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Softball star Raylee Leiman raises nearly $50K for pediatric cancer patients

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:11 GMT

Raylee Leiman is one of the top high school softball players in Broward County and the state, but what this St. Thomas Aquinas player does off the field is, in a way, more important than what she does on game day for the Raiders.“When I’m on the field, I’m always thinking about these kids,” said Leiman.Leiman has devoted her time away from softball and school to help raise money at the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, which specializes in treating pediatric cancer.“These kids became my reason to play softball,” said Leiman. “When I’m not playing well, there are kids in the hospital that want to be playing. They don’t care what the results are. So, I try to put myself, not in their shoes, but to consider what their minds might be thinking at the time. They could be on the field, but I am on the field.”Leiman’s nonprofit foundation has raised nearly $50,000. In August 2022, she donated $5,000 to the Jeff Conine C...

New details emerge about Texas outlet mall shooter as investigators continue to probe for motive

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:11 GMT

(CNN) — As investigators continue to probe for a motive in the mass shooting that left eight people dead and at least seven others wounded at a Texas outlet mall, details of the gunman’s background have begun to surface, including extremist social media postings, a source tells CNN.Though authorities in Allen have yet to publicly announce a motive for the gunman — identified by law enforcement as Mauricio Garcia — investigators are considering whether he may have been driven by right-wing extremism, a senior law enforcement source familiar with the investigation tells CNN.Garcia, 33, killed on the scene by an Allen police officer who was on a call nearby when the shooting started, was wearing an insignia that authorities believe may be associated with extremist groups, the source said.Investigators have unearthed an extensive social media presence, including neo-Nazi and White supremacist-related posts and images that authorities believe Garcia shar...

Website wants to pay you $1,000 to watch all 10 ‘Fast and the Furious’ films. Here’s why

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:11 GMT

(CNN) — How does earning $1,000 to binge watch movies sound? A financial website is offering the prize to one person who can devote two weeks to viewing more than 20 hours of the “Fast and the Furious” film saga.FinanceBuzz, an informational site that offers money-related tips and recommendations, is seeking a “Fast and Furious claims adjuster” to watch all 10 movies of the global action franchise starring Vin Diesel, which released its first installment in 2001.“F9: The Fast Saga,” the franchise’s ninth installment, raked in over $400 million after its release in 2021.The claims adjuster’s mission: track damages from every car crash that occurs in each film, including the upcoming “Fast X,” which debuts May 19. The contest winner will be tasked with noting every car crash that results in damage, the extent of the damage and what cars are involved.“As a bonus, you’ll get a healthy education about...

Witnesses describe horrifying crash that left 8 dead outside a Texas shelter housing migrants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:11 GMT

Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions of the crash’s aftermath.(CNN) — As the death toll from the Texas crash rises to eight, witnesses are describing the horrifying moment a driver plowed into people Sunday near a shelter in Brownsville.Several immigrants were among those killed when a Land Rover hit a group waiting at a bus stop across the street from the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center, a non-profit homeless shelter that has been helping house migrants in the border town, authorities say.“We have never seen something like this,” Victor Maldonado, director of the Ozanam Center, told CNN affiliate KRGV.Police say they are still investigating the violent crash, which was captured on surveillance video. The footage shows a Range Rover driving at a very high rate of speed and hitting a curb about 30 feet from where the migrants were sitting before the driver appears to lose control, Maldonado told CNN on Sunday.The drive...

8 things we heard at Chicago Bears rookie minicamp, including excitement about 1st-round pick Darnell Wright’s potential

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:11 GMT

The Chicago Bears held their rookie minicamp over the weekend at Halas Hall and will reconvene May 16 for a three-week stretch of organized team activities.General manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus are confident in the roster upgrades the team made the last two months and eager to see how everything comes together in the weeks ahead.During an important stage of the spring for a team looking to make a big leap in 2023, here are eight things we heard at rookie camp.1. Optimism is flowing for the potential of first-round pick Darnell Wright.Wright has two practices as a Bear under his belt and a long way to go to get fully acclimated to what’s required of him. The Bears coaching staff is eager to get to work developing the prized offensive tackle, with offensive line coach Chris Morgan already impressed with Wright’s feel for the game.“The game is kind of slow for him,” Morgan said. “That’s one of the things we really liked about him. For so...

