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Oregon defeats Oregon State 31-7 for a spot in the Pac-12 title game as rivalry ends for now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:42 GMT

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Ducks are relishing a second chance against Washington. Sixth-ranked Oregon secured a spot in the Pac-12 championship game with a 31-7 victory Friday night over No. 15 Oregon State in the final scheduled matchup between the in-state rivals.The Ducks (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12, No. 6 CFP) will face No. 4 Washington next Friday in Las Vegas, the last conference championship before 10 of the league’s teams bolt next season. The winner has a chance at earning a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff.It was Oregon’s sixth straight win since a 36-33 loss at Washington on Oct. 14. The rematch next week will mark the first meeting between the teams in the Pac-12 title game. “Obviously that’s exactly how we wanted it,” Oregon quarterback Bo Nix said about heading to the title game, “because of the circumstances, because we lost the first one.”Nix, among the Heisman Trophy favorites, completed 33 of 40 passes for 367 yards and two touchdow...

Russia barrages Kyiv with record number of drones

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:42 GMT

KYIV — In the largest aerial attack since its invasion started, Russia barraged Ukraine with 75 Shahed drones overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday. Most of the drones were aimed at Kyiv and the region around the capital, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement.Ukrainian forces managed to shoot down all but one of the Shahed kamikaze drones, as well as an X-59 cruise missile over the Dnipro region, the Ukrainian air force said.The assault included the highest number of Russian drones to be deployed in one night since Moscow launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The air attack lasted more than six hours, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said in a statement. Anti-aircraft missiles, tactical aviation, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare units were involved in repelling the air attack. No deaths were reported as a result of the barrage, but falling debris damaged buildings. In Kyiv, a fire broke out at a kindergarten, while windows were damaged in n...

Sweet 16: Special memories on Thanksgiving

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:42 GMT

Bishop Fenwick coach David Woods never expected to get star quarterback Bryce Leaman on the field after suffering a season-ending knee injury early in the season.The day before the Thanksgiving Day contest against Masconomet, Woods, the Leaman family and the team trainer discussed the option of padding his knee and protecting it so much that he could possibly make a cameo appearance in his final varsity game against Masconomet.“I’m just thinking, maybe he can go out, take a snap in shotgun and just hand the ball off. Just to get him on the field one last time,” Woods said. “During the pregame, he looked good so I thought maybe we could put him in shotgun and throw a pass.”Leaman did a little more than that. He started the game, played the first two series and one more in the fourth quarter. The quarterback with a torn ACL, MCL and PCL went on to complete 11-of-16 passes for 123 yards and cap off his high school career by throwing a back-shoulder fade to Kurtis Bruch for a touc...

Mike Preston’s observations on NFL’s problem with parity, Ravens run defense, hip-drop tackles and more | COMMENTARY

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:42 GMT

The only time the NFL makes changes is when a star player suggests them or gets hurt, so maybe officials will listen to former quarterback Tom Brady after he recently criticized the league for its mediocrity.The NFL has been “average” for several years, and that makes commissioner Roger Goodell happy because every team appears to have a chance at winning the championship, which keeps fans interested.But it’s boring.The NFL can have all of this late drama with games ending in field goals, but I prefer games that are fundamentally sound and feature great quarterback matchups such as Brady versus Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers against Drew Brees.Those duels don’t exist now. Besides Kansas City’s future Hall of Fame quarterback Patrick Mahomes, name five great ones playing today. There are some good young quarterbacks such as Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts. You can throw in the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, Buffalo’...

Thanksgiving Day Stars of the Week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:42 GMT

DIVISION 1*Dom Papa threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns as Andover defeated North Andover, 27-13.*Tate Hoffmeister rushed for 235 yards and three scores as Needham beat Wellesley, 21-7.*James Curry ran for 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 35 carries as Braintree defeated Milton, 33-19.*Carlos Rodrigues threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns as Everett rolled to a 56-28 win over Everett.*Darius Braithwaite ran for 172 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries as Lincoln-Sudbury beat Newton South, 35-7.*Aaron Chiocca got Methuen off and running as he took the opening kickoff to paydirt and later returned an interception for a score as Methuen handled Dracut/Innovation, 48-16.*Hayden Willen threw for 145 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 107 yards and three more scores as Newton North doubled up on Brookline, 42-21.*Jake Cullen completed 10-of-14 passes for 126 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 111 yards as Westford Academy defeated Acton-Boxboro, 35-10.*Mike...

