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Patriots training camp Day 3: Bill O’Brien’s offense opens up, but where are the weapons?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:07:17 GMT

FOXBORO — Bill O’Brien may prove to be the Patriots’ savior this season, even if only for his Xs and Os.But through the start of training camp, O’Brien might already be running short on fishes and loaves.As the Patriots expanded their increasingly clever offensive playbook Friday, three of their five best pass-catchers literally came up empty. Through three training camp practices, wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton and tight end Mike Gesicki have yet to catch a single pass during competitive team drills. Meanwhile, sixth-round rookie wideout Demario Douglas caught four Friday — by himself.It should be noted the Pats offense continues to operate within the tight confines of the red zone against a defense that expects pass and rolled over 10 starters from last season. But if Gesicki, Bourne and Thornton fail to play to their potential, the schemes and game plans O’Brien draws up won’t matter. Football is a game of matchups.Not...

Quarterback Academy passing with flying colors thanks to Mike McCarthy

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:07:17 GMT

When Mike McCarthy started M2 Quarterback Academy a little over five years ago, he had a small, but loyal, client base of 15-20 players who wanted to get better.Now? Those players still want to get better, but McCarthy is working with a way bigger pool of signal callers.“This year we worked with over 250 kids from all different states, all throughout New England and outside of New England,” McCarthy said.But pure numbers don’t do justice for just how deep McCarthy’s footprint is here. If you’re talking about quarterbacks in Massachusetts, the number of scholarship offers has exploded in recent years, and McCarthy has played a big role in that. Actually, it might be tougher to find quarterbacks who have not worked with McCarthy in recent years.“My passion is seeing these guys develop, and seeing these guys grow, and then getting an opportunity to play at the next level,” McCarthy said.He’s succeeding in that. McCarthy hails from Martha&...

Family travel 5: In search of pristine nature

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:07:17 GMT

Lynn O’Rourke Hayes | (TNS) FamilyTravel.comOutdoor adventure and scenic views are often high on the list of vacation priorities. Here are five places that fit the bill:1. Opt for Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta, CanadaFor a top-notch opportunity to experience emerald lakes, snow-capped peaks and epic views in every direction, visit this alpine destination tucked within the majestic Canadian Rockies. Explore on foot, paddle, bike or hop in a golf cart to test your skills on the links. Stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs Resort, a caste-like landmark property inside Banff National Park. Offering stunning mountain, valley and winding-river views, the 745-room hotel is a destination in itself. Hiking, rafting, fly-fishing, championship golf, tennis, indoor and outdoor pool-time and horseback riding are all available within minutes. The Willow Stream Spa offers a full range of soothing options within 27 treatment rooms for those seeking a relaxing stay. Choose from more than a dozen on-si...

5 ways to mix fruit and beer, from lambics to radlers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:07:17 GMT

Fruit and fruit juices are among the most refreshing and delicious things to enjoy in hot weather. So it’s probably no surprise that the new wave of Hazy IPAs are so popular. They’re occasionally called juicy IPAs, after all, and their flavors often remind us of orange or grapefruit juice. Hazy IPAs are relative newcomers to the brewing scene, but brewers have been using fruit to make beer for millennia.One of the earliest known beverages made with fruit was found in Northern China and dated from 9,000 years ago: Pottery jars found in the Neolithic village of Jiahu in Henan province contained the residue of a mixed fermentation drink made with rice, honey and fruit.Molecular archaeologist Patrick McGovern, from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, asked Dogfish Head Craft Brewery to re-create the drink. The result was Chateau Jiahu, brewed with orange blossom honey, muscat grape juice, barley malt and hawthorn fruit and then fermented on sake yeast....

Moscow blames Kyiv for attacks in south Russia as Kremlin forces hit Ukrainian buildings

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:07:17 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces on Friday struck the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro and pounded a key village in the southeast that Ukraine claimed to have recaptured in its grinding counteroffensive, while Moscow accused Kyiv of firing two missiles at southern Russia and wounding 20 people.President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, marked Ukraine’s Statehood Day by reaffirming the country’s sovereignty — a rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who used his claim that Ukraine didn’t exist as a nation to justify his invasion.“Now, like more than a thousand years ago, our civilizational choice is unity with the world,” Zelenskyy said in a speech on a square outside St. Michael’s Monastery in Kyiv. “To be a power in world history. To have the right to its national history -– of its people, its land, its state. And of our children -– all future generations of the Ukrainian people. We will definitely win!”He also honored servicemen and handed out first passpo...

