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‘Next Level Chef’ contestants brace for fusion challenge on Season 2 finale

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

Get those aprons on, because the final challenge is here for “Next Level Chef.” The Season 2 finale is Thursday, and the kitchens are on fire.Eighteen chefs started, but only three will compete. For this last episode, the mission is creating a fusion dish.Gordon Ramsay: “There’s a quarter million dollars on the line.”Yes, by tomorrow a “Next Level Chef” will go home with all that dough … and we mean cash, not cookie dough.Chef Richard Blais: “You gotta earn it. This is not Next Level Cooking.”The pressure is on in the two-hour-long Season 2 finale. The chefs that are left have to create a dish from each level of the kitchen.Chef Richard Blais: “Got to impress with the presentation.”Chef Richard Blais is one of the coaches, and even he’s on edge.Chef Richard Blais: “I kind of know what’s happening, and I’m as a viewer at home, like, Oh, my God, there’s only three seconds. You got to grab s...

Hundreds of US troops to arrive at the border as officials and migrants brace ‘for the unknown’ of Title 42’s expiration

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

(CNN) — Hundreds of US troops are set to begin a new mission along the southern border Wednesday as officials and a surge of migrants brace “for the unknown” after a Trump-era border restriction expires late Thursday.“We are preparing for the unknown because we don’t know who’s coming — whether it’s families, whether it’s single adults,” El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said. The mayor visited the neighboring city of Juarez, Mexico, earlier Wednesday and estimated that 5,000 to 10,000 people were waiting to cross the border.Laredo Mayor Victor Trevino told CNN Wednesday his southern Texas border city is preparing for the end of the pandemic-related restrictions as “if it’s a hurricane coming.” Laredo is expecting migrants to be transferred from overburdened processing centers in Brownsville and El Paso, Trevino said.US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, however, downplayed the migrant surge, telling repor...

Chicago White Sox CF Luis Robert Jr. begins May with an impressive display in the field and at the plate: ‘It’s just baseball’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

Luis Robert Jr. has showcased his ability to take away an extra-base hit with a tremendous catch.Against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday at the Great American Ball Park, the Chicago White Sox center fielder showed off his arm by doubling off a runner at first with a sensational throw after making a catch.The sequence came at a critical part, too, with the Sox leading by one run in the ninth inning. Reliever Reynaldo López followed the double play with a strikeout to preserve a 5-4 victory.“I didn’t think that the runner (Jake Fraley) would take such a huge lead because it was honestly a routine fly,” Robert said through an interpreter before Wednesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. “When I saw that, I thought ‘Let’s try it.’ I took advantage of it.“Nobody talks much about my arm strength, but that’s also because I feel like I don’t have a super arm.”Robert has been superb recently ...

Westford Academy nips Lincoln-Sudbury to improve to 13-0 in baseball

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

SUDBURY — Westford Academy’s perfect season is alive and well.James McDermott raced home with the winning run in the top of the seventh while Matt Morash fired five innings, allowing just one earned run, as Westford Academy picked up a key 3-2 baseball road win over Dual County League rival Lincoln-Sudbury on Wednesday afternoon.The Ghosts (13-0) have allowed more than two runs on just a pair of occasions this year.“We knew going into today it would be a battle so I am really proud of the way our guys competed throughout,” Westford coach Mike Parent said. “We left a lot of runners on base early and it could have been a frustrating loss but we kept reminding our guys it’s a seven-inning game and they stayed composed.”Westford held a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth but a Matthew Stango RBI groundout tied the score. After Morash departed, Nic Bonica entered and threw a perfect sixth inning, sending the game to the seventh all even, 2-2.In the dec...

Varsity Blues college admissions scam convictions of John Wilson, Gamal Abdelaziz reversed by US Appeals Court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

Two parents who had been convicted in the Varsity Blues college admissions cheating scandal scored a major win on Wednesday, as a federal appeals court reversed the high-profile convictions.The First Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the admissions scam convictions for former Staples exec and Massachusetts resident John Wilson, and for former senior gaming and hospitality exec Gamal Abdelaziz, of Las Vegas.Four years ago, Operation Varsity Blues led to federal charges against dozens of wealthy parents, including Hollywood stars Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. Those actresses, like many others charged in the bombshell case, pled guilty and spent time in prison.Wilson and Abdelaziz were the exception, fighting the charges and facing eventual convictions. On Wednesday, the federal convictions that were vacated were for mail and wire fraud, along with conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. Wilson’s conviction for filing a false tax return was upheld by the court.R...

