KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns, Travis Kelce hauled in one of them to the delight of Taylor Swift, and the Kansas City Chiefs blew out the inept Chicago Bears 41-10 on Sunday.

Jerick McKinnon had a pair of touchdown catches and Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire added touchdown runs, helping the Super Bowl champion Chiefs (2-1) deal the Bears (0-3) their 13th consecutive loss dating to last season.

Kelce finished with seven catches for 69 yards and the 3-yard score, which made it 41-0 early in the second half. The All-Pro tight end celebrated by revving the engine of an imaginary motorcycle while Swift, whom Kelce had invited amid rumors of their budding relationship, joyfully pounded the glass of her Arrowhead Stadium suite and his mother, Donna Kelce, cheered alongside.

The game was so lopsided by the third quarter that Mahomes and most of the Chiefs' starters got the rest of the day off.

Embattled Bears quarterback Justin Fields was 11 of 22 for 99 yards with an interception and a meaningless touchdown in the final minutes. He also led the Bears with 47 yards rushing, a good chunk of that coming on a 17-yard scramble, as the league's 27th-ranked offense finished with just 203 yards against one of the NFL's fast-improving defenses.

It was a brutal end to a dismal week of distractions for Chicago.

In the span of a few hours Wednesday, defensive coordinator Alan Williams abruptly resigned, citing the need “to take care of my health and family,” and Fields had to walk back some comments he made blaming his “robotic” play through the first two weeks on the way he had been coached.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus was left to call defensive plays Sunday, just as he did in last weekend's loss to Tampa Bay, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid proceeded to make the former Indianapolis Colts coordinator look utterly lost.

The Chiefs began their assault with the first of Mahomes' two TD passes to McKinnon, then Edwards-Helaire scored from a yard out to make it 14-0 early in the second quarter. When the Bears punted a third consecutive time, Mahomes hit McKinnon again to extend the lead, and Kansas City proceeded to score on its next four possessions.

As for Fields, well, the QB was not just robotic but inaccurate. When one of the league's most porous offensive lines wasn't allowing the Chiefs to pressure him, Fields was consistently missing open targets down field.

He was picked off by Mike Edwards late in the first half, leading to Pacheco's touchdown run. And when Harrison Butker added the second of his two field goals, the Chiefs were able to take a 34-0 lead into the break.

STATS AND STREAKS

The Bears have not won in Kansas City since Week 5 of the 2015 season. ... Reid won his 271st game, moving him past Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry into fourth place on the career list. ... Mahomes went over 25,000 yards passing for his career. He did it in 83 games, the fastest in NFL history. ... Mahomes had his 22nd game with three TD passes and no interceptions, tying Aaron Rodgers for the most by a QB before turning 30. Mahomes turned 28 last Sunday. ... Kelce needs three more TD catches to pass Tony Gonzalez (76) for second in Chiefs history.

INJURIES

Bears: Starting safety Eddie Jackson was inactive with a foot injury and cornerback Josh Blackwell was dealing with a hamstring injury, all before cornerback Tyrique Stevenson had to be evaluated for a concussion; he later was deemed to have an illness and did not return. Defensive backs Jaquan Brisker and Jaylon Johnson also were hobbled during the game.

UP NEXT

Bears: Host the Denver Broncos next Sunday.

Chiefs: Visit the New York Jets next Sunday night.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — De’Von Achane could hear the crowd at Hard Rock Stadium chanting “Three more points!” on Miami’s final drive. The Dolphins had the ball inside the Denver Broncos’ 30 with less than a minute left, and they were three points shy of breaking the NFL’s single-game scoring record.

Instead of sending out his kicker for a potential record-setting field goal, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel elected to take a knee and run out the clock.

“It felt like chasing points and chasing a record — that’s not what we came to the game to do," McDaniel said.

They almost got there anyway. The Dolphins scored the most points in a game by an NFL team since 1966, overwhelming the Broncos 70-20 on Sunday behind the rookie speedster Achane’s 203 yards rushing and Tua Tagovailoa’s no-look shovel-pass TD.

