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Get to know Terell Smith: Q&A with the new Chicago Bears cornerback’s college coach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

With a need for depth at cornerback to join Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, the Chicago Bears drafted Tyrique Stevenson in the second round and circled back for Minnesota’s Terell Smith in Round 5 at No. 165.Conventional thinking is Stevenson will get the first shot to be a starter in the nickel package, but the Bears believe Smith has upside and will compete to be in the mix.“What’s special about him is he’s kind of made that steady ascent,” co-director of player personnel Trey Koziol said. “So when we look at drafting players, it’s like, can you still get more out of them? Are they still on that developmental upswing? And that’s where Terell really stood out.“He’s had some good, he’s had some bad, but it’s constantly gotten better. The senior year he showed a ton of improvement and he just kept getting better and better and then he went to the East-West Shrine game and that just kept getting better and better...

Niro PHEV confirms the best of both worlds, for KIA lovers!

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

In 2023, KIA takes the Niro to new heights. As a popular commuter known for excellent gas mileage and great interior space, the Niro goes PHEV.Wrapped in Mineral Blue with Black Aeroblade accents, the 2023 KIA Niro explodes with the newly designed front emblem consumers come to enjoy as well as the versatility the Niro has to offer. Powerfully equipped with a 11.1 kWh battery including 33 miles of all-electric range, but impressively a 510 total driving range; that’s phenomenal in fact. This combines for over 107 MPGe. Currently, the Niro offers a Hybrid version and 100% EV option, while the Niro PHEV is the newest to the ever-evolving fleet. With 180 horsepower the Niro PHEV was not sluggish and was quick on its feet.Interior-wise, it’s all KIA and their excellent design qualities. Easy to use infotainment system, center console offered the on/off button and the turn dial transmission. With best-in-class rear legroom and class-leading passenger room, the Niro really is ...

Detroit enclave built on auto industry struggles under $20M water debt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (AP) — Kevin Houston scanned the Michigan street where his fixer-upper and older homes bridge gaps between the vacant, overgrown lots and abandoned, ramshackle houses, boarded-up businesses and potholed streets of Highland Park.“It’s not a bad place to live,” Houston said. “It’s not the best.”The community nearly surrounded by Detroit is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy because it cannot pay its bills to the utility providing drinking water to a city that was once a thriving auto manufacturing town. It serves as an example of blue collar cities that lost their way amid changes to manufacturing and are now shells of their past, plagued by neighborhood malaise, neglect and deep poverty.Over 50,000 people lived there in 1930. Homes — elegant and spacious — rivaled some of those built in Detroit. The city is just under 3 square miles (7.8 square kilometers) and is a shell of its auto baron past, when manufacturing boomed and money flowed. Fewer than 9,000 now cal...

Sudan’s top army general formally fires rival paramilitary leader as his deputy in symbolic gesture

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — In a symbolic gesture, Sudan’s army general on Friday fired the paramilitary leader — his former ally turned rival — as the deputy of the country’s governing body, state media reported. The dismissal by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan of Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the Rapid Support Forces, from the Sovereignty Council comes as the two warring generals continue to battle for control over this troubled African country. The monthlong conflict that has killed at least 705 people, the World Health organization said Friday. The firing, reported by the state SUNA news agency, is unlikely to affect the battlefield where the warring sides appear locked in a stalemate and unwilling to end the hostilities. The paramilitary forces did not immediately comment. Last week, the two sides signed a U.S-Saudi brokered pact vowing to better protect civilians caught in the crossfire. International efforts are underway to try and build a lasting truce.Burhan appointed Malik Ag...

Bass guitarist Andy Rourke of The Smiths, one of Britain’s most influential bands, dies at 59

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Andy Rourke, bass guitarist of The Smiths, one of the most influential British bands of the 1980s, has died after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer, his former bandmate Johnny Marr said Friday. He was 59.In a lengthy post on Instagram, guitarist and songwriter Marr paid tribute to Rourke, who he first met when both were schoolboys in 1975.“Throughout our teens we played in various bands around south Manchester before making our reputations with The Smiths from 1982 to 1987, and it was on those Smiths records that Andy reinvented what it is to be a bass guitar player,” Marr said. During their short time together as a four-piece band, The Smiths deliberately stayed away from the mainstream of popular music, garnering a cult following on the independent music scene.Though much of the attention focused on the song-writing partnership of Marr and frontman Steven Patrick Morrissey, better known as Morrissey, the sound of The Smiths owed much to Rourke’s ba...

