Latest news with #Provo
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff slams 'ridiculous' allegations that he raped, strangled and bit woman
Representatives for BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff have denied the allegations of rape that he is facing in a lawsuit. A woman filing as 'Jane Doe' accused Retzlaff of raping, strangling, and biting her back in November of 2023. She is seeking $300,000 in damages. The lawsuit, filed against Retzlaff in Utah in late May and obtained by Daily Mail, claims Provo cops encouraged the woman to remain silent, allegedly telling her: 'Sexual assault victims never get justice.' Provo, Utah police have rejected her accusations in a department statement: 'From everything we have reviewed, this is not true.' In the response issued on Friday, Retzlaff's representation says: 'Mr. Retzlaff specifically and categorically denies each and every and all allegations that he bit, raped or strangled [the woman], which are ridiculous and bizarre allegations, all of which are false and untrue.' Additionally, the response states that the encounter with Retzlaff and his accuser was consensual and that they had exchanged lighthearted text messages to each other up through February 2024. Retzlaff's attorneys are calling the lawsuit an extortion attempt, considering the quarterback developed into an NFL prospect about one year after their encounter. Among the damages in the lawsuit, the accuser claims to have suffered emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, mental distress and anxiety as a result of the alleged rape. She is seeking damages in excess of $300,000 from Retzlaff. 'A year and half after the rape and strangulation, Jane Doe A.G. continues to experience extreme post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma symptoms as she works to process what happened and move on,' the lawsuit states. Retzlaff's attorney, Mark Baute, denied the accusations in his own statement at the time of the filing. 'We look forward to proving that innocence,' Baute said. 'Jake's focus this year will be on football. We don't try cases in the media, we will respect the process and establish Jake's innocence through the judicial system.' The alleged assault is said to have taken place at Retzlaff's home in November of 2023, when the California native was still a freshman with the Cougars. After connecting on social media a month earlier, the two spent weeks exchanging messages before he allegedly invited her to his home. The accuser claims she and a friend attended Retzlaff's home that night, where his friends and teammates were also socializing. Later, she claims, after her friend went home, she and Retzlaff began to watch a movie and ultimately began kissing. Jane Doe's lawsuit states she did not immediately disclose Retzlaff's name to Provo police, but later informed them that it was the BYU quarterback, only to be told victims 'never get justice' However, she says she did not want to go any further. 'Retzlaff began escalating the situation,' the filing reads, 'and Jane Doe A.G. tried to de-escalate the situation and attempted to slow things down, trying to pull away, and saying "wait." She did not want to do anything sexual with him.' After allegedly telling Retzlaff 'no' and trying to leave, Retzlaff grabbed her by the neck and proceeded to rape her, according to the lawsuit. The experience was so painful, Doe claims in her lawsuit, that she actually 'passed out.' And when she was conscious, Doe 'remembers tears rolling down her face as she fought to breathe,' the lawsuit reads. She went to the hospital two days later, where a rape kit was performed and her injuries were recorded. Her lawsuit states she did not immediately disclose Retzlaff's name to Provo police, but later informed them that it was the BYU quarterback. 'At some point after speaking to the police, an officer reached out to her asking for the name because someone else filed a complaint against a football player and the police wanted to see if it was the same person,' the lawsuit said. 'At that point Jane Doe A.G. shared Retzlaff's name, and the Provo police then encouraged her not to do anything because, as they claimed, "sexual assault victims never get justice."' Provo police have released their own statement, questioning Doe's claims against the department. 'The civil suit states that Provo Police personnel discouraged the victim from proceeding, by telling her there is no justice for victims of sexual abuse,' wrote a department spokesperson. 'From everything we have reviewed, this is not true. We have a team of dedicated investigators and victim advocates whose sole mission is to provide justice to victims of sexual abuse. They do not send people away, warning them there is no justice for victims.' Retzlaff, a junior, is rumored to be dating BYU softball player Jaelynn Lambert, who is another California native. The quarterback has posted pictures of himself with the outfielder on Instagram. The first Jewish quarterback in BYU history, Retzlaff previously signed a name, image and likeness deal (NIL) with one of the world's top kosher brands, Manischewitz. Details of the deal were not revealed, but Manischewitz released a commercial starring Retzlaff, who actually autographed some matzoh during the minute-long clip.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
