Home Blog Page 228

Opinion | Advice to Trump: Leave the Oil Market Alone

0




Government controls were responsible for the crises in the 1970s.



Source link

Cincinnati to fire Wes Miller: Bearcats coach out after 5 seasons, no NCAA Tournament bids

0


A second-round Big 12 Tournament collapse against UCF proved to be the fatal final mistake for Wes Miller’s career at Cincinnati. Bearcats athletic director John Cunningham has decided to fire Miller, a source told CBS Sports, two days removed from UC’s 66-65 overtime loss to the Knights at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

Cincinnati led UCF by eight points with a little more than two minutes remaining and spilled away the victory, ultimately blowing its last possession both in regulation and overtime to fall to 18-15 and end their chances on the bubble.

The plan is for the formal separation to go official on April 1, when Miller’s buyout drops from $9.9 million to $4.7 million, according to a source. There is no formal announcement of Miller’s firing expected in the upcoming days.

Big 12 to swap LED glass court for hardwood floor for rest of basketball tournament after players complain

Matt Norlander

Big 12 to swap LED glass court for hardwood floor for rest of basketball tournament after players complain

Miller’s record through five seasons was 100-74. After the game, Miller said the following when asked by CBS Sports about the state of the program and why he believes he deserves a sixth season.

“I’m really proud. Really, really proud,” Miller said. “What we’ve done here: took the job while there was a lawsuit going on with the previous coach. Our players are getting subpoenaed on game days in Year 1, NIL, the transfer portal happened, and a move to the Big 12. I’m really, really proud. We have never been anything but competitive, and we’ve been on the bubble multiple years. I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done. We’re Cincinnati. We need to be in the NCAA Tournament. I understand that as much as anybody, but we are in the right direction of building something — we built something that I believe is now sustainable.”

Unfortunately for Miller, he will not get the chance. Cunningham’s decision is in line with what sources expressed a few weeks ago: The Bearcats would need to make the NCAA Tournament in order to save Miller’s job. He went 0 for 5 when it came to qualifying for the Big Dance.

The UC fan base has been aching to be consistently competitive on a national level, but splitting from Miller will not assure anything, alas. The Big 12 is an extremely tough league to adapt to and it’s going to take the right hire and the right time to get the program back into the national landscape. Utah State‘s Jerrod Calhoun is the immediate frontrunner for the vacancy, sources said. Calhoun went to Cincinnati and is 52-14 in the past two seasons with the Aggies. 

If Calhoun winds up being the guy, that’s going to take some time: Utah State has at least a week before its season is over, as the Aggies are safely in the NCAAs and a projected No. 8 seed in Friday’s bracketology forecast.





Source link

Ethiopia declares 3 days of mourning after landslides in the south kill 80 people

0


ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia on Tuesday declared three days of mourning as the death toll from this week’s landslides in the country’s south climbed to 80.

Speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representatives Tagesse Chafo said the three days of mourning would begin Saturday.

At least 80 bodies have been recovered from the Gamo Zone area in southern Ethiopia where landslides triggered by heavy rains killed dozens of residents.

Many other people remained missing since the tragedy struck the Gamo Zone area on Tuesday, officials said. Search and recovery efforts have taken place for days and have been hampered by heavy rain still pounding the area.

Regional government communications head Hailemariam Tesfaye said that the search for remaining victims was intensified.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on Friday said that 3,461 people were displaced by the landslides.

The Government Communication Service said Thursday the government is mobilizing resources in coordination with regional authorities.

Donations from private citizens and business organizations are flowing into a fund announced by the regional government to provide relief items to those affected.

Heavy rains have pounded countries in East Africa, and in neighboring Kenya the death toll from Saturday’s flash floods rose to 62.

The region is expected to see more rain given the rainy season and governments have urged residents to exercise caution.

Last month, the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre said the March–April–May rainy season has a 45% chance of above-average rainfall across most countries in the region, including Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Northern Somalia, and Djibouti.



