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Chicago Bears Week 15 storylines: Justin Fields’ well-timed test, DJ Moore’s ‘Slim Shady’ magic and some ‘In the hunt’ perspective

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:35 GMT

Positive vibes are pulsating through Halas Hall this week with the Chicago Bears having won three of their last four games and, more importantly, playing a much more competitive brand of football.Last week’s 28-13 romp over the Detroit Lions added momentum and confidence to the tank as the Bears prepare to go back on the road for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.They have justifiable reason to believe they can keep their late-season surge going. But they also understand the challenge that awaits, particularly from a stingy — albeit beat-up — Browns defense that has the potency to provide a reality check.As Sunday’s game approaches, here’s the inside slant on three notable storylines.Right place — right time?It was less than an hour after his biggest victory as an NFL starter, less than an hour after the locker-room dance party began to celebrate the Bears’ 28-13 trouncing of the first-place Lions, and still Justin Fields was ...

US businesswoman Michelle Kang acquires London City Lionesses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:35 GMT

LONDON (AP) — American businesswomen Michelle Kang has acquired the London City Lionesses in English soccer’s second division. The deal announced on Friday follows an agreement in May, when Kang entered into a partnership with the owner of French club Lyon to form an international multi-team women’s soccer organization.It was not said how much Kang paid for the Lionesses.“I see tremendous possibility in this team and look forward to helping the club and the players reach their highest potential,” she said. “I want to inspire young female athletes to keep playing and see a future for themselves in the sport they love.”Kang is also the majority owner of the Washington Spirit from the National Women’s Soccer League. She is aiming to build the “preeminent female sports organization in the world,” a statement read.“This deal is a continuation of Kang’s mission to create a level playing field between men and women in football.”The Lionesses were established in 2019 by founder ...

Michigan State trustees approve release of Larry Nassar documents to state official

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:35 GMT

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Trustees at Michigan State University agreed Friday to release documents to the state attorney general related to the school’s investigations into now-imprisoned former sports doctor Larry Nassar.The East Lansing school’s trustees unanimously voted to finally turn over the documents, which first will be reviewed by the school’s general counsel before they’re released.There will be redactions of sensitive and personal privacy information. The school had argued that the documents are protected by attorney-client privilege.In its resolution, the board said Michigan State will develop and implement a plan to support those who might experience trauma when the documents are released.Women who were sexually assaulted by Nassar filed a lawsuit in July against Michigan State and the trustee board, saying school officials made “secret decisions” about releasing documents in the case.They said the school refused to give the attorney general’s ...

Departing North Carolina Auditor Beth Wood pleads guilty to misusing state vehicle, gets probation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:35 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — On her last day on the job, North Carolina State Auditor Beth Wood pleaded guilty Friday to two misdemeanors for misusing a state-issued vehicle for personal activities.Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway sentenced Wood to 12 months of unsupervised probation on the counts, news outlets reported. Wake District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said that Wood had paid $1,064 in restitution as part of a plea agreement.The sentencing and her resignation appear to complete a year in which Wood’s driving ultimately led to her departure as auditor, an office she first won in 2008. Wood announced her resignation last month, two days after a grand jury indicted her on the charges.The counts said that in 2021 and 2022, Wood used an assigned state-owned vehicle for “hair appointments and dental appointments out of town, traveling to shopping centers and spa locations where she was not engaged in business in her official capacity.”Wood, a Democrat, said last month that she...

Guidelines around a new tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel is issued by Treasury Department

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:35 GMT

Long-awaited guidance around tax credits for aviation fuel that reduces emissions of greenhouse gases compared with conventional fuel was issued Friday by the Treasury Department.Environmentalists said they were concerned that the guidelines could pave the way for credits for fuel made from corn, sugar cane and other crops, which they consider unsustainable sources.Producers of sustainable aviation fuel will be eligible for tax credits ranging from $1.25 to $1.75 per gallon.Congress approved the credits as part of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which included provisions designed to boost cleaner energy. The credits are designed to increase the supply and reduce the cost of sustainable fuel, which is far higher than regular jet fuel.On a key issue, the Treasury Department accepted a model for measuring the emissions-reduction of fuels that is being developed by the Energy Department and is supported by the ethanol industry.However, Treasury said the Biden admi...