The Dolphins set a franchise record for scoring and finished two points shy of the NFL’s regular-season record — set in 1966 when Washington scored 72 points against the Giants. They are the fourth team in NFL history to score at least 70 points in a regular-season or playoff game.

Many of Miami’s starters, including Tagovailoa and star receiver Tyreek Hill, were pulled from the game early in the fourth quarter.

Achane caught a 10-yard TD pass from Tagovailoa — the quarterback’s fourth TD — in the fourth, and Jason Sanders converted the extra point that made it 56-13 and broke Miami’s franchise scoring record of 55 set against St. Louis on Nov. 24, 1977.

“Seventy points is crazy,” said Achane, who combined with veteran running back Raheem Mostert for eight touchdowns. “That’s like video game-type stuff.”

Hill caught a 54-yard touchdown pass on Miami’s opening drive en route to 157 yards receiving on nine catches.

Miami scored touchdowns on eight of nine drives before Mike White replaced Tagovailoa in the fourth. Mostert had his second straight multiple-touchdown game with three rushing TDs and a TD catch.

“To be able to put up 70 points, I think that is going to put a lot of teams on notice that we’re nothing to play with,” Mostert said. “We’re that team, just to put it bluntly.”

Tagovailoa found a wide-open Hill on the Dolphins’ third play of the game for the duo’s fourth touchdown connection of the season. Hill had 9.7 yards of separation from the nearest Broncos defender when the pass arrived, according to NFL NextGen stats.

Tagovailoa, the NFL’s leading passer, looked to his left then flipped a 4-yard pass to Achane, which gave Miami a 21-7 lead in the second. Tagovailoa completed each of his first 17 pass attempts.

“Never done that before in a game,” Tagovailoa said of his no-look shovel pass. “When I did it in practice, everyone was like, ‘Oh, that was super cool. You've got to do that in the game,' so that's what I did.'”

Tagovailoa's first incompletion came with 9:44 left in the third when he slightly underthrew Hill. He finished one completion shy of Miami’s franchise record, which was set by Ryan Tannehill in 2015 when he completed 18 consecutive passes over a two-game span.

Achane averaged 11.3 yards on 18 carries and had an electric 67-yard touchdown run in the fourth that capped Miami’s scoring at 70. He also had a physical 8-yard rushing TD in the first that made it 14-0.

Denver’s defense, down starting safety Justin Simmons (hip) and linebacker Frank Clark (hip), got a rare stop with 4:52 left in the first half when the Dolphins could not convert on fourth-and-1 at their 34, but the Broncos punted on the ensuing drive.

Russell Wilson started a season 0-3 for the first time in his career as Denver simply could not keep pace with Miami’s scoring.

Wilson was 23 of 38 with 306 yards and an interception. He had a 12-yard TD pass to Courtland Sutton on Denver’s second possession. It was the second TD catch of the season for Sutton, who led Denver with 91 yards on eight catches Sunday.

Sutton had two fumbles, both of which were knocked out by Dolphins safety Jevon Holland. The first led to a 3-yard run by Mostert that made it 35-10 just before halftime. The second resulted in Mostert’s 19-yard TD catch in the third. He finished with 82 yards rushing and 60 yards receiving.

Only one coach in Broncos history started out worse than first-year coach Sean Payton has at 0-3, and that’s Miami’s defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who lost his first four games as Denver’s head coach in 2019.

Will Lutz had kicks of 31 and 25 yards for Denver, and rookie Marvin Mims Jr. returned a kickoff 99 yards for a score in the fourth.

Robbie Chosen, who was activated from the practice squad, caught a 68-yard TD pass from White.

NO WADDLE, NO PROBLEM

Receiver Jaylen Waddle missed the first game of his career while in the concussion protocol after a helmet-to-helmet hit last week. Waddle has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons, but without him, Miami’s offense recorded 726 total yards of offense.

REACTION

What the Dolphins did was noticed around the league.

“I can’t wait to watch it,” Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff said after a win over Atlanta. “Unbelievable. I don’t know how they did that.”

INJURIES

Broncos: LB Jesey Jewell, Denver’s leading tackler, left in the first half with a groin injury and did not return.

