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Falcons find themselves in a most unusual position – first place in the NFC South

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:12:28 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — First place.A strange place to be for the Atlanta Falcons.Yep, seven games into an up-and-down season, the Falcons hold the top spot in the NFC South.Never mind that it’s probably the weakest division in the NFL. Considering this team hasn’t had a winning season or made the playoffs since 2017, there were plenty of smiles after an ugly 16-13 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.“We’ll take it,” coach Arthur Smith said after his team improved to 4-3. “We know we’ve got work to do, but happy to get a win.”The Falcons pulled out the victory despite three fumbles by quarterback Desmond Ridder, which cost them at least one touchdown and probably another.“We certainly like to make it hard on ourselves,” Smith said. “But our guys make plays in big moments. We always feel like we got a shot, no matter what happens. It’s a resilient group.”WHAT’S WORKINGAn offseason spending spree directed largely toward the defense had paid big dividends.The Falcons a...

Helping a child with a down payment? Here are some things to know

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:12:28 GMT

The old adage, “Never lend money to friends or family,” is why personal finance advisers recommend any help parents give their adult children in their homebuying efforts be in the form of a gift.But be it a gift, or a loan, there are some things for both parents and their homebuying children to know.Two-in-five first-time homebuyers this year have received some financial assistance for their down payment, according to a LendingTree survey, mostly from parents, including 80% of Gen-Z buyers.For parents who can afford to help, deciding whether the assistance is a gift or a loan is a decision that is entirely a personal one that varies from family to family, based on trust, responsibility and ability to repay. Often, a gift is the better choice.“Because in that case, I think, it can help avoid some bad situations that can arise if someone is not paying you back. That said, if you can negotiate fair terms for a loan that’s not going to break anyone’s back o...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts in mixed trading as yields swing in the bond market

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:12:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is swinging a bit higher on Monday, continuing a monthslong run where it’s slavishly followed the cue of the bond market.The S&P 500 was up 0.5% in afternoon trading, coming off its worst week in a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5 points, or less than 0.3%, as of 1:15 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% higher.Rapidly rising yields in the bond market have been pressuring stock prices since the summer, and they seemed set to climb further. Early Monday morning, the yield on the 10-year Treasury briefly topped 5.02% to touch its highest level since 2007. That helped to torpedo stocks, and the S&P 500 slumped as much as 0.8%.But the 10-year yield eventually eased back to 4.84%, down from with 4.91% late Friday, as oil prices tumbled to take some pressure off inflation. That relaxed the pressure on the stock market and helped send it to gains. Easier bond yields tend to most help stocks of companies promising big...

Pietro Fittipaldi hired to race IndyCar season for Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:12:28 GMT

Rahal Letterman Lanigan on Monday hired Pietro Fittipaldi, the current reserve driver for the Haas Formula One team, to race its third car in the IndyCar Series next season.Fittipaldi, the Brazilian-American grandson of 1989 IndyCar champion and two-time Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, has nine career starts in IndyCar but none since the 2021 season. He was in Austin, Texas, all weekend as Haas’ reserve driver.Fittipaldi will drive the No. 30 that had been piloted by Jack Harvey until his late-season release. RLL then used several different drivers in the car as it researched its options.Fittipaldi was not one of the drivers used by RLL in the No. 30.Bobby Rahal said he was impressed with Fittipaldi’s work in IndyCar while driving three races for Dale Coyne Racing in 2021. Fittipaldi qualified 13th for the Indianapolis 500 that year.“I have been impressed with the maturity and experience that he will now bring to our program,” Rahal said. “I look forward to see...

Savor the evening sunsets, daylight saving time is ending

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:12:28 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — If you like to enjoy a little bit of sun after getting home from work, you might want to savor it while you can. Denver only has a little under two weeks before afternoon sunsets return.You can blame daylight saving time for that. Why Colorado isn't on permanent Daylight Saving Time yet Along with the chore of having to change all the clocks in your house for the second time this year, the end of DST on Nov. 5 will bring the first afternoon sunset of the season.When will the sun set before 6 p.m.?In a somewhat spooky turn of events, Oct. 31 is the first day the sun sets before 6 p.m., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration solar calculator.However, that doesn't last long. Only five days later on Nov. 5, daylight saving time ends. And, because of the clock change, the sun technically sets an hour earlier at 4:54 p.m. Can daylight saving time affect your health? After that, the sun will set a few minutes earlier every day until early Decem...

