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The least-anticipated Patriots game in decades and 3 more NFL thoughts on Christmas Eve

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:37 GMT

As someone who makes a living observing, analyzing, reporting on, writing about and enjoying football, rest assured there is no joy in this next question.Is Sunday’s Patriots game the least-anticipated of the Bill Belichick era?Granted, there is no single, reliable tool for capturing fan interest. In the age of streaming, TV and radio ratings become less relevant by the year. Social media engagement is too easily manipulated to offer real insight.It’s a feel thing. How many of your friends are invested in Sunday’s outcome? What is the big draw? What are the storylines?What do you hear about the game in various media spaces? How much do they all care? How much do you care?Because during the week, these topics dominated the conversation around the Patriots instead of the actual football game they’ll play against the Broncos: an NFL Draft four months away, a head-coaching decision three weeks away, the air pressure in footballs (again) and Bill Belichick being i...

Patriots-Broncos preview: How can New England return home with a victory?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:37 GMT

It’s been six years since the Patriots kicked off in Denver.Somehow, it feels even longer.Heading into Sunday’s kickoff, the Pats will have already been eliminated from the playoffs for weeks; a far cry from their prior visits to Mile High as a fellow AFC contender. In Denver, new head Sean Payton has rescued a season that appeared to be on the brink at 1-5 and included a 50-point loss at Miami. While the Broncos’ postseason hopes remain slim at 7-7, expect them to push the Patriots for every inch on every play at home.Here’s what to watch for:When the Patriots runThe Pats’ steady-eddy run game hit the brakes last weekend against the Chiefs, averaging 3.2 yards per carry and racking up 52 yards total.Ezekiel Elliott continues to take the lion’s share of carries and should be expected to do so again in Denver, despite the recent signing of second-year back Kevin Harris off the practice. Lucky for them, the Broncos’ run defense ranks dead last...

Man dead due early morning to fire in The Junction

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:37 GMT

A man has died due to a fire in The Junction early Sunday morning.Fire crews were called to McCormack Street, near Weston Road and St. Clair Avenue West, at approximately 4:08 a.m. for reports that several tractor trailers were on fire.“In the course of firefighting and search and rescue operations, one person was located inside a storage trailer adjacent to the fire,” said Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg on X.The victim, a man in his 40’s, was transferred to the care of Toronto medics but succumbed to his injuries at the scene.Police and the Office of the Fire Marshal are investigating the origin, cause and circumstances of the fire.I am on scene with @Toronto_Fire crews on McCormack Street. The investigation into the origin, cause&circumstances of this fire is underway in collaboration with @TorontoPolice and @ONFireMarshal. Sincere condolences to family, friends and all those impacted by this tragic fire.— Matthew Pegg (@ChiefPeggTFS) December 24, 2023

Security is stepped up around Christmas celebrations in Germany and Austria over attack concerns

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:37 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Sightseeing visits were barred at Germany’s landmark Cologne cathedral and Christmas Eve worshippers faced security checks to get into midnight Mass on Sunday as police responded to indications of a potential attack.However, a top security official urged people not to shy away from holiday celebrations out of fear. Churchgoers attended multiple services at the cathedral despite the ban on visits purely for sightseeing, a day after police descended on the cathedral and searched it with sniffer dogs. In Austria, police in Vienna also said they were stepping up security around churches and Christmas markets, apparently responding to the same intelligence about a potential threat. They did not give further information but the dpa news agency reported without citing a source that the threat was from an Islamic extremist group. Police in Cologne said they were taking precautions over Christmas even though the information they had was for an attack on New Ye...

With the Supreme Court on sideline for now, Trump’s lawyers press immunity claims before lower court

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump was acting within his role as president when he pressed claims about “alleged fraud and irregularity” in the 2020 election, his lawyers told a federal appeals court in arguing that he is immune from prosecution.The attorneys also asserted in a filing late Saturday night that the “historical fallout is tremendous” from the four-count indictment charging Trump with plotting to overturn the election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. No other former president has ever been indicted; Trump has been indicted four times, in both state and federal court, as he campaigns to reclaim the White House.“The indictment of President Trump threatens to launch cycles of recrimination and politically motivated prosecution that will plague our Nation for many decades to come and stands likely to shatter the very bedrock of our Republic — the confidence of American citizens in an independent judicial system,” the attorneys wrote in a brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals...

