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Matt Eberflus ticks off the reasons Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields is better: ‘It’s quicker, it’s faster, it’s more precise’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:56:41 GMT

It would be overstating the situation to say the 2023 season will be a defining one for Justin Fields’ career. However, it will no doubt shape the trajectory of the quarterback’s future with the Chicago Bears.In an offseason of change at Halas Hall in a lot of ways — Kevin Warren now sits at the top as the president and CEO and the roster has undergone significant turnover — what matters around Fields has remained the same.The playbook and the coaching staff are unchanged, which put him much further ahead when the team wrapped minicamp Thursday and prepared to break for the summer. A year ago at this time, he was still trying to digest his third offense in three seasons dating back to Ohio State.Two offenses and two coaching staffs in Fields’ first two NFL seasons kept him in a constant cycle of adaptation. Now, there’s a comfort level for him — and the coaches — and it’s growing with teammates, especially the newcomers. All of t...

Hot Property: Own a piece of history in Milton

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:56:41 GMT

History buffs know that where there’s a tiny plaque, there’s a neat story waiting to be told.Even the most eagle-eyed house hunters might miss spotting the humble wood sign hung near the front door of 307 Highland Street in Milton. After all, tucked behind its rolling green front lawn, it’s your quintessential New England abode. But peek a little closer and you’ll learn that the property dates to the late 1700s — a lovingly cared for Federal style home, perfectly symmetrical and timeless.The Samuel Adams House as it’s known — no, not that Samuel Adams — belonged to the owner of a successful water cracker business. After serving as its stewards for the last 40 years, its current family is making the historic home available for its next caretakers.You’ll find all the markers of the classic Federal style, including wide-plank wood floors, eight minimally adorned brick-lined fireplaces, wainscoting, and paned windows.The kitchen and dining room fireplaces even include the original bake ...

AI could prevent hiring bias — unless it makes it worse

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:56:41 GMT

At first glance, artificial intelligence and job hiring seem like a match made in employment equity heaven.There’s a compelling argument for AI’s ability to alleviate hiring discrimination: Algorithms can focus on skills and exclude identifiers that might trigger unconscious bias, such as name, gender, age and education. AI proponents say this type of blind evaluation would promote workplace diversity.AI companies certainly make this case.HireVue, the automated interviewing platform, boasts “fair and transparent hiring” in its offerings of automated text recruiting and AI analysis of video interviews. The company says humans are inconsistent in assessing candidates, but “machines, however, are consistent by design,” which, it says, means everyone is treated equally.Paradox offers automated chat-driven applications as well as scheduling and tracking for applicants. The company pledges to only use technology that is “designed to exclude bias and limit scalability of existing biases in...

11 picks and $100M in salary: How the Nets can build a contender ahead of 2023 NBA Draft

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:56:41 GMT

The Nets could have up to 11 first-round draft picks over the next seven summers. They can also create upwards of $100 million in outgoing salary this offseason alone while keeping their newfound core together.That’s a whole lot of capital to use in trade negotiations as general manager Sean Marks looks to rebuild his team following the mass exodus of superstars from Brooklyn.And make no mistake: Acquiring someone like Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal or even Jaylen Brown won’t come cheap.Grabbing a new star is the name of the game after the Nets fizzled via a first-round sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers these past playoffs. As the Denver Nuggets hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy following their gentleman’s sweep of the Miami Heat to claim the NBA title, the prerequisites to making a legitimate NBA Finals run became clear.Size, depth, shooting, star power and a timely bill of health are what it takes to win it all in this league, and the Nets as curren...

Who’s running for president? See a rundown of the 2024 candidates

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:56:41 GMT

By MEG KINNARD (Associated Press)With roughly a year and a half until the 2024 presidential contest, the field of candidates is largely set.Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have dominated the early Republican race as the other candidates look for an opening to take them on. President Joe Biden faces a couple of Democratic challengers but is expected to secure his party’s nomination.Here’s a look at the candidates competing for the Republican and Democratic nominations:REPUBLICAN PRIMARY FIELD DONALD TRUMP The former president announced his third campaign for the White House on Nov. 15 at his Mar-a-Lago resort, forcing the party to again decide whether to embrace a candidate whose refusal to accept defeat in 2020 sparked the U.S. Capitol attack and still dominates his speeches.The GOP front-runner remains hugely popular in the Republican Party, despite making history as the first president to be impeached ...

