Montez Sweat has quickly fit with the Chicago Bears defense — ‘I see a hungry group here’ — and helps elevate the standards

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:57:34 GMT

Montez Sweat has quickly fit with the Chicago Bears defense — ‘I see a hungry group here’ — and helps elevate the standards The latest addition to the Montez Sweat highlight reel came in the second quarter Sunday, a disciplined pass rush on a play-action pass by Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.Murray completed his fake to running back Michael Carter, turned back to roll right but found Sweat waiting nearby. Murray stopped and tried floating a pass to tight end Elijah Higgins. But Sweat, with all the ease of Shaquille O’Neal playing pickup hoops with elementary school kids, calmly rose and rejected the throw.In the moment, it felt almost cartoonish with how calmly and easily Sweat shut that play down. But those contributions have been coming regularly over the past two months as Sweat has helped fuel the ascent of the Chicago Bears defense.Following the team’s 27-16 win Sunday, the 27-year-old pass rusher described the collective confidence flowing through the defense. “This group has been locked in,” he said. “We’re playing really well right now. We just hav...

Pedestrian critically injured after being hit by vehicle, Toronto police say

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:57:34 GMT

Pedestrian critically injured after being hit by vehicle, Toronto police say A pedestrian has been rushed to a hospital in life-threatening condition after he was hit by a vehicle Wednesday evening, Toronto police officers say.A Toronto Police Service update posted on social media said emergency crews were called to the intersection of Wynford Drive and Wynford Heights Crescent, just east of the Don Valley Parkway, just before 7:45 p.m.The circumstances leading up to the collision weren’t immediately clear. Officers said the driver of the vehicle remained at the scene of the collisions.Investigators closed the intersection as they gathered evidence.COLLISION: UPDATEWynford Dr and Wynford Heights Cres7:44 pm-male victim has been transported to hospital by @torontomedics -male has life threatening injuries-intersection closed-avoid the area and find alternate routes#GO2964045^lm— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) December 28, 2023

North Korea’s Kim vows to bolster war readiness to repel ‘unprecedented’ US-led confrontations

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:57:34 GMT

North Korea’s Kim vows to bolster war readiness to repel ‘unprecedented’ US-led confrontations SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for bolstered war readiness to repel what he said were unprecedented U.S.-led confrontational moves in comments during a key political meeting tasked with setting state objectives for 2024, state media reported Thursday.Kim’s comments indicated once again that North Korea will likely continue weapons tests to modernize its nuclear arsenal for the time being. But observers say Kim likely hopes to eventually use his boosted arsenal as leverage in diplomacy with Washington, possibly after the U.S. presidential election in November next year.During Wednesday’s second-day session of the ruling party’s plenary meeting, Kim set forth unspecified tasks for the military and the munitions industry to “further accelerate the war preparations” in the face of “(anti-North Korea) confrontation moves by the U.S. and its vassal forces unprecedented in history,” the official Korean Central News Agency said.It said Kim also ...

CPD: At least 20 armed robberies believed to be connected

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:57:34 GMT

CPD: At least 20 armed robberies believed to be connected CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department issued a community alert after a string of armed robberies believed to be committed by the same group of suspects over the last week.According to the Chicago Police Department, at least 20 armed robberies believed to be connected have been reported on the Near North and West Side of the city since Tuesday, Dec. 19. Concealed carry holder foils attempted carjacking on city’s West Side; multiple gunshots fired: CPD While in a handful of cases victims were physically unharmed, CPD said in at least seven of the incidents, victims were reportedly hit in the head or face with the butt of a handgun.Three other victims were also shot during armed robberies in the last two days, which detectives believe to be connected to the same group of suspects.Police said in most incidents, between three to four suspects, described as males between 17 and 25-years-old, wearing dark clothing and ski masks, approached the victims after getting out of a white Niss...

Colorado GOP asks Supreme Court to overturn Trump ballot ban in state

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:57:34 GMT

Colorado GOP asks Supreme Court to overturn Trump ballot ban in state DENVER (KDVR) -- The Colorado Republican Party said it has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling from the state's supreme court that removed former President Donald Trump from Colorado's 2024 ballot.In their 4-3 ruling, handed down on Dec. 19, Colorado Supreme Court justices claimed that Trump is ineligible for the ballot under 14th Amendment concerns due to his alleged role in facilitating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump blocked from Colorado ballot: 5 takeaways The Colorado GOP is appealing that decision on three points: Whether the role of the president is subject to disqualification by section three of the 14th Amendment, the so-called insurrection clause.Whether Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is "self-executing," in that it allows states to remove candidates from the ballot in the absence of any Congressional action.Whether denying a political party the ability to choose a candidate of its choice in a presidential primary and general election viola...

