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Kyle Larson earns spot in NASCAR’s championship race with victory at Las Vegas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:32 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kyle Larson edged Christopher Bell at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway finish line to become the first driver locked into NASCAR’s championship race. The 2021 Cup champion earned the first of four spots in the Nov. 5 title-deciding finale with his win in Sunday’s opening race of the round of eight of NASCAR’s playoffs. “This is really cool to get to race in the championship in a few weeks,” said Larson.“Glad we don’t need to stress in the last two races.” Larson claimed the lead on pit road when his Hendrick Motorsports crew had the fastest stop following a caution with 57 laps remaining. Bell had control of the race at that point, but the leaders went in for a service stop, and Larson in his Chevrolet was first off pit road. Bell, who started on the pole in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, was third after the pit stop. Passing seemed particularly difficult Sunday at Las Vegas, and Bell was sort of stuck following Larson for the rest of the race. But he ...

England ends Fiji’s crowd-pleasing run at Rugby World Cup with tense 30-24 win to reach semifinals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:32 GMT

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — The lead was 14 points, the Rugby World Cup semifinals were in sight and there was a celebratory feel to England fans’ booming rendition of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” that swirled around Stade Velodrome with a little over 20 minutes left.Then Fiji finally turned up.The World Cup quarterfinals delivered another heart-stopper on Sunday as England held on in the face of a valiant fightback from the Flying Fijians to end the crowd-pleasing run of the tournament darlings by a tense 30-24.English hopes of a second world title were written off six weeks ago after a lackluster first ever loss to Fiji at Twickenham.Now, a victory over the same opponent has carried them into the semifinals for the sixth time in 10 editions of rugby’s biggest event. Defending champion South Africa awaits in Paris on Saturday after beating France later Sunday.“The players were written off,” England coach Steve Borthwick said. “A lot of people said we wouldn’t get out of the ...

Young, Panthers show flashes of potential but remain winless after 42-21 loss at Miami

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:32 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — After the Miami Dolphins beat the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Tua Tagovailoa found Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, embraced him and shared a few encouraging words as the No. 1 overall pick seeks the first win of his NFL career. “It’s a conversation that I felt like if I was on the other side of the ball, I would want someone to tell me,” Tagovailoa said. “I think he’s doing a tremendous job. There’s going to be times where you’re going to make mistakes because you’re a rookie, and there’s things that, when he plays the next game, that he’d wish he knew this game. He’ll continue to grow from that.”Young and the Panthers (0-6) showed flashes of potential in a 42-21 loss to the Dolphins, though. Carolina put together back-to-back touchdown drives to open the game and forced two three-and-outs against the NFL’s No. 1 offense to take an early two-score lead. Young completed six of his first seven passes a...

France’s star backs flop as they lose to South Africa in Rugby World Cup quarterfinals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:32 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s star backs were supposed to lead the tournament favorite past defending champion South Africa and into the Rugby World Cup semifinals.They flopped as South Africa won 29-28 in a cliffhanger on Sunday.Right winger Damian Penaud was on a career-best seven-match try-scoring run and topped the tournament with six tries.Fullback Thomas Ramos was the leading point-scorer and had hardly missed a kick.Talismanic captain Antoine Dupont came back from a tournament-threatening injury to line up alongside the silky Matthieu Jalibert.It wasn’t their night at Stade de France.Penaud was far from the lethal finisher who terrified defenders, Ramos was careless enough not to see Cheslin Kolbe coming at him and charge down a conversion attempt, a rare event. Those wasted two points came with the score at 12-12 and proved vital in a one-point contest. Dupont looked rusty and made errors, too. He had never lost his 14 previous tests at home as captain. Jalibert went off...

