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Vax mandators unwittingly support pro-lifers.on November 2, 2021 at 6:50 pm

The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

Vax mandators unwittingly support pro-lifers.

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Vax mandators unwittingly support pro-lifers.on November 2, 2021 at 6:50 pm Read More »

1st-and-10: Justin Fields’ ‘breakthrough’ puts Nagy & Co. on the spotMark Potashon November 2, 2021 at 5:04 pm

Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields (1) leaves the 49ers defense in his wake on a spectacular 22-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter Sunday. | David Banks/AP

The rookie quarterback’s instincts were largely responsible for his 103-yard rushing game. Now it’s up to the coaching staff to put Fields in position to take the offense to another level.

Justin Fields finding his comfort zone could be a watershed moment for the Bears.

Now what?

“He was very comfortable,” Bears quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo said of Fields’ performance in a 33-22 loss to the 49ers on Sunday at Soldier Field. “I thought that was by far his best game in terms of his footwork, his rhythm and he got the ball out on time. That was our best game, by far.”

Fields’ breakthrough-looking performance didn’t exactly lift the Bears’ offense to a new level — they scored 22 points against a team allowing 24.5 per game going in. Even with Fields’ monumental rushing game — 10 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown — the Bears still only had 148 net passing yards, tied for the 24th lowest in the NFL this season. Their 324 total yards was the fourth most against the 49ers this season and 164th out of 244 in the NFL.

What it did, though, was confirm how much the Bears have to work with in Fields, which now puts the onus on the coaching staff to parlay Fields’ talents into better offensive production. Fields’ “breakthrough” was largely done on instinct, not design.

As Fields progresses, that’s what this season becomes more and more about: Is this the coaching staff to turn him into the next big thing?

We’ll see about that. The Bears have been unable to turn their recent run-game success into an improved passing game. They’re still 32nd and last in the NFL in passing by a wide margin — more than 50 yards fewer than the 31st-ranked Saints. That’s a bit of a red flag. Now, with Fields presumably unleashed, coach Matt Nagy, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and DeFilippo have their best opportunity to show us what they can do.

“Huge. Huge,” DeFilippo said when asked about the impact of having Fields’ breakthrough rushing game on tape for opponents to figure out. “The No. 1 impact is you can’t just tee off on the o-line. You’re going to have to be disciplined in your rush lanes, which means that you just can’t run up the field on this guy. He’s going to get up and out on you.

“I think it’s going to slow down the pass rush a little bit. That’d be my guess. Whether it does or not, we’ll see.”

What we’ll see most is if the Bears’ coaching staff can zig when defenses zag. As DeFilippo pointed out, the Steelers, seeing Fields run wild on film, can take that away on Monday night. But that should open up something else in Fields’ game. A player who can make them look like geniuses gives the coaching staff options.

“Without a doubt,” DeFilippo said. “I hate to put it all on the player, but things aren’t always perfect in the way you draw things up. And whenever the player has that ability to take off and go on third-and-six or whatever, and you get a first down, you’re like, ‘Have at it, man. Have at it, brother. Just take it.’ That adds a huge dynamic to our offense. Absolutely.”

It’s the Steelers’ move vs. Fields. Let’s see if the Bears are a thinking a few moves ahead.

2. Sean Desai and the defensive coaching staff are on the spot as well after a meltdown against the 49ers that spoiled Fields’ encouraging performance. The 49ers’ 467 yards were the most against the Bears’ defense in regulation since 2016 — 478 yards in a 41-21 loss to Kirk Cousins and the Redskins.

How bad was it? The Bears never forced the 49ers to punt — most noticeably when they allowed an 83-yard pass play to Deebo Samuel on a wide receiver screen on third-and-19 in the third quarter.

It was only the second time in the last 75 years the Bears have neither forced a punt nor gotten a takeaway in the same game. The only other time was in 2014 in a 38-17 loss to the Packers.

3. The return of nose tackle Eddie Goldman providing a lift to the Bears’ run defense was one of those offseason narratives that sounded right. But it hasn’t come to fruition. With Goldman getting more and more comfortable, the run game has diminished, dropping to 25th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed and yards per carry.

The Bears have allowed 154, 182 and 145 rushing yards in their last three games against the Packers, Buccaneers and 49ers — an average of 160.3 yards. That’s the worst three-game stretch since 2016 under John Fox, when the Bears allowed 558 yards (186.0 avg.) in the final three games of a 3-13 season.

4. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor’s stint as head coach was only one game, in an acting capacity and in a loss. But even in a small way it nonetheless helped the cause of every special teams coach trying to get a head coaching job in the NFL — including Tabor, and perhaps his mentor, Dave Toub, the former Bears special teams coordinator now with the Chiefs, who has been passed over for too many head coaching jobs.

During the week, Tabor was a special teams coordinator with head coaching responsibilities. But on game day, he was a head coach first and a special teams coordinator second. You noticed the difference.

“I thought he did a helluva job,” Nagy said. “[We were] able to communicate all week long –talking through things he might have questions about or some things that I might have suggestions with. But then you get to game day … you have to have a sense of how the game’s going and there’s a feel to it.

“That’s where I think coach Tabor did a wonderful job. There was no hesitation in his decision-making and sometimes that’s what can get you as a head coach or a decision-maker — if there’s hesitation. He went with full conviction on all his decisions and I was really, really impressed with him and very appreciative.”

5. Cairo Santos had a streak of 50 consecutive place-kicks (22 field goals, 28 PATs) snapped when he missed a PAT after Fields’ spectacular 22-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

But he was 3-for-3 on field goals against the 49ers (39, 40 and 25 yards), extending his franchise-record streak to 37 — fourth-best on the NFL’s all-time list for consecutive field. Adam Vinatieri holds the record with 44 for the Colts in 2015-16.

6. Never underestimate the mediocrity of the NFL.

7. Bits & Pieces: NFL teams were 9-0 this season with 37 minutes of possession or more in games decided in regulation until the Bears dominated time-of-possession 37:11 to 22:49 against the 49ers and lost. … Fields’ 103 rushing yards were the most against the 49ers by a quarterback since 2000, when the Saints’ Aaron Brooks had 108 on 11 carries. … Kyler Murray had seven carries for one yard against the 49ers in Week 5. … Fields’ deep-ball interception on his final pass dropped his passer rating from 103.8 to 84.6. … The Bears scored on their first three possessions against the 49ers (two fields goals and a touchdown) — the first time they’ve done that against an opponent other than the Lions since 2016 (Week 11 against the Giants, a 22-16 loss).

8. Josh McCown Ex-Bears Player of the Week: Rams linebacker Leonard Floyd had two sacks and a tackle-for-loss in a 38-22 blowout of the Texans. Floyd had 4.5 sacks this season and 17 sacks in 24 games with the Rams since leaving the Bears after the 2019 season.

9. Bear-ometer: 6-11 — at Steelers (L); vs. Ravens (L); at Lions (W); vs. Cardinals (L); at Packers (L); vs. Vikings (W); at Seahawks (L); vs. Giants (W); at Vikings (L).

10. A personal note: This edition of 1st-and-10 is dedicated to my father, Melvin Potash, who died Monday night at 92. A loyal Sun-Times subscriber virtually from the inception of the paper, my dad was my biggest fan and instilled in me a work ethic that has been invaluable. I have had no greater satisfaction in my career than making my dad proud. And he will always be a part of everything I write, and everything I do. He was the best!

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1st-and-10: Justin Fields’ ‘breakthrough’ puts Nagy & Co. on the spotMark Potashon November 2, 2021 at 5:04 pm Read More »

New bobbleheads commemorate Cubs’ World Series titleSun-Times staffon November 2, 2021 at 5:20 pm

In honor of the fifth anniversary of the Cubs’ World Series title the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled limited-edition World Series bobbleheads. | National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum/FOCO

The bobbleheads feature each player holding a replica World Series trophy.

It’s been five years since the Cubs won the 2016 World Series. To commemorate that long-awaited championship, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled limited-edition World Series bobbleheads of Albert Almora, Carl Edwards Jr., Chris Coghlan, Hector Rondon, Jorge Soler, Justin Grimm, and Pedro Strop. These seven players were the only players from the 2016 team to not have a bobblehead produced following the World Series title.

The bobbleheads, which are manufactured by FOCO and feature each player holding a replica World Series trophy, are $45 each plus an $8 flat-rate shipping charge per order. A set of seven is available for $300.

“We’re excited to release the bobbleheads of these seven players who were important members of the Chicago Cubs’ World Series championship in 2016,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “We’re even more excited that this makes the 2016 Cubs the first team to have its entire 25-man roster commemorated with World Series Champions Bobbleheads.”

