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Justin Fields, Jaylon Johnson address their uncertain futures with the Chicago Bears — what we learned at Halas Hall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:32 GMT

After Sunday’s devastating 20-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Chicago Bears returned to practice Wednesday. Coach Matt Eberflus has pushed his players to reset and refocus with the Arizona Cardinals coming to town for Christmas Eve. The Bears are home favorites for Sunday’s game but will have to be sharp to get back on the winning track.As the team readies for its Week 16 test, here are five things we learned Wednesday at Halas Hall.1. Quarterback Justin Fields is aware of the amplified talk about his uncertain future.The chatter has been escalating recently — both in Chicago and across the league — as curiosity heightens for how the Bears will handle their quarterback decisions during a pivotal 2024 offseason. Fields still has two seasons remaining on his rookie contract but remains the subject of significant trade speculation with the Bears potentially in line to own the No. 1 pick for April’s draft.Will the team opt to reboot at quarterback by s...

Celtics’ Jayson Tatum misses game vs. Kings with ankle injury, return unknown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:32 GMT

Celtics star Jayson Tatum missed Wednesday night’s game against the Kings due to a left ankle sprain he suffered in Tuesday’s loss to the Warriors.Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Tatum is day-to-day with the injury and described Tatum’s ankle as “sore” and “swollen,” but did not offer a timetable on when he might return. The C’s next play on Saturday against the Clippers.“He loves to play. I’m sure he would do anything to play,” Mazzulla told reporters pregame in Sacramento. “But it was obviously sore, obviously it was swollen. You could tell it limited him during the game. He did a good job of fighting through it, but it’s a day-to-day thing and we’ll see how it goes.”Tatum suffered the injury in the first quarter of Tuesday’s loss when he stepped on the foot of Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski. He immediately hobbled off the court and straight to the locker room, and returned for the start of the second quarter. But he was clearly not himself for the rest of the game as he finish...

Texas begins flying migrants from southern border to Chicago. The 1st plane carried over 120 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:32 GMT

By PAUL J. WEBER (Associated Press)AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas sent a plane with more than 120 migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to Chicago in an escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s busing operation that has given more than 80,000 migrants free rides to Democratic-led cities across the country since last year. The first flight, which left from El Paso and arrived Tuesday, was arranged a week after Chicago’s city council took new action over the busloads of migrants that have drawn sharp criticism from Mayor Brandon Johnson. The city has said bus operators began trying to drop off people in neighboring cities to avoid penalties that include fines, towing or impoundment.Bus operators could now face tougher penalties in Chicago for not unloading new arrivals at a designated location or failing to fill out city paperwork. Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said Wednesday that the flights were the result of Johnson “targeting migrant buses” from Tex...

Judge weighs request to stop nation’s first execution by nitrogen, in Alabama

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:32 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge heard diverging arguments Wednesday about the humaneness and risks of execution by nitrogen gas as he weighs whether to let Alabama attempt the nation’s first use of the method.Attorneys for Kenneth Eugene Smith are asking a judge to block his Jan. 25 execution by nitrogen hypoxia. They argued that the method violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment and said the mask, which is fitted seal over his nose and mouth, would interfere with his ability to pray with his spiritual adviser. Robert Grass, an attorney for Smith, told the judge the execution method “exposes Mr. Smith to the risk of superadded pain” which is not allowed under the U.S. Constitution. The state attorney general’s office urged U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. to reject the request, saying the method is humane. Huffaker did not indicate when he will rule. The execution method would use the mask to replace breathable air with nitrogen,...

Toronto police report staggering rise in hate crimes against Jews, Muslims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:32 GMT

Hate crimes in Toronto are occurring at an alarming rate as Toronto police release another set of staggering statistics showing Muslim and Jewish communities continue to be targeted.“This is a kind of hatred we should never see in Canada,” said Jaime Kirzener-Roberts with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, reacting to the 211 per cent increase in antisemitic incidents reported to police since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in early October compared to the same time a year ago.Kirzener-Roberts says they are receiving upwards of 500 emails a day regarding public safety concerns.“Is it safe for my child to be at school, is it safe to be walking around our neighbourhood, is it safe to have a Menorah in our window,” she says of the questions being asked by the community. “Jewish kids being told they should go die in a gas chamber, kids being spit at …Jewish children being called baby killers – and we know hateful words lead to hateful deed...

