TELA Bio Announces Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)
Vikings will be without cornerback Stephon Gilmore against Falcons
NoneTwo years ago, Colorado athletic director Rick George hired Deion Sanders in an effort to bring life back to the football program. So far, it’s been an unquestioned success, to the point that national pundits often talk about Sanders being a great fit for jobs at other schools, or even the NFL. George, however, is confident Sanders will be in Boulder for a while. Two years removed from a 1-11 season, CU (9-3, 7-2 Big 12) is ranked No. 23 in the College Football Playoff Top 25, No. 20 in the Associated Press Top 25, and awaiting Sunday’s bowl selections to find out where they’ll play next. CU is 13-11 in Sanders’ two seasons. “Everybody talks about all these rumors and all these other things, and I kind of tune out that noise,” George said in an interview with BuffZone. “I know who Deion is, and I know what he represents and I believe he wants to be here for the long haul. We’ve supported all the initiatives that he’s embraced and we’ll continue to do that. My expectation is that he’ll be here and he can write some of our record books moving forward.” How long Sanders coaches in Boulder isn’t known, of course. He still has three years remaining on the five-year, $29.5-million contract he signed two years ago and there have been discussions about an extension. “Coach and I have talked about this three different times and we’ll continue to have discussions about it and that’s kind of where I’m at,” George said, while adding that Sanders doesn’t want to be distracted with contract talks until after the season. Sanders’ base and supplemental salary was $5.7 million this year and he will add $600,000 in bonuses for getting to nine regular season wins and a bowl game. Per the terms of his current deal, Sanders will receive $200,000 raises each season, which means he has $18.3 million left on his deal. Since being introduced as head coach on Dec. 4, 2022, Coach Prime has resuscitated the program. Considered the worst Power 5 conference program at the time, the Buffs improved to 4-8 a year ago (with five one-score losses) and vaulted to 9-3 this year. Led by Coach Prime’s son, Shedeur, at quarterback and dynamic cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter, the Buffs were in the race for the Big 12 title game until the final moments of the regular season last week. CU has been one of the most watched teams in the country, both on social media and on TV. And, of the 24 games CU has played under Coach Prime, 20 have been in sold-out stadiums, including 10 of 12 at Folsom Field. “I’m incredibly happy on where we are today,” George said. “We’ve got another game left, so we can still get to that 10th win, which was the high number that I thought this year that we could get to.” Adding to CU’s profile and Sanders’ coaching resume is that Hunter is the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, while Shedeur Sanders has a shot to be invited to New York as a finalist, as well. (Finalists will be announced Monday). Yet, even with Hunter and Shedeur heading off to the NFL, George said, “I think our best days are ahead of us. “I think what excites me is the recruiting class that he just had, and getting (five-star quarterback) JuJu Lewis is a really important factor in that. There’s a lot of people to build around that I think are going to be here for a while. I like his coaching staff a lot. I like his coordinators. ... And, coach has kind of proven over two years that he can reassemble a roster and get them working together and playing together to compete for a championship.” Coach Prime has often said 2023 was about instilling hope and 2024 was about expectations. George added to that, saying, “I’m sure the third year is going to be even higher expectations on where we think we can go. ... We gotta keep his coaching staff intact and if we do that, with his leadership, I think we’ll have a really good year.” George feels the future is so bright, in fact, that me might consider extending his own time at CU. In September of 2021, he signed a five-year deal that runs through June 30, 2026. In the summer of 2023, George, 64, told BuffZone he didn’t see himself working past then. That could change, however. “I’m contemplating that,” said George, who is in his 11th school year as the Buffs’ AD. “I’m not ready to say, ‘OK, I’ll definitely be done in two years. ... Talking with the family and all that, it’s fun to win again and I like what coach is doing. We have a good relationship and he’s great to work with, so that’s a factor for sure. I think coach and I from the start have had a really good relationship and it seems to get better and better as we go.”
