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Callahan: How Ezekiel Elliott will make life easy on Patriots’ best, most pivotal players

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:22 GMT

The Patriots are a better football team today because of an aging running back with minimal burst, 1,984 career carries and all the dust one collects after spending five months on the NFL’s clearance rack as an unclaimed and unwanted free agent.This is the Ezekiel Elliott paradox.Upon signing his 1-year, $6 million contract Tuesday, Elliott arrived in New England as a fading star and a new, vital piece of the Patriots offense. In Elliott, the Pats have at worst found a proven backup for Rhamondre Stevenson, and at best a running mate for one of their five best players. Without Elliott this summer, they had crossed their fingers that a late-round 2022 draft pick or practice-squad player or USFL alum C.J. Marable could replace Stevenson.With one stroke of the pen, Elliott ended that pipe dream for good.Of course, Elliott’s statistical ceiling is likely lower than it’s ever been. Forget any fantasy of seeing another 1,000-yard season or something close to the dozen to...

Patriots 53-man roster projection: Does Malik Cunningham make the cut?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:22 GMT

The Patriots need to decide if they want to keep an “electric” third-string quarterback/developmental wide receiver or risk losing him on waivers.The Patriots are three weeks into training camp and just over three weeks from their Week 1 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before they start the season, head coach Bill Belichick has difficult roster decisions to make when the Patriots are forced to trim their roster from 90 players all the way down to 53 by Aug. 29.One of those key decisions will be whether or not to hold onto Malik Cunningham, who’s officially listed on the roster as a quarterback but has spent most of training camp at wide receiver.Here’s who makes the cut in our latest 53-man roster projection.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots cut two players to create room for recent signings New England Patriots | Patriots ‘hopeful’ TE Mike Gesicki can return for Week 1 after shoulder injury New ...

A Nigerian military helicopter crashed on a rescue mission. Witnesses say it was shot down by gangs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:22 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian helicopter which had been sent to rescue military personnel from a deadly attack crashed after being fired on by gunmen in the northcentral region, killing those on board, witnesses said on Wednesday.The Nigerian Air Force said the MI-171 Helicopter was on a “casualty evacuation mission” in Niger state, one of the worst-hit states in deadly attacks carried out by gangs of bandits in the hard-hit north of the country. The air force said the reason for the crash is being investigated and did not provide details of the casualties from the incident, which happened on Monday.Residents, however, told The Associated Press the helicopter was shot down by bandits in the state’s Shiroro district as it conveyed soldiers wounded and killed in an earlier attack. The gangs of bandits mostly comprise former herdsmen who have taken up arms after clashing with farming communities for several decades over limited access to land and water.Nigerian President Bola ...

Crews fighting major fire at Oshawa bus depot; 10 Durham Region bus routes cancelled

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:22 GMT

Fire crews are working to put out a large fire that broke out at an Oshawa bus depot on Wednesday morning.Crews were called to the scene of a three-alarm industrial fire at a Durham Region Transit bus facility on Farewell Street, south of Highway 401, around 2:30 a.m.No injuries have been reported but workers at the scene tell CityNews around two dozen transit buses have been damaged or destroyed.Durham Region Transit has cancelled a number of bus routes on Wednesday. A tweet from the operator says routes 103, 112, 211, 222, 291, 409, 411, 423, 502, 920 are not running.#DRTNews update 2: Service updates Effective August 16, 2023. The following routes are cancelled today:• 103• 112• 211• 222• 291• 409• 411• 423• 502• 920Updates to follow.— Durham Region Transit (@Durham_Transit) August 16, 2023 There is no word on the cause of the fire.Farewell Street is closed in both direction from Bloor to Wentworth. Motorists are being asked to avoid the area.

