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Patriots teammate defends JuJu Smith-Schuster after breakout game

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:59 GMT

PITTSBURGH — JuJu Smith-Schuster returned to Pittsburgh for the first time as a visitor Thursday night, but played like he was still at home.The ex-Steeler caught four passes for a season-high 90 yards during the Patriots’ 21-18 upset in primetime. Smith-Schuster’s longest catch, a 37-yard deep ball, sparked the Pats on their first opening touchdown drive of the season. Smith-Schuster later burst through Pittsburgh’s secondary for gains of 28 and 17 yards to fuel the offense’s highest-scoring first half in almost two years.Patriots tight end Mike Gesicki said he felt happy for his teammate playing well against his old team, and realized the significance of his first catch instantly on a few levels. As Smith-Schuster works through the worst statistical season of his career (170 receiving yards in 10 games entering Thursday), Gesicki also came to his defense.“I feel like there’s been, for some reason, an outside, negative narrative about him, ...

Ezekiel Elliott draws unique praise out of Bill Belichick after Patriots win

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:59 GMT

There’s good reason why Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott was able to stay on the field for over 90% of snaps and gain 140 total yards of offense 13 games into his eighth NFL season.“This probably is the best I’ve felt this late in a season,” Elliott told reporters after Thursday night’s 21-18 win over the Steelers.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots’ Bailey Zappe explains where his confidence comes from after Week 14 win New England Patriots | Callahan: Patriots’ upset in Pittsburgh feels bittersweet in the big picture New England Patriots | Bailey Zappe leads Patriots to 21-18 win over Steelers with impressive first half New England Patriots | Patriots’ Bill Belichick to make rare media appearance this weekend New England Patriots | Patriots will be extra shorthanded at wide receiver vs. Steelers The Patriots needed him to play a major rol...

Patriots’ Bailey Zappe explains where his confidence comes from after Week 14 win

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:59 GMT

One thing that Patriots current starting quarterback Bailey Zappe certainly doesn’t lack is confidence.Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott praised the QB for that quality after Thursday night’s 21-18 win over the Steelers in which Zappe threw three first-half touchdowns.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Ezekiel Elliott draws unique praise out of Bill Belichick after Patriots win New England Patriots | Callahan: Patriots’ upset in Pittsburgh feels bittersweet in the big picture New England Patriots | Bailey Zappe leads Patriots to 21-18 win over Steelers with impressive first half New England Patriots | Patriots’ Bill Belichick to make rare media appearance this weekend New England Patriots | Patriots will be extra shorthanded at wide receiver vs. Steelers “Zap was balling tonight,” Elliott said. “He commands our attention in that huddle. He was out there m...

PedWest to temporarily suspend operations this weekend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Pedestrian West at the San Ysidro Port of Entry will temporarily suspend operations Saturday at 6 a.m. after reopening last month, border officials said.The reasoning for the temporary suspension will be "in order to redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody," U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a news release Thursday.“The U.S. is continuing to see increased levels of migrant encounters at the southwest border fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals and encourage migration," CBP said. "As we respond with additional resources and apply consequences for unlawful entry, the migration trends shift as well. We continue to adjust our operational plans to maximize enforcement efforts against those noncitizens who do not use lawful pathways or appointment processes such as CBP One™." Beware of San Diego ‘jury duty’ scammers The announcement comes following the ongoing reopening and...

Otay Mesa East Port of Entry celebrates milestone

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- State Route 11 is nearly finished after 25 years in the making. The 2.4-mile connection from Otay Mesa to Mexico is just a quarter mile to the border. “Otay Mesa East Port of Entry we are creating is going to be a game changer for access between Mexico and the United States," said Toks Omishakin, the Secretary of Transportation for California. The new 12-lane freeway is being built to reinvent the way businesses can be done between the U.S. and Mexico."The San Ysidro Port of Entry, I think many people know it’s not a cargo base of entry, it often sees extensive wait and delay times. The existing Otay Mesa Port of Entry has a lot of cargo coming through it including passenger, same thing there significant wait times, a lot of trucks idling for hours,” Omishakin said. Amazon warehouses are already popping up in anticipation for the major shipping connections, and other major trading partners are also building up their presence in Mexico at the same time. PedWest to temp...

