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The Patriots’ 18 best defensive fits in NFL free agency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:52 GMT

From Kyle Dugger to Josh Uche, the Patriots’ young talent may be enough to ensure another top-10 defensive ranking next season.But if Bill Belichick wants his pride and joy to crack the top five, and join the ranks of the NFL’s elite, it’s time to spend some money.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | How the Patriots can fix their offense in free agency New England Patriots | Long football careers linked to impulsive behavior, less white matter in the brain: Boston University CTE study New England Patriots | The risk and reward of the Patriots re-signing Jakobi Meyers New England Patriots | NFL Draft: Patriots bolster offense with top 3 picks in 7-round mock draft New England Patriots | Predicting the Patriots’ draft, Bill Belichick’s activity, and more intel from the NFL Combine The Patriots have a pending hole at outside cornerback, where Jonathan Jones is set to hit the...

North Korea fires ballistic missile toward sea, Seoul says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:52 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military said it detected that North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile toward waters off its western coast on Thursday.The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the weapon was fired at around 6:20 p.m. from an area around the western coastal city of Nampo. It did not immediately release an assessment of how far the missile flew.The launch came after the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned Tuesday that her country is ready to take “quick, overwhelming action” against the United States and South Korea as the allies expand their military training to cope with a growing North Korean nuclear threat.Coming off a record year in missile testing, North Korea has conducted more weapons demonstrations to 2023 including test launches of an intercontinental ballistic missile, short-range missiles and a purported long-range cruise missile system in recent weeks. Experts say North Korea’s weapons push is aimed at forcing...

German woman risks tougher sentence over Yazidi girl’s death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:52 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German appeals court on Thursday ordered a new sentencing hearing for a German convert to Islam who was given 10 years in prison on charges that, as a member of the Islamic State group in Iraq, she allowed a 5-year-old Yazidi girl she and her husband kept as a slave to die of thirst in the sun.The 31-year-old defendant now risks a higher sentence.The Federal Court of Justice threw out an appeal by the woman, who has been identified only as Jennifer W. in line with German privacy rules, but partly approved an appeal by prosecutors. It overturned the sentence, though not the rest of the verdict, and sent the case back to the Munich state court for a new decision.The woman was convicted in October 2021 of, among other things, two counts of crimes against humanity through enslavement, in one case resulting in death, being an accessory to attempted murder and membership in a terrorist organization abroad. The federal court found that Munich judges erred in sentencing the ...

Indonesia landslide death toll hits 30; dozens still missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:52 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Rescue workers recovered more bodies buried under tons of mud following a landslide that crashed onto a hilly village on Indonesia’s remote Natuna islands, bringing the death toll to 30, officials said Thursday.The landslide, triggered by torrential downpours, plunged down surrounding hills on Monday, burying 30 houses in Genting village on a tiny remote island in the Natuna archipelago at the edge of the South China Sea, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement.Authorities have deployed nearly 700 rescuers, including police and military with heavy equipment to search for 24 people still missing who were apparently trapped in houses that were buried under the landslide, which was 4 meters (13 feet) deep, said Abdul Rahman, who heads Natuna’s search and rescue agency.“Improved weather allowed us to recover more bodies,” Rahman said in a video statement.Eight people were pulled out alive with injuries, three of whom are in critical cond...

Fred VanVleet eviscerates officials as frustrations run high for Raptors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:52 GMT

Another night, another strong effort against a quality opponent and another loss. It’s been a frustrating season and a frustrating 1-3 road trip for the Toronto Raptors and safe to say, emotions are running high.On Wednesday night Fred VanVleet wanted the world to know he’d had enough — with the way he thinks the Raptors have been officiated at least.After Toronto’s 108-100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Raptors point guard paused for moment, and said “I don’t mind, I’ll take a fine, I don’t really care.”The fine will be substantial as the calm, measured and forthright veteran proceeded to eviscerate referee Ben Taylor in particular and the state of NBA officiating in general in a manner unlike you’ll ever hear again.“I thought Ben Taylor was f—–g terrible tonight,” he began. “I think that most nights, you know out of the three [referees] there’s one or two that just f–k the game up. It’s been like that a couple of games in a row. Denver was tough, obv...

