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Showing posts from October, 2022

Top 2023 football recruit Arch Manning breaks school records held by Peyton and Eli

  Top 2023 football recruit Arch Manning breaks school records held by Peyton and Eli Rick Suter USA TODAY High School Sports 0:20 1:41 Only one Manning holds the all-time touchdowns and passing yards records at Isidore Newman (La.) — and that distinction now belongs to Texas commit Arch. The Greenies’ five-star quarterback came into Friday night’s game against Pearl River (La.) on the legendary heels of his uncles, needing over 300 yards passing to reach the 7,268-yard career mark held by Eli and one touchdown pass to take over Peyton’s record of 93. And while the buildup to such a monumental achievement would probably make for a two-thumbs-up, feature-length film, Arch had other plans against the Rebels, taking care of one record-setting milestone by tossing threw touchdown passes before the second quarter https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/preps/football/2022/09/30/arch-manning-breaks-peyton-eli-isidore-newman-records/ 8146293001/

Tua Tagovailoa debacle shows NFL still has long way to go in handling concussions | Opinion

  Before Tua Tagovailoa was hit and wobbled and stumbled his way to the sideline on Sunday against Buffalo. Before he’d play just four days later against the Bengals.   Before he’d suffer a frightening head injury   in that game, splayed on the ground, with terrifying phrases like   decorticate posturing and Second Impact Syndrome   being tossed about by experts. Before all of that ... there was a name you will know, from many years before, who is relevant now: Troy Aikman. Aikman is a broadcaster and Hall of Famer, but years ago, as a player, Aikman was something else besides a remarkable quarterback. He was one of the greatest symbols of the NFL's horrific concussion era. Aikman believes he suffered at least a half-dozen during his 12-year career, which lasted from 1989-2000. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/mike-freeman/2022/09/30/tua-tagovailoa-dolphins-nfl-failure-handling-concussions/8135588001/

Breaking down the seven best games in college football's Week 5

  Week 5 on the football calendar is at hand, and as conference play ramps up across the country, the high-stakes contests become more numerous. This weekend’s slate features no fewer than five clashes of teams  appearing in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll Top 25 . A couple of other games involving ranked teams are worth noting as well as you plan your viewing priorities. As always, we note that surprises are plentiful in this sport, and there will inevitably be games not on this list that will produce noteworthy plays and nail-biting finishes. But here are the ones we think will have the biggest impact. No. 10 North Carolina State at No. 5 Clemson Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC Why watch:  The Tigers  cleared the first hurdle in their bid to regain the ACC throne . The Wolfpack look to take down Clemson for a second consecutive season and take charge of the division in what could be a truly historic season. N.C. State narrowly avoided disaster in Week 1 at East ...

Mariners end MLB's longest playoff drought: A look at what's happened to franchise since 2001

  At long last, the Seattle Mariners ended North American sports' longest postseason drought Friday, clinching an American League wild-card berth with a walk-off win to get back to the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. That 2001 Mariners team – led by rookie MVP Ichiro Suzuki – won an MLB-record 116 games but lost to the New York Yankees in the ALCS for a second year in a row. Since then, Seattle hasn't played a postseason game. The Mariners have come close through the years (staying in the race until the final game of 2021) but it's been a strange couple of decades in the Pacific Northwest, bereft of "SoDo Mojo." Seattle managed to whiff on nearly every first-round pick for 15 years, their big acquisitions (Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre) didn't pan out and it was just a steady stream of replacement level guys in and out of T-Mobile Park, née Safeco Field all these years. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2022/09/30/seattle-mariners-end-playoff-d...

Annotated maps and video show before and after view of damage from Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian rushed ashore in Florida this Wednesday, battering many coastal towns with 150 mph winds, storm surge and major flooding. At least 13 people were reported dead in counties across the state, according to CNN. Florida officials have not released an official statewide death total. The storm left 2.5 million homes and businesses across Florida without power by early Thursday, according to  PowerOutage.us , a website that tracks power outages. Scenes of winds and flooding in the Fort Myers area spread quickly on social media. Below are a few moments captured during and after the storm paired with pre-storm images and maps for context https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/09/29/annotated-maps-videos-hurricane-ian/10459976002/  

Supreme Court to grapple with race, elections in new term as battle over abortion lingers

