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‘Margaritaville’ singer Jimmy Buffett, who turned beach-bum life into a billion-dollar empire, dies at 76

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:01 GMT

By MARK KENNEDY (AP Entertainment Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into a billion-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76.“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” a statement posted to Buffett’s official website and social media pages said late Friday. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”The statement did not say where Buffett died or give a cause of death. Illness had forced him to reschedule concerts in May and Buffett acknowledged in social media posts that he had been hospitalized, but provided no specifics.“Margaritaville,” released on Feb. 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those ”wastin’ away,” an excuse fo...

Pleasant Hill: Alleged child pornography distributor found asleep in Kohl’s parking lot with a gun by his feet, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:01 GMT

PLEASANT HILL — If a woman hadn’t decided to shoplift from a local Kohl’s at around 12:45 p.m. on Aug. 9, an alleged child pornography distributor may have avoided arrest.Pleasant Hill officers were called to the Kohl’s for a report of a woman who’d loaded merchandise into her purse, loaded it into a black Saturn sedan, then returned to the store for more. But when officers got there, they were more interested in what they found inside the Saturn, authorities say.In the front seat, police found the shoplifting suspect’s husband: a sleeping Jaime Nunez Hernandez, with a pistol plainly visible by his feet. The officers woke him up, detained him at gunpoint, then seized his mobile phone and a small amount of methamphetamine from the car, police said.Hernandez, a 38-year-old Pittsburg resident, allegedly told police he found the gun in Pittsburg.But when authorities searched the phone, the investigation took a turn. The investigators not only found mo...

South Sudan to represent Africa, Japan to represent Asia in Paris Olympic basketball field

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:01 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — It was a chant that Luol Deng waited years to lead. He stood along the side of the South Sudan locker room after their run in the World Cup was over, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled the same thing, over and over.“Where we goin’?” he shouted.“Paris,” the players all responded.Deng’s vision when he founded the national team about a decade ago was to use basketball as a beacon of hope for his homeland. And his vision never seemed more real than on Saturday.A struggling country just 12 years removed from gaining its independence — making it the youngest nation in the world — is headed to the Paris Olympics as the automatic qualifier from Africa. Carlik Jones finished with 26 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds, and South Sudan rolled past Angola 101-78 on Saturday in the final game of the World Cup for both teams.The win, combined with Egypt’s 88-86 loss to New Zealand in a game that went final about a half hour later, clinched the O...

Judge throws out former school board chair’s Twitter-related lawsuit against Patriot High School principal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:01 GMT

This article was written by WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.A U.S. District Court judge has thrown out former Prince William County School Board Chair Ryan Sawyers’ lawsuit against the current school board and Patriot High School principal Michael Bishop.Filed in June 2022, Sawyers claimed that Bishop violated his First Amendment rights when Patriot’s Twitter account blocked him. Sawyers’ suit argued that the Twitter account is a governance tool, giving him First Amendment standing and that the school board, which is ultimately the governing body for all of the county’s public schools, should be held liable as well.But last week, U.S. District Court Judge Claude Hilton ordered that Sawyers’ suit be removed from the Eastern District of Virginia court docket.As of Wednesday, no opinion was issued in the case, but Bishop’s attorneys argued that the @PioneersPHS Twitter account is not a public...

No. 5 LSU and No. 8 Florida State return to Orlando with star QBs and playoff hopes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:01 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — When LSU and Florida State played in New Orleans a year ago, no one really knew how good either would be.The Tigers were coming off their first losing season since 1999 and beginning the Brian Kelly Era in Baton Rouge. The Seminoles, meanwhile, had missed consecutive bowl games for the first time since Bobby Bowden’s debut season (1976) and weren’t sure coach Mike Norvell was the right guy in Tallahassee.It’s safe to say there are far fewer questions 12 months later. Maybe the most important one: Will either team win it all in 2023?The fifth-ranked Tigers and eighth-ranked Seminoles — who played a 24-23 thriller that Florida State won in the Superdome last September — might provide some insight during their rematch Sunday night in Orlando. The only Top 25 pairing in college football’s Week 1 is a prime-time affair that features two star-filled teams that believe they have a legitimate shot at unseating two-time defending national champion Georgia.“It’s goi...

