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Christopher Bell punches ticket to NASCAR championship race; wins rollercoaster race at Homestead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Christopher Bell wasn’t thinking of winning the race.Balance issues with his Toyota caused him to fall to 22nd after Stage 2 on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But Bell took advantage of a late caution in Stage 3 and stormed from behind for his second win of the season.“I can’t even say I was thinking of a win at any point in the day except maybe the last 10 laps,” Bell said.Bell took the lead with 15 laps to go and held off Ryan Blaney for a win that locked him into next month’s NASCAR Championship finale.Bell, who entered the race below the playoff cutline, will compete in his second straight championship race. He beat Blaney by 1.651 seconds Sunday and only led 26 of 267 laps in a chaotic race in which three playoff drivers did not finish.“Today was a whirlwind for sure,” said Bell, who drives the No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing. “To be able to overcome and to be in that bad of a spot … it was just incredible that difference a couple...

House remains paralyzed with no end in sight for speakership battle after Jordan’s exit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

(CNN) — There is still no end in sight for the high-stakes speakership battle after House Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy more than two weeks ago.The search is on for a new GOP speaker nominee after Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday became the latest exit from the race, and it’s already shaping up to be a crowded candidate field.Frustrations and divisions have only intensified within the conference as Republicans search for a way to resolve the impasse. That, along with the GOP’s narrow majority, has made it increasingly unclear whether any candidate will be able to secure the 217 votes needed to win the gavel on the House floor.The House, meanwhile, remains in a state of paralysis as Republicans struggle to coalesce around a speaker candidate, with the chamber effectively frozen amid the threat of a government shutdown next month and conflict unfolding abroad.House Republicans are expected to hold a candidate forum Monday evening and more candidates are likely to throw their names i...

Ravens blow out Lions, 38-6, behind Lamar Jackson’s big day and stifling defense

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

The last time the Ravens played the Detroit Lions, they needed a record-setting field goal in the final seconds to pull out a dramatic victory. The only drama this time was how many touchdowns Baltimore would score.A week after struggling to find the end zone and kicking six field goals, the Ravens (5-2) scored a touchdown on each of their first four possessions and never looked back en route to a 38-6 blowout of Detroit (5-2).Lamar Jackson completed 21 of 27 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 36 yards and another score. Unlike last week in London, where the Ravens were just 1-for-6 on scoring touchdowns from the red zone, Baltimore had little trouble finishing off one drive after another against the Lions.The Ravens’ 28-point halftime lead matched the largest in a home game in franchise history, and it tied for the third-biggest halftime lead overall in team history.Baltimore came into the game having outscored opponents 41-6 in the first quarter this se...

Hundreds of pro-Palestine marchers rally at Copley Square

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

Copley Square and the streets of Back Bay flooded with hundreds of pro-Palestine protestors Sunday in a “Stop the Genocide” rally calling for people around the world to see and demand an end to the loss of Palestinian lives.“I am haunted by the same questions and thoughts every day: Are you still alive?” said a young female Palestinian speaker at the rally, talking about her fears for her family in Gaza. “Do you have food? Do you have water? Where are you sleeping today? Will you be alive tomorrow?”As the death toll sky-rockets two weeks into the brutal Israel-Hamas war, the demonstration in Boston on Sunday mirrored many similar large-scale pro-Palestine rallies around the world, including a crowd estimated at 100,000 in London on Saturday.According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, over 4,300 Palestinians have been killed in the region since the war began. Over 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, according to the Israeli government.People at ...

‘Soldier Field was off the chain’: Chicago Bears rookie QB Tyson Bagent reflects on his storybook day — and a big win for his team

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

If the magnitude of the moment ever hit Tyson Bagent — a small-town kid from West Virginia making his first NFL start for the Chicago Bears — the 23-year-old quarterback seemed far more appreciative than overwhelmed on Sunday.That was true leading up to the game. It was true during the Bears’ impressive 30-12 trouncing of the Las Vegas Raiders at Soldier Field. And it was true for 11 minutes afterward when the undrafted rookie from Division II Shepherd University came to his postgame news conference and attempted to describe the entire experience.Nervous?“Uh, yeah,” Bagent confirmed. “Yeah.”Until he wasn’t.“I feel like I settled in after the first snap. But really, I feel like I feel really nervous the entire week until we get on the field pregame. And then it usually goes away.”That’s when Bagent’s confidence typically kicks in, an infectious quality embedded in his DNA.“I feel like I’ve played like...