Nathan Carman dies awaiting trial for his mother’s 2016 death off New England coast

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:56:41 GMT

By LISA RATHKE and DAVE COLLINS (Associated Press)The man charged with killing his mother at sea during a 2016 fishing trip off the coast of New England has died awaiting trial, federal authorities in Vermont said Thursday. Nathan Carman, 29, of Vernon, Vermont, was scheduled to face trial in October in what prosecutors said was a scheme to inherit millions of dollars. He had pleaded not guilty last year to fraud and first-degree murder in the death of his mother, Linda Carman of Middletown, Connecticut. The cause of Nathan Carman’s death was not immediately clear. One of his lawyers, Martin Minnella, said he was told about Carman’s death Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Service.“We had spoken to him yesterday. He was in good spirits,” Minnella said. “We were meeting with some experts today over Zoom at 12 o’çlock. We were prepared to start picking a jury on Oct. 10 and we were confident we were going to win. It’s just a tragedy, a tragedy...

Hot summer ahead: California weather predictions heat up in new NOAA forecast

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:56:41 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – An already sweltering summer forecast just got even steamier. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a new long-range weather outlook Thursday that favors above-average temperatures for basically the entire United States. Between July and September, all but a few states have between a 33% and 70% chance of a hotter-than-normal summer. The highest chance for heat is in Arizona — which is already hot on even a normal summer day. The average high in Phoenix in July is 106 degrees. El Niño officially arrives early: What it means for 2023 weather The entire East Coast, from Maine down to Florida, the Gulf Coast, the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest is "likely" to see an above-normal summer, according to the forecast. NOAA gives about half of U.S. states a 50% to 60% chance of extra-hot weather over the next three months. Things are a bit better in California and the Midwest, but those regions are also still more likely to see a hot summer tha...

Four charged in $2M drug investigation in Scarborough

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:56:41 GMT

Toronto police have charged four people in connection with a drug investigation after a vehicle stop in Scarborough.On June 4 officers responded to a call about a suspected impaired driver in the Morningside Avenue and Ellesmere Road area where they allegedly found a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road with an unconscious male in the driver’s seat.A quantity of drugs and money were in the vehicle along with a laptop, a machine to cut identification cards and counterfeit Ontario Ministry of Transportation items.Stephen Sampson, 32, of Toronto, was charged with impaired driving, failure or refusal to provide a sample, almost 70 drug-related charges, and possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000.Investigators obtained search warrants for Sampson’s residence in the Lawrence Avenue East and Beechgrove Drive area where cash, drug paraphernalia, equipment to make fake prescription bottle labels and a number of drugs with an approximate street value of up to $2,000,000 w...

Stock market today: Wall Street gains ground to extend winning streak

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:56:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street turned solidly higher Thursday following a weak start as a messy mix of economic reports yielded no clear sign about where the economy and inflation are heading.The S&P 500 was 0.9% higher in afternoon trading, coming off its highest level since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 377 points, or 1.1%, at 34,357, as of 1:33 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% higher.Homebuilder Lennar helped lead the S&P 500 with a gain of 3.6% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. It also gave a stronger-than-expected forecast for upcoming deliveries, saying customers are accepting the “new normal” of higher interest rates. Kroger, meanwhile, sank to one of the market’s sharper losses after reporting slightly weaker revenue for the latest quarter than expected. It fell 2.9% despite also reporting stronger profit than expected and reaffirming many of its financial forecasts for the year....

International court prosecutor to probe crimes in eastern Congo following government request

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:56:41 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Thursday he is opening a preliminary probe in Congo after the African nation asked him to investigate alleged crimes in its North Kivu province since January last year.The request marks the second time Congolese authorities have sought an investigation by the global war crimes court. Congo, a member state of the court, first requested a probe in 2004 into crimes since 2002. That led to three convictions of rebel leaders involved in the long-running armed conflict in the mineralrich nation.Prosecutor Karim Khan said that Congo’s new request — known at the court as a referral — asks prosecutors to “investigate particular armed forces and groups” allegedly responsible for crimes in the eastern province of North Kivu.Conflict has been simmering for decades in eastern Congo, where more than 120 armed groups are fighting. Most are vying for land and control of mines with valuable minerals, wh...