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Disabled actors shine in basketball comedy ‘Champions’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The new comedy “Champions” stars Woody Harrelson and Kaitlin Olson, but the veteran actors have tough competition for the spotlight with some charismatic newcomers.Harrelson plays a college basketball coach with a bad temper who’s facing jail time or community service for some bad behavior. To avoid punishment, he finds himself coaching a basketball team of young adults with intellectual disabilitie , who help him rediscover the joy of the game.Harrelson’s agent and another producer wanted to remake the original film, called “Campeones” — Spain’s biggest box-office hit in 2018 — and thought the actor and basketball lover would be a great fit. Harrelson loved the story and signed on as star and executive producer, and tapped his longtime friend Bobby Farrelly to direct.Casting was challenging as the producers wanted the athletes played by disabled actors, who also needed basketball skills. They auditioned hundreds of people before finding the 10 standout personalities...

Man sexually assaulted woman in east Toronto after offering her a ride: police

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:42 GMT

Toronto police are searching for a man that sexually assaulted a woman in his vehicle after he offered to give her a ride east of the city.Authorities say on Feb. 25 at approximately 3 a.m., the suspect stopped his vehicle in the Danforth Avenue and Greenwood Avenue area and asked to give the woman a ride. She accepted and entered his car.Police say the suspect drove to a dead-end street in the Felstead Avenue and Lamb Avenue area and sexually assaulted the female victim.It’s alleged the sexual assault was interrupted when the driver of a black sedan approached the dead-end street, and the man was startled. That’s when the woman was able to exit the vehicle, and the man sped away.Investigators are looking to speak to the driver of the black sedan and any other possible witnesses or victims.The male suspect is described as South Asian and in his 20s with a thin build. He was wearing dark clothing at the time of the incident.The suspect was also driving a light-coloured fo...

Chicago PD searching for 13-year-old girl missing from Roseland

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:42 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department is looking for a missing 13-year-old girl last seen Monday in Roseland.Aniya Curry is described by police as being about 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing about 115 pounds with brown eyes and black braided hair, according to police. Her front tooth is chipped. Candlelight vigil honors victims killed in Bolingbrook home invasion She may be wearing a black hooded coat with fur trim and tan Ugg boots.Chicago police said she was last seen in the 9800 block of Harvard Avenue and is frequently in the 9700 block of Lowe Street. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 911 or Area 2 SVU detectives at 312-747-8274.

Northwestern students help Parkinson's patients put pen to paper

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:42 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — There is a new innovation to help patients continue an old-fashioned habit. Two resourceful college students put their heads together so those with Parkinson’s disease can put pen to paper.Izzy Mokotoff attends Northwestern University.“My grandfather had Parkinson’s disease for about a decade and he had a lifelong love of writing,” Mokotoff said.She says his handwritten letters and cards are her treasures.“His Parkinson’s symptoms reached sort of a debilitating stage and he lost the ability to write, which for him wasn’t only a loss of ability but also a loss of self,” she said. “Because writing was so integral to his identity and who he was and what he loved to do.”The journalism major researched possible solutions. What it’s like to live — and even thrive — with Stiff Person Syndrome “And very quickly realized there isn’t anything on the market designed specifically for people with Parkinson’s to counteract their most writing-inhibitive symptoms,” Mokotoff said....

Texas baseball kicks off 14-game homestand with pair of midweek wins

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — That bats were hot for Texas baseball in an 11-3 win over Mercer on Wednesday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.Rylan Galvin smashed a 2-run home run for the first hit of his Longhorns career and ended the night 3-for-4 with four RBIs and Dylan Campbell collected three hits as well. Texas hammered 15 hits and scored nine of their runs in the first three innings.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersLampasas native Ace Whitehead made his first start on the mound for the Longhorns and allowed two hits with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings pitched. Texas split duties between six pitchers.Garret Guillemette went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Eric Kennedy was 2-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.After Guillemette's RBI single in the first inning got the Longhorns on the board, the floodgates opened. Galvan clubbed a 1-2 pitch over the left-field wall for a homer to g...