Source link

Old Dominion shooter convicted of Islamic State ties

0



Court documents show less than two years after Mohamed Bailor Jalloh was released from prison for attempting to aid the Islamic State, he opened fire in a classroom at Virginia’s Old Dominion University on Thursday before ROTC students subdued and killed him.The shooting that left one person dead and another two injured has raised questions about why Jalloh, who the FBI identified as the gunman, was imprisoned and the conditions of his release — with some elected officials questioning how someone with known ties to the Islamic State was able to carry out such an attack.Video above: Old Dominion University student describes ‘terrifying’ moments during shooting“The horrific tragedy that occurred today on ODU’s campus never should have happened,” U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, who represents the congressional district neighboring the university, wrote on Facebook.After Jalloh pleaded guilty in October 2016 to providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization — the Islamic State group — a federal judge sentenced him in 2017 to an 11-year prison term with credit for time served retroactive to his July 2016 arrest.Jalloh was released from federal custody Dec. 23, 2024. He was granted an early release — about 2 1/2 years into his sentence — after completing a drug treatment program, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.It wasn’t clear how Jalloh qualified for the program, which allows inmates to shave up to a year off their sentences. Inmates serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses typically aren’t eligible for such programs or other sentence-reducing credits.A message seeking information about Jalloh’s incarceration and release was left with the federal Bureau of Prisons.He was on supervised release, which is comparable to probation, when he carried out the attack on Thursday. Based on his release date, that would’ve run into 2029.Confessions to undercover agentsJalloh’s October 2016 plea came after a three-month sting operation in which he, then 26, confessed to an undercover FBI agent that he was thinking about carrying out an attack similar to the 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, which left 13 people dead. Authorities launched the 2016 operation after Jalloh made contact with Islamic State members in Africa earlier that year.Jalloh later told the informant that the Islamic State group had asked if he wanted to participate in an attack. He tried to donate $500 to the group, but the money actually went to an account controlled by the FBI, according to court documents.Jalloh then tried to buy an AR-15 assault rifle from a Virginia gun store but was turned away because he lacked the proper paperwork. The affidavit says he returned the next day and bought a different assault rifle. Prosecutors said the rifle was rendered inoperable before Jalloh left the store, unbeknownst to Jalloh. He was arrested the following day.Debate over sentencingThe Justice Department in 2017 requested a 20-year prison sentence for Jalloh, noting that he had made multiple attempts to join the Islamic State and had attempted to acquire a gun to carry out a murder plot.“The defendant was fully aware of what he was doing, and the consequences of those actions. His only misgivings seemed to be a fear that he would waver at the critical moment,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.They added: “By putting the idea of this murder plot into religious terms, and by suggesting that murdering members of the US military would be a path to heaven, the defendant showed how strongly committed he was to the deadly ideology” of the Islamic State.Jalloh’s lawyers asked for a sentence of 6½ years in prison and requested that he be placed in a facility that provides residential drug treatment for inmates with addiction and substance abuse issues.U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, sentenced him instead to 11 years in prison.The judge also ordered Jalloh to participate in a program for substance abuse testing and treatment and mental health treatment, and requested that he be evaluated for the federal prison system’s residential drug program.Completing the Residential Drug Abuse Program can reduce an inmate’s prison sentence by up to a year, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. It wasn’t immediately clear if Jalloh qualified for the program. Normally, inmates serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses aren’t eligible.In addition, some inmates who stay out of trouble in prison can reduce their sentence by earning up to 54 days of good conduct time credit for each year of their sentence. However, under the 2018 prison reform law known as the First Step Act, inmates convicted of terrorism-related offenses are not eligible for such credit.Troubled shooter lured by radical clericLittle is publicly known about Jalloh, who was a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone. But court documents depict him as a troubled man who was radicalized by Anwar al-Awlaki, a well-known American imam who became an al-Qaida propagandist.The Virginia Army National Guard confirmed he served as a specialist from 2009 until 2015, when he was honorably discharged. Jalloh told a government informant he quit the National Guard after hearing lectures from al-Awlaki, according to a 2016 FBI affidavit filed in his criminal case.In a letter to the federal judge that presided over his sentencing, Jalloh wrote: “I feel deep regret in having been driven by my emotions rather than my intellect and becoming involved with such an evil organization. … I reject and deplore terrorism and any groups associated with it, especially ISIL.”He wrote that he started using drugs after his girlfriend ended their six-year relationship.“The pain I felt internally was unbearable, and drugs and alcohol were the only things that took that pain away,” Jalloh wrote. “I started doing marijuana, coke and mushrooms using one of them at least on a daily basis in order to kill the pain I was in and to fill in the void I felt internally.”The letter itself remains under seal, but his lawyer included excerpts of it in his sentencing memorandum.

