Time is money, and most people are looking to maximize theirs. Here are 25 ways. A quick Google search for "productivity" yields more articles than one person could possibly ever read containing tips, tricks, and hacks for making the most of your time. Workers today are so pressed for time that nothing is off limits when analyzing how it affects our workday, with everything from breakfast to lighting under scrutiny. Maximizing your productivity, however, isn't just about getting your habits in check or making your office comfortable. Other strategies, like timeboxing or making to-do lists , are helpful for getting more work done in the long term. Thinking about how your hours are spent and what tasks need to be done is fundamental to keeping your productivity up over time. As helpful as a pen-and-paper to-do list might be, applications designed to maximize your productivity can track your time and give sharper insights than ever. A large part of being productive is keeping your schedule in check, and using software designed to manage your calendar is an easy way to get more done during the workday. Productivity Apps to Maximize Your Time Lots of different applications offer assistance with productivity, but the following are especially good for managing your schedule and increasing your output in the long term: INC. TODAY'S MUST READS: 3 Reasons Turning Off Your Devices and Opening a Book Will Improve Your Productivity 1. Calendar Though nearly everyone today keeps a digital calendar of some kind, very few platforms offer features that analyze the calendar itself. Calendar allows you to take a look at how you spend your time and what you can do to improve your schedule. Calendar, which can be synced with Google Calendar, Microsoft Calendar, and several other calendar apps, gives simple, readable reports of meetings attended and people encountered. Its analytics tools let you look directly at places where your time might be better spent doing something else; they can also pinpoint activities that are taking up more time than they should. Calendar makes thinking about productivity easier by breaking down what's done via your daily schedule. 2. Any.do Any.do is the classic to-do list updated for the 21st century. Its crisp interface combines all of your tasks, reminders, lists, and appointments in one location. It also offers cross-platform support, letting you check your list from your phone, desktop, Echo, and more. Any.do also ensures good calendar support, allowing you to easily keep your checklist and your schedule in line with each other. 3. HubSpot Sales Tools HubSpot offers a suite of free timesaving tools designed to minimize the time spent tracking and recording potential leads. This includes everything from automated follow-up emails to automatic data entry to live chats on your site. HubSpot's Sales Tools help reduce the minutiae of managing customer relationships, which allows you to spend more time both accommodating current customers and finding new ones. By automating some of the less critical components of the lead-maintaining process, HubSpot's Sales Tools let long-term strategy and meaningful CRM take center stage over simple tasks. 4. Appointment Appointment does the heavy lifting when it comes to scheduling. Appointment's platform lets potential clients automatically book meetings with you using the times available in your calendar. By eliminating the time you or an admin assistant would spend taking calls and checking calendars, Appointment frees up space in your schedule to take on more important tasks. Appointment also offers in-depth reporting software, which can show how your calls are impacting your time, as well as your business and revenue. 5. Grammarly Grammarly is the easiest step you can take to improve your writing now. It automatically checks your work as you write, correcting not only grammatical mistakes, but also improving your phrasing and style. Grammarly can be installed as an extension for your web browser; it can then review everything from articles to emails to social media posts. Grammarly's in-line writing guide can save time in the editing process later on by doing the bulk of the editing as you write. Productivity Apps to Conquer the Most Mundane Tasks 6. Zapier Zapier is a great tool for saving time on small, oft-repeated tasks. It connects apps and lets you create custom automated workflows for things you might otherwise do manually. For example, you could create a simple tool using Zapier that downloads all email attachments to Dropbox or automatically sends certain data sets to Google Sheets. Zapier helps maximize productivity by eliminating time spent on mundane, thoughtless activities. This frees up time, which allows you to focus on more important and meaningful work during the day. 7. IFTTT In a tech landscape as fractured and varied as today's, IFTTT is essential for connecting all of your platforms. IFTTT allows you to create or download "applets," small, specialized programs for getting the little things done automatically. Popular applets can do everything from post your Instagram photos natively on Twitter to give you a morning weather report. IFTTT's expansive and customizable cross-platform capabilities give you the chance to automate whichever daily tasks take up too much of your time. 8. Sorc'd Sorc'd is a simple but powerful tool for keeping track of your research. It's a browser plugin that keeps an eye on any information you pull, automatically marking its source. Sorc'd also lets you collect "snippets" of information you like and store them in the cloud for future use. Another one of Sorc'd's great features is its capacity for sharing. Anything you find and take note of with Sorc'd can be easily shared with any other Sorc'd user or on social media. For keeping track of all of your various channels of information throughout the day, Sorc'd is invaluable. 9. 1Password 1Password's goal is simple: making logging in easy. Its features allow you to keep all of your usernames and passwords in one place, secured with 256-bit encryption. 1Password can also be deployed to your entire team or company, letting you share certain login information and keep track of who has access to what. Too much time is wasted on entering and reentering login info. Typical ways of saving time spent logging in -- making short passwords, keeping all of your passwords the same -- can compromise your security. 1Password lets you keep your accounts secure without going to the trouble of keeping track of all of your information. Productivity Apps for Team Collaboration 10. Slack Slack is a common fixture among modern businesses, and this is no accident. Its easy-to-use messaging service makes instant communication a breeze, and it makes creating groups as simple as a click or two. To help team members collaborate and resolve problems simply and instantly, Slack is a go-to platform. 11. Asana Team collaboration is at the heart of Asana's platform. Asana allows for the creation of projects or campaigns, which can be broken down into lists of individual action items. These lists are designed to be accessed by entire teams and can be given date and time constraints in order to get the scope of the project into view. The items on the list can have individual messages or entire chats associated with them, allowing for close collaboration on each component of the project itself. Asana keeps productivity high over the course of an entire project by ensuring the individual components of that project are done at the right time by the right people. Think of Asana as the Slack of to-do lists -- it allows for efficient communication about points and goals held in common by an entire team. 12. Trello Trello, like Asana, divides your larger goals into smaller tasks. Trello's interface, however, is somewhat simpler than Asana's, maximizing ease of use. You can also sync up your projects to your phone using the Trello app. While Asana is a great tool for tracking the detailed progress of a large project every step of the way, Trello is a better tool for checking the status of something on the fly. It gives a very readable look at the state of your project, giving you a sense of where things need to go in the future. Trello's friendly U.I. makes it a valuable piece of software for anyone who just needs a quick update on the state of things. 13. Jira Jira is a collaboration platform more focused on agile development teams. It contains all of the features modern collaboration software is expected to have -- like progress bars, task managers, and reporting capabilities -- while offering integration of popular developer tools like Bitbucket. Jira's tech-focused features make development collaboration simple and accessible. 14. CoSchedule CoSchedule handles the timing aspect of team collaboration. Its platform shares your team's schedule across the board, letting you know who's working on what when. Getting your whole team synced up so everyone's schedules are working together is impossible without some centralization. CoSchedule offers the necessary project management and tracking components to work as a general-use tool, but its focus on time tracking across your team makes it invaluable for making your office more productive. 15. Zoho Projects Zoho Projects is great for maintaining an in-depth understanding of where your project is in the development process. While Zoho has lots of user-friendly pages and features, its primary management page offers greater insights than most. Zoho Projects uses Gantt charts, which offer highly detailed accounts of what's going on and when. Zoho, which offers a mobile app as well, is a good tool for getting a visual understanding of your project. Whether you need to look at progress on the go or get a deeper understanding of the state of your work, Zoho has features to enable you to stay on the same page as your team. INC. TODAY'S MUST READS: 9 Lessons All Great Leaders Can Learn From Baseball 16. Wrike Wrike is a project management platform that puts usability first. It allows you to customize your homepage to focus on the aspects of project tracking that are most important to you. Wrike also includes features for integrating other tools, like Salesforce or Google Calendar, which lets you keep all the components of your management strategy in one place. Wrike's customizability cuts down on time wasted sorting through unnecessary features on other project management applications. By letting you select the metrics you want to track, Wrike makes it easy to keep your whole team on board with your goals. Productivity Apps to Work With Customers 17. Zendesk Zendesk contains a suite of tools designed to make it easier to work with customers at every stage of the service process. Its customer support tools make ticket-taking a seamless process, allowing for fluid communication with clients. Zendesk also offers call center software for managing larger customer service enterprises. For saving time on each aspect of customer service, Zendesk is a powerful tool. 18. CloudApp CloudApp is a visual communication tool designed for customer service. Its service allows you to chat with clients over video without a hitch. It also lets you share screens over video chat so customers can show you issues they're having -- or you can show them features you're working on -- with ease. CloudApp's user-friendly video application makes face-to-face customer communication simple and personal. 19. Drift Drift is a customer conversation tool that can be integrated directly with any site or webpage. It lets customers talk with an automated bot designed to engage potential clients. Drift's bots can also be customized so they deliver messages important to you and your business and can also direct prospects to humans for more complicated requests. Drift is a great tool for taking some of the load off early-stage lead engagement. By saving time on low-level client courtship, it allows workers to focus on larger-scale projects. 20. Hotjar Hotjar is a great tool for learning how people are engaging with your site. It offers click heatmaps indicating which aspects of a page users are most drawn to, and it can even record specific user experiences so you can observe individual case studies regarding how your site is used. Hotjar combines these tools with powerful analytics software, which lets you see the data side of user engagement. By reporting both specific interactions and aggregate numbers, Hotjar lets you get into users' minds and figure out how to make your product work for them. Productivity Apps to Increase Money 21. Harvest Harvest is designed to maximize time and eliminate inefficiency on a large scale. Harvest not only lets you schedule and time your own tasks, but it also allows for the compilation of an entire team's or organization's schedule data. By simplifying the data collection process, Harvest makes it easy to quickly figure out where time is being wasted and where productivity can be increased. Harvest also incorporates tools for budget tracking and invoicing in its platform, allowing time to be saved on the budgetary side of project management as well. Part of maximizing productivity is simply freeing up time for important work, and Harvest's big-picture lens is great for looking at how schedules can be improved. 22. Due Due makes invoicing easy. It allows you to send and receive payments online, and its Venmo-style Digital Wallet enables payments to be made from its mobile app. Its encryption features and fraud detection tools also ensure that all transactions happen safely and efficiently. By streamlining every aspect of the billing process, Due saves time typically wasted by hunting down and facilitating different outstanding payments. 23. Toggl Toggl is, at its core, a time-tracking application -- definitely valuable, but not necessarily something that increases profit. What makes Toggl different is that it tracks money as well as time. Toggl breaks down each of your hours by what you're spending it on -- meetings, projects, pitches -- to determine which activities produce the highest return. Knowing which tasks make the most money allows you to build your schedule around what's going to be best for you and your business's income. Toggl's easy-to-use tracking tools let you take the first step toward maximizing the money you make with your time. 24. FreshBooks FreshBooks is a great all-in-one application for both invoicing and accounting. If you're looking for a platform that lets you keep all of your money-related activities in one location, FreshBooks offers that capability. INC. TODAY'S MUST READS: American Airlines May Start Using Inferior Parts, Say Angry Employees FreshBooks also offers plenty of automation tools for organizing expenses, sending out invoices, and more. Its reliance on cloud technologies also allows you to access your accounts anywhere from any device. By putting all of your accounting needs into one app, FreshBooks makes keeping track of your money that much easier. 25. DocuSign Docusign eliminates the need for printing, faxing, and mailing when it comes to signing documents. Its secure platform allows any number of documents to be signed by any party safely and electronically. Switching to Docusign saves money -- not only in efficiency costs, but also in the amount of paper saved. Maximizing productivity can be done in numerous ways, but making the most of your time means finding the software that speaks the most to your needs. Tools that alleviate small tasks are important, but being more productive in the long term means tracking with calendar and planning tools. Productivity software can help you see the big picture of the work you're doing and home in on what's necessary to achieve your ultimate goals. Related video: How to create your true worth


