DETROIT — An anonymously written letter led Michigan inspectors to find badly decomposed remains of 11 infants hidden in a ceiling compartment of a shuttered Detroit funeral home, police say.

Inspectors with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs found the remains Friday at the former Cantrell Funeral Home, just hours after receiving the letter telling them where the bodies were located, Detroit police Lt. Brian Bowser told reporters. The funeral home has been closed since April, when state inspectors suspended its license following the discovery of bodies covered with what appeared to be mould.

The remains of the infants, some of them apparently stillborn, were in a false ceiling between the first and second floors, Brower said. Authorities do not know how long the remains had been stored there, he said. Investigators also have not determined who might have left the bodies there.

“Obviously, it was either an employee or someone who had knowledge” of the funeral home and the building, Bowser said. He also noted that the remains “were kind of hidden away.”

Investigators have names for some of the remains and officials were contacting relatives, Bowser said.

Jameca LaJoyce Boone, the funeral home’s designated manager for a year before its closure, said she was shocked by the discovery of bodies in the ceiling.

“I didn’t know anything about that,” Boone told The Detroit News. “I really don’t know how that could even have happened.”

INDIANAPOLIS– The NCAA has selected more than 600 host sites for preliminary rounds and finals of predetermined championships in Divisions I, II and III to be held from 2017-18 through 2021-22, including sites for the next four NCAA Division II and III Softball Championships.

Metropolitan State University of Denver will host three championships- 2019, 2021 and 2022- with St. Louis, Mo. (Lindenwood) and the St. Charles CVB & St. Louis Sports Commission the site for the 2020 Spring Festival. Metro State was the most recent site of the 2016 Spring Festival.

For Division III, Texas-Tyler will host in 2019 and 2020, while familar faces, the ODAC and City of Salem will entertain the 2021 and 2022 championships. Salem hosted the last two championships in 2015 and 2016 and have been the site for 12 NCAA Division III tournament.

Complete Release

The NCAA received more than 3,000 bid submissions from NCAA member schools, conferences, sports commissions and cities vying to host predetermined rounds for 84 of the NCAA’s 90 championships. A total of 613 sites were awarded for this cycle. The respective NCAA sports committees and the divisional championships cabinets/committees reviewed the bid proposals and selected the sites.

Six championships were not included in this bid cycle. Division I baseball, Division I softball, Division I men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, which is tallied as two separate championships, and the Football Championship Subdivision game were omitted due to existing contracts. The sixth championship, Division III women’s ice hockey, does not select predetermined sites.  

— Courtesy of NCAA

MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for X-Men: Dark Phoenix.

A new trailer for X-Men: Dark Phoenix was recently released and hinted at the death of a major character and the director of the film, Simon Kinberg, confirmed the shocking move.

In an interview with EW, Kinberg discussed the reveal that Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence, dies at the hand of Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey while Grey is “struggling with the emerging Phoenix inside her.”

When asked about why Kinberg and the team decided to reveal Lawrence’s fate in this trailer, he responded that it was “to primarily show that this is a movie that is unlike other X-Men movies.”

“It’s a movie where shocking things happen, where intense, dramatic things happen,” Kinberg said. “People don’t just fall off buildings and dust themselves off and walk away. There’s a reality to this movie and a consequence to this movie. Even more than that, it was to show that Jean/Dark Phoenix is genuinely a threat to everyone, including the X-Men.”

Kinberg also discussed how it felt killing one of the X-Men franchise’s biggest characters and stars, saying that while he was “obviously sad” about it, he felt “it was the strongest, most dramatic thing for the movie, and sometimes you have to make those kinds of hard decisions to service the larger story.”

Mystique’s death impacts “literally everybody,” and sets up the tone of the upcoming film, with Kinberg hinting that “there are certainly other major casualties in this.”

Having Mystique die, who is so important to many major characters, forces the X-Men to pick sides and decide whether they choose to forgive Jean and try to save her from her inner demons, or destory her for what she has done.

