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Tag: miracle

  • Orlando-native Jack Hughes leads US Hockey to Olympic gold

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    Orlando-native Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal for the United States in Sunday’s men’s hockey gold medal game of the Milan Cortina Olympics.The U.S. defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime after Hughes scored to secure the Americans a third Olympic title, and their first since 1980, famously known as the “Miracle on Ice” game. His father, Jim Hughes, was an assistant coach for the Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) for two seasons (1999-2000 and 2000-01). Reporting from the Associated Press: MILAN (AP) — No miracle needed. The United States is on top of the hockey world for the first time in nearly half a century.Jack Hughes scored in overtime, and the U.S. defeated Canada 2-1 in the gold medal final at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday to earn the nation’s third men’s title at the Games and its first since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980 — 46 years to the day of the upset over the Soviet Union, too.Unlike that ragtag group of college kids that pulled off one of the biggest shockers in sports history, the Americans in Milan were a machine that rode goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and a stacked roster full of NHL players through the tournament unbeaten.“This is all about our country right now,” Hughes said. “I love the U.S.A. I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The USA Hockey brotherhood is so strong.”Hughes’ goal off the rush off a pass from Zach Werenski 1:41 into 3-on-3 OT sent players into a wild celebration as Canada’s entire team watched from the bench. Werenski and Matthew Tkachuk carried a Johnny Gaudreau No. 13 around the ice as the latest tribute to the beloved player who was killed along with his brother in 2024.Gaudreau’s parents, Guy and Jay, his widow, Meredith, and their oldest children were in attendance. It was John Jr.’s second birthday.Hellebuyck was by far the best player on the ice, stopping 41 of the 42 shots he faced as Canada tilted the ice toward him. He made the save of the tournament by getting his stick on the puck on a shot from Devon Toews in the third period, then minutes later denied Macklin Celebrini on a breakaway — something he also did to Connor McDavid earlier.“Unbelievable game by Hellebuyck,” Hughes said. “He was our best player by a mile.”It was only fitting the Americans needed to go through Canada, their northern neighbor that beat them at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago and has won every international competition over the past 16 years that featured the world’s best players.Not anymore.Winning a fast-paced, riveting game that was full of big hits and plenty of post-whistle altercations, the U.S. got a goal from Matt Boldy 6 minutes in and led until Cale Makar tied it late in the second period. Hellebuyck and the penalty kill was a perfect 18 for 18 at the Olympics.“I can’t even believe this,” Hughes said. “I mean it’s such an unbelievable game, USA-Canada. Such a good game. There’s so many great players. We’re a great team. That’s exactly how we wanted it to go. We’re underdogs to Canada, (but we) beat them. It could have gone either way.”The U.S. finally came through after generations of churning out talent from the grassroots level like a production line. All but two of the 25 players on the team went through USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.That group of 23 includes captain Auston Matthews, the top line of Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Eichel, and the second set of brothers, Jack and Quinn Hughes. Much of the team played together either at the program, under-18s, the world junior championship or some combination of them.The U.S. winning silenced criticism of general manager Bill Guerin and his management group choosing a roster full of experienced veteran players to fill specific roles and leaving four of the top 10 American goal-scorers in the NHL this season at home. Some decisions were no-doubters, like coach Mike Sullivan giving the net to Hellebuyck, who was the best goalie in the tournament.Canada, back-to-back Olympic champions in 2010 and ’14 and winners of three of the first five, fell short while playing without injured captain Sidney Crosby. The 38-year-old two-time gold medalist and three-time Stanley Cup champion left the quarterfinal game against Czechia and sat out the semifinal game against Finland.McDavid, the widely considered best player in the world who wore the “C” in Crosby’s absence, suffered another devastating defeat on the doorstep of a title. He and the Edmonton Oilers have lost to Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two years.

    Orlando-native Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal for the United States in Sunday’s men’s hockey gold medal game of the Milan Cortina Olympics.

