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Chicago Bears storylines for June: Trevis Gipson’s big challenge, Jaylon Johnson’s return and the new look of NFL kickoffs

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:28:03 GMT

The Chicago Bears will hold their final organized team activities this week before mandatory minicamp June 13-15 at Halas Hall. Coach Matt Eberflus is eager to continue pushing his team in the right direction with a new-look roster and a lengthy list of questions they need answered.As the Bears grind through June, here’s the inside slant on three notable storylines.‘This is about me’Trevis Gipson looked toward a ceiling at Halas Hall, replaying in his mind the reel of near-misses he had throughout the 2022 season. So many times Gipson felt as if he was on the verge of a momentum-changing sack only to be left empty-handed.A half-step slow. A quarter-second late. A bit too eager.He can envision them all in vivid detail.“Every single one of them,” Gipson said. “Miami Dolphins, I had an open one waiting for me on Tua (Tagavailoa). Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen, I missed two. Against Philadelphia I missed one. Shoot, even against the Lions the second time ...

Chicago baseball report: The Cubs’ emerging back-end bullpen tandem — and how will the White Sox divide time at 2nd base?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:28:03 GMT

The Chicago White Sox head to New York with some momentum after sweeping the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field.The final two games were won in very different walk-off fashions. Saturday’s winning run scored on a wild pitch. Sunday’s game ended on a Jake Burger grand slam.Behind Marcus Stroman’s 11th quality start and three home runs, the Cubs took control quickly in Sunday’s 7-1 win against the San Diego Padres.This week will be one of those rare instances when both teams are out of town to start the week, with the Cubs still out west. The Sox return home for a weekend series against the Miami Marlins.Every Monday throughout the season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead for the Cubs and Sox.White Sox have options at 2BWhen Elvis Andrus returned from the injured list Friday, it gave the Sox a full complement of infielders for the first time in a while.It also brought up the question of how the...

Germany, Indonesia agree to strengthen defense ties

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:28:03 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Germany and Indonesia agreed on Monday to strengthen their defense cooperation and plan a joint military exercise with other countries in the region. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius discussed the growing ties in a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Prabowo Subianto, in Jakarta. “We talked about the possibility of having a deal about some submarines. We were talking about the two minesweepers, which are already on the way to Indonesia,” Pistorius said.Germany and Indonesia are also planning a joint military exercise with other regional partners, but no details have been disclosed. Both ministers attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s annual defense and security forum, where U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday criticized China’s “bullying or coercion” in the Indo-Pacific region, including tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea. China’s Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu said at the conference that the U...

‘Very last warning’ for 82-year-old German convicted of dealing drugs

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:28:03 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German court says it is giving an 82-year-old man a “last warning” to avoid jail after he was found guilty of drug dealing, despite 24 previous convictions.The retired seaman, who said he wanted to improve his meagre 800-euro ($855) monthly pension by selling marijuana, was handed a suspended sentence by a court in the northern town of Aurich on Monday.German news agency dpa reported that prosecutors had asked the court to impose a prison term of 34 months in view of the man’s lengthy criminal record and an existing suspended sentence.But judges said they would make an exception and classify the latest crimes as “less serious offenses” due to the man’s particular circumstances and recent health problems.Dpa quoted the presiding judge telling the defendant that it was his “very last warning.”The Associated Press

Palestinian toddler shot by Israeli troops in West Bank dies of wounds

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:28:03 GMT

A 3-year-old Palestinian boy who was shot by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank last week died of his wounds, Israeli hospital officials said Monday.Mohammed al-Tamimi was shot in the head last Thursday near his village of Nebi Saleh while riding in a car with his father. He was airlifted to Israel’s Sheba Hospital, which announced the boy’s death.The Israeli military has said it opened fire after gunmen in the area shot at an Israeli guard post at a nearby Jewish settlement.But the boy’s father, Haitham al-Tamimi, told The Associated Press that he had just buckled up his son in the car and they were driving to visit an uncle when the bullet struck. The father was also shot and treated at a Palestinian hospital.The Israeli military has opened an investigation into the incident.Rights groups, however, say that such investigations rarely lead to prosecution or disciplinary action against soldiers.The shooting was the latest bloodshed in a more than yearlong sur...

