South Florida men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim passed away from complications that arose while having a medical procedure at a Tampa-area hospital. He was 43. Abdur-Rahim, considered one of the brightest young coaches in the sport, led the Bulls to the American Athletic Conference’s regular-season championship a year ago. “We are heartbroken over the passing of Coach Abdur-Rahim. A tremendous man & leader with an infectious personality that was a shining light to all he encountered. Our thoughts & prayers are with his family, friends and everyone that he left a lasting impact on,” USF Men’s Basketball wrote. We are heartbroken over the passing of Coach Abdur-Rahim. A tremendous man & leader with an infectious personality that was a shining light to all he encountered. Our thoughts & prayers are with his family, friends and everyone that he left a lasting impact on. pic.twitter.com/h353f3FNno — USF Men's Basketball (@USFMBB) October 24, 2024 “All of us with South Florida Athletics are grieving with the loved ones of Coach Abdur-Rahim,” USF athletic director Michael Kelly said in a statement, according to ESPN. “He was authentic, driven, and his infectious personality captivated all of Bulls Nation. Coach Abdur-Rahim leaves a lasting impact on our student-athletes, the University, and the community. We are supporting those closest to him, including his family, team, and athletics staff, to ensure they have the resources they need to deal with this tremendous loss,” Kelly added. University of South Florida men's basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim died earlier today, the school announced. He was 43. pic.twitter.com/BFLOnbAub0 — ESPN (@espn) October 24, 2024 Per ESPN: Abdur-Rahim guided the South Florida men’s team to one of the biggest turnarounds in the country last season, leading the Bulls to a program-record 25 wins and their first American Athletic Conference regular-season title. Prior to Abdur-Rahim taking over in 2023, the school had never finished .500 in the AAC and had ended above .500 overall just once since 2012. He was selected as the AAC Coach of the Year. The Bulls were also ranked in the men’s AP Top 25 for the first time in school history, earning a spot for two weeks in late February and early March. “I asked [Kelly], ‘You afraid of heights?'” Abdur-Rahim said at his introductory news conference in March 2023. “‘Because you’re going to have to get up on that ladder one day to cut down those nets.'” Abdur-Rahim spent four seasons at Kennesaw State before moving to South Florida, leading the Owls to an NCAA tournament appearance in 2023. He was the architect of a dramatic program rebuild, going from one win in his first season at the helm to 26 in his final campaign. He won the Hugh Durham Award in 2023, given annually to the nation’s best mid-major coach, and was named ASUN Coach of the Year. USF Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim promised the school a conference championship & did it in his first season We lost a good one today. Rest in Peace. pic.twitter.com/PCRPkoPYa7 — Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 24, 2024 Abdur-Rahim was a 2024 Werner Ladder Co. Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Semifinalist. We are deeply saddened by the passing of Amir Abdur-Rahim, the head coach of @USFMBB and a 2024 Werner Ladder Co. Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Semifinalist. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and the USF community during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/q77zc3S7hb — Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) October 24, 2024 From the Associated Press: Abdur-Rahim was an immediate success with USF and was the unanimous pick as the AAC’s coach of the year last season. The Bulls went 25-8, won the conference regular-season title, won a game in the NIT and celebrated the program’s first-ever ranking in the AP Top 25 along the way. “Honestly, I learned from my mistakes,” Abdur-Rahim told The Associated Press at the time. “Early on at Kennesaw, I wanted everything right away. And so my patience and how I responded to things wasn’t as good. … And I believe wholeheartedly, a team is only going to be as good as their coach’s response. And I try to respond the right way.” USF President Rhea Law lauded the impact he had on campus. “Throughout my time working with coach Abdur-Rahim, I was continually inspired by his leadership, and truly admired his sincere approach to connecting with our entire student body,” Law said. “His influence on our student-athletes, coaching staff and the university community will live on forever.”

Elon Musk contributed approximately $44 million to his Super PAC, according to federal disclosures. Musk’s latest donation follows the $75 million he previously poured into America PAC, bringing the total to about $119 million. A prior report showed he contributed the $75 million in the span of three months. NEWS: Elon Musk donates $44 million in October to pro-America super PAC that supports six key values: • Secure borders and Sensible spending • Safe cities and a Fair justice system • Free speech and Self-protection pic.twitter.com/RrYljsRMeo — ALEX (@ajtourville) October 25, 2024 Per Reuters: America PAC, which is focused on turning out voters in closely contested states that could decide the election, also disclosed spending more than $47 million in the first half of October. The Trump campaign is broadly reliant on outside groups for canvassing voters, meaning the super PAC founded by Musk – the world’s richest man – plays an outsized role in what is expected to be a razor-thin election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Separately, Trump’s campaign reported spending more than $88 million on ads in the first half of the month, leaving him with $36 million in the bank for the final stretch of campaigning, according to a separate filing to the Federal Election Commission. Trump’s campaign raised $16 million during the period. The Harris campaign, which has outraised and outspent Trump’s campaign in recent months, reported spending more than $130 million on ads in early October. Harris’ campaign raised $97 million during the first half of the month and had $119 million in the bank on Oct 16, according to its disclosure. Elon Musk Donates Another $43.6 Million To Pro-Trump America PAChttps://t.co/iqWPcFoi6W pic.twitter.com/dquSIkGDgn — Forbes (@Forbes) October 25, 2024 CNN reports: Musk has emerged as a major financial figure in this year’s election – underwriting an unorthodox get-out-the-vote effort on Trump’s behalf in key battleground states – a role that the former president has largely ceded to outside groups. In recent days, Musk also offered splashy, $1 million daily sweepstakes for swing-state voters that has drawn scrutiny from the US Justice Department. The new filings show the tech magnate made four donations totaling $43.6 million to his America PAC in the first half of October. He also wrote checks totaling $12.3 million to other super PACs mostly supporting efforts by Republicans to take control of the Senate. Before this election, the Tesla CEO and X owner had made relatively modest donations to federal candidates, backing a mix of Democrats and Republicans. But he is deeply engaged in helping Trump win the presidency this time and has joined the Republican nominee on the campaign trail. Thursday’s filings show that Musk’s super PAC drew other donors in October. Billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz gave $1 million to America PAC and members of the Michigan-based DeVos family, including Trump’s Education secretary, Betsy DeVos, also made six-figure donations.

