Justin Bieber, pending COVID recovery, leads wave of pop stars coming to Seattle - The Seattle Times

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Justin Bieber, pending COVID recovery, leads wave of pop stars coming to Seattle  The Seattle Times
Justin Bieber, pending COVID recovery, leads wave of pop stars coming to Seattle - The Seattle Times
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Pending federal passenger rail study likely to include southern Montana route - KPAX-TV

MISSOULA - Nearly two years after setting out to restore passenger rail service across southern Montana, the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority likes its momentum and believes it has done the legwork to position itself for inclusion in a pending study, and potential funding down the road.

Board president and Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier spent last week in Washington, D.C., where he met with both Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines, along with the Federal Railroad Administration and other transportation officials.

Strohmaier said the routes of both the North Coast Hiawatha and Pioneer will likely be included in the Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study that’s set to go out for bid in the coming weeks.

The Pioneer route once connected Salt Lake City to Seattle, with stops in Pocatello, Boise and Portland.

“I’ve been in discussions with Federal Railroad Administration staff concerning the … study called for in Section 22214 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and they said that it’s clear, based on their reading of the statute, that the North Coast Hiawatha is among the routes Congress is directing FRA to study for restoration, as is the Pioneer route,” Strohmaier said.

Inclusion in the study would mark a significant step forward in the region’s push to restore passenger service across Montana’s most populated tier, along with surrounding regions with connections to both the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.

The study will provide a foundational look at what will be needed to restore specific passenger routes that have been discontinued. The North Coast Hiawatha ended service in the 1970s, though much has changed in Montana since then, including a growing population base and several thriving cities along the old southern route.

Sens. Tester and John Wicker, R-Mississippi, sponsored the language directing the U.S. Department of Transportation to complete the nationwide study of discontinued, long-distance routes, such as the North Coast Hiawatha. They also worked to include $15 million in the infrastructure bill to do so.

“We’re talking about taking a hard look and deep dive at what it will take to bring back specific routes, and which routes are most likely to succeed,” Strohmaier said. “All the work we’ve done at the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority to catalyze this effort over the past year-and-a-half is being recognized by the highest levels of the Department of Transportation. We’re well poised in coming out of the study.”

The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority in October unveiled a preliminary report, which found that restoring the southern Amtrak route across Montana and six other states would generate more than $270 million in economic benefits.

At the same time, bringing back the North Coast Hiawatha would cost Amtrak around $68 million a year to operate. The route could expect more than 420,000 annual passengers.

According to the report’s findings, restoring the route also would bring service to roughly 47 stops across seven states ranging from Washington to Illinois. The benefits to the counties served by those stops would aggregate to around $70 million annually and generate nearly $5 million in visitor spending.

The next step, Strohmaier said, is to move on the findings of the pending transportation study.

“It’s not yet another study that will collect dust on a shelf,” he said. “There are real dollars in the bipartisan infrastructure law to actually make the improvements on the ground to facilitate the return of passenger rail in our region.”

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1 pending free agent Chargers should target: AFC South Edition - Yahoo Sports

The Chargers are set to enter free agency with the most salary cap available since Tom Telesco took over as general manager in 2013.

Even though the franchise has some in-house players that will need to get paid, there’s a great chance that Telesco and company will be aggressive in signing other soon-to-be free agents to bolster its roster.

With that being said, we are going to list one pending free agent from each team in the NFL that could be a realistic target for L.A.

Next up is the AFC South.

This is a league where you can’t have too many pass rushers, and the Chargers are currently thin at the position. Appearing in every game for the third consecutive season, Muhammad finished the 2021 season with career highs with 47 tackles, 37 pressures, 12 quarterback hits, and six sacks. The 6-foot-4 and 250 pounder would be a fine piece to Los Angeles’ pass-rush rotation, and it wouldn’t cost them much, either.

WR D.J. Chark, Jaguars

Mike Williams’ future with the Chargers looms, but even if he is back, the team is lacking one element at the position: speed. Before fracturing his ankle that limited him to four games in 2021, Chark compiled 126 receptions, 1,714 receiving yards, and 13 touchdowns across the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The 6-foot-3 and 198 pounder has more than ideal size coupled with the “see you later” speed and athleticism that the offense could greatly benefit from.

Among the many positions that the Chargers need to address is safety. Behind Derwin James and Nasir Adderley, Alohi Gilman and Mark Webb both dealt with injuries that kept them out for a great while of time this past season. After flourishing in his rookie and sophomore seasons, Reid took a step back the past two seasons after being in a bad situation schematically and dealing with a sudden rift between Reid and David Culley, Houston’s interim head coach in 2021. Nonetheless, Reid’s skillset is perfect for Brandon Staley’s defense, as he’s capable of lining up all over the field, with the ability to run with receivers or tight ends and the football IQ to identify route concepts and make plays at the catch point.

RB D’Onta Foreman, Titans

The Chargers need to find a running mate to Austin Ekeler in the worst way, and Foreman has the resume to be that guy. Foreman took full advantage of an expanded role when Derrick Henry was injured in 2021, carrying 133 times for 566 yards (4.3-yard average) and three touchdowns, and he crossed the 100-yard mark three times. Further, he showed capable as a pass-catcher, reeling in nine of 10 targets for 123 yards (13.7 yards per catch).

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5 non-pending free agents who may have played their last game with Bengals - Yahoo Sports

After a trip to the Super Bowl, the roster turnover for the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason isn’t going to look nearly as dramatic as the two years that paved the way for the run.

The Bengals still figure to be big spenders in free agency again and will have their usual array of draft picks. With a big list of their own free agents, too, it’s still safe to expect the standard roster turnover, at least.

Part of that roster turnover could be letting guys go via release or trade, whether it’s now or during final cuts over the summer.

