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Chicago Bears get an early start on offseason to-do list: Kicker Cairo Santos agrees to a 4-year, $16M extension

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:35 GMT

Scratch one item off what could be a lengthy offseason to-do list for the Chicago Bears: sign a kicker.That’s no longer needed as the team on Saturday agreed to a four-year, $16 million contract extension — $9.5 million guaranteed — with Cairo Santos, according to a league source, rewarding him for another season of high-level consistency.It’s not the contract for an existing player everyone will be focused on. The status of cornerback Jaylon Johnson will be a pressing issue in the early portion of the offseason. But for a team that was bounced out of the playoffs after the 2018 season on a double-doink, the significance of having a proven performer in Santos can’t be overstated.Entering Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals at Soldier Field, Santos has made 27 of 29 field-goal attempts this season, including 6-for-6 from 50 yards or more. He’s at 91.2% since rejoining the team in 2020 after Eddy Piñeiro was injured during trainin...

Chicago Bears’ drive for new stadium stalled in 2023 — but options remain open as talks with Arlington Heights continue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:35 GMT

Another Chicago Bears season is drawing to a close with no breakthroughs in sight for a new stadium — but those involved on all sides say they’re working on it. And a new draft document among the team and Arlington Heights officials suggests potential progress.Last month, the village held an online meeting with the Bears to discuss a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, according to documents the Tribune obtained through a Freedom of Information request.The online gathering included invitations to Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren and general counsel Cliff Stein, along with Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes and other village officials.A memorandum of understanding is a written agreement between parties, typically outlining mutual expectations. It is not necessarily legally binding. In this case, the draft document, which was not released, could address property taxes for the former Arlington International Racecourse for the years 2023 and 2024, among other issues,In F...

Boston tops Massachusetts cities and towns hosting migrant, local homeless families in shelters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:35 GMT

Boston ranked top among the 100 Massachusetts municipalities playing host to migrant and local homeless families living in shelters paid for by the state, according to recently released data.A report released earlier this week by the Gov. Maura Healey administration shows the hub had 1,308 families living in emergency assistance shelters as of Dec. 12. Boston far outpaced the second place city of Worcester, which had 303 families, according to the data.Families are housed in traditional shelter sites, hotels and motels, and temporary locations like military bases, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and the Executive Office of Administration and Finance said in a report that also outlined financial challenges the shelter system faces in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.“The shelter system has reached capacity at 7,500 families, and at that level, requires additional funding to avoid imminent run-out dates for key programs,” the report said.The state reported 7,505 fami...

Department of Defense pressed to examine safety of Osprey aircraft after fatal crash, killing Massachusetts Air Force member

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:35 GMT

A day after Pittsfield native Jacob “Jake” Galliher was laid to rest, several members of the Massachusetts federal delegation sent a letter to the secretary of defense demanding the safety of the V-22 Osprey aircraft be examined.Galliher, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, died at age 24 in late November when the Osprey he and seven other service members had been operating crashed off the coast of Japan.Galliher’s remains were the first to be found after the Osprey went down Nov. 29 during a training mission just off Yakushima Island in southwestern Japan. A week later, the U.S. military grounded all its V-22 Osprey aircraft after a preliminary investigation indicated something went wrong that was not human error.In a letter sent Thursday to Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Richard Neal, highlighted how the latest mishap is part of an “alarming trend” spanning three decades of serious incidents involving th...

The grass is greener at Soldier Field — and that’s great for the Chicago Bears. Here’s how ultraviolet lights have helped.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:35 GMT

You know the old saying. The grass is always greener … at Soldier Field?That’s for real nowadays. When the Chicago Bears last played at home Dec. 10, quarterback Justin Fields detailed his 11-yard touchdown run against the Detroit Lions by describing the open field he saw in front of him before he took off.“When I stepped to the right a little bit, I just saw green grass,” Fields said.And for once, that wasn’t just an expression. The playing surface at Soldier Field — historically knocked for being chewed up and unreliable deep into the season — is different, much improved and, yes, greener.“It’s funny you say that,” Fields said after beating the Lions, “because when I stepped on the field, I noticed how green it was. Whoever is keeping up with the field is definitely doing a great job of handling the grass and making sure it’s good to go when we go out there.”After consultation with the Bears in 2022, the...

