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Column: After passing on Jalen Carter, the Chicago Bears doubled down on DTs Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens. Now they must develop.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

There is nothing Ryan Poles could have said about Jalen Carter on Thursday night that would have been more telling than his actions — passing on the Georgia defensive tackle in the first round.The Chicago Bears GM declined to talk about Carter, whom the Philadelphia Eagles selected at No. 9 with the pick Poles traded to them. Poles also didn’t say he had a plan to start rebuilding the interior of the defensive line the next night.That is what the Bears began Friday, choosing Florida’s Gervon Dexter in Round 2 at No. 53 and South Carolina’s Zacch Pickens to begin Round 3 at No. 64. In between, the Bears traded up five spots to No. 56 to add Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.Carter might go on to a career full of accolades in Philadelphia. Some scouts considered him the best player on tape in the draft. You can make a case the defending NFC champions and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman are shrewd operators, but the locker room has a culture on an entirely...

4 things we heard from new Chicago Bears OT Darnell Wright, including his role as a ‘tone-setter’ at Tennessee

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

New Chicago Bears offensive tackle Darnell Wright was in the middle of a three-hour stretch of interviews with local sports radio personalities, TV broadcasters and sports writers Friday at Halas Hall when he was asked about the expectations he faces in his new home.After months of buildup around the draft in Chicago, the Bears selected Wright at No. 10 on Thursday night, and he arrived in Lake Forest as the likely starter at right tackle going into his rookie season. As the Bears try to build up their offense around quarterback Justin Fields, general manager Ryan Poles and his staff believe Wright can be a tone-setter on the line.Wright, who started 42 games over four seasons at Tennessee, didn’t back away from those hopes.“I embrace expectations upon myself,” Wright said. “I have expectations upon myself bigger than just football. I have expectations to take care of my family. I don’t know what my role for the team is, but whatever that role is I̵...

Bill Belichick ‘absolutely’ feels good about Patriots QB Mac Jones

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

Ever since Mac Jones returned from a high ankle sprain last October, Bill Belichick has declined to name him the Patriots’ quarterback of the future.Lately, between his end-of-season press conference in January and annual interview at the owners meetings in March, Belichick has refused to even declare Jones his starting quarterback.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | 2023 NFL Draft | Who are the top players for Day 3? New England Patriots | NFL Draft 2023: Patriots select Georgia Tech DL Keion White in 2nd round New England Patriots | Patriots OC Bill O’Brien doesn’t shoot down notion of having quarterback competition New England Patriots | 2023 NFL Draft: 8 potential Patriots picks on Day 2 New England Patriots | Why Patriots believed they could trade back and still draft Christian Gonzalez On Friday night, Belichick didn’t change his tune, but the Patriots’ head coach d...

California man guilty of killing 3 after doorbell prank

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California man accused of killing three teenage boys by intentionally ramming their car after they played a doorbell-ringing prank on him was found guilty Friday of murder. Anurag Chandra was convicted in a Riverside County courtroom of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. “The murder of these young men was a horrendous and senseless tragedy for our community. I thank the jury for their verdict. This is an important step toward justice,” county District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in a statement.Chandra’s attorney, David Wohl, did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.The victims, who were all 16 years old, were among six teens inside a Toyota Prius on Jan. 19, 2020 when Chandra intentionally rammed their vehicle off the road and fled, prosecutors said. The Prius’ driver lost control and the sedan slammed into a tree in Temescal Valley, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los...

Counselor and inmate stabbed at private prison in Indiana

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

NEW CASTLE, Ind. (AP) — A female mental health counselor and a male inmate have been stabbed by another inmate during an attack at a private prison in eastern Indiana, authorities said.The counselor was conducting a group session around 9:40 a.m. Friday with eight male inmates at the New Castle Correctional Facility when one of the inmates began stabbing her neck and throat area with a pointed metal object, state police said.As other inmates tried to stop the attack, one was stabbed in the chest.The wounds suffered by the counselor and the inmate were not considered life threatening, state police said.The cause of the attack was not immediately known. New Castle is about 48 miles (77 kilometers) east of Indianapolis.The Associated Press