Going into the offseason, here are the Bengals players who aren’t free agents — but who might’ve played their last game with the team, anyway.

C Trey Hopkins

Syndication: The Enquirer

This author is personally a huge fan of Hopkins. He’s an amazing story, having overcome serious injuries and being undrafted to earning a starting gig. And he got better all season after coming back early from a knee injury. Improve the guards around him…and he’s probably even better. But it’s hard to ignore the fact cutting him would free up roughly $6 million, so if they find a replacement and want to spend that cap elsewhere, it could happen.

RB Samaje Perine

David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

No, this doesn’t have anything to do with the controversial Super Bowl play — that was on the coaches. This is merely a numbers game. Rookie Chris Evans is a safe bet as the No. 2 next year and they already have guys like Trayveon Williams, never mind if they draft another late-rounder.

OT Isaiah Prince

Syndication: The Enquirer

Prince did the best he could starting in place of Riley Reiff. But he might fall victim to the numbers game this offseason if the Bengals don’t like what the film shows after comparing it with what they think of his upside. The Bengals have tweener guys who can play inside and outside (Jackson Carman and Hakeem Adeniji, for example) and figure to add tackles in free agency and the draft.

TE Thaddeus Moss

(AP Photo/Zach Bolinger)

It feels like a lock the team will bring back free agent C.J. Uzomah for multiple reasons. They’ll want to get more athletic at the spot too, which could mean a free agent or draftee. That could leave Moss on the outs, as he’ just hasn’t been able to break through to main rosters often. And yes, don’t forget Rob Gronkowski said he’d love to play with Joe Burrow.

CB Trae Waynes

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Waynes is the posterboy for this sort of idea. After signing a three-year deal worth $42 million two offseasons ago, he’s appeared in just five games, missing all of 2020 and being sporadically available this year. With Eli Apple playing well and more help on the way via free agency and/or the draft, it’s a no-brainer for the Bengals to save roughly $10 million by making this cut.

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Pomerantz Law Firm Notifies Investors of eHealth, Inc. of a Pending Lawsuit and Lead Plaintiff Deadline of March 18, 2022 - Longview News-Journal

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Pomerantz Law Firm Notifies Investors of eHealth, Inc. of a Pending Lawsuit and Lead Plaintiff Deadline of March 18, 2022  Longview News-Journal
Pomerantz Law Firm Notifies Investors of eHealth, Inc. of a Pending Lawsuit and Lead Plaintiff Deadline of March 18, 2022 - Longview News-Journal
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Report: Rams' Odell Beckham Jr. Could Receive Injury Protection Pending Arbitration - Bleacher Report

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

As he heads for free agency, Odell Beckham Jr.'s knee injury is casting a cloud over what kind of contract he'll receive on the open market. Should he be unable to play entirely in 2022, the three-time Pro Bowler might still collect a paycheck nonetheless.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported the NFL and NFL Players Association are currently in arbitration over whether players in Beckham's situation are eligible for injury protection:

"Ordinarily, a player with an expiring contract is not eligible for injury protection. Beckham signed a one-year deal with the Rams after being released, at his request, by the Browns. However, there’s an unresolved question that would be relevant to Beckham. When he suffered the injury, he technically had a contract with future years remaining. Yes, those future years were a device for spreading cap money and will automatically disappear. Still, at the time he tore his ACL, Beckham had a contract beyond 2021."

Should the arbitrator rule in favor of the players' union, Beckham would receive $1.12 million in injury protection. The decision would also have consequences for others around the league.

Brad Spielberger, Esq. @PFF_Brad

This arbitration ruling will have a major impact on how void years are utilized. Players should have additional benefits for helping their clubs with salary cap relief via dummy years. <br><br>Duane Brown negotiated this protection into his re-worked deal before 2021 <a href="https://t.co/jeunQhG5Jf">https://t.co/jeunQhG5Jf</a>

The MMQB's Albert Breer reported Feb. 14 the Los Angeles Rams were concerned Beckham suffered a torn ACL in their Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Prior to the injury, the 29-year-old rebuilt a lot of the value he had lost during his two-and-a-half years with the Cleveland Browns. He caught 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight regular-season games with L.A. and was excellent (21 catches, 288 yards and two touchdowns) in the playoffs.

Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson reported in January he could command around $11 million or $12 million annually on his next contract. On the eve of the Super Bowl, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported the Rams "are very optimistic" about re-signing him.

The timing of his knee injury throws Beckham's availability for the 2022 season into doubt, though. Even if he doesn't miss the whole year, he'll be in a race against the clock to return to 100 percent in time for Week 1.

Even if he hadn't gotten hurt, signing a one-year deal with the Rams or another team was arguably Beckham's best move. He could've parlayed another strong season into a bigger payday in 2023.

Now, it's difficult to envision a team being willing to put a short-term contract on the table if he can't play all 17 games.

Gaining injury protection could provide Beckham with a form of leverage in negotiations this offseason. If he doesn't like what's on offer, he can point to the $1.12 million waiting for him and explain he's willing to sit out 2022 before reevaluating the free-agency landscape in 2023.

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Judge makes ruling in a pending sexual misconduct case - 953mnc.com

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Three former St. Joseph High School-South Bend volleyball players are accusing a former coach of sexual misconduct.

But a special judge in the case has ruled that in the interest of transparency, the three plaintiffs will have to reveal their identities. That’s unless there is some overriding reason for confidentiality, and no such reason seems to exist in this case. All three are now said to be over the age of 18, according to WNDU.

The judge writes that the girls allege receiving obscene and unsolicited electronic messages, and did not partake in any intimate behavior that would recommend anonymity. An amended complaint with their names would need to be filed by March 12.

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Judge makes ruling in a pending sexual misconduct case - 953mnc.com
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