Vigil held for 5-year-old migrant boy who died at Chicago shelter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:32 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Hundreds of migrants and other people turned out Wednesday night for a vigil held for a 5-year-old migrant boy who died after becoming ill in a Chicago shelter. Jean Carlos Martinez was a resident at a warehouse retrofitted as a shelter in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood when he suffered a medical emergency, the city said. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a hospital Sunday afternoon. Six more people living in the shelter — four children and two adults — were hospitalized this week, Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford said.All had been living in the same shelter as Martinez, whose family arrived in Chicago on Nov. 30. The cause of death was still pending Wednesday, according to Cook County medical examiner records.“This was a preventable death. This was also a predictable death,” said social worker Britt Hodgdon, who spoke at the vigil. “People are here. They are our brothers and sisters. They deserve to be safe and cared for and living in...

Signing day: Georgia has top class after 5-star flip; Ohio State sigh of relief on No. 1 player

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:32 GMT

The early signing period in college football opened Wednesday with some five-star drama.Georgia likely locked up the top recruiting class by flipping an in-state blue-chip player away from Florida State. The consensus No. 1 recruit in the country had Ohio State’s Ryan Day literally sighing with relief, and then made the coach wait hours before officially becoming a Buckeye. Florida managed to hold on to a couple of five-stars amid a flurry of late de-commits.Meanwhile, the long and winding recruitment of Dylan Raiola ended bright and early with the highly touted quarterback signing a national letter of intent with Nebraska, the school where his father was an All-American offensive lineman.College football’s early signing period, jammed into what has become an overloaded December calendar with postseason games and players transferring, has become the signing period.“The schedule is not good. It’s chaotic,” Penn State coach James Franklin told reporters.The big schoo...

4 months later, still no word on return of SoxFest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:32 GMT

CHICAGO — While the Chicago Cubs recently announced the lineup for Cubs Con 2024 this winter, their South Side counterparts have remained silent on whether SoxFest will return for the first time in nearly four years.Back in August, my former-colleague here at WGN — Larry Hawley — posed a question to the Chicago White Sox organization."Will SoxFest return in 2024?"Much like the conversation now, the question coincided with the Cubs making an announcement on their own festival that annually celebrates fans — they announced the dates for Cubs Con 2024.The White Sox's answer at the time was, "No official plans for SoxFest to announce at the moment, but we are working on plans to celebrate fans this winter.”Fast forward to Tuesday of this week, I followed up to see if anything had changed."I was wondering if there were any plans from the Chicago White Sox to bring back SoxFest ahead of the 2024 MLB regular season?" I asked. "... Any information you can provide on the return of SoxFest, o...

Passenger hid 17 bullets in baby diaper at New York airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — It was a loaded diaper, but not like you would think.Security officers found 17 bullets concealed inside a disposable baby diaper Wednesday at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, the Transportation Security Administration said.Officers pulled the otherwise clean diaper from a passenger's carry-on bag after it triggered an alarm in an X-ray machine at an airport security checkpoint, the TSA said. Passengers could get $75 for delays under Southwest settlement According to the agency, the passenger initially claimed he didn't know how the bullet-filled diaper ended up in his bag. Later he suggested his girlfriend put it there, the agency said.The TSA identified the passenger as a man from Arkansas who was ticketed for a flight to Chicago’s Midway Airport, but did not disclose his name. Port Authority police cited him for unlawful possession of the 9mm ammunition.This combination of photos provided by the Transportation Security Administration shows 17 bullets security offic...

DeMar DeRozan stars as the Chicago Bulls knock off the Los Angeles Lakers 124-108

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:32 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan had 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls beat LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 124-108 on Wednesday night.Chicago shot 54.5% from the field and had eight players score in double figures. Coby White had 17 points and reserve Ayo Dosunmu added 14. Nikola Vucevic had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season.Despite the continued absence of All-Star guard Zach LaVine due to right foot inflammation, the Bulls opened a six-game homestand with their third win in four games. They also played without forward Torrey Craig after they announced Tuesday that he could miss up to 10 weeks with a right plantar fascia injury.James had 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Los Angeles, falling just shy of a second consecutive triple-double. Anthony Davis had 19 points and 14 rebounds in his hometown.The Lakers have dropped four of five since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament.Trailing by as much as 18 p...