The latest survey by Rasmussen found that 25 percent of U.S. adults believed race relations were on the up, compared to a little more than four-in-ten (43 percent) who felt race relations were getting worse. When the same survey was conducted at the start of the year, Rasmussen found 30 percent of Americans believed race relations were improving, while 41 percent felt they were declining. In the new poll, it was also found that less than a quarter (23 percent) of U....

“I had respect for him before the game, but after the game I have no respect for him anymore,” Brown said, via the Dallas Morning News. “He’s a real character, and I actually saw it for myself (Sunday). I don’t got nothing to say about Steve Smith.” Brown continued: “Coming into the game they already told me what kind of player he was. But until you see it for yourself, then you’re just, ‘calm down,’ but it’s hard because he keeps yapping after every play....

The opening with Teheran led to the release last week of two Western hostages held by pro-Iranian militants in Lebanon. Thomas Sutherland, 60, a Scottish-born American educator, had been held since June 1985. British hostage negotiator Terry Waite, 52, was seized in January 1987, possibly because of his involvement in one of Oliver North’s harebrained schemes (following story). The release of Waite was a surprise to some, but it showed that the atmospherics between Teheran and the West are improving....

In the latest Quinnipiac poll, released Wednesday, Trump trailed Biden by seven percent with 44 percent of support from likely voters in the state, compared to Biden’s 51 percent. Four percent of respondents were undecided. The former vice president’s lead over his Republican opponent grew by 4 points since the last poll conducted by Quinnipiac in September, which had Biden at 50 percent and Trump at 47. The last survey was taken before the two candidates faced off in their first presidential debate and Trump’s coronavirus infection....

The pair had swum across the Krasheninnikov Bay off Vilyuchinsk, Kamchatka, before boarding the vessel, a statement from the press service of the Eastern Military District for the Pacific Fleet said, according to state media. “A female bear with a bear cub entered the pier zone on the deck of one of the nuclear submarines,” the statement said. The bears were believed to pose a risk to people and that as a result, an expert instructor “using specialized hunting weapons” shot both bears dead....

The woman—who has not been identified—was walking on Tennessee Beach in the Marin Headlands, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, on Tuesday when the animal bit her on the leg. In her account of the incident, told to park rangers, the animal was acting aggressively before it bit her, the East Bay Times reported on Friday. After being bitten, the woman walked nearly two miles to her car, before driving herself to a hospital where medical staff treated her minor injuries....

Despite netting two first-half goals, Middlesbrough’s defence failed to cope with a rampant Hull City front line at the KCOM Stadium, as Marco Silva’s side eased to a 4-2 victory. The result leaves Middlesbrough seven points adrift of safety with just eight fixtures remaining, and Agnew has acknowledged the scale of the challenge ahead. Defenceless: Liverpool still gifting goals “I am bitterly disappointed and everyone is,” Agnew told BBC Sport....

The trial’s jury was narrowed to 12 participants on November 3. However, prosecutor Linda Dunikoski noticed that the final panel only had one Black juror. Eight other potential Black jurors were previously interviewed, with Dunikoski arguing that the defense had them cut to create a biased panel. It is illegal for a jury pool to be selected or denied explicitly based on race or ethnicity. “We have a very clear selection process within the defense team, and the issue of race is not one of the factors,” replied attorney Laura Hogue when questioned about the selection....

The vanity plate is described as showing the old flag from the state of Georgia—out of use since 2001—that incorporates the Confederate battle flag. McMichael’s attorneys argued that using the photo of his plate as evidence is “not relevant and is prejudicial.” Court documents show the state asked the court on October 1 to deny McMichael’s defense team’s motion, arguing that the plates were on the defendant’s truck when Arbery was shot and killed and are thus permissible evidence....