At least 9 people killed in Syrian government shelling of a rebel-held village, the opposition says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:42 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government forces’ shelling of a northwestern village Saturday killed at least nine people, including six children, as they picked olives, opposition activists said.The shelling of the village of Qawqafeen, in Idlib province, is the latest violation of a truce reached in March 2020 between Russia and Turkey, who back rival sides in Syria’s 12-year conflict that has killed half a million people.Hundreds of people have been killed or wounded over the past years in violations of the truce that ended a monthslong Russian-backed government offensive on the northwestern Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria. The shelling of the farm was reported by the Britain-based opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets.The White Helmets said it treated one woman who was wounded and handed over the bodies of the dead to their families.Idlib is home to more than 4 millio...

Feds aimed secret cybersecurity briefing at energy sector executives: memo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:42 GMT

OTTAWA — Federal security officials have been briefing leaders of major energy and utility firms on cyberthreats, one element of a concerted government effort to underscore the serious risks to the sector.A newly disclosed Public Safety Canada memo reveals a secret-level June meeting was part of a strategy to raise awareness among company executives about the dangers from malicious cyberactivity — reaching beyond the technical experts who already know about the risks.The memo, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act, says the confidential discussion was co-hosted by Public Safety, Natural Resources Canada and the Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s cyberspy agency.The CSE’s Canadian Centre for Cyber Security said in an assessment this year that financially motivated cybercrime — particularly business email compromise and ransomware — was almost certainly the main cyberthreat facing the Canadian oil and gas sector.It also said the ...

Ukraine’s military says Russia has launched its largest drone attack since the start of the invasion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:42 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia on Saturday morning launched its most intense drone attack on Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in 2022, targeting the Ukrainian capital, military officials said. “Kyiv was the main target,” Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his Telegram channel. In total, Russia launched 75 Iranian-made Shahed drones against Ukraine, of which 74 were destroyed by air defenses, Ukraine’s air force said.The attack was “the most massive air attack by drones on Kyiv,” said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city administration. Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat confirmed later that the air defenses shot down 66 air targets over the capital and surrounding region throughout the morning.At least five civilians were wounded in the hourslong assault, which saw several buildings damaged by falling debris from downed drones, including a kindergarten. The wounded included an 11-year-old child, according to Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko.I...

Hamas is set to release 14 Israeli hostages for 42 Israel-held Palestinians in a second truce swap

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:42 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Egyptian officials said Hamas was preparing to release 14 Israeli hostages Saturday for 42 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as part of an exchange on the second day of a cease-fire that has allowed critical humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and given civilians their first respite after seven weeks of war.On the first day of the four-day cease-fire, Hamas released 24 of the about 240 hostages taken during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison. Those freed from captivity in Gaza were 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and a Filipino.On Saturday, Hamas provided mediators Egypt and Qatar with a list of 14 hostages to be released, and the list has been passed along to Israel, according to a Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to talk about details of the ongoing negotiations. A second Egyptian official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the ...

50 years sober, Greg Ekbom celebrates the Day by Day Cafe he founded while still in treatment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:42 GMT

Hooked on hard drugs, Greg Ekbom overdosed more than once, eventually landing in a hospital in a coma-like state.“When I woke up, I didn’t really know where I was,” said Ekbom, recalling the terrifying but fateful day 50 years ago that sent him on the rocky path to longtime sobriety.It started with a methadone program, which was miserable.“That was the bottom. That was the worst,” recalled Ekbom, who had dropped out of a cooking program at a remedial skills center in Minneapolis at the time. “The government was giving me drugs. You got in trouble if you didn’t show up and do your drugs everyday. It was basically to keep you from committing crimes.”Greg Ekbom, center, retired owner of the Day by Day Café, with his son John Ekbom, right and daughter Gena Ekbom, who now own the St. Paul restaurant on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Ekbom started the cafe as while still in recovery and created a safe and welcoming place for those in recovery. (John...