Iowa won’t participate in US food assistance program for kids this summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:35 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa will not participate this summer in a federal program that gives $40 per month to each child in a low-income family to help with food costs while school is out, state officials have announced.The state has notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it will not participate in the 2024 Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children — or Summer EBT — program, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education said in a Friday news release. “Federal COVID-era cash benefit programs are not sustainable and don’t provide long-term solutions for the issues impacting children and families. An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic,” Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in the news release. She added, “If the Biden Administration and Congress want to make a real commitment to family well-being, they should invest in already existing programs and infrastru...

45 brands of caffeinated energy drinks recalled due to caffeine content and labelling issues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:35 GMT

Health Canada has expanded a wide-ranging recall of 45 caffeinated energy drinks they say are unsafe due to caffeine content and labelling issues.The Dec. 22nd update includes products that do not have bilingual labelling and all flavours of ABE, Bleach T4-F, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders, Juvee, One Piece, Operation Phoenix, and Up Time.Popular brands such as 5 Hour, AriZona, Monster, Prime and Red Bull were previously recalled for similar issues dating as far back as July 12.The full list of recalled products can be found here. In Canada, energy drinks must not contain more than 180 mg of caffeine in a single serving. As well products require information on the safe number of servings per day and cautionary statements to protect children.“The majority of the recalled products were neither manufactured nor intended for sale in Canada, and have been imported by third parties and sold in stores across Canada,” Health Canada said in a statement. “...

Michigan State freshman point guard shot in leg while on holiday break in Illinois

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:35 GMT

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan State point guard is recovering after he was shot while on holiday break near his hometown.Freshman Jeremy Fears was shot in the leg sometime late Friday or early Saturday morning in the Joilet, Illinois, area, according to a statement from the university. Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said in the statement that Fears underwent surgery Saturday morning and was resting comfortably.“While there is much we still don’t know, my focus is supporting Jeremy on his road to recovery,” Izzo said.The Joliet Police Department did not immediately respond to voicemail and email messages from The Associated Press seeking details about the incident. The department had posted nothing about the shooting on its social media accounts as of early Saturday afternoon. Fears recorded a career-high 10 assists in the Spartans’ 99-55 victory over Stony Brook on Thursday. Players dispersed for the holiday break after that game. Fears, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound form...

Christians in Lebanon’s tense border area prepare to celebrate a subdued Christmas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:35 GMT

AIN EBEL, Lebanon (AP) — Christians in the border villages of south Lebanon prepared for a subdued Christmas under the shadow of the ongoing war in Gaza and its spillover in Lebanon.While in Beirut restaurants were packed and hundreds flocked to Christmas markets in the days leading up to the holiday, in the border towns houses were empty and businesses shuttered. The residents have fled to stay with relatives or in rented apartments in Beirut or other areas farther from the conflict. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces have engaged in near-daily clashes on the border that have killed around 150 people on the Lebanese side – most of them fighters with Hezbollah and allied groups, but also at least 17 civilians, according to a tally by The Associated Press.Some 72,437 people in Lebanon are displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.In the majority-Christian village of Ain Ebel, ...

Polish president says he’ll veto a spending bill, in a blow to the new government of Donald Tusk

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:35 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s president said Saturday that he intends to veto a spending bill which includes money for public media and raises for teachers, dealing a blow to the new pro-European Union government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.President Andrzej Duda said he would veto the bill that includes 3 billion zlotys ($762 million) for public media and would propose a bill of his own instead.It comes after Tusk’s government this week week fired the directors of state television, radio and the government-run news agency, a step it said was necessary to reestablish independent media in Poland.Public media in Poland is funded by taxpayers and is legally required to be free of political bias. However, Law and Justice, the populist right-wing ruling party that held power for eight years until this month, used media as a propaganda mouthpiece that spread disinformation and xenophobic and homophobic content.Tusk won power on promises to restore democratic norms, includin...