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Defending champ Newton North returns to Div. 1 state final

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:36 GMT

NEWTON ­– For the third consecutive season, the Newton North girls volleyball team is heading to the Division 1 state championship.The No. 1 Tigers (24-1) swept No. 5 Needham (17-4) 3-0 to advance to the title game and get the chance to win the state championship for the second straight year.“It feels great,” Tigers coach Nile Fox said. “We work hard for this all year. We always want to make it to the last game of the season, so it feels great because the girls worked hard. This is us getting the fruits of our labor.”Newton North won the opening two points, which Fox said was huge as the team emphasized strong starts to sets in preparation of the matchup.“(Starting strong) is something we have been talking about the last couple of days,” Fox said. “During the whole playoff run we have been starting slow, so we really wanted to come in and start off strong. That’s been our focal point at practice because we know Needham is a great team and if we started slow it could bring trouble fo...

Justin Fields has 7 games to prove himself to the Chicago Bears — but ‘it just starts with Sunday,’ the QB says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:36 GMT

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields isn’t focused on proving himself over the final seven games of the season — though it will be necessary to do that as team leadership charts its future.Fields’ purpose is narrower as he prepares to make his first start in more than a month Sunday against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.“Just go out there and win games,” Fields said Wednesday after practice at Halas Hall. “I’m not here to prove anything to anybody. I’m playing for my teammates, I’m playing for the coaches and that’s it. Everything else will take care of itself.“So I’m not necessarily trying to prove anything to anybody. Just go out there with my brothers and perform.”Bears coach Matt Eberflus announced before practice that the Bears plan to start Fields on Sunday, saying Fields is “progressing well” from the dislocated right thumb that kept him out of four games.Fields practiced in full We...

Terminal One nearly halfway to takeoff, structural steel construction now complete

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:36 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego International Airport’s new Terminal One is nearly halfway to takeoff. Airport officials confirmed the new terminal is about 40% done.“We’re about 40% of the way there already, still have two years to go, but seeing the structure rise from the ground and getting a good sense of what it’s going to look like is very exciting,” said Gill Cabrera, chair of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Board of Directors.To commemorate the milestone of completing the construction on the structural steel, airport and city leaders signed the last steel beam.“Tradition in the construction industry is to have everyone involved in the process, sign the last beam and at some point later, hoist it up and it will be the last structural beam,” Cabrera said.Construction began in 2021 on the $3.4 billion project. The new terminal will have 30 gates, 19 of them are expected to open in summer 2025, which will complete the first phase. Then, the old terminal will be demolished...

Authorities in New York say they’ve made largest-ever seizure of knock-off goods – more than $1B

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal authorities in on Wednesday announced the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods, consisting of handbags, shoes and other luxury merchandise valued at more than $1 billion.Two people were charged with trafficking the knock-offs from a New York City storage unit and other locations from January through October, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Photographs released by prosecutors showed shelves stacked with counterfeit wallets and bags in one location and handbags hanging from hooks from floor to ceiling in another. “The seizures announced today consist of merchandise with over a billion dollars in estimated retail value, the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods in U.S. history,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. The two men charged could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The Associated Press

Toronto man wanted in sexual assault offered to drive victim to place of worship

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:36 GMT

Toronto police say a man is wanted for allegedly sexually assaulting a victim in the parking lot of a place of worship. Authorities were called to the Dufferin Street and Rogers Road area in St. Clair West Village just before 3:30 p.m. on November 8. It’s reported that the suspect offered to drive the victim to a place of worship, and when they arrived, he sexually assaulted them in the parking lot.Police identified the suspect as 36-year-old Marlon Gowdie of Toronto, who is wanted for sexual assault.He’s described as approximately five-foot-six with a slim build and short black hair. His photo has been released.