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New bobbleheads commemorate Cubs’ World Series titleSun-Times staffon November 2, 2021 at 5:20 pm Read More »

Bulls veteran DeMar DeRozan brings a needed calm to the rosterJoe Cowleyon November 2, 2021 at 5:34 pm

DeRozan has been showcasing a lot of talent on the court, but his best trait just might be the calm and poise he brings to his teammates on a nightly basis – winning or losing.

PHILADELPHIA – There is a much-needed calm to DeMar DeRozan.

It’s not some obnoxious laid-back, California cool as much as it’s a veteran player just letting his teammates know, “You fall, I got you.”

DeRozan has brought a ton of intangibles to this Bulls roster, but so far his calm might be the most important.

The Monday comeback in Boston was just the latest example of it.

“I would say he’s incredibly poised,” coach Billy Donovan said of DeRozan. “He does not get out of sorts at all. And I think he’s great for our team, I think he’s great for Zach [LaVine]. I could tell Zach was pressing a little bit [on Monday] when shots weren’t falling. A couple times he was too aggressive and had an opportunity to pass it to some guys, but I think having a guy like DeMar out there, he plays with a pace, and a tempo, and a poise, you never take him out of what he’s doing.

“He’s a guy that has experienced a lot individually with the way his career has been, and also has experienced a lot of winning, so has been in a lot of different situations.”

Down 19 with just about 14 minutes of total game clock left, and on the road?

Sure, been there, done that.

“I’ve been in a lot of games being down big on the road, seeing things happen that’s possible,” DeRozan said. “For me it’s just keeping that calm, not getting rattled, and sharing whatever experience I can to kind of keep us together as well.”

He not only kept the Bulls together in the improbable 14-point win against the Celtics, but he kept things afloat while LaVine was working through some first-half shooting issues.

Not the first time DeRozan has sensed that he’s had to do that, and it’s not about to be his last.

LaVine has now played three games with torn ligaments in his left thumb, and the All-Star has been shaky early on in the last two games, as he figures out how hard to push the injury.

In the win over Utah, LaVine went 4-for-9 in the first half, while DeRozan put up 16 through the first two quarters, and 32 for the game.

Against Boston, LaVine was just 1-for-6 after the tip, scoring just four points at the half, before finishing 9-for-20 for 26 points. DeRozan had 21 at the half in Boston, finishing with 37.

It’s not a Batman and Robin situation for DeRozan, however. It’s more of the bigger brother holding down the fort while younger brother works through the bumps and bruises.

“Yeah, just a sense for me,” DeRozan said, when asked if he’s going out there and looking to take the pressure off LaVine early in games. “Still incredible things he’s able to do with his thumb. The more he gets comfortable with it, the easier my job will be and vice versa, I try and make it easy on him as well. Just continue to learn each other. He’s an incredible basketball player, but even more a human being.”

The same can be said about DeRozan, according to Donovan. So while there were critics of the Bulls adding him this offseason, Donovan has been very consistent when it comes to why they added the forward to the mix.

“I feel like when you watch these guys on film, his time in Toronto, his time in San Antonio, you watch and you try and see, ‘OK, what does he like, what he doesn’t like,’ ” Donovan said. “Unfortunately, I don’t think people get to see what kind of person he is. He’s a great guy, a team guy, really humble, I love working with him.”

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Bulls veteran DeMar DeRozan brings a needed calm to the rosterJoe Cowleyon November 2, 2021 at 5:34 pm Read More »

Mister Rogers statue unveiled at Florida alma materAssociated Presson November 2, 2021 at 5:34 pm

A bronze sculpture of Fred McFeely Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers, now stands at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Rogers graduated from the central Florida school in 1951. | AP

The sculpture, located at Rollins College, will be part of the school’s Mister Rogers Walking Tour.

WINTER PARK, Fla. — A little rain didn’t stop it from being a beautiful day at Rollins College in Florida as school officials unveiled a sculpture honoring alumnus and beloved children’s TV host Mister Rogers.

Rollins President Grant Cornwell and others held umbrellas during last week’s private ceremony as they pulled back a drape on the bronze rendering of Rogers in his iconic sweater and tennis shoes, a work entitled “A Beautiful Day for a Neighbor.”

“This inspirational sculpture will be a permanent reminder of the ideals and values modeled by Mister Rogers as he set out to make the world a better place,” Cornwell said during the ceremony at the private liberal arts college in Winter Park, just northeast of Orlando.

AP
British artist Paul Day, known for his public monuments, works on a sculpture of Fred McFeely Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers, in a foundry in the Czech Republic.

