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Spencer church destroyed in fire relocates for its Sunday services

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:40 GMT

Services for the First Congregational Church of Spencer will be taking place elsewhere Sunday after a blazing fire completely destroyed their 160-year-old church on Friday. Sunday worship will meet at 10 a.m. on Washburn Square at the First Congregational Church in Leicester.Fire officials say they believe that a lightning strike caused the blaze, but the fire is still under investigation. Crews battled the flames for hours, and no injuries were reported.

Khalil Herbert eyes RB1 job in a crowded Chicago Bears backfield picture: ‘We’ve got a really strong group’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:40 GMT

The Chicago Bears figured to be in the market for a running back when David Montgomery exited via free agency and they signed two, adding D’Onta Foreman and Travis Homer.That provided competition for Khalil Herbert, who led all NFL running backs averaging 5.7 yards per carry in 2022, his second season. While that might have seemed like a full backfield, the Bears then dipped into a talented group in the draft, selecting Texas’ Roschon Johnson in the fourth round, an investment that hints to high hopes for his future.“Not really,” Herbert said when asked if the addition of Johnson surprised him. “You know how things go in the NFL now. They’re doing things running back by committee. You need one, two, three really good guys that really carry the rock and there be no drop-off. We’ve got a really strong group. I’m excited to see what we can do.”Running backs coach David Walker said Herbert will get the first reps with the starters as...

Column: Javier Báez is enjoying life again in Detroit — and playing a villain on the South Side

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:40 GMT

Javier Báez took some of his Detroit Tigers teammates on a tour of Chicago during Thursday’s off day, including a boat trip on the lake.Despite being traded during Cubs President Jed Hoyer’s summer sell-off in 2021, Báez still has the city on his mind.“The city and the people, man, the way everybody loves their sports here, not just baseball, and they really care about it, and they support everybody,” he said Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field. “We had an off day and just kind of went around the city, took all the boys. They were really excited at how nice people are here.”Was Báez still recognized on the streets?“A few (times),” he said. “You can’t hide from that.”It’s hard to imagine, but nearly 12 years have passed since former Cubs general manager Jim Hendry drafted Báez with the No. 9 pick of the 2011 draft. In his last act as GM, Hendry signed Baez to a $2.7 million bonus. Four days later,...

‘What he’s done has motivated everybody’: Liam Hendriks’ journey from cancer diagnosis to his Chicago White Sox return

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:40 GMT

Liam Hendriks did not want to rule out the first two months of the season.The Chicago White Sox closer, undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, shared those sentiments with general manager Rick Hahn in the team parking lot on the first day of spring training in Glendale, Ariz.“I also prefaced it with the fact, ‘Look, I understand it’s a business. I’m not asking for any special treatment or anything like that,’ ” Hendriks said Wednesday of attempting to make a case for avoiding the 60-day injured list. “ ‘But if there’s a chance I don’t have to go on, I would really appreciate not going on purely for my mindset because then I have something to beat.’ ”Hahn talked to someone who was part of the rehabilitation.“And they were like, ‘He’s committed,’ ” Hahn said Monday. “‘It is every bit possible that he’s going to be back within those 60 days.’”Day 6...

Police investigate after man shows up in hospital with gunshot wound

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:40 GMT

Police are investigating after a man walked into a hospital suffering from gunshot wounds. Police say the man showed up at an area hospital just after 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning with serious wounds. Investigators believe the shooting took place in the area of Midland Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East. No further details or suspect information has been released. Police are canvassing the area and anyone with information is asked to contact them.

Indian railways official says error in signaling system led to crash that killed 275 people

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:40 GMT

BALASORE, India (AP) — The derailment in eastern India that killed 275 people and injured hundreds was caused by an error in the electronic signaling system that led a train to wrongly change tracks and crash into a freight train, officials said Sunday.Authorities worked to clear the mangled wreckage of the two passenger trains that derailed Friday night in Balasore district in Odisha state in one of the country’s deadliest rail disasters in decades.An Odisha government statement revised the death toll to 275 after a top state officer put the number at over 300 on Sunday morning. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to reporters.Jaya Verma Sinha, a senior railway official, said the preliminary investigations revealed that a signal was given to the high-speed Coromandel Express to run on the main track line, but the signal later changed, and the train instead entered an adjacent loop line where it rammed into a freight loaded with iron ore. Th...

Supporters of Russian opposition leader Navalny hold demonstrations to mark his 47th birthday

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:40 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny voiced hope for better future in Russia as his supporters held pickets and demonstrations to mark his 47th birthday on SundayNavalny is serving a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court, charges he says were trumped up to punish his work to expose official corruption and organizing anti-Kremlin protests. He is facing a new trial on extremism charges that could keep him in prison for decades. Kremlin critics view the case as another Russian government attempt to isolate President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent foe.Navalny’s associates called for demonstrations to show support for him in Russia and abroad Sunday.Risking their own prison terms, some Navalny supporters in Russia marked his birthday by holding individual pickets, while others painted graffiti. Police quickly detained many for questioning, and officers maintained a beefed-up presence in downtown Moscow Pro-Navalny demonstrations were held in sever...

Apple is expected to unveil a sleek, pricey headset. Is it the device VR has been looking for?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:40 GMT

Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter’s ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public’s imagination.After years of speculation, the stage is set for the widely anticipated announcement to be made Monday at Apple’s annual developers conference in a Cupertino, California, theater named after the company’s late co-founder Steve Jobs. Apple is also likely to use the event to show off its latest Mac computer, preview the next operating system for the iPhone and discuss its strategy for artificial intelligence. But the star of the show is expected to be a pair of goggles — perhaps called “Reality Pro,” according to media leaks — that could become another milestone in Apple’s lore of releasing game-changing technology, even though the company hasn’t always been the first to try its hand at makin...

While DeSantis hits Trump from the right, the ex-president is looking ahead to the general election

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — In his first week on the campaign trail as a presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly hit his chief rival, Donald Trump, from the right.“This is a different guy than 2015, 2016,” DeSantis told a conservative radio host before slamming the bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation Trump championed as “basically a jailbreak bill” that allowed dangerous people out of prison.He also accused Trump of “turning the reins over” to Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Trump had “ endorsed and tried to ram” an “amnesty” bill through Congress and vowed that — unlike the former president — he would finish building the U.S.-Mexico border wall.In Iowa on Saturday, he hit back at Trump for saying he didn’t like the term “woke” because people have a hard time defining it. “Woke is an existential threat to our society,” DeSantis said. “To say it’s not a big deal, that just shows you don’t understand what a l...

Man seriously injured in downtown carjacking

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:16:40 GMT

Police are investigating a carjacking in the city’s Fashion District. Investigators say they were called to the area of Bathurst Street and Adelaide Place on Saturday night. When they arrived they found a man suffering from serious injuries. He was taken to a nearby trauma centre. Police say the suspects fled the scene in the car. No information has been released on the type of vehicle that was stolen.