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Chicago Bears Week 12 storylines: Justin Fields’ top moments, Teven Jenkins’ resurgence and the curious case of Montez Sweat’s snap count

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:18:49 GMT

With the sting of a late collapse against the Detroit Lions dissipating, the Chicago Bears have turned their focus to a potential rebound Monday night in Minneapolis. The Bears head into U.S. Bank Stadium for a rematch with the Minnesota Vikings, who beat them 19-13 in Week 6.The Bears haven’t beaten an NFC North opponent since late in the 2021 season and have yet to win consecutive games with Matt Eberflus as coach. As kickoff nears, here’s the inside slant on three notable storylines.Getting things rightJustin Fields’ first completion of a promising afternoon last week came on the move and off script, a blitz beater that required the Bears quarterback to quickly recognize pressure coming from Lions safety Brian Branch and adapt.Running back D’Onta Foreman did a terrific job of picking up Branch and steering him behind Fields in the pocket. Then Fields did his thing, stepping up, evading pressure up the middle and scrambling to his left while keeping his eye...

Theft from parked car nets suspect over $300K in jewellery

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:18:49 GMT

A suspect made off with over $300,000 in jewellrey after a smash and grab from a parked car in the Highway 27 and Albion Road area last month, Toronto police investigators say.It happened on Thursday, October 19, at around 4:20 p.m.A police release says the victim parked his car in the area, and later arrived back to see the passenger side window smashed and a bag containing the valuable jewellrey gone.On Monday, police released an image of the suspect.He’s described as 25 to 35 years old with a medium build, wearing a blue GAP sweater with blue track pants and white running shoes. He was also wearing a black baseball hat and was carrying a black/white Adidas bag.

Baytex Energy selling some Viking assets in southwest Saskatchewan for $153.8M

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:18:49 GMT

CALGARY — Baytex Energy Corp. says it has signed a deal to sell some of its Viking assets in southwest Saskatchewan for $153.8 million.Production from the assets located at Forgan and Plato is about 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of light and medium crude oil.The company says the net proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce bank debt.The sale is expected to close before the end of the year.Baytex has operations producing oil and natural gas in Western Canada and the Eagle Ford region in the United States.Shares in the company were down a penny at $5.21 in late-morning trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:BTE)The Canadian Press

As Trump’s fraud trial eyes his sweeping financial reports, executive says they’re not done anymore

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:18:49 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s company no longer prepares the sweeping financial statements that New York state contends were full of deceptive numbers for years, an executive testified Monday at the former president’s civil fraud trial. Trump’s 2014 to 2021 “statements of financial condition” are at the heart of state Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him, his company and some of its key figures. The defendants deny wrongdoing, but James says they misled lenders and insurers by giving them financial statements that greatly inflated Trump’s asset values and overall net worth. Nowadays, the Trump Organization continues to prepare various audits and other financial reports specific to some of its components, but “there is no roll-up financial statement of the company,” said Mark Hawthorn, the chief operating officer of the Trump Organization’s hotel arm. He wasn’t asked why the comprehensive reports had ceased but said they are “...

Report says Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers used alternate email under name of Hall of Fame pitcher

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:18:49 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has been using an alternative state email account under the name of a late Hall of Fame baseball player as a security measure, his spokesperson said Monday. Evers, a Democrat, used a taxpayer-funded email account with the name “[email protected]” to discuss public business with top-level Cabinet appointees and others, the conservative outlet Wisconsin Right Now first reported on Sunday. Warren Spahn is a Hall of Fame former Milwaukee Braves pitcher. Evers’ spokesperson Britt Cudaback on Monday said use of the alias email addresses is common.“As a matter of digital security, dignitaries in the state of Wisconsin have alias email addresses, including the governor, first lady, and lieutenant governor, as has been the case for at least the last decade that I’m aware of, including under former Gov. Walker,” Cudaback said.Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, said he was troubled a...