Court documents show less than two years after Mohamed Bailor Jalloh was released from prison for attempting to aid the Islamic State, he opened fire in a classroom at Virginia’s Old Dominion University on Thursday before ROTC students subdued and killed him.

The shooting that left one person dead and another two injured has raised questions about why Jalloh, who the FBI identified as the gunman, was imprisoned and the conditions of his release — with some elected officials questioning how someone with known ties to the Islamic State was able to carry out such an attack.

Video above: Old Dominion University student describes ‘terrifying’ moments during shooting

“The horrific tragedy that occurred today on ODU’s campus never should have happened,” U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, who represents the congressional district neighboring the university, wrote on Facebook.

After Jalloh pleaded guilty in October 2016 to providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization — the Islamic State group — a federal judge sentenced him in 2017 to an 11-year prison term with credit for time served retroactive to his July 2016 arrest.

Jalloh was released from federal custody Dec. 23, 2024. He was granted an early release — about 2 1/2 years into his sentence — after completing a drug treatment program, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

It wasn’t clear how Jalloh qualified for the program, which allows inmates to shave up to a year off their sentences. Inmates serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses typically aren’t eligible for such programs or other sentence-reducing credits.

A message seeking information about Jalloh’s incarceration and release was left with the federal Bureau of Prisons.

He was on supervised release, which is comparable to probation, when he carried out the attack on Thursday. Based on his release date, that would’ve run into 2029.

Confessions to undercover agents

Jalloh’s October 2016 plea came after a three-month sting operation in which he, then 26, confessed to an undercover FBI agent that he was thinking about carrying out an attack similar to the 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, which left 13 people dead. Authorities launched the 2016 operation after Jalloh made contact with Islamic State members in Africa earlier that year.

Jalloh later told the informant that the Islamic State group had asked if he wanted to participate in an attack. He tried to donate $500 to the group, but the money actually went to an account controlled by the FBI, according to court documents.

Jalloh then tried to buy an AR-15 assault rifle from a Virginia gun store but was turned away because he lacked the proper paperwork. The affidavit says he returned the next day and bought a different assault rifle. Prosecutors said the rifle was rendered inoperable before Jalloh left the store, unbeknownst to Jalloh. He was arrested the following day.

Debate over sentencing

The Justice Department in 2017 requested a 20-year prison sentence for Jalloh, noting that he had made multiple attempts to join the Islamic State and had attempted to acquire a gun to carry out a murder plot.

“The defendant was fully aware of what he was doing, and the consequences of those actions. His only misgivings seemed to be a fear that he would waver at the critical moment,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

They added: “By putting the idea of this murder plot into religious terms, and by suggesting that murdering members of the US military would be a path to heaven, the defendant showed how strongly committed he was to the deadly ideology” of the Islamic State.

Jalloh’s lawyers asked for a sentence of 6½ years in prison and requested that he be placed in a facility that provides residential drug treatment for inmates with addiction and substance abuse issues.

U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, sentenced him instead to 11 years in prison.

