Latest news with #Warford
USA Today
24-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Rams select two Day 2 prospects in 1st round of 2013 redraft, including a fan-favorite WR
There were certainly some stars to come out of the 2013 NFL Draft, but the early selections in Round 1 didn't exactly yield the best results for teams at the top. Only four of the first 17 picks made at least one Pro Bowl in their careers, with Lane Johnson being the only top-20 selection to earn All-Pro honors. The Rams made a bold move that year in Round 1 when they traded up from No. 16 to 8 in order to select Tavon Austin out of West Virginia. He was an electric player in college and made some spectacular plays with the Rams, but there's no question he fell short of expectations. The Rams also selected Alec Ogletree at No. 30 overall that year after trading back, who earned an extension in Los Angeles after his rookie deal ended but was traded shortly thereafter. Pro Football Focus redrafted the entire first round of the 2013 draft and both Austin and Ogletree fall out of the top 32 picks. As for who the Rams took instead, they plucked two players who wound up going on Day 2 of the draft. At No. 16, PFF has them taking Larry Warford, a guard who made three Pro Bowls in his seven seasons in the NFL. Then at No. 22, PFF gave the Rams Robert Woods, who signed with Los Angeles in 2017 after four years in Buffalo. Warford made the most out of his third-round selection with an excellent seven-year career that included three Pro Bowl selections. He was a consistent pass protector who never allowed more than three sacks in a season. Warford earned an 82.3 PFF overall grade from 2013 to 2019 that ranked 17th among qualified guards. He was also an incredibly durable player who played the fifth-most snaps of any guard in that span. Warford originally went 65th overall to the Lions, while Woods was picked 41st by the Bills. Hindsight is always 20-20 in these redrafts and it's hard to fault the Rams for the two picks they made 12 years ago, but Warford and Woods turned out to be better pros than Austin and Ogletree.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Yahoo
STL nonprofit leaders accused of $7M school meal fraud, money laundering conspiracy
ST. LOUIS – A couple who ran a local nonprofit was arrested today after being accused in an indictment that claims they stole over $7 million that was meant to feed disadvantaged children in Missouri. Diarra Williams, 30, and Nicholas Warford, 31, both from Edwardsville, Illinois, were indicted on Feb. 26 with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. According to the indictment, the Edwardsville couple defrauded Missouri's At-Risk Afterschool Program and Summer Food Service, both funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Williams led a nonprofit organization called 'The Bailey Foundation' and claimed that it served over 2.2 million meals, the indictment states. The indictment alleges that the couple laundered the money and created fake invoices that showed fraudulent meal purchases from a company owned by Warford's Classic Catering LLC. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now According to the indictment, these schemes by Williams and Warford lasted from March 2020 up until July 2022. With some of the funds, the indictment claims that the pair bought a $1.4 million house in Edwardsville; a 2018 Lincoln Navigator; a 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel pickup; a 2011 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter; a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica and two 2021 Ram ProMaster vans. 'The defendants are accused of stealing money meant to feed low-income school-aged children and using the funds to live a lavish lifestyle. It's hard to put into words how egregious these accusations are,' said IRS-Criminal Investigation St. Louis Special Agent in Charge William Steenson. 'But this arrest means their actions have been disrupted and they can now be held accountable.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
15-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
N.L. farmers need to up food production in face of U.S. tariff threat, says advocate
In the wake of U.S. trade war threats, advocates across Canada are pushing people to buy more local goods — and one farmer says that push should extend to Newfoundland and Labrador growing more of its own food. Mackenzie Warford, who runs the hydroponic farm Papa's Farm near Springdale, said food prices are affected by a number of external factors, including global disruptions to supply chains and international conflicts. "We pay the price. Food cost goes up, availability goes down, and the families here struggle even more to afford fresh, healthy meals. It's unacceptable," Warford told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. Warford, who is also a co-founder of the Canadian Hydroponics Association, said the costs of tariffs will ultimately be borne by consumers, and higher food prices means fewer people are able to access fresh and affordable food. "But here's the truth: we don't have to be at the mercy of the trade wars. That's why I'm pushing for local food production through hydroponics. Instead of relying on overpriced imported produce, we can grow fresh, high-quality food right here at home, year round," he said. Warford said if more food is produced in N.L., the cost of food will go down. Since the U.S. threatened tariffs on Canadian goods, many provinces, including N.L., have launched a buy local campaign to support local industries. Warford said he's heard people say they will buy local if they can afford it, but he wants to see more government support for N.L. farmers, to help produce more locally grown food. In addition, he said it's hard for some small businesses in N.L. to thrive, pointing to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business's most recent annual red tape report, which lists N.L. as the worst province to do business in. "We've got a real issue here. It's not just food security. We've got a national sovereignty issue and we need to increase food security because that is one of the core fundamentals of human life," Warford said. Vulnerable food system Food First N.L. CEO Josh Smee said the province's food security is vulnerable in the face of potential U.S. tariffs on a number of fronts. "We are coming into this as one of the more food insecure provinces in the country," he said. Approximately one in four people in the province are already food insecure, which Smee said is the highest rate in the country. "What that means, in practice, is that movements in food prices — things that push food prices up — are going to have a pretty intense impact here, particularly on lower income folks," he said. Smee said he's particularly concerned about the counter-tariffs Canada has said it will implement if the U.S. slaps tariffs on Canadian goods, saying that would drive up the cost of food coming into N.L., where a large amount of food is shipped in. From a regulatory standpoint, Smee is concerned with "unscrupulous" businesses that have raised food prices over the past few years, and worries that could get worse if the U.S. does impose tariffs. "It creates an opening for taking advantage here and pushing prices up," said Smee. Smee isn't sure the threat of rising food prices will prompt people to grow more food locally, though in the long-term, he said it is worth planning for. "But we're never going to be able to fully cut ourselves off from either the rest of Canada or the world." If Canada and the U.S. enter a trade war next month, Smee said he would like to see more income support for those who are going to be hit hardest by rising food prices. Impact Minister of Fisheries, Forestry, and Agriculture Gerry Byrne said a trade war will have an impact on Canada's food security, but he said 100 per cent of food produced in N.L., excluding seafood, is already bought by people in the province. "Our objective needs to be to produce more," said Byrne. When asked about initiatives government could bring in to encourage greater production, Byrne said N.L. already has "one of the most responsive and supportive agricultural development programs of any province anywhere in Canada." vegetable transplant program. "We have a very, very advanced supportive program and I think the Federation of Agriculture will attest to that," he said.
