by Jay Cohen LAKE FOREST, Ill.  — Caleb Williams and Drake Maye have known each other for years. They were part of the same draft class, and they grew up going to the same football camps. Maye’s mobility, Williams said, always has been a weapon for him. “We’ve got to be able to bottle him up,” he said. Maye leads the New England Patriots into Soldier Field on Thursday night to take on Williams and the Chicago Bears in a matchup of two of the NFL’s top young quarterbacks. Both Maye and Williams have a big right arm, but they…

by Ian Harrison TORONTO (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points in his return to Toronto, Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley also had 23 apiece and the Raptors routed the Chicago Bulls 135-92 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams. RJ Barrett added 20 points and Ja’Kobe Walter had 10 for the Raptors, who never trailed. Leonard shot 5 for 17, including 2 of 6 from 3-point range, but went 11 for 11 at the free-throw line. The two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year had four of Toronto’s 15 steals before checking out with 8:12 remaining…

by Heather Hollingsworth The Trump administration moved Wednesday to end its legal fight to overhaul a popular student loan forgiveness program. The Department of Justice appealed after federal judges ruled in June in favor of advocates who said the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program risked becoming a tool for political retribution. But it dropped two appeals Wednesday in single-sentence joint agreements, which stipulated that each side would pay its own fees. Federal officials provided no explanation, but advocates praised the ruling. “The Trump administration’s attempt to weaponize public service loan forgiveness against organizations it disagrees with was anti-democratic and unlawful…

by The Associated Press VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV got good news from his doctors: The pontiff will need no further treatment for lung cancer after follow-up tests confirmed the disease was localized, the Vatican said in a statement Wednesday. Leo, 71, had the lower lobe of his right lung removed last week in the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate. The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. Leo was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic on Saturday, four days after surgery, and said he would gradually resume his activities. The pope’s…

by Kyle Hightower FOXBOROUGH, Mass.  — New England Patriots safety Kevin Byard doesn’t have any hard feelings about the two seasons he spent with the Chicago Bears. But this week he is trying to think of any tips to help his new team walk out of Thursday’s night matchup in Chicago with a victory against his former team. “I’m giving the coaches and the players as much as I can, you know what I mean?” Byard said with a smile on Tuesday. “Obviously, I am not there anymore, and I don’t have all my notes and stuff like that. But…

by Patrick Whittle LEWISTON, Maine  — Maine Republican Susan Collins has promoted her reputation as one of the most independent U.S. senators and she is using the waning days of the election season to sell that message to voters by campaigning with a former Democratic colleague who has endorsed her. Collins is trying to fend off a challenge from Democrat Troy Jackson, a onetime state Senate president, and on Wednesday she made appearances with Joe Manchin, a West Virginian who became an independent late in his career before retiring. After stopping for breakfast at Simones’ Hot Dog Stand in Lewiston,…

by Ope Adetayo LAGOS, Nigeria  — African health ministers were invited Wednesday to an “extraordinary virtual meeting” to discuss the spread of Ebola after Nigeria reported its first case of the disease that has claimed thousands of lives and has spread rapidly since an outbreak began in Congo in May. Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the Oct. 28 meeting would “strengthen our collective response.” On Tuesday, Nigeria reported its first case, linked to a traveler from Uganda who arrived in the country earlier this month. Uganda, which declared itself Ebola-free…

By Emeka Obasi I lost interest in the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) the moment Danladi Umar displayed the attributes of Street Urchins at an Abuja plaza in in 2021. Now, my attention is back following the style of Dr. Mainasara Ibrahim Umar Kogo, the groundnut eating Chairman. Kogo succeeded Danladi after President Bola Tinubu nominated him in July  2024. It took the National Judicial Council (NJC) nearly a year to do the normal recommendations before the jurist was sworn in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere – Ekun. Since the nation abandoned Agriculture for oil, our economy…

by Lindsay Whitehurst The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow the Trump administration to immediately enforce new medical restrictions for transgender people in prison. The decision leaves in place a lower-court block on the policy. It was adopted after an executive order from President Trump, who’s taken several steps to roll back transgender rights during his second term. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas would have allowed the policy to be enforced. The Supreme Court has previously allowed other policies for transgender people to move ahead for now, including restrictions on military serviceand passport sex markers. Trump’s order called…

by Ope Adetayo LAGOS, Nigeria  — Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case in its capital, Abuja, on Tuesday after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive for the virus, the Health Ministry said. The woman began showing symptoms on Oct. 7 and was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja on Oct. 11, where she was later diagnosed with Ebola. It is unclear when she arrived in Nigeria. Health Minister Muhammad Pate said authorities had begun tracing 44 people identified as contacts of the patient. “We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the…