Dolphins: WR River Cracraft injured his shoulder in the second quarter and was ruled out. ... Jaelan Philips left just before halftime with an oblique injury. ... Williams left in the third quarter with a groin injury.

UP NEXT

Broncos: At Chicago on Oct. 1.

Dolphins: At Buffalo on Oct. 1.

CHICAGO — As the city works to keep up with the influx of asylum seekers and migrants arriving in the city, more busloads of people were brought in this weekend.

The 12 busses are expected to arrive as volunteers work around the clock to get people the resources they need.

“This weekend has been really tough, and it was coming off of a lot of movement as well of people out of districts and into shelters," Anna Gomberg, a lead volunteer organizer, said.

Gomberg is one of hundreds of people helping asylum seekers in the city. She leads the efforts to organize volunteers at the 15th Police District in the city's Austin neighborhood.

“At this station alone we have about 150 people who are a part of our group," Gomberg said.

According to city officials, 12 buses are expected to arrive this weekend. Five buses came in on Saturday and another seven are expected to arrive on Sunday. Gomberg says they are working closely with the city to figure out where everyone will go.

“It is exhausting, it is never-ending, it feels like there’s so much need and there’s so much we have to do to support these people," Gomberg said.

Nearly 1,600 people are living temporarily at Chicago police districts as they await shelter placement, but due to a lack of space, many are now forced to sleep in tents outside. One mother and her children have called the police district home for three months.

“This is supposed to be very temporary. None of this supports the dignity of human life,” Gomberg said.

Within the last few weeks, city officials have signed a $29 million contract with GardaWorld to erect, staff and operate tent cities and Gomberg says she has concerns and reservations.

“It is really hard for us to support this idea when it isn’t best practice for urban refugees, we know that," Gomberg said.

According to Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, more than 8,600 migrants and asylum seekers remain in city shelters and more than 400 are awaiting placement at O'Hare International Airport, on top of those sheltering in CPD Districts.

“I also know, this is what we can do right now," Gmberg said. "So the volunteers and myself are doing everything we can to make this as livable as a place as it can be."

Volunteers in Austin have kept the area clean and provided food and water for those temporarily staying in CPD Districts. Volunteers in Austin even got children enrolled in school at the start of the year.

City officials say the seven busses that are expected to arrive on Sunday is the largest number in a single day since the start of the operation last summer.

BOSTON (AP) — Mike Clevinger pitched six solid innings, Elvis Andrus had a two-run double and the Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in a rain-shortened game on Sunday, ending a string of 12 straight series losses.

Trying to avoid their second 100-loss season in five years and the fifth in club history, the White Sox took two of three from the Red Sox and captured their first series since August 7-9 when they went 2-1 against the Yankees.

Adam Duvall and Wilyer Abreu each hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, who are on pace to finish in the AL East basement for the third time in four years.

The umpires called for the tap after the sixth inning and the game was called after an hour, 43--minute delay.

Chicago outfielder Luis Robert Jr. left with a sore right knee after stealing his 20th base. He has 38 homers and 36 doubles, becoming the first White Sox player with 35 homers, 35 doubles and 20 steals.

Clevinger (9-8) gave up two runs and five hits without striking out or walking a batter.

Playing with rain falling most of the time for the second straight day, the White Sox scored twice with just one hit against Kutter Crawford (6-8) to take a 2-1 edge in the fifth.

Crawford walked a pair before Andrus’ liner to center just got under the glove of centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela’s full-length dive.

Gavin Sheets’ sacrifice fly made it 3-1 in the sixth.

Abreu’s drive went into the seats in deep right for his second career homer in the second. Duvall’s completely left Fenway Park over the Green Monster in the sixth.

SERIES STUFF

The Red Sox have lost a season-high six straight series.

It was Chicago’s first road series win since August 4-6, at Cleveland. The White Sox won the season series against Boston, 4-2.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: Placed right-hander Jesse Scholtens on the 15-day injured list with a strained left calf. They recalled right-hander Declan Cronin to take his spot.