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

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:52 GMT

Major Russian missile barrage slams targets across UkraineKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed “a massive rocket attack” that hit critical infrastructure and residential buildings in 10 regions of Ukraine, the country’s president said Thursday, with officials reporting at least six deaths in the largest such night-time attack in three weeks.Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the barrage that came while many people slept as an attempt by Moscow “to intimidate Ukrainians again.”“The occupiers can only terrorize civilians. That’s all they can do,” Zelenskyy said in an online statement.The war has largely ground to a battlefield stalemate over the winter. The Kremlin’s forces started targeting Ukraine’s power supply last October in an apparent attempt to demoralize the civilian population. The barrages later became less frequent, with analysts speculating Russia may have been running low on ammunition. The last massive barrage took place on Feb. 16. U.S. intelligence doesn’t believe R...

Business backlash pushing GOP to weaken anti-ESG proposals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:52 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Conservative Republicans who want to thwart socially and environmentally conscious investing are now being pushed to water down their proposals after backlash from powerful business groups and fears that state pension systems could see huge losses.In both Kansas and Indiana, where the GOP has legislative supermajorities, bankers associations and state chambers of commerce criticized the strongest versions of anti-ESG legislation currently under consideration as anti-free market.In Kansas, their opposition prompted a Senate committee’s chair to drop the toughest version of its bill — applying anti-ESG rules to firms handling private investments — before hearings began this week. The Kansas committee was slated to vote Thursday but could postpone action on a milder version of an anti-ESG bill after the head of the state pension system for teachers and government workers warned that it could see $3.6 billion in losses over 10 years if the bill were passed. And...

1 dead in Vaughan shooting, 2 found shot in North York; police investigating possible connection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:52 GMT

Police are investigating whether two separate shootings, one fatal, are connected after the victims were found in two different locations, in North York and Vaughan.York Regional Police officers initially responded to the Dufferin Street and Summeridge Drive area near Highway 7 in Vaughan for a weapons call just after 3:30 a.m. on Thursday.Police told CityNews officers found a man at the side of a road with gunshot wounds. He was rushed to hospital, where he later died.A short time later, around 4 a.m., Toronto police say a man and a woman were found with gunshot wounds on Skipton Court, near Keele Street and Sheppard Avenue West, in North York. However, the shooting occurred in York Region.Paramedics transported the two victims to hospital with serious injuries, which police say are not believed to be life-threatening.It is not yet known if the weapons call in Vaughan is connected to the victims found near Keele and Sheppard. However, police confirm those victims were initially inj...

Simu returns, Nickelback rocks: What to watch for at this weekend’s Juno Awards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:52 GMT

Some of Canada’s top music talents are headed to the Juno Awards in Edmonton this weekend.The annual celebration of homegrown music takes place over two nights in Alberta’s capital, with pop singer the Weeknd leading the nominees with six, though he’s not expected to attend.Most of the trophies will be handed out Saturday at a gala dinner for the music industry. The main show airs Monday on CBC-TV and CBC Gem — a shift from the Junos’ usual Sunday night slot in order to avoid overlapping with the Oscars.“Kim’s Convenience” star Simu Liu returns as host of the Junos broadcast, where a handful of marquee awards will be handed out, alongside performances from Jessie Reyez, Tenille Townes and a 50th anniversary tribute to Canadian hip-hop.Here are five other things to watch for on Junos weekend:  THE LEADERS: Among his six nominations, Toronto hitmaker the Weeknd is up for album of the year for “Dawn FM,” single of the year for ̶...

Tiger Woods' girlfriend seeks to nullify nondisclosure agreement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:52 GMT

STUART, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods' girlfriend wants to nullify a nondisclosure agreement following a six-year relationship with the professional golfer.Attorneys for Erica Herman filed a complaint seeking declaratory judgment on Monday in Martin County, Florida, circuit court, according to online court records. The couple had been living together in the area, according to the complaint. Martin County is located directly north of Palm Beach County.Woods and Herman have not publicly announced the end of their relationship, which began in 2017. She had been seen regularly with him at major championships, such as the 2019 Masters he won for his 15th major and during his Presidents Cup captaincy in Australia later that year. ‘Shut your mouth’: GOP senator clashes with union leader during hearing But she was not at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas the first week in December, or at the Genesis Invitational he hosted at Riviera three weeks ago.According to the complaint, a ...