Russian official: Ukrainian drones hit Crimea oil depot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A massive fire erupted at an oil depot in Crimea after it was hit by two of Ukraine’s drones, a Russia-appointed official there reported Saturday, the latest in a series of attacks on the annexed peninsula as Russia braces for an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, a port city in Crimea, posted videos and photos of the blaze on his Telegram channel. Razvozhayev said the fire at the city’s harbor was assigned the highest ranking in terms of how complicated it will be to extinguish. However, he reported that the open blaze had been contained. Razvozhayev said the oil depot was attacked by “two enemy drones,” and four oil tanks burned down. A third drone was shot down from the sky over Crimea, and one more was deactivated through radio-electronic means, according to Crimea’s Moscow-appointed governor, Sergei Aksyonov. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that mo...

Threatened Quebec caribou herd expecting up to 12 calves this year

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

MONTRÉAL, France — A caribou herd in Charlevoix, Que., could be heading toward a baby boom this year, providing a rare bit of good news for the province’s decimated population.Caroline Hins, a biologist with the province’s Wildlife Department, confirmed all 12 of the herd’s breeding-age females are believed to be pregnant, after tests that showed high progesterone levels.“It’s very good news,” she said in an interview Friday.She said that if all the pregnancies are carried to term and the calves survive — and there’s no guarantee of that — the herd northeast of Quebec City will have doubled in size in a year and a half.The Quebec government captured the herd, then numbered at 16, and placed it in an enclosure in February 2022 as part of a controversial plan to prevent isolated herds from dying out. Five healthy calves were born last year, out of eight presumed pregnancies.The government has argued that enclosing caribou represents their best...

Things you may not know about historic Barton Springs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Referred to by some as the “The Crown Jewel of Austin,” Barton Springs as a city facility has provided Austinites a cool refuge during blazing summers for over a century.While going for a dip on a hot afternoon may be the most interesting fact to some, here are a few more historical tidbits about the iconic three-acre pool you may not have known. While the springs as we know them have been used for hundreds of years, the history of Barton goes back even further.Barton Springs PoolAccording to historical accounts, modern use of Barton Springs began nearly 200 years ago when colonists settled in the region. William Barton came to Texas from Alabama in 1828 and settled in Stephen F. Austin’s Little Colony. Barton came with his wife, five kids and five slaves. He worked on a survey crew for Austin’s Little Colony and was granted an area that included a small creek – known now as Barton Creek, according to historical accounts. However, whether the land that includes ...

'Left out:' School support staff push for better pay amid teacher raises

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — After more than two decades serving students as a special education paraeducator, Tammy Reyes feels right at home in her Galena Park school. The struggle begins, however, when she finds no place to go home after school."In my current situation, I'm homeless," she said. "I've been in Galena Park ISD for 23-plus years, and I'm homeless. I don't make enough. It's rough. It's really rough."Tammy makes $23,000 caring for special needs children and serving at the side of teachers. She could rely on her spouse's income when she was married, but in the twelve years since, she leaves exhausting days only to find extra money in other jobs. Working in children's ministry at her church helped to pad her paycheck for eight years. Cleaning houses also helped a little, until she was physically able to do no more."But I have a job with Galena Park that's 40 hours. I shouldn't have to work a second job. I shouldn't have to work a third job," she said. "My primary job should provid...

Volunteers improve habitat in hopes sharp-tailed grouse will return

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

KETTLE RIVER, Minn. — This should be the time of year when sharp-tailed grouse do their dancing, the territorial mating ritual when males square off to bluff fight and females gather to watch.To the winners of this chest-puffing, wing-spreading display of hormones goes the right to court, mate and pass on their progeny.But that’s not happening at the Firebird Wildlife Management Area in northwestern Carlton County anymore because the sharptails are all gone, echoing a problem across the region.“This should be a good spot. There have traditionally always been leks (dancing grounds) on this site, and several more within a couple miles around here. But not anymore,” said Chris Balzer, area wildlife manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “The numbers just kept going down until there weren’t any left.”But on a cold and windy Earth Day last week, two dozen volunteers showed up at the Firebird area to try to keep the habitat suitable for sharptails, hoping the birds wil...