Red Sox: Reinstated right-hander Zack Kelly from the 60-day injured list. He was out since April 13 with right elbow inflammation. Right-hander Nick Robertson was optioned to Triple-A to make room.

UP NEXT

White Sox: Have an off day Monday because their scheduled game against Arizona was moved to Thursday so the Diamondbacks could play a makeup game in New York against the Yankees. RHP José Ureña (0-6, 7.27 ERA) is set to start the first of a three-game series vs. Arizona on Tuesday.

Red Sox: RHP Tanner Houck (5-9, 4.92) is slated to start the first of a two-game series against Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham weren't enough to save “ Expend4bles ” from a debut box office flop. The fourth installment suffered the action-packed franchise's worst opening weekend while “ The Nun 2 ” took home the top spot for a third straight week, data firm Comscore reported on Sunday.

The Lionsgate and Millennium's film, also known as “Expendables 4,” pulled in a mediocre $8.3 million for the big-budget project. It starred several popular names, including Stallone, Statham, Curtis “50 Cent" Jackson, Megan Fox and Dolph Lundgren. It's been nearly a decade since the franchise released a film, which opened with $15.8 million and eventually grossed $214 million globally.

But times have certainly changed, as the film barely placed second behind “The Nun 2," a horror movie that earned $8.4 million in its first week. It's been a solid start for that Warner Bros.' project — a spinoff from the lucrative “Conjuring” franchise. So far, the Michael Chaves-directed sequel has grossed more than $69 million.

“It’s a star-studded franchise, but horror is a different situation,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “It just seems no matter what if you’re scared in the movie theater a couple times in an hour and a half or two, that’s worth the price of admission."

In third, “ A Haunting in Venice ” earned $6.3 million. Kenneth Branagh’s third Agatha Christie adaptation, following 2017’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and 2022’s “Death on the Nile," has drawn in over $25.3 million after two weeks.

“ The Equalizer 3,” starring Denzel Washington, only dropped to fourth place with $4.725 million. In four weeks, it has grossed $81.1 million domestically.

“ Barbie,” the biggest movie of 2023, is still carrying some momentum from the summer into the fall season. The Greta Gerwig box-office smash ranked in the top five, earning $3.2 million this week and a domestic total of more than $630 million after a 10-week period.

Sixth place went to “ My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3,” with $3 million, while “It Lives Inside” opened its first week with $2.6 million. The Sony film “ Dumb Money,” a dramatization of the GameStop stock frenzy, stayed put in the eighth position for a second week in a row with $2.5 million.

“Blue Beetle” fell to ninth, with $1.8 million, and “ Oppenheimer ” rounded out the top 10 with $1.6 million. The Christopher Nolan film has garnered $321 million domestically.

In all, it was another slow output for box office figures as many Hollywood projects are still on hold due to the ongoing Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Writers Guild of America strikes.

This weekend grossed the lowest since Dec. 9, 2022, Dergarabedian said. It was also the first time since the weekend of Feb. 10, 2023 to not have a movie earn over $10 million.

But Dergarabedian said a “spectacular October” could be on the way with the much-anticipated “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film, “The Exorcist: Believer” and “Saw X.”

“Things are going to change next week or the weeks after when Taylor Swift hits the multiplex,” he said. “This is the natural ebbs and flow of the box office. That means one thing: We’ll be back to normal.”

CHICAGO (AP) — Patrick Wisdom put Chicago ahead with a two-run homer in the sixth inning, Seiya Suzuki had two hits and scored twice, and the Cubs helped their playoff chances by beating the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Sunday.

Yan Gomes also drove in two runs for the Cubs, who remained a game in front of Miami for the final NL wild card.

Jordan Wicks (4-1) allowed three runs over six innings for Chicago in its final home game of the regular season. The Cubs have won three straight after dropping seven of eight.

Brendan Rodgers and Nolan Jones homered for the Rockies in their franchise-record 99th loss.

Gomes’ sacrifice fly pulled the Cubs to 3-2 in the sixth. Wisdom followed with his 22nd homer of the season, a 432-foot drive that chased Ty Blach (3-3).

Daniel Palencia, José Cuas and Julian Merryweather held the Rockies to one hit over the last three innings. Merryweather pitched around two walks in the ninth for his second save.