The New York Times warned on Friday that Vice President Kamala Harris may be in trouble after its latest poll found her tied nationally with former President Donald Trump.  The Times and Siena College poll of 2,516 likely voters from October 20-23 found Harris and Trump tied at 48% as Americans remain pessimistic about the state of the country. The poll brought the RealClearPolitics average of the contest between Harris and Trump to a tie at 48.5%. “The result, coming less than two weeks before Election Day, and as millions of Americans have already voted, is not encouraging for Ms. Harris,” the Times wrote of its most recent poll, adding, “[Democrats] have been looking to Ms. Harris to build a strong national lead as a sign that she would do well in such critical swing states as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.” One of the troubling signs was that only 28% of those surveyed believed that the country was headed in the right direction. “And voters continue to be pessimistic about the direction of the country, a measure that historically has been a danger sign for the party in power,” the outlet noted.  The Times said that Harris appears to have weakened among likely voters since its last poll.  “Ms. Harris’s position, if anything, may have declined among likely voters since the last Times/Siena College poll, taken in early October. At the time, she had a slight lead over Mr. Trump, 49 percent to 46 percent. The change is within the margin of error, but The Times’s national polling average has registered a tightening in polls over the past few weeks as well, suggesting at the very least that this contest has drawn even closer.” MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ COMING TO DAILYWIRE+ OCT. 28 The top issues for the voters were the economy (27%), immigration (15%), and abortion (15%). On Those issues, Trump was trusted more on the economy (52%-45%) and immigration (54%-43%) while Harris was trusted more on abortion (55%-40%).  “I was very, extremely disappointed in her response to our immigration issue,” 27-year-old Larrissa Alexander told the Times. “And when she was first elected, that was one of the things that she was tasked with handling. And she accepted that responsibility. And then every time she was asked about it or pressed about it, it just was attitude-giving in return.” The poll found a large gap between male and female support for both Trump and Harris. Among men surveyed, Trump led 55%-41% while Harris led women 54%-42%. 

When a fire starts in a home, it’s terrifying just how quickly the flames can spread. This can be seen in the way a home in Soap Lake, Washington fared after a fire started in the kitchen. Here, a device was charging on the countertop. It seems this may have been where the fire originated. That said, it was quick to spread throughout much of the rest of the 1,100 square foot home. As a result, the home’s structure became severely damaged. So much so that, according to insurance company standards, it’s a total loss. Thankfully, there were no humans in the home at the time of the fire. That said, there were plenty of beloved pets inside. But the firefighters who showed up at this family’s home were determined to get every single one of them out of the flames. This included three dogs, two cats, and one 30-year-old tarantula named Twinkie. You can find the fuzzy arachnid below! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Source ONE News (@source_one_news) Firefighters Fight Back Flames to Rescue Every Pet in This Washington Home… Including a Tarantula named Twinkie It couldn’t have been easy to put out this fire — it started in the kitchen and extended into the attic space before firefighters were able to get it under control. And while one dog sadly did not make it long-term, these brave first responders did whatever it took to get each and every animal out of the flames so they could reunite with their humans. Although it’s incredibly sad that one of the dogs did not make it in the end, there’s no doubt that this Washington family is oh-so grateful for the safety of the rest of their pets. Because, at the end of the day, our pets are very much a part of our families. So thank you, Grant County Fire District 7, for your life-saving actions! You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post Dedicated Firefighters Save ALL Pets From House Fire — Including 30-Yr-Old Tarantula appeared first on InspireMore.

'Once again ignored'

A post shared on social media purports that former President Barack Obama claimed that former President Donald Trump tried to kill former Vice President Mike Pence. The DonOld “tried to kill his own Vice President, do you really think he cares about you?”, @BarackObama. #WordsOfWisdom from President #BarackObama pic.twitter.com/ZBPe1wCkmx — I Am Neecha ??????? #PositiveEnergy (@AuthorJoeNBrown) October […]

'Going Down?': Top Democrats Reportedly Anxious About Harris' Election Chances

A viral post shared on Facebook claims Tesla CEO and owner of X, Elon Musk, is purportedly planning to acquire ABC to remove “wokeness” from the network. Verdict: False The claim is false and originally stems from a Sept. 17 article published on the satire site “Esspots.com” Fact Check: Musk’s America PAC’s $1 million sweepstakes […]