No. 10 Texas softball pummels UT-Arlington 12-3 to win 10th consecutive game

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:42 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (KXAN) — The No. 10 Texas Longhorns have won 10 consecutive games ahead of a showdown with one of the best pitchers in the country.The Longhorns thumped Texas-Arlington 12-3 on Wednesday to run their winning streak to double digits with seven of their runs over the last three innings.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersYeah, we had a pretty good bounce back after the first few innings tonight," Longhorns coach Mike White said. "I don’t think we were really locked in to start the game – maybe it was the bus drive or being away from home – but we turned it on there in the later innings."Katie Cimusz and Baylea Brandon hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning and Alyssa Washington added a big fly in the fifth. Cimusz hit a 3-run shot over the left-center field wall on a 3-1 pitch to break a 1-1 tie, and then Brandon connected on a 2-2 pitch and drove it...

Men’s basketball: Gophers top Nebraska, 78-75, in first round Big Ten tournament

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:42 GMT

The goal for the Gophers men’s basketball team on Wednesday was to take the next step.It was a modest movement, but Minnesota did what they couldn’t in Ben Johnson’s first postseason a year ago: win a first-round Big Ten tournament game.The 14th-seeded Gophers overcame an ugly start to take an 11-point lead and weathered a late drought to knock off 11th-seed Nebraska 78-75 in Chicago. Minnesota will play Maryland at approximately 8 p.m. Thursday.The last-place seed in the conference tournament had lost in the opening round in four straight years since 2018, including the Gophers falling 60-51 to Penn State last year.Dawson Garcia, who was voted Big Ten honorable mention Tuesday, led Minnesota with 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.The Gophers (9-21) won for the second time in three games in March. Minnesota was in a similar spot Sunday vs. Wisconsin, with halftime and late-game leads but couldn’t make free throws down the stretch in another close loss.The Gophers didn’t score a...

Union members authorize strike at St. Paul Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Regional Water Services

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:42 GMT

Frontline workers from three St. Paul departments — Public Works, Parks and Recreation, and St. Paul Regional Water Services — voted Wednesday night to authorize a strike, the latest salvo in city contract negotiations that have stalled over wage increases.The vote does not mean a strike is imminent. It triggers a notice to the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services, followed by a 10-day “cooling-off” period and a mandatory meeting between contract negotiators.The strike authorization vote, held at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 union hall in St. Anthony, drew more than 100 members of the St. Paul Tri-Council, which represents workers from IUOE Local 49, Teamsters 120 and Laborers International Union of North America 363.“Over 50% of the bargaining unit showed up and 100% of them voted to authorize a strike,” said AJ Lange, business manager with LIUNA 363, shortly following the decision of membership.Lange declined to disc...

FBI warns about sex crimes targeting young boys in St. Louis area

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:42 GMT

ST. LOUIS – There’s a new warning from the FBI’s St. Louis office about a frightening sex crime trend targeting local teenage boys, called sextortion.Predators are getting to their victims through the victims’ cellphones and not just through traditional social media channels like Instagram or Snapchat. Gaming apps or any app with a chat function are susceptible.The FBI reports they are getting new cases in the St. Louis area every single week. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News SIGN UP NOW It starts with seemingly innocent messages during online gaming or chatting, according to Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg.“They’re being extorted because these predators believe that they’ll be more likely to pay,” he said. “We’re getting several referrals a we...

2 killed, 1 injured in Lincoln County, Missouri domestic dispute

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:42 GMT

LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. - Police are investigating a triple shooting Wednesday night.The shooting occurred before 8:15 p.m. at the 2500 block of Highway W. Capt. David Hill with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said officers received a call at the location about a domestic dispute, and when they arrived, two people were found dead with gunshot wounds. Another person was injured.According to Hill, the third victim was airlifted to a nearby hospital. The condition of the victim is unknown at this time.Additional information is limited at this moment. FOX 2 will give updates as more information becomes available.