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Column: Ryan Poles checked a big box on the Chicago Bears’ offseason list with his bold trade. Now comes the hard part.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:10:06 GMT

From the beginning, Ryan Poles has understood this is a process, a methodical grind to, in his words, “stair-step this thing” to where the Chicago Bears not only can experience meaningful success again but sustain it. Poles never has sought shortcuts or tried to unearth some secret potion that could magically revitalize one of the NFL’s worst rosters with a snap of the fingers.Instead, Poles has adopted a brick-by-brick approach to rebuilding the Bears. Which is why he stood in front of an all-staff meeting before last season and handed out tiny blue Lego blocks emblazoned with the Bears name. Each block was a symbol of the philosophy the first-year general manager wanted everyone inside Halas Hall to embrace.“I talked about the entire organization doing what it takes to stick together,” Poles explained in January. “Because I knew how important it was to build a foundation that was rock solid (where) this wasn’t on something that was shaky a...

BBC reverses Gary Lineker suspension for Twitter post

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:10:06 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Gary Lineker will return to the airwaves after the BBC reversed the former soccer great’s suspension on Monday for a tweet that had criticized the U.K. government’s new migration policy.The about-face followed a weekend of chaos and crisis for Britain’s publicly funded national broadcaster, which faced a huge backlash over the suspension of one of its best-known hosts for expressing a political opinion.“Gary is a valued part of the BBC and I know how much the BBC means to Gary, and I look forward to him presenting our coverage this coming weekend,” BBC Director-General Tim Davie said.Lineker said he was “glad that we have found a way forward.”Lineker, one of English soccer’s most lauded players and the corporation’s highest-paid television presenter, was suspended Friday after he described the government’s plan to detain and deport migrants arriving by boat as “an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissi...

IS claims bombing at Shiite center in northern Afghanistan

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:10:06 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a bombing over the weekend at a cultural center run by the minority Shiite community in northern Afghanistan that killed one person and wounded eight people. The Tabian center of the Hazaras in Balkh’s provincial capital, Mazar-e-Sharif, was struck on Saturday, during an event honoring local journalists. The regional affiliate of IS — known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province — is a key rival of the Taliban and has frequently targeted members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority. The militant group has increased its attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021. IS attacks have also included Taliban patrols.IS said in a statement posted on its media arm, the Aamaq news agency, that the explosives were planted in a bag that was left hidden at the center. The statements said those targeted work for an establishment “that engaged in war” against IS. Abdul Nafi Takor, ...

As Ontarians adjust to Daylight Saving Time, doctors warn of health impacts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:10:06 GMT

Groggy Ontarians were again forced to adjust their eyes when millions woke up on Sunday morning as Daylight Saving Time began and clocks sprang forward. But is it that simple?Doctors in the U.S. are speaking out on the yearly time change, which, in Canada, starts on March 12, 2023, and will end on Nov. 5, 2023, noting that Daylight Saving Time has been linked to an increase in cardiac events.A 2020 study revealed what scientists called “detrimental health effects,” including the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (MI) and increased ischemic stroke following both spring time transitions. It was mentioned that conditions affecting sleep are known to provoke atrial fibrillation (AF), yet, the effect of Daylight Saving Time transitions on AF “is unknown.”Sleep specialists and health experts point to a relatively simple issue: while Daylight Saving Time increases exposure to light, it can make it harder for people to get to sleep, thus leading to an array of...

Pfizer will spend $43 billion to acquire Seagen

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:10:06 GMT

Pfizer will spend $43 billion to buy Seagen and deepen its reach into treating cancer. The pharmaceutical giant said Monday that it will pay $229 per Seagen share. “Together, Pfizer and Seagen seek to accelerate the next generation of cancer breakthroughs and bring new solutions to patients by combining the power of Seagen’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology with the scale and strength of Pfizer’s capabilities and expertise,” Pfizer Chairman and CEO Dr. Albert Bourla said in a statement. Bothell, Washington-based Seagen Inc. is a biotech drug developer. Its key products use monoclonal antibodies that bind to the surface of a tumor cell to deliver a cancer-killing agent while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.Monoclonal antibodies are lab-made proteins delivered mostly by IV at an infusion center, according to the Cleveland Clinic.Seagen’s top seller, Adcetris, treats lymph system cancers. It brought in $839 million in sales last year, a 19% increase over the previous y...