Madagascar’s main opposition candidate files a lawsuit claiming fraud in the presidential election

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:18:49 GMT

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — The main opposition candidate in Madagascar said Monday he has filed lawsuits with the country’s highest court seeking to have the results of this month’s national election canceled and incumbent President Andry Rajoelina’s victory declared invalid, claiming fraud.Rajoelina, 49, was announced Saturday as the winner of the Nov. 16 election with 58.95% of the votes, giving him a third term as leader of the Indian Ocean island.Rajoelina’s victory was announced by the national electoral commission but needs to be ratified within nine days by the High Constitutional Court.The runup to the vote saw protests led by a coalition of opposition candidates and the burning of some ballot stations on the eve of election day. Ten of the 12 opposition candidates called for a boycott of the vote, although their names appeared on ballot papers.Some Rajoelina supporters have claimed they were promised money to vote for him.Main opposition candida...

Book Review: Lauren Grodstein’s masterpiece of historical fiction set in Warsaw Ghetto during WWII

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:18:49 GMT

The Oneg Shabbat archive was a secret project of Jewish prisoners in the Warsaw Ghetto to record their histories as they awaited deportation to Nazi death camps during World War II. Lauren Grodstein has used this historical fact as the basis for her mesmerizing new novel, “We Must Not Think of Ourselves.”It is narrated by a fictional schoolteacher, Adam Paskow, who conducts interviews for the real-life archives as he falls in love with a married woman, Sala Wiskoff, with whom he shares overcrowded quarters.Grodstein, who was inspired to write the book after a Jewish family heritage trip to Warsaw, where she first encountered the diary entries, propaganda posters and other materials that comprise the archives, excels at character development and naturalistic dialogue. In Adam, she has created an immensely appealing protagonist, notwithstanding his adulterous affair with Sala, who is equally charismatic.Before the war, Adam was living a quiet, bookish life in a prosperous neighborhood...

Hiam Abbass’ Palestinian family documentary ‘Bye Bye Tiberias’ applauded at Marrakech Film Festival

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:18:49 GMT

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — Thirty years ago, Palestinian actor Hiam Abbass left her home to pursue her dreams of being in the movies, joining generations of women in her family who were shaped by exile and “learned to leave everything and start anew.”That’s one of the stories told in her director daughter Lina Soualem’s documentary “Bye Bye Tiberias,” which received a standing ovation and shouts of “Long Live Palestine” on Saturday night at the Marrakech International Film Festival for the film’s first screening in the Arab world.The documentary, the Palestinian entry for next year’s Academy Award for Best International Feature, follows Abbass and Soualem as the mother-daughter pair laugh, cry and tell the story of four generations of women in their family.“Bye Bye Tiberias” first premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, more than a month before the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war, sparked by the militant group’s deadly incursion into Is...

Defence begins its case in criminal trial of high-profile ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:18:49 GMT

OTTAWA — Defence lawyers for “Freedom Convoy” organizers Chris Barber and Tamara Lich have started laying out their case in an Ottawa courtroom.Eric Granger, a lawyer for Lich, is arguing today that there is no direct evidence linking her to any unlawful activities that took place in downtown Ottawa during the protest.The two are co-accused of mischief and intimidation, among other charges connected to the massive demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions that gridlocked the area near Parliament Hill for weeks in early 2022.The Crown wrapped up its case last Monday after weeks of testimony about the disruptive nature of the demonstrations, arguing that Barber and Lich exerted influence over protesters’ behaviour.The defence filed a motion last Tuesday arguing that Lich and Barber shouldn’t be viewed as co-conspirators because their actions weren’t criminal. Judge Heather Perkins-McVey says she doesn’t expect to make a ruling on the motion this w...

Ontario to upload DVP, Gardiner costs in new deal with Toronto

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:18:49 GMT

The province of Ontario will be uploading the costs of the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway in a new deal with the City of Toronto.In exchange, the city will back down on the fight over Ontario Place, a move that would clear the way for the Ford government’s redevelopment plans for the Crown lands.The details of the fresh agreement were unveiled in a Monday morning joint news conference at Queen’s Park with Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.“This historic new deal will help support the future growth of Toronto, delivering shared priorities like building homes, public transit and infrastructure,” said Ford in a statement. “Toronto is critical to Ontario and Canada’s economic success, and we need all levels of government working together to deliver solutions that protect services and put the city on a path towards long-term financial sustainability.”#BREAKING – Premier Ford confirms the province will take control of the DVP and Gardi...