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Chicago Bears in the 2023 NFL draft: 3 prospects, including DT Gervon Dexter, are added to the defense on Day 2

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:03 GMT

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles is off and running with his draft weekend to-do list, looking to improve a last-place roster and accelerate the team’s return toward playoff contention.In a demanding and busy offseason, Poles has expressed eagerness to do his heaviest lifting through the draft. That process began in Thursday night’s first round and will continue through Saturday evening.Bears remaining picks in 2023 NFL draft (Saturday)Round 4: Nos. 103 and 133Round 5: No. 148Round 7: Nos. 218 and 258As Poles and the Bears navigate the weekend, we will offer you a comprehensive look at each of the players the team selects.Catch up on our draft coverageBears trade down again and select Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright with the No. 10 pick in the NFL draftColumn: Drafting Darnell Wright the latest item on the checklist so the Bears can better evaluate Justin FieldsColumn: The Panthers made Bryce Young the No. 1 pick. Here’s why it matters to Ryan Pol...

Former secretary of state Clinton to join Liberal convention in Ottawa next week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:03 GMT

OTTAWA — Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the first woman to run as a major party candidate for United States president, will headline the Liberal Party of Canada’s national convention on May 5.Clinton will join Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland for a fireside-style chat onstage on the second day of the three-day event in Ottawa.Clinton rose to national prominence first during the presidential terms of her husband, Bill Clinton, in the 1990s, before her launching her own political career as a senator from New York. She was the 67th secretary of state during the first term of president Barack Obama before securing the Democratic nomination for the 2016 presidential election, which she lost to Donald Trump.In 2021, Clinton endorsed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, calling him her friend and wishing “our progressive Canadian neighbours” the best just three days before the vote.Trudeau will speak at the convention May 4 but is expected to...

Global Citizen NOW summit yields commitments, big and small

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:03 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Hugh Evans highlighted a staggering new statistic to explain why this year’s Global Citizen NOW conference was packed with calls to action and urgent requests for involvement.The CEO of Global Citizen, who has been fighting against extreme poverty since he was 14, told The Associated Press that climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and a global debt crisis have erased decades of progress in raising people’s quality of life.“For the first time in my lifetime, we’re making reverse progress on this issue,” Evans said. “When I was born in 1983, 52% of the planet lived in extreme poverty. We got it down to 7%. That was about 690 million people. It’s now increased by hundreds of millions in the last three years.”This reversal is why Evans turned the two-day Global Citizen NOW conference, which wrapped up Friday night in New York, into a collection of calls to action. Political, business, philanthropic and cultural leaders urged Global Citizen supporters...

Biden huddles with top donors as 2024 effort kicks off

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:03 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden thanked some of his top donors Friday night as he launches a reelection campaign that is expected to need to raise well over $1 billion to secure his second term. “It’s because of you, I’m standing here,” Biden said in the ballroom of a Washington hotel. “And it’s because of you, we’re going to win this time around.”The weekend summit is not a fundraiser and it was not clear how many of the attendees had yet cut checks to Biden’s campaign. Rather, it is billed as a strategy session for about 150 high-dollar donors and fundraisers who will tap their networks to help fund Biden’s campaign over the next 18 months. Also in attendance were some of the Democratic Party’s most high-profile governors — Gavin Newsom of California, Wes Moore of Maryland and Phil Murphy of New Jersey — and other lawmakers who are close with the president. “We’re still in a battle for the soul of this country,” Biden said, echoing his campaign messag...

History made: Austin Energy graduates first woman from climbing school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:03 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Cherie Agguire made history Friday. She graduated Austin Energy's climbing school, becoming the first woman to ever do so. Climbing school is a three-week training program and serves as the official start of a four-year apprenticeship. Agguire was one of nearly a dozen other trainees who graduated Friday. "You know, honestly it is a lot of hard work, you do have to be confident in yourself to not only keep up with the men, but just keep up in general with your own progress, you have to trust the progress," Agguire said. "You do have to be strong, you do have to take care of yourself, but don't be intimidated."Trainees celebrated graduation by climbing a 70-foot "confidence pole" to culminate their training, Austin Energy said.After passing climbing school, the apprentices will be assigned to a crew and continue their training on the job for about four years before becoming lineworkers. It's a combination of formal classroom and field training.

