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Column: 20 years later, the scars from the foul ball that changed a Chicago Cubs fan’s life appear to have faded

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:45 GMT

The 20th anniversary of the Alex Gonzalez Game is upon us, though few Chicago Cubs fans refer to it as that.Gonzalez, the former shortstop who booted a potential double-play ball that contributed to an epic Cubs collapse in Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series, was fortunate enough to find cover under the dropped foul ball by a fan that preceded his error.Ditto pitcher Mark Prior and the rest of the ‘03 Cubs who helped fritter away a three-run, eighth-inning lead on Oct. 14, 2003, and then failed to get the job done in Game 7. Manager Dusty Baker and pitching coach Larry Rothschild dodged most, but not all, of the finger-pointing as well.Steve Bartman famously took the fall, disappeared for 13 years, returned to accept a World Series ring from the Cubs, then went back into hiding for the last seven years. His face has not been on the internet, to anyone’s knowledge, and he has not profited off his moment of infamy.While his story has been told in an E...

Patriots mailbag: What QB options are available after 2023 season?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:45 GMT

Patriots fans are already looking way, way ahead after the team has gotten off to a disappointing 1-4 start.One reader is asking what quarterbacks the Patriots could bring in after the season if they move on from Mac Jones.Let’s get into that, plus some questions about the offensive line, JuJu Smith-Schuster and the potential of tanking in this week’s mailbag.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Callahan: The Patriots defense can help the offense with this one fix New England Patriots | Patriots-Raiders injury report: S Kyle Dugger added to list of 16 injured players Thursday New England Patriots | Patriots downplay Jalen Mills’ tweet about reduced playing time New England Patriots | Two Patriots wide receivers trending toward missing Sunday’s game at Las Vegas New England Patriots | Inside Mac Jones’ Patriots downfall from promising rookie to lost QB @bustin257What option...

A teacher dies and 2 people are wounded in stabbing in France. Antiterror police are investigating

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:45 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A man armed with a knife killed a teacher at the high school in northern France he once attended and critically wounded another teacher and a security guard Friday, authorities said, an attack being investigated as potential terrorism amid soaring global tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas.French antiterror prosecutors said they were leading the investigation into the attack at the Gambetta high school in the city of Arras, some 115 miles (185 kilometers) north of Paris. They said they were investigating charges including terror-related murder and attempted murder against the suspect, who was arrested.National police said the suspected assailant was a Russian national of Chechen originSliman Hamzi, a police officer who was one of the first on the scene said the suspected attacker, a former student at the school, shouted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great” in Arabic.Hamzi said he was alerted by another officer who was passing in front of the high school and call...

Second GTA driver clocked at more than 200 km/hr in as many days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:45 GMT

A second GTA driver has been charged with stunt driving in as many days after being caught going double the speed limit on a highway.In a post to social media on Friday morning, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say an officer clocked a driver going 201 km/hr in the southbound lanes of Highway 410 in Brampton. The speed limit on the 410 is 100 km/hr.Police say the driver’s vehicle was impounded for two weeks and his license was suspended for 30 days. The 29-year-old man from Etobicoke is facing a stunt driving charge.#Stunt driver stopped after travelling 201km/hr on #Hwy410SB Brampton. 29 year old driver from Etobicoke charged: #Stuntdriving. #14DayVehicleImpound #30DayLicenceSuspension^nb pic.twitter.com/9J5w3ayPuf— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) October 13, 2023On Thursday morning, Aurora OPP caught a driver going 221 km/hr on the southbound 404 at Stouffville Road in York Region. The speed limit on that stretch of highway is 100 km/hr.In a separate post to X,...

JPMorgan profit jumps 35%, but CEO says geopolitics and gov’t inaction have led to ‘dangerous time’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase’s third quarter profit soared 35% from last year, fueled by a rapid rise in interest rates, but the bank’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, issued a sobering statement about the current state of world affairs and economic instability. “This may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades,” Dimon wrote in the bank’s earnings statement. Dimon laid out a laundry list of major issues: the Russia-Ukraine War, the new war between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, high levels of government debt and deficits, high inflation, as well as the tight labor market, where worker demands for increased wages has led to high-profile strikes in manufacturing and entertainment. “While we hope for the best, we prepare (JPMorgan) for a broad range of outcomes so we can consistently deliver for clients no matter the environment,” he said. Dimon often weighs in on global and economic issues that go beyond the scope of banking. He’s often seen as the b...