Occidental signs deal to buy Carbon Engineering for US$1.1 billion

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:22 GMT

HOUSTON — Occidental Petroleum Corp. has signed a deal to buy Canadian company Carbon Engineering Ltd. for US$1.1 billion.The company has been working with Carbon Engineering on its direct air capture technology, which is used to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.Occidental announced last week that it was selected to receive a U.S. government grant for the development of a plant in Texas that is designed to use the technology.Upon closing, Carbon Engineering will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Oxy Low Carbon Ventures. Carbon Engineering’s research and development activities and innovation centre will remain in Squamish, B.C.The deal is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to court and regulatory approvals as well as other customary closing conditions.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2023.The Canadian Press

World Aquatics to debut ‘open category’ races for transgender swimmers in Berlin

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:22 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The first “open category” swimming races to accommodate transgender competitors will take place at a World Cup event in Berlin in October, the sport’s governing body said Wednesday.“This pioneering pilot project highlights the organization’s unwavering commitment to inclusivity, welcoming swimmers of all sex and gender identities,” World Aquatics said in a statement.The governing body, formerly known as FINA, had previously banned transgender competitors from major events like the Olympics and world championships, but said it was committed to creating an open category for all swimmers when it first adopted its “gender inclusion policy” last year during the worlds in Budapest, Hungary.The open category will make its debut with 50-meter and 100-meter races across all strokes. More events could be added. Participants will need an affiliation with a national federation, but will be given the flexibility to race individually, for their club or federation.The competition is ...

Court clears the way for Thai Parliament to pick a new prime minister 3 months after elections

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:22 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court cleared the way Wednesday for Parliament to vote for a new prime minister more than three months after national elections by declining to rule on a complaint over the rejection of the winning party’s leader.The court had been asked to decide whether Parliament had violated the constitution by refusing to allow the leader of the progressive Move Forward Party to be nominated for a second time as a prime ministerial candidate.Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat had assembled an eight-party coalition with a majority in Parliament’s lower house. But under the military-implemented constitution, a new prime minister must receive a majority of votes from both the elected House and the conservative appointed Senate, which was chosen by an earlier military government. Pita lost a first vote in Parliament for prime minister last month, with many senators voting against him because of his party’s call for reform of a law that makes it illeg...

Mother drowns trying to save son at waterfall and father rescues another son trapped by boulders

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:22 GMT

LINCOLN, N.H. (AP) — A mother drowned trying to rescue her young son who was being pulled by the current at a popular waterfall and another son who jumped in to help became lodged in boulders and was rescued by his father, authorities said.The mother was part of a Massachusetts family of five visiting Franconia Falls in Lincoln along with a friend on Tuesday afternoon, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said.“One of the minor children slipped and fell into one of the pools at the falls,” Sgt. Heidi Murphy said in a news release. “He could not get out of the pool as it was a fast, circulating current. The mother jumped into the river to help her child and began to immediately have trouble.” Two other children jumped into the water to help their brother and mother. “They were able to get their brother out of the water, but in doing so, another brother became lodged in the boulders and could not escape,” Murphy said. At the same time, the father was trying to find the mother. H...

Americans are divided along party lines over Trump’s actions in election cases, AP-NORC poll shows

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are deeply divided along party lines in their views of President Donald Trump’s actions in the most recent criminal cases brought against him, a new poll shows, with about half saying his alleged attempt to interfere in Georgia’s 2020 vote count was illegal. The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted before Monday’s charges in the Georgia case, also shows that about half of Americans — 53% — approve of the Justice Department indicting Trump over his efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election.The poll finds 85% of Democrats approve of the criminal charges brought Aug. 2 by Special Counsel Jack Smith, compared with 47% of independents and just 16% of Republicans. Overall, 3 in 10 Americans disapprove, including about two-thirds of Republicans.The survey suggests that the unprecedented indictments of a former president have done little to shake up a fundamental divide in t...

Books banned in other states fuel Vermont lieutenant governor’s reading tour

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:22 GMT

WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) — On a recent Sunday afternoon, Vermont’s lieutenant governor was at a local library, reading a book about two male penguins to a crowd of nearly two dozen. This was not the first stop for Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman nor would it be the last.While officials in some other states are banning or restricting certain books in schools and libraries, Zuckerman, in liberal Vermont, has taken a different tack: reading and discussing them at libraries and bookstores around the state.″ These bans often target books that feature LGBTQ+ characters; talk about gender and sexuality; highlight racial disparities; or talk about difficult issues such as substance abuse and cases of police violence,” Zuckerman, a Democrat, said in a statement when he announced the tour in June. “Students, teachers, and curious minds should be able to access materials that spark critical thinking, cover difficult topics, and appeal to diverse interests without fear of government interference.”While Ver...