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Lions favored to win NFC North, hoping to end 3-decade drought without a division title

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:59 GMT

DETROIT LIONS (9-8)EXPECTATIONS: Playoffs?! Yes. Detroit is favored to win the NFC North, hoping to end a three-decade drought without a division title. The Lions haven’t been in the playoffs since 2016 and have only one postseason victory since winning the 1957 NFL title. With a potent offense and improved defense, one of the league’s historically bad franchises is expected to have success. Detroit closed last season with eight wins in its last 10 games and had a winning season for the first time since 2017, then addressed needs in free agency and the draft to generate relatively high hopes. Coach Dan Campbell said the hype was out of control entering training camp. When season tickets were sold out later in the summer for the first time in two-plus decades at Ford Field, Campbell said he felt “wind underneath my freaking wings.” NEW FACES: RB David Montgomery, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WR Marvin Jones, TE Sam LaPorta, CB Cameron Sutton, DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson, LB Jack Campbell...

Late-night hosts team up for ‘Strike Force Five’ podcast to benefit their out-of-work staff

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:59 GMT

Something interesting: Stephen Colbert has in his possession a pair of pants belonging to the late Nicaraguan dictator, Anastasio Somoza. It’s a long story but his mom dated Somoza when she was younger (before he became a dictator, says Colbert). Speaking of pants, Jimmy Kimmel once bought a pair of Gary Coleman’s pants off eBay.These are just two of the wonderfully weird factoids shared by late-night hosts Colbert, Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver and Seth Meyers, in a new podcast called “Strike Force Five” — named after their personal text chain — which debuted Wednesday on Spotify.Because their respective shows have been dark since the Writers Guild of America went on strike in May, all profits from the podcast will go to their respective staffs. The show is sponsored by Mint Mobile and liquor company Diageo, and Kimmel said the money will “largely” come from them. Kimmel served as the inaugural moderator and that responsibility will be shared among the hosts.“...

Remains of Vermont World War II soldier are buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:59 GMT

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — The remains of a Vermont World War II soldier who died as a prisoner of war in the Philippines in 1942 were laid to rest Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery. Army Pfc. Arthur Barrett, of Swanton, was a member of the 31st Infantry Regiment when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Barrett was among thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members captured and held at prisoner of war camps. More than 2,500 died at Cabanatuan camp during the war, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.Barrett, 27, died on July 19, 1942, and was buried alongside other prisoners in a common grave. The American Graves Registration Service exhumed the remains after the war and were able to identify 12 sets, the agency said. The unidentified remains were then buried at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial as unknowns, it said.The remains were exhumed again in 2018 and sent to an agency lab in Hawai...

Colts still uncertain about timetable for Jonathan Taylor’s return

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:59 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts already know running back Jonathan Taylor will miss four games.It’s unclear how much longer he could be out. Or whether he’ll stay with the Colts.One day after the 2021 NFL rushing champ landed on the physically unable to perform list following offseason ankle surgery, general manager Chris Ballard did not provide a timetable for Taylor’s return and would not talk about any trade offers he received for the 24-year-old All-Pro.Instead, he’d rather get Taylor back on the field.“We’ve got to work through it and we’re going to do everything we can to work through it. Look, relationships are repairable.” Ballard said Wednesday. ”We have work to do, we do. We’ve got work to do on the relationship.”Ballard’s comments come after ESPN.com reported the Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers both expressed interest in acquiring the 2021 All-Pro.During earlier news conferences Wednesday, Dolphins general manager Chris ...

Polis calls IRS proposal on taxing TABOR refunds 'absurd'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:59 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is speaking out about an IRS proposal that could mean Colorado residents will be paying taxes on their TABOR refund checks each year.TABOR, also known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, is a law that limits the intake and spending of revenue by the state or local governments and refunds any amount collected over that to residents at the end of the year. This limit includes the combination of income, property and sales tax. Which Colorado cities have the highest sales tax rates? In 2022, these refunds were issued during the year under a program called Colorado Cash Back, in which individual tax filers received checks worth $750 and joint filers received $1,500.The IRS has already said that those payments were not taxed.Moving forward, however, the IRS is reviewing the mechanism by which Colorado residents receive their TABOR refunds and considering a ruling that opens them up to being federally taxed as income. "State payments are subject to ...