The court's recent decisions were celebrated on the right but polls show public confidence tanked. Race will be a major theme this term with challenges over affirmative action and minority voting. Another element to watch: How Justice Jackson's arrival changes the high court. WASHINGTON – The  Supreme Court will grapple with race , LGBTQ rights and  election rules  in a fraught new term that begins Monday, even as the justices and the nation wrestle with the fallout from the  decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade . With affirmative action on the docket, along with immigration and a case about whether businesses may   deny services for same-sex weddings , the high court isn't shying from opportunities to leave a mark once again on America's economy, culture and politics https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/09/30/supreme-court-new-term-race-abortion/8081561001/?gnt-cfr=1 

'They never talk about Everglades': A fishing community versed in struggle bands together after Hurricane Ian

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  'They never talk about Everglades': A fishing community versed in struggle bands together after Hurricane Ian Chris Kenning USA TODAY 0:29 0:33 EVERGLADES CITY, Florida  — On the doorframe of Petra Gengenbach’s 1960s-era Right Choice supermarket, the words “Irma 2017” are scrawled next to a black line. Not far below it, she pointed to the latest waterline left days earlier. The 55-year-old spent Friday clearing ruined food and mud from her store after Hurricane Ian's storm surge swept through the hardscrabble crab fishing community, the last town before Florida’s southwest coast dissolves into the Everglades and mangrove islands. While Ian didn’t cause the catastrophic damage seen further north, the surge of seawater tore through the first floors of homes, sparked a fire at a two-generation airboat business and sent neighbors scrambling to rescue each other in jon boats that sped atop a city turned into a lake https://www.usatoday...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/09/29/ginni-thomas-house-jan-6-committee/10459283002/

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke sparred in their first and likely only televised debate on Friday night in the state's gubernatorial race. The two hammered each other over immigration policy, gun control, abortion and more. Here's what you might have missed: Smart analysis delivered to your inbox: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter Immigration questions set the tone The night's first questions centered on immigration, a major issue in the border state of Texas. Abbott defended his administration's immigration policy on the southern border, saying he is “making sure that we are keeping our communities safe.”  “This is completely different than the way things would be under Beto,” Abbott said of a potential O’Rourke governorship. O’Rourke hit Abbott for increased encounters at the southern border even after Abbott’s immigration policies.  “What we need is a safe, legal, orderly path for anyone who wants to come here to work, to...

Ginni Thomas claims 2020 election was stolen in meeting with House Jan. 6 committee

WASHINGTON –  Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas , repeated claims the 2020 election was stolen, despite a lack of evidence, while testifying Thursday before the House committee investigating the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. The committee wanted to interview Ginni Thomas about her advocacy for challenging the results of the 2020 election. The chairman, Rep.  Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told reporters after the session  she repeated her opinion the election was stolen. "She said that,"  Thompson told CNN .  Her lawyer, Mark Paoletta, issued a statement saying she answered the committee's questions, voiced her concerns about election fraud and condemned the violence of Jan. 6. "As she has said from the outset, Mrs. Thomas has significant concerns about fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election," Paoletta said. "Beyond that, she played no role in any events after the 2020 election results. https://www.usatoday.com/story/n...

'What a hero': TV reporter rescues nurse who was trapped in Hurricane Ian floodwaters

  MILWAUKEE – A reporter is   being hailed a hero   during his station's storm coverage in Florida. While covering  Hurricane Ian , Tony Atkins –  a reporter for WESH 2 News  in the Orlando, Florida, area –  rescued a woman from her car stuck in high floodwaters .  The woman, a nurse, was on her way to work early Thursday and attempted to drive through the flooding caused by the hurricane, according to  a WESH 2 report .  Atkins held the woman's purse for her as she finished crawling out of her car's window and onto his back,  the video shows . The waters were at least to Atkins' waist.  With the purse still in hand, Atkins waded the two of them through the flooding. And when he got to a place where the water was only submerging his feet, he let her down.  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/29/hurricane-ian-florida-reporter-nurse-floods/8129616001/

Florida's skyrocketing population puts millions more at risk when a huge storm like Ian strikes

  Ten days after moving from Boston to Sarasota, Florida, Mike Cahill's family had to brace for catastrophic hurricane conditions for the first time in their lives. "We just literally came down ... and we get the worst hurricane Sarasota has had in 100 years," Cahill said. Data shows the Cahills aren't alone. In the last 10 years, nearly 3 million people have moved to Florida, meaning more people than ever before are at risk when a hurricane or tropical storm hits the state. When Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992 as a monster Category 5 storm, the state's population was around 13 million. Since then it's ballooned to 21.5 million. Researchers have  estimated this week  that Hurricane Ian will cause  between $20-$70 billion worth of damages . GET TEXT UPDATES :  Sign up here for text updates on Hurricane Ian. HURRICANE IAN TRACKER :  Where is Ian headed? See the map. Florida is known for its coastal views, and ...

