SnS MAG

Southeast Missouri State University Athletics

NEED TO KNOW

• College athlete Danny Duray has died at 20 years old

• The kicker for the Southeast Missouri State University Redhawks died on Feb. 11, according to a statement from the university

• Duray redshirted for the Redhawks during the 2024 season and transferred back to play with the team in 2026
  

Southeast Missouri State University is mourning the death of one of its student athletes.

On Wednesday, Feb. 11, Danny Duray, who was a kicker for the SEMO Redhawks, died. He was 20 years old, according tohis bioon the SEMO athletics website.

Brady Barke, the vice president for intercollegiate athletics, confirmed the news in apress releasethe same day.

"It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that one of our student-athletes passed away," he said. "This is a heartbreaking loss for our department, our campus community, and especially for those who knew and cared for him closely. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Duray family."

Duray was from Arlington Heights, Ill., where he grew up playing football and soccer for Hersey High School.

After redshirting with the Redhawks in his freshman year, Duray spent 2025 playing as a member of the College of DuPage Chaparrals. The business administration major planned to return to SEMO for the 2026 season.

According tohis bioat the College of DuPage, Duray was a two-time NJCAA special teams player of the week during the 2025 football season and scored 62 points as the team's kicker.

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His bio listed his hobbies as "fishing, soccer and working out" and noted that the Chicago Bears fan was the son of Sam and Sally Duray.

"Today is one of the hardest days I've experienced as a coach. We lost a young man who mattered deeply to our program and to so many," Tom Matukewicz, Redhawks head football coach, said in the university's statement. "Our team is hurting. Danny's family is hurting. We are going to wrap our arms around them the best we can and walk through this pain together."

Southeast Missouri State University Athletics

Redhawks wide receiver Anthony Westervelt remembered his teammate as being "just so full of life," describing him as "always the funniest guy in the room" in a statement shared with the SEMO student news organizationThe Arrow.

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He continued, "Whenever he was around there was never a dull moment, I'll always remember him as the life of the party. He always made sure to be there for people and encourage others. He was loved by so many people and we all are going to miss him very much."

A cause of death has not yet been revealed.The Southeast Missourianreported that the Cape Girardeau Police Department were called to Houck Field around 1:50 a.m. local time on Feb. 11 to respond to "a medical assist call."

The Cape Girardeau Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Read the original article onPeople

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced a one-year, $10 million extension with veteran third baseman Max Muncy on Thursday.

The deal includes a $7 million salary for the 2027 season and a $10 million club option for 2028 that includes a $3 million buyout. He will earn $10 million in 2026.

Also on Thursday, free-agent utility man Enrique Hernandez broke some news of his own by referencing his expected return to the Dodgers on Instagram.

"What else did you expect?!!! 3 in a row has a nice ring to it! #WeBack," Hernandez wrote along with posting a picture of himself wearing a Dodgers' World Series champions T-shirt.

The Dodgers confirmed Hernandez's signing later on Thursday, announcing it as a one-year, $4.5 million deal. He played last season on a one-year, $6.5 million deal.

Muncy, 35, is a two-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion entering his ninth season with L.A. in 2026.

He batted .243 with 19 homers and 67 RBIs in 100 games last season and added three homers in the playoffs.

Muncy's World Series Game 7 homer against the Toronto Blue Jays was his 16th in the postseason, a team record.

He is a career .229 hitter with 214 homers and 604 RBIs in 1,020 games for the Oakland A's (2015-16) and Dodgers.

Hernandez, 34, batted .203 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs in 92 games last season. He spent nearly two months on the injured list with elbow discomfort and returned Aug. 26 after fears his season was done because of the injury.

He ended up having left elbow surgery last November and his status for the start of the 2026 season is uncertain.

In 12 major league seasons, nine of which have been with the Dodgers over two separate stints, Hernandez is a career .236 hitter with 130 home runs and 470 RBIs in 1,275 games.

The Dodgers continued a busy day of transactions by signing infielder Keston Hiura to a minor league deal with an MLB camp invitation, per multiple reports, and trading left-handed reliever Anthony Banda to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for international bonus pool money.