The Cubs swept a series for the first time since Sept. 4-6 against San Francisco.

Colorado fell to a major league-worst 22-59 on the road.

Gomes doubled for a 1-0 Cubs lead in the second. Suzuki scored from first after drawing a leadoff walk. TV cameras showed Suzuki lying on the dugout bench while catching his breath.

Rodgers hit a two-run homer, his second of the season, off Wicks for a 2-1 Rockies lead in the third.

Jones, an NL Rookie of the Year candidate, put Colorado ahead 3-1 with a solo shot in the sixth. He has 18 homers.

Blach gave up four runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

NOT SO FAST

Ryan McMahon appeared to ground out to first to end the game, and the Cubs began celebrating. But the umpires ruled the ball deflected off his foot and was foul. Fans booed before McMahon resumed his at-bat and struck out.

BY THE NUMBERS

Attendance was 37,060. The season total at Wrigley Field was 2,775,149, up from 2,616,780 last season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: INF Jeimer Candelario (low back strain) has progressed with baseball activities as he nears a return. … RHP Adbert Alzolay (forearm strain) was expected to throw another bullpen Sunday.

UP NEXT

Rockies: Colorado and the Los Angeles Dodgers had yet to announce their starters for Tuesday’s series opener in Denver.

Cubs: LHP Justin Steele (16-5, 3.00 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Tuesday at Atlanta. RHP Bryce Elder (12-4, 3.63) goes for the Braves.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Travis Kelce seems to be a man of his word.

After weeks of rumors that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is dating music superstar Taylor Swift, Kelce offered the singer an invite to watch him play. She seems to have followed up on the invite.

Swift was seen in a box suite at Arrowhead Stadium standing next to Travis's mother, Donna Kelce, ahead of the Chiefs' game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

The dating rumors between the two have been swirling for a few weeks.

Travis Kelce discussed the rumors on his podcast, "New Heights," with his brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.

“I threw the ball in her court and told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead. You might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit,’” he said.

Swift performed two concerts at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City back on July 7-8 during her Eras Tour. That is when the Swift and the tight end reportedly connected after Kelce gave her his number.

(NewsNation) — Even though you’ve likely updated your iPhone in recent days, Apple is recommending that you do it again.

According to TechCrunch, Apple on Thursday released security updates for iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watch, and Safari users. Apple says the update protects against three “vulnerabilities” that could be exploited.

TechCrunch reports that the latest bugs were discovered by Google threat researcher Maddie Stone.

If it seems like you just updated your phone, you’re not wrong.

Earlier this month, Apple released a significant security update for iPhones and iPads to patch newly discovered security vulnerabilities in the devices’ system software.

To install the update, open Settings on your iPhone, then select “General” followed by “Software Update.”

If you don't see the update, go back to the General page, then tap “About” to check your iOS version number.

You can also set your iPhone to install software and security updates automatically.

(KTLA) – A teen girl was hospitalized after being thrown to the ground by a sheriff’s deputy during a violent brawl in San Bernardino County, California, Friday night.

Authorities responded to a large fight that erupted during a football game at Victor Valley High School around 6:28 p.m., according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

It all started when the first deputy to arrive discovered multiple fights were taking place at the time. Pepper balls were shot into the crowd in an effort to disperse the group. The move, however, was not effective and the crowds began heading toward the deputy, officials said.

As additional deputies arrived, another pepper ball round was launched at the group. That’s when 16-year-old Faith Jeffers grabbed the pepper ball launcher from the deputy, the sheriff's department said.

During the struggle, the deputy allegedly picked up Jeffers and body slammed her to the ground, her family said.

That’s when a 16-year-old boy, Anthony Smiler, punched that deputy in the face, authorities said. The boy was eventually subdued and taken into custody. 

Jeffers, however, sustained traumatic injuries to her head and spine and is now hospitalized.

“He picked my daughter up and he just tossed her,” said Priscilla Jeffers, the girl’s mother. “He just threw her on the floor with no remorse,” she said tearfully. “She has back injuries from where he threw her forcefully on the asphalt and she has a fractured shoulder and her whole head has bumps and bruises.”

