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Largest study of brains of athletes younger than 30 finds early signs of CTE even in amateur players

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:40 GMT

(CNN) — A new study from Boston University’s CTE Center has discovered more than 60 cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, in athletes who were under the age of 30 at the time of their death. This is the largest study to look at the neurodegenerative disease in young people.Researchers found about 40% of the brains studied had developed some of the earliest signs of the disease, which is associated with repeated head trauma.The study also includes what researchers believe to be the first case of an American female athlete diagnosed with the disease.The report, published in JAMA Neurology on Monday, describes the features of 152 brains donated between February 1, 2008, and September 31, 2022, to the UNITE brain bank — the largest tissue repository in the world focused on traumatic brain injury and CTE. Sixty-three out of the 152 donated brains (41%) had autopsy-confirmed CTE.The disease can only be formally diagnosed with an autopsy and has been assoc...

Sources: Patriots release QB Trace McSorley, P Corliss Waitman

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:40 GMT

The Patriots released backup quarterback Trace McSorley and punter Corliss Waitman, sources told the Herald.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Will Patriots O-line starters be ready for Week 1? Bill Belichick answers New England Patriots | Patriots 53-man roster projection: Toughest cuts at QB, tight end, linebacker New England Patriots | Patriots acquire another tackle via trade with Vikings for draft pick New England Patriots | Patriots practice notes: Two players return, long list of absences ahead of cuts New England Patriots | Source: Patriots trade RB Pierre Strong for Browns offensive lineman McSorley was a long shot to make the roster after the emergence of rookie quarterback/receiver Malik Cunningham in training camp. The Patriots signed McSorley in April as their No. 3 quarterback behind Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. McSorley saw one full series in the preseason finale last Friday at Tennesse...

Phillips: The Trop rules – if you don’t have to play there

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:40 GMT

TAMPA – Fielding is no easy task at Tropicana Field. Just ask Harrison Bader.The Yankees centerfielder had a problem with the domed stadium’s off-white ceiling, which has four catwalks, on Saturday when the Rays’ Josh Lowe lofted a pitch in the third inning. The contact resulted in an RBI double after Bader lost track of the ball and overran its landing spot.“It would have been a really, really good catch,” Bader, one of baseball’s best defenders, said after the Yankees’ 3-0 loss. “On the way down, I just lost it.”Bader went on to say that The Trop is, “Not my favorite. You know, turf is a little sticky. Roof is a little tough.”Jake Bauers, who began his career in Tampa Bay, added, “It’s way harder to see the ball in the outfield,” as well as at the plate.“Keep your eye on the ball at all times,” he warned the Daily News. “As soon as the ball goes up in the air, if you take your eye...

‘Joe the Plumber,’ who famously confronted Obama on the campaign trail, dead at 49

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:40 GMT

By Brian Niemietz | New York Daily News (TNS)Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, better known as political activist “Joe the Plumber,” is dead at 49.Wurzelbacher gained prominence in 2008 when he met then-candidate Barack Obama in Ohio during the future president’s 2008 presidential campaign. The Republican activist told Obama he was interested in opening a plumbing business and asked how the Democratic candidate’s tax plan would impact that venture. Wurzelbacher’s on-camera questions, along with his everyman demeanor, earned him the Joe the Plumber moniker.He built that persona into a brand that netted a book deal and led to a flirtation with the country music business, according to Politico. Wurzelbacher ran for office in 2012 but was soundly defeated by Democrat Marcy Kaptur in the race to represent Ohio’s ninth congressional district.One thing he wasn’t was a licensed plumber, according to the Columbia Dispatch, which reported “Joe the Plumber” never completed an apprenticeship, nor was...

Church choir leader suspected of sexually assaulting teen

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:40 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl who was a member of his church choir group, San Diego police said.According to SDPD, on Nov. 6, 2021, the girl, who was 15 years old at the time, attended a baby shower at the home of a member of her church.The teen was a member of the church choir group with the Victory Outreach Church campus in San Ysidro, police said.The teenager's 25-year-old choir group leader drove her to the baby shower, but instead of driving the girl home after the event, he drove her to the 1800 block of Reo Drive in the Paradise Hills neighborhood, Lt. Carmelin Rivera said in a news release. After parking the car, the man sexually assaulted the teenager inside the vehicle, police said. He then drove the girl home. Police investigate SDSU sexual assault report Due to several factors, the girl did not report the assault to police until March 1, authorities said. The SDPD Sex Crimes Unit began investigating th...