Years before the world came to know him as Mister Rogers, Fred McFeely Rogers transferred to Rollins College in 1948 and graduated in 1951, according to the school. He majored in music composition and served as president of his fraternity and chairman of the Inter-Faith and Race Relations Committee. He also met his future wife at the school. He received an honorary degree from the school in 1974.

Rogers was best known for writing and appearing in 912 episodes of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which ran on public television from 1968 to 2001. He died in 2003. In recent years, he has been the subject of a popular documentary, as well as a feature film starring Tom Hanks.

The 360-degree sculpture was designed by Paul Day, a British artist known for his public monuments. The bronze cast piece stands over 7 feet (2 meters) tall and weighs more than 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms). It depicts Rogers surrounded by children, hand puppets from his show, lyrics from the series’ theme song and the show’s Neighborhood Trolley.

“My hope is that this piece will bring joy and inspiration to many people, just as ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ did for generations,” Day said.

The sculpture will be part of the school’s Mister Rogers Walking Tour.

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Mister Rogers statue unveiled at Florida alma materAssociated Presson November 2, 2021 at 5:34 pm Read More »

Puffballs: Big to really big ones make for a memorable walk in the woods to take photos, earn MOTWDale Bowmanon November 2, 2021 at 5:41 pm

Ken Gortowski found big to really big puffballs while walking in the woods to take photos. | Provided

Ken Gortowski earned Mushroom of the Week honors for many big to really big puffballs found while walking the woods and taking photos.

Ken Gortowski was simply taking photos Sunday, but kept finding big surprises.

“In the span of a couple of hours of wandering around in the woods, I came across 15 to 20 puffballs ranging in size from baseballs to bigger than a basketball,” he emailed.

He kept a mid-sized one for taste-testing.

A reminder that foraging for fall mushrooms is prohibited in virtually all area park districts and forest preserves. Also know your mushrooms or connect with somebody who does if foraging for them.

MOTW, the celebration of fall mushrooms and their stories (the stories matter, as this one shows) around Chicago outdoors, runs Wednesdays in the paper Sun-Times as warranted. The online posting here at https://chicago.suntimes.com/outdoors goes up at varied days of the week, depending on what is going on the wide world of the outdoors.

To make submissions, email ([email protected]) or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).

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Puffballs: Big to really big ones make for a memorable walk in the woods to take photos, earn MOTWDale Bowmanon November 2, 2021 at 5:41 pm Read More »

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade returning to pre-pandemic extravaganzaMark Kennedy | AP Entertainment Writeron November 2, 2021 at 4:14 pm

Revelers makes their way down the Avenue of the Americas in front of Radio City Music Hall during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York in 2019. This year’s parade will snap back to form after bowing to pandemic restrictions last year. | AP

The Macy’s parade has been a traditional holiday season kickoff and spectators often line up a half-dozen deep along the route to cheer about 8,000 marchers, two dozen floats, entertainers and marching bands.

NEW YORK — The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will return to its pre-pandemic form this year, with its route restored through Manhattan, high-flying helium balloons once again pulled by handlers and crowds welcomed back to cheer them on.

This year’s parade — the 95th annual — will snap back to form after bowing to pandemic restrictions last year. It will feature 15 giant character balloons, 28 floats, 36 novelty and heritage inflatables, more than 800 clowns, 10 marching bands and nine performance groups and, of course, Santa Claus.

New balloon giants joining the line-up on Nov. 25 include Ada Twist, Scientist and the Pokemon characters Pikachu and Eevee. Broadway will be represented by the casts of “Six,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Wicked.” The Rockettes will be there, as will the cast of the upcoming NBC live production of “Annie.”

“For our 95th celebration, Macy’s has created a spectacle to remember featuring a dazzling array of high-flying balloons, animated floats and incredible performers. We can’t wait to help New York City and the nation kick-off the holiday season with the return of this cherished tradition,” Will Coss, executive producer of the parade, said in a statement.

There will be new floats led by the cast of “Girls5eva” — Sara Bareilles, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell and Busy Philipps — Nelly and Jordan Fisher, while Jon Batiste will be on an alligator-themed float celebrating Louisiana’s music, food and culture.

Other celebrities on hand include Carrie Underwood, Jimmie Allen, Kelly Rowland, Rob Thomas, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss, Foreigner, Andy Grammer, Mickey Guyton, Chris Lane, Miss America Camille Schrier, Muppets from “Sesame Street” and the three past and current hosts of “Blue’s Clues” — Steve Burns, Donovan Patton and Josh Dela Cruz.

