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Column: Before we turn attention to a pivotal Chicago Bears offseason, a look at 10 developments from the 2023 season

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

A news-filled Chicago Bears season ends Sunday with a trip to Lambeau Field, where the Green Bay Packers have a playoff bid on the line.After that the Bears will quickly turn the page to what could be a seismic offseason at Halas Hall.General manager Ryan Poles already knows he owns the No. 1 pick in 2024, and the first order of business will be announcing the future of coach Matt Eberflus and his staff. The team’s improvements since November surely help Eberflus, but there is one final piece to the evaluation puzzle before attention turn to free agency and the draft.What does Poles plan to do with his picks? Will he choose to build around quarterback Justin Fields or chart a path with a rookie and a roster that’s far better than most teams have when choosing a passer at No. 1? The clearest options are to keep Fields and trade down for even more picks or to choose a quarterback with the top pick.Before we go headlong into the biggest Bears offseason since … the pre...

Toronto police probing alleged murder-suicide at North York home

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

Toronto police officers say they’re treating the deaths of a man and a woman at a North York home as a murder-suicide.In a Toronto Police Service statement released Saturday morning, it said officers were called to a home near Bathurst Street and Baycrest Avenue before 8:20 a.m. on Tuesday.The statement said the man and the woman were found dead inside, noting the man had “signs of trauma.” It said the pair were known to each other, but the nature of the relationship wasn’t disclosed.Investigators alleged the woman was “responsible for both deaths.”The victim was identified as 28-year-old Mert Sozdinler and officers said they’re looking to speak with those who knew him as part of their investigation.A police spokesperson wouldn’t release further information about the circumstances of the deaths and the probe underway when asked for further information on Saturday.Toronto police officers said Sozdinler’s death is the first homicid...

‘Good friends do exist’: London attack victims remembered at sentencing hearing

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

LONDON, Ont. — A father revered by relatives for his seemingly endless generosity; a devoted mother who persevered through obstacles; a grandmother who painted cartoon characters for her grandchildren and a teenage girl who a friend described as a “giver of hope.”They were the victims of the deadly attack against four members of a Muslim family perpetrated by a self-proclaimed white nationalist.Nathaniel Veltman’s killings on June 6, 2021 in London, Ont., have prompted calls for Canada to confront Islamophobia and raised new concerns about the threats of online radicalization. But at Veltman’s sentencing hearing this week, attention re-focused on his victims, members of a family that immigrated from Pakistan in 2007 and built a life in Ontario before being run down while they were out for a walk.  Forty-four-year-old Madiha Salman, her 46-year-old husband Salman Afzaal, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and the teen’s 74-year-old grandmother Talat Afzaal...

Canadian director of Mickey Mouse horror film: ‘We kind of shook the world’

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

TORONTO — Here’s Mickey!A Canadian horror director is riding a wave of viral buzz for turning Disney’s most famous character into a gruesome slasher flick.The trailer for “Mickey’s Mouse Trap” was released on Jan. 1, the same day the earliest iteration of the beloved animated rodent entered the public domain, and it’s been making headlines.“We kind of shook the world,” says Toronto-based filmmaker Jamie Bailey, 46, who has been fielding interview requests from the likes of ABC News and Rolling Stone over the last few days. “It’s been a wild ride. One of the craziest weeks of my life.”“Mickey’s Mouse Trap,” directed by Bailey and written by Simon Phillips, who also plays the titular mouse, sees a group of friends throw a birthday party at a Dave & Buster’s-esque venue, when “someone becomes possessed by Mickey Mouse and goes crazy and starts killing people.”The film was shot in eight days at Funhaven, an amusement centre in Ottawa, “on a super low, micro-budget,” says Bailey. He ...

What happens to unclaimed Texas Lottery money?

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — When Texas Lottery officials announce a winning ticket(s), a person with a winning ticket has 180 days following the draw date to claim a prize. But what happens to unclaimed Texas Lottery money?According to the Texas Lottery, the money won’t just disappear. Unclaimed $1 million winning Powerball ticket sold in Texas to expire Jan. 15 “Unclaimed prizes revert back to the State to use for several programs authorized by the Texas Legislature, including the Foundation School Fund and Fund for Veterans’ Assistance, which are the primary beneficiaries of the Texas Lottery. Government Code Section 466.408 sets forth the complete list and priority of state programs authorized to use unclaimed prize money,” Texas Lottery officials said.How and where to claim a prizeDepending on the prize amount, there are a few ways to redeem a winning ticket and collect that money, according to the Texas Lottery.Nearly all prizes are redeemable through a local claim center, the Lottery Co...