    The U.S. defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime after Hughes scored to secure the Americans a third Olympic title, and their first since 1980, famously known as the “Miracle on Ice” game.

    His father, Jim Hughes, was an assistant coach for the Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) for two seasons (1999-2000 and 2000-01).

    Reporting from the Associated Press:

    MILAN (AP) — No miracle needed. The United States is on top of the hockey world for the first time in nearly half a century.

    Jack Hughes scored in overtime, and the U.S. defeated Canada 2-1 in the gold medal final at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday to earn the nation’s third men’s title at the Games and its first since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980 — 46 years to the day of the upset over the Soviet Union, too.

    Unlike that ragtag group of college kids that pulled off one of the biggest shockers in sports history, the Americans in Milan were a machine that rode goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and a stacked roster full of NHL players through the tournament unbeaten.

    “This is all about our country right now,” Hughes said. “I love the U.S.A. I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The USA Hockey brotherhood is so strong.”

    Hughes’ goal off the rush off a pass from Zach Werenski 1:41 into 3-on-3 OT sent players into a wild celebration as Canada’s entire team watched from the bench. Werenski and Matthew Tkachuk carried a Johnny Gaudreau No. 13 around the ice as the latest tribute to the beloved player who was killed along with his brother in 2024.

    Gaudreau’s parents, Guy and Jay, his widow, Meredith, and their oldest children were in attendance. It was John Jr.’s second birthday.

    Hellebuyck was by far the best player on the ice, stopping 41 of the 42 shots he faced as Canada tilted the ice toward him. He made the save of the tournament by getting his stick on the puck on a shot from Devon Toews in the third period, then minutes later denied Macklin Celebrini on a breakaway — something he also did to Connor McDavid earlier.

    “Unbelievable game by Hellebuyck,” Hughes said. “He was our best player by a mile.”

    It was only fitting the Americans needed to go through Canada, their northern neighbor that beat them at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago and has won every international competition over the past 16 years that featured the world’s best players.

    Not anymore.

    Winning a fast-paced, riveting game that was full of big hits and plenty of post-whistle altercations, the U.S. got a goal from Matt Boldy 6 minutes in and led until Cale Makar tied it late in the second period. Hellebuyck and the penalty kill was a perfect 18 for 18 at the Olympics.

    “I can’t even believe this,” Hughes said. “I mean it’s such an unbelievable game, USA-Canada. Such a good game. There’s so many great players. We’re a great team. That’s exactly how we wanted it to go. We’re underdogs to Canada, (but we) beat them. It could have gone either way.”

    The U.S. finally came through after generations of churning out talent from the grassroots level like a production line. All but two of the 25 players on the team went through USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.

    That group of 23 includes captain Auston Matthews, the top line of Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Eichel, and the second set of brothers, Jack and Quinn Hughes. Much of the team played together either at the program, under-18s, the world junior championship or some combination of them.

    The U.S. winning silenced criticism of general manager Bill Guerin and his management group choosing a roster full of experienced veteran players to fill specific roles and leaving four of the top 10 American goal-scorers in the NHL this season at home. Some decisions were no-doubters, like coach Mike Sullivan giving the net to Hellebuyck, who was the best goalie in the tournament.

    Canada, back-to-back Olympic champions in 2010 and ’14 and winners of three of the first five, fell short while playing without injured captain Sidney Crosby. The 38-year-old two-time gold medalist and three-time Stanley Cup champion left the quarterfinal game against Czechia and sat out the semifinal game against Finland.

    McDavid, the widely considered best player in the world who wore the “C” in Crosby’s absence, suffered another devastating defeat on the doorstep of a title. He and the Edmonton Oilers have lost to Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two years.