UNICEF has programs throughout Africa addressing the needs of children. Visit the Web site unicef.org to make an Internet donation from any part of the world. UNICEF 3 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017 The Uganda Women’s Effort to Save Orphans (UWESO) provides job training and loans to Ugandan families fostering orphans. UWESO 2 Tagore Crescent, Kamwokya P.O. Box 8419 Kampala, Uganda (256-41) 532394 or 532395 uweso@imul.com

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez had ruled in July that the Air Force was “60% liable” for the attack because it failed to submit Devin Kelley’s assault conviction during his time in the Air Force to a national database, which could have prevented him from being able to purchase the gun used in the shooting, according to The Associated Press. The judge identified several survivors to receive between $5 and $6 million for the trauma they endured because of the attack, as well as millions more for medical bills and other costs, The San Antonio Express-News reported....

Friends Manika and Ashley run a popular TikTok account under the handle @bucketlistbestfrans, where they regularly share tips and tricks for fellow Airbnb hosts. This time, however, the pair have gone viral after encountering an unexpected situation. “When your housekeeper arrives to clean your Airbnb and she calls to tell you she thinks the guests changed the lockbox code,” they wrote. In the caption, they added: “Over the five years of hosting, guests never cease to amaze us....

ATA was part of the FedEx Teaming Arrangement, a group of airlines contracted by the military to transport troops and their families overseas. The Indianapolis Star reported on the circumstances of the local air carrier’s demise: Back on the home front, military families awaiting the return of their stranded loved ones are speaking out. The Hartford Courant has the story of one father who reached out to his old college roommate, Miramax Films co-founder Harvey Weinstein, for help:...

Olha Korol initially fled from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with her 4-month-old son, Severyn Korotniuk, and mother, Tanya, when Russian forces began attacking her country. She left behind family members, including her husband, Pasha, and father who stayed in Kyiv. According to United Nations estimates, Korol is among the roughly 2.8 million refugees fleeing the current crisis in Ukraine. “When I look out at Germany, I feel guilt that we can breathe,” Korol said....

Nobody will ever forget Musburger famously fawning over McCarron's girlfriend Katherine Webb during the 2012 National Championship game. His copious comments helped launch Webb's career in superstardom. SUPER BOWL: Super Bowl boulevard | Celebrity picks | Marijuana use at the Super Bowl? McCarron is in New York City for the Super Bowl working with AXE Hair For Men, and the former Crimson Tide quarterback took a funny shot at Musburger....

The 47-year-old will join the capital club from fellow Eredivisie side Utrecht on January 1, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal. Ten Hag worked alongside Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, where he coached the club’s reserve side, before returning to Netherlands to take charge at Utrecht. He worked as both coach and technical director and guided them to a fifth-place finish in his first season and guided them to a first KNVB Beker final in 12 years, where they lost to Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Feyenoord....

Last month, Akon visited Museveni (the country’s dictator since 1986) ostensibly to explore business and investment opportunities. President Museveni was quick to indulge in ceremony and appointed Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, as a special envoy for tourism and culture. Beyond diplomatic pomp, the dictator personally granted Akon one square mile of land to “build a futuristic city” powered by Akon’s own cryptocurrency Akoin. Some Ugandans asked why it was that local investors struggle to get similar opportunities from the same government....

Wednesday night, though, when Akron faces Ball State, the place will turn purple—the color associated with pancreatic cancer, in honor of Zips director of basketball operations Dan Peters.
Peters, 59, had surgery in December in an attempt to remove the cancerous tumor that was found on his pancreas. Doctors were unable to remove it. He told Akron Beacon Journal writer Marla Ridenour he has been given a 5 percent chance to survive....

Following clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound over the weekend, Monday’s hostilities erupted as Israelis prepared to mark Jerusalem Day, marking Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War. East Jerusalem has been at the center of violent clashes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as Palestinian residents in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood face evictions over Israeli settlers’ plans to take over properties in the area....

He has a talent–no, a virtuosity–for alarm, having pronounced our entire civilization ““dysfunctional.’’ Bill Clinton, too, is alarmed. His State of the Union Message–speaking of unregulated sprawl–advocated a ““Livability Agenda’’ to control growth. But Gore is the real revivalist of the aesthetic politics that blossomed in the 1950s, when liberalism began to look askance at middle-class America. He proposes $10 billion of ““Better America Bonds’’ to prod communities to enhance their ““livability’’ by planning ““smart growth,’’ particularly to preserve green space....