Pete Carril, iconic Princeton basketball coach, dies at age 92

 Pete Carril, the rumpled, cigar-smoking basketball coach

Pete Carril, iconic Princeton basketball coach, dies at age 92

 who led Princeton to 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, where his teams unnerved formidable opponents and rattled March Madness with old-school fundamentals, died Monday. He was 92.

Princeton released a statement from Carril's family, which said he died "peacefully this morning." It did not give a cause of death.

"We kindly ask that you please respect our privacy at this time as we process our loss and handle necessary arrangements. More information will be forthcoming in the following days," the statement said.

Carril, a Hall of Famer, schooled his teams in a distinct and throwback brand of ball — the Princeton offense, a game marked by patience, intelligence, constant motion, quick passing and backdoor cuts that often ended in layups.

It was an offense that could be played on any level of basketball. At Princeton, it was usually performed by players often dismissed or overlooked by some of the nation's basketball powers. Come the NCAA Tournament, however, Princeton's unforgiving discipline could offset the disparity of talent on the floor.

During Carril's 29 seasons as the Tigers' coach, the system worked splendidly. His teams won 13 Ivy League titles and posted a 514-261 record without the benefit of scholarship players. Its deliberate approach draining the high octane from many opponents, Princeton led the nation in scoring defense in 14 of his last 21 seasons, including the last eight in a run that ended in 1996.

He guided Princeton to the National Invitation Tournament championship in 1975 and was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.

Basketball fans loved to watch the headaches Carril's teams caused in March. That was certainly the case in 1989 for Georgetown's John Thompson, the Hall of Fame coach sweating late in the game with his trademark towel draped over his shoulder.

Princeton gave a No. 1 Georgetown team featuring Alonzo Mourning and Charles Smith all it could handle, and as a No. 16 seed was on the verge of a monumental upset. The Tigers had two shots in the closing seconds at sending Thompson and his team home but were denied, losing 50-49.

Carril's final season in 1996 was highlighted by a first-round NCAA victory over defending champion UCLA, an outcome many consider one of the biggest surprises in tournament histor

Peter Joseph Carril was born on July 10, 1930, to Spanish immigrant parents in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He played at Lafayette College under a venerable coach in Butch Van Breda Kolff. After an Army stint, Carril coached in high school in Pennsylvania in the 1950s and '60s before getting a college head coaching job at Lehigh. He spent the 1966-67 season there, going 11-12, and then was on his way to Princeton.

Kiely Rodni: California police

 Kiely Rodni: California police 'modifying' search effort next week as few signs of missing teen emerge

The search for missing 16-year-old Kiely Rodni will be scaled down to a "task force"-based investigation next week, California investigators said Monday, 10 days after the teen vanished under disturbing circumstances.

"We are still looking for any clues, videos, tips, any information to help us to put pieces together and help us to direct where we're going and how we're going to continue to do a search," Capt. Sam Brown, of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, said during a Monday news briefing. "We are moving into a more limited but continuous search and rescue effort."

He said the massive interagency search effort has put in more than 9,000 man-hours since Rodni was reported missing on Aug. 6.

"Our biggest problem is where do we go, and how do we keep sustaining this?" he added.

The search started last week in the immediate area of where the girl's phone had last pinged, near the Prosser Creek Reservoir, and has steadily expanded outward. Police have been unable to locate the girl, her SUV or any other signs.

And they say they have still not found anyone who actually saw Rodni leaving the area before she went missing. They are asking for anyone who may have taken photos or videos to share them with investigators.

"I'd like to say that we're putting the pedal down, that we are continuing to work this week, and that after this week we will be modifying things to a task force style," said Lt. Josh Barnhart, of the Placer County Sheriff's Office. "That means our resources will continue to move forward, but in somewhat of a different manner."

Rodni, who was last seen at a packed outdoor party with hundreds of other young people just after midnight on Aug. 6, has an outdoorsy upbringing and strong resolve, according to Cassie Hebel, a family friend and spokesperson.

"She has more than the survival skills to make it back," she said Monday. "She was raised in a family where they know how to survive in the outback, in the ‘Back 40’ as I like to say. That is where she was raised."

The party, near the Prosser Family Campground in the Tahoe National Forest, involved between 200 and 300 juveniles and young adults, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office. There was suspected use of drugs and alcohol, and Rodni’s friend told Fox News Digital last week the girl was likely too drunk to have attempted driving.

Investigators earlier Monday released an image of a pink and white hoodie that Rodni was seen wearing on the night she vanished — possibly due to an abduction. The Placer County Sheriff's Office released only a stock image of the garment, a white hooded sweatshirt with pink block letters spelling out "ODD FUTURE" — the name of a Los Angeles hip-hop group. Investigators said she appeared on video wearing it earlier in the evening.

Kiely Rodni went missing on Aug. 6 just after midnight, shortly after telling her parents she was coming home. (findkiely.com)

Angela Musallam, a spokesperson for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, said during a Monday news briefing investigators were not ready to release the photo.
Separately, she told Fox News Digital, it contains no person of interest. She declined to discuss the video further, citing the open comment investigation.

At 16, Rodni had a full driver’s license and a silver 2013 Honda CRV, which is also missing, Hebel said Monday. She graduated high school early and with honors and hoped to study pediatric orthopedics and music in college. Her 17th birthday is next month.

The car has a ram head sticker under the rear windshield wiper, according to police. Hebel said it has no particular significance other than being an identifying characteristic, and it may have been on the car already when Rodni acquired it.

Rudy Giuliani now a 'target' in Georgia election interference investigation

  Georgia prosecutors have notified lawyers representing Rudy Giuliani that the personal attorney to former President Donald Trump is now a target of the widening election interference investigation led by the Fulton County district attorney.

Giuliani attorney Robert Costello told USA TODAY that prosecutors made the notification Monday to local defense attorneys in Atlanta.

The former New York mayor, who is scheduled to testify before a special grand jury in Atlanta later this week, had made wide-ranging claims that voting systems altered Georgia ballots, while ignoring a hand-count audit that confirmed President Joe Biden's victory in the state.

Giuliani also asserted that about 65,000 underage voters, more than 2,500 felons and 800 dead people voted in the state. All of those claims have been debunked by the Georgia secretary of state, which found no underage voters, only 74 potential felony voters and only two votes that may have been improperly cast in the name of dead voters.

Sen. Lindsey Graham:Federal judge rejects Sen. Lindsey Graham's bid to quash grand jury subpoena in Georgia case

According to court documents seeking Giuliani's grand jury appearance, Fulton County authorities are highlighting the Trump lawyer's Dec. 3, 2020, appearance before the Georgia State Senate in which he offered a video recording of election workers at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, purporting to show “suitcases” of unlawful ballots from unknown sources, outside the view of election poll watchers.

Within 24 hours of the state Senate hearing, the video had been discredited by the secretary of state's office, concluding "no voter fraud of any kind had taken place."