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  • ‘It’s a miracle’: Wife, son lay over quadriplegic man in upstairs bedroom as tornado strikes Elkhorn home

    ‘It’s a miracle’: Wife, son lay over quadriplegic man in upstairs bedroom as tornado strikes Elkhorn home

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    YOU’LL SEE WHY WE HAD THIS LITTLE HALL A FOUNDATION. ALL THAT’S LEFT AT SOME HOMES IN ELKHORN. YOU GOT A BUNCH OF HIGH SCHOOL KIDS JUST WALKING BY AND SAYING. HEY, DO YOU NEED SOME HELP? AND, YOU KNOW, BIG, STRONG KIDS, AND YOU JUST SEND THEM TO WORK SUNDAY HELPERS MOVE THE WRECKAGE OUT OR FED THE VOLUNTEERS. THEY JUST CAN’T STOP. THEY DON’T WANT TO STOP TO GET SOMETHING, BUT. THEY NEED TO NOURISH THEM THEMSELVES. BEHIND ME YOU CAN SEE HOMES THAT WERE JUST COMPLETELY LEVELED, MAKING IT CLEAR WHY WHEN A TORNADO STRIKES, YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE UPSTAIRS. BUT FOR SOME, LIKE AN MS. PATIENT IN THIS HOME BEHIND ME GETTING DOWNSTAIRS JUST. ISN’T THAT SIMPLE. SEVERAL OF THE VOLUNTEERS HERE KNOW FRANK WELL. HE’S A QUADRIPLEGIC MAN. THE FIRST PATIENT OF NEBRASKA MEDICINE’S MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AT HOME ACCESS PROGRAM. THEY WELCOME YOU INTO THEIR HOME. IT’S LIKE. YOU REALLY. THEY BECOME MORE LIKE FAMILY. IT’S LIKE IT WASN’T EVEN A QUESTION, RIGHT? LIKE WHEN YOUR FAMILY BECOMES INJURED, YOU KNOW, NEEDS YOU. WHERE DO YOU GO? YOU GO TO HELP THEM. AND SO THAT’S WHY WE’RE HERE IN HOME CARE PROVIDERS IN THE PROGRAM. LIKE RENEE STUART, ARE TAKING CHARGE AT FRANK’S HOME. WE’VE BEEN COMING TO THIS HOUSE EVERY 3 TO 6 MONTHS FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS. AND SO IT REALLY BECOMES LIKE PART OF YOUR FAMILY. AND SO WHEN YOU WALK IN AND YOU SEE THIS AND LIKE THE MAGNITUDE OF UNDERSTANDING THE FEAR THAT WAS HAPPENING IN. THOSE MOMENTS IS JUST OVERWHELMING. FRANK WAS ON A BED IN THIS ROOM ON FRIDAY WHEN THE TORNADO STRUCK WITH NO TIME TO MOVE. HIS WIFE AND SON LAID ON TOP OF HIM AS PART OF THE ROOF, COLLAPSED IN ON THEM. AS OUR TEAM WAS WATCHING THIS UNFOLD, WE JUST. HAD THIS GUT WRENCHING FEELING, THIS FEAR THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS EXACTLY WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. FRANK WAS. HIT IN THE HEAD, BUT THEY SAY HE’S GOING TO BE OKAY. HE’S SINGING TO THE NURSES AS HIS WIFE AND SON ARE DOING WELL. AND WHO KNOWS IF THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT IF THEY WERE IN THE BEDROOM NEXT DOOR? IT’S A MIRACLE. IT’S AN ABSOLUTE MIRACLE. AND STUART POINTS TO SIGNS OF THAT MIRACLE UNTOUCHED ON THE WALLS. TWO CROSSES AND A PICTURE OF THE VIRGIN MARY. YOU LOOK AROUND AND YOU’RE LIKE, HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN? AND YOU’RE LIKE, BUT THROUGH IT ALL, THE GOOD LORD WAS HERE. I MEAN, THERE’S NO OTHER EXPLANATION FOR IT THAT DOESN’T JUST HAPPEN BY CHANCE. A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY SET UP A FUND FOR THE EXPENSES. THEY’LL FACE GOING FORWARD, INCLUDING