Forest Lake school bus driver strike averted as tentative agreement reached

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:03 GMT

School bus drivers and aides in Forest Lake and officials with the Forest Lake Area School District on Friday night reached a tentative contract agreement, averting a strike that was set to start Tuesday.The tentative agreement — which still must be approved by union members — raises starting wages for bus drivers from $18.60 an hour to $20.03 an hour; starting wages for special education aides went from $15.88 to $17.03, said Amy Perusse, negotiator and business agent for Teamsters Local 320.The tentative agreement also applies 29 cents to the top wage without previously proposed cuts to the 403(b) contribution from the district, Perusse said.Superintendent Steve Massey said district officials were “pleased to have been able to find common ground with our valuable bus drivers.”“We are grateful that we have avoided the disruption a strike would have caused to families, students, the community and the bus drivers and aides,” Massey wrote in a message to families.Officials with Teamst...

Skinker DeBaliviere residents say man who shot officer was agitated 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:03 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department rushed to the intersection of DeBaliviere Avenue and Kingsbury Place Friday afternoon after one of their own was wounded.  Investigators said a resident inside the Winter Garden Apartments had a gun in a pocket and shot the officer. The officer was conscious, breathing, and described as “stable” after being taken to an area hospital. A second officer suffered a hand injury and was expected to recover.  Top story: One officer hurt, one shot in St. Louis “It was an ugly scene,” said Angela Williams, a resident living inside the apartment. “It was like I was in a movie.” She lives on the second floor and believes the shooting occurred directly above her unit. She said it sounded like there was a scuffle before she witnessed the injured officers being taken to the hospital. “The one cop came out, he was walking, but he was bleeding,” Williams said. She said the wounded officer was...

Murder victim’s families unite for justice and healing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:03 GMT

FLORISSANT, Mo. - Moms from across the country united in north St. Louis County to stand up to violence.They’re families who have lost their children to homicide and are coming together in a group called Voices of Black Mothers United.“We also want to be a voice. We want to start bringing about solutions here in St. Louis," said Sylvia Bennett-Stone. "So this is the start of engagement, a movement, and us getting together and saying we’re going to make a difference.”She and Johnetta Doss are two mothers whose teenage daughters were murdered. Top story: One officer hurt, one shot in St. Louis “My days haven’t really been happy since I lost my daughter," Doss said. "So to know there is another mother out there—rooting for me, pushing me, speaking life into me. It means a lot.”They organized a Survivor’s Ball to lift up mothers grieving in ways that few can understand. They’re also working together to find solutions.“There’s not one answer to this madness. Our youth are killing our y...

Injured St. Louis officers in stable condition after engaging with subject

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:03 GMT

ST. LOUIS - It was a tense scene outside the trauma center in the Central West End as police officers waited to hear how their colleagues were doing.Eventually, good news came as two officers were dealing with injuries sustained in a behavioral health incident in the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood.One officer, a 15-year veteran, was shot multiple times in the arm and shoulders. That officer is conscious and alert. One more officer dealing with cuts to their hands while subduing the 71-year-old subject who was "not compliant with his medication," according to Chief Robert Tracy for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department."Thankfully, this was not a lot worse because it could have been,” Tracy said outside the level one trauma center. Trending -- Students and teacher rally around fired Webster Groves teacher The officers drove themselves about a mile and a half to the trauma center instead of waiting for EMS.“I think they made the call or an audible,” Tracy said.Tracy said th...

How to claim Facebook privacy settlement money

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:03 GMT

ST. LOUIS - You may have seen an alert on your Facebook page recently saying you’re entitled to payment from the settlement of a lawsuit. It is a legitimate offer, and it’s all tied to the $725 million privacy settlement, Facebook’s parent company Meta, has agreed to pay to those affected.The case alleges Cambridge Analytica, a firm with ties to former President Donald Trump’s political strategist Steve Bannon, paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. Trending -- Students and teacher rally around fired Webster Groves teacher That data was used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign. Anyone in the U.S. who’s had a Facebook account at any time from May 24, 2007, to December 2022, can apply for a share of the settlement money. All you have to do is file a claim online. You can also print the form, fill it out, and mail it.It's not clear how much money individual users will receive. The more people who submit a c...