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Ecuador’s newly sworn-in president repeals guidelines allowing people to carry limited drug amounts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Less than 48 hours into his term, Ecuador President Daniel Noboa on Friday repealed controversial guidelines established by the country’s left a decade ago that eliminated penalties for people found carrying illegal drugs under certain amounts.Noboa’s decision fulfilled a campaign promise to fight drug trafficking. Consequences of the illegal trade, particularly cocaine, have kept Ecuadorians on edge as killings, kidnappings, robberies, extortion and other crimes reached unprecedented levels.A statement from Noboa’s office announcing the move argued that the old guidelines “encouraged micro-trafficking” and characterized them as a “harmful element for Ecuadorian society.” Noboa also directed the ministries of interior and public health to develop “coordinated information, prevention and control programs on the consumption of narcotic and psychotropic substances” and to offer treatment and rehabilitation to “habitual and problematic occasional users.”The guideli...

A few overnight showers ahead of a blustery Sunday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Spotty showers will continue to move through the area this evening and overnight. Our best chance of rain comes as a cold front drops through Central Texas just before dawn on Sunday. Overnight lows drop into the upper 40s by early Sunday morning.Early morning rain chance on SundaySunday is breezy and chilly, but should actually feature increasing sunshine into the afternoon. Highs probably won't get out of the 50s to wrap up the weekend, but a few spots may just about reach 60º. The wind will be blustery with gusts 20-30 mph at times. This may be enough to cause isolated outages, but in most areas the wind will just make the highs in the 50s feel colder.Gusty Sunday aheadMonday starts in the upper 30s and high temperatures only reach the mid to upper 50s under a mostly cloudy sky.The wind settles down and skies clear out Monday night to allow for some near-freezing morning lows on Tuesday. I also expect more sunshine on Tuesday than most other days of the work week...

No. 3 Westlake blows out Laredo United 59-14, Battle of the Lakes now set for 6A D1 Region IV final

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — No. 3 Westlake simply overwhelmed Laredo United with 35 points in the first quarter en route to a 59-14 blowout win in the 6A Division I regional semifinals Saturday at the Alamodome.The Chaps will face Lake Travis in another installment of the Battle of the Lakes rivalry at 2 p.m., Dec. 2 at The Pfield in Pflugerville for the Region IV championship. Texas high school football regional semifinal playoff scores for Friday, Nov. 24 "It was a clean win and we'll celebrate it for the night, and we've got a big one next week," Chaparrals head coach Tony Salazar said. "That was a good team win."Westlake forced three turnovers in the first quarter and turned all of them into touchdowns to jump on the Longhorns. Mason Lastor and Ty Ingram-Eiser had interceptions and the kickoff team recovered a loose ball, allowing Westlake to quickly build a 21-0 lead. United quarterback Atzel Chavez Jr., who came into the game No. 5 in all of Texas with nearly 3,700 yards passing, fell ...

Gophers suffer from same bitter recipe in a 28-14 loss to Wisconsin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

The Gophers couldn’t reverse two negative trends in the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe on Saturday.In November, Minnesota’s offense continued to disappear in second halves, and the U defense kept suffering from self-inflicted miscues.Combined, it led to Wisconsin scoring 21 unanswered points, including 14 in the second half, to beat Minnesota 28-14 at Huntington Bank Stadium.The Gophers had won two straight games over Wisconsin and were attempting its first three-peat in the rivalry since the mid-1980s.Minnesota (5-7, 3-6 Big Ten) has now lost four straight games, while Wisconsin (7-5, 5-4) finished the season on the upswing with two straight wins.Minnesota was looking to possess the both the Axe and Floyd of Rosedale trophy for the first season since 1990. They now only have the pig after beating Iowa in October.The U needed a win to reach bowl eligibility, but there remains a chance for the U to still reach a bowl, if there aren’t enough six-win teams across the country.The Gophers ...

Prep Bowl roundup: Stewartville, Nevis each win first state title

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

CLASS 3AStewartville 43, Annandale 13: Ayden Helder capped off a near-perfect season of quarterbacking by going 15 for 23 for 206 yards and two scores while guiding the Tigers to a state title.Helder threw 42 touchdowns this season with just two interceptions.Stewartville as a team was equally as fine-tuned all season, and again on Saturday. Carter Miller ran for 144 yards and two scores. The Tigers (14-0) outgained Annandale 471-190 and did not commit a turnover.Jayce Klug had two interceptions for the Stewartville defense.Connor Lampi ran in a score for Annandale (12-1).It is Stewartville’s first state title after making six prior trips to state.9-PLAYERNevis 14, Kingsland 12: Officiating controversy riddled the 9-player championship game.Trailing by two with a minute to play, Kingsland had a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Kaaleem Reiland executed a quarterback sneak that was ruled on the field to be short of the goal line. The replay appeared to show the ball breaking the ...

