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Recapping 2023 in St. Louis sports: Cardinals, Blues, CITY and Battlehawks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:12 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The 2023 calendar year marked a time of change in St. Louis professional sports. St. Louis essentially doubled its professional sports portfolio (from two teams to four), and success didn't always come where or when expected. Photos courtesy (From top left to bottom right): AP Photos/Jeff Roberson, Rick Scuteri, Joe Puetz & FOX 2)The St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues both navigated through relatively rare losing seasons and parted ways with several key players. The Blues also made a late-year coaching change. St. Louis CITY SC burst onto the scene as the newest MLS team, enjoying the most sustained success among STL's squads and riding a historic start to the playoffs before a disappointing end to year one. And the St. Louis Battlehawks packed record crowds as the XFL reincarnated, though they found themselves just short of playoffs due to a tiebreaker. That's the short version of how 2023 unfolded for St. Louis' big four. Here's a month-by-month breakdown of k...

Multiple people injured in what authorities describe as 'active shooting' at Florida shopping mall

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:12 GMT

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — Multiple people were injured Saturday during what authorities described as “an active shooting” at a shopping mall in central Florida.The Ocala Police Department said they were responding to “an active shooting” at the Paddock Mall in Ocala, located about 80 miles northwest of Orlando.The police department later said on social media that the suspect had fled and that the mall was being evacuated.People were being urged to avoid the area.An email inquiry was sent to the mall's owner, WPG. The mall has dozens of stores, including J.C. Penney and Foot Locker.Calvin and Diana Amos, who were shopping in the J.C. Penney store, told the Ocala Star-Banner that they evacuated the store quickly once they figured out what was going on. They described themselves as scared and apprehensive.

Broncos safety Kareem Jackson inactive for Sunday’s matchup vs. Patriots

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:12 GMT

Kareem Jackson’s return to game action will have to wait.The Broncos did not activate the 35-year-old safety ahead of Sunday night’s game against the New England Patriots, as they opted to use his one-game exemption following his return from a four-game suspension.This week, Jackson returned to the field for the first time since the league decided to punish him for his hit on Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs in Week 10. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday that Jackson was in the process of getting his body back into football shape.Denver has until Monday to activate him to the roster.Related ArticlesDenver Broncos | NFL picks: Are we looking at a Super Bowl preview Christmas Day between Ravens and 49ers? Denver Broncos | Broncos coach Sean Payton on being in the playoff hunt: “It’s addictive” Denver Broncos | Broncos defense confident it can get back to dictating play after bad night vs. Lions: “We have to in or...

Home for the holidays: Marshall fire families begin celebrating first Christmas in rebuilt houses

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:12 GMT

LOUISVILLE — Every ornament on Heather Szucs’ donated Christmas tree is special.There’s one signed by Isabella, age 4, from Alaska.There are family photos a friend secretly printed off Szucs’ Facebook page and then placed into tiny Christmas frames.Santa Clauses, glass bulbs, reindeer, the blinking yellow star on top — all donated.Heather Szucs said the ornaments on her family’s tree are special because they’ve been donated from all over the United States. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)“To me, now, the tree is more special,” Szucs said. “I never in my life realized how much community matters. I’m dedicated to paying it back for the rest of my life.”Members of the Szucs family are celebrating their first Christmas on Larkspur Lane in Louisville since the 2021 Marshall fire destroyed the entire Cornerstone neighborhood. They moved into their newly built house on Aug. 10 and are among the first few hundred...

2 Southern California cities among 'Grinchiest' in U.S.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:12 GMT

The holiday season is in full swing but not every place you go will be as merry as the others. Recently, financial data outlet FinanceBuzz analyzed which U.S. cities have the fewest Christmas events and holiday activities — and some California cities came out seeing green. "Grinch"-green, that is. How rich was the McCallister family in ‘Home Alone’? To decide the ranking, FinanceBuzz scored the U.S.' 50 biggest cities based on a wide variety of holiday-themed factors, including number of department and toy stores, Google Trends searches, and more. Cities were given scores out of a 100, with the lowest scoring being considered the "Grinchiest."San Diego was third among humbug cities, with FinanceBuzz noting the SoCal city's search history shows little interest in the holidays. An analysis of San Diego's Google searches found search volume for terms like “Christmas party,” “Christmas festival,” and “Christmas dinner,” to be among the lowest in the country.The Grinchiest Cities in th...