Nevada’s attorney general is investigating fake electors in 2020 for Trump, AP source says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:36 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada’s attorney general is investigating six Republican electors who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election, a person with knowledge of the case said Wednesday.It was not immediately clear if the ongoing probe was a criminal or civil matter. But the probe adds to official scrutiny of fake electors in several swing states won by President Joe Biden in 2020, including investigations in Georgia, Michigan and Arizona. Fake electors were charged in Georgia and Michigan, and Trump faces charges both in Georgia and in a federal investigation of his conduct related to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Politico and NBC News first reported the existence of the investigation. Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat, did not respond Wednesday to messages. He has said in the past that his office was...

Justin Torres and Ned Blackhawk are among the winners of National Book Awards

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Torres’ novel “Blackouts” has won the National Book Award for fiction. On Wednesday night, the nonfiction prize was awarded to Ned Blackhawk’s “The Rediscovery of America” and young people’s literature was won by Dan Santat’s “A First Time for Everything.” Craig Santos Perez’s “from incorporated territory (åmot)” was cited for best poetry, and Stênio Gardel’s “The Words That Remain,” translated from Portuguese by Bruna Dantas Lobato, won for literature in translation. Oprah Winfrey gave an emotional keynote address during the dinner ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street, and honorary medals were presented to poet Rita Dove and to Paul Yamazaki, a longtime bookseller at San Francisco’s famed City Lights store.Winners in the five competitive categories each received $10,000.Hillel Italie, The Associated Press

Suspect asked Toronto taxi driver if he was Muslim before assault: police

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:36 GMT

Toronto police are attempting to identify a suspect wanted in a hate-motivated assault after they allegedly asked a taxi driver if he was Muslim before spraying him in the face with an unknown substance. Authorities were called to the Front Street and Yonge Street area just before 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Related: 3 teens arrested after suspected hate-motivated ‘violent attack’ in downtown Toronto It’s alleged that a taxi cab driver was in the area when he approached the suspect, rolled down his window, and asked if he needed a ride.Police said the suspect asked the driver if he was Muslim. He then sprayed the victim in the face with an unknown substance.A spokesperson tells police the victim was taken to a hospital and had his eyes flushed out. The suspect is a white man between 20 and 30 years old, six feet tall, and last seen wearing a black coat and black pants.

WGN Exclusive: Migrants, crime, investment in people: Brandon Johnson's first 6 months as mayor 

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:36 GMT

CHICAGO —  At public events and press conferences Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks directly to his base. There’s no filter. He does not modify messaging for reporters or those who don’t side with political ideology. This teacher turned activist turned politician is unapologetic about his agenda: the working class and people of color.Johnson, middle child, son of a preacher, resident of the West Side was elected 57th mayor of Chicago promising bold progressivism. Six months on the job, items off his wish list have either been introduced or won final approval at City Council. But intractable problems like the busing of migrants to Chicago from the Southern border and crime have dominated headlines since his swearing in. Related: City Council overwhelmingly approves Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget “As I’ve said repeatedly, I don’t know if there’s ever been a mayor that understand the trauma that violence causes in communities than someone like me who is living in one of those communi...

Block Club Chicago journalist dead, father critical after house fire in Brighton Park

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:36 GMT

CHICAGO — A journalist who worked to cover the City's Southwest Side is dead, and her father is in the intensive care unit after a fire consumed their Brighton Park home last week.Family members told WGN News the Villaseñor family gathered in front of their house Friday evening as flames spread throughout the building, except for 31-year-old Rocio Villaseñor, who was asleep in her bedroom in the attic.Rocio's sister, Marisol Villaseñor, said her brother and father ran toward a strong noise when the fire erupted."They all heard a loud explosion in the back of the home," Marisol Villaseñor said. "As soon as they opened the door, a ball of black smoke came in and all they saw were flames ... My dad ran directly into the flames."Unfortunately, 69-year-old Crecencio Villaseñor couldn't reach his daughter and hours later, the family found out Rocio did not survive the fire. After first responders arrived at the fire, Crecencio Villaseñor was taken to a local hospital in critical condition...