The judge also ordered Jalloh to participate in a program for substance abuse testing and treatment and mental health treatment, and requested that he be evaluated for the federal prison system’s residential drug program.

Completing the Residential Drug Abuse Program can reduce an inmate’s prison sentence by up to a year, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. It wasn’t immediately clear if Jalloh qualified for the program. Normally, inmates serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses aren’t eligible.

In addition, some inmates who stay out of trouble in prison can reduce their sentence by earning up to 54 days of good conduct time credit for each year of their sentence. However, under the 2018 prison reform law known as the First Step Act, inmates convicted of terrorism-related offenses are not eligible for such credit.

Troubled shooter lured by radical cleric

Little is publicly known about Jalloh, who was a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone. But court documents depict him as a troubled man who was radicalized by Anwar al-Awlaki, a well-known American imam who became an al-Qaida propagandist.

The Virginia Army National Guard confirmed he served as a specialist from 2009 until 2015, when he was honorably discharged. Jalloh told a government informant he quit the National Guard after hearing lectures from al-Awlaki, according to a 2016 FBI affidavit filed in his criminal case.

In a letter to the federal judge that presided over his sentencing, Jalloh wrote: “I feel deep regret in having been driven by my emotions rather than my intellect and becoming involved with such an evil organization. … I reject and deplore terrorism and any groups associated with it, especially ISIL.”

He wrote that he started using drugs after his girlfriend ended their six-year relationship.

“The pain I felt internally was unbearable, and drugs and alcohol were the only things that took that pain away,” Jalloh wrote. “I started doing marijuana, coke and mushrooms using one of them at least on a daily basis in order to kill the pain I was in and to fill in the void I felt internally.”

The letter itself remains under seal, but his lawyer included excerpts of it in his sentencing memorandum.



Source link

Bunnie Xo On Jelly Roll’s Reaction To Book: He Hasn’t Read It!

0


Jelly Roll and his wife Bunnie Xo support each other’s careers, just not in the traditional way. The podcast host-turned-author was asked if Jelly was surprised by anything she shared.

He wasn’t, but not because he knew it all.

  • Bunnie Xo’s Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic became a New York Times bestseller after its release last month.
  • The podcast host and social media influencer shared her story, including details about her troubled childhood, early-life trauma, addiction, sex work and arrests.
  • On Thursday (March 12), she learned the rights to the book were purchased by 101 Studios, who plan to fast-track a movie.

Related: Bunnie Xo Names the Actor She Hopes Will Play Her In the Movie

“I don’t think my husband’s read the book,” Bunnie tells Kimmel. “He had to live with me and also, what man wants to hear about his wife before?”

“I think he kind of fibs a little bit and is like, ‘Oh, yeah I read the book’ … I think he’s taken like Cliffs Notes from people.”

Don’t feel bad because that knife cuts two ways.

Jelly Roll + Bunnie Xo’s Relationship Timeline

Bunnie Xo met Jelly Roll at a Moonshine Bandits concert in Las Vegas in 2015. Her future husband was the opening act and at some point he took Bunnie to his van to smoke.

“It was this big brown van that was so disgusting,” she tells the TV host. “It had a mattress and crumbs and it was gross. And I fell in love.”

One year later they’d get married but trouble would find them a few years after that. Jelly Roll had an affair (details are in the book) and they separated. Soon after they reconciled and began work on themselves and their marriage.

By 2020, Jelly Roll began having success in mainstream country music and within a few years Bunnie’s Dumb Blonde podcast and other business ventures took off to the point that she could close her page on OnlyFans. They’ve been country music’s most identifiable couple since.

Jelly Roll’s Stunning Weight Loss Journey in 29 Pictures

Jelly Roll once weighed over 500 pounds, but as of January 2026, he’s close to 250. His weight loss journey wasn’t linear, however. These 29 pictures show how he put weight on and dropped in at various stages of his life, dating back to 2011.

Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes

8 Bombshell Revelations We Learned From Bunnie Xo’s Book

Bunnie Xo’s memoir, ‘Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic,’ lays out a full timeline of her life and answers burning questions that fans have been asking for years. Below, we’ve rounded up the most shocking anecdotes and revelations from the book. Consider this your spoiler alert!

Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak





Source link

Stocks Mostly Lower as Oil Prices Rise Above $100

0




U.S. stocks were mostly lower as Iran stepped up its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. planned to move warships and additional Marines to the Middle East.



Source link

Ravens see Trey Hendrickson as team’s closer on defense

0


OWINGS MILLS, Md. — At Friday’s introductory news conference for Trey Hendrickson, one of the first words that Baltimore Ravens coach Jesse Minter used to describe his new pass rusher was “closer.”

Minter brought up the statistic about how Hendrickson is second in the NFL in fourth-quarter sacks since 2021 with 26.5.

“When we talk about being able to have a closer mentality and finish games and dominate in the fourth quarter, Trey is the epitome of that [with] how he’s played the last four or five years,” Minter said.

The ability to finish games is a major reason why Baltimore signed Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million deal, which includes $60 million guaranteed. Baltimore added Hendrickson less than 24 hours after its trade fell through for Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby.

The Ravens are hoping Hendrickson can reverse their fortune late in games. Baltimore has blown an NFL-worst 16 leads in the final five minutes of games over the past five seasons.

Hendrickson believes he’s at his best in the fourth quarter because he’s motivated “intrinsically.”

“I think winning on defense and getting the ball back to your quarterback is something that I’m motivated to do,” Hendrickson said. “I want the other 10 guys to count on me. If we’re in a place and it’s a pinch, you got to have gas in the tank and you got to be able to push when everybody else doesn’t want to.”

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta mentioned earlier in the week that there was a chance that Hendrickson and Crosby could have played together. Baltimore was in talks with Hendrickson before backing out of its trade for Crosby. League sources told ESPN that the Ravens had medical concerns that arose during Crosby’s physical.

Hendrickson said it would have been a “phenomenal opportunity” to be paired with Crosby.

“Nothing but respect for him and the way he carries himself on and off the field, the adversity that he’s overcome in his personal life,” Hendrickson said of Crosby. “At some point, you know that this was going to be something that was a tremendous opportunity to rush on a great defense. Whoever’s on the other side of the ball, you got guys that have been in this building that I’m excited to play with as well.”

Hendrickson gives Baltimore one of its most prolific pass rushers in years. Since 2021, Hendrickson’s 61 sacks rank fourth in the NFL behind Myles Garrett (83), T.J. Watt (65.5) and Micah Parsons (65). Over that span, the most sacks produced by a Ravens edge rusher is Kyle Van Noy with 23.5.

In his five seasons with the AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals, Hendrickson has watched the Ravens’ defense and has been impressed with the likes of safety Kyle Hamilton and middle linebacker Roquan Smith.

“Well, I’ve seen a lot of purple at the Pro Bowls over the last four years,” Hendrickson said.

Hendrickson said that playing the Bengals twice a season didn’t really factor in his decision to sign with the Ravens. But he was pleased to stay in the division.

“It’s gritty football, and it’s the type of football I like to play,” Hendrickson said. “Winning games is the most exciting thing about being here in the Ravens building. There’s a standard of winning here that’s unmatched across the league.”