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Dejounte Murray plans to return to the New Orleans Pelicans ' lineup on Wednesday night for the first time since fracturing his left hand in a season-opening victory over Chicago on Oct. 23. And when Murray takes the court against the Toronto Raptors , his mother will be on his mind.By MARK VANCLEAVE and MICHAEL GOLDBERG FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — A jury convicted two men on Friday of charges related to human smuggling for their roles in an international operation that led to the deaths of a family of Indian migrants who froze while trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border during a 2022 blizzard. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, an Indian national who prosecutors say went by the alias “Dirty Harry,” and Steve Shand, 50, an American from Florida, were part of a sophisticated illegal operation that has brought increasing numbers of Indians into the U.S., prosecutors said. They were each convicted on four counts related to human smuggling, including conspiracy to bring migrants into the country illegally. “This trial exposed the unthinkable cruelty of human smuggling and of those criminal organizations that value profit and greed over humanity,” Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said. “To earn a few thousand dollars, these traffickers put men, women and children in extraordinary peril leading to the horrific and tragic deaths of an entire family. Because of this unimaginable greed, a father, a mother and two children froze to death in sub-zero temperatures on the Minnesota-Canadian border,” Luger added. The most serious counts carry maximum sentences of up to 20 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office told The Associated Press before the trial. But federal sentencing guidelines rely on complicated formulas. Luger said Friday that various factors will be considered in determining what sentences prosecutors will recommend. Federal prosecutors said 39-year-old Jagdish Patel; his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and 3-year-old son, Dharmik, froze to death Jan. 19, 2022, while trying to cross the border into Minnesota in a scheme Patel and Shand organized. Patel is a common Indian surname, and the victims were not related to Harshkumar Patel. The couple were schoolteachers, local news reports said. The family was fairly well off by local standards, living in a well-kept, two-story house with a front patio and a wide veranda. Experts say illegal immigration from India is driven by everything from political repression to a dysfunctional American immigration system that can take years, if not decades, to navigate legally. Much is rooted in economics and how even low-wage jobs in the West can ignite hopes for a better life. Before the jury’s conviction on Friday, the federal trial in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, saw testimony from an alleged participant in the smuggling ring, a survivor of the treacherous journey across the northern border, border patrol agents and forensic experts. Defense attorneys were pitted against each other, with Shand’s team arguing that he was unwittingly roped into the scheme by Patel. Patel’s lawyers, The Canadian Press reported , said their client had been misidentified. They said “Dirty Hary,” the alleged nickname for Patel found in Shand’s phone, is a different person. Bank records and witness testimony from those who encountered Shand near the border didn’t tie him to the crime, they added. Prosecutors said Patel coordinated the operation while Shand was a driver. Shand was to pick up 11 Indian migrants on the Minnesota side of the border, prosecutors said. Only seven survived the foot crossing. Canadian authorities found two parents and their young children later that morning, dead from the cold. The trial included an inside account of how the international smuggling ring allegedly works and who it targets. Rajinder Singh, 51, testified that he made over $400,000 smuggling over 500 people through the same network that included Patel and Shand. Singh said most of the people he smuggled came from Gujarat state. He said the migrants would often pay smugglers about $100,000 to get them from India to the U.S., where they would work to pay off their debts at low-wage jobs in cities around the country. Singh said the smugglers would run their finances through “hawala,” an informal money transfer system that relies on trust. The pipeline of illegal immigration from India has long existed but has increased sharply along the U.S.-Canada border. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested more than 14,000 Indians on the Canadian border in the year ending Sept. 30, which amounted to 60% of all arrests along that border and more than 10 times the number two years ago. By 2022, the Pew Research Center estimates more than 725,000 Indians were living illegally in the U.S., behind only Mexicans and El Salvadorans. Jamie Holt, a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations, said the case is a stark reminder of the realities victims of human smuggling face. “Human smuggling is a vile crime that preys on the most vulnerable, exploiting their desperation and dreams for a better life,” Holt said. “The suffering endured by this family is unimaginable and it is our duty to ensure that such atrocities are met with the full force of the law.” One juror Kevin Paul, of Clearwater, Minnesota, told reporters afterward that it was hard for the jurors to see the pictures of the family’s bodies. He said he grew up in North Dakota and is familiar with the kind of conditions that led to their deaths. “It’s pretty brutal,” Paul said. “I couldn’t imagine having to do what they had to do out there in the middle of nowhere.”