The ripple effects of the 2016 and 2017 offseasons continue to impact the Heat, who invested substantially in Hassan Whiteside , Tyler Johnson , James Johnson , Dion Waiters and Kelly Olynyk during those two summers. While some of those players continued to provide Miami with positive contributions in 2018-19, none was full-time starters and three ranked outside the team's top eight in minutes per game. With their cap overrun by lucrative salaries for good   but not great   veterans, the Heat have had a tough time acquiring true impact players in recent years, and that lack of high-end talent has hurt them on the court. Despite having one of the NBA's deepest rosters   12 players started at least 10 games for Miami in 2018-19   the club has suffered from not having a star who can take over and close games. The result? A 39-43 record and a spot in the lottery this season, as the Heat missed the playoffs for the third time in five years since LeBron James ' departure. Here are five key questions facing the franchise this summer: 1. How much longer will Pat Riley be patient with this roster? It wasn't long ago that the Heat were perennial contenders for top free agents on the open market, but after missing out on Kevin Durant in 2016 and Gordon Hayward in 2017, team president Pat Riley decided to pull back. Riley's investments that summer in James Johnson, Waiters and Olynyk   all of whom received four-year contracts worth north of $11M per year   were a reflection of that adjusted philosophy. The Heat weren't giving up on the pursuit of star players entirely, but they didn't want to let their own contributors get away and figured re-signing them could open up trade opportunities down the road. The Heat have had the occasional opportunity to make a splash on the trade market since then   they were considered front-runners for Jimmy Butler at one point last fall   but those big contracts that could have been used for salary matching haven't been as team-friendly as Miami hoped. As a result, the Heat have been mostly locked in to their current roster, with swaps of bad contracts (like Tyler Johnson's for Ryan Anderson 's) representing the only real trades available to them. After a mediocre showing in 2018-19, it's hard to imagine Riley signing up for more of the same in 2019-20, so it'll be interesting to see how aggressively the Heat try to get out from under some of their pricier deals this summer. Whiteside, Anderson and Goran Dragic are entering contract years (assuming Whiteside and Dragic exercise their player options, as expected), which might make them easier to move. But it's not clear how many of Miami's veterans have positive trade value, so the club will have to extensively evaluate the risk and reward of any deal. 2. Should the Heat be willing to cut into their projected 2020 cap room with a trade? Riley spoke in February about 2020 being the Heat's "[cap] room year," suggesting that the team will once again be able to pursue top-end options on the free agent market next summer. That sounds good in theory, but there are two issues with the plan in practice. For one, it's not clear how much room the Heat will actually have available. Once options are accounted for, Miami projects to have nearly $72M on its books in 2020-21 for just six players. That's not bad, but it's certainly not enough for the two max slots that Riley predicted the Heat would have available. Even if the Heat don't add any multiyear money this offseason, they project to have just enough space for one max player. The more pressing concern for the Heat is that it's unclear which players they're expecting to target in 2020. Currently, that year's free agent class doesn't exactly look like a star-studded group   Anthony Davis is an impressive headliner, but if he gets traded to a preferred landing spot this summer, he may not even reach the open market. Other top options include Draymond Green , Kyle Lowry , and maybe guys like DeMar DeRozan and Andre Drummond if they turn down lucrative player options. Perhaps one of this year's elite free agents signs a one-year deal and returns to the market in 2020, or maybe a restricted free agent becomes available for the Heat. But it's risky to bank on either of those scenarios. That's why I don't think the Heat should be averse to the idea of adding a long-term salary to their books in a trade this summer. If the club can't necessarily count on making a big splash in free agency in 2020, sacrificing some of that projected space to acquire an impact player right now makes sense to me. Maybe the Heat won't be willing to take on a contract like Chris Paul 's, but a deal like Mike Conley 's would be more manageable and would put the Heat on track to have their "room year" in 2021, when virtually all their most expensive contracts expire. 3. Which Heat players are the most logical trade candidates? It seems inevitable that the Heat will make at least one trade this offseason, but identifying the player(s) most likely to be moved hinges on knowing what their priorities are. If they're committed to cutting payroll, Dragic, Johnson and Olynyk may be the best trade candidates on the roster   Dragic's contract is expiring, while Johnson and Olynyk should have decent enough trade value despite large cap hits. If the Heat remain committed to creating cap room for 2020, it might make more sense to hang on to Dragic and Whiteside unless they can be dealt for other expiring contracts. Instead of shopping those expiring deals, the Heat could focus on moving multiyear contracts like Johnson's and Waiters' in an effort to create more flexibility for the '20 offseason. While including a younger player like Josh Richardson , Justise Winslow or Bam Adebayo in a trade package would make it much easier for the Heat to dump salary and escape tax territory, I don't expect the club to go that route. Miami was reluctant to part with those players even when a star like Butler was available via trade   the team won't surrender them now just to improve its financial situation. 4. How will the Heat use the No. 13 overall pick? The Heat are never shy about trading their first-round picks and don't end up in the lottery too often, so the No. 13 selection in this year's draft represents a rare opportunity to add a young, controllable prospect to their core. The 2019 draft class isn't considered particularly strong, so the Heat probably shouldn't bet on a player like Donovan Mitchell (2017's No. 13 pick) falling to them. But there will be talented players available at the back end of the lottery, even if the best-case scenario at that point may realistically be a solid starter or valuable role player rather than future all-star. With few definitive long-term building blocks in place, Miami shouldn't have to worry much about positional overlap, so the franchise is in good position to go after the best prospect available. A handful of promising young forwards, including Rui Hachimura , PJ Washington and Brandon Clarke , are projected to come off the board in the back end of the lottery, and at least one should be on the board when Miami picks. If the team prefers a wing, Romeo Langford and Kevin Porter Jr. will be options. Tyler Herro may be a reach at No. 13, but his shooting stroke could intrigue a Heat team that ranked in the bottom third of the NBA in three-point percentage. Attaching this pick to an unwanted contract or two in a trade to cut costs is an option for the Heat, but I'd be surprised if the team went that route rather than simply taking the opportunity to add an inexpensive prospect to its roster. 5. What will the Heat do with Ryan Anderson? I glossed over Anderson in the section above on trade candidates, but he'd certainly fit the bill. The Heat would love to remove his $21.26M salary (guaranteed for $15.64M) from their books if they can. Given how Anderson's value has plummeted over the last year or two, though, I don't expect the Heat to get any offers they like for him. Assuming they're unwilling to attach an asset to grease the wheels on a potential deal, the Heat will have three options with Anderson   keep him, waive him or waive him using the stretch provision. Keeping him looks like the least likely scenario, since he'd receive an extra $5.6M+ in guaranteed money if he remains on the roster beyond July 10. Waiving and stretching him has its appeal, since it would reduce the club's 2019-20 payroll by more than $10M, which would be a big step toward getting out of the tax. Waiving Anderson without stretching him is another realistic path for the Heat, especially if they can get him to accept a modest buyout. That would allow the team to confine Anderson's cap hit to one season, avoiding having it cut into their projected cap space for 2020 (or 2021). For that to be a viable solution though, Miami will likely have shed salary elsewhere   otherwise, Anderson's substantial dead money in '19-20 could contribute to a problematic tax bill.