Ford recalls over 238,000 Explorers to replace axle bolts that can fail after US opens investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:45 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 238,000 Explorers in the U.S. because a rear axle bolt can fail, potentially causing a loss of drive power or allowing the SUVs to roll away while in park.The recall comes after U.S. safety regulators opened an investigation into the problem after getting two complaints that repairs didn’t work in two previous recalls this year and in 2022.Affected are certain Explorers from the 2020 through 2022 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted Friday on its website that the rear axle horizontal mounting bolt can fracture and cause the driveshaft to disconnect, increasing the risk of a crash.Dealers will replace a bushing and the rear axle bolt. They also will inspect the rear axle cover for damage near the bolt hole and replace the cover if damage is found. Owners will be notified by letter starting Nov. 6.Ford said in documents that it knows of 396 reports of rear axle bolt failures, and fewer...

Blast strikes Shiite mosque during Friday prayers in Afghanistan’s north

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:45 GMT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A blast struck a Shiite mosque during Friday prayers in Afghanistan’s north, a police spokesperson said. He confirmed there were casualties but did not give a figure or other details about the incident. Taliban footage from the mosque in the city of Pol-e-Khomri, the provincial capital of Baghlan, showed debris strewn over a red-carpeted floor, scattered personal items and bodies covered with shrouds. Baghlan police spokesman Sher Ahmad Borhani said he would share information about the blast later. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but blame is likely to fall on the Islamic State group, which targeted Afghanistan’s minority Shiites in past large-scale attacks.The regional affiliate of IS, known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, increased attacks on mosques and minorities across the country after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.IS, which has operated in Afghanistan since 2014, is seen as the greatest security challenge facing t...

US Defense Secretary Austin tells Israel’s Netanyahu ‘we have your back’ after the attack by Hamas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:45 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior government leaders on Friday to reaffirm U.S. support and was seeing firsthand some of the weapons and security assistance that Washington rapidly delivered to Israel in the first week of its war with the militant Hamas group.Austin is the second high-level U.S. official sent by President Joe Biden to visit Israel in two days. His quick trip from Brussels, where he was attending a NATO defense ministers meeting, came a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the region. Blinken is continuing the frantic Mideast diplomacy, seeking to avert an expanded regional conflict.Also Friday, the Israeli military directed hundreds of thousands of residents in Gaza City to evacuate “for their own safety and protection,” ahead of a feared Israeli ground offensive. Gaza’s Hamas rulers responded by calling on Palestinians to “remain steadfast in your h...

7 killed and 16 injured as a van overloaded with migrants crashes in southern Germany

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:45 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A van packed with migrants crashed at a highway junction in southern Germany on Friday after the driver accelerated to avoid a police check, killing seven people and injuring 16, authorities said. A police patrol noticed the overloaded vehicle on the A94 highway east of Munich at about 3:15 a.m. and tried to stop it, police said. The driver didn’t react and accelerated to 180 kph (112 mph). Shortly afterward, he lost control of the vehicle when he took a turning off the highway and the van overturned, hurling several of the 23 people on board out of the vehicle.Seven people were killed, including a 6-year-old child, police said in a statement. The other 16 were injured, some of them seriously, and were taken to hospitals. The people on board were Syrian and Turkish citizens.The driver and suspected smuggler, a 24-year-old stateless man resident in Austria, was among the injured. Police said he was formally detained at a hospital and is under investigation on susp...

Iowa State’s Jack Trice Stadium remains only major college football stadium named for a Black man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:45 GMT

George Trice is thankful that the tragic story of his cousin, Jack Trice, still is being told a century after he died from injuries sustained on a football field.Still, George Trice is not satisfied.Jack Trice, Iowa State’s first Black athlete, carried an immense burden into his first varsity start at Minnesota in Oct. 6, 1923. He wrote in a letter the day before the game that the “honor of my race, family and self are at stake.”Trice was trampled during that game in Minneapolis, and he died two days later upon his return to Ames, Iowa. He was 21.His memory lives on. The field at Iowa State was named for Jack Trice, who was born in Ohio, in 1988. After years of pressure from students, the stadium was named for him in 1997, making it the first major college stadium to be named for a Black person. Iowa State honored Jack Trice this past weekend, including during the Cyclones’ game against TCU. The team wore special uniforms that date to the era in which Trice played. There was t...