    ‘It’s a miracle’: Wife, son lay over quadriplegic man in upstairs room as tornado strikes Nebraska home

    A foundation is all that remains at several homes in Elkhorn, Nebraska.The ceiling is gone in one upstairs bedroom there, but you can still stand inside it today. On Saturday, volunteers helping the family pick up the pieces discovered a cross remained on the wall.On Friday, a quadriplegic man with multiple sclerosis was in his bed in that room. Without time to move, his wife and a son decided to use their bodies to protect him, volunteer Renee Stewart said.The man, Frank, was struck in the head, Stewart said. Part of the ceiling collapsed onto them. He’s hospitalized but expected to be OK. The wife and son were unharmed. Stewart knows Frank because she cares for him through Nebraska Medicine’s Multiple Sclerosis at Home Access program, or MAHA. He was the first patient in the program, she said.She said around 15 people associated with the program are helping with the cleanup and salvaging what they can, allowing family to focus on Frank at the hospital.”They welcome you into their home,” she said. “They become more like family. It’s like it wasn’t even a question, right? Like, when your family … needs you, where do you go? You go to help them. And so that’s why we’re here.”As they were watching the storm coverage, Stewart and others in the program worried about their patients in the tornado’s path, because they are unable to move to safety easily.”We just had this gut-wrenching feeling, this fear that something like this exactly was doing to happen,” she said.A friend of the family is looking to raise funds for upcoming expenses, including a wheelchair van. The link to the online fundraiser is here.Julie Cornell contributed to this report.

    A foundation is all that remains at several homes in Elkhorn, Nebraska.

    The ceiling is gone in one upstairs bedroom there, but you can still stand inside it today. On Saturday, volunteers helping the family pick up the pieces discovered a cross remained on the wall.

    On Friday, a quadriplegic man with multiple sclerosis was in his bed in that room. Without time to move, his wife and a son decided to use their bodies to protect him, volunteer Renee Stewart said.

    The man, Frank, was struck in the head, Stewart said. Part of the ceiling collapsed onto them. He’s hospitalized but expected to be OK. The wife and son were unharmed.

    elkhorn tornado bedroom

    Hearst OwnedRenee Stewart

    Stewart knows Frank because she cares for him through Nebraska Medicine’s Multiple Sclerosis at Home Access program, or MAHA. He was the first patient in the program, she said.

    She said around 15 people associated with the program are helping with the cleanup and salvaging what they can, allowing family to focus on Frank at the hospital.

    “They welcome you into their home,” she said. “They become more like family. It’s like it wasn’t even a question, right? Like, when your family … needs you, where do you go? You go to help them. And so that’s why we’re here.”

    As they were watching the storm coverage, Stewart and others in the program worried about their patients in the tornado’s path, because they are unable to move to safety easily.

    “We just had this gut-wrenching feeling, this fear that something like this exactly was doing to happen,” she said.

    A friend of the family is looking to raise funds for upcoming expenses, including a wheelchair van. The link to the online fundraiser is here.

    Julie Cornell contributed to this report.


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  • Office tower planned for Hollywood gets new design and billion-dollar price tag

    Office tower planned for Hollywood gets new design and billion-dollar price tag

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    At a time when office landlords are struggling to attract and keep tenants, a Hollywood real estate developer is forging ahead with plans for a visually arresting high-rise on Sunset Boulevard that would cater to the entertainment industry.

    The owner of the property at 6061 Sunset, Los Angeles investor and developer Maggie Miracle, has doubled down on an earlier $500-million proposal for the site near Gower Street with a $1-billion greenery-laden “vertical campus” designed by esteemed English architect Norman Foster.

    Miracle’s family-run company on Tuesday submitted to the city revised design plans for the office tower, which has been dubbed “the Star.” Renderings show a cylindrical high-rise stitched with colorful gardens spiraling from street to roof. A rooftop restaurant will be open to the public.

    A rendering of the building, looking east on Sunset Boulevard.