There was plenty of news across Connecticut on Tuesday. If you missed any of it on your local Patch, here's a roundup of some of the top stories. Boy, 9, Kidnapped In Theft Of Pickup Truck: Police A running pickup truck was stolen, with a 9-year-old inside, from a parking lot and the suspects ditched the boy at McDonald's. >>Read More. Miss America Competition Coming To CT The Miss America Organization decided to move the pageant from Atlantic City to Connecticut. >>Read More. CT Teens Have Starring Role In Soon To Be Released Movie The teen is in a band known as the "Dangerfields" as they embark on a musical journey through high school in a musical comedy .>>>Read More. Restaurateur Arrested on Fraud Charges The charges included aggravated identity theft, mail fraud, wire fraud, and credit card fraud, among others. >>Read More . Cop May Face Felony Larceny Charges: Report Two police officers were fired recently and one may face criminal charges. >>Read More. Bradley To Get $210 Million Overhaul The project will add parking, rental car services, and transit connections. >>Read More. Woman, 52, Arrested While Drinking At Teen Center: Police "Cheryl told officers she didn't realize the area was a teen center," police said in a statement. >>Read More. Lightning Strikes, Starts Fire At Private School Emergency crews responded after lightning struck a building at a private school. >>Read More. Other top stories: Firefighters Battle Lightning Strike Blaze Tattoo & Piercing Inks Body Art Business Success Story Man Burglarized 2 Homes On Same Street: Cops Police ID Body Found in Lake as CT Man Man Stabbed Family Member: Police Sikorsky Runway Expansion In The Works » Find Your Patch and more news of the day, including our most-read stories


In this week's 'Kids Who Make San Antonio Great,' we meet Samuel Cisneros, the eighth-grader who is showing his appreciation for law enforcement with 'A Break for the Blue.'


Benfica have confirmed they have received an offer from €126m from Atletico Madrid for wonderkid Joao Felix - though the bid has not yet been accepted. The 19-year-old is one of world football's most sought after young talents, and has been tracked by some of Europe's biggest clubs since bursting onto the scene in Portugal. He had been tipped to join either Manchester City or Real Madrid in a huge mega-money move, but it's Los Blancos' neighbourhood rivals Atletico who have surprisingly jumped to the head of the queue in recent weeks - as they prepare for life after Antoine Griezmann. Now, Benfica have confirmed that they have received a €126m offer from Atletico - which is currently being analysed by the Portuguese club, and has not yet been accepted - despite claims from Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano that a deal has already been finalised. Official and confirmed: Joao Felix is new Atlético Madrid player, here we go! €126M to Benfica, deal done 🔴⚪ #JoaoFelix #transfers #Atléti #AtleticoMadrid   Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 26, 2019 That figure is understood to be the release clause written into Felix's contract, but as the offer is not a straight up offer of cash - rather it is split down into instalments - Benfica are under no obligation to immediately accept the bid. This latest development follows news last week that Los Rojiblancos have already agreed a five-year contract with Felix, having been negotiating a deal since the start of June. In order to fund the move, Atletico are expected to part company with Griezmann - who is expected to finally join Barcelona on July 1 for a fee of £107m - alongside Rodri, who is nearing a €70m move to Premier League champions Manchester City. Atleti have already wrapped up the signing of Real Madrid's Marcos Llorente this week, and the addition of Felix will be viewed as somewhat of a coo for Diego Simeone's men, given the amount of interest in signing him from across Europe.


The Vancouver Canucks are set to sign another free agent forward, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the team is closing in on Micheal Ferland . Sportsnet colleague Rick Dhaliwal notes that the deal could be for four years. Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that the deal is for a total of $14M ($3.5M AAV). Ferland, 27, is the highest forward remaining on our Top 50 UFA list , coming in at No. 11 just ahead of Ryan Dzingel . His versatility and effectiveness over the last two seasons made him an attractive target for many teams, though it does seem as though his market was shrunk somewhat given how long it took for him to sign. A deal with Vancouver represents a return to the Pacific Division where he started his career with the Calgary Flames, and a reward for a ton of hard work to this point. Originally a fifth-round pick of the Flames in 2010, Ferland didn't catch on as a full-time NHL player until 2015 when he used his physical play to establish himself in Calgary's bottom-six. Within a few years he was playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan for long stretches on the top line, scoring 21 goals and 41 points in the 2017-18 season. That summer he was flipped to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the bigger Elias Lindholm   Dougie Hamilton deal, bringing a new dimension to their attack. In Carolina, he got off to a blistering start and was setting himself up for a huge payday this summer. Through his first 54 games he had 17 goals and looked like he was well on his way to a career-high. Unfortunately, Ferland didn't score a single goal in the 17 games after the trade deadline and was held to just a single assist in seven postseason contests. Dealing with various injuries, he finished the year with 40 points but is still a potential top-six add to a club like Vancouver. After showing that he could keep up with top players in Calgary, there's good reason to believe he might get the same opportunity with Vancouver. The team has Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson anchoring their top two lines, and Ferland could slide in on one of their wings to give them a little more physicality. The interesting thing will be where he fits in with relation to J.T. Miller , who is another big-bodied forward that can play either wing and add a little punch. The addition of Ferland though raises more questions with how the Vancouver roster will shake out after training camp. The team already had 13 forwards on one-way contracts plus Pettersson and Adam Gaudette on their entry-level deals. That's not even including restricted free agents Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin , at least the former of which will be assured a spot on opening day. There may be more moves coming for Vancouver, who have been looking for a landing spot for Loui Eriksson for some time and are set to pay him a hefty bonus on July 15 according to David Alter .


"Dustin Johnson's 2019 PGA Championship Friday Outfit" OFFICIAL SWEEPSTAKES RULES NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS PROMOTION. A purchase will not improve chances of winning. CONSUMER DISCLOSURE You have not yet won. OPEN ONLY TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES AND DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WHO ARE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD AS OF THE DATE OF ENTRY By entering this Promotion, entrants accept and agree to be bound by these Official Rules. Any violation of these rules may, at Sponsor's discretion, result in disqualification. All decisions of the judges regarding this Promotion are final and binding in all respects. 1.PROMOTION PERIOD. Promotion begins 7:00 PM ET on Tuesday May 14th and ends at 7:00 PM on Friday, May 17th when all entries must be received. 2.ELIGIBILITY. 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PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Any hopes of bail for the man who shot and killed a neighbor in Delaware County on Memorial Day Weekend, were dashed Friday, when a judge decided that man should stand trial on first-degree murder. The lawyer for John Ballas argued first-degree murder charges against his client should be thrown out, as this is self defense and -- at worst for Ballas -- third degree murder. Prosecutors argued it should be up to a jury, and the judge agreed, ordering Ballas to stand trial on all charges for shooting and killing Joe Iavarone. Bail is not allowed for anyone charged with first-degree murder. In the early morning hours of May 26, police were already on their way to the row homes on Bishop Drive in Chester Heights responding to calls for a man who was yelling and breaking things. The State Police corporal who got there first testified at Ballas' preliminary hearing, that Ballas was standing with his hands above his head, was cooperative, telling him he'd just shot a man and pointing out where where the gun was. The corporal said Ballas said he thought he shot him in the torso, but the only gunshot wound was to the top of Ivarone's head. Friends of Ivarone who were at the hearing say he was having personal problems. He'd recently quit his job a gym teacher and coach at Garnet Valley high school. And, while they say it isn't hard to imagine him getting of hand while drinking, he had a zest for life and didn't deserve to get shot and killed.