Trump digs in on election lies during CNN town hall event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

By JILL COLVIN (Associated Press)Former President Donald Trump dug in on his lies about the 2020 election during a CNN town hall Wednesday that marked his return to the network just a day after a civil jury found him liable for sexually assaulting a woman nearly three decades ago.Trump, when pressed, repeatedly downplayed the violence on Jan. 6, 2021, the day his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a deadly insurrection, and continued to insist the election had been “rigged,” even though no evidence has ever emerged to support his claims. State and federal officials, his own staff and attorney general, and numerous courts found no evidence of mass fraud.Trump also said he was inclined to pardon “a large portion” of Jan. 6 defendants if he wins reelection, and refused to apologize to his former vice president, Mike Pence, who was targeted by the mob.“I don’t feel he was in any danger,” he said, adding that it was Pence, not himself, who &#...

Celtics undaunted by do-or-die Game 6 against 76ers: ‘Been there before’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

The Celtics were booed off their home floor. They were disappointed as they headed to their locker room.But the C’s weren’t sulking after their embarrassing Game 5 loss to the 76ers suddenly put their season in jeopardy. They’ve been here before. Last season, in the same exact spot in the second round, the Celtics lost a late lead to the Bucks and dropped Game 5, putting them in a 3-2 series hole.Of course, the rest is well-documented. The Celtics won Game 6 in Milwaukee, then Game 7 in Boston to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, they have to do it again. As frustrating as the Celtics may be, routinely putting themselves in unideal situations, they know what this moment requires as they enter Thursday night’s do-or-die Game 6 in Philadelphia.“The brutality of it. It’s a true dogfight, scratching and clawing, biting, blood, everything,” Marcus Smart said. “And if you’re not willing to pretty much get dirty, if you’re not willing to bleed, if you’re not ...

Georgia’s Smart says declining invitation for White House visit was not political

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia coach Kirby Smart insisted Wednesday there was no political motivation behind the decision for his national championship football team to decline an invitation to visit the White House in June.Instead, Smart says scheduling issues, including a youth camp in June at the Georgia football facility, made it impossible for the Bulldogs to accept the invitation to attend a June 12 event with other college teams at the White House. The event is described by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden as “College Athlete Day.”Smart told the Athens Banner-Herald on Wednesday the inability to accept the invitation is “a tough deal” and added, “Timeline-wise it didn’t work.”Smart, the former Alabama defensive coordinator, said he enjoyed making White House visits with the Crimson Tide, which he called educational opportunities for his players. He noted those visits usually were scheduled for January, immediately following the season, when players were still o...

Western Canada faces ‘extreme’ heat wave, with soaring temperatures raising fire risk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

A heat wave that’s expected to push daytime temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above seasonal norms is raising the wildfire risk in Alberta and British Columbia, where crews are already battling early-season blazes.The hot, dry conditions will prime forest fuels for ignition, said University of British Columbia weather and wildfire researcher Chris Rodell, who’s concerned that lightning could spark fires after a ridge of high pressure linked to the heat wave breaks down next week.As the heat eases, Rodell said he expects instability in the atmosphere could lead to thunderstorms and strengthen winds sometime Tuesday or Wednesday.The Alberta government declared a provincial state of emergency last weekend in response to fires that have forced thousands of people from their homes, and Rodell said the wildfire situation is also heating up in northeastern B.C.He said temperatures in some areas look poised to exceed seasonal norms by about 10 degrees, a magnitude he described as ex...

Connor Bedard: Get to know the likely Blackhawks No. 1 pick

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

CHICAGO — There have been few draft picks in the history of Chicago sports that have generated this much attention before they were even selected. Perhaps that's because it's rare that a team in the city has a prospect that so many have been discussing for so long. After all, the likely top selection in the NHL Draft has been on the minds of Blackhawks' fans for over a year since the team announced a full rebuild.Thanks to a stripped-down roster that shed NHL-level assets for draft capital, a bad 2022-2023 season, and some good old-fashioned luck, Connor Bedard (probably) is going to be a member of the Blackhawks. All that's left is the selection when they come on the clock with the first overall pick at the opening night of the 2023 NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.So who is this player that so many in Chicago had hoped would join the city's NHL team? Here's a quick look at his path from Western Canada to the "Windy City."(Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)Bedard ...