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Ticker: ESPN enters sports betting; Florida ticket wins $1.58B Mega Millions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

Disney-owned ESPN has licensed its brand for use in a sports betting app, striking a deal in which it will receive $1.5 billion and other considerations from Penn Entertainment.In return, Penn will rebrand its existing sports betting app as ESPN Bet, which ESPN has agreed to promote across its online and broadcast platforms in order to generate “maximum fan awareness” of the app.Penn also announced that it sold Barstool Sports, an irreverent sports media site, back to its founder Dave Portnoy. Penn took a 36% stake of Barstool Sports in February 2020 for about $163 million and subsequently acquired the remainder of the company for about $388 million in February 2023. Neither Penn nor Portnoy disclosed terms of the divestment deal.In a video posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, Portnoy radiated excitement over the site’s regained independence.The regulated gambling industry, he said, “was probably not the best place for Barstool Sports and the kind of content ...

Patriots fill 90-man roster by signing free-agent linebacker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

The Patriots’ 90-man roster is once again full.The Patriots filled their roster Wednesday by signing free-agent linebacker Joe Giles-Harris. The 6-foot-2, 234-pound linebacker spent the last two seasons with Buffalo Bills.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots extra points: Rookie WR Demario Douglas explains his impressive weight gains New England Patriots | Patriots training camp Day 14: Mike Gesicki dazzles, Trent Brown returns and will the starters sit in preseason? New England Patriots | Patriots rookies making wide receiver depth chart interesting in training camp New England Patriots | Patriots CB Marcus Jones tight-lipped about offensive role, but ‘way ahead’ on defense New England Patriots | Source: Patriots signing ex-DL Trey Flowers after workout Giles-Harris, 26, came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars out of Duke in 2019. He has 26...

Orioles’ success raises memories of the past and hopes for the future | GUEST COMMENTARY

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

The National Pastime takes on an added dimension when your team is doing well, becoming a soul-massaging diversion from the ubiquitous bad news of the day. The Orioles’ recent success has shaken loose memories of glory days gone by — and spurred hope for the future.Sitting with my grandkids on a muggy summer day, I recall going to my first game, in 1953, a minor-league affair in the old one-level Municipal Stadium on 33rd Street. I had just turned 10. The Orioles were playing birds of a different feather, the Rochester Red Wings. I felt a mild burst of anticipation as I walked up the gray concrete ramp, and a slight sense of wonderment at the sudden sight of a vividly emerald-green field and a rickety old scoreboard.At that age, I certainly wasn’t aware that Baltimore had been a minor-league powerhouse in the 19th century, both in the American Association and later the National League, which won championships in three consecutive seasons (1894 to 1896). Nor was I c...

US to send $200 million in military aid to Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon will provide Ukraine with $200 million in weapons and ammunition to help sustain Kyiv’s counteroffensive as troops on the front lines face significant hurdles against a well-entrenched Russian defense, according to two U.S. officials. This latest package will include missiles for the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the Patriot air defense system, munitions for howitzers and tanks, Javelin rockets, mine-clearing equipment, 12 million rounds of small arms ammunition and demolition munitions, said a U.S. official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid has not yet been publicly announced.The aid comes as the U.S. funding for Ukraine is nearly all spent and the Biden administration is expected to request a new package of supplemental aid from Congress to continue that support. Ukraine has already received more than $43 billion from the U.S. since Russia invaded last year. Those funds have provided weapons systems l...

Person shot and wounded by South Dakota trooper in Sturgis, authorities say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

STURGIS, S.D. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the shooting of a person by a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper at a convenience store Wednesday in Sturgis, where a big annual motorcycle rally is underway.Sturgis Police Chief Geody VanDewater issued a brief statement confirming that one person was shot and wounded by a trooper, and said more information would be released later, the Black Hills Pioneer reported.“We’re not releasing details at this time other than all the officers are safe and there is no threat to public safety,” he said at his daily briefing.The Sturgis Police Department said the shooting happened around 10 a.m. Wednesday at a gas station just off Interstate 90. There was no immediate word on the condition of the person who was shot or what led to the shooting.Initial statements from authorities did not say whether the incident might be linked to the 10-day Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which draws hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts to the Black Hills ...

Shooting after Hezbollah truck overturns near Lebanese capital leaves 2 people dead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

A truck belonging to the militant Hezbollah group overturned on a mountain road near the Lebanese capital Wednesday and was followed by a shooting that left two people dead, security officials and Hezbollah said. Lebanese troops immediately cordoned off the truck filled with large boxes in the Christian town of Kahaleh on the highway that links Beirut to the eastern Bekaa Valley.The highway is believed to be used by Hezbollah to bring weapons from eastern Lebanon and Syria to its headquarters south of Beirut.A statement issued by Kahaleh residents said one resident was killed when armed men opened fire. The statement included no additional details but the residents vowed to keep the vital highway closed as a kind of protest.Hezbollah said in a terse statement that the truck belonged to the group without saying whether it had weapons inside it. It said local gunmen attacked people in the truck leading to an exchange of fire that wounded one Hezbollah member “who was protecting the tr...

Opponents of Maine’s new abortion law won’t seek to nullify it through a referendum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Groups opposed to Maine’s new law expanding abortion access won’t attempt to nullify the statute through a so-called People’s Veto referendum.Republican Rep. Laurel Libby, leader of the Speak Up for LIFE group, said Wednesday that allies decided that the costs of collecting signatures and running a campaign represented too big of a hurdle. Instead, the groups intend to focus on electing candidates who are opposed to abortions.“At the end of the day, we want to put our effort into the most effect place possible,” Libby, a Republican from Auburn, told The Associated Press. That means flipping legislative seats, she said, particularly in the Maine House.The bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills last month allows abortions at any time if deemed medically necessary by a doctor, making the law one of the nation’s least restrictive. The previous law, the Reproductive Privacy Act of 1993, banned abortions after a fetus became viable out...

Northwestern athletic director blasts football staffers for ‘tone deaf’ shirts supporting Fitzgerald

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg criticized assistant football coaches and staff members for wearing shirts supporting fired coach Pat Fitzgerald at practice Wednesday, calling them “inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf” given the hazing and abuse scandal engulfing the program and other teams.“Let me be crystal clear,” he said in a statement. “Hazing has no place at Northwestern, and we are committed to do whatever is necessary to address hazing-related issues, including thoroughly investigating any incidents or allegations of hazing or any misconduct.”Gragg said he and the university were unaware that staffers owned the black shirts with “ Cats Against the World ” and Fitzgerald’s old number “51” in purple type or would wear them at practice. He issued the statement after interim coach David Braun called it a free speech issue and said his focus was on supporting his players and staff rather than whether the shirts were tone deaf.Three players ex...

Census workers logged hundreds of cases of violence, harassment by public: documents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada documents show workers who went door-to-door to collect data for the 2021 census logged hundreds of workplace injuries and at least 15 assaults by members of the public.The data tables obtained by The Canadian Press through access-to-information law list 680 injury reports, including more than 280 cases of harassment or violence. In some of the most extreme examples, employees were punched, threatened with firearms, spat on or sexually assaulted.In one case, a census interviewer was assaulted by a resident using a “pellet gun,” while another had a “gun pointed at her from another vehicle,” the documents say.One worker was knocked down stairs after being punched in the face by a resident, and had to go to the hospital.Another census employee was unwillingly detained in the home of an angry resident, the documents say. The event was reported to the RCMP.In at least three separate instances, people collecting data for Statistics Canada...

Shot fired at SWAT teams in Austin as they investigate armed robbery case; suspect barricaded inside

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

CHICAGO — FBI and Chicago SWAT teams have been focused on a home Wednesday in Chicago's Austin neighborhood.Their attention has been focused on a home in the 5400 block of West Walton Street. 4 dead, including suspected ‘aggressor,’ after shooting inside home in Crystal Lake: police It all started just before 7 a.m.A law enforcement source said members of the violent crimes task force served a warrant at a tri-level apartment building in connection with an armed robbery investigation.The task force is made up of members of the FBI, Chicago Police Department, Illinois State Police and the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Niles introduces feral cat program for rat control When officers made contact with the suspect, a shot was fired in their direction. No one was hurt and no one returned fire.The man then barricaded himself inside where he has been ever since.As of 4 p.m., the situation is still ongoing.