(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) On Friday, football will finally return for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home in its first preseason game of the year. The team has been working hard at training camp with a singular focus of improving on last season's performance. There are so many players we are anxious to see get on the field in live action but we narrowed our list down to the seven we are looking forward to the most. QB Devlin Hodges Pittsburgh's fourth quarterback has been drawing rave reviews in training camp for his live arm and quick reads. But if he really wants to push for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart, we want to see what Hodges can do in a live game situation. RB Benny Snell Jr. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) It's highly unlikely James Conner will play against the Bucs so we should get a heavy dose of Snell. The rookie comes to the Steelers after an incredibly productive college career at Kentucky and has the talent to supplant Jaylen Samuels as the team's No. 2 running back. TE Zach Gentry (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Of all the 2018 rookie class, the one with the easiest path to playing time but who doesn't seem to want it is Gentry. He runs like a wide receiver but his lack of physicality is a problem for a team who asks their tight ends to block. LB Ola Adeniyi (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) The hype train is full for Adeniyi and it's flying down the tracks. The second-year edge rusher had a big preseason last year before getting injured so we are hopeful Adeniyi can show out again this time around and stay healthy. LB Ulysees Gilbert III Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports Things have been pretty quiet for Gilbert in training camp so far. His speed has been evident but there hasn't been much talk about splash plays. Gilbert will need big performances in these preseason games to hold onto a spot on the 53-man roster. S Marcus Allen Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports To call the depth at safety questionable for Pittsburgh is being kind. After Sean Davis and Terrell Edmunds, there's no one to get excited about. The one guy who might be able to provide a spark at safety is Allen. He didn't get to show much of anything as a rookie because of injuries, but we really want to see if he brings that big-hitting style he showed at Penn State. K Chris Boswell Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports So far in camp, Boswell has been nearly perfect. But on Friday, we will see what happens when the kicks matter a bit more. Boswell is trying to come back from his worst season and become the weapon he has been in the past. MORE: NBA fans shouldn't be furious Kobe Bryant was named third team All-Decade Quick hits, observations from Packers' second joint practice with Texans Jared Cook sends the Saints defense reeling in play of the day 5 takeaways from the Raiders' first depth chart of 2019 season WATCH: Packers rookie OLB Rashan Gary whips Texans LT Matt Kalil


OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- The last few weeks have been an exercise in patience for Kansas. Shots haven't been falling, the offense hasn't looked good. The game has been a struggle. All of that changed against New Mexico State. Frank Mason III scored 17 points to lead a balanced attack, and the second-seeded Jayhawks rolled to a 75-56 victory over the No. 15 seed Aggies on Friday, giving their beleaguered Big 12 its first NCAA Tournament victory in four tries this March. RELATED: Tournament bracket "It was nice to see the lid come off the basket," said Kansas coach Bill Self, whose team had twice failed to hit a single 3-pointer in games during the last few weeks of the season. Perry Ellis added nine points for the Jayhawks (27-8), who are headed for a tantalizing matchup with seventh-seeded Wichita State in the Midwest Region's round of 32 on Sunday. The schools, separated by a couple hours of highway, have not played since 1993 because of the Jayhawks' stubborn refusal to schedule the Shockers. But they can't avoid the game now after Fred VanVleet led Wichita State to an 81-76 victory over No. 10 seed Indiana. "It would be a big game for our state," Self said, "without question." DK Eldridge had 11 points and Remi Barry and Tshilidzi Nephawa scored 10 each for the Aggies (23-11), who had swept the Western Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles. "We ran into the real Kansas," Aggies coach Marvin Menzies said. "I know they sputtered a little bit there toward the later part of the conference, the conference tournament. But I knew Bill would have his guys ready. I knew they wouldn't take us for granted." Especially after a stunning day of upsets Thursday, including an 0-3 mark from the Big 12. Kansas made sure to rob any drama from its opener at the CenturyLink Center, though. It shot holes in the Aggies' unorthodox zone, going 9 of 13 from behind the arc. It turned just about every turnover into a run-out. And the Jayhawks ran ragged New Mexico State's veteran starters, who had not allowed an opponent to score 70-plus points in their last 24 games. "It was very nice to see the ball go in the basket," Mason said. "It gave us confidence as the game went on. We're happy we knocked down shots." In fact, the rim played better defense against Kansas for much of the game. Ellis missed a dunk in the opening minutes. Mason and Landen Lucas each missed bunnies. Wayne Selden Jr. even got the ball on a fastbreak, elevated high above the rim and then realized he was going to come up short on a dunk, missing a desperation lay-in instead. Kelly Oubre Jr. clanked a dunk on an alley-oop pass off the iron early in the second half. All those easy misses didn't put the Jayhawks in danger, though. All they did was keep New Mexico State from an even more lopsided defeat in its fourth straight NCAA trip. Cold from beyond the arc late in the season, the Jayhawks heated up in front of a heavy pro-Kansas crowd. Ellis knocked down an early 3, Oubre added another, and Devonte' Graham hit consecutive 3s that gave the Big 12 regular-season champs a 34-16 lead late in the first half. The Aggies tried to make a run out of the locker room, trimming their deficit to 12 on a few occasions. But after Johnathan Wilkins's putback with 8 minutes to go made it 55-43, the Jayhawks went on an 11-2 run over the next couple of minutes that pushed the advantage past 20. "We just couldn't catch up," Barry said. Kansas coasted from there to its ninth straight win in an NCAA Tournament opener, and set up a game that many fans from the Sunflower State have been craving for years. "We're going to play a really good team that's very capable of having great success in the tournament," Self said, "very capable of beating us." GOING STREAKING The Aggies had won 13 straight games, the third-best mark in Division I. ... The Jayhawks improved to 5-0 in NCAA Tournament games in Omaha. ... New Mexico State has lost nine consecutive NCAA Tournament games dating to a win over Nebraska in 1993. TIP-INS New Mexico State: Menzies remained winless in 17 tries against ranked opponents. ... Aggies G Ian Baker was 1 for 10 from the field, 0 for 4 from the arc. He finished with four points. Kansas: Ellis, the Jayhawks' leading scorer, still appeared hobbled by a sprained right knee. ... Kansas won the national title in 2008 and reached the Final Four in 2012, the last two times it opened a tournament in Omaha. UP NEXT New Mexico State: Season over. Kansas: No. 7 seed Wichita State. Kansas: No. 7 seed Wichita State or No. 10 seed Indiana.


DoorDash is giving away free food from Monday, August 5 to Friday, August 9. The daily freebies include a slice of Ghirardelli cherry cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory , chips and salsa from Chipotle , a Frosty from Wendy's , an Original Pretzel from Auntie Anne's , and an Impossible Whopper from Burger King . The promotion celebrates the one-year anniversary of DashPass, DoorDash's subscription service, and is available only to DashPass subscribers. If you aren't a DashPass subscriber, you can sign up for a one-month free trial. Trial subscriptions can be canceled at any time. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . Ghirardelli cherry cheesecake, chips and salsa, and an Impossible Whopper are among the freebies you can get through DoorDash this week. From Monday, August 5 to Friday, August 9, DoorDash is giving away free food from The Cheesecake Factory, Chipotle, Wendy's, Auntie Anne's, and Burger King, the delivery service announced Monday. But there's a catch: You have to be subscribed to DashPass, DoorDash's subscription service, to access the freebies. DashPass costs $9.99 a month and offers DoorDash customers unlimited free delivery on orders of $12 or more from participating restaurants. Read more: These are the 21 ingredients that make an Impossible Burger look and taste like meat If the idea of spending $10 a month on delivery fees gives you cold feet, you can always sign up for a free one-month trial of DashPass, which comes with no strings attached. And if DashPass isn't to your liking, you can cancel your subscription anytime, including before or at the end of your free trial month. Here are the giveaways: Monday, August 5: use the code DASHPASS1 for a free a slice of Very Cherry Ghirardelli Chocolate Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory Tuesday, August 6: use the code DASHPASS2 for free chips and salsa from Chipotle Wednesday, August 7: use the code DASHPASS3 for a free medium Frosty from Wendy's Thursday, August 8: use the code DASHPASS4 for a free Original Pretzel from Auntie Anne's Friday, August 9: use the code DASHPASS5 for a free Impossible Whopper from Burger King