    (Foster + Partners)

    Miracle made waves in 2021 with the initial plan for the tower, which was designed by MAD Architects, a Chinese firm known for daring designs such as the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, under construction near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

    Ultimately, Miracle said, she decided to scrap that design because she wanted to incorporate garden-like outdoor spaces, which have proved increasingly attractive to office tenants since the pandemic temporarily drove workers out of confined quarters.

    Foster, who holds the title of lord, designed the pickle-shaped Gherkin skyscraper in London and the master plan for the $2-billion One Beverly Hills condominium and hotel complex under construction in Beverly Hills.

    Foster + Partners’ vision for the 22-story Star includes the type of indoor-outdoor work spaces commonly found in low-rise office campuses and is intended to appeal “to the needs of the creative community and innovators we hope to attract,” Miracle said.

    “Since COVID, the importance of a healthy workplace and access to fresh air and outdoor space has been a driver, especially for those in the entertainment and tech industries,” Miracle said. “The change in design is meant to respond to those demands.”

    The new tower would also be thinner than the one previously proposed, in order to be “more respectful to the people in the hills” who look down on Hollywood, Miracle said.

    Plans for the Star office building in Hollywood call for landscaped outdoor terraces serving tenants on each floor.

    Plans for the Star office building in Hollywood call for landscaped outdoor terraces serving tenants on each floor.

    (Foster + Partners)

    The Star’s landscaped outdoor decks, indoor gardens and rooftop restaurant would distinguish it from other office buildings, Miracle said.

    The plans also call for a pathway to loop around the tower, accessible from Sunset Boulevard on both sides of the building. A lower structure next to the tower would be wrapped with an expansive LED video screen showing digital art and images generated by tenants, Miracle said. Current rules would not allow it to be used for advertising.

    The proposal calls for restaurants, entertainment production space, a theater and exhibition space for art shows and other events on the Star’s ground level. Parking for nearly 1,300 vehicles would be underground.

    Although the plans haven’t been approved by the city, Miracle hopes to start work on the 525,000-square-foot building by late 2026 and open its doors in 2029. The Star is the first commercial development for Miracle, who is known for building deluxe single-family properties.

    With completion that far away, predicting what the office rental market will be like is difficult. Real estate brokerage CBRE reported that 22.7% of Hollywood office space was vacant in the fourth quarter, about the same as Los Angeles County overall. A healthy vacancy rate is closer to 10%, when neither landlords nor tenants typically have the upper hand in lease negotiations.

    But Hollywood has been one of the most active office leasing markets recently, analyst Petra Durnin said; the newest buildings, sporting such amenities as outdoor decks and restaurants, are getting the most attention.

    “These highly amenitized office buildings command the highest rents in the Hollywood market and account for some of the largest deals signed in the last nine months,” said Durnin, head of market analytics at Raise Commercial Real Estate. She is not involved in the Star project.

    Pent-up demand has increased leasing activity in Hollywood, in “a huge boon to a neighborhood that was disproportionately affected by the pandemic, downturn in the tech industry and strikes by writers and actors,” Durnin said.

    Miracle said she is betting that the neighborhood will continue to grow as a business center. Her Star complex would rise across the street from Sunset Gower Studios, a century-old movie studio that was once home to Columbia Pictures and now includes an office building housing Technicolor. Nearby is Columbia Square, the renovated former West Coast headquarters of CBS, and Emerson College, an architecturally noteworthy building where students live and study the arts. Netflix, the largest office tenant in Hollywood, has offices and studios nearby.

    “We believe Hollywood is a unique and irreplaceable market both geographically and from an industry perspective,” she said. “The growth of content creation and the demands of the companies that produce it are beyond what today’s current office products can accommodate.”

    The over-the-top design of the Star is intentional, she said.

    “Our goal is to create a landmark building that is synonymous with the images that Hollywood evokes: innovation, creativity, fantasy and imagination.”