The $10 billion charity no one has heard of

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:35 GMT

A donor-advised fund devoted to supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals has leapt from being a relatively minor charity to one with an asset size comparable to behemoths like the Andrew W. Mellon and David and Lucile Packard foundations.The SDG Impact Fund, based in Cartersville, Georgia, grew from $238 million in assets in 2020 to $10 billion in 2021. That eye-popping growth, which seems to have been fueled by the meteoric rise of cryptocurrencies and digital art assets, has prompted some questions from philanthropy and tax experts.The less stringent legal reporting requirements for DAFs compared with private foundations make it hard to understand SDG Impact Fund’s massive growth. It’s impossible to know where donations came from because donor-advised funds are not required to identify donors. Nor is it clear how the DAF put its donations to charitable use or whether donors to the fund are receiving any benefits. SDG Impact’s leaders did not respond to repeated ...

S&P/TSX composite down more than 100 points in late-morning trading

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:35 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down more than 100 points in late-morning trading, led lower by losses in telecommunications and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 115.76 points at 20,663.04.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 3.07 points at 37,245.28. The S&P 500 index was up 1.64 points at 4,721.19, while the Nasdaq composite was up 61.77 points at 14,823.33.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.81 cents US compared with 74.52 cents US on Thursday.The February crude oil contract was down 43 cents at US$71.48 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up nine cents at US$2.48 per mmBTU.The February gold contract was up US$3.60 at US$2,048.50 an ounce and the March copper contract was down less than a penny at US$3.89 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)The Canadian Press

Speaker Greg Fergus apologizes in House of Commons again for partisan video

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:35 GMT

The Speaker of the House of Commons has once again apologized for filming a video played at a partisan event, after a parliamentary committee called on him to show more contrition.  Speaker Greg Fergus says he made a “serious mistake” in recording a video in tribute to the outgoing interim leader of the Ontario Liberals.He was wearing his ceremonial robes in the video, which was shot in his Parliament Hill office and played at the provincial party’s recent leadership convention.The procedure and House affairs committee said in a report released Thursday that there should be clearer guidelines for future Speakers about the impartiality of their role.The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois MPs on the committee called for Fergus to resign, but Liberals and New Democrats, who held the majority, instead endorsed a call for him to apologize again and reimburse Parliament for resources used to film the video.Fergus says his office is putting in place a “more rigorous&#...

You pay a contractor. They don’t finish the work. Now what?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:35 GMT

Earlier this week we introduced you to Angela Costabile who lives in Oakville. She and her husband hired a contractor and paid him a hefty deposit only to be left with an unfinished kitchen and even more costs than they had budgeted.After doing some work, they say their contractor stopped showing up and failed to provide materials they paid for.“We are left with finding a new contractor because our original guy won’t return our phone calls,” Costabile said. “He just ghosted us.”The couple has been patient. They hired the contractor last June, paying him two deposits amounting to nearly $55,000. Their newly renovated kitchen was supposed to be up and running this fall.It’s now mid December and their kitchen is unusable.“Unfortunately this is a fairly common problem.,” said Justin Sherwood with the Building Industry and Land Development association — a not-for-profit organization representing home builders and professional renovation industries.“At best, what happened to this co...

Albania returns 20 stolen icons to neighboring North Macedonia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:35 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania on Friday returned 20 icons to neighboring North Macedonia that were stolen a decade ago, Albania’s Culture Ministry said. The return marked the final stretch on a long, 10-year road with “much inter-institutional and international cooperation,” said Albania’s Culture Minister Elva Margariti. It also showed Albania’s commitment to “the fight against trafficking of the cultural inheritance objects,” she said.A handover ceremony was held at the National Historic Museum in the Albanian capital of Tirana. No further details were provided about the icons. In 2013, Albanian authorities in Tirana seized more than 1,000 stolen religious and secular pieces of art dating from the 15th to the mid-20th century and arrested two men suspected of planning to sell them abroad. The icons, frescoes and other pieces were taken from churches and cultural centers in southeastern Albania and in the neighboring North Macedonia, a police statement had said. ...