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Chelsea signs Moises Caicedo from Brighton for $146M. It’s a record fee for a transfer in Britain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea signed Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton on Monday for a reported 115 million pounds ($146 million), which is a record fee for a transfer in Britain.Chelsea beat Liverpool to the signature of the 21-year-old Caicedo, who only played one full season for Brighton after joining from Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle in 2021.The fee surpasses the 106.7 million pounds (then $131.4 million) that Chelsea paid for Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez in the January transfer window. Another midfielder, Declan Rice, joined Arsenal from West Ham for 100 million pounds ($127 million), plus add-ons, last month.“I didn’t have to think twice when Chelsea called me, I just knew I wanted to sign for the club,” Caicedo said. “It’s a dream come true to be here and I can’t wait to get started with the team.”It accelerates the heavy and unprecedented spending of Chelsea in its new regime under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. The London club spent $630 million ...

Michael Oher, former NFL tackle known for ‘The Blind Side,’ sues to end Tuohys’ conservatorship

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:52 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Michael Oher, the former NFL tackle known for the movie “The Blind Side,” filed a petition Monday in a Tennessee probate court accusing Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy of lying to him by having him sign papers making them his conservators rather than his adoptive parents nearly two decades ago.In the petition filed Monday in Shelby County Probate Court, Oher asks for the conservatorship to be terminated along with asking for a full accounting of the money earned off the use of his name and story.He also asks to be paid what he is due along with interest. Oher, who has never been a fan of the movie of his life, also asks in the petition that the Tuohys be sanctioned and required to pay both compensatory and punitive damages determined by the court.ESPN.com first reported the petition.Steve Farese, a lawyer for the Tuohys, told The Associated Press that they will file an answer to the allegations in court but he declined to comment further. He was among three attorne...

FLPD seek public’s help in identifying suspect wanted for kidnapping and sexual battery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:52 GMT

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is actively investigating an incident involving the kidnapping and sexual battery of an adult female over the weekend. The incident occurred near the 100 block of Southwest Second Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, just before 5:25 a.m., Saturday.Authorities have successfully located the victim, but are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the male suspect responsible.According to authorities, a male and female were sitting inside a parked vehicle when an unidentified black male, armed with a firearm, approached them. The male suspect demanded the possessions of the male victim. During this exchange, the suspect forcefully took control of the driver’s seat and stole the vehicle, with the female victim still inside.As officers gathered details about the victim and the stolen vehicle, around 7:30 a.m., the victim managed to make a 911 call from the vehicle. The female victim was found alone in the vehicle along Interstate 95, near Oa...

Prosecuting ousted president of Niger would be ‘unjustified,’ U.S. says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:52 GMT

The State Department said on Monday that it would be “unwarranted and unjustified” if Niger’s military junta moved forward with its plan to prosecute ousted President Mohamed Bazoum on treason charges over his dealings with foreign leaders and organizations.Military authorities who have taken over the nation, in the Sahel region of Africa, “gathered the necessary evidence” to prosecute Bazoum “for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger,” junta spokesperson Col. Amadou Abdramane said in a statement read on state television on Sunday night, according to Reuters.“This action is completely unwarranted and unjustified, and, candidly, it will not contribute to a peaceful resolution of this crisis,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on Monday. “It is a further affront, in our opinion, to democracy and justice and to the respect of the rule of law, and a threat like this underscores the urgency of respecting the constitutional order ...

Russia expected to hike interest rates to curb ruble’s slide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:52 GMT

Russia’s central bankers are expected to hike interest rates at an emergency meeting on Tuesday to respond to an accelerated weakening of the ruble and a deteriorating economy, as the war against Ukraine and sanctions bite hard. The big paradox for policy experts in Moscow is that the currency is plummeting just as oil prices — Russia’s export lifeblood and budgetary mainstay — have risen. Prices for Russian Urals grade crude are rallying beyond an internationally agreed price cap of $60 per barrel, but the ruble spiked to more than 102 to the dollar on Tuesday. That’s almost half the value it fetched in June 2022, when it traded at 54 to the dollar. The central bank last raised its key interest rate to 8.5 percent from 7.5 percent on July 21, its first hike since September 2022. At the time, Governor Elvira Nabiullina warned that more hikes may be necessary if the economic fallout of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine worsened, but no policy meeting was scheduled unti...

Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden calls team’s president a ‘liar’ amid trade rumors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:52 GMT

(CNN) — Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden called his own team’s president Daryl Morey “a liar” in a surprising attack amid ongoing trade speculation surrounding the 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player.“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said during an event in China. “Let me say that again, Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”Footage of Harden’s comments has been widely circulated on social media. The comments were in response to a question from the crowd about ending trade talks, according to NBA.com.CNN has reached out to the Sixers to offer the organization and Morey the opportunity to comment.Harden has reportedly made it clear to the 76ers that he wants to be traded this offseason following another disappointing playoff exit last season.According to multiple media reports, including from ESPN’s Adrian Wo...

Manchester police investigating pair of bank robberies that occurred within 24 hours of each other

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:52 GMT

Police in Manchester, New Hampshire, are investigating a pair of bank robberies that were reported within a few blocks of one another and less than 24 hours apart.Authorities said the first robbery occurred on Friday, Aug. 11, around 2:30 p.m. at the Bangor Bank location at 170 Baker St.According to the Manchester Police Department, the incident involved a man who walked into the bank with a phone to his ear and gave a note to a teller demanding money. The suspect reportedly remained on the phone before leaving on foot once he received cash, officials said on the department’s Facebook page.Less than a day later, another robbery occurred on Saturday, Aug. 12, at the TD Bank at 300 Franklin St., where officers learned a man covering his face with a construction vest entered the building and told a teller he had a gun.According to Manchester PD, the suspect demanded money and passed the teller bags to fill before leaving the bank. Authorities did not say whether or not the suspec...

Dozens of Boston dirt bikers block lanes on Leverett Connector ramp, as riders do donuts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:52 GMT

Dozens of dirt bikers reportedly blocked traffic on the Leverett Connector ramp over the weekend, as riders did donuts on the busy highway bridge.Massachusetts State Police starting receiving calls just before 3:30 p.m. on Saturday from motorists, who reported that about 40 riders on motorcycles and street bikes were stopped on the Leverett Connector Bridge — which connects Leverett Circle to Interstate 93 and the Zakim Bridge, and to Route 1 North in Boston.“The stopped bikes were blocking both lanes while some riders did donuts,” a spokesperson for Mass State Police said in a statement.The spokesperson added, “A patrol responded but the street bikes were gone by the time the Trooper arrived on scene.”Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Howie Carr: Rehire the ‘Baker’s Dozen’ troopers! Today! Crime & Public Safety | State Police union celebrates ruling undoing punishment of unvaccinated troopers ...

Russia’s ruble hits low point amid war in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:52 GMT

LONDON — The Russian ruble on Monday reached its lowest value since the early weeks of the war in Ukraine as Moscow increases military spending and Western sanctions weigh on its energy exports.It led Russia’s central bank to announce an emergency meeting for Tuesday to review its key interest rate, raising the likelihood of an increase in borrowing costs that would support the flagging ruble.The Russian currency had passed 101 rubles to the dollar, continuing a more than one-third decline in its value since the beginning of the year and hitting the lowest level in almost 17 months. The ruble recovered slightly after the central bank’s announcement.The meeting was set after President Vladimir Putin’s economic adviser, Maksim Oreshkin, blamed the weak ruble on “loose monetary policy” in an op-ed Monday for state news agency Tass. He said a strong ruble is in the interest of the Russian economy and that a weak currency “complicates economic restruct...

On Nutrition: Form of food we eat may have more impact than we think

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:52 GMT

Barbara Intermill | Tribune News Service (TNS)Bill W. asks, “Is drinking many of our fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds in a smoothie as healthy and nutritious as eating them?”Surprisingly, even though the whole food we pop into the blender may have the same nutrients as the liquid smoothie, how those nutrients are absorbed can be affected by their form and structure.A 2019 paper published in the journal Food & Function describes how researchers tested the digestibility of three different forms of foods (solid, semisolid and liquid) that were identical in nutrient content. Then they measured how the varied forms of food affected appetite and specific blood tests in human subjects.Interestingly, scientists found that the liquid food caused a higher rise in triglycerides (a form of fat in the blood) than the solid food. The liquid food also caused less fullness and satisfaction (satiety) than the solid food.Other studies (cited in this same article) have found similar results. Gro...