Garden Grove man killed in early morning hit-and-run 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:12 GMT

A man from Garden Grove was killed in a hit-and-run collision in Westminster, law enforcement officials said. According to a release from the Westminster Police Department, the unidentified 36-year-old man was found lying in the road on Bishop Street west of Brookhurst Street just before 4:45 a.m. Saturday morning.  8 arrested for running cocaine delivery service in Southern California He had suffered injuries “consistent with being struck by a vehicle” and was pronounced dead at the scene by Orange County Fire Authority personnel, police confirmed. “Officers located a possible witness nearby who confirmed the male had been struck by a single vehicle which immediately fled the scene,” Westminster police said. “The witness described the vehicle as a small dark-colored sedan that was last seen driving westbound on Bishop Street at Belgrade.” Law enforcement officials are continuing to canvas the area for video or more possible witnesses. No suspect or vehicle description have ...

49ers bunkering in for Christmas Eve; Javon Hargrave may return to face Ravens

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:12 GMT

SANTA CLARA – The logistics of playing on Christmas night are not the most family-friendly for the 49ers and Monday’s guests, the Baltimore Ravens.They’ll spend Christmas Eve holed up in their respective team hotel, then wake up Christmas morning waiting and waiting and waiting to open up the NFL’s marquee game this regular season.“Whenever those guys get up, they do have time to go home and see people real quick,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Saturday. “If they have some young kids and want to do that, that’s fine.”Cornerback Charvarius Ward plans on opening gifts with his 1-year-old daughter, Amani Joi, on Sunday morning, then have a family dinner postgame Monday. He doesn’t mind bunkering in with his teammates Sunday night, saying: “I’ve got to work. That’s how I feed the family.”Left guard Aaron Banks, who also became a father last year, has no qualms with team protocol regarding a Christmas Eve sequestering, and he’s excit...

3 New Jersey men to stand trial in airport garage shooting that killed 1 Philadelphia officer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:12 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A judge has ordered three New Jersey men to stand trial on most charges in an airport parking garage shooting in October that killed one Philadelphia police officer and wounded another.Municipal Court Judge David Shuter ruled last week that Yobranny Martinez-Fernandez, 18, of Camden, New Jersey, must stand trial on charges of murder and attempted murder and related offenses, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Prosecutors have alleged that he fired the shots that killed the officer.Alexander Batista-Polanco, 21, of Camden and Hendrick Peña-Fernandez, 21, of Pennsauken, New Jersey, face trial on charges including second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer. An attempted murder charge in the shooting of the other officer was dropped against both men. Robbery charges against all three were also dropped.Prosecutors cited video footage, social media posts, and cell phone records as evidence that the trio stole a vehicle and used it days later to travel to the ai...

These California cities among 'Grinchiest' in U.S.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:12 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — The holiday season is in full swing but not every place you go will be as merry as the others. Recently, financial data outlet FinanceBuzz analyzed which U.S. cities have the fewest Christmas events and holiday activities — and some California cities came out seeing green. "Grinch"-green, that is. How rich was the McCallister family in ‘Home Alone’? To decide the ranking, FinanceBuzz scored the U.S.' 50 biggest cities based on a wide variety of holiday-themed factors, including number of department and toy stores, Google Trends searches, and more. Cities were given scores out of a 100, with the lowest scoring being considered the "Grinchiest."San Diego was third among humbug cities, with FinanceBuzz noting the SoCal city's search history shows little interest in the holidays. An analysis of San Diego's Google searches found search volume for terms like “Christmas party,” “Christmas festival,” and “Christmas dinner,” to be among the lowest in the country.The Grinchiest ...

Chiefs missing Toney, McKinnon while Raiders could have Jacobs for Christmas matchup

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:12 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs will be missing three major contributors on offense because of injuries, and the Las Vegas Raiders expect to have Josh Jacobs back on the field, when the longtime AFC West rivals meet at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday.The Chiefs on Saturday ruled out embattled wide receiver Kadarius Toney with a hip injury, along with third-down back Jerick McKinnon because of a groin injury and left tackle Donovan Smith, who will miss his third consecutive game with a neck injury.The Chiefs put Skyy Moore on injured reserve earlier this week with a knee injury, so the loss of Toney further depletes a receiver corps that has struggled all season. Toney in particular has had a rough year — among his many drops have been two that were picked off, and his offsides penalty negated a go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes of a loss to the Bills.Kansas City coach Andy Reid said this week that he expects Richie James, who has played primarily on special teams,...