“For me,” Kinberg explains. “If there’s a metaphor for the film, it’s like if someone in your life or your family starts to lose control, whether that be because of drugs or mental health issues or more minor things, the question is: At one point do you give up on them? And how long do you hold out hope for them?”

X-Men: Dark Phoenix will be released in theaters on June 7, 2019, and while Kinberg hasn’t had any formal talks with Disney about the future of the X-Men franchise and can’t until the merger is official, he is treating this film “like it was the culmination in some ways — not that there couldn’t be other movies, but I did approach the movie as if, like, if you spent 20 years of living with this family, this is the movie you see the family truly tested, fall apart, and hopefully come back together.”

For more on this newest X-Men film, be sure to check out our breakdown of the cosmic destroyer known as Dark Phoenix.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who just loves when movies are spoiled before they release. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Los Alamitos tops three California schools in the first four in the USA Today Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 preseason poll.

The Griffins, who were 26-3 last season, return the powerful senior battery of Maryland signee Ryan Denhart in the circle and Oregon signee Mary Iakopo behind the plate, plus junior pitcher Brianna Jewett, the 2016 Sunset League Rookie of the Year as a very capable No. 2. In all, they have seven all-league players back for a school that has gone 181-70 over the past eight seasons.

Fellow Golden State schools Mission Viejo (27-4 last year) and Norco (26-6) are ranked second and fourth, respectively, with just Florida’s West Orange (30-1) at No. 3 breaking up the trio. Mission Viejo lost just three players off its CIF-Southern Section championship team that finished the year ranked ninth, while defending state class 9A titlist West Orange returns Georgia signee Lauren Mathis, who allowed just three earned runs in 142 innings in 2016. Norco, meanwhile, finished last season unranked, but returns two NCAA Division I signees and two others who have committed to prominent Division I institutions.

Reigning Texas state 6A champion Keller (32-7) lost all-state pitcher Kaylee Rogers, but still has enough in place to round out the top five, while another California school, Orange Lutheran (30-4) with Stanford signee Maddy Dwyer, follows at No. 6. Florida’s American Heritage (26-2), which also graduated its top pitcher, Madison Canby, is seventh, and last year’s final No. 2, Grand Terrace (29-1) of California, starts at No. 8 and features slugger Eliyah Flores (eight homers), who plans to attend Oklahoma. Arizona state D1 champ Hamilton (31-7), which returns four key hitters and three pitchers, is No. 9, and yet another California school, Huntington Beach (21-7), ranks 10th, with its roster of nine signed or committed players.

LaGrange, who finished 41-2 and won its second Texas state 4A title in three years to rank No. 1 in last June’s final poll, did not make this season’s first poll.

State rankings submitted by NFCA member coaches are used to compile the USA Today Sports/NFCA High School Super 25.

USA Today Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 Preseason Poll – Feb. 23, 2017

PARIS — Politicians working to harness the power of social media to connect with voters need to figure out how to do so positively in the face of leaders using those platforms to undermine democracy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.

Without mentioning anyone by name at an event in Paris on Monday morning, Trudeau suggested there are politicians who are trying to use platforms like Twitter to foster polarization and controversy in the electorate.

The medium is not without its benefits, Trudeau said, pointing to the ease of putting out a tweet of condolence or support being easier, more direct and resonating more with citizens than issuing a press statement carried by traditional media.

That same ease and directness that Trudeau said can be used to build confidence in government and democratic institutions can just as easily be used by politicians trying to “make you angry or make you divided or make you hate your neighbour” — pitting one kind of social media politician against the other.

“If it ends up in a screaming match between one side versus the other side, whoever is better at nasty is going to win,” Trudeau said at a Paris conference on the use of technology by governments.

“If we actually think about it, it’s easier to push someone into being angry — it’s harder to pull them into being positive and earnest and involved.”

The discussion was driven by U.S. President Donald Trump, who regularly uses Twitter to fire up his legions of followers and vent at his critics.