They paid taxes. Now undocumented Latinos are aging without savings, government care

A rapidly growing population of elderly undocumented Latinos is projected to explode over the next two decades. Without legal status, undocumented workers pay billions in taxes that they cannot recoup in retirement or for health care. "Often, people are forced to continue working until it is physically impossible,” said Tovia Siegel, an immigrant advocate in Illinois. In 1998, Noe Ramirez crossed into the United States from Mexico, hoping to earn enough to buy a new taxi to replace the sputtering cab he drove in Mexico City. The part-time musician found  construction work  in Houston and played guitar on the weekends. One morning as he rode his bike to work, he was hit by a drunken driver. The driver fled, leaving him bleeding on the street, his spinal cord crushed.   After being hospitalized , he was taken in by a local shelter for undocumented migrants and received medical care through a county program for low-income residents. https://www.usatoday.com/st...

Will Republicans flip the House in midterm elections? These 12 races will tell the story.

  Control of the House of Representatives is on the ballot in November and, with it, the  ability for President Joe Biden to achieve much of his remaining political agenda. Democrats currently control the House and Senate, but historical trends and numerous polls suggest that Republicans will flip at least the House in November.  But that win looks less certain now than it did earlier this year, with factors like the  Supreme Court Dobbs decision  overturning a national right to abortion boosting Democratic odds. Abortion in the midterms: Channeling abortion outrage, Democratic women push for upsets in Senate elections "Three months ago, it looked like a category five hurricane was heading for President Biden and House Democrats,"  wrote Dave Wasserman  of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/09/03/house-of-representatives-midterm-election-races-to-watch-updates...

GOP Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O'Rourke square off in Texas gubernatorial debate: recap

  Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke faced off in the first and likely only debate Friday night in the state's gubernatorial election this year.  They went head-to-head at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg. The debate was O'Rourke's chance to close the polling gap between him and Abbott. Texas voters have indicated  a leaning for Abbott,  with Abbott leading O'Rourke by more than 5 percentage points  in several different polls.   Abortion, voting and COVID-19: Why we're eyeing these 10 governor's races in 2022 midterms The race has drawn national attention for O'Rourke, who ran a close senatorial race against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 and a brief presidential run in 2020.  O'Rourke's name recognition and firebrand personality  have Democrats hopeful he can flip the governor's mansion. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/09/30/texas-governors-de...

Takeaways: Immigration, abortion take center stage at the Texas gubernatorial debate

  Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke sparred in their first and likely only televised debate on Friday night in the state's gubernatorial race. The two hammered each other over immigration policy, gun control, abortion and more. Here's what you might have missed: Smart analysis delivered to your inbox: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter Immigration questions set the tone The night's first questions centered on immigration, a major issue in the border state of Texas. Abbott defended his administration's immigration policy on the southern border, saying he is “making sure that we are keeping our communities safe.”  “This is completely different than the way things would be under Beto,” Abbott said of a potential O’Rourke governorship. O’Rourke hit Abbott for increased encounters at the southern border even after Abbott’s immigration policies.  “What we need is a safe, legal, orderly path for anyone who wants to come here to work, ...

Fish fossils found in China include the oldest teeth ever discovered

  Paleontologists unearthed fish teeth that are 14 million years older than any other teeth found from any species – and the discovery could rewrite our understanding of early evolution.  Four studies published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature detailed research on a trove of fish fossils that were found in China in 2019 and included illustrations of never-before-seen species. The findings, which could help trace the origin of jaws, suggest jawed fish are tens of millions of years older than had been known and shed light on an era from which there are very few fossils to study. Found among the wide range of  "superbly" preserved  fossils was the whole body of a jawless fish, a rare find that offers clues to how ancient fins  evolved into limbs . A boomerang-shaped fish was the most common fossil found in the two deposits, Erik Ahlberg of Sweden’s Uppsala University, an author of one of the studies, told  The Associated Press ...

A wild boar piglet was lost after its group crossed a river. A cow herd adopted it.

