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NCAA picks up major legal victories in multiple key eligibility lawsuits

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NCAA picks up major legal victories in multiple key eligibility lawsuits


In legal victories for the NCAA, a judge denied an injunction for Duke and North Carolina athletes in two eligibility lawsuits. The cases were both filed in North Carolina Business Court in Durham County, N.C.

Judge Matthew T. Houston declined to grant a preliminary injunction in Jones v. NCAA and Smith v. NCAA. Four athletes – UNC football player JJ Jones and Duke football players Ryan Smith, Cam Bergeron and Tre’Shon Devones – filed the suits and challenged the NCAA’s “five-year rule,” which gives most athletes four seasons on a roster over five years, barring injury exemptions or waivers.

The NCAA denied Smith, Bergeron and Devones’ waiver requests, but Jones is still waiting on an answer. They brought the suits on the same day, April 3, in Durham County and are being heard together – Jones and Bergeron are listed as plaintiffs in the Jones suit, while Smith and Devones are plaintiffs in the Smith case. The players argued they should receive an extra year due to factors such as mental and physical struggles, a lack of playing time or struggling to adjust to academic standards.

However, during Tuesday’s hearing, Houston cited a lack of sufficient evidence to support granting a preliminary injunction. That means the NCAA’s rules will still be enforced as written. Because the players are all NFL Draft-eligible, they can either wait for the case to proceed out or head to the NFL.

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“That plaintiffs have ultimately presented a possibility, certainly sufficient evidence of a possibility of prevailing on the merits,” Houston said from the bench, via WRAL News’ Brian Murphy. “I think the evidence and record at this point is not sufficient to support a finding that there is a likelihood of prevailing on the merits and it’s largely an issue of what the record supports.”

Devones played six years of college football entering 2025, starting his career at Rice in 2019 and transferring to Duke in 2024. During that time, he has played in 45 games, although he missed the 2021 season due to an injury. By redshirting that year, he had one more season on top of the COVID-19 waiver from the impacted 2020 campaign.

Smith was teammates with Devones and Bergeron in 2019 at Duke as part of his five-year career, which also included the 2020 season. He appeared in 56 games during that time, including three starts. Bergeron, meanwhile, played in 46 games over five years and put together an impressive 2024 season with 83 tackles.

Jones just completed his fourth season at UNC and has nearly 1,800 career yards. However, according to WRAL, there’s “disagreement” about how many games he played as a true freshman in 2021.

The Jones and Smith cases are the latest in a line of eligibility lawsuits the NCAA is facing. A notable one is ongoing in New Jersey as Rutgers player Jett Elad filed suit challenging the five-year rule, claiming he was offered $500,000 to play for the Scarlet Knights this year and the NCAA’s inconsistent approach to waivers is keeping him from earning those NIL dollars.

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As the suits continue to go through the process, a group of college basketball players without eligibility were proactive and entered the transfer portal before the window closed Tuesday. If the NCAA’s eligibility rules shift after a judge’s ruling, those athletes could get another year.



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North Carolina

North Carolina man extradited to Pa. for $100,000 ATM theft spree: police

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North Carolina man extradited to Pa. for 0,000 ATM theft spree: police


A 42-year-old North Carolina man on Tuesday was extradited to Pennsylvania after state police said he stole more than $100,000 from ATMs in Snyder and Union counties.

Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, Antoni J. Garcia-Cordoba, of Raleigh, North Carolina, stole from four ATMs at Central Penn Bank and Trust locations, state police said.

In a five-hour span, Garcia-Cordoba took $43,000 from three separate ATMs in Snyder and Union counties, according to a police report. On Oct. 1, he stole an additional $58,000 from an ATM in Titusville, bringing the total amount stolen to $101,000.

Garcia-Cordoba is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations – employee, a first-degree felony, and two counts of theft by unlawful taking, a third-degree felony.

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After being in custody at a jail in Boone County, Missouri, Garcia-Cordoba was extradited to Union County on Tuesday.

He is being held in the Union County Prison after being unable to post $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026.



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11 firefighters and 2 others injured after North Carolina house fire and explosion

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11 firefighters and 2 others injured after North Carolina house fire and explosion


SALISBURY, N.C. — Eleven firefighters and two other people were injured in a house fire explosion in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, officials said.

Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell said firefighters did not have life-threatening injuries but were getting treated for contusions, concussions and smoke inhalation following the fire Monday evening. Two other people were taken to the hospital, but Parnell said he didn’t know their conditions and couldn’t confirm whether they were in the house at the time of the fire.

The Salisbury Fire Department responded to the single-family home around 5 p.m. and found it engulfed in flames.

Eleven of the 22 firefighters at the scene went inside the house to search for occupants and “get water on that fire,” which preceded the explosion, Panell said at a news conference.

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“It was enough force that the outside walls blew out, the roof came up and went back down,” Parnell said.

An investigation of the fire and explosion is continuing.



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Harrison Bertos scores in OT to help Washington beat N.C. State 3-2 and win first Men’s College Cup

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Harrison Bertos scores in OT to help Washington beat N.C. State 3-2 and win first Men’s College Cup


CARY, N.C. (AP) — Harrison Bertos scored 1:54 into overtime after Washington blew a two-goal lead in the second half, and the Huskies beat North Carolina State 3-2 to win the Men’s College Cup at First Horizon Stadium on Monday night.

It was the first national championship for unseeded Washington (16-6-2), who became the first team to win six road matches in the tournament — beating six seeded teams along the way under the guidance of coach Jamie Clark. The Huskies won in their second trip to the final after losing 2-0 to Clemson in 2021.

No. 15 seed N.C. State (16-3-4) made the final for the first time behind coach Marc Hubbard. The Wolfpack were aiming for the school’s first national championship since Jim Valvano led the men’s basketball team to the title in 1983.

Zach Ramsey scored unassisted with 1:12 remaining in the first half and Washington took a 1-0 lead into the break. It was only the second time this season that N.C. State trailed at halftime.

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Ramsey scored into an empty net after Wolfpack goalkeeper Logan Erb couldn’t corral the ball at the top of the box. It was Ramsey’s second goal of the tournament.

Richie Aman sent a cross to the center of the goal and Joe Dale knocked it in for a 2-0 lead in the 62nd minute.

Donavan Phillip answered in the 66th, scoring with an assist from Nikola Markovic to cut it to 2-1 with his fourth goal of the tournament. The Wolfpack entered 11-0-1 when Phillip scores.

Taig Healy scored the equalizer with 3:28 remaining with assists from Justin Mclean and Calem Tommy.

Egor Akulov had an assist on Bertos’ winner.

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Huskies keeper Jadon Bowton, the only remaining player from the 2021 squad, had five saves.

Erb saved six shots for N.C. State, which was the last school to concede a goal this season.

The temperature was 28 degrees when the match between two teams that had never faced each other began.



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