A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit in which a man alleged that Des Moines police officers violated his constitutional rights by detaining him and seizing his camera while he was filming in public. Charles Wolle, a senior U.S. district judge, ruled that protected activity was not the provocation for officers to seize Daniel Robbins' camera and phone after he recorded police department employees from the sidewalk behind the department's headquarters. After Robbins did that and declined to explain his purpose to officers, they had probable cause for a search and seizure, Wolle wrote. Robbins said he "was surrounded, detained and threatened with arrest" on May 10, 2018, when he recorded a Des Moines Police Department employee illegally parked in front of a "no parking" sign outside the police station. He argued in the lawsuit that the officers violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution and that the city failed to properly train the officers on what his rights are when recording police. He named the city and police officers Brad Youngblut, Joseph Leo and Christopher Curtis as defendants. "Robbins' actions in photographing police cars outside the station created reasonable suspicion among the officers that he was engaging in criminal activity," Wolle wrote, adding that Robbins was given "ample opportunity to allay the officers' suspicion." Because Robbins' rights were not violated, the police under the law are immune from such a lawsuit, Wolle said. Gary Dickey, an attorney at Dickey & Campbell who is representing Robbins, declined to comment on Wolle's ruling because Robbins plans to appeal. A Des Moines police spokesman also cited the likelihood of an appeal in declining to comment on the ruling or the outcome of an internal investigation of the confrontation. Robbins, a radio producer and journalist, alleged in the lawsuit that he was standing on East Second Street when he saw a police employee leave the police station, get into an illegally parked vehicle and drive away. Robbins began recording what he saw on his phone, the lawsuit states. A recording of the stop that appears to include video from Robbins' phone and from officers' body cameras was published on YouTube on July 5. While filming, Robbins crossed the street to stand on the sidewalk nearest to the police station. At that point, Youngblut approached Robbins in a vehicle and asked what he was doing and told him he was being "a little suspicious" because he was taking pictures of officers' personal vehicles. Other officers, including Curtis and Leo, approached Robbins and asked what he was doing. He said, "I'm taking pictures because it is perfectly legal for me to be taking pictures." Robbins declined to give his name or produce an ID when asked. Police took Robbins' Samsung Galaxy phone and a Canon camera, stopped his recording, then patted him down and searched his pockets. After several minutes, police let him go without citing him or arresting him. Robbins says police told him he was trespassing at the police headquarters. Michelle Mackel-Wiederanders, assistant city attorney for the city of Des Moines, had argued in court documents that Robbins was "uncooperative and evasive" after Youngblut explained the department's concerns about recent car thefts. This behavior further raised suspicions, she wrote. "A reasonable officer, under the totality of the circumstances, would believe he had probable cause to seize this camera to investigate whether Mr. Robbins was engaged in criminal activity related to vehicles," she wrote. Mackel-Wiederanders also argued that, even though Robbins may have the constitutional right to videotape law enforcement, such behavior could still be considered suspicious: " What was not articulated to Mr. Robbins is the awareness of Detective Youngblut about previous stalking-type activities very similar, taking videos and monitoring activities of officers, that led to the murder of a Des Moines Police Department Officer, Anthony Beminio and an Urbandale Police Officer, Justin Martin ." Those high-profile killings took place in November 2016. Anna Spoerre covers crime and courts for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached by email at aspoerre@dmreg.com , by phone at 515-284-8387 or on Twitter at @annaspoerre . This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Judge dismisses lawsuit claiming Des Moines police wrongly detained man with camera


Video by GeoBeats President Donald Trump has picked acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan to fully take over the top spot at the Pentagon. Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, needs Senate confirmation now that he is being nominated to the role previously held by James Mattis. Shanahan would come to the role with no experience either in the military or in foreign policy, except for his work in the Trump administration. WASHINGTON   President Donald Trump plans to nominate acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan to formally take over the top spot at the Pentagon, the president's spokeswoman said Thursday. Shanahan needs Senate confirmation for the post most recently held by James Mattis. "Based upon his outstanding service to the Country and his demonstrated ability, President Trump intends to nominated Patrick M. Shanahan to be the Secretary fo Defense," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote in a tweet. "Acting Secretary Shanahan has proven over the last several months that he is beyond qualified to lead the Department of Defense, and he will continue to do an excellent job," Sanders wrote. Shanahan would come to the role with no experience either in the military or in foreign policy, except for his work in the Trump administration. His views on America's role in the world have been shaped by his decades in the private sector . Before coming to the Pentagon, Shanahan spent just over 30 years at Boeing, where he oversaw the management of profit and loss for the 737, 747, 767, 777 and 787 programs. In 2017, he left the aerospace giant to become the 33rd deputy secretary of Defense, a role that oversees the Pentagon's colossal $700 billion budget. The nomination follows the end of a month-long ethics investigation into Shanahan, conducted by the Defense Department's inspector general. The IG's office examined whether Shanahan had taken any actions in his official capacity to benefit Boeing, and it ultimately determined that he had not. Shanahan ascended to the acting role in the wake of Mattis' shocking resignation in December . In his resignation letter, Mattis said that disagreements with the president about America's treatment of both allies and strategic competitors came from beliefs that "are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues." Mattis, a revered Marine with a military career spanning four decades, was known for his battlefield prowess and kinship with rank-and-file service members. Before he became Trump's Defense secretary, the four-star general led the U.S. Central Command, the combatant command responsible for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In contrast, Shanahan, if confirmed by the Senate, may head the largest federal agency with limited experience in defense and foreign policy. However, he is by no means the first Trump appointee to take his cues from the business world and apply them to foreign policy. Trump himself lacked experience in government, and campaigned on running Washington based on the lessons he learned leading the Trump Organization and promoted as a reality show host on "The Apprentice." Trump's first secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, entered the public sector after serving as CEO of Exxon Mobil. But despite Tillerson's efforts to streamline the State Department, Trump pushed him out and would later reportedly say he was "dumb as a rock and I couldn't get rid of him fast enough." And yet, Shanahan's entrance into the Pentagon comes at a particularly tumultuous time. The unpredictable Trump administration has pulled the United States back from global commitments and pushed forward on ambitious projects like the denuclearization of North Korea, a U.S. troop draw down in the Middle East, and a growing military footprint on the southwest border with Mexico. This story is developing. Please check back for updates.


The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series returns for a Thursday night showdown on dirt in this season's edition of the Eldora Dirt Derby at Eldora Speedway, the half-mile clay oval in Rossburg, Ohio. Before heading into Thursday's 150-lap shootout (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), take a look at some key information. RELATED: Full schedule for Eldora QUALIFYING PROCEDURES There are five qualifying races for the Eldora main event, and lineups will be determined by speeds from Wednesday's two practice sessions. The top five trucks based on the combined practice speeds will start on the pole position for their respective qualifying races. The top five finishing trucks from each qualifying race will transfer to the 150-lap main event. QUALIFYING RACES The qualifying races begin Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Each race is 10 laps, and five trucks from each qualifying race will transfer to the feature. Those that don't advance to the feature will race in the Last Chance Race later Thursday evening. Caution laps do not count toward that 10-lap total. Pit road will remain closed during caution laps and there will be a free pass throughout. There will be no overtime and if the leader received the white flag at the start/finish line under green condition but they yellow flag is displayed, the race will not be restarted. RELATED: Eldora entry list LAST CHANCE RACE The Last Chance Race is 15 laps, and all of the above rules still apply. The lineup for the Last Chance Race is set based on finishing positions from the qualifying races. The top two finishers of the Last Chance Race will transfer to the 150-lap race (positions 26 and 27). The 28-32 starting positions will be set by the provisional rules outlined in the NGOTS Rule Book. RULES PACKAGE The Eldora Dirt Derby will be 150 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 40 and Stage 2 ending on Lap 90. HOW ELDORA RACE LINEUP IS DETERMINED STARTING SPOT HOW DETERMINED 1 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #1 2 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #2 3 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #3 4 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #4 5 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #5 6 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #1 7 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #2 8 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #3 9 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #4 10 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #5 11 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #1 12 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #2 13 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #3 14 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #4 15 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #5 16 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #1 17 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #2 18 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #3 19 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #4 20 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #5 21 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #1 22 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #2 23 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #3 24 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #4 25 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #5 26 Top finisher in Last Chance 27 Second finisher in Last Chance 28 Owner points 29 Owner points 30 Owner points 31 Owner points 32 Past series champion/owner points GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series will use Goodyear Eagle Dirt Bias Ply tires at Eldora. Each team will get four sets for the event. This is a new tire set-up for the Gander Trucks compared to the 2018 race. The left and right-side tires features a tread compound designed to introduce more wear. There are three significant differences between this tire and ones that are used on an asphalt surface: 1. The tires are bias ply instead of radials. They are more compliant with the irregularities of the dirt. 2. The tires have a block-style tread pattern with leading edges to bite into the dirt and help move it. It's not a smooth tread. 3. The left-side tire is significantly shorter to create more stagger between the left and right. Teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Eldora. STATS • Matt Crafton (2017) and Chase Briscoe (2018) are the only two drivers on the entry list with a win on the dirt track • The most cautions in this race was 13 for 61 laps in 2015 • The fewest cautions during the Eldora Dirt Derby is six • Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton are tied for the most starts at Eldora (six) • Of the six races run at Eldora in NGOTS history, there have been six different pole winners from six different teams 2018 RACE WINNER Chase Briscoe won the Eldora Dirt Derby in 2018, marking the first win for a Ford at the dirt track. He started third and led 54 laps. There were nine cautions for 41 laps and seven lead changes. Briscoe will be competing again this year with hopes of winning back-to-back races. ]]>