Train derails on I-25 near Pueblo, interstate closed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:32 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Interstate 25 was closed near Pueblo after a train derailed Sunday afternoon.Multiple agencies reported and responded to the incident just after 4 p.m. Fort Collins horse trainer starts non-profit to help at-risk youth The train derailed on a bridge over I-25 near mile markers 106 and 107. Colorado State Patrol said both directions of I-25 were closed due to train cars and coal on the road.Pueblo West Fire advises drivers to not travel northbound past exit 104 and advises drivers not to travel south past exit 108 as the interstate was expected to be closed for an extended amount of time.Interstate 25 was closed near Pueblo after a train derailed over the roadway Sunday afternoon. (Photo courtesy of Colorado State Patrol)Interstate 25 was closed near Pueblo after a train derailed over the roadway Sunday afternoon. (Photo courtesy of Pueblo County Sheriff's Office)Interstate 25 was closed near Pueblo after a train derailed over the roadway Sunday afternoon. (Photo c...

Hundreds at Shul of Bal Harbour fill backpacks with supplies for soldiers of Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:32 GMT

Volunteers gathered at a synagogue in Surfside this weekend in a show of support for the soldiers of Israel.Hundreds of people at The Shul of Bal Harbour put together backpacks of supplies on Sunday morning to ship overseas.David Wolf, the president of the synagogue, said he was impressed with the turnout.“In South Florida, the response has been amazing. We have probably 500 people today working in The Shul, putting packages together. We’ve got 10 to 20 pallets of merchandise,” he said. “This is just our Shul; this is happening all over the local community here. The response is incredible, because we all know the situation is really horrifying and incomprehensible.”Wolf also said the community can help by spreading the word on social media.

Hundreds of runners lace up for Martin Richard Foundation 8K in Boston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:32 GMT

Hundreds of Boston-area runners laced up their sneakers for the Martin Richard 8K on Sunday, which left from Martin’s Park in the Seaport for the first time.The race, in memory of the Boston Marathon Bombings’ youngest victim, left the park created in his memory.“Starting it in Martin’s Park has always been the dream and to have so many people come it means so much to us,” said his father, Bill Richard.A kids run kicked off the festivities, followed by the 8K road race.Foundation officials say they hope to make the race from the park an annual event this time of year.

Local lobsterman’s story the focus of new documentary, ‘In the Whale’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:32 GMT

A local lobsterman’s whale of a tale is the center of a new documentary that recently made its grand premier at a film festival in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.“In the Whale: The Greatest Fish Story Ever Told” tells the story of Michael Packard, who was diving for lobster off Cape Cod when he ended up in the mouth of a humpback whale 45 feet below the surface. Packard survived the ordeal with just a leg injury and some bruising.Director David Abel said “the story is much deeper” than a close encounter with a whale.“It looks at what happens to a human being who experiences one of the most frightening things that can possibly happen to someone,” he said. “And what happens to a person like a reclusive fisherman who is thrust into the national spotlight and then when the spotlight fades, what happens to someone like that?”See the trailer and learn more about the film at www.inthewhalefilm.com

Showers return Monday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:32 GMT

After a dry weekend for most of us, showers are expected to return to the area as a trough moves in.Rain chances will be highest near the coastline, more isolated for locations farther west. Rain chances start during the morning, with scattered showers, especially near the coastline. Showers become less numerous into the afternoon, with most of the activity focused in eastern Mass. A few isolated showers will linger through the evening, but only a 30% chance of rain is expected into Tuesday morning. Embedded in some of the heavier showers, there may also be some graupel (ice pellets) as rain-cooled air could bring some graupel to the surface. Only a handful of locations will experience this tomorrow, but it is a possibility for any heavier shower.

Second carrier group sent to support Israel and deter Iran

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:32 GMT

The Biden Administration has ordered a second carrier group into the Eastern Mediterranean as Israel’s war with the terrorist group Hamas moves into its second week.According to a statement by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group will join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group off the coast of Israel in an effort to prevent further escalation of the conflict by third parties.“The increases to U.S. force posture signal the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war,” the retired four-star general said.Announcements of U.S. military movements toward the Middle East came after more than 1,000 Israeli civilians and military personnel were killed when Hamas launched a surprise attack from Gaza last Saturday. Israel’s Security Cabinet declared war with the group, which the United States, Canada, and the European Union have o...