Hiura, 29, played the majority of his major league games with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2019-22, hitting .238 with 50 homers and 132 RBIs in 284 games. He's played just 18 major games over the last three seasons with the Los Angeles Angels (2024) and Colorado Rockies (2025).

Banda made a team-leading 71 appearances last season for the Dodgers, finishing with a 5-1 record and 3.18 ERA over 65 innings. He pitched 114 2/3 regular-season innings over two seasons with Los Angeles, winning a pair of World Series rings.

--Field Level Media

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo won't be playing in theAll-Star Gameas he recovers from acalf strain,but the two-time MVP will still be making the trip to California for this weekend's festivities.

Antetokounmpo hasn't played sinceinjuring his right calfin a Jan. 23 loss to the Denver Nuggets. The Bucksofficially announcedThursday that Antetokounmpo won't play in the All-Star Game on Sunday at Inglewood, California.

San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox was selected to the All-Star Game as an injury replacement for Antetokounmpo. Fox will play for the USA Stripes team. Miami's Norman Powell, who has ties to Jamaica, will move over from the USA Stripes team to fill Antetokounmpo's spot on the Team World roster.

Antetokounmpo will still go forward with his plans to help coach in the All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday. The Bucks also said he will cheer on his Team World teammates on Sunday.

Antetokounmpo is coaching one of the All-Star Celebrity Game teams along with his brothers Thanasis and Alex as well as Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts.

Antetokounmpo had been selected last month as anAll-Star Game starterfor the 10th consecutive season. The 31-year-old forward is averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 30 games.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israel asked a court Thursday to revoke the citizenship of two men convicted of terrorism offenses, in what appears to be the first test ofa lawallowing the deportation of Palestinian citizens convicted of certain violent crimes.

Court documents filed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday argue that the severity of the crimes, along with payments those found guilty allegedly received from aPalestinian Authority fund, justify revoking citizenship and expelling the individuals convicted of violent attacks.

Roughly one in five Israeli citizens is Palestinian. When the law passed, critics said it was one instance in which Israel's legal system treats Jewish and Palestinian citizens differently. Rights groups argued that basing a deportation law on Palestinian Authority payments effectively limited its application on the basis of race and excluded Jewish Israelis — including settlersconvictedofattacksagainst Palestinians— from the threat of having their citizenship revoked.

Netanyahu has long argued the fund in questionrewards violence, including attacks on civilians. Palestinian officials, however, have defended it as a safety net for the broad cross‑section of society with family members in Israeli detention. They have dismissed Netanyahu's focus on the relatively small share of beneficiaries involved in such attacks.

Citizenship revocation law faces first test

Netanyahu in a statement this week said proceedings were launched against two men with more such cases were on their way. One of the court filings seen by The Associated Press details the request against Mohamad Hamad, who the state's request says was convicted of "offenses that constitute an act of terrorism and receiving funds in connection with terrorism."

It alleges Hamad, a 48-year‑old citizen from east Jerusalem, received payment after he was sentenced in 2002 on charges that included shootings and weapons trafficking. He went on to serve more than two decades in prison before his release.

The 2023 law applies to citizens or permanent residents convicted of "committing an act that constitutes a breach of loyalty to the State of Israel," including terrorism.

Hassan Jabareen, the general director of Israel's Adalah legal center, called steps taken to apply it this week "a cynical propaganda move" by Netanyahu. He said revoking citizenship violated the most basic principles of the rule of law, including by acting against individuals who completed prison sentences.

"The Israeli government is attempting to strip individuals of the very foundation through which all rights are protected, their nationality," he said on Thursday.

If the court moves ahead, it would make Israel one of the few nations — includingBahrain— to revoke citizenship of people born with the status in their country. Countries such as theUnited KingdomandFrancehave stripped dual or naturalized citizens of their citizenships over terrorism convictions, but international conventions generally bar states from taking away someone's nationality if it would leave them stateless.

The Palestinian Authority payments, Israel argues, create a sufficient link to justify revoking citizenship and deporting such citizens to the West Bank or Gaza.