BYU student helps enhance wind tracking tool for wildfires
PROVO, Utah () — A (BYU) student has used machine learning and math to improve a key tool that firefighters rely on while they are out in the field battling wildfires. 'I think it's really cool when you study math, you end up working on problems that you never would have really guessed, like I have done things in so many different fields,' Jane Housley is a BYU mathematics graduate student and a wildfire modeling researcher. Housley recently wrapped up her master thesis in partnership with the and focused on improving WindNinja. is used by fire crews and analysts to predict how wind will move through terrain during a fire. It is a simulation tool created by the Missoula Fire Sciences lab. According to the , the behavior of wildland fires and the dispersion of smoke from these fires depends, in part, on ambient and fire-induced winds that work to spread fires across the landscape and mix fire emissions into the atmosphere. Housley's study focused on improving the device to model what's called a cavity zone. That's the area directly behind a mountain or ridge where wind tends to swirl backward and create a whirlpool-like motion. This movement can dramatically shift how and where a fire spreads. Housley helped improve two key areas of the WindNinja, the mass-conserving solver and the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver. The first one is fast but less accurate but on the other hand, CFD is more precise but much slower. 'This is the first time that we've taken machine learning and AI and applied it to the field of wildfire modeling. The real way to study this was to try and understand the physics and mechanics of how things work,' Housley told . Through her research, Housley trained the neural network to learn patterns of error in the mass-conserving solver, using the CFD solver accuracy as the goal. The device could now be able to recognize wind patterns the way facial recognition spots a familiar face. Housley said she still remembers the feeling of excitement when she saw how accurate and efficient her new model was. 'Once I had the network built and plugged in the data and ran the simulation, the results were really good. I thought, 'I must be doing something wrong,'' Housley said in a press release. 'I combed through every single line of code and found that it was working correctly. I was really excited.' Collaborating with firefighters and scientists at the Missoula Fire Sciences Lab will be an experience that Housley says she will cherish forever. Alexa Mcfadden contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
21-06-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Mayor of nation's 'best-run' city credits focus on responsible budgeting, public safety
The mayor of Provo, Utah, told Fox News Digital that Provo was ranked as the best-run city in a new survey because local government officials adhered to the fundamentals. "We've always believed in getting the basics right first and that's quality schools, safe neighborhoods, well-maintained roads and responsible budgeting," Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi told Fox News Digital after financial services company WalletHub touted her city this week. Kaufusi cited her work on public safety, noting it was a "top concern" for residents. "We're proud to boast that we have the fourth-lowest violent crime rate in the whole nation and the seventh-lowest property crime rate. And two years ago, we were voted the safest large city in the nation," Kaufusi said. "So all of those factors come into play. It seems to put the spotlight on us and that's what brings people to Provo. And we love it and [it] brings business and we're open for business. So we are really honored and really humbled that we got to be called out for this [honor] today." WalletHub attributed economic growth, low crime, low unemployment and clean roads to Provo's high ranking. The financial service added that Provo, which has more than 110,000 residents, also boasted the 22nd-best road quality in the country. WalletHub reported it measured the "effectiveness of local leadership" by "determining a city's operating efficiency." Each city was given a "Quality of Services" score based on 36 metrics that were grouped into six service categories, including financial stability, education, health, safety, economy, and infrastructure and pollution. These were measured against the city's per capita budget. The cities that ranked low on WalletHub's list had high crime rates, including San Francisco, which came in as the worst-run on the list of 148 cities. WalletHub writer and analyst Chip Lupo told Fox News Digital that "Provo is a great example of what can happen when city leaders listen to their residents." "The mayor mentioned that public safety is a top priority, and the results speak for themselves. Provo has some of the lowest violent and property crime rates in the country, and that was a key factor in Provo's ranking as the best-run city in our study," Lupo said. "Public safety is essentially the foundation for everything else in any city. When people feel safe, they're more likely to engage in their community, support local businesses, and take advantage of public services. Provo shows that you can prioritize safety and still manage your budget well. It's a great model for other cities looking to improve how they serve their residents."