Fresno man sentenced for cyberstalking Parkland victim’s father

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:12:28 GMT

A Fresno man has been sentenced for sending hundreds of messages to a local gun violence activist whose daughter was murdered during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. According to officials, 62-year-old James Catalano was sentenced to 12 months in prison following his guilty plea earlier this year to cyberstalking.Court records revealed that from approximately December 2021 through July 2022, Catalano flooded the father, whose name was not released, with a barrage of distressing messages in regards to the Valentine’s Day shooting. The messages, according to court records, graphically detailed the victim’s daughter’s death and centered around the topics of gun control and the victim’s anti-gun violence advocacy.

Orbán slams Brussels as a ‘bad contemporary parody’ of Soviet Union

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:12:28 GMT

Viktor Orbán compared Hungary’s EU membership to the Soviet occupation of his country during a speech on Monday commemorating the anniversary of Hungary’s 1956 uprising against Soviet rule.“Today, things pop up that remind us of the Soviet times. Yes, it happens that history repeats itself,” Orbán said in the city of Veszprem, local media reported. “Fortunately, what once was tragedy is now a comedy at best. Fortunately, Brussels is not Moscow. Moscow was a tragedy. Brussels is just a bad contemporary parody.”“We had to dance to the tune that Moscow whistled, Brussels whistles too, but we dance as we want to, and if we don’t want to, then we don’t dance,” Orbán added.The speech mirrors Orbán’s words from this time last year, when he suggested that the EU would end up like the Soviet Union. Last week, Orbán was pictured shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first photographed handshake between the Russian president and an EU ...

State Issues Guidance To Address Equity On College Campuses

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:12:28 GMT

Two of the state’s top elected officials are newly encouraging colleges and universities in Massachusetts to find new approaches to “advance diversity, break down barriers, and increase access for historically underrepresented groups” in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling that restricted the use of race by college administrators in admissions decisions.Gov. Maura Healey and Attorney General Andrea Campbell issued joint guidance Monday for colleges admitting new students, calling on campuses to comply with the court’s ruling while still advancing diversity efforts.The guidelines say institutions can “look beyond traditional measures such as grades” to a more “holistic view” of a person, which could include race.Asked by the News Service what this looks like in practice, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said many colleges and universities have added a question to their application where a student can discus...

Boston Herald’s High School football database — Week 7

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:12:28 GMT

The Herald is following all the top passing, rushing and receiving leaders in high school football this season. Keep coming back right here for more. Coaches are encouraged to report their results each week to [email protected].(Tip use the database tools — arrows and more — to sort.)Here we go with Week 7…First up, passing leaders (Week 7):Next up, rushing leaders (Week 7):Next up, receiving leaders (Week 7):Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Stars of the Week High School Sports | Sweet 16: Foxboro’s Martinelli joins exclusive group High School Sports | Red-hot Wellesley, Max Poirier put up enough points to edge Natick High School Sports | St. John’s Prep wins battle of trenches, defeats Catholic Memorial High School Sports | In battle of unbeatens, King Philip gets past Milford, 23-14 DUXBURY, MA - September 22: Franklin High quarterback Justin Bianchetto runs wi...

The sound of success: How improved hearing aids career change

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:12:28 GMT

Joel Streed | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkWhen does a trickle sound like a waterfall? After you get hearing aids, according to Charlie Pierce.“I spent so many years not hearing the things that I can hear now. I can hear the smallest noise in the next room,” he says. “It’s incredible.”Charlie’s improved hearing has done more than amplify the sounds he hears ― it helped the 55-year-old start a new career.Construction work and overcoming addictionFor over 40 years, Charlie worked in construction. But his career was beginning to take a toll on his body, and he felt drawn to a different path — working with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).“I started the application process to work for the TSA, but I talked myself out of it,” Charlie recalls, feeling that the timing wasn’t right.Charlie continued his job as a construction superintendent in Tennessee. He also overcame a 38-year addiction to drugs and alcohol, thanks to...