Cherry Creek rallies to beat Ralston Valley in semifinal thriller, 21-14, to earn shot at fifth straight Class 5A title

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

GREENWOOD VILLAGE — After being seriously tested, Cherry Creek just called “Next.”The four-time defending Class 5A state champions are headed back to the title game after rallying for a dramatic 21-14 win over Ralston Valley in the semifinals on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Stutler Bowl.“Every yard was tough today,” Cherry Creek head coach Dave Logan said. “That’s two really good teams, and we knew it was going to be this way. They had been playing their best football down the stretch. We knew it was going to be a battle…. Between two teams like this, it usually comes down to a play or two, and it did today.”With the win, the Bruins are set up to pad their historic championship streak next Saturday in their 22nd appearance in the title game. They already have the Class 5A record for consecutive titles, but with a win at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Cherry Creek can pass Palisade (which won four consecutive Class 3A titles fr...

CHSAA state football playoffs: How the semifinals in Class 5A, 4A and 3A played out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

Class 5ANo. 1 Cherry Creek beat No. 5 Ralston Valley, 21-14: Creek senior Tyson Mauck broke a long reverse run late in the fourth quarter, and sophomore QB Brady Vodicka punched it in from a yard out on fourth down as the Bruins (13-0) advanced to their sixth straight 5A title game. Ralston Valley (10-3) took a 14-7 lead in the second quarter following consecutive TD runs from Brady Weldon, but Creek answered with a Jordan Herron scoring run not long after, and the Bruins defense shut out the Mustangs the rest of the way. The loss marked the second straight year Ralston Valley was eliminated in the semifinal round, and third time in the last five seasons.No. 2 Columbine beat No. 14 Chatfield, 35-16: Seniors Josh Snyder (31 carries, 180 yards) and Mason Moreno (21-108) both topped 100 yards rushing, with Snyder scoring three touchdowns, and QB Reeve Holliday found James Cillessen for a TD as the Rebels (13-0) clinched their seventh 5A title game appearance under coach Andy Lowry. Sen...

Deion Sanders, CU Buffs fall 23-17 at Utah Utes, end season on 6-game skid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY — Shedeur Sanders didn’t play. And, true to his mantra, Deion Sanders’ Buffs didn’t quit.CU, a three-touchdown underdog, fell 23-17 at Utah on Saturday despite a heroic game by two-way Buffs star Travis Hunter (107 receiving yards, one score) and nearly 200 passing yards by backup quarterback Ryan Staub, who made his first collegiate start in Sanders’ place.The Buffs finished the elder Sanders’ first season at 4-8, 1-8 in Pac-12 play, and riding a six-game losing streak.The final Rumble In the Rockies in the Pac-12 — both CU and Utah are moving to the Big 12 next summer — had more of an NFL preseason feel at the start, as both rivals started backup quarterbacks.With Shedeur Sanders battling a spate of injuries, Coach Prime started freshman Ryan Staub behind center. Utah opened with senior Luke Bottari, a JUCO transfer. Both were making their first FBS starts at the FBS level.Staub’s first drive opened conservatively and ...

When will the sun start setting later in Southern California?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

For the last couple of weeks, the sun has been setting earlier and earlier. While daylight saving time is largely to blame (it did move sunset times up by a whole hour), where we are in our orbit also has an impact. So when will the sun stop setting so early? It ultimately depends on where you live. The Earth is on a tilt, as you probably know. That means there is a time when we’re tilted toward the sun, during summer, and a time when we’re tilted away from the sun, during winter. This gives us more hours of sunlight in summer and fewer in winter (in case you haven’t noticed).We’re only a few weeks away from the “shortest” day of the year, December 22. Here in the U.S., we’ll experience the least amount of daylight hours on that day.  Turkey leftovers: How long is too long in the refrigerator? While it may be a little depressing to think about being shrouded in even more darkness, early and mid-December mark a big turning point: the sun will start setting later across the U.S...

San Jose State football: Spartans beat Vegas, await fate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

The San Jose State Spartans jumped out to a 17-0 lead and held on for a 37-31 victory over UNLV in a battle for first place in the Mountain West.With the victory, its sixth in a row, San Jose joined UNLV and Boise State atop the league standings with a 6-2 record. Which two teams will meet in the Mountain West championship game next Saturday was to be determined by league officials.Senior running back Kairee Robinson carried 16 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns. His 40-yard run, which gave the Spartans a 37-17 lead early in the fourth quarter, was his 18th rushing touchdown of the season, breaking the school record shared by Deonce Whitaker and Johnny Johnson.Quarterback Chevan Cordeiro completed 19 of 26 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns.The first scoring strike, 56 yards to tight end Sam Olson, came on the opening possession of the game. UNLV fumbled the ensuing kickoff and SJSU converted the turnover into a 10-0 lead.After UNLV went three-and-out, Cordeiro drove the Sp...