Priscilla Jeffers said her daughter was being bullied by another girl at a different high school. That girl reportedly showed up to the football game to confront her, which led to the altercation.

At first, Priscilla, who was present at the game, didn't realize her daughter was the one being thrown.

"It looked like he was just tossing a rag or a sweater on the floor until my other daughter said, 'Mom, that's Faith!'" she recalled. "I couldn't believe it."

Priscilla said the incident was an example of police brutality and wants justice for her daughter.

“We are citizens, we are taxpayers and they’re supposed to protect us,” she said. “Not hurt our kids at all. I think it’s wrong they did that.”

Priscilla said she is planning to take legal action against the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The sheriff's department, however, claims the deputy was the victim, according to a news release.

The mother of the 16-year-old boy said her son is innocent and she remains distraught over the ordeal.

"He attacked my son first," said Kelani Lynch, Anthony Smiler's mother. "He was in the wrong and used aggressive force on a 16-year-old. When I called, they told me they couldn't tell me whether he was booked in there or not so I need to know where my son is."

For now, Faith's loved ones remain devastated as the teen remains in the hospital.

"I can't believe that I let my daughter go to a football game and something like this would happen," Priscilla said tearfully.

The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the Victorville Police Department at 760-241-2911 or the Sheriff’s Dispatch at 760-956-5001. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-782-7463 or online at wetip.com.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A man is dead after he became injured while setting up for the upcoming Formula 1 race in Las Vegas, sources tell Nexstar's KLAS.

Around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, officers were called to Las Vegas Boulevard after a worker was injured.

Police said that a man sustained a "major laceration to the neck" while working at the Bellagio Fountains.

The man was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be investigating the incident, police said. No other details have been released at this time.

Construction has been underway in front of the Bellagio as crews build the grandstands. The fountains will soon be blocked from view, according to renderings released in February.

F1's Las Vegas Grand Prix will be held November 16-18.

Earlier this year, a contractor was killed while setting up for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race. He was reportedly electrocuted.

(The Hill) – President Biden’s disapproval rating hit the highest mark of his presidency in a new poll that also showed support by essential voting blocs is slipping.

Biden’s disapproval rating ticked up to 56 percent, with 41 percent saying they approve. The survey also shows support for Biden slipping with voters aged 18-24, who reported a 46 percent approval rating; Latinos, who reported 43 percent; and independents — who will be key to deciding the general election — at 36 percent.

The NBC News poll released Sunday continues the trend of showing an overwhelming majority of voters expressing concern about Biden as well as his likely 2024 general election opponent, former President Trump. 

But Trump’s lead in the GOP primary has also surged ahead of a crowded field of opponents; he is leading by 43 points despite a myriad of legal troubles in the form of four state and federal criminal indictments. 

Trump was the first choice among national Republican primary voters at 59 percent, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis clocked in at only 16 percent, according to the poll. It also showed Republicans increasingly believing that Trump should remain the Republican Party’s leader at 58 percent, an increase from 49 percent in June.

Trump has been indicted four times this year, including three times since June in cases involving the potential mishandling of classified documents and interference in the 2020 election results on the federal level and in the state of Georgia.

Voters continue to see the 80-year-old Biden’s age as an issue, with 74 percent of voters saying they have major or moderate concerns that he doesn’t have the mental and physical capacity to be president, while 44 percent said the same of 77-year-old Trump. 

Still, 1 in 5 voters who expressed concerns about Biden’s age said they would still vote for him over Trump. A hypothetical 2024 match-up in the poll shows Trump and Biden in a dead heat at 46 percent among registered voters. Biden held a 4 percent lead over Trump in the same poll in June.

The NBC News poll was conducted Sept. 15-19 and surveyed 1,000 registered voters with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

What does it mean to be human?

For a long time, the answer seemed clear. Our species, Homo sapiens — with our complex thoughts and deep emotions — were the only true humans to ever walk the Earth. Earlier forms, like the Neanderthals, were thought to be just steps along the path of evolution, who died out because we were better versions.

That picture is now changing.