Here it is, the disruption, just as George Gankas predicted . Last fall, the SoCal, SoChill swing whisperer to the stars promised that his prized pupil, Matthew Wolff, wasn't in the midst of some college hot streak that would soon flame out. This right here was the game's next force, and the next marketable superstar, even though Wolff was just 19 at the time, only a two-time winner for Oklahoma State and the owner of a funky swing that immediately recalled Jim Furyk ... if Furyk had ball speed approaching 190 mph. Wolff was a local legend and an Instagram sensation, but Gankas still foresaw more   much more. "I know for a fact that he's going to change the world of golf," Gankas woofed. "People are going to lose their minds." Yep, chaos ensued after just three summer starts. Wolff's magical week in Minnesota started with the third-round 62 to vault into a share of the lead at the inaugural 3M Open. Then there was the self-assured talk in the press tent, about how he knew   already, seven rounds into his pro career   that he belonged out on Tour and didn't need to change anything. And then, of course, there was the fearless and flawless play down the stretch during a Sunday 65 at TPC Twin Cities: The three back-nine birdies to keep pace with a hard-charging Collin Morikawa, then the 26-foot eagle putt from the collar to deny Bryson DeChambeau and claim the landscape-altering victory. "I've changed forever, I guess," Wolff said afterward . So has the PGA Tour, at least in the short term, with Wolff becoming the second-youngest Tour winner in the modern era (behind only Jordan Spieth, who was 19 when he won the 2013 John Deere) and automatically earning status through the 2020-21 season, along with assorted other goodies, like entry into the FedExCup Playoffs and an invitation to next year's Masters. Even without Tiger or Brooks or any of the other narrative-shapers of this golf season at the top of the leaderboard, the 3M will long be remembered as Wolff's coming-out party, as the site of the initial disruption. In the past two months he's won the NCAA Championship at Blessings Golf Club, a brutally difficult track, by five shots. He's earned the Haskins Award as the nation's top player, after winning six times in 11 events while playing the country's most difficult schedule. He's been billed as the next great one, with the marketing potential of fellow OSU star Rickie Fowler, and accordingly he was courted by management agencies and equipment sponsors and apparel companies, all of whom backed up the Brink's truck to secure his services. It's hard to remember a more anticipated summer debut than Wolff's, and yet all of the hype was justified with his highlight-reel performance in Minnesota. On Sunday night the WolffPack was growing by the minute, but 4,000 miles away his college coach, Alan Bratton, was still processing what happened. He's off recruiting in Chantilly, France, so he spent much of the evening unsuccessfully trying to follow the final-round action. For hours he bounced back and forth between featured-group coverage, social-media updates, Shot Tracker and a FaceTime conversation with his wife, Gretchen, being alerted to the final outcome not via replay but rather by the torrent of text messages. "How good is that?" Bratton said by phone Sunday night. But neither Bratton nor the staunchest Wolff supporters could have envisioned so much so quickly   after all, Tiger Woods needed five Tour events to capture his first of 81 titles   and Wolff himself admitted that he was rattled by the shakiness of his game in his early action as a pro. But Bratton certainly knew that his former stud was capable. He'd seen glimpses of greatness for two years. How in the fall Wolff would carry his driver 300-plus but hit 80 percent of the fairways. ("It's like walking around with a video game.") How Wolff generated the most vertical force ever measured on a Cal State Fullerton biomechanist's Swing Catalyst. How he always shined brightest in the big moments, whether it was draining the clinching putt for the 2018 NCAA team title or shooting 10 under at nationals to blow away the best field in amateur golf or, now, burying an instantly memorable eagle putt on the 72 nd hole at the 3M Open. Oklahoma State assistant coach Donnie Darr texted Wolff on Sunday morning, hours before Wolff was set to go off in the final pairing for the first time. The message wasn't about strategy or a swing pointer. It was a reminder that Wolff's sublime form transcended his competition: "No one in the field has won more than you have in the past year." And then Wolff played like it, carrying that same swagger from the first tee all the way to the 18 th green, where he finally broke down in tears, knowing that his life had changed forever. Just like that, he was a starry winner. And a millionaire. And a trending topic on Twitter. Just like that, Gankas' boasts were validated. "If he plays like I know he can play," he had said last fall, "like, oh s---, he's going to be such a huge disruptor." Consider this the first disturbance, then, with plenty more to come.


Hong Kong police on Saturday said they had uncovered a makeshift factory producing high-powered explosives alongside pro-independence leaflets, a discovery which comes as the city is rocked by unprecedented political protests. Police said they swooped on an industrial building in the district of Tsuen Wan on Friday evening and arrested a 27-year-old man. "We are dealing with a homemade laboratory for the manufacture of high explosive, specifically TATP," Superintendent Alick McWhirter, a bomb squad specialist, told reporters on Saturday. "This is an extremely sensitive and an extremely powerful high explosive. It will cause exceptional amounts of damage when used," he added. TATP requires skill to manufacture but has been used in a number of major terror attacks, including the 2005 London suicide bombings and the recent deadly Easter attacks on hotels and churches in Sri Lanka earlier this year. McWhirter said his team had carried out at least one controlled explosion and expected to do more because the TATP they had discovered was volatile. Items also displayed by police after the raid included a T-shirt with the logo of the Hong Kong National Front, a pro-independence group, as well as leaflets related to huge anti-government protests currently engulfing the international finance hub. The Hong Kong National Front, a small fringe group, released a statement on Facebook saying the man arrested was a member but added it had no knowledge of any explosives. In November 2017, two members of a fringe independent group were found guilty of making explosives and were jailed. Slideshow by photo services Under the 1997 handover deal with the British, China promised to allow Hong Kong to keep key liberties such as its independent judiciary and freedom of speech. But many say that 50-year deal is already being curtailed, citing the disappearance into mainland custody of dissident booksellers, the disqualification of prominent politicians and the jailing of democracy protest leaders. Authorities have also resisted calls for the city's leader to be directly elected by the people. A small number of pro-independence groups have since emerged but they remain fringe elements with little popular support.


With the Falcons front office focusing its efforts on star wide receiver Julio Jones at the moment, it stands to reason that contract negotiations for other key players would take a temporary backseat. But once the Jones situation is resolved, Atlanta could turn its attention to an extension for tight end Austin Hooper , who became a reliable target for Matt Ryan in 2018 en route to his first Pro Bowl bid. Now that Hooper has completed his third year in the league, he is eligible for a new contract. And since the Stanford product was a third-round selection, he cannot be kept under club control via the fifth-year option, so he will become an unrestricted free agent next year if he and the Falcons do not agree to an extension before then. The market for tight ends has not taken off in the same way that the markets for edge-rushers and quarterbacks have, so it would behoove the Falcons to commit a relatively small percentage of their cap space to a rising player who could be a fixture on the offense for years to come. Two of the best tight ends in the league, Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz , are making less than $10M per season, and even Rob Gronkowski was unable to crack the eight-figure barrier before his retirement. The Bears gave Trey Burton a four-year, $32M pact last offseason based largely on Burton's upside rather than his production to that point in his career, so it may take a little more than that for the Falcons to keep Hooper. Given the ever-rising salary cap, though, that does not seem like too steep of a price to pay. Hooper lasted until the third round of the 2016 draft due to concerns about his hands and route-running, but he has largely quieted those concerns over his first three years in the league. And while his receiving ability is going to be what gets him the payday he's seeking, he was an above-average performer in terms of run-blocking and pass-blocking last year, per Pro Football Focus' metrics. Advanced analytics from PFF and Football Outsiders still peg Hooper as more of a solid player than an elite one, but his trajectory is quite promising just the same. And when a club extends a player, it often makes sense to pay for trajectory rather than past performance. In 2018, Hooper caught 71 passes   on 88 targets, for a league-best 81 percent catch rate   for 660 yards and four touchdowns. He may never become the threat that Kelce and Ertz are, but the Falcons don't necessarily need that. They need a dependable outlet for Ryan who catches passes that are thrown his way, who can create mismatches over the middle of the field and who can make defenses pay for focusing their attention on other players (like Jones). Hooper represents all of those things, and he should only get better. A five-year, $42.5M pact with $20M or so in guarantees seems to make sense for both sides.