A beautiful racket: In Newfoundland, the ugly stick is an instrument in high demand

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:37 GMT

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — This year, Dave Rowe, owner of a decades-old music store in St. John’s, N.L., found himself in a peculiar yet pressing situation: he was out of ugly sticks, and the man who made them was retiring.The ugly stick is a Newfoundland percussion instrument, often made of a mop handle stuck in a rubber boot and festooned with rows of bottle caps punctured by protruding nails. They are particularly popular at O’Brien’s Music, which has been selling a variety of Newfoundland instruments since 1939, Rowe said.O’Brien’s takes its reputation and its ugly sticks seriously, and Rowe said he hunted for five months before finding another ugly stick maker whose product could pass muster.“It took some searching, like stopping at craft fairs, stuff like that,” the 42-year-old said in an interview. “When we didn’t have them there for a spell, we were turning down folks, (customers) were calling or emailing almost every day.&...

Furnace explosion at Chinese-owned nickel plant in Indonesia kills at least 13 and injures 46 others

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:37 GMT

PALU, Indonesia (AP) — A smelting furnace exploded Sunday at a Chinese-owned nickel plant on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, killing at least 13 workers and injuring dozens of others, police and a company official said.It was the latest in a series of deadly incidents at nickel smelting plants in Indonesia that are part of China’s ambitious transnational development program known as the Belt and Road Initiative.Nickel is a key component in global battery production for electric vehicles.At least four Chinese and nine Indonesian workers died when the furnace exploded while they were repairing it, said Central Sulawesi police chief Agus Nugroho.The blast was so powerful it demolished the furnace and damaged parts of the side walls of the building, said Nugroho, adding that about 46 workers were injured, including 14 Chinese nationals, some in critical condition.Authorities are working to determine whether negligence by the company led to the deaths, Nugroho said.The accident ...

Several flights canceled at Chicago Midway International Airport likely due to fog

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:37 GMT

CHICAGO — Several flights departing from Chicago's Midway International Airport have been canceled on Christmas Eve morning likely due to the fog.There is a dense fog advisory in the area until 9 a.m. Latest warnings and watches from the National Weather Service.As of 6:30 a.m., visibility at Midway was .5 miles. Visibility at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is 5 miles.Several Southwest Airlines and Frontier flights are canceled through 9 a.m.On Saturday evening, a ground stop was issued at Midway due to the fog.WGN-TV has reached out to Southwest for additional information and is awaiting a response.Passengers flying out of Chicago's airports should check their flight status with their airline.

Man shot after pulling knife during fight at Red Line station

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:37 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was shot after pulling a knife during an argument late Saturday night at a Red Line station, Chicago police said. The 40-year-old man was shot by another person around 10:45 p.m. in the 200 block of West Garfield Boulevard. Man charged in fatal shooting at Wheaton pub after argument over bar tab Chicago police said he was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in fair condition after being shot in the right shoulder.No one is in custody in connection with the incident.Area One detectives are investigating.

Oscars 2024: Early predictions for the actor and supporting actor races

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:24:37 GMT

If you’ve seen Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” you may well still be sifting through some complicated feelings about Leonardo DiCaprio’s character — and perhaps even his performance in the film.Know this: You’re not alone. In fact, DiCaprio himself still has trouble reconciling the actions of his character, Ernest Burkhart, a dimwitted WWI veteran who arrives in Oklahoma to work for his wealthy uncle, William Hale (Robert De Niro), a calculating rancher with an eye on laying claim to the oil-rich tribal lands owned by the Osage Nation. At Hale’s behest, Ernest marries Mollie (Lily Gladstone) and — spoiler alert — begins, again at the suggestion of his uncle — to help plot the murders of Mollie’s family and even Mollie herself, even as he continues to profess his love for his wife.“It was the most bizarre, twisted, love story I’d ever come across,” DiCaprio said at a recent screening of the film that was packed with academy and guild voters, along with, sure, people w...