¿Cómo llegaron ahí? Patos inflables gigantes regresan al puerto de Belfast en Maine por tercer año consecutivo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:01 GMT

(CNN) — En lo que se ha convertido en una tradición anual inesperada para una ciudad costera de Maine, patos inflables gigantes flotan una vez más en el puerto de Belfast y, por tercer año consecutivo. El misterio de cómo llegaron allí aún no se ha resuelto.Los enormes patos amarillos aparecieron por primera vez en el verano de 2021, cuando un solo pato amarillo con la palabra “alegría” escrita apareció sobre el puerto durante algunas semanas, según Scott Smith, gerente de operaciones de la Cámara de Comercio del Área de Belfast.El debut del pato llamó la atención de lugareños y visitantes asombrados, e incluso atrajo la atención nacional, dijo Smith a CNN.“Fue fantástico tener algo divertido, encantador y sencillo que realmente trajera muchos sentimientos felices y energía positiva”, dijo.En octubre pasado, el pato original fue reemplazado por una versión aún más grande con las palabras “mayor alegría” escritas en el frente, según muestran fotografías ...

Much of Northern Va. under drought watch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:01 GMT

Five Northern Virginia counties are under a drought watch advisory as officials express concern about water levels across the Commonwealth.Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality issued a drought watch advisory for Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington and Fairfax counties on Wednesday.Virginians are encouraged to conserve water, keep track of drought conditions and look for any leaks to repair.Groundwater levels are below the 10th percentile in the Northern Virginia area — which means they reached emergency levels.Stream flows, precipitation as well as groundwater and reservoir levels are factored into the warning about increased drought risk.Precipitation levels are considered normal, but abnormal rain levels the past two weeks and little rain in the forecast were factored into the advisory. Meanwhile, stream flows are also considered normal, but still remain below the 25th percentile.Water supplies at Occoquan Reservoir and Lake Manassas are at normal levels, ...

NASCAR exec Josh Harris to take over as Darlington president from the retiring Kerry Tharp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:01 GMT

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Longtime NASCAR executive Josh Harris has been named Darlington Raceway’s president, succeeding the retiring Kerry Tharp.The track announced the move Saturday, a day before the NASCAR playoffs begin with the Southern 500 at the track dubbed “Too Tough To Tame.”“I want to continue to make this a place where fans want to come visit twice a year and showcase the best racing in the world,” Harris told The Associated Press on Friday.A couple of things Harris would like to clear up: No, he’s not the new owner of the Washington Commanders despite sharing the same name; and no, he does not have a Mississippi town named for his family, although he did grow up in Harrisville in the Magnolia State.When the other Josh Harris, a co-owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, purchased the NFL team earlier this summer, NASCAR’s Harris got texts and messages from friends. “They told me they didn’t realize I had that kind of...

Sports on TV for Sunday, September 3

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:01 GMT

(All times Eastern)Schedule subject to change and/or blackoutsSunday, September 3AUTO RACING8:55 a.m.ESPN — Formula 1: The Pirelli Italian Grand Prix, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy9 a.m.CBSSN — FIM Motocross: The MX2, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey10 a.m.CBSSN — FIM Motocross: The MXGP, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey11:30 a.m.FS1 — NHRA: Qualifying, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Indianapolis (Taped)1:30 p.m.NBC — FIM MotoGP: The Catalan Grand Prix, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain (Taped)3:30 p.m.NBC — NTT IndyCar Series: The Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland, Portland International Raceway, Portland, Ore.4 p.m.FOX — NHRA: The Funny Car NHRA All-Star Callout, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Indianapolis5:30 p.m.FS1 — NHRA: Qualifying 2, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Indianapolis6 p.m.USA — NASCAR Cup Series: The Cook Out Southern 500, Playoffs – Round of 16, Darlington Raceway, Darlington, S.C.9 p.m.FS2 — NASCAR ARCA Menards Series: The Southern I...

Today in Sports – 23-time Grand Slam tennis champion Serena Williams plays final match at U.S. Open

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:53:01 GMT

Sept. 31908 — Canadian world heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Burns KOs Australian Bill Lang in 6 rounds in Melbourne in a warmup fight for his famous title bout with Jack Johnson.1921 — The U.S. defeats Japan in five straight matches to win the Davis Cup.1928 — Future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Ty Cobb records his 4,189th and final career hit, as a pinch hitter for Philadelphia A’s in 6-1 loss v Washington Senators.1932 — Ellsworth Vines wins the men’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships with a three-set victory over France’s Henri Cochet.1944 — Frank Parker wins the men’s singles title with a four-set victory over Bill Talbert in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships. Pauline Betz captures her third straight women’s title with 6-3, 8-6 victory over Margaret Osborne.1945 — Frank Parker defends his U.S. Open title, defeating Bill Talbert 14-12, 6-1, 6-2 in the final of the first postwar U.S. Open.1956 — Jockey John Longden surpasses Sir Go...