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Column: Are the Chicago White Sox back in business in baseball’s most forgiving division?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:18:32 GMT

Major League Baseball expanded its postseason from 10 to 12 teams last year with the addition of a third wild-card entrant in each league, then adopted a 2023 schedule in which every team plays at least one series against all 29 other teams.The early results of the new schedule have confirmed what most everyone knew: The American League East is far and away the best division in baseball, while the AL Central is the worst.The Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, tied for the worst record in the AL East through Tuesday, were one game ahead of the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins.But if the playoffs had begun Wednesday, the Twins would’ve gotten in as a division champion while the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels would’ve missed out on a wild-card spot in spite of better records. It’s hard not to root for a scenario like that, if only to hear the outcry from New Englanders if the Red Sox somehow miss the postseason despite being a much better team than the...

Get to know the Chicago Bears 2023 draft class

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:18:32 GMT

The Chicago Bears drafted 10 players in last month’s NFL draft, from Darnell Wright at No. 10 to Kendall Williamson at No. 258. The Tribune spoke to each draft pick’s college coach for more insight.No. 10: Darnell Wright, OT, TennesseeThe Bears loved what they saw from Darnell Wright that day on the Tennessee campus, and three weeks later they made him the No. 10 pick in the draft, locking him in as a likely starter for his rookie season and beyond.Tennessee offensive line coach Glen Elarbee worked with Wright for two seasons and sees high-end NFL potential for the massive tackle. Elarbee spoke to the Tribune recently to provide insight into Wright’s game and wiring. Read more here.No. 53: Gervon Dexter, DT, FloridaGeneral manager Ryan Poles passed on the consensus best defensive tackle in the draft — Georgia’s Jalen Carter — and that move will be evaluated for some time. But the Bears got a young player with upside at the position in the second r...

Get to know Darnell Wright: Q&A with the new Chicago Bears offensive tackle’s college coach

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:18:32 GMT

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles wanted a full test of Darnell Wright’s resilience and grit. In the final stages of the team’s draft preparation in April, Poles was strongly considering using his first first-round pick as an NFL GM on an offensive lineman and had Tennessee’s Wright tabbed as the top tackle on the board.But Poles wanted Wright to pass one more test and flew to Knoxville, Tenn., with Bears offensive line coach Chris Morgan in early April to conduct an intense daylong assessment of Wright’s mental and physical stamina.The Bears loved what they saw from Wright that day on the Tennessee campus, and three weeks later they made him the No. 10 pick in the draft, locking him in as a likely starter for his rookie season and beyond.Tennessee offensive line coach Glen Elarbee worked with Wright for two seasons and sees high-end NFL potential for the massive tackle. Elarbee spoke to the Tribune recently to provide insight into Wright’s game ...

Chicago Bears Q&A: Could the Jaylon Johnson situation result in a trade? Will Justin Fields be the franchise’s 1st 4,000-yard passer?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:18:32 GMT

The Chicago Bears are in the midst of their first week of organized team activities, but not everyone is present at Halas Hall for the voluntary sessions. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson’s absence Tuesday raised a few eyebrows, and Brad Biggs’ weekly Bears mailbag begins with a question about that situation.Are we headed for another Roquan (Smith)-type situation with Jaylon Johnson? I get the sense Ryan Poles would rather move on from a player who rustles contract feathers than reward them. I can envision using him as a trade opportunity for a need midseason. — @obsidianarcadeI think you’re probably overreacting to the news that Johnson, for the second year, has not reported for the voluntary portion of the offseason program. Would the Bears prefer Johnson was there? Sure. Will missing OTAs — and keep in mind, Johnson could show up any day — affect his 2023 season? Probably not. Some players pick and choose when they want to show up, and that’s th...

Reports: 3 dead after attacks in central Japan; police searching for masked man with rifle and knife

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:18:32 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Three people including two police officers were killed in Nagano in central Japan on Thursday, and a suspect with a rifle and knife was holed up inside a building, according to police and media reports.A witness told NHK public television that a woman fell while being chased by the suspect, who then stabbed her with a knife and shot at two police officers as they arrived at the scene in Nakano city in the prefecture of Nagano.The three were taken to a nearby hospital, where the woman was later pronounced dead, police said. The two police officers also died later, according to NHK. A fourth person who was injured could not be rescued because he was near where the suspect was holed up, Kyodo News agency reported. Television footage on NHK showed uniformed police wearing bulletproof vests and carrying shields with an ambulance nearby.Police described the suspect as a man wearing a camouflage outfit, a hat, a mask and sunglasses, Kyodo News said. City officials urged those ...