In recent years, researchers have gained the power to pull DNA from ancient hominins, including our early ancestors and other relatives who walked on two legs. Ancient DNA technology has revolutionized the way we study human history and has quickly taken off, with a constant stream of studies exploring the genes of long-ago people.

Along with more fossils and artifacts, the DNA findings are pointing us to a challenging idea: We're not so special. For most of human history we shared the planet with other kinds of early humans, and those now-extinct groups were a lot like us.

“We can see them as being fully human. But, interestingly, a different kind of human,” said Chris Stringer, a human evolution expert at London’s Natural History Museum. “A different way to be human.”

What's more, humans had close — even intimate — interactions with some of these other groups, including Neanderthals, Denisovans and “ghost populations” we only know from DNA.

“It’s a unique time in human history when there are only one of us,” Stringer said.

A WORLD WITH MANY HOMININS

Scientists now know that after H. sapiens first showed up in Africa around 300,000 years ago, they overlapped with a whole cast of other hominins, explained Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program.

Neanderthals were hanging out in Europe. Homo heidelbergensis and Homo naledi were living in Africa. The short-statured Homo floresiensis, sometimes known as the “Hobbit,” was living in Indonesia, while the long-legged Homo erectus was loping around Asia.

Scientists started to realize all these hominins weren’t our direct ancestors. Instead, they were more like our cousins: lineages that split off from a common source and headed in different directions.

Archaeological finds have shown some of them had complex behaviors. Neanderthals painted cave walls, Homo heidelbergensis hunted large animals like rhinos and hippos, and some scientists think even the small-brained Homo naledi was burying its dead in South African cave systems. A study last week found early humans were building structures with wood before H. sapiens evolved.

Researcher also wondered: If these other kinds of humans were not so different, did our ancestors have sex with them?

For some, the mixing was hard to imagine. Many argued that as H. sapiens ventured out of Africa, they replaced other groups without mating. Archaeologist John Shea of New York’s Stony Brook University said he used to think of Neanderthals and H. sapiens as rivals, believing “if they bumped into each other, they’d probably kill each other.”

DNA REVEALS ANCIENT SECRETS

But DNA has revealed there were other interactions, ones that changed who we are today.

In 2010, the Swedish geneticist Svante Paabo and his team pieced a tricky puzzle together. They were able to assemble fragments of ancient DNA into a full Neanderthal genome, a feat that was long thought to be impossible and won Paabo a Nobel Prize last year.

This ability to read ancient DNA revolutionized the field, and it is constantly improving.

For example, when scientists applied these techniques to a pinky bone and some huge molars found in a Siberian cave, they found genes that didn’t match anything seen before, said Bence Viola, an anthropologist at the University of Toronto who was part of the research team that made the discovery. It was a new species of hominin, now known as Denisovans, who were the first human cousins identified only by their DNA.

Armed with these Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes, scientists could compare them to people today and look for chunks of DNA that match. When they did, they found clear signs of crossover.

THE NEW HUMAN STORY

The DNA evidence showed that H. sapiens mated with groups including Neanderthals and Denisovans. It even revealed evidence of other “ghost populations” — groups who are part of our genetic code, but whose fossils we haven’t found yet.

It’s hard to pin down exactly when and where these interactions happened. Our ancestors seem to have mixed with the Neanderthals soon after leaving Africa and heading into Europe. They probably bumped into the Denisovans in parts of East and Southeast Asia.

“They didn’t have a map, they didn’t know where they were going,” the Smithsonian's Potts said. “But looking over the next hillside into the next valley, (they) ran into populations of people that looked a bit different from themselves, but mated, exchanged genes.”

So even though Neanderthals did look distinct from H. sapiens — from their bigger noses to their shorter limbs — it wasn’t enough to create a “wall” between the groups, Shea said.

“They probably thought, ‘Oh, these guys look a little bit different,’” Shea said. “‘Their skin color’s a little different. Their faces look a little different. But they’re cool guys, let’s go try to talk to them.’”

COMPLEX NEANDERTHALS

The idea that modern humans, and particularly white humans, were the pinnacle of evolution came from a time of “colonialism and elitism,” said Janet Young, curator of physical anthropology at the Canadian Museum of History.