PARIS   The Latest on the French Open (all times local): ___ 7:40 p.m. In keeping with the trend of the top women's players losing a set in their first-round matches at the French Open, defending champion Simona Halep overcame a mid-match lapse in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over 47th-ranked Ajla Tomljanovic. Top-ranked Naomi Osaka was also pushed to three sets in the preceding match on Court Philippe Chatrier, as was Serena Williams a day earlier. ___ 4:50 p.m. Naomi Osaka dug herself out of a hole at the French Open and kept her bid alive for a third consecutive Grand Slam title. Coming back from a disastrous first set, the U.S. Open and Australian Open champion beat 90th-ranked Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 0-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 to advance to the second round. The opening set was only the second time in 13 major tournaments that the top-ranked Osaka has been on the losing end of a 6-0 score. The first was at Wimbledon in 2017. Lacking accuracy early on the chilly Court Philippe Chatrier, Osaka donned a long-sleeve shirt for the second set and then broke Schmiedlova to love and served four aces in winning the first three games. Schmiedlova and Osaka traded second-set breaks to get to the tiebreaker, where the Japanese player excelled. The third set went quickly. __ 3:30 p.m. Another French Open, another five-setter for No. 5 seed Alexander Zverev, who barely avoided blowing a big lead against John Millman. Zverev struggled on a breezy and occasionally drizzly afternoon in the first round at Roland Garros before edging Millman 7-6 (4), 6-3, 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in 4 hours, 8 minutes. A year ago in Paris, Zverev needed to win three consecutive matches that went the full five sets to get to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. He was shaky in the middle of the match against Millman, who upset Roger Federer at the 2018 U.S. Open. Summed up Zverev, who had 57 winners and 73 unforced errors: "I'm through   and that's all that matters." ___ 2:40 p.m. Two-time major doubles champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares are done at the French Open   and done as a duo. Murray, the older brother of Andy Murray, and Soares discussed the decision to end their time as a team after losing their opening match as the No. 2 seeds at Roland Garros. They were beaten by Lorenzo Sonego and Matteo Berrettini of Italy 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4). Jamie Murray and Soares began playing together in 2016 and won the Australian Open and U.S. Open that year. They finish with 10 titles as a pair. Murray called it "a great partnership; there's no disputing that." He said it was his choice to part ways and that he "just felt now's the right time to change it up." Soares said he respects Murray's decision and would not "take it personal." ___ 1:30 p.m. In his first Grand Slam match since fracturing his right kneecap, Juan Martin del Potro advanced to the second round of the French Open by beating 75th-ranked Nicolas Jarry 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 through wind and bits of rain. Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion and the runner-up there last year, started poorly in chilly conditions on Court Suzanne Lenglen. He was broken in his first service game by a forehand volley from Jarry at the net. The Argentine, ranked No. 9, then took control, saving a break point in the second set and another in the fourth before serving out the win. The frequently-injured del Potro was a semifinalist at Roland Garros last year. ___ 11 a.m. Naomi Osaka's bid for a third consecutive Grand Slam title finally gets started on Day 3 of the French Open. The No. 1-seeded Osaka never has been past the third round in three previous appearances at Roland Garros. She carries a 14-match winning streak at majors into Tuesday. The Japanese star plays 90th-ranked Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the second match on the Court Philippe Chatrier. Osaka won the U.S. Open last September and then the Australian Open in January. Also in first-round action are 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro and No. 5 seed Alexander Zverev. A quarterfinalist last year in Paris, Zverev plays John Millman in the first match on Chatrier. Del Potro plays Nicolas Jarry on Court Suzanne Lenglen. ___ More AP tennis coverage: https://www.apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports


As a crowd gathered Friday near Bruton Road and St. Augustine Drive in Pleasant Grove, the song "Amazing Grace" filled the air. It's a familiar song and a spiritual that has become all too familiar at recent vigils for murder victims in the city of Dallas. "Heavenly father we come to you, first asking for forgiveness," a woman prayed. Members of the crowd held balloons to release into the air in memory of the more than 40 victims who have been killed in Dallas since the month of May. Many of them were concerned residents, family members, and friends of 13-year-old Malik Tyler, the teen was shot and killed while walking home from the store this week. "We got kids that's hurting out here," said Amanda Davis of OGU: Powered by Urban Specialists, a group whose mission is to stop senseless violence. "I mean, they are losing their friends." The group formed a prayer circle around a large group of children during the vigil. For them, the circle was a symbol of protection, since the city's seeing victims of violent crimes getting younger and younger. "We're standing before you today to say enough is enough," Dallas Police Chief Reneé Hall said during a press conference. The dramatic spike in murder and violent crimes across the City of Dallas now has the Dallas Police Department partnering with Dallas Sheriff's Office, Dallas District Attorney's Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the U.S. Attorney's Office. They will be targeting eight of the city's highest crime areas. The chief of police will not identify the hot spots, but some residents believe areas near some of the recent deadly shootings are among those areas. 'I mean it hits home," Davis said. While many residents welcome the increased police presence, Amanda Davis said officers can't tackle the crime alone. "We can't point the finger at them because they are trying to do their job," Davis said. "It's the community's time to step in and help them." At the end of the day, neighbors said they want safe streets. They do not want "Amazing Grace" setting the tone of another tragedy.


The women who make up the USWNT are very close. In fact, they call themselves the "22 best friends." Defensive midfielder Julie Ertz had all of those friends on the field throughout the 2019 World Cup in France, plus an extra best friend in the stands   her husband Zach, who plays tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles. Members of the USWNT appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday in celebration of its World Cup victory, and host Michael Strahan mentioned Julie Ertz's biggest fan. "It meant the world truly to have him there," Ertz told Strahan. "We call each other 22 best friends and he's my plus-one best friend, so to have him there meant the absolute world." WORLD COUPLES: USWNT stars and their athlete significant others Zach Ertz isn't shy about the love and pride he feels for his two-time World Cup champion wife. He supports her both on the sidelines and on social media. WORLD FREAKING CHAMPS!!!!! SO PROUD OF YOU  @julieertz !!! pic.twitter.com/NOoqOK3gha   Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) July 7, 2019 A freaking BALLER and her husband pic.twitter.com/SCfkFqgyDe   Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) June 28, 2019 JOY Through It All pic.twitter.com/xzAWRHzeoJ   Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) June 21, 2019 The internet fell in love with this couple when a video of Julie finding out that Zach was Super Bowl 52-bound went viral in 2018. Julie Ertz and the USWNT beat Denmark while Zach and the Eagles were playing the Vikings in the NFC championship game. Afterwards, Julie found out there were two reasons to celebrate, and she was overcome with emotion. As soon as the whistle blew here in San Diego, we had some good news for @julieertz ... @ZERTZ_86 & the @Eagles are heading to the @SuperBowl ! pic.twitter.com/dI5MvG53VR   U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) January 22, 2018 The power couple met at a baseball game in college. Julie played soccer at Santa Clara University, while Zach was on the football team at Stanford. The couple wed in 2017.


RENO, Nev.   Lawyers for a three-time murderer who has been on Nevada's death row for 34 years are asking a jury to spare his life and order him to spend the rest of his years in prison after a federal appeals court overturned his original death sentence. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld 67-year-old Tracy Petrocelli's conviction two years ago in the 1982 killing of a Reno car salesman, months after Petrocelli killed his girlfriend in Seattle. But it ordered a new sentencing hearing that resumed in Reno on Friday after finding his rights were violated during the penalty phase of his trial. "You will be tasked with a responsibility of deciding whether or not a man lives or dies," public defender Jaclyn Millsap told the jury during opening arguments. "I will ask you not to sign this man's death sentence. This 67-year-old man is not the same man that he was 30 years ago at the time he committed these crimes," she said Thursday. Washoe District Judge Egan Walker said the new jury in Reno can choose between three sentences   death, life in prison with or without the possibility of a parole. But Millsap said they won't ask for the possibility of parole. "We would not stand before you and ask to sentence him to a sentence that would allow him to ever be freed," she said. Prosecutors want the jury to reorder Petrocelli's execution after the San Francisco-based appellate court ruled that he should have been read his Miranda rights when he thought he was speaking confidentially to a psychiatrist who later testified for the prosecution at his 1982 trial. It said the jury that sentenced him to death may have been unjustly influenced by testimony that Petrocelli was a dangerous, incurable psychopath. That testimony won't be allowed at the resentencing hearing expected to last three weeks. Petrocelli was arrested in Las Vegas in 1982 for the shooting of James Wilson during a test drive north of Reno near Pyramid Lake in March 1982. Petrocelli said the shooting was accidental. He said he was driving a Volkswagen pickup with Wilson when the two argued about the sale price and Wilson twice tried to grab the steering wheel. Petrocelli said he then pulled out a gun and as they struggled, the gun went off. He said he didn't know what to do, so he buried Wilson's body near the lake. Petrocelli also was convicted of kidnapping and fatally shooting girlfriend Melanie Barker in the Seattle area in late 1981, and in 2008 he was convicted of murder in the 1981 shooting of 30-year-old Dennis Gibson, whose body was found near Barstow, California. Washoe County Deputy District Attorney Luke Prengaman said the other murders aren't part of the resentencing but serve as aggravating factors in Nevada. "There are no mitigating circumstances that could be presented to you in this case that outweigh those," Prengaman told the jury, adding that Wilson's family has been forever hurt by his death. "Not only was there an impact on that family when the murder occurred, but there has continued to this day to be an impact on that family   an unfortunate legacy   because of what the defendant did," he said. Millsap countered that Petrocelli is much older now, suffers from serious health ailments and has been a model prisoner for 37 years. She said he was "much younger, more reckless and more careless" when convicted. "You'll come to learn he's capable of change, that he's conducted himself appropriately and has accomplished compliance and good behavior," she said.


Einstein the parrot likes to visit the duck statues that stand in the corner of the bathroom. The duck's names were inspired by Einstein when he made up the saying, "Quack Crazy", as can be seen in this video, https://rumble.com/v73a3x-this-parrot-is-quack-crazy.html. The one on the left is named Quack, the one on the right is named, Crazy. First, he gives them a friendly wave, then Einstein's owner asks Einstein to give Crazy a kiss. Einstein turns to the duck and gives it 3 kisses! Then Einstein puts his foot on the duck to give it a hug. Einstein understood what his owner was telling him and he chose to give kisses. He is not trained to do this and there was no food reward offered. This demonstrates that parrots are capable of cognitive understanding. Einstein the Talking Texan Parrot is a silly, smart, and popular parrot who loves to talk and entertain! He knows the names of several animals and likes to make their sounds. In addition to his silly vocalizations, he likes to have conversations with his owners, talking, doing animal sound imitations and acting silly. He also enjoys singing and dancing in some of his video compilations. With his amazing talking abilities and funny antics, Einstein the talking parrot's videos will keep you entertained for hours! Einstein parrot is also famous for some of his silly quotes and sayings. Online, Einstein, the talking parrot is popular across many social media platforms. Einstein's favorite places to talk at home is perched on the shower wall, in the kitchen on his drawer, and on his screened in back porch. As stated on his website, Einstein's mission statement: "To entertain and bring joy, to foster the human-parrot bond, and to convey that parrots are deserving of immeasurable amounts of patience, nurturing, and companionship." Einstein's website, einsteinparrot.com is designed to inform you about the care of parrots and also entertain you. As previously mentioned, Einstein is popular on many social media sites such as YouTube @einsteinparrot, Instagram @einsteinparrot, Twitter @einsteinparrot, and Facebook @einsteintexanparrot. Living with a parrot is a big commitment. Parrots live a very long time. A parrot such as Einstein can live to be 50 or 60 years old. Many larger parrots like Macaws can live to be 100 years old. They all require a lot of care, proper nutrition, training, time and patience. Parrots need a lot of attention and lots of toys and activities to keep from being bored. Parrots are also expensive, a large cage is an investment and plenty of play perches to spend their out of cage time. Specialized veterinarian care is also required. Most of all they require your companionship and a forever home. Many people decide after the first few years of parrot ownership that the responsibility is too great and the parrots become neglected and sometimes abandoned. When that happens they are sent to parrot rescue facilities to be adopted by a new family or some spend their lives in sanctuaries. It is often said, "Having a parrot is much like raising a 2 or 3 year old child for the rest of your life!"


Interested in adopting a pet   or just taking a peek at some precious puppies near you? There are dozens of deserving puppies up for adoption at animal shelters in and around Mesa. Animal shelters work hard to care for unhoused pets and connect them to loving homes. Hoodline used data from Petfinder to power this roundup of puppies currently available for adoption. (Details like pet availability, training, vaccinations and other features are based on data provided by Petfinder and may be subject to change; contact the shelter for the latest information.) Rusty, Labrador retriever mix Rusty is a male Labrador retriever puppy being cared for at Follow Your Heart Animal Rescue . Read more about Rusty on Petfinder . Goomba, Labrador retriever mix Goomba is a male Labrador retriever puppy being cared for at Follow Your Heart Animal Rescue . He has all his shots. Read more about Goomba on Petfinder . Peach, Labrador retriever mix Peach is a female Labrador retriever puppy in the care of Follow Your Heart Animal Rescue . Peach is vaccinated. Read more about Peach on Petfinder . Timmy, Labrador retriever mix Timmy is a male Labrador retriever puppy currently residing at Follow Your Heart Animal Rescue . He has all his shots. Apply to adopt Timmy today at Petfinder . This story was created automatically using local animal shelter data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Joe Douglas has decided to beef up the Jets' offensive line depth yet again. New York acquired OL Alex Lewis from the Baltimore Ravens on Monday in exchange for a conditional 2020 seventh-round pick, according to the New York Daily News' Manish Mehta . The Jets will inherit Lewis' contract, which has one year left with a $2.025 million base salary. Earlier Monday, Lewis took to his Instagram account to say goodbye to the Ravens organization. He said he was released, but that was before the report of the trade broke. "Thank you to the Baltimore Ravens for drafting me back in 2016 and giving me an opportunity to play in the NFL," Lewis wrote on Instagram . "It has been a memorable three years. Appreciate all my teammates and coaches I have met along the way. Loved the atmosphere of Baltimore and the amazing fans that supported us! Unfortunately, I was released today. Thank you Baltimore! 'As one door closes another opens.'" Lewis began training camp on the PUP list after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. Baltimore tested the waters and was able to pry a draft pick from Douglas, who still has contacts in the building; Douglas was a Ravens scout from 2000-2014. New York did not want to allow Lewis to hit the open market. Lewis started 10 games for the Ravens at left guard last season after missing the entire 2017 season due to shoulder surgery. He has played just 18 career games in a career filled with injuries. With two moves in the past week, Douglas has ensured that the Jets' offensive line depth is no longer a cause for concern. Lewis will back up Kelechi Osemele, and Jordan Morgan's case for making the team becomes all the more difficult. MORE: 'Bachelor in Paradise' 2019 cast guide: Meet all 37 contestants 5 takeaways from the Raiders' first depth chart of 2019 season Quick hits, observations from Packers' first joint practice with Texans Roundup: Dow Plunges; Lindsay Lohan; Hannah Brown Speaks Out; Ryen Russillo Leaving ESPN Mack Wilson and Sione Takitaki make a great odd couple as rookie Browns LBs


Chris Boswell has spent the past four seasons with the Steelers, but his tenure in Pittsburgh could be coming to an end. In his 53-man roster predictions, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic writes that the veteran kicker isn't a shoo-in to make the team. The 2014 undrafted free agent out of Rice had stops with the Texans and Giants before joining the Steelers in 2015. Boswell quickly became a mainstay of the Steelers' special teams unit, appearing in 58 regular-season games over the past four years. The 28-year-old was more than solid during his first three years with Pittsburgh, including a 2017 campaign during which he earned a Pro Bowl nod. However, Boswell struggled mightily in 2018. The kicker connected on only 65 percent of his field-goal attempts, and he also converted a subpar 89.6 percent of his extra-point chances. The front office reworked Boswell's contract back in May, delaying his $2M bonus until after the club's final preseason game. (The kicker was originally set to collect the bonus in March.) This buys the Steelers some extra time as they evaluate the position, while Boswell gets a chance at redemption. If the Steelers do decide to move on from Boswell, the team could turn to Central Florida rookie Matthew Wright . However, Kaboly says it's more likely that the team pursues whichever free agent is cut loose during the preseason. While there are question marks surrounding the Steelers' kicker, the rest of their special teams unit seems set. Kaboly writes that punter Jordan Berry and long snapper Kameron Canaday are "secure."


Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert 's no stranger to offseason updates about his health and he gave one regarding the state of his ankle on Tuesday. Eifert broke his ankle four games into the 2018 season and had surgery to deal with the injury a short time later. He said that he's close to being up to speed on the field. "I'm doing pretty much everything ," Eifert said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer . "There's a couple things here and there but for the most part it's all doing everything with the guys." Eifert, who signed a one-year deal to stay in town this offseason, is also working on getting up to speed on the offense being installed by new head coach Zac Taylor. He hopes to have it down by camp so he "can go out there and play fast." It would be all the better if he can do that for something close to a full season for the first time since 2015.