Bloodshed, fear, hunger, desperation: Palestinians try to survive war’s new chapter in southern Gaza

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:59 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The roads are so ravaged that the dead and wounded arrive by donkey cart. Desperate relatives rush bloodied and dust-covered people, many of them children, to the hospital.Naseem Hassan, a 48-year-old Palestinian medic in the Gaza Strip’s southern town of Khan Younis, said it had become impossible to walk through Nasser Hospital, with people spread out everywhere. Some patients, terrified or semiconscious, tugged at his sleeve when he squeezed through the halls. They groaned, slept and died on those bloodstained floors, he said.His skeletal staff at the 350-bed hospital has struggled to cope with an influx of over 1,000 patients. Without fresh bandages and gauze, Doctors Without Borders said, patients’ wounds have become seriously infected, in many cases septic. “When I think about it for a moment, I start to cry,” Hassan said by phone, struggling to be heard over the shouts of the doctors and nurses who remained. “It’s a good thing I’m too...

What is Bodhi Day? And when do Buddhists celebrate it?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:59 GMT

Buddhists around the world are celebrating Bodhi Day. Also called Buddha’s Enlightenment Day, it commemorates when Siddhartha Gautama attained awakening — or enlightenment — some 2,600 years ago, becoming the Buddha.When is Bodhi Day celebrated?Japan celebrates on Dec. 8, following the Western calendar.It varies elsewhere in East Asia, but generally, the holiday falls between the winter solstice and the lunar new year, said Scott Mitchell, dean of students at Berkeley, California-based Institute of Buddhist Studies.Southeast Asian and Tibetan Buddhists celebrate Buddha’s enlightenment in May and June respectively, said Judith Simmer-Brown, professor emeritus of contemplative and religious studies at Colorado’s Naropa University.How did Siddhartha Gautama achieve enlightenment?It happened after years of spiritual seeking and meditation, including gaining insights into the ultimate nature of existence: “In particular, the origins of human suffering, the cycle of birth and death ...

Rush’s Alex Lifeson joins Geddy Lee at Toronto book tour stop to share memories

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:59 GMT

TORONTO — Geddy Lee surprised a venue full of Rush fans on Thursday by marching out old friend and longtime band mate Alex Lifeson to help him traverse back through decades of shared memories.It was a rare opportunity to see the progressive rock legends in a semi-causal setting, sans guitars but armed with many punchlines, as the bassist closed out the North American leg of his “My Effin’ Life” book tour at Massey Hall in Toronto.“Don’t make me cry before I get started,” he pleaded with Lifeson shortly after the Rush guitarist was revealed as the other half of the two-hour fireside chat.Turns out, the evening was mostly bereft of tears but loaded with laughs and the occasional light barbs at one of his closest pals.All of it was catered to the thousands of Rush diehards in attendance, some of whom didn’t waste a moment before unleashing their adoration for their heroes.“I love you guys, man!” shouted one from the balcony, provoki...

AP PHOTOS: 2023 images show violence and vibrance in Latin America

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:59 GMT

A little girl perches on the shoulder of her mom, whose eyes fill with trepidation as she wades through waist-deep water in the jungle of the Darien Gap. Another woman sits beside railroad tracks as she and her husband head north through central Mexico. Covering her eyes with her fingers, the woman could be weeping. But the photograph shows her holding bright yellow flowers that her husband just picked.She’s laughing. Associated Press photographers documented violence and vibrance throughout Latin America in 2023, creating vivid portraits of ability to keep moving forward despite suffering. Gangs expanded their control of Haiti, terrorizing civilians. One image shows a police officer on the back of a motorcycle holding a man slumped after being shot in the head. Brazil’s newly sworn-in President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stands atop the ramp of the presidential palace alongside an Amazonian leader wearing a feather headdress. Days later, the shattered windows of that palace frame a ...

Mild and windy Friday; chilly breezy Sunday.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:24:59 GMT

Mild air is brought in by westerly upper winds Friday into Saturday but cooler air comes in as the jet stream turns in from the northwest bringing high temps in the 30s SundayChanges in cold season weather and climate across the Lower 48The contiguous 48 U.S. states collectively recorded their 2nd lowest overall November snowfall of all the years since 1940.The analyses of Alaska-based climatologist, friend and colleague Dr. Brian Brettschneider (https://twitter.com/Climatologist49) are timely and revealing. It's the reason I never miss Brian's posts. Perfect examples are two of his posts yesterday which address changes in cold season weather and climate across the Lower 48.Brettschneider's analysis of November snowfall across the Lower 48 reveals this past month reveals the contiguous 48 U.S. states collectively recorded their 2nd lowest OVERALL NOVEMBER snowfall of all the years since 1940. It has snowed—but over much less territory and with reduced frequency than has been the cas...