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Clarence Avant, ‘Black Godfather,’ dead at 92

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:40 GMT

By Brian Niemietz, New York Daily NewsWheeling, dealing and innovating entertainment executive Clarence Avant is dead at 92.Dubbed “The Black Godfather” in a 2019 documentary detailing his work with stars including Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron, Michael Jackson, Bill Withers and five U.S. presidents, Avant died “gently” in his Los Angeles home, according to a statement from his family published by Variety.“The joy of his legacy eases the sorrow of our loss,” his loved ones wrote.The Climax, N.C. native moved to Newark, N.J. as a teenager and got involved in the music business as a nightclub manager. He soon came under the mentorship of Joe Glaser, who helped launch artists including Louis Armstrong and Barbra Streisand.Avant developed a knack for developing talent and recognizing potential. He takes credit for introducing former NFL star Jim Brown to acting, which launched a hugely successful second act for the “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” star.Avant started a pair of record labels and help...

Gallery: Maui wildfire death toll climbs, damages continue to rise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:40 GMT

The wildfires in Maui continue to wreak havoc on the Hawaiin island’s population and environment, with roughly 3% of the affected area searched as of Sunday, according to officials.A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii late Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)Charred remains of an apartment complex in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on August 12, 2023. Hawaii's Attorney General, Anne Lopez, said August 11, she was opening a probe into the handling of devastating wildfires that killed at least 80 people in the state this week, as criticism grows of the official response. The announcement and increased death toll came as residents of Lahaina were allowed back into the town for the first time. (Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP) (Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via G...

An accident at Germany’s biggest theme park injures 7 people, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:40 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Seven people were injured in an accident on Monday at Germany’s biggest theme park, police said.The accident happened at the Europa-Park in the town of Rust, near the French and Swiss borders. The park said that a mobile pool cracked and diving platforms attached to it from which acrobats jump collapsed during a show on Monday afternoon, German news agency dpa reported. Water from the pool flowed into a water ride attraction called Atlantica SuperSplash.Police said that five performers and two visitors were injured, and that three of the performers were taken to a hospital for checks. The cause of the accident wasn’t immediately clear.The park is a popular tourist attraction that drew more than 6 million visitors last year, mostly from Germany, France and Switzerland.It has areas with themes based on different European countries, and three based on fantasy settings. The park also hosts conferences and is a popular venue for events and television productions...

Biden says auto workers need ‘good jobs that can support a family’ in union talks with carmakers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is asking major U.S. automakers and their workers’ union to reach an agreement that takes “every possible step to avoid painful plant closings” as the sector transitions to electric vehicles.The president has not yet been endorsed by the United Auto Workers as he seeks reelection, despite his broad support from organized labor going into the 2024 campaign. The UAW represents 146,000 workers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which are commonly known as the big three automakers. The workers’ contracts expire at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14.Biden said in a statement Monday that as the market moves away from gasoline-powered vehicles, the auto industry still must provide “good jobs that can support a family” and ensure that “transitions are fair and look to retool, reboot, and rehire in the same factories and communities at comparable wages, while giving existing workers the first shot to fill those jobs.”“The UAW helped create the American...

Wildfires in Maui are among the deadliest in US history. These are the other fires atop the list

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:40 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui killed at least 96 people, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.Emergency management officials say the death toll is expected to rise as cadaver dogs and searchers make their way through the ashes of Lahaina, a historical town of 13,000 where almost every building was destroyed in the blaze.The Maui wildfires are currently the nation’s fifth-deadliest on record, according to research by the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit that publishes fire codes and standards used in the U.S. and around the world. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the three separate wildfires that were fueled by dry weather and the winds of a nearby hurricane.A look at the other deadliest fires in U.S. history:THE PESHTIGO FIREThe deadliest U.S. wildfire on record claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people and decimated the logging town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, about 50 miles (80 kilometers)...

Michael Oher, former NFLer known for ‘The Blind Side,’ accuses Tuohys of lying

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:40 GMT

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.Michael Oher, who was the subject of ‘THE BLIND SIDE,’ has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was never adopted by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, but was instead tricked into a conservatorship that gave...

UBS to pay $1.44 billion to settle 2007 financial crisis-era mortgage fraud case, last of such cases

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — UBS will pay U.S. authorities $1.44 billion to settle the last lingering legal case over Wall Street’s role in the housing bubble of the early 2000s, which ultimately led to the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession. The Swiss bank agreed to pay a civil penalty over how it handled the sale of 40 mortgage-backed securities issued in 2006 and 2007. The settlement argues that UBS bankers gave false and misleading statements about the health of the mortgages in those bonds to the buyers in violation of federal securities law. For example, UBS bankers knew that the underlying mortgages in these bonds were poorly underwritten or violated consumer protection laws. The bonds in question ended up with substantial losses for investors. With the UBS settlement, the last remaining outstanding legal case from the Great Recession has now come to a close, the Justice Department said. Banks paid collectively more than $36 billion in civil penalties for their conduct relate...

‘No Labels’ movement says it could offer bipartisan presidential ticket in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:40 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A national political movement that could offer a bipartisan presidential ticket in 2024 as an alternative to major-party nominees said Monday it has now won ballot access in 10 states, after North Carolina election officials formally granted official status to a “No Labels” affiliate.The State Board of Elections voted 4-1 on Sunday to recognize the No Labels Party as an official North Carolina party following a successful petition effort. It joins four other recognized parties with which voters can now choose to be registered and field candidates.The new North Carolina party is linked to a national No Labels effort that lists a wide array of mostly centrist political leaders backing it. They include former North Carolina GOP Gov. Pat McCrory, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, a former Democrat who became an independent.No Labels is poised to offer a bipartisan ticket for president and vice president if Democrats and Repub...

Chicagoland residents asked to conserve water amid showers, storms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:40 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago residents are being asked to conserve water on Monday as showers and storms sweep across the area. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) of Greater Chicago has declared Monday as an "Overflow Action Day." Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms; Heavy Rains Possible The MWRD issued an Overflow Action Alert in an effort to reduce the amount of water in municipal sewers, to help avoid flooding and sewer backups as storms batter the area. Residents are being asked to delay showers and baths, flush toilets less frequently and wait to run the dishwasher or washing machine to help avoid flooding inside and around homes. The MWRD has a full list of actions residents can take to prevent flooding on its website.According to the alert, flooding and sewer backups can happen for several reasons. The MWRD says it treats an average of 1.47 billion gallons of wastewater per day, but during storms, the number reaches above 2 billion gallons. After seve...

North Dakota boy survives 100-foot-fall at Grand Canyon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:40 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — A 13-year-old North Dakota boy has survived a fall of nearly 100 feet at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon during a family trip.Authorities said it took emergency crews two hours to rescue Wyatt Kauffman after he slipped on a cliff Tuesday and plunged nearly 100 feet at the Bright Angel Point trail.The teenager was airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital for treatment of nine broken vertebrae plus a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung, a concussion and a broken hand and dislocated finger. It was a popular national monument, until it was robbed to extinction “I was up on the ledge and was moving out of the way so other people could take a picture,” Kauffman told Phoenix TV station KPNX. “I squatted down and was holding on to a rock. I only had one hand on it.“It wasn’t that good of a grip. It was kind of pushing me back. I lost my grip and started to fall back,” he added.Rescue crews had to rappel down the cliff and get the injured boy out of the canyon in a basket.“I just reme...