teran was fatally struck by a safety truck. And roughly a dozen spectators were burned when Salt Walther’s fuel tanks ruptured as his spinning car destroyed part of the catch fence.“I don’t know what the rest of the guys thought, but I thought, ‘Let’s just get this damn thing over, you know, this has not been good,’” Rutherford recalled. “That was the way the business was. You know,...

¿Cuánto dinero deberías tener para pertenecer al 1 % más rico de estos países del mundo?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:40 GMT

(CNN Español) — El Reporte Anual de Riqueza de la empresa británica Knight Frank, una consultora británica de bienes raíces, revela el patrimonio necesario que hay que tener para formar parte del exclusivo 1% más rico en 25 países y o territorios.Los datos reflejan que Mónaco encabeza la lista con la población más densa de individuos superricos. Para figurar entre el 1% de las personas más ricas del principado, se necesita un patrimonio neto de US $12,4 millones.En segundo lugar, le sigue Suiza con una gran distancia, pues en el país se necesitan US$ 6,6 millones  (casi la mitad de lo que se requiere en Mónaco) para formar parte del 1% más rico.Australia ocupa el tercer lugar, con US$ 5,5 millones; seguida de Nueva Zelandia, con US$ 5,2 millones; Estados Unidos, con unos US$ 5,1 millones, e Irlanda con US$ 4,3 millones.La fortuna del Canelo Álvarez: cuánto gana por peleas, patrocinios, bienes raíces y másEl informe de Knight Frank muestra a tres países del continente europeo con una...

Messi en el PSG vs. Racing de Estrasburgo: a qué hora y cómo ver por TV e internet

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:40 GMT

(CNN Español) — La Ligue 1 de Francia se encuentra en su recta final. Solamente quedan dos partidos por jugar y, a diferencia de otras temporadas, aún no hay campeón a estas alturas, pero el PSG ya se perfila como el gran ganador.El PSG, del argentino Lionel Messi y del francés Kylian Mbappé, se encuentra actualmente en el primer lugar de la liga con 84 puntos. Su más cercano perseguidor es el Lens con 78 unidades, seis puntos abajo del líder (los que quedan disponibles en el torneo).¿Puede llegar Lionel Messi al FC Barcelona? Mira lo que dijo Joan LaportaLas matemáticas son las únicas que mantienen con posibilidades de campeonato al Lens, pues prácticamente requiere de un milagro deportivo para coronarse: necesita golear por siete y ocho anotaciones en sus dos partidos restantes y que el PSG pierda sus dos respectivos encuentros por un gol.Luce como una misión imposible. El PSG simplemente necesita empatar este sábado en su partido de jornada 37 contra el Racing de Estrasburg...

Miami Police search for 16-year-old girl reported missing from Little Haiti

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:40 GMT

The City of Miami Police Department Special Victims Unit is asking for the public’s help in finding a 16-year-old girl reported to be missing from the Little Haiti area. According to officials, Benstina Samedi was last seen on Friday wearing a black bonnet, a black sweater with a diamond on the front and gray leggings. She stands at 4 feet, 11 inches tall, weighs about 145 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on Samedi’s whereabouts is urged to contact the City of Miami Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit at 305-603-6300 or 305-579-6111.

College basketball national champions make their celebratory White House trips

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:40 GMT

(CNN) — The 2023 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball champions made their celebratory trips to the White House on Friday as President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden congratulated both teams on their seasons.The women’s basketball champion Louisiana State University Tigers were first to be honored, as the Bidens lauded their accomplishments and the example they set.“You didn’t just play basketball, you didn’t just make history, you showed us – girls and boys, women and men – what it means to be a champion. You gave us hope and joy, a way to find that fire in ourselves. And most of all, the chance to see you soar. Thank you for giving us those gifts,” the first lady said.Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke during the celebration ceremony, congratulating the Tigers on their first ever championship and applauding them for their inspiring example.“Throughout your record-breaking season, you showed the world who you are. You are leaders. You are role models, and of co...

Taunton police welcome Maggie, a golden addition

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:40 GMT

Taunton police announced a furry addition to the force Friday. Maggie the Comfort Dog, a 9-week-old golden retriever, will respond to mental health calls with the department’s clinician once she graduates from Community Resource Dog training.Maggie arrived at the department in early May from Golden Opportunities for Independence, a service dog trainer, in Walpole. She’ll work with Taunton Police Co-Response Clinician Katrina Lee, officials announced.Maggie’s main role will be to de-escalate mental health calls and soothe people who may have experienced trauma with calls in the past.She was named for the force’s first policewoman Margaret Stevens, who began her time on the force in 1943.