Some of the returning balloons will be Astronaut Snoopy, ‘The Boss Baby,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” Chase from “Paw Patrol,” the Pillsbury Doughboy, Red Titan from “Ryan’s World,” Papa Smurf from “The Smurfs,” Sonic the Hedgehog and SpongeBob SquarePants.

The Macy’s parade has been a traditional holiday season kickoff and spectators often line up a half-dozen deep along the route to cheer about 8,000 marchers, two dozen floats, entertainers and marching bands.

Last year, the usual 2 1/2-mile route through crowded Manhattan was scrapped in favor of concentrating events to a one-block stretch of 34th Street in front of the retailer’s flagship Manhattan store. Many performances were pre-taped and most of the parade’s performers were locally based to cut down on travel. The balloons were tethered to specialized vehicles instead of being controlled by handlers.

Visitors this year will once again be allowed to see the balloons inflated the day before the parade as long as they show proof of vaccination. Children under the age of 12 may be accompanied by a vaccinated adult.

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Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade returning to pre-pandemic extravaganzaMark Kennedy | AP Entertainment Writeron November 2, 2021 at 4:14 pm Read More »

Kyle Rittenhouse was the only one who killed anybody during Kenosha unrest: prosecutorAssociated Presson November 2, 2021 at 4:33 pm

Kyle Rittenhouse, center, is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha in August 2020. | Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP pool

Opening statements began Tuesday in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse.

KENOSHA, Wis. — Kyle Rittenhouse instigated the confrontation that led him to shoot three people on the streets of Kenosha during a turbulent protest against racial injustice, and he killed one of the victims with a shot to the back, a prosecutor told the jury during opening statements Tuesday at Rittenhouse’s murder trial.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger described what he said were “two of the roughest nights that our community has ever seen,” when Kenosha was rocked by rioting, arson and looting over the police wounding of a Black man.

“Like moths to a flame, tourists from outside our community were drawn to the chaos here in Kenosha,” he said.

Yet Binger repeatedly stressed that amid the hundreds of people in Kenosha and the anger and chaos in the streets, “the only person who killed anyone is the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse.”

The shootings left two people dead and one person wounded.

Rittenhouse was a 17-year-old aspiring police officer when he traveled to Kenosha from his home in Illinois, just across the Wisconsin state line, in August 2020 after protests broke out over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer.

Rittenhouse said he went there to protect property after two previous nights in which rioters set fires and ransacked businesses.

The jury — selected with remarkable speed in just one day Monday, considering how politically polarizing the case has become — must decide whether Rittenhouse acted in self-defense, as his lawyers claim, or was engaged in vigilantism when he opened fire with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle.

Rittenhouse, now 18, faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted of the most serious count against him, first-degree intentional homicide, which is Wisconsin’s top murder charge.

Binger told the jury that self-defense can be a valid claim only if Rittenhouse reasonably believed that he was using deadly force to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

The prosecutor said there was nothing wrong with Rittenhouse offering to protect Car Source, a used car dealership where the first shooting occurred. But he repeated that amid all the chaos, only one person killed anyone.

“When we consider the reasonableness of the defendant’s actions, I ask you to keep this in mind,” he said.

Binger said infrared camera from the FBI shows Rittenhouse chasing Joseph Rosenbaum, the first person who was shot. He said that it’s not known exactly what words were said, but it is clear that Rittenhouse started a confrontation that caused Rosenbaum to begin chasing Rittenhouse and throwing a plastic bag.

Binger emphasized, too, that Rosenbaum was killed by a shot to the back. The prosecutor noted that the first two bullets hit Rosenbaum in the lower extremities, causing him to fall forward. Then came the shot to the back.

Binger also said that after shooting Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse fled the scene instead of rendering aid, despite portraying himself as a medic earlier in the night. The others who were shot afterward “clearly believed” Rittenhouse was an active shooter when they tried to stop him, the prosecutor said.

Rittenhouse looked on in apparent calm in a dark pinstriped suit and tie. He occasionally fidgeted with a water bottle or glanced toward the jury box. His mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, sat behind him on a spectators’ bench.

About a dozen prospective jurors were dismissed Monday after they expressed strong opinions about the case or worried that they couldn’t be fair. Others worried about their personal safety. “No one wants to be sitting in this chair,” one woman said.

