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Interior demolition begins on Arlington International Racecourse grandstand — a step toward a potential new Chicago Bears stadium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:33 GMT

Workers began demolition Tuesday on the inside of the former Arlington International Racecourse, another nail in the coffin of the storied horse track, and a step toward a potential new stadium for the Chicago Bears.A backhoe, other heavy construction equipment and workers were seen outside the grand edifice, which won architectural honors and held up to 32,000 fans for nationally known races before being closed by Churchill Downs Inc. in 2021.Team officials emphasized that they still can’t proceed with their plans for a $5 billion enclosed stadium, housing and entertainment complex until they nail down what the property taxes would be, and get public financing for supporting infrastructure.The demolition, estimated to cost $3.8 million, would be expected to lower the value of the property for the next tax year, which should lower taxes on the site — a subject of contention between the team and school districts that get most of the tax revenue.Prior to the demolition, t...

Lawyers for Pittsburgh synagogue defendant admit he carried out deadliest US antisemitic attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:33 GMT

By PETER SMITH (Associated Press)PITTSBURGH (AP) — Robert Bowers carried out the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history when he killed 11 people and injured seven others by storming a Pittsburgh synagogue and shooting everyone he could find. On that, everyone agrees.Even though Bowers’ defense acknowledged at the outset of his federal trial Tuesday that he was the gunman, they hope to spare the suburban truck driver from a possible death sentence over the Oct. 27, 2018, massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue. Bowers “shot every person he saw” that day in the building, his lead lawyer, Judy Clarke, said in her opening statement. But she questioned whether Bowers had acted out of hatred, as prosecutors contend, or an irrational belief that he needed to kill Jews to save others from the genocide he claimed they were enabling by helping immigrants come to the U.S.“He had what to us is this unthinkable, nonsensical, irrational thought: that by killing ...

Celtics lost their defense identity, and that was ultimate death of promising season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:33 GMT

When the Celtics suspended Ime Udoka for the season and promoted Joe Mazzulla to become a first-time head coach, they did more than simply make a coaching change. They changed their identity.The C’s were two wins away from a championship under Udoka behind the strength of their defense, but they came up short because they didn’t have enough offense. With Mazzulla in charge, the style shifted to an offensive-first approach.Ultimately, the Celtics fell short of expectations because of that lost defensive identity. It’s what dug them in an 0-3 series deficit to the Heat that was too much to overcome even after they rediscovered their defense to reel off three consecutive wins and force an unthinkable Game 7.“It was the issue,” Malcolm Brogdon said of their lost defensive identity. “I think this was a team in the last year that prided themselves on defense. I think defense was our calling card. This year offense was our calling card. I don’t think you win championships with a…bett...

About the numbers: Estimated 2.9 million watched ‘Succession’ finale 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:33 GMT

NEW YORK  — HBO said 2.9 million people watched or streamed the series finale of “Succession” on Sunday night, a series record that is expected to grow as delayed viewing is taken into account.That beat the first-night record of 2.75 million for an episode that aired on April 30, earlier in the fourth and last season of the family drama about a media company.The audience can be expected to expand significantly when delayed viewing is taken into account. For example, “Succession” episodes this season have been seen by an average of 8.7 million viewers, according to the Nielsen company.The series finale provided an answer to the question central to the story, about whether any of media magnate Logan Roy’s children would inherit control over his media empire.“Succession” didn’t approach HBO’s record of 19.8 million people who watched the 2019 finale of “Game of Thrones” on its premiere night. HBO estimated that some 46 m...

Woman, 23, suspected of DUI in fatal multi-vehicle crash on SR-76

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:33 GMT

PALA, Calif. -- A 23-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence following a multi-vehicle collision on State Route 76 Monday night that left one dead and four others injured, according to California Highway Patrol.Around 9:10 p.m., the woman was traveling eastbound on SR-76 in a Toyota Camry when it veered into the westbound lane of the highway east of Magee Road, CHP said, striking a Hyundai Santa Fe.The collision caused a series of crashes involving two other vehicles: a Lexus GS-350 and a Jeep Laredo.According to CHP, the driver of the Lexus, identified as a 65-year-old woman from Fountain Valley, sustained fatal injuries in the crash. She was pronounced dead on the scene by responding authorities. Overturned vehicle prompts freeway lanes to close near La Mesa The drivers of the Toyota and the Jeep, as well as two passengers from the vehicles, were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor to moderate injuries. The Hyundai driver was t...

