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QB Tyson Bagent was precise — and the Chicago Bears finally win at home: Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on Week 7

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:21 GMT

10 thoughts after the Chicago Bears beat up the Las Vegas Raiders at the line of scrimmage and got a precise outing from undrafted rookie free agent Tyson Bagent on their way to a commanding 30-12 victory Sunday.The win at Soldier Field snapped a 10-game home losing streak.1. An early play that provided a glimpse into how the afternoon would go for Tyson Bagent came on the second series of the game.It was the second time Bagent, the Division II kid from Martinsburg, W.Va., was asked to throw on third down.The first third down, at the end of the opening possession, was a screen pass that D’Onta Foreman mishandled, maybe the only miscue of the day for the hard-chugging running back. On the next series, the Bears faced third-and-5 at their own 49-yard line. Starting in place of Justin Fields, who was knocked out of last week’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings with a dislocated right thumb, Bagent was in a big spot early in the game. A clear throwing situation for an offense th...

World’s oldest dog ever dies in Portugal, aged 31 (or about 217 in dog years)

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:21 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A 31-year-old dog in Portugal that had been ranked as the world’s oldest dog ever has died, his owner said Monday. The guard dog, called Bobi, died over the weekend in a veterinary hospital, Leonel Costa told The Associated Press.Bobi lived on a farm in the village of Conqueiros in Portugal with Costa and four cats. He was born on May 11, 1992, when his owner was just 8 years old. That made Bobi more than 217 years old in dog years when he died.In an interview earlier this year, Costa told the Associated Press that Bobi’s secret to a long life was good food, fresh air and lots of love.“Bobi eats what we eat,” said Costa. What’s more, Bobi had never been put on a lead.Bobi claimed the Guinness World Record from Bluey, an Australian cattle dog, who died in 1939 aged 29 and had held the record for almost a century.Officials at the Guinness World Records on Monday said they were “saddened to learn of the death of Bobi, th...

Governor, AG issue guidance on college admissions following Supreme Court’s abolishment of affirmative action

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:21 GMT

Nearly four months after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, Gov. Maura Healey and Attorney General Andrea Campbell have issued guidance on how schools can continue to work for equal access and representation in higher education.“We know there’s been concern and confusion about what is legal and allowable,” Healey said at an announcement at UMass Boston on Monday morning. “Now, these guidelines make clear every campuses’ continued rights and continued opportunities to expand access and advance equity and inclusion on every campus. Because we want you to know, don’t stop doing what you’re doing.”The guidelines outline what K-12 schools and colleges and universities can legally do to foster diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education, building off similar direction released by the Biden administration in September.The Supreme Court released a decision against Harvard and UNC in June banning the use of specific consi...

Will the Chicago Bulls’ Big 3 project finally pay off? ‘This is our last shot to make something happen.’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:21 GMT

Familiarity is the theme of the 2023-24 NBA season for the Chicago Bulls. Familiar roster. Familiar problems. Familiar solutions.The Bulls return 13 players from last season’s roster. Eight have been on the team since 2021 or earlier. In the span of two years, the front office chose to forego any major moves, remaining steadfastly stuck to the idea that a roster built around Nikola Vučević, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan could make a serious case for itself in the playoffs.That has yet to be true. The Bulls were bounced decisively out of the first round of the 2022 playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks, then stumbled out of the play-in tournament last season after coughing up a fourth-quarter lead to the Miami Heat.Now, after two seasons of adapting and adjusting and tinkering with the same concept, the trio at the core of this Bulls project knows they’re running out of time.“This is our last shot to make something happen,” Vučević said. “W...

Blink-182 to bring 2024 tour to Petco Park

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:21 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- "Going back to San Diego ..."Blink-182 announced Monday they will hit the road again next year, including a stop in their hometown. The Poway-formed band will play at Petco Park on June 30.The announcement comes days after the band released its reunion album, "One More Time."Opening for Blink-182 will be Pierce the Veil, another band out of San Diego. Tickets will go on sale Friday on Blink-182's website. Billy Joel and Sting coming to Petco Park The tour includes three other stops in California: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Save Mart Center in Fresno and Chase Center in San Francisco. See all of the tour dates on blink182.com.