Tunisian court releases prominent radio director from prison

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:18:32 GMT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s most popular private radio station said an appeal court has allowed its director to be released on bail from prison, after more than three months of detention. Mosaique FM announced Wednesday that its director, Noureddine Boutar, was freed after the appeal court ordered a bail of one million dinars (about $323,500) and a travel ban. The reasons behind the decision have not been made public. Boutar was arrested in February on suspicion of money laundering and illicit enrichment, according to his lawyers who said the accusations were unfounded.One of his lawyers, Ayoub Ghedamsi, said he was imprisoned because he was critical of the government. The move comes amid a wave of arrests of opponents of the Tunisian president, Kais Saied. Rights groups have denounced a growing crackdown on dissent in the north African nation.Last week, a Tunisian appeals court sentenced a journalist to five years in prison for revealing details of a counterterrorism operation ...

Aid chief says Taliban agree to consider allowing women to resume agency work in Kandahar

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:18:32 GMT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The head of a major aid organization said Thursday that the Taliban have agreed to consider allowing Afghan women to resume work at the agency in the southern province of Kandahar, the religious and political center for the country’s rulers.The Taliban last December barred Afghan women from working at nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, allegedly because they were not wearing the hijab — the Islamic headscarf — correctly or observing gender segregation rules. In April, they said the ban extended to U.N. offices and agencies in Afghanistan. There are exemptions in some sectors, like health care and education.Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, met officials in the capital Kabul and Kandahar to persuade them to reverse the ban on the organization’s female staff. “We have an agreement to start immediate talks on a temporary arrangement that will enable our female colleagues to work with and for women and others in Kan...

TD Bank Group reports Q2 profit down from year ago, loan-loss provisions up

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:18:32 GMT

TORONTO — TD Bank Group reported a second-quarter profit of $3.35 billion, down from $3.81 billion in the same quarter last year as it set aside more money for bad loans.The bank says the profit amounted to $1.72 per diluted share for the quarter ended April 30, down from a profit of $2.07 per diluted share a year earlier.Revenue totalled $12.37 billion, up from $11.26 billion in its second quarter last year.TD says its provisions for credit losses amounted to $599 million, up from $27 million a year ago.On an adjusted basis, TD says it earned $1.94 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $2.02 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $2.07 per share, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:TD)The Canadian Press

How the end of the COVID health emergency affects your Medicare

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:18:32 GMT

The COVID-19 public health emergency that started in January 2020 ended on May 11. When that happened, several Medicare rules and waivers that went into effect during the pandemic came to an end — and it may catch Medicare patients by surprise.Many of the changes were made to accommodate the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic — when hospitals were mobbed, people were encouraged not to leave their homes and patients found themselves getting medical care in unusual places. Some changes — like increased use of telehealth — are sticking around for the near future.Here are a few things Medicare beneficiaries can expect from their benefits post-pandemic.COVID-19 TESTING, TREATMENTS AND VACCINESDuring the public health emergency, or PHE, Medicare and Medicare Advantage covered up to eight at-home COVID tests per month, COVID-19 testing-related services and antiviral treatments like Paxlovid.You’ll now pay out of pocket for at-home COVID-19 tests, although some Medicare Advantage plans may...

Russia signs deal to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:18:32 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russia and Belarus signed a deal on Thursday formalizing the procedure for deploying Russian nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. Control of the weapons will remain with Moscow.The move formalized the deal agreed on earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Putin previously announced in March that his country planned to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus. The inking of the deal comes as Russia braces for Ukraine’s much-anticipated counteroffensive.Both Russian and Belarusian officials framed the step as driven by hostility from the West.“Deployment of nonstrategic nuclear weapons is an effective response to the aggressive policy of countries unfriendly to us,” Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said in Minsk during a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu.“In the context of an extremely sharp escalation of threats on the western borders...