Chancellor Scholz proud of German antiwar film’s 4 Oscars

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:10:06 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday expressed pride that the German antiwar movie “All Quiet on the Western Front” won four Oscars including best international film.“Congratulations on four Oscars!” Scholz tweeted.“It is a huge success for the German film, one can be rightly proud of it,” the German chancellor added. “Especially in these difficult times, it shows unmistakably how terrible and inhumane war is.”The Netflix film starring Austrian actor Felix Kammerer, which was directed and co-written by Edward Berger, also won for cinematography, production design and original score Sunday night.“With four Oscars, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ sets an unprecedented record for German film,” said Germany’s State Minister for Culture and Media, Claudia Roth. “It will bring German film worldwide attention and give it new significance.”The film is based on the classic 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. Set during World War I, it follows the life of a y...

Kimberly Palmer: How to fight the ‘pink tax’ amid inflation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:10:06 GMT

Trae Bodge, a shopping expert who lives in the New York City area, sees higher prices for products and services marketed to women everywhere: Socks, razors, shampoo and apparel are a few of the product types aimed at women that tend to cost more.“I don’t know why brands think this is acceptable,” Bodge says. “It’s another punch to the gut as we’re trying to manage our budgets right now,” she adds, referring to rising prices across consumer goods categories due to inflation.The phenomenon known as the “pink tax,” when products and services aimed at women cost more than their counterparts aimed at men, is well-documented across many goods and services. A 2021 paper co-authored by Stephanie Gonzalez Guittar, assistant professor in the sociology department at Rollins College in Florida, found that women pay more for deodorants and lotions, and that personal care products are increasingly differentiated by gender. For example, lotion for women cost an average of $2.97 per ounce compared ...

Monday Forecast: Temps in low 30s with snow showers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:10:06 GMT

CHICAGO — Snow showers expected Monday with colder conditions. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Cloudy skies with a few breaks of sun possible. Winds: NNW 10-20, G30 mph. Air quality is in the Good category for Chicagoland. High: 33.Chance of snow showers early and gradual overnight clearing. Winds: NNW 5-15 mph. Low 21.Tuesday Forecast: Mostly sunny and chilly. Winds: NNW/NNE 5-15 mph. High 36.Extended outlook calls for a sunny start to Wednesday with increasing clouds late in the day. Milder temps with highs near 50. We'll see rain return on Thursday with highs in the mid to low 50s. Falling temps all day on Friday as rain changes over to some light snow. Temps by the evening will be in the 30s for St. Patrick's Day celebrations. The weekend looks chilly with highs in the 30s. Snow showers on Saturday but more sun for Sunday. Full forecast details at the WGN Weather Center

Burning eyes and dead fish as red tide flares up on Florida coast

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:10:06 GMT

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Residents are complaining about burning eyes and breathing problems. Dead fish have washed up on beaches. A beachside festival has been canceled, even though it wasn't scheduled for another month.Florida's southwest coast experienced a flare-up of the toxic red tide algae this week, setting off concerns that it could continue to stick around for a while. The current bloom started in October. Giant seaweed blob twice the width of the US takes aim at Florida The annual BeachFest in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, sponsored by a homeowners' association, was canceled after it determined, with help from the city and the Pinellas County Health Department, that red tide likely would continue through the middle of next month when the festival was scheduled."Red Tide is currently present on the beach and is forecasted to remain in the area in the weeks to come," the Indian Rocks Beach Homeowners Association said in a letter to the public. “It is unfortunate that it had t...

What you didn’t see on TV on Oscars night

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:10:06 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s during the commercial breaks that the audience inside the Dolby Theatre really comes to life on Oscar night.The stars will gladly play for the cameras posted in their face during the global broadcast – they are actors after all – but a lot of the time it seems like most would rather just talk to their fellow artists in the room.The breaks may go on for an eternity for people watching the Oscars at home but in the Dolby, they’re never long enough as stars on the main floor abruptly end conversations and rush to take their seats again.The beginning of the show is always a scramble as security, organizers and a booming voice of god all try to coax attendees to their seats in time for the live broadcast start. Some barely made it in, like “The Last of Us” and “The Mandalorian” star Pedro Pascal, whose handler pleaded to let him in because of his appearance in host Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue, while others, like Elizabeth Banks, seem to have been shut out of the open...