Record number of homeless people have died in Alaska’s largest city, report says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:07:17 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A record number of people believed to be homeless have died on the streets of Alaska’s largest city in the last seven months, and the count could increase before the year is out, according to police report data compiled by a newspaper.The death count stood at 29 on Friday, surpassing the previous record of 24 set for all of last year, the Anchorage Daily News reported.Of this year’s count, more than half of the people died after the city closed its mass shelter at the Sullivan Arena on May 1, according to police incident reports.“That’s very unfortunate,” Alexis Johnson, the city’s homeless coordinator, told the newspaper when hearing about the deaths for the first time on Thursday. “Takes your breath away a little bit. It’s unacceptable.”The Anchorage Daily News began tracking deaths of people found outdoors and with no fixed addresses in 2017. It notes the system doesn’t catch all deaths of those experiencing homelessness.Six deaths occurred over a four-da...

Toronto man charged in sexual assault allegedly recorded the act on camera: police

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:07:17 GMT

Toronto police have arrested and charged a man in an alleged sexual assault that occurred last year when the accused committed the indecent act and recorded it on camera.Investigators were notified of a sexual assault on November 23, 2022, at 1 p.m. in the Eglinton Avenue and Scarlett Road area in the city’s west end.It’s alleged that a victim attended the apartment of the accused, who allegedly sexually assaulted the victim and recorded the interaction on a hidden camera.Investigators executed a search warrant at a home in Toronto, and police said electronic and computer equipment was seized.Police arrested and charged 55-year-old Dean Roberts of Toronto. He’s facing charges that include sexual assault, voyeurism and publishing intimate images without consent.He was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.Police are concerned there may be more victims.

Supreme Court’s student loan decision will lower US deficit according to new White House projection

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:07:17 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruling that upended President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive student loan debt changed his budget math, modestly lowering the projected deficit for this year, his budget office reported Friday. The White House expects to pare back $259 billion in spending that otherwise would have gone to erasing student loans. This contributed to lowering expected red ink this year under Biden’s budget plans from $1.569 trillion to $1.543 trillion.The Office of Management and Budget’s Mid-Session Review represents the administration’s first recalculations of the loan program since the court’s June decision, which will affect millions of borrowers. The court decision initially was expected to reduce the deficit by $400 billion. But a portion of that money will instead be used to pay for a smaller income-driven loan repayment program that goes into effect this summer, according to the report. Millions of Americans with student loans will be abl...

Stock market today: Wall Street returns to rallying following reports on profits and inflation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:07:17 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is back to climbing on Friday following more encouraging profit reports and the latest signal that inflation is loosening its chokehold on the economy.The S&P 500 was 1% higher in the late afternoon, with less than an hour remaining in trading, and near its highest level in more than 15 months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 182 points, or 0.5%, at 35,465 after breaking a 13-day winning streak the day before. The Nasdaq composite was up 1.9% as Big Tech stocks led the market.Stocks have been rallying recently on hopes high inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates. That in turn could allow the economy to continue growing and avoid a long-predicted recession. The S&P 500 is on track to close out a third straight winning week and its ninth in the last 11. A report on Friday bolstered those hopes, saying the inflation measure the Fed prefers to use slowed last month by a touch more than expected. Pe...

Tennessee governor declines to say if he has enough votes for gun proposal

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:07:17 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee on Friday wouldn’t say whether his proposal to keep firearms away from dangerous people has enough support inside Tennessee’s Republican-dominant Statehouse to survive the upcoming special legislative session. In roughly three weeks, lawmakers are expected to be called back to Nashville to address possible changes to the state’s gun laws, an effort that gained momentum after a shooter opened fire at a Nashville elementary school earlier this year and killed six people, including three 9-year-old children. Yet even as traumatized families closely connected to the shooting have pleaded and lobbied for more restrictions on who can access guns, GOP lawmakers have appeared hesitant to adopt any pro-gun control proposals. Back in May, Lee announced that he would call a special session after the Republican lawmakers initially refused to consider his proposal designed to keep guns away from people who could harm themselves or others.Si...