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Dejounte Murray plans to return to the New Orleans Pelicans ' lineup on Wednesday night for the first time since fracturing his left hand in a season-opening victory over Chicago on Oct. 23. And when Murray takes the court against the Toronto Raptors , his mother will be on his mind. After practice on Tuesday, Murray discussed his impending return and disclosed more details about the previously unspecified “personal matters” that caused him to leave the team during the final days of the preseason. His mother had a stroke, he said. “It was tough to leave and go deal with that. As she got better, she wanted me to come play,” Murray said of his last-minute decision to start against Chicago. He added that his hand injury near the end of that game was God's way of telling him, “‘Nah, you need to stay with your mom.’” “I was more concerned about my mother. That was my priority,” Murray continued. “I wasn’t really worried about my recovery.” Murray's mother has recovered well, he said, while he is “healthy and ready to help this team.” Story continues below video “I’m ready to hoop. Play for my mother — she’s going to be watching," Murray said. “I’m ready to compete, bring that winning spirit.” The Pelicans (4-14) certainly could use the help, having lost 14 of 16 games since opening the season with a pair of victories. Injuries have ravaged the roster. At times, all five starters have been out. Star power forward Zion Williamson has missed 12 games this season — one with an illness and 11 with a hamstring injury. Herb Jones has been sidelined by a shoulder strain and Brandon Ingram's status is in doubt after he sat out practice on Tuesday with calf soreness that also sidelined him during a loss on Monday night at Indiana. But at least two starters — Murray and fellow guard CJ McCollum — are expected to play against the Raptors. “I don’t care how many games we’ve lost. I just know every time I step on the floor I feel like we can win games,” said Murray, who had 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in his lone game with the Pelicans. "That’s just my mentality, and I feel like it can carry over to a lot of guys.” AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBAMichigan football fans are cheering after top high school football recruit Bryce Underwood flipped his recruit from LSU to U of M, a move that may have been helped by NIL ( name, image and likeness ) deals and a billionaire. What Happened : After winning the NCAA Football championship last season, the 2024 college football season has been disappointing for Michigan fans. The team currently has a 6-5 overall record, a 4-4 Big Ten conference record, and a lack of consistency at the quarterback position. Michigan may have their answer to the quarterback problems with the top recruit in the nation, who happens to be a quarterback, now set to attend Michigan in the future. Underwood, who attends Belleville High School in Belleville, Michigan, flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan with reports that an NIL package worth anywhere from $10 million to $20 million factored into the equation. Helping the Michigan NIL collective Champions Circle land Underwood was billionaire Larry Ellison , according to a report from FrontOfficeSports. Ellison, who is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Oracle , is the world's third-richest person, worth $206 billion according to Bloomberg . "We are very excited to keep Bryce home in Michigan as he continues to build his legacy," Champions Circle chairman Nate Forbes previously said. "I want to personally thank Jolin and Larry Ellison who were instrumental in making this happen by providing Champions Circle with invaluable guidance and financial resources." Champions Circle later issued a new statement, which removed the Ellison reference, instead simply saying "Larry and his wife Jolin." Champions Circle co-founder Roger Ehrenberg confirmed to FrontOfficeSports that it was "THE Larry Ellison" who was referenced. "Jolin is a Michigan alumna who is super passionate about the University of Michigan Athletics and was critical support for the recruitment effort," Ehrenberg said. Ellison divorced his fourth wife in 2010 and it was not previously announced that he had married again. The report said Ellison was photographed wearing a Michigan hat and sitting next to a woman wearing a Michigan hat at a 2022 tennis tournament. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy , who is a U of M alum, previously offered to help fund an offer for Underwood. While Portnoy celebrated in the announcement from Underwood, he also clarified his role in the NIL deal. "I'm getting tons of credit online for flipping Bryce. While I love credit, reality is I played a tiny roll. Rest assured there are Michigan Men + Women out there making things happen behind the scenes. I've never been more confident that Mich is poised to dominate in this new world," Portnoy said . Read Also: Elon Musk And Oracle’s Larry Ellison ‘Begged’ Jensen Huang For Nvidia GPUs At A Dinner: ‘Please Take Our Money’ Why It's Important : Ellison helping the University of Michigan Football team and also potentially getting secretly married could go down as big shocks in the world of sports and finance this week. While helping chip in a couple million dollars won't be a big deal for Ellison given his wealth, it comes as he is also helping son David Ellison and his Skydance Media company merge with Paramount Global PARA PARAA . As previously reported by Benzinga , Larry Ellison will become a controlling shareholder in the new media company after helping to finance the deal. Much of Ellison's wealth is tied to his ownership stake in Oracle, estimated at 42% of the company in 2023, and a stake in electric vehicle company Tesla, where he previously served on the board of directors. Ellison attended the University of Illinois, a Big Ten and Michigan rival, in the 1960s but did not graduate. Ellison also previously "rooted against University of Michigan sports teams" due to a breakup with a woman who went there, a previous report from the Tampa Bay Times said. Read Next: Elon Musk To End Year As Richest Man In The World? Prediction Market Says Yes, Higher Chance Than Larry Ellison Or Jensen Huang Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.Suzhou AND Science&Technology Development Corporation: Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Endoscope
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