Tensions rise in the Middle East

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:57:34 GMT

Tensions rise in the Middle East WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - Tensions are rising between the U.S. and Iran. Defense officials say American ships shot down more than a dozen drones and missiles in the Red Sea Tuesday following a drone attack on a U.S. air base in Iraq on Christmas day that follows a retaliatory strike by the U.S. on Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Iraq earlier this week.The back-and-forth strikes undercut efforts by the U.S. and others to keep the Israel-Hamas war from spilling into a wider regional conflict.For weeks, Iranian backed militia groups in Yemen and elsewhere have launched drone attacks against shipping freighters in the Red Sea.Many of which were intercepted by U.S. missiles.On Christmas day, U.S. forces in Iraq were injured in a drone attack linked directly to Iran.Officials say three service members there were hurt.The U.S. responded by striking multiple Iranian-backed targets in Iraq.U.S. officials say those strikes killed at least one militant and injured 18 others but also sparked an...

Cats unharmed after fire at St. Paul auto repair shop known for feline inhabitants

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:57:34 GMT

Cats unharmed after fire at St. Paul auto repair shop known for feline inhabitants A fire broke out a St. Paul auto repair shop known for its cats that roam around inside, but all the felines were unharmed.Firefighters were called to Turbo Tim’s Anything Automotive about 7:35 a.m. Sunday and found a fire inside an automotive repair bay at University Avenue and Pierce Street, according to Deputy Fire Chief Roy Mokosso.Employees who left the building the night before didn’t note any problems, Mokosso said. The fire was ruled as accidental.“All the cats are in a different area of the shop and are just fine,” said Tracy Molm, office manager for all of Turbo Tim’s shops.It was a small fire that was fairly contained, and they checked in with the cats afterward, Molm said.The business was able to open after Christmas.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Driver killed in Columbus head-on crash identified Crime & Public Safety | St. Paul police ID pedestrian and dog killed in Christmas Eve crash Crime & Publi...

Colorado man sentenced in Nevada power plant fire initially described as terror attack

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:57:34 GMT

Colorado man sentenced in Nevada power plant fire initially described as terror attack By KEN RITTER (Associated Press)LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Colorado man was sentenced Wednesday to prison in Nevada following his arrest last January for setting his car afire at a remote facility in what authorities initially characterized as a terror attack on the electric system serving several Las Vegas Strip casinos.Mohammed Reza Mesmarian, 35, was sentenced to two to 10 years following his plea in November to guilty but mentally ill on charges of felony arson and property destruction in the incident at a remote desert solar array about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of downtown Las Vegas.“This was not so much an act of terrorism as a person going through personal issues during COVID, the loss of a marriage and his business,” Mesmarian’s attorney, Jeffrey Nicholson, told The Associated Press after sentencing. Nicholson said he sought probation, but he called Clark County District Court Judge Ronald Israel’s sentence “a good and fair decision.R...

Woman killed in sledgehammer attack on Torrance college campus

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:57:34 GMT

Woman killed in sledgehammer attack on Torrance college campus Loved ones are devastated after a woman was killed in a violent attack on the campus of El Camino College in Torrance.The victim, identified only as a woman in her 60s, was walking her dog on Christmas Eve morning around 7 a.m. when the attack happened, according to campus police.As the victim was collecting recyclables, she was suddenly attacked by a man with a sledgehammer. He fled the scene before authorities arrived.A passerby had spotted the fallen woman next to the gymnasium building. Arriving officers found the woman unconscious and bleeding from her head.Her dog had remained by her side. Paramedics transferred the woman to a local hospital where she died on Christmas Day from her injuries.After reviewing surveillance footage, campus police identified the suspect as Jeffery Davis, 40, a man they’ve spotted in the community before.El Camino College gymnasium building in Torrance, California. (KTLA)El Camino College gymnasium building in Torrance, California. (KTLA)El Camino Co...

Petition to remove Donald Trump’s star on Hollywood Walk of Fame prompts mixed reactions

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:57:34 GMT

Petition to remove Donald Trump’s star on Hollywood Walk of Fame prompts mixed reactions A petition to remove Donald Trump’s star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame has received thousands of signatures, but the decision on whether to remove the star is just as controversial as the man whose name is on it. Trump’s star, which he received in 2007, has been destroyed and replaced several times, but no star has ever been permanently removed from the Walk of Fame despite several celebrities’ fall from grace. The man who started the petition to get rid of Trump’s star for good, Andrew Rudick, says that while he has garnered more than 3,800 signatures for his petition, he’s also been the subject of a death threat and an attempted taser attack.  ‘That ’70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson begins lengthy sentence at North Kern State Prison Rudick told KTLA 5’s Mary Beth McDade that in addition to the petition, he has gone to several city organizations in the hopes that they would remove it permanently. “I think the city should take themselves up on that charge and finally stop being ‘...