Source link

Hegseth says Iran’s leader is ‘likely disfigured’

0


  • Now Playing

    Hegseth says Iran’s leader is ‘likely disfigured’

    00:43

  • UP NEXT

    Explosion rocks Tehran during Quds Day rally

    00:22

  • U.S. KC-135 refueling plane crashes in Iraq

    00:48

  • Iran’s new supreme leader delivers first public message

    00:23

  • Iran targets global oil trade amid U.S., Israeli strikes

    00:56

  • Inside a Beirut hospital treating wounded children

    01:24

  • Two fuel tankers caught fire after strikes in Iraqi waters

    00:43

  • Israeli adviser: Iranian people will need to ‘rise up’

    00:54

  • Old intel may be to blame for U.S strike on Iran school

    01:17

  • Video shows Tehran streets in ruin

    00:26

  • Trump calls U.S. operations in Iran ‘a little excursion’

    00:30

  • Massive explosion at Oman port after apparent drone strike

    00:24

  • Trump expects military to do ‘more of the same’ in Iran

    00:36

  • Thousands attend funeral for Iranian commanders

    00:30

  • U.S. strikes over a dozen Iranian mine-laying ships

    00:32

  • Dallas athlete returns home after witnessing strikes in Tehran

    01:16

  • Approximately 140 U.S. service members wounded in Iran war

    00:31

  • UAE video shows Iranian drones being destroyed

    00:23

  • Fire breaks out in Tehran after reported airstrike

    00:24

  • U.S. to launch ‘most intense day of strikes’ on Iran

    00:45

Hegseth says Iran’s leader is ‘likely disfigured’



Source link

Sandia sophomore named Gatorade NM girls basketball player of the year

0




ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The 2026 Gatorade New Mexico girls basketball player of the year was announced on Friday. This year’s honor went to Sandia sophomore Kaiyah Benally. This season, the Matadors point guard averaged 17.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 6.5 steals per game. She helped lead Sandia to a 25-4 overall record and an […]



Source link

Did GHOST Just Kill FRATER IMPERATOR?

0


Ghost just rolled out the 25th chapter of their story and I’m pretty sure they killed Frater Imperator (formerly Papa Emeritus IV and Cardinal Copia). The video ends with Imperator walking out the door as Sex Pistols cover of Frank Sinatra‘s “My Way” plays, a truck drives by, the camera falls off its stand, and the credits are bloody as hell. That or Imperator just left, as he makes clear – but I’m guessing its the dead thing.

This also tracks, as Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge recently reflected on life outside the theatrical juggernaut he’s steered for the past 15 years.

Forge described the all-consuming nature of leading Ghost with a vivid metaphor in a February interview with Full Metal Jackie’s radio show: “Imagine you being a house builder, and you draw up houses, great ideas, but you’re also doing the permits and you’re also doing the tiles and you’re building everything and you’re sewing up all that [shit] and putting it all together,” he explained. “I don’t simply have an idea. And I’m out of tiles. I’m out of wood. I just don’t have it.”

For Forge, the solution is straightforward. “So the only way for me to come up with a new idea and get some new inspiration is to just step away. It is as simple as that.”

That doesn’t mean he’s disappearing creatively. The singer revealed he has “two film projects” in development and was recording another album with a different project just before heading out on tour. “I have tons of stuff lined up for me [for] the coming years,” he added.

Still, he acknowledged that for over a decade and a half, Ghost has been “force majeure” in his life. “Over the years I’ve been very worried about momentum and just keeping it going because I have so many ideas and I don’t wanna lose speed. And I just came to a point where I’m, like, I’m actually fine if the momentum is not there. It’s cool. I’m good. I feel good about that. If I lose it, okay.”

Forge also spoke candidly about the toll of long tours on his family. “There were a lot of moments where you had to sort of sneak out before they woke up and have one screaming child on the balcony… when you jump into the car. And that was not easy,” he said. “But when you’re driven by a conviction… I was convinced, and I am still convinced, that I did the right thing.”

Now that his children are 17, the dynamic has shifted. “Of course they know what I’m doing,” he said. “We’re very connected. We’re very good friends… And now they’re the ones sort of pushing me, like, ‘Yeah, it’s only three weeks left.'”

As Ghost‘s current era winds down, Forge says the timing feels right to recalibrate. “When I come back, we’ll start this new chapter, this new reality,” he said.

Want More Metal? Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletter

Enter your information below to get a daily update with all of our headlines and receive The Orchard Metal newsletter.



Source link