Trudeau has been a target of Trump’s irate tweeting, particularly after the G7 meeting in Charlevoix, Que., over the prime minister’s comments on trade negotiations.

When asked directly to comment about Trump’s Twitter usage, Trudeau suggested Trump is just being Trump.

“I think it’s important that people are authentic and he’s certainly authentic,” Trudeau said.

The comments came one day after Trudeau and other world leaders issued dire warnings about leaders calling themselves nationalists and the problems they pose for maintaining peace and the world order built in the aftermath of the world wars.

Again, no names were mentioned, but the warnings seemed clearly aimed at Trump who has repeatedly professed his “American” nationalism.

Trudeau suggested he doesn’t call out Trump by name in any criticism in order to keep the peace with Canada’s neighbour to the south.

“One of the things that Canadians expect of me is to continue to stand up for Canadian values, for Canadian interests as I always do loudly and clearly sharing our perspectives on how to build a better world, while at the same time keeping a constructive relationship with our closest neighbour and largest trading partner — and that’s what I will continue to do,” he said.

Trudeau also took time at the conference to tout his government’s progress on digitizing the way it delivers services.

The prime minister has made the use of technology and data a priority in providing government programs to Canadians through digital channels alongside better, more up to date information to feed federal decisions.

In September, the federal government launched its new “digital standards” to help public servants navigate their way towards what the Liberals call an “effective digital government.”

But there have been hiccups along the way.

A pilot project from Statistics Canada to scoop up anonymized and randomized banking transactions on 500,000 Canadians has faced steep criticism from opposition parties in the House of Commons.

And internal documents obtained by The Canadian Press paint a clearer picture of detailed work underway to overcome the challenges the civil service faces in meeting the Liberals’ digital goals.

PM on 10-day trip across Europe, Asia

Documents obtained under the Access to Information Act suggest challenges in how to handle vast amounts of disparate data, the funding needed to acquire or generate data to fill gaps, and “legal and cultural impediments to sharing and accessing data.”

The prime minister travels later Monday to Singapore for a summit organized by a 10-nation bloc that will put his government’s trade diversification plans on display.

Trudeau is on a 10-day trip across Europe and Asia that began Friday with a gathering of world leaders in France to mark a century since the end of the First World War.

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Respawn Entertainment has addressed some of the issues that are impacting Apex Legends and promises fixes are in the works for most problems, except for a requested reconnect feature.

Respawn took to Reddit to speak to its fans and let them know what was in the works behind-the-scenes for the battle royale title that has already passed 50 million players.

It began by discussing how it is dealing with cheaters and announced that they have banned “over 355K players on PC through Easy-Anti-Cheat.”

Respawn goes into a bit more detail about how they will continue to combat these cheaters, including working with experts inside and outside of EA, scaling up its anti-team, and adding a report feature on PC. However, it won’t be too open about its plans because it doesn’t “want them to see us coming.”

In addition to working on fixing an issue of players spamming during character select and the drop and then disconnecting, it is also working with AMD next week to improve stability and performance on PC. Hopefully, that and more will fix a lot of crashes players are experiencing and Respawn will continue working with other partners to continue to make Apex Legends as smooth as possible.

While Respawn is working on all these issues and more, one issue it isn’t working on at the moment is a reconnect to match feature. It says that it has heard the community but it is not currently pursuing it because it “opens a lot of risk for players to abuse it,” and “[It believes] the resources needed to build, test, and release it are better spent focused on fixing stability issues so that the feature isn’t necessary.”

For more on Apex Legends, be sure to check out the latest updates and fixes, read a feature about whether you are better suited for Fortnite or Apex Legends, and read about how Apex Legends almost was leaked about a year ago.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer who kept saying “Prepare for Titanfall” while writing this article. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Student-athletes from nine collegiate institutions have been selected 2017 Diamond Sports Catchers of the Year, announced the association on Wednesday afternoon.