Canadian in Gaza says Israeli air strikes now relentless ahead of ground invasion

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:21 GMT

A Canadian man in Gaza says Israeli airstrikes that were previously heard roughly every hour can now be heard every few minutes as the Israel-Hamas war escalates.Mansour Shouman says Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has grown relentless recently, and even locations where civilians were previously advised to take refuge are not safe.The sounds of explosions can be heard in the background as Shouman says he narrowly escaped an airstrike near the southern Gaza hospital complex where he has been taking shelter.He also says that small shipments of aid that were twice allowed into Gaza over the weekend have barely made a dent in the massive need for essentials.Israel has still not allowed any fuel to enter Gaza, where there has been a power blackout for nearly two weeks since Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israeli communities.Israel is expected to launch a ground offensive in Gaza and says it has stepped up airstrikes in order to reduce the risk to troops in the next stages.S...

A British court ruling frees Nigeria from paying $11 billion in damages over a failed gas project

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:21 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A London judge on Monday overturned an arbitration award that would have required Nigeria to pay $11 billion over a failed gas project, finding the contract was obtained through fraud.The High Court ruling by Justice Robin Knowles reverses the award to the British Virgin Islands-based Process & Industrial Developments Ltd. over the 2010 gas deal. The payment would have dealt a massive blow to Nigeria’s ailing economy.The judge said although he did not accept all of Nigeria’s allegations discrediting P&ID and the contract, “the awards (of the contract) were obtained by fraud … and the way in which they were procured was contrary to public policy.”Knowles said three things showed the case as an “irregularity”: P&ID providing evidence it knew was false in a witness statement, the company’s bribery or corrupt payment to a Nigerian civil servant and the company’s ”improper retention” of Nigeria’s legal document which it received during arbitration.P&...

‘Spamouflage’ campaign targeting Trudeau, MPs linked to China: Global Affairs Canada

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:21 GMT

OTTAWA — Global Affairs Canada says there’s a social media campaign connected to the People’s Republic of China is targeting dozens of MPs with spam. The department says a bot network known as “Spamouflage” began spreading propaganda and disinformation messages across Facebook and X in early August. Global Affairs says the bot network left thousands of comments in English and French on the accounts of MPs claiming a critic of the Chinese Communist Party in Canada accused the various MPs of criminal and ethical violations.It says the messages appeared across the political spectrum, even appearing on the accounts of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre and several members of cabinet. The same bot networks spread disinformation claiming that the Hawaiian wildfires were caused by a secret U.S. military “weather weapon,” and have been connected to disinformation about Japan’s Fukushima water release in August.The department...

S&P/TSX composite up in late-morning trading, U.S. stock markets also rise

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:21 GMT

TORONTO — Utility and telecommunications stocks helped lift Canada’s main stock index in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also moved higher.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 20.67 points at 19,136.31.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 38.15 points at 33,165.43. The S&P 500 index was up 11.79 points at 4,235.95, while the Nasdaq composite was up 65.51 points at 13,049.32.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.09 cents US compared with 73.02 cents US on Friday.The December crude contract was down 66 cents at US$87.42 per barrel and the December natural gas contract was up two cents at US$3.28 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down US$5.30 at US$1,989.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$3.57 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)The Canadian Press

Man who took guns to Wisconsin Capitol while seeking governor says he wanted to talk, not harm

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:21 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The armed man who twice went to the Wisconsin state Capitol looking for Gov. Tony Evers said Monday that he had no intention of hurting anyone, has moved out of state, and does not want to go anywhere near the governor.Joshua Pleasnick went to the Capitol on Oct. 4, with a loaded handgun in a holster, demanding to speak with Evers. The governor was not in the building at the time. Pleasnick was arrested and after posting bail he returned that night to the Capitol with a semi-automatic rifle and a baton hidden in his backpack. He again demanded to talk to Evers but the building was closed and he was arrested again. Pleasnick was charged with a misdemeanor for openly carrying a gun in a public building. He was released on bond on Friday.Pleasnick on Monday, in a telephone interview, said he has moved to Nebraska to live with family because the incident in Wisconsin made him unemployable, he’s homeless, has no money and his “reputation was completely ruined b...