Chicago baseball report: Willson Contreras and José Abreu return this week — and the Cubs’ Christopher Morel quandary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:11 GMT

It’s homecoming week for former Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, former Kansas City Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol and former Chicago White Sox first baseman José Abreu.But some of them might not be in the mood to celebrate.Contreras’ return to Wrigley Field on Monday with the St. Louis Cardinals coincides with the loss of his catching position. Grifol’s return to Kauffman Stadium on Monday for a four-game series comes amid one of the worst starts in White Sox history. And Abreu entered Sunday hitting .223 with no home runs and a .527 OPS for the Houston Astros, who visit the Sox for three games starting Friday.Now we’ll see how they fare in their old stomping grounds.Every Monday throughout the season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead for the Cubs and White Sox.Waiting on MorelThe Christopher Morel saga is beginning to look a lot like the Nico Hoerner story from 2021.After early succ...

War overshadows Victory Day, Russia’s crucial holiday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:11 GMT

Victory Day, Russia’s most important secular holiday, lauds two tenets that are central to its identity: military might and moral rectitude. But the war in Ukraine undermines both this year.The holiday falling on Tuesday marks the 78th anniversary of Germany’s capitulation in World War II after a relentless Red Army offensive pushed German forces from Stalingrad, deep inside Russia, all the way to Berlin, about 2,200 kilometers (1,300 miles).The Soviet Union lost at least 20 million people in the war; the suffering and valor that went into the German defeat have been touchstones ever since.However, many regions have canceled their May 9 observances because of concerns the events could be targets for Ukrainian attacks. The famed parade in Moscow’s Red Square will go ahead following Russia’s claim of an attempted Ukrainian drone attack on the Kremlin, whose spires loom next to the parade venue, but amid ramped-up security measures. The use of drones has been once again ban...

Spain records hottest and driest April on record

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:11 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Drought-stricken Spain says last month was the hottest and driest April since records began in 1961.The State Meteorological Agency, known by the Spanish acronym AEMET, said Monday the average daily temperature in April was 14.9 degrees Celsius (58.8 Fahrenheit), that is 3 degrees Celsius above the average.AEMET said average maximum temperatures during the month were up by 4.7 Celsius.Rainfall was a fifth of what would normally be expected in the month, making it the driest April on record in Spain. Last year was Spain’s hottest since record-keeping started in 1961, and also the country’s sixth driest. Three years of scant rainfall and high temperatures put the country officially into long-term drought earlier this year.A flash study by a group of international scientists last week found that record-breaking April temperatures in Spain, Portugal and northern Africa were made 100 times more likely by human-caused climate change and would have been almost impossible in t...

Kimberly Palmer: How to make summer camp more affordable

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:11 GMT

To create a fun but affordable summer for her daughters, ages 11 and 13, Flossie McCowald plans out camps well in advance. The Pennsylvania resident snags early bird discounts, takes advantage of a church-based sleepaway camp that offers scholarships and leverages sibling discounts.“Every little bit helps,” says McCowald, who is the founder of SuperMomHacks.com, where she writes about parenting.That’s especially true when camp is more expensive than ever. “We’re in an inflationary environment, and camp is no exception,” says Tom Rosenberg, president and CEO of the American Camp Association, which represents camps and industry professionals. He adds that camps are facing price increases across every major cost category, including staffing, insurance and transportation.The ACA says that according to responses it collected from members nationwide in 2022, on average day camp costs $88 a day and overnight camp costs $173 a day, while some camps are free, and most offer need-based financ...

Police deploy in schools in Serbia as opposition plan march

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:11 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Police on Monday deployed in schools throughout Serbia in an effort to restore a shaken sense of security following two mass shootings last week — including one in a primary school — that left 17 people dead and 21 wounded, many of them children.The shootings last Wednesday in Belgrade and a day later in a rural area south of the capital left the nation stunned. The shootings also triggered calls to encourage tolerance and rid society of widespread hate speech and a gun culture stemming from the 1990s wars. Opposition parties urged citizens to come to a march against violence in central Belgrade later on Monday. They demanded the resignations of government ministers and changes in mainstream media that often host convicted war criminals and crime figures on their airwaves.Education Minister Branko Ruzic submitted his resignation on Wednesday and authorities launched a gun crackdown, but opposition said this was too little, too late. “We have to learn anew how...