'I Was Ready To Play': Mom's Memory Drives Son's Touchdowns

ACROSS AMERICA — Good morning! It’s Wednesday, Nov. 17. The Leonid meteor shower — known to produce fast, bright meteors — peaked this morning. If you missed it, you’ll get another chance to see it Thursday morning just before dawn. Meanwhile, catch up on the stories we’re following today:

• Kyle Rittenhouse’s fate is now in the hands of a 12-person jury.
• A medical examiner described the gruesome details of Ahmaud Arbery’s death.
• McDonald’s Egg McMuffin turns 50 this week.
• A bear walked into a California 7-Eleven like he owned the place. Turns out, he was just interested in the hand sanitizer.

Just a day after his mom died from a 14-year battle with cancer, a New Jersey high school senior delivered a stunning athletic performance as a tribute to her, the woman he called his "best friend."

"Yesterday I lost my amazing mother. Today I scored 8 touchdowns, thank you for watching over me mama," Red Bank Catholic quarterback Alex Brown wrote on social media. He also posted a video on Twitter where he takes a knee after a touchdown and points to the sky. Before long, nearly 37,400 people had shared it and more than 3,500 retweeted it.

Brown went on "Fox and Friends" and explained why he was able to play so soon after his mother’s death.

"I knew I was ready to play as soon as I stepped on that field. I could feel my mother's presence with me and I looked into the crowd and I could see my whole family behind me. I just knew I was ready to go," he said. "Watching her struggle with cancer for almost 15 years just made me a stronger person. I don't think I'll ever be as strong as she ever was." » Day After Mom's Death, Red Bank Quarterback Scores 8 Touchdowns, via Howell, New Jersey, Patch

Rittenhouse Trial: Jury Deliberates

Kyle Rittenhouse’s fate is now in the hands of a 12-person jury — seven women and five men — who began deliberations Tuesday following closing arguments. The jurors will need to come to a unanimous decision on whether to convict Rittenhouse of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree attempted homicide and two counts of recklessly endangering safety.

Meanwhile, Gov. Tony Evers announced that 500 Wisconsin National Guard troops would wait near Kenosha to deal with any issues once the verdict is announced. » Rittenhouse Trial: Jurors Drawn From Lottery Before Deliberation, via Mount Pleasant-Sturtevant, Wisconsin, Patch

• RELATED: Suburban Police On Alert As Rittenhouse Verdict Nears, via Grayslake, Illinois, Patch

Arbery’s Death Described

After graphic testimony on the three shotgun blasts fired at Ahmaud Arbery, prosecutors on Tuesday rested their case against the three white men accused of killing Arbery in February 2020.

But concerns about prominent Black pastors taking their place with Arbery's parents in the courtroom persisted after the prosecution called its final witness in the seventh day of testimony. » Ahmaud Arbery Case: Black Pastors Criticized, Prosecution Rests, via Atlanta Patch

Egg McMuffin Turns 50

You can have a breakfast party like it's 1971 at McDonald's restaurants Thursday, when the cost of an Egg McMuffin goes back to the original price of 63 cents, a move to mark the sandwich’s 50th birthday. » Egg McMuffin Turns 50, And McDonald's Drops The Price To 63 Cents, via Across America Patch

More national headlines on Across America Patch and others:

• Leonid Meteors, Rich In Fireballs, Peak Ahead Of Lunar Eclipse
• Will Xi-Biden Talks Repair U.S.-China Ties? AP Explains
• Atmospheric River Whips Northwest; 1 Missing, Roads Closed, via Seattle Patch
• Trader Joe's Recalls Popular Chicken Product, via Holmdel-Hazlet, New Jersey, Patch
• ESPN’s Dick Vitale For Cancer At Florida Hospital, via Sarasota Patch

Around ‘The Patch’

Bear With Us: Perhaps he wanted to clean up. Maybe he just wanted a Slurpee. We may never know, but one bear certainly looked as if he was up to something when he strolled right into a California 7-Eleven recently.

Across State Lines: A cat that had been missing from central Pennsylvania for months was found in New York this week, after making his way hundreds of miles from home and across state lines.

More Local News:

• 'Predator' Teachers Accused Of Abuse Reassigned; Kids Walk Out, via Babylon Village, New York, Patch
• How Common Are Cases Like Gabby Petito's? 3 New Jersey Cases Tell Story, via Westfield Patch
• Amazon Settles CA COVID Workers Notification Dispute, via San Francisco Patch
• Red Sox Ownership Group In Advance Talks To Buy NHL's Penguins, via Boston Patch
• Storm Chaser ‘A Little Nervous’ Staying Ahead of Tornado, via Three Village, New York, Patch
• After Months-Long COVID-19 Treatment, Officer Goes Home From Hospital, via Miami Patch
• 6,000-Plus University of California Lecturers May Strike In Labor Dispute, via Los Angeles

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This Day In History

In 1973, President Richard Nixon held a news conference during the Watergate scandal in which he declared, “I am not a crook.”

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