The award is presented annually to the player determined to be the most outstanding catcher from an NFCA member institution. This year the collegiate awards honorees were recognized during their respective All-American announcements. The High School winner will be announced in July.

A committee comprised of elected head coaches in each of the nine represented divisions selects the winner of their respective award.  This year’s Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year recipient are as follows: 

NCAA Division I

Kendyl Lindaman – Freshman – Minnesota

Lindaman (pictured), the Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year, finished off a tremendous rookie campaign with a .426 batting average, 63 hits, 63 walks, 20 home runs, 76 RBI, a .598 on-base percentage and a .899 slugging percentage. A top-3 Schutt Sports/NFCA Freshman of the Year finalist and first team All-American, Lindaman finished third in the NCAA in walks and on-base percentage, tied for third in runs batted in, fifth in slugging, and led all NCAA freshmen ranking seventh in home runs.

NCAA Division II

Marisa Monasseri – Junior – Caldwell University

A first-team All-America selection, Monasseri finished 2017 with a .503 average (3rd/NCAA), 11 homers, 11 doubles and a NCAA-best .624 on-base percentage. She posted a .787 slugging percentage and drove in a team-best 67 runs (6th/NCAA). Additionally, Monasseri ranked sixth in the NCAA with 48 walks and was a top-10 finalist for the Schutt Sports/NFCA National Player of the Year.

NCAA Division III

Janae Matos – Junior – Moravian College

Matos, who was selected as the 2017 Landmark Conference Player of the Yea paced the Greyhounds at the plate with a .523 average that included 56 hits, a school-record 22 doubles, three home runs, 45 RBI, a .621 on-base percentage and an .813 slugging percentage. Matos had a team-high 203 putouts behind the plate to go with 13 assists and zero errors for a 1.000 fielding percentage.

NAIA

Jaci Smith – Sophomore – Oklahoma City University

Smith was third in the NAIA with a team-best .516 batting average and 111 hits, helping the Stars to a second straight NAIA national title. She ended the year on a 14-game hitting streak and recorded at least one hit in 54 of the 68 games she played in this season. The first-team All-American’s 80 RBI and 23 doubles ranked sixth and tied for the seventh in the NAIA.

NJCAA Division I

Evelyn Loyola – Freshman – Howard College

Loyola  hit .423 with 11 doubles, 13 homers, 62 RBI and 40 runs scored. The first-team All-American slugged .744 and threw out six of 17 runners attempting to steal for a .353 caught stealing percentage.

NJCAA Division II

Maddie Hansen – Sophomore – Kirkwood Community College

Hansen, a two-time first-team All-America selection, finished second in NJCAA II with 92 RBI, fourth with a .534 batting average and tied for fourth with 19 home runs.

NJCAA Division III

Hannah Long – Freshman – Rock Valley College

A NFCA All-American, Long batted .430 with 16 doubles, three triples, a homer and 40 RBI. Behind the dish, she recorded 220 putouts, 12 assists and just two errors for a .991 fielding percentage.

Cal JC

Taylor Jaurique – Sophomore – Mt. San Antonio College
Jaurique played a key role in the Mounties’ runner-up finish at the California Community College Athletic Association State Championships. She led the Mountie’s with a .477 average, 51 hits, 10 home runs, 44 RBI, 35 runs scored, .907 slugging percentage and .517 on-base percentage. Tabbed a NFCA All-American, Jaurique did not commit an error in 190 chances, while keeping runners at bay. Only 12 opponents attempted to steal on Jaurique, who threw out four of those would be base stealers.

NWAC

Amber Writer – Freshman – Wenatchee Valley College
In helping Wenatchee Valley to a NWAC Championship, Writer scored 76 runs, which was the second best total in the NWAC, while her 69 RBI and 565 on-base percentage was third and sixth, respectively. The NFCA All-American hit .467 with 15 doubles and 14 round trippers. She struck out just five times in 165 at bats.

— Image courtesy of Minnesota Athletics