New Hampshire city recognized for historic role in racially integrating baseball in the 1940s

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:33 GMT

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — The conversation around racial integration in baseball often revolves around Jackie Robinson, who broke the major league color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. But a year earlier, history was being made in the city of Nashua, New Hampshire. It was here that Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella and Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Don Newcombe would join the Nashua Dodgers, making the minor league club the first racially integrated baseball team in the United States. They played at the 86-year-old Holman Stadium, which celebrated their achievements Tuesday night by adding the venue to a stop on the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. A marker was unveiled before the Nashua Silver Knights game. The team plays in the Futures League. Already, the 2,825-seat stadium serves as a shrine of sorts to the players. Visitors are greeted with banners of the players at the entrance, and access streets leading to the venue have been named in their honor. Their Dodgers...

ACLU sues to block new hybrid Nebraska law restricting abortion, gender-affirming care for minors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:33 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — As promised, the American Civil Liberties Union is suing to block the Nebraska Legislature’s most controversial measure combining an abortion ban with restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, just days after it was signed into law.The lawsuit, filed in state court Tuesday by the ACLU on behalf of Planned Parenthood and one of its doctors who performs abortions in Nebraska, argues that the law violates a state constitutional requirement that legislative bills stick to a single subject. The lawsuit is also asking for an injunction to block enforcement of the trans health and abortion restrictions until the court case is decided.The new law will prevent people under 19 from receiving gender-confirming surgery and restrict the use of hormone treatments and puberty blockers in minors when those restrictions go into effect Oct. 1. It will put the state’s chief medical officer — a political appointee who is an ear, nose and throat doctor — in charge of setting...

No sign of Mississippi governor fulfilling pledge on campaign funds tied to welfare case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:33 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Financial documents show no sign that Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has fulfilled his pledge to give away campaign donations from people charged with misspending welfare money in the state’s largest public corruption case.Reeves, a Republican, became governor in January 2020 after serving two terms as lieutenant governor.On Feb. 5, 2020, the state auditor announced former Mississippi Department of Human Services executive director John Davis and five other people had been arrested on charges related to misspending welfare money that was intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S.“Some of the people we now believe were involved in the former director’s apparent criminal schemes gave money to our campaign,” Reeves said at a news conference the next day. “I can tell you right now — anything they gave to the campaign is going to be moved to a separate, untouched bank account. … Anything they gave the campaign will be there waiting...

Minnesota governor signs bill legalizing recreational marijuana starting in August

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:33 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) — Surrounded by dozens of cheering people in green clothes, Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill Tuesday to legalize recreational marijuana for people over the age of 21 starting in August, making Minnesota the 23rd state to legalize the substance for adults.“This has been a long journey with a lot of folks involved,” Walz said.Among them was one of the first governors in the U.S. to openly support marijuana legalization.“For me personally, it’s very wonderful to see a dream of yours over 20 years ago finally happen today, and I’m still alive to see it,” said Jesse Ventura, Minnesota’s governor from 1999-2003.Under the new law, cannabis will be legal by Aug. 1 to possess, use and grow at home. Possession of cannabis flower will be limited to 2 pounds (0.9 kilograms) at home and 2 ounces (56 grams) in public. Other possession caps include 800 milligrams of THC in gummies and other edibles and 8 grams of cannabis concentrate.Retail sales at d...

Artificial intelligence raises risk of extinction, experts warn

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:33 GMT

Scientists and tech industry leaders, including high-level executives at Microsoft and Google, issued a new warning Tuesday about the perils that artificial intelligence poses to humankind.“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” the statement said.Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and Geoffrey Hinton, a computer scientist known as the godfather of artificial intelligence, were among the hundreds of leading figures who signed the statement, which was posted on the Center for AI Safety’s website.Worries about artificial intelligence systems outsmarting humans and running wild have intensified with the rise of a new generation of highly capable AI chatbots such as ChatGPT.It has sent countries around the world scrambling to come up with regulations for the developing technology, with the European Union blazing the trail with its AI Act, expected to be approved later this year....