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    Roger Vincent

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  • Sheriff recounts witnessing ‘miracle’ after deputy was shot in head

    Sheriff recounts witnessing ‘miracle’ after deputy was shot in head

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    A South Carolina sheriff said a “miracle” saved the life of a deputy who was shot in the head in the line of duty last week.

    Oconee County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) Corporal Lucas Watts was critically wounded amid gunfire as he was making a traffic stop on South Highway 11 in Oconee County, Thursday afternoon.

    Gregory Wayne Maxwell, 50, is facing charges after Greenville County investigators found that he shot Watts and engaged in a shootout with deputies afterward, including five counts of attempted murder, according to a statement from the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO).

    “Maxwell remains in custody at the hospital due to sustaining injuries from at least one gunshot wound from law enforcement,” GCSO said in a statement. “Following a potential discharge from the hospital Maxwell will be arraigned by an Oconee County Magistrate and formally charged.”

    Newsweek reached out via email on Tuesday night for comment.

    Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw, speaking at Westminster First Baptist Church on Sunday morning, provided an update on Watts and recounted what he had witnessed at the hospital on Thursday.

    Oconee County Sheriff’s Office Corporal Lucas Watts, 27, was shot in the head in the line of duty on November 16, according to the sheriff, who said a “miracle” saved Lucas’ life.
    Oconee County Sheriff’s Office

    Crenshaw said he saw “a dead man come back to life,” according to a video of the sheriff’s roughly 10-minute remarks on Sunday shared on Facebook by the United Way of Oconee County.

    “Just so you all understand the significance of his injuries, I’m not talking about a grazing wound to the head,” Crenshaw said. “I’m talking about a bullet to his brain so that you understand just how significant his injury was. I didn’t share that with my folks on the scene, it wasn’t the time.”

    Newsweek reached out to OCSO via social media and email on Tuesday for comment.

    Due to the location where the shooting occurred, Crenshaw said it would have taken an ambulance more than 30 minutes to get there, so deputies loaded Watts into the bed of a pickup truck and drove him to a nearby fire station. The deputy was too unstable to be transported via helicopter, so he was rushed via ambulance to Greenville Memorial Hospital.

    While Crenshaw was at the shooting scene, he said he got a call that he was needed at the hospital, and when he arrived he said he was told that Watts’ “wound was not survivable.”

    Watts’ wife, who recently gave birth to their baby, told the sheriff she needed to see her husband.

    “They carried the wife in and she touches him and he starts moving,” Crenshaw told his church. “A tear rolls down his face.”

    Watts was then rushed into a “very risky surgery” as Crenshaw said sheriffs from across the state were texting him saying they were praying.

    “And Lucas makes it through,” he said. “His vitals are good. At that point, I didn’t know it, but social media had blown up, praying, praying, praying.”

    On Friday, Watts continued to show improvement and started responding to verbal commands from nurses, Crenshaw said.

    “Folks, I’m here to tell you from the time he got shot to the time his wife touched him, had to be two-and-half, three hours,” the sheriff said. “I saw a dead man come back to life… because of God, and because of intervening prayer, I really believe.”

    Not sure how somebody can watch this story unfold and not believe in God. Nothing short of a miracle. Continue to pray for Lucas, his family, and our…

    The deputy is in critical but stable condition, Crenshaw said.

    “I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I’m telling you, God performed a miracle Thursday night in Greenville, South Carolina,” Crenshaw said. “I’ve got no doubt in my mind.”

    An update on Watts’ condition, shared on Monday by the family on the website CaringBridge, said he “continues to make slow progress.”

    Watts joined OCSO in 2020 and was previously with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, where he served for more than two years. Watts currently works with the Pro-Active Community Enforcement team and the Marine Unit with Oconee County, according to a statement by OCSO.

    Crenshaw set up a support fund for Watts and his family through Serve and Connect, a nonprofit in Columbia, South Carolina, focused on building sustainable police-community relationships. The fund has already raised more than $142,000 as of Tuesday night.

    Watts and his wife welcomed their first child in September, the fund description states.