Lisa Jarvis: A pioneering Oregon project could help the youth mental health crisis

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

Last year saw a stream of dismal headlines about kids’ mental health. Children and teens in the U.S. are struggling with higher levels of depression and anxiety. Rates of suicides and eating disorders are on the rise. But now there’s reason to be hopeful: an ambitious experiment in Oregon could point the way to a novel solution.Much of the last two years has been spent trying to parse the root cause of the alarming statistics rather than discussing what to do about them, though there has been some positive change. New guidelines recommending widespread screening for childhood anxiety and depression were a good start. So was the Biden administration’s investment in helping better connect families to behavioral and health services. And several states have expanded training for educators and improved access to telehealth.But none of those can fully address a fundamental problem: The number of kids who need help exceeds the number of available mental health providers. ...

St. Paul police shoot, injure man after sex assault report; BCA investigating

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

Authorities say a man reportedly armed with a handgun was shot and injured after he charged police officers in a Frogtown apartment hallway early Saturday morning.At about 12:18 am. St. Paul police officers responded to reports of a sexual assault in progress by an armed man in the 400 block of Thomas Avenue West. The 911 caller said a man armed with a handgun was physically and sexually assaulting a woman and he could hear the woman screaming, according to a St. Paul Police Department release.When officers arrived they saw a man trying to exit the building through a back window and then go back inside.Two officers at the apartment door managed to get the woman out of the apartment safely. When officers told the man to leave, he charged, according to the release.Shots were fired by one officer and the man suffered a gunshot wound to his arm. He was taken to Regions Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The woman was not injured in the shooting.As per protocol in officer-invol...

Alaska Airlines grounding all Boeing MAX-9s after hole blows open in cabin during SoCal-bound flight 

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

Alaska Airlines has announced that they are grounding their entire fleet of Boeing MAX-9 planes following a terrifying incident in which a hole opened in the plane mid-flight. The gaping hole opened up in the fuselage of Alaska Flight 1282 on Friday evening. The plane had just taken off from Portland International Airport in Oregon and was headed for Ontario, California.  Southern California jolted by magnitude 4.2 earthquake Passengers reported hearing a “loud boom” about 20 minutes into the flight, and one woman told KTLA that a mother and her teenage son were seated in that row. “The oxygen masks dropped down, and I look to my left and hear and see wind blasting, with a piece of the wall gone,” passenger Elizabeth Le said. “I looked up and saw that the son’s shirt was completely off, and his skin was very red, most likely due to the cold air. I heard after from the son’s friend that the mom had to drag him back into the plane after the piece flew off.” “I ca...

Prince Harry, Colleen Hoover top checkout lists for San Jose library

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

What were we reading in 2023? It seems that a lot of San Jose Public Library patrons were devouring Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare” with all its family drama and Colleen Hoover’s bestselling romance novel, “It Starts With Us.”Those were the top books checked out in the system during the year, according to a set of top 10 lists published by the library system at the end of the year.Notably, with the exception of the one royal author, all the writers in the top 10 were women: Jennette McCurdy (“I’m Glad My Mom Died”), Bonnie Garmus (“Lessons in Chemistry”), Gabrielle Zevin (“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”), Emily Henry (“Happy Place” and “Book Lovers”), Michelle Obama (“The Light We Carry”), Nita Prose (“The Maid”) and Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan (“Mad Honey”).If you’ve got kids, it may come as no surprise that Dav Pilkey and J...

Winter’s first blast: Saturday’s storm begins to set in around the DC area

Published Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

Winter is taking its first shot at the D.C. area on Saturday. It’s expected to be a mixed bag that will bring messy weather.Here’s what you need to know.WTOP meteorologist Briana Bermensolo said to expect some snow and a lot of rain.“Mostly cloudy and chilly Saturday morning, with snow on the horizon,” Bermensolo said.A Winter Storm Warning remains for Washington, Frederick and Carroll counties in Maryland from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. There is also a Winter Weather Advisory until 4 p.m. along and west of Interstate 95, including Prince William County in Virginia — but it does not include D.C.Bermensolo said the rain, and possible ice, will set in pretty quickly after snow touches down in the northwestern suburbs of the District.“Up to six inches of snow is possible to the north and to the west, with a quarter-inch of ice possible near I-95,” she said. “Expect a quick transition over to rain and that rain continues through the evening hour...