Callahan: Patriots scored a throwback win in home upset of Bills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

FOXBORO — Moments after his induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame, Mike Vrabel preached to a choir of a few hundred.The indoor ceremony was joyous and populated by ex-teammates, coaches and fans all happy to see him and ride shotgun on a two-hour drive down memory lane.Piece of cake.But during his halftime speech Sunday, standing atop a makeshift stage over the Gillette Stadium field, Vrabel addressed an unsettled crowd of thousands; a mix of fans disappointed and displeased at the Patriots’ 1-5 start after decades of dominance.So during his two minutes at the mic, Vrabel did not bask in past glory. He recognized the moment, and his audience for what they were and decided to stump for his old team.“I want to thank the fans that made playing in this stadium unbelievably special. … I also don’t want you to take this organization for granted,” Vrabel said. “Enjoy it. It’s not like this everywhere.”Essentially, Vrabel called on fans to believe as t...

Football provides a homecoming and hope in Lahaina, where thousands of homes are gone after wildfire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Fans decked in red streamed into the Lahainaluna High School football stadium, snacking on nachos and venison chili, bopping to the high school band’s rendition of “Sweet Caroline,” and exchanging long hugs with neighbors and classmates. It was homecoming, and for many of the fans, coaches and the players themselves, being back at the stadium was the closest thing to feeling at home since the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century leveled their town.“I don’t know if I can put into words how much it means to Lahaina,” said offensive lineman Morgan “Bula” Montgomery, who has lived in three different hotels with his family since their apartment building burned down. “Just looking in the stands, you see all the old-timers coming out, all the alumni and even the little kids — just all kind of excited, waiting for that first snap.”Classes resumed last week at Lahainaluna High and at the two other public schools that survived the Aug. 8 fire, and on Saturday ...

Suspicious package near bus platform at Bayview station

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

Police are investigating a suspicious package near a bus platform at Bayview subway station on Sunday night.At approximately 7:20 p.m. Toronto police arrived to investigate. The station has been evacuated out of an abundance of caution, as the Emergency Disposal Unit advised.Two lanes southbound are blocked on Bayview Avenue at Sheppard Avenue East.TTC Line 4 Sheppard has no service between Sheppard-Yonge and Don Mills stations due to police activity. Shuttle buses are running.Trains are not stopping at Bayview due to police activity.

Memorial service held at Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital Cemetery in Etobicoke

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

As work continues on identifying Indigenous graves at the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital Cemetery in Etobicoke, dozens attended a memorial service on Sunday to remember all those buried at the site.“We honour the 1,511 buried here generations ago, to listen to their voices, ensure that their lives are not forgotten and commit ourselves as Canadians to care for those who are struggling with mental health issues and ensure this space honours them,” a memorial event statement said.Located at the northeast corner of Horner and Evans avenues, moments of reflection, music and prayer filled the massive space.The burials at the cemetery happened between 1890 and 1974. Many graves don’t have proper recognition with bare patches. On one side of the cemetery there are hand-written memorial rocks.Garry Sault, an Ojibway elder in the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, performed a smudging ceremony as part of the service. He said the day is one that should be of awareness ...

Rally in support of Israel takes place at Foster Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

CHICAGO — A rally in support of Israel took place at Foster Beach in Lincoln Park on Sunday.About 20 to 30 people gathered at the beach holding up flags and chanting in support of Israel.Organizers say they had originally planned for a much larger crowd and for the event to take place at Federal Plaza in the Loop, but after some threats of violence, organizers felt moving the event was the best option. Israel bombs Gaza, Syria and West Bank as war threatens to ignite other fronts One of the people who spoke at Sunday's event was Ira Piltz, an attorney who lives in Chicago. Piltz said his daughter and a number of his relatives are currently in Israel and he fears for their safety.Others at the event held up signs allegedly showing the faces and names of those kidnapped by Hamas.Organizer Brad Gluszewski said the event was not about being anti-Palestine, but instead about being anti-terrorism and ultimately about bringing the Jewish community together amid the ongoing conflict."We j...