Russian PM to visit Beijing as China renews criticism of Western arms sales to Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit Beijing next week for talks, China’s Foreign Ministry said Friday, marking the latest exchange in a relationship in which Russia is becoming increasingly reliant on China for economic and diplomatic support.“During the visit, the two sides will have an in-depth exchange of views on practical cooperation in bilateral relations and issues of common concern,” ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing.“We look forward to further strengthening cooperation between the two sides, deepening people-to-people and local exchanges (and) injecting strong momentum into the recovery of the world economy,” Wang added.Mishustin’s visit is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.Meanwhile, China’s Deputy Permanent U.N. Representative Geng Shuang again criticized Western arms sales to Ukraine, saying it would only lead to escalation, more civilian casualties and displacement, and make it harder to obtain a ceas...

Lebanon receives Interpol notice for its central bank governor who was no-show at Paris questioning

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon on Friday received an Interpol notice for the country’s embattled central bank governor who failed to show up in Paris earlier in the week for questioning in a key corruption case, officials said. France, Germany, and Luxembourg are investigating the governor, Riad Salameh, and his associates over myriad financial crimes, including illicit enrichment and the laundering of $330 million. A French investigative judge on Tuesday issued an international arrest warrant for Salameh after he did not answer summons for questioning in Paris.However, Lebanon is unlikely to comply with the Interpol notice and arrest and hand over Salameh to French authorities. Under the country’s laws, Lebanon does not extradite its own citizens. In 2020, it received two Interpol red notices for tycoon Carlos Ghosn, who faced financial misconduct charges in Japan. Ghosn remains in Lebanon.The Lebanese Interior Ministry confirmed receiving the Interpol Red Notice, but did not co...

First Mission scratched from Preakness by vet 36 hours before Triple Crown race

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Brad Cox-trained First Mission has been scratched from the Preakness on the advice of veterinarians, taking one of the top contenders out of the Triple Crown race 36 hours before post time.Godolphin, which owns the horse, announced the scratch early Friday, saying vets identified a left hind issue.“We are obviously very disappointed, but the welfare of the horse is our utmost concern, and we are going to take the necessary steps to determine the best course of action to get him back on the track,” Godolphin bloodstock director Michael Banahan said.Godolphin said First Mission will receive further evaluation in Kentucky at Rood and Riddle hospital with Dr. Larry Bramlage.The removal of First Mission leaves seven horses in the field for the $1.65 million race. He was the early second choice at odds of 5-2 behind only 8-5 favorite Mage, who won the Kentucky Derby.Five horses were scratched in the days and hours leading up to the Derby, including favorite Forte, w...

More protests against violence planned in Serbia as authorities reject opposition criticism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s government officials rejected opposition criticism of their handling of two mass shootings in the Balkan country earlier this month even as thousands of people are expected to rally later on Friday for a third time this month demanding resignations and other measures in the aftermath of the killings. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and other government officials attended a parliamentary session on Friday focusing on the May 3 and May 4 shootings and the opposition demands to replace the interior minister and the intelligence chief following the carnage that left 18 dead, many of whom were children.The two shootings stunned the Balkan nation, especially because the first one happened in an elementary school in central Belgrade when a 13-year-old boy took his father’s gun and opened fire on his fellow students. Eight students and a school guard were killed and seven more people wounded. One more girl later died in hospital from head wounds. A da...

Pay Transparency Laws: What Small Businesses Need to Know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

Eight states have adopted pay transparency laws, including California and New York, with several more considering legislation. Much of the buzz around these laws has been regarding large corporations and their employees, but how do small businesses fit into the picture? Here’s what you need to know.WHO MUST COMPLYIn the states and several localities that have pay transparency laws, employer requirements vary based on number of employees. For example, in Washington state, businesses with 15 or more employees must disclose pay information in job postings, whereas in New York, the number is four or more. If you are a company looking to source remote talent from any state that is subject to laws, you must also include a pay range even if your company isn’t located in that state.WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T COMPLYMonetary penalties, assessed per violation or per job posting, can range from hundreds to several thousands of dollars and are currently only assessed against companies that have b...