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Chicago Bears free-agent tracker: Cornerback Josh Blackwell and long snapper Patrick Scales to return

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

In his second offseason with the Chicago Bears, general manager Ryan Poles has plenty of salary-cap space to rework a roster that finished 3-14 in 2022.As the NFL’s new league year approaches, allowing free agents to begin signing with new teams, the Tribune will track all of the Bears’ arrivals and departures and provide insight into what they mean.The free-agency negotiation window will open across the league at 11 a.m. Monday. Unrestricted free agents can finalize deals when the new league year begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday.Here’s the latest.FridayCornerback Josh Blackwell and defensive lineman Andrew Brown are returning, the Bears announced. What it means: The Bears tendered one-year contracts to Blackwell and Brown, who were exclusive-rights free agents.Blackwell, an undrafted rookie out of Duke, was a key special teams player in 2022. He had 23 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He saw time on defense in four games late in the season when injuries d...

Multiple top staff have departed Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden’s office recently, sources say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden has lost multiple top staffers over the past month, with his general counsel, first assistant and chief of staff all departing, according to sources.The exodus began with General Counsel Spencer Lord, whose actual employment status remains unclear as he’s still on the payroll, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation told the Herald.But Lord, whose job effectively was to be the lawyer for the office, hasn’t been doing work since a Feb. 14 meeting with Hayden and the DA’s department of human resources, and he’s only been back since to pick up items from his office, sources said.The next day, First Assistant DA Kevin Mullen resigned. The first assistant, essentially the No. 2 in the office and in charge of day-to-day operations, had begun to butt heads with Hayden — and was frustrated with what went down with Lord the previous day, sources said.They were followed by Padraic Lydon, Hayden’s chief of staff, r...

Paul Flores sentenced to 25 years to life for murder of Kristin Smart

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

(KRON) -- Paul Flores was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in state prison for the 1996 murder of Kristin Smart. Flores, 46, was convicted by a jury last October for murdering Smart in 1996.Smart was a freshman at Cal Poly when she was reported missing in May 1996. Flores was arrested in 2021 following a 25-year investigation into the case. He was convicted the following year.“Today, our criminal and victim justice system has finally delivered justice for Kristin Smart, for the Smart family, and for our San Luis Obispo County community,” said San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow.  “We thank the Smart family and our community for the tremendous trust and patience they placed in the investigation and prosecution of this terrible crime.  We recognize the jury for their focused attention to the evidence and the Sheriff’s Office for their tireless effort in building this case.  Today, justice delayed is not justice denied.”This is a developing story. Check ...

Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.; Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio; Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board; Dr. Richard Besser, CEO and president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.__NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.; Sheila Bair, former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.__CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen; Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas; Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J. ___CNN’s “State of the Union” — Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.; Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. ___“Fox News Sunday” — Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.; Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.The Associated Press

Ex-intern sues Idaho lawmakers for harassing her after rape

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A former Idaho legislative intern is suing a lawmaker who was convicted of raping her and one of his colleagues for publicly releasing the teen’s identity and launching a campaign of harassment against her. The young woman, who uses the pseudonym “Jane Doe” in the federal lawsuit, was just 19 when she reported that then-Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger raped her at his apartment after the two had dinner at a Boise restaurant in March 2021. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted.In the lawsuit, Doe says von Ehlinger and then Rep. Priscilla Giddings, both Republicans, retaliated by publicly releasing her name, encouraging media outlets to publicize it, and lying about her. She is seeking unspecified monetary damages, according to her lawsuit.“Because of the release of Ms. Doe’s identity, Ms. Doe has continually suffered public humiliation and harassment on social media and at public events,” Doe’s ...