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
America's best-run cities revealed
America's best run city has been revealed, and it's led by a Republican in a deep red state. Provo, Utah , has been declared the most efficient city in the United States by WalletHub thanks to its safe streets and the quality of its government services. Mayor Michelle Kaufusi, a Republican who is native to the city, has been running Provo since 2017. The city's residents tend to stick with Republican candidates in all their elections. The study looked at the 148 largest cities in the country and analyzed their unemployment rates, crime rates, infrastructure quality, education outcomes and economic health. Provo ranked No. 1 largely because it has the fourth-lowest violent crime rate in the country, the seventh-lowest property crime rate and the 22nd-best roads. The city of just over 113,000 also shows signs of improving in the future as its economy continues to grow, while boasting the eighth-lowest unemployment rate in the nation. 'The city is experiencing business growth of around 5.2%, alongside a high school graduation rate of nearly 91%, a combination that signals a strong foundation for the future,' the authors of the study wrote. Provo hugely benefits from its proximity to the much bigger Salt Lake City, Utah's capital and a fast-growing metropolis in its own right . Provo's success is followed by Nampa, Idaho, which came away with the No. 2 spot in the study, according to research by WalletHub. Nampa has a nearly identical population to Provo at around 114,000 and is also run by a Republican, Mayor Debbie Kling. A large factor in Nampa's high score is the fact that its government has staggeringly low debt. According to the study, its long-term outstanding debt per capita is just $478. This essentially means if every citizen decided to pay that amount - which equates to the base price of an iPad mini - into the city's coffers, Nampa would be debt free. To achieve the same thing in New York City, each of its roughly eight million residents would have to pay $34,567 . Perhaps Nampa's greatest positive is that it has the lowest property crime rate in the country. As for other economic indicators, it has the 13th lowest poverty rate and a 7% median annual income growth rate. Going over to the east coast, Manchester, New Hampshire, ranked as the third best-run city in the US. Republican Jay Ruais became the mayor of Manchester in January 2024. The office was previously held by Joyce Craig, a Democrat, since 2018. Manchester shines in the realm of the environment, claiming the seventh-lowest air pollution rate in the country. It also has a strong economy, with the 15th lowest unemployment rate and a low share of its residents living in poverty. Last December, Manchester was ranked by Zillow as having the hottest real estate market in the nation. The city of over 115,000 people has seen growing interest among buyers, which drove average home prices up 7.3% last year, up to $415,000. Home prices in the burgeoning suburb have since risen another 6% to more than $440,000 . People could be potentially flocking to Manchester because in New Hampshire, there is no income tax or general sales tax. San Francisco was ranked the worst in WalletHub's study because it has the single worst debt burden of any city in the US. The infamously Democrat run city is a byword for vagrancy, open drug taking and progressive lawmakers whose policies have been blamed for those problems. S&P Global , a respected bond rating firm, downgraded San Francisco's financial health in December 2024 and rated its outlook as 'negative.' San Francisco voters booted their progressive mayor and district attorney in recent years, but their more centrist replacements face an uphill struggle to return the city to its former glory. Detroit, Michigan, Oakland, California, and Baltimore, Maryland, were at the bottom of the list, too, for their astonishingly high violent crime rates. Baltimore's public schools also have one of the lowest graduation rates in the country at just 71%.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Getting the basics right': WalletHub ranks Provo as the best-run city in America
WalletHub released a report Tuesday of the 20 best-run cities in America, with Provo, Utah, in the top spot. Provo's mayor, Michelle Kaufusi, said she found out about the ranking early Tuesday morning and was in her kitchen 'jumping up and down' as she read the article. 'This recognition from WalletHub is truly an honor, but it's really just a testament, like I stated, to our incredible city team and the residents who make Provo such a special place to live,' she said. For this ranking, WalletHub compared 148 of the country's largest cities based on their operating efficiency to determine the effectiveness of local leadership. WalletHub ranked each city based on 36 key performance indicators grouped into six service categories. Those indicators were also measured against the city's total per capita budget. Provo ranked first overall out of all 148 cities. 'It means we must be doing something right, and that's exciting. We've always believed in getting the basics right first, which are, for us, quality schools, safe neighborhoods, well-maintained roads, and then, of course, the responsible budgeting,' Kaufusi said. 'Provo, UT, is the best-run city, and the reasons for that are that the city is experiencing business growth of around 5.2%, alongside a high school graduation rate of nearly 91%. Provo is also a city that is safe,' said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. Lupo added that Provo also has the fourth-lowest violent crime rate and the seventh-lowest property crime rate in the country. 'Safety is always a top concern for citizens,' Kaufusi said. 'We continue to focus on keeping our citizens safe and sound in Provo. I think it was a couple years ago, we literally were voted the safest city, large city in the nation, so that's a focus for us." The city also has the eighth-lowest unemployment rate in the country at 2.8%. According to WalletHub, Provo also keeps its infrastructure well maintained and has impressive economic momentum. When broken down into rankings by individual categories, Provo's numbers are all across the board. The city ranked third for safety, 23rd for infrastructure and pollution, 29th for education, and 31st for financial stability. 'We're not just spending money here in Provo, we're spending it wisely. So every dollar we invest has to deliver real value for our residents, whether that's keeping your streets safe or maintaining our infrastructure or supporting our schools, all of those things matter,' Kaufusi said. Provo's weakest categories were health, for which it ranked 35th, and economy, earning the 84th spot. 'Now we have to keep raising the bar. We're not going to rest on our achievements. We've never been that way. We are go-getters, and we're going to use it as a springboard to continue improving,' the Provo mayor said. Idaho had two cities listed in the top five, with Nampa at No. 2 and Boise ranked fourth. According to WalletHub, Nampa earned the second spot because of extremely low government debt, a low property crime rate and a strong economy. The only other Utah city on the list was Salt Lake City which ranked 99th out of 148. Denver, Colorado, also made the list, taking the 134th spot.