US Women's National Team to play Colombia at Snapdragon Stadium

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:40 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The United States Women's National Team is coming to San Diego as they prepare for the 2024 Olympics.The USWNT will take on Colombia in a friendly soccer match on Oct. 29 at Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley.Snapdragon Stadium is also the home pitch for the San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League. Two Wave players, Naomi Girma and Alex Morgan, represented the U.S. during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.Tickets for the friendly match will be available to the public starting on Sep. 12, with presale tickets available for U.S. Soccer Insiders and Visa cardholders. The U.S. was eliminated from the 2023 World Cup after losing to Sweden on penalty kicks in the round of 16, the earliest exit for the USWNT in tournament history. San Diego Loyal soccer club to disband after 2023 season On the other side of the field, Colombia is coming off their best World Cup finish ever. Colombia beat Germany to win Group H, then beat Jamaica in the knockout rounds to reach...

Mark Meadows takes the stand at hearing over request to move Georgia election case to federal court

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:40 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Mark Meadows took the witness stand Monday at a hearing in Atlanta over whether the Trump White House chief of staff should be allowed to fight the Georgia indictment accusing him of participating in an illegal scheme to overturn the 2020 election in federal court rather than in a state court.Meadows, who was charged earlier this month along with former President Donald Trump and 17 other people, was questioned by both his lawyers and prosecutors, with cross-examination set to continue after a lunch break.For an hour and 20 minutes Monday, Meadows’ attorney George J. Terwilliger III asked him about his duties as Trump’s chief of staff and then walked Meadows through the specific acts accused in the indictment to ask if he had done those as part of his job. For most of the acts listed, Meadows said he had performed them as part of his official duty. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who used Georgia’s racketeering law to bring the case, alleges that Tr...

Joe the Plumber, who questioned Obama’s tax policies during the 2008 campaign, has died at 49

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:40 GMT

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher, who was thrust into the political spotlight as “Joe the Plumber” after questioning Barack Obama about his economic policies during the 2008 presidential campaign, and who later forayed into politics himself, has died, his son said Monday. He was 49.His oldest son, Joey Wurzelbacher, said his father died Sunday in Wisconsin after a long illness. His family announced this year on an online fundraising site that he had pancreatic cancer.“The only thing I have to say is that he was a true patriot,” Joey Wurzelbacher — whose father had the middle name Joseph and went by Joe — said in a telephone interview. “His big thing is that everyone come to God. That’s what he taught me, and that’s a message I hope is heard by a lot of people.”He went from toiling as a plumber in suburban Toledo, Ohio, to life as a media sensation when he asked Obama about his tax plan during a campaign stop. Their exchange and Obama’s response that he wanted to “spread...

California sues district that requires parents be notified if their kids change pronouns

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:40 GMT

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — California’s attorney general sued a Southern California school district Monday over its recently adopted policy that requires schools to notify parents if their children change their gender identification or pronouns.Attorney General Rob Bonta said he filed a lawsuit against the Chino Valley Unified School District over the policy that mandated this notification, calling it a “forced outing” of transgender students that violates their civil rights.“It tramples on students’ rights,” Bonta told reporters. He said he is seeking a court order to immediately halt the policy from taking effect.The move comes after Chino Valley Unified, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, adopted the policy following a shift in leadership on the school board. Other Southern California districts have adopted similar policies and Bonta said he believes they will also be affected by this litigation, though they are not named in the suit.The suit argues the...

New tool will allow college athletes to report gambling suspicions to a sports wagering monitor

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:40 GMT

A digital platform where college athletes can alert their administrations anonymously to improper or illegal conduct by coaches, teammates or others is expanding to allow them to report suspected gambling activity.RealResponse’s partnership with U.S. Integrity, which monitors sports wagering trends in real time to detect irregularities, will come at no additional cost to some 150 athletic departments that are clients.The service builds on a tip hotline U.S. Integrity and RealResponse unveiled in May and will give college athletic administrators a direct line to investigators.A state investigation into illegal sports wagering at Iowa and Iowa State has led to criminal charges being filed against about a dozen athletes. The Alabama baseball coach, Brian Bohannon, was fired in May after being linked to suspicious gambling activity on a Crimson Tide game.Iowa State is a RealResponse client, spokesman Nick Joos said. Iowa is not a client but has a relationship with U.S. Integrity t...