Man freed from prison after exoneration of murder charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A man imprisoned for nearly 25 years for murder has been released from prison after being exonerated by prosecutors and a California law school clinic.Leon Benson, 47, left the Correctional Industrial Facility in Pendleton a free man Thursday after an investigation revealed police failed to disclose key evidence, including information implicating someone else in the crime, The Indianapolis Star reported. “It is so surreal. I just walked out of prison, literally, a few hours ago,” Benson said after a champagne toast with his friends and family.Benson was convicted of the murder of Kasey Schoen, who was shot five times while sitting in his truck near downtown Indianapolis early on Aug. 8, 1998. Benson was convicted in July 1999 and sentenced to 61 years in prison.Lara Bazelon, an attorney for Benson and director of the Racial Justice Clinic at the University of San Francisco School of Law, said the case against him relied on the questionable identification by a wit...

AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EST

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

Silicon Valley Bank is seized by US after historic failureNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. regulators rushed to seize the assets of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday after a run on the bank, marking the largest failure of a financial institution since Washington Mutual collapsed at the height of the financial crisis more than a decade ago. Silicon Valley Bank, the nation’s 16th largest bank failed after its depositors — mostly technology workers and venture capital-backed companies — hurried to withdraw money this week as anxiety over the bank’s health spread. It is the second biggest bank failure in U.S. history.The bank had deep ties to Silicon Valley industries and startups. Y Combinator, an incubator startup that has launched companies such as Airbnb, DoorDash and Dropbox, has referred hundreds of entrepreneurs to the bank.“This is an extinction-level event for startups,” Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan said. “I literally have been hearing from hundreds of our founders asking for help on...

How WGN has covered Chicago's St. Patrick's Day parades

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

CHICAGO — With the downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade set for Saturday, WGN-TV went through the tapes to find some of our old broadcasts of the parade, including the first one.In 1956, WGN televised the city's first downtown parade and showed 36 more up until 2008. St. Patrick’s Day Chicago 2023: See a schedule for big events in the city St. Patrick's Day in Chicago is about more than celebrations and shamrocks: It's the city emerging from the bleak, gray winter with a bright brush of spring.Throngs of people originally crowded State Street. And every year, with the Shannon Rovers wailing and the river running green, the city gathers for one of its favorite parades.For a run in the 1980s and 1990s, two Chicago icons hosted the broadcast on Channel 9: Tom Skilling and Butch McGuire, the namesake of the legendary Division Street Pub.The parade typically stretched for more than three hours and was filled with floats, flags, marchers and music. Dean’s Weekender: St. Patrick’s Day cel...

After nearly a 4-year ban, bump stocks are available in Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Two years after a man killed 58 people in Las Vegas, the Trump administration banned bump stocks — a device the gunman used, which can enable a shooter to rapidly fire multiple rounds from semi-automatic weapons after an initial trigger pull. After several legal battles, Texans are now able to purchase them again. Following the massacre, the Department of Justice amended the regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to change the definition of “machine gun” to include bump stocks. Federal law largely prohibits “machine guns,” though a person with a special permit may possess one.“Boom, the [Trump] administration decided to go through the ATF rather than go through Congress and banned [bump stocks],” said Michael Cargill, owner of Central Texas Gun Works.“So I decided to file a case against the federal government –  the Department of Justice and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms – to get rid of the bump stock ban. Because my p...

Crews put up trail fence, lighting near Rainey Street

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) has installed four sets of solar-power lights and a fence on the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail near Rainey Street. The project wrapped up Friday afternoon, ahead of the official start of spring break and SXSW.Last week, friends and family members of people who went missing near the trail spoke at the City Council Public Safety Committee meeting. These loved ones called for additional safety measures like lighting and surveillance cameras on the trail.Some of them plan to walk to the trail Friday night to check out the lights for themselves.The fence and solar lighting are part of the project's "temporary infrastructure installation."The project also has permanent infrastructure plans that include new signage, a kiosk, and additional lighting. A lighting breakdown part of The Trail Conservancy and PARD's Rainey Street Trailhead project."The plan will prioritize amenity reliability by considering and recommending h...