Get ready: Doctors predict another difficult respiratory virus season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:59 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — In the last week, two people have been hospitalized at UCHealth hospitals with influenza and doctors are expecting an early start to the respiratory virus season.Doctors are warning Coloradans about the possibility of another difficult year in which flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, are circulating at the same time. Colorado’s EV ‘cash for clunkers’-like program starts Thursday Dr. Michelle Barron, the senior medical director of infection prevention at UCHealth, said the predictions are based on the activity in the Southern Hemisphere, specifically Australia."They saw an upsurge in COVID and then they saw flu and RSV kind of overtake, and again, lots of children being affected by RSV and flu. So I think that is the same concern, is that we are going to see that same kind of pattern," Barron said.Last year brought 'a lot of RSV'She said this year could be similar to last year when hospitals were full of children. "We saw a lot of RS...

Giuliani loses defamation lawsuit from two Georgia election workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:59 GMT

(CNN) — A federal judge has determined that Rudy Giuliani has lost a defamation lawsuit from two Georgia election workers against him after he failed to provide information sought in subpoenas.The decision could lead to significant penalties for the former Donald Trump attorney.In court in recent weeks, Giuliani said he could no longer contest that he made false and defamatory statements about Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss – who are only one group of plaintiffs suing him for defamation related to his work for Trump after the 2020 election.Giuliani said he struggled to maintain his own access to his electronic records – partly because of the cost – and didn’t adequately respond to subpoenas for information from Moss and Freeman as the case moved forward.“Perhaps he has made the calculation that his overall litigation risks are minimized by not complying with his discovery obligations in this case,” Judge Beryl Howell of the US District Court in Washington, DC, wrote Wedn...

Moore says Orioles talks can produce a plan to redevelop Camden Yards area, as well as a stadium lease

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:59 GMT

Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday that negotiations with the Orioles can produce not only a new stadium lease binding the team to Baltimore for years, but a redevelopment road map benefiting the city and state.The governor also predicted the club he adores will host World Series games this fall.“For longtime Orioles fans, this is such a gratifying year, because I really do believe — and it’s not just because I’m the governor — I really do believe we’re going to have World Series baseball in Baltimore,” the Democrat said after attending a Mass in Montgomery County tied to the upcoming observance of Labor Day.The Orioles’ lease expires at the end of the year. John Angelos, the club’s chairman and CEO, has said he wants the lease to reflect his vision, which Moore supports, that the area surrounding the Baltimore stadiums’ complex be redeveloped as part of a public-private partnership. A major goal is to attract visitors to the di...

Ex-Middlesex deputy charged with threatening to destroy Plymouth courthouse, kill people inside

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:59 GMT

The feds say a former Middlesex Sheriff’s deputy wanted to take the law into his own hands with a violent plan to destroy the Plymouth courthouse and harm the people inside.“I am calling on all able bodied (sic) officers my brothers in blue to suit up for a fight,” stated 12 emails sent to roughly 140 people, most of whom were law enforcement employees within Massachusetts, between 10:05 a.m. to 10:41 a.m. on March 3 from a newly created Yahoo email address. “Tomorrow we burn Plymouth County Court house (sic) to the ground.”The emails were all allegedly signed “Joshua P. Ford Middlesex Deputy Sheriff,” a once-true title for Ford, 42, of Kingston, but outdated as he left the force after nearly eight years in 2017.The emails included a link to a video posted at video sharing website BitChute, uploaded March 13, in which Ford lays out his alleged plan and states his reasoning for it: that the court had taken away his daughter and given custody over to his either ex- or estranged wife, ...

Mets Notebook: Carlos Carrasco sent to bullpen as he remains with team after being placed on waivers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:59 GMT

Carlos Carrasco remains with the Mets after getting placed on waivers, but his role is about to change.The right-hander will be in the bullpen Wednesday night against the Texas Rangers. The team called up right-hander Denyi Reyes from Triple-A Syracuse to start the final game of a three-game set at Citi Field, with the Mets skipping the struggling starter’s next turn in the rotation.The veteran righty suggested the idea as a way to help the team. He hasn’t helped them much as of late and felt bad about only giving the Mets 1 2/3 innings his last time out.“Carlos will be available out of the ‘pen,” manager Buck Showalter said. “He’s had three days off after 40-plus pitches. That’s Carlos — it doesn’t surprise me — but we still ran it by him.”Carrasco hasn’t pitched in relief at all with the Mets and last did so in 2019 after he returned from cancer treatments. The 36-year-old has pitched well in 47 career r...