BERLIN — A cow herd in Germany has gained an unlikely following, after adopting a lone wild boar piglet. Farmer Friedrich Stapel told the dpa news agency that he spotted the piglet among the herd in the central German community of Brevoerde about three weeks ago. It had likely lost its group when they crossed a nearby river. Stapel said while he knows what extensive damage wild boars can cause, he can't bring himself to chase the animal away, dpa reported Thursday. The local hunter has been told not to shoot the piglet – nicknamed Frieda – and in winter Stapel plans to put it in the shed with the mother cows. “To leave it alone now would be unfair,” he told dpa. Check out more images of the unlikely family below.  Hurricane Ian: Flamingos pack into Florida park bathroom seeking safety for 'hurricane party' Baby squirrels falling from trees?: Experts point to effects of hurricane season https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/09/30/wild-boar-piglet-germany-adopted-c...

Ian soaks the Carolinas; death toll likely to grow as crews sift through destruction in Florida: Live updates

  Editor's note: Don't have power?  Click here for a lite version  of this page with a quicker load time. Ian started trekking through the Carolinas Friday, hammering the coast of South Carolina with flooding as it made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, then taking aim at North Carolina as a post-tropical cyclone. The second landfall on the U.S. mainland came as Floridians surveyed the damage days after the storm battered the state. Ian is expected to wreak havoc on numerous states along the East Coast as it moves inland over the weekend. In South Carolina, trees have been toppled, roads flooded and over 69,000 households had already lost power, officials said at a Friday news conference.   That number had risen to over 180,000 customers without power immediately after landfall,  according to poweroutage.us . The state's five shelters were at 15% capacity ahead of landfall. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/30/hur...

Judaism's holiest day of the year is approaching. What is Yom Kippur? When does it start?

  Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism, is approaching.   The name of the holiday translates from Hebrew to English as the Day of Atonement, and Jewish people may spend the day fasting, attending synagogue or observing the holiday in other ways. It follows Rosh Hashanah,  the Jewish New Year.   “Spiritually, they say on Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed, the idea being that everything that's going to happen in the year to come, the stage is set during this time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,” Danielle Kranjec, associate vice president of Jewish education at Hillel International, told USA TODAY.  But what is Yom Kippur? When is it this year? Here’s what you need to know. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/10/01/when-is-yom-kippur-2022-jewish-holiday/8126997001/

Vegas hero survived mass shooting but died of suicide; parents now looking for those he saved

  When a country music concert turned into a killing field in Las Vegas, Scotty Pettersen of Seattle helped so many gunshot victims, he lost count. As the bullets hit hundreds of people, the 27-year-old Pettersen ran his girlfriend and a nearby family to the safety of an ambulance. The paramedics were out helping others but inside the ambulance were four gunshot victims. Pettersen’s EMT and firefighter training kicked in https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/10/01/las-vegas-shooting-suicide-survivors-heroes/10439383002/?gnt-cfr=1

Annotated maps and video show before and after view of damage from Hurricane Ian

  Hurricane Ian rushed ashore in Florida this Wednesday, battering many coastal towns with 150 mph winds, storm surge and major flooding. At least 13 people were reported dead in counties across the state, according to CNN. Florida officials have not released an official statewide death total. The storm left 2.5 million homes and businesses across Florida without power by early Thursday, according to  PowerOutage.us , a website that tracks power outages. Scenes of winds and flooding in the Fort Myers area spread quickly on social media. Below are a few moments captured during and after the storm paired with pre-storm images and maps for context. Sanibel Causeway damaged The Sanibel Causeway, a 3-mile connector between Sanibel Island and the Florida mainland, consists of three bridges and two causeway islands. Long sections of the causeway were destroyed Wednesday, and will need to be rebuilt, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday morni...

Supreme Court to grapple with race, elections in new term as battle over abortion lingers

  The court's recent decisions were celebrated on the right but polls show public confidence tanked. Race will be a major theme this term with challenges over affirmative action and minority voting. Another element to watch: How Justice Jackson's arrival changes the high court. WASHINGTON – The  Supreme Court will grapple with race , LGBTQ rights and  election rules  in a fraught new term that begins Monday, even as the justices and the nation wrestle with the fallout from the  decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade . With affirmative action on the docket, along with immigration and a case about whether businesses may  deny services for same-sex weddings , the high court isn't shying from opportunities to leave a mark once again on America's economy, culture and politics https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/09/30/supreme-court-new-term-race-abortion/8081561001/?gnt-cfr=1