The request does not say to where the citizens will be deported.

__ Melzer reported form Nahariya, Israel

The woman behind a popular California bald eagle camera that monitorsJackie and Shadowhas died, a nonprofit that works to preserve their habitat announced.

Sandy Steers was the executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, an environmental-education nonprofit organization well known for their live camera and social media posts of the eagle couple. Their mission is to protect and preserve the amazing natural local surroundings through environmental education and advocacy.

Big Bear Valley is part of the San Bernardino National Forest, about 95 miles from Los Angeles.

"It is with heavy hearts and great sadness to let our Friends of Big Bear Valley eagle family know that Sandy Steers passed away on the evening of Feb. 11, 2026," the group said in a Facebook post the same day.

In an emailed statement to USA TODAY, the group described Steers as "kind, caring, calming and healing.

"People love her and she is missed dearly. Our team is heartbroken."

Steers died from cancer, the organization said. She'd beaten cancer 30 years ago, but was diagnosed with it again later in life.

She had served as the organization's executive director for roughly 25 years.

The Daily Press, part of the USA TODAY Network,also shared news of her passing.

Sandy Steers' legacy

"Sandy Steers truly exemplifies the spirit of the outdoors through her efforts to conserve the natural environment while helping to enhance and expand opportunities for outdoor recreation in California," Barbara Steinberg, a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of California, wrote in 2023, whilenominatingSteers for Outdoor Californian of the Year.

"Her efforts to preserve nesting sites for Big Bear Lake bald eagles and open space in the region including helping to save a rare pebble plain and a threatened paintbrush flower which is listed on the federal and the state endangered list, and only exists in Big Bear Valley."

The nomination added that Steers had established eco-tourism in the Valley, helping people understand that they can support the local economy by promoting and protecting the natural surroundings rather than destroying them for commercial gain.

The group also puts together educational programs for classrooms that teach children about wildlife and nature.

Steers began the Jackie and Shadow camera for the U.S. Forest Service. The first camera was installed in 2015, Friends of Big Bear Valley told USA TODAY. Steers had loved Jackie since the bird was a chick and wanted to know what was happening inside her nest.

"Her vision was to share it with others as a public benefit, free for all to see and connect with nature," the organization said. "She told amazing stories that helped people understand what was happening and relate to the trials, tribulations and successes felt by Jackie and Shadow in their daily lives."

What's happening with Jackie and Shadow this year?

Friends of Big Bear Valley shared on Jan. 30 in aFacebook postthat Jackie and Shadow had lost their eggs after a raven attack. The ordeal was caught on camera.

The pair might lay a 2nd clutch of eggs, the group said, since the eggs were laid early in the season.

Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at mdelrey@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Voice behind beloved Jackie and Shadow eagle cam dies

As the Pacific warms, there is a growing chance of neutral El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions this spring, according to the latest update from NOAA Thursday morning, with a better than 50% chance of El Niño returning this autumn, including the peak of hurricane season.

We are nearing the peak of the current La Niña, solidly in the moderate category as far as La Niñas go. This area of colder water is circled in red on the map below.

La Niña occurs when the ocean's surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific reach a specific cooler-than-average temperature. El Niño is the warming of the same area of the Pacific and has a different set of weather effects around the planet.

(MORE:Climate Change Threatens The Winter Olympics' Future)

Neutral conditions are the state between El Niño and La Niña, meaning the water in the Pacific is neither warmer nor cooler than average. This condition will be reached after near-average temperatures are sustained for a multi-month period, and will be indicated by the disappearance of blue colors on the map below in the circled area.

Here's what this forecast means for the next few months:

Impacts

Spring impacts:Years that have shifted from moderately (and relatively) chilly in the Pacific to average have featured some predictable temperature tweaks stateside from March to April.

• Cooler-than-average temperatures from the Northern Rockies to the interior Northeast.

• Reliably warmer than average temperatures in the Southeast and in the Southwest.