Israel’s Netanyahu appoints new media adviser, journalist who had called Biden ‘unfit,’ report says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:28:03 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a new media adviser who has tweeted critically against President Joe Biden, the daily Haaretz reported. The appointment comes at a time when U.S.-Israel relations are strained.Gilad Zwick, a journalist with a conservative Israeli TV station, has in his tweets called Biden “unfit” to rule and said that he was “slowly but surely destroying America.” He also posted tweets suggesting he supported President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 U.S. election was rigged. At least one of the tweets that was live earlier was deleted later in the day. Zwick did not respond to a request for comment but tweeted on Monday in English that he was a private citizen when writing the posts about Biden.“I don’t hold those views today and I will act in a completely professional manner in the prime minister’s office,” he said. Zwick had previously worked for Israel Hayom, a pro-Netanyahu daily. NetanyahuR...

OpenAI boss ‘heartened’ by talks with world leaders over will to contain AI risks

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:28:03 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Monday he was encouraged by a desire shown by world leaders to contain any risks posed by the artificial intelligence technology his company and others are developing.Altman visited Tel Aviv, a tech powerhouse, as part of a world tour that has so far taken him to several European capitals. Altman’s tour is meant to promote his company, the maker of ChatGPT — the popular AI chatbox — which has unleashed a frenzy around the globe.“I am very heartened as I’ve been doing this trip around the world, getting to meet world leaders,” Altman said during a visit with Israel’s ceremonial President Isaac Herzog. Altman said his discussions showed “the thoughtfulness” and “urgency” among world leaders over how to figure out how to “mitigate these very huge risks.”The world tour comes after hundreds of scientists and tech industry leaders, including high-level executives at Microsoft and Google, issued a warning about the perils that ...

Part of under-construction bridge collapses in India for 2nd time in a year, no casualties

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:28:03 GMT

PATNA, India (AP) — An Indian state government on Monday ordered a probe into the collapse of a portion of an under-construction bridge over the Ganges River over the weekend, the second time the structure has crashed in a year.No casualties were reported with no movement of people or vehicles on the bridge when nearly 250 meters (820 feet) of the concrete surface connecting pillars crashed into the river on Sunday.Videos of the collapse spread on social media. “Those found guilty will not be spared,” Bihar state’s top elected official, Nitish Kumar, said in a statement. A portion of the bridge on the other side collapsed in April last year.India’s infrastructure has long been marred by safety concerns, sometimes leading to major disasters on highways and bridges. Builders often use poor quality construction materials to cut costs.The bridge collapse was criticized by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is the opposition party in the state. The state government is headed b...

‘One of Canada’s most notorious killers’: Lawyer wants Bernardo back in maximum-security prison

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:28:03 GMT

Paul Bernardo should be returned to a maximum-security prison, the lawyer representing the families of his young murder victims said as he called on the Correctional Service of Canada to be more transparent about what led to his transfer to a medium-security facility in the first place.Tim Danson represents the relatives of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy, who Bernardo kidnapped, tortured and murdered in the early 1990s.Danson said he was informed by phone last week that Bernardo, who was serving a life sentence at the maximum-security Millhaven Institution near Kingston, Ont., had been transferred to a medium-security facility in Quebec.He said the Correctional Service of Canada, citing Bernardo’s privacy rights, refused to answer questions about the reason for the move.Danson said he was also unable to learn whether the serial murderer and sex offender was in protective custody or socializing with other inmates, which that security classification al...

What to stream this week: Janelle Monáe, a Cheetos origin story, Diablo IV and ‘Avatar’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:28:03 GMT

Albums from Janelle Monáe and Niall Horan, as well as a TV movie about a Frito-Lay janitor who claims to have invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are the streaming debut of “Avatar: The Way of Water” and the celebrity-stuffed “Stars on Mars,” where the likes of Lance Armstrong and Ariel Winter are put in a Mars simulation and presented with a series of challenges to colonize their version of the Red Planet.NEW MOVIES TO STREAM— “Avatar: The Way of Water” finally washes onto streaming shores Wednesday. James Cameron’s sci-fi sequel will begin streaming on Disney+ and HBO Max after becoming the third highest-grossing movie of all time in theaters. “The Way of Water” has made $2.32 billion at the box office, trailing only the $2.9 billion of the original “Avatar” and the $2.79 billion of “Avengers: Endgame.” ...