“I figure either way this goes you’re going to have half the country upset with you and they react poorly,” said another woman, a special education teacher who expressed anxiety about serving. She was chosen.

Twenty people in all were selected: 12 jurors and eight alternates. Eleven are women and nine are men. The court did not immediately provide a racial breakdown of the group, but it appeared to be overwhelming white.

Rittenhouse has been painted by supporters on the right — including foes of the Black Lives Matter movement — as a patriot who took a stand against lawlessness by demonstrators and exercised his Second Amendment gun rights. Others see him as a vigilante and police wannabe.

He is white, as were those he shot, but many activists see an undercurrent of race in the case, in part because the protesters were on the streets to decry police violence against Black people.

As jury selection got underway, Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder stressed repeatedly that jurors must decide the case solely on what they hear in the courtroom, and cautioned: “This is not a political trial.”

“It was mentioned by both political campaigns and the presidential campaign last year, in some instances very, very imprudently,” he said.

The judge said Rittenhouse’s constitutional right to a fair trial, not the Second Amendment right to bear arms, will come into play, and “I don’t want it to get sidetracked into other issues.”

One of the jurors is a gun-owning woman with a high school education who said she was so afraid during the protests that she pulled her cars to the back of her house and made sure her doors were locked. She said she went downtown in the aftermath and cried.

Another juror, a man, said he owns a gun and has it for “home defense.” Another is a pharmacist who said that she was robbed at gunpoint in 2012 but that it would have no effect on her ability to weigh the evidence in this case.

Rittenhouse fatally shot Rosenbaum, 36, after Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him shortly before midnight on Aug. 25. Moments later, as Rittenhouse was running down a street, he shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, a protester from West Allis, Wisconsin.

Bystander video captured Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse but not the actual shooting. Video showed Huber swinging a skateboard at Rittenhouse before he was shot. Grosskreutz had a gun in his hand as he stepped toward Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse faces two homicide counts and one of attempted homicide, along with charges of reckless endangering and illegal possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.

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Kyle Rittenhouse was the only one who killed anybody during Kenosha unrest: prosecutorAssociated Presson November 2, 2021 at 4:33 pm Read More »

Your Shows Suckon November 2, 2021 at 4:32 pm

Tomfoolery: Eyes Wide Open

Your Shows Suck

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Your Shows Suckon November 2, 2021 at 4:32 pm Read More »

Judge rules Vanessa Bryant won’t have to undergo mental examAssociated Presson November 2, 2021 at 3:06 pm

Vanessa Bryant, Kobe Bryant’s widow, won’t have to undergo psychiatric testing for her lawsuit over graphic photos of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed the basketball star, her 13-year-old daughter and others, a federal judge ruled Monday. | Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

Los Angeles County sought to compel psychiatric evaluations for Kobe Bryant’s widow and others to determine if they truly suffered emotional distress over photos of the crash scene and bodies that her lawsuit said were taken and shared by county sheriff’s deputies and firefighters.

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant’s widow won’t have to undergo psychiatric testing for her lawsuit over graphic photos of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed the basketball star, her 13-year-old daughter and others, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Los Angeles County sought to compel psychiatric evaluations for Vanessa Bryant and others to determine if they truly suffered emotional distress over photos of the crash scene and bodies that her lawsuit said were taken and shared by county sheriff’s deputies and firefighters.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick said that the county’s motion to compel an evaluation was untimely. Bryant’s invasion-of-privacy lawsuit is scheduled to begin in February.

Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna and seven others were killed Jan. 26, 2020, when the helicopter they were aboard, on their way to a girls basketball tournament, crashed in the hills west of Los Angeles amid foggy weather. Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the wreck.

Bryant’s lawsuit contends first responders, including firefighters and sheriff’s deputies, shared photographs of Kobe Bryant’s body with a bartender and passed around “gratuitous photos of the dead children, parents and coaches.”

Bryant, in a deposition, had said that “for the rest of my life I’m going to have to fear that these photographs of my husband and child will be leaked.”

The judge last week said the county sheriff and fire chief must give depositions in the case.

Attorneys for the county had argued that Bryant had never seen the photographs and they weren’t shared publicly and wanted to determine whether she truly had suffered emotional distress.

They had sought to require Bryant and other family members of the people who were killed in the crash, including children, to undergo psychiatric evaluations as independent medical examinations.

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Judge rules Vanessa Bryant won’t have to undergo mental examAssociated Presson November 2, 2021 at 3:06 pm Read More »