By May and June, the signal becomes much more mixed using these analogs, but that's not surprising as the jet stream, and its influence over the Lower 48, typically weakens. One of the meteorological features that ENSO has its hands in is the jet stream. Warming conditions in the Pacific (i.e. a slide toward neutral conditions) could also muddy any connections with weather in the U.S.

Summer impacts?El Niño and La Niña usually have their biggest impacts on the weather in winter, when they've been in place for several months. But if El Niño can develop fast enough, it could at least subtly affect both temperatures and rainfall in the U.S. this summer.

El Niño summers tend to be cooler in the East and Rockies and wetter in the Southeast.

From a global perspective, the defining warmth of an El Niño will give this summer a push toward the top of the warmest years on record.

(Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on ourPremium Pro experience.)

Quieter hurricane season ahead?In El Niño hurricane seasons, stronger shearing winds and sinking air often occur over at least the Caribbean Sea and some adjacent parts of the Atlantic Basin. This tends to limit the number and intensity of storms and hurricanes, especially if the El Niño is stronger.

El Niño isn't the only factor that can shape how a hurricane season goes. Bursts of dry air and sinking air or a lack of tropical waves are all other factors that can change how a season goes.

Forecast caveat you should know about:What lies beyond the springtime months is often highly uncertain.

That's because of what's known as aspring predictability barrier– a time of year when models struggle with accurate predictions.

Spring is a time when the ocean is more likely to be closer to average in the temperature department due to the shift out of the polarized summer and winter seasons in their respective hemispheres.

Winds across the equator are also often weaker during the spring because there's less temperature contrast in either hemisphere.

These factors make the signals that climatologists use to make forecasts more fuzzy, leading to a drop off in the accuracy of the forecasts.

Jonathan Belleshas been a digital meteorologist forweather.comfor 9 years and also assists in the production of videos for The Weather Channel en español. His favorite weather is tropical weather, but also enjoys covering high-impact weather and news stories and winter storms. He's a two-time graduate of Florida State University and a proud graduate of St. Petersburg College.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Noah Gragson was caught red-handed by NASCAR.

Gragson was the first driver busted during Daytona 500 qualifying for violating the new rule that specifies drivers are banned for sticking their hands out the opening of the window during the qualifying run.

Gragson's time in the No. 4 Ford for Front Row Motorsports was thrown out Wednesday because he used his left hand in an attempt to deflect air and gain an advantage on the track.

"I completely forgot about that rule so that one's on me," Gragson said. "Yeah, I feel like an idiot for that."

The 27-year-old Gragson did not advance to the second round of qualifying and lost his chance to race for the pole. The starting order for Sunday's Daytona 500 will be determined by a pair of Thursday night qualifying races.

"I feel like the Daytona 500 is such a long race, you can kind of start wherever," Gragson said. "It is what it is. I feel like an idiot for that. I'm dumb for that."

On the other hand, most in NASCAR found it hilarious.

"This is the most Noah thing ever," NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrote on social media. "Don't touch that stove, it's hot. Touches stove. Gets burnt. Says yes, it is hot."

Kyle Busch won the pole for the Daytona 500. Chase Briscoe, last year's pole-sitter, qualified second and got a good chuckle out of Gragson getting busted.

"He's my buddy, but I'm not surprised it was the guy that had it happen to him," Briscoe said. "I told my guys as soon as it happened, of all the people, I bet he didn't even remember it was a rule."

Teams believed that drivers could earn an aerodynamic advantage on superspeedways with the gesture before NASCAR made the call in the offseason to ban it.

"Sometimes you have a car that drives very easily, and you can do it easily and other times you have got your hands full and you can't do it," Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman said. "You always have an engineer telling you that you need to do it, exactly what position to put your hand in and all that. But I am glad that I can just keep two hands on the steering wheel for this one."

NASCAR suspended Gragson in 2023 and he parted ways with Legacy Motor Club liking an insensitive meme with a photo of George Floyd's face.

Gragson is winless in 111 career Cup races and will make his fifth Daytona 500 start.

"I don't care if I start last for this race," Gragson said. "I know that's probably not what people want to hear, but my best finish in Cup is third at Talladega and we qualified second-to-last. It's kind of crazy, but it is what it is here."

AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing