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Pressure gets to Chicago Bears — and QB Justin Fields is sacked 4 times: Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the Week 6 loss

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:59:10 GMT

10 thoughts after the Chicago Bears failed to capitalize on a couple of impressive offensive showings in recent weeks and were thrown for a loop by the Minnesota Vikings in a 19-13 defeat on Sunday.It was the Bears’ 10th consecutive loss at Soldier Field and 11th to an NFC North opponent.1. The Vikings brought the blitz.By the end of the first quarter, Jordan Hicks says the Vikings generally have a pretty good idea of how opposing offenses are going to handle the vast array of blitzes defensive coordinator Brian Flores employs.There isn’t a team in the league that blitzes with near the frequency of Minnesota, which entered Week 6 bringing five or more rushers in 54% of opponent’s dropbacks. That’s more than double a lot of defenses.On the first snap of the game, the Vikings showed six men right at the line of scrimmage. The Bears were in an empty formation with quarterback Justin Fields in the shotgun. Outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum came off the offense&#...

The ancient ways of natural wine are finding new fans

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:59:10 GMT

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) — Wine made in ancient ways is gaining new fans.Natural wine — which emphasizes sustainability and minimal processing — is seeing growing interest in the U.S even though overall wine consumption has been declining since 2015, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, a research firm. While natural and other sustainable wines made up less than 1% of sales in 2021, demand was rising faster than the wine category as a whole, according to alcohol delivery site Drizly.Generally, natural wine is made with hand-picked organic grapes that haven’t been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides. Once they’re crushed — sometimes by foot, the way they were crushed by ancient Romans — they are naturally fermented with no added water, yeast or other ingredients. Some natural winemakers add sulfites, a chemical found naturally in grapes, as a preservative; others don’t. Some filter their wines; others leave them cloudy and full of sediment.The result is wines that are earthy, savor...

Biden postpones trip to Colorado to discuss domestic agenda as Israel-Hamas conflict intensifies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:59:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has postponed a trip to Colorado Monday to stay in Washington and focus on the growing conflict in the Middle East. Biden had been heading to the Colorado congressional district of Rep. Lauren Boebert, where he was to visit CS wind, the world’s largest facility for wind tower manufacturing.Instead, Biden is expected to hold a series of high-level meetings with aides on Israel and the growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza, as he weighs a decision to visit the region in a powerful symbol of support for Israel following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 people including at least 30 U.S. citizens. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is visiting the Colorado congressional district of Rep. Lauren Boebert, a combative Trump loyalist, on Monday as he draws a sharper contrast between the Democratic and Republican economic agendas.Boebert has described Biden’s In...

Norway’s prime minister shuffles Cabinet after last month’s local election loss

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:59:10 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre shuffled his Cabinet on Monday after his center-left party was defeated in local elections last month by the center-right opposition party for the first time since 1924.Espen Barth Eide, who was climate and environment minister in the outgoing two-party coalition, replaced Anniken Huitfeldt as foreign minister. Eide had previously served as foreign minister in 2012-2013. Three ministers left the Cabinet and two were moved to new posts. The Cabinet was expanded to 20 members as a new position for digitalization was created. “We are making this change because there are some policy areas that we must pay even greater attention to in the future,” Gahr Støre said.He said he “wanted to make changes in our team that can provide increased power going forward.”However, the reason for Huitfeldt’s departure was “the matter of the purchase and sale of shares,” Gahr Støre said.In September, it was revealed that the ...

Sliding sports at 2026 Olympics won’t take place in Italy after building funds cut

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:59:10 GMT

MUMBAI, India (AP) — Bobsled, skeleton and luge events will not be held in Italy during the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, organizing committee officials said Monday, meaning those athletes will likely be competing in either Austria or Switzerland during the games.The primary reason: money. A long-controversial plan to rebuild the historic Eugenio Monti track in Cortina d’Ampezzo — built 100 years ago, used for the 1956 Olympics, and shut down 15 years ago — simply became too costly after it became clear the original budget of 50 million euros ($53 million) slotted by the Italian government wouldn’t be close to enough.The tracks in Igls, Austria, and St. Moritz, Switzerland — Igls is about 100 miles from Cortina, and St. Moritz about 200 miles from Cortina — are likely to be the only two seriously considered for the 2026 Games. Monday’s decision was revealed at the International Olympic Committee’s annual meeting in Mumbai, India.“As chairman of the IOC sustainabilit...

Russia’s assault on a key eastern Ukraine city is weakening, Kyiv claims, as the war marks 600 days

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:59:10 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A dayslong attempt by Russian forces to storm a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine appears to be running out of steam, Kyiv officials claimed Monday, as the Kremlin’s war entered its 600th day.Ukrainian forces repelled 15 Russian attacks from four directions on Avdiivka over the previous 24 hours, the Ukrainian General Staff said.That compared with up to 60 attacks a day in the middle of last week, according to Vitalii Barabash, head of the city administration. The slackening suggests the Russian effort to capture Avdiivka has “deflated,” Barabash said.A Washington-based think tank broadly concurred with that assessment. “Russian forces continued offensive operations aimed at encircling Avdiivka … but have yet to make further gains amid a likely decreasing tempo of Russian operations in the area,” the Institute for the Study of War said in analysis published late Sunday.Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, told a U.N. Securit...

France’s Macron holds security meeting amid heightened alert after deadly school stabbing

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:59:10 GMT

ARRAS, France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron was holding Monday a special security meeting amid heightened alert against feared terror threats, as a high school where a teacher was fatally stabbed in an attack last week has been evacuated over a bomb alert. Several hundreds of students and teachers could be seen going back into the high school in the northern town of Arras after what appeared to be a false. It comes after a teacher was killed and three other people wounded Friday in an attack by a former student suspected of Islamic radicalization.The prefecture of the northern region where the high school is located said that “all precautionary and safety measures” have been taken after the bomb threat was made via a police website. A demining team was on site.The Louvre Museum in Paris and Versailles Palace evacuated visitors and staff Saturday after receiving bomb threats. Macron cut short travel plans abroad to hold a security meeting at midday with the prime minister a...

Athlete-mothers juggle priorities as they prepare to compete at the Pan American Games in Chile

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:59:10 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — As the Pan American Games quickly approach, a certain section of athletes find their focus is constantly being pulled in different directions — from practicing their sport to taking care of their children.Half of the estimated 7,000 participants getting ready for this year’s Olympic-style multi-sport event in Santiago, Chile, are women. And some of them are mothers, juggling family responsibilities with the rigors of elite competition.“I have a 1-year-old waiting for me at home, that is my priority,” Brazilian diver Giovanna Pedroso told The Associated Press.Pedroso, who lives in an impoverished region of Rio de Janeiro, is one of several mothers planning to compete at the Pan Am Games from Oct. 20-Nov. 5 while still taking care of their children. It’s a demanding task.The 24-year-old Pedroso, a Pan Am Games silver medalist eight years ago in Toronto, said she hasn’t been able to focus 100% on her sport since her son was born last year.She oft...

Kenya seeks more Chinese loans at ‘Belt and Road’ forum despite rising public debt

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:59:10 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s President William Ruto sought $1 billion more in loans from China Monday, despite rising public debt that has now reached $70 billion in the Eastern African country, according to National Treasury figures for 2022/2023. President Ruto was was one of a number of global leaders in Beijing to attend the tenth anniversary meeting of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the ambitious plan that aims to connect Africa, Asia and Europe through massive infrastructure and energy projects.A statement from Kenya’s State House Spokesman Hussein Mohammed said “the president will deliver a keynote address headlined ‘Digital Economy as a New Source of Growth’ at the High-Level Forum.”“Additionally, the president will participate in a Kenya-China investors roundtable to emphasize Kenya’s standing as an investment hub for Chinese companies,” said the statement.One of the signature BRI projects in Kenya is the Standard Gauge Railway line, which runs from the port city of Mom...

Liz Weston: Someday your boss could help you save for emergencies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:59:10 GMT

When I wrote about employer-provided emergency savings accounts four years ago, the idea was still pretty novel. Some companies were experimenting with ways to help their workers save for short-term needs, but the concept wasn’t even on the radar for many employers.What a difference the pandemic made. Millions were thrown out of work with little warning, and few had the financial reserves to survive even a few months of unemployment. Big employers, and lawmakers, took notice, says Claire Chamberlain, global head of social impact for investment manager BlackRock. The result: Hundreds of thousands of workers now have options to build emergency savings through their employers, and Congress passed laws to encourage more companies to add short-term savings options.“I think a lot of people woke up,” Chamberlain says.PANDEMIC HIGHLIGHTED AMERICANS’ FINANCIAL FRAGILITYEmployers tend to overestimate their workers’ financial stability, says Timothy Flacke, co-founder and executive director of...