One Neanderthal painting, created to reflect the vision of a eugenics advocate, made its way through decades of textbooks and museum displays.

The new findings have completely upended the idea that earlier, more ape-like creatures started standing up straighter and getting more complex until they reached their peak form in H. sapiens, Young said. Along with the genetic evidence, other archaeological finds have shown Neanderthals had complex behaviors around hunting, cooking, using tools and even making art.

Still, even though we now know our ancient human cousins were like us — and make up part of who we are now — the idea of ape-like cave men has been hard to dislodge.

Artist John Gurche is trying. He specializes in creating lifelike models of ancient humans for museums, including the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History, in hopes of helping public perception catch up to the science.

Skulls and sculptures gazed out from the shelves of his studio earlier this year as he worked on a Neanderthal head, punching pieces of hair into the silicone skin.

Bringing the new view to the public hasn’t been easy, Gurche said: “This caveman image is very persistent.”

For Gurche, getting the science right is crucial. He has worked on dissections of humans and apes to understand their anatomy, but also hopes to bring out emotion in his portrayals.

“These were once living, breathing individuals. And they felt grief and joy and pain,” Gurche said. “They’re not in some fairyland; they’re not some fantasy creatures. They were alive.”

MANY CONNECTIONS STILL TO BE FOUND

Scientists can’t get useful genetic information out of every fossil they find, especially if it’s really old or in the wrong climate. They haven't been able to gather much ancient DNA from Africa, where H. sapiens first evolved, because it has been degraded by heat and moisture.

Still, many are hopeful that as DNA technology keeps advancing, we’ll be able to push further into the past and get ancient genomes from more parts of the world, adding more brushstrokes to our picture of human history.

Because even though we were the only ones to survive, the other extinct groups played a key role in our history, and our present. They are part of a common humanity connecting every person, said Mary Prendergast, a Rice University archeologist.

“If you look at the fossil record, the archeological record, the genetic record," she said, "you see that we share far more in common than what divides us.”

(The Conversation) - Have you ever wondered why certain medications don’t seem to work as well for you as they do for others? This variability in drug response is what pharmacogenomic testing hopes to explain by looking at the genes within your DNA.

Pharmacogenomics, or PGx, is the study of how genes affect your response to medications. Genes are segments of DNA that serve as an instruction manual for cells to make proteins. Some of these proteins break down or transport certain medications through the body. Others are proteins that medications target to generate a desired effect.

As pharmacists who see patients who have stopped multiple medications because of side effects or ineffectiveness, we believe pharmacogenomic testing has the potential to help guide health care professionals to more precise dosing and prescribing.

How do PGx tests work?

PGx tests look for variations within the genes of your DNA to predict drug response. For instance, the presence of one genetic variant might predict that the specific protein it codes for is unable to break down a particular medication. This could potentially lead to increased drug levels in your body and an increased risk of side effects. The presence of another genetic variant might predict the opposite: It might predict that the protein it codes for is breaking down a medication more rapidly than expected, which may decrease the drug’s effectiveness.

For example, citalopram is an antidepressant broken down by a protein called CYP2C19. Patients with genetic variants that code for a version of this protein with a reduced ability to break down the drug may have an increased risk of side effects.PGx is a form of personalized or precision medicine.

Currently, there are over 80 medications with prescribing recommendations based on PGx results, including treatments for depression, cancer and heart disease. There are commercially available PGx tests that patients can have sent directly to their doorstep with or without the involvement of a health care professional. These direct-to-consumer PGx tests collect DNA from either a saliva sample or cheek swab that is then sent to the laboratory. Results can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on the company.

Some companies require a consultation with a health care provider, often a pharmacist or genetic counselor, who can facilitate a test order and discuss any medication changes once the results come back.

Limitations of PGx testing

PGx testing will not be able to predict how you will respond to all medications for several reasons.

First, most PGx tests do not look for every possible variant of every gene in the human genome. Instead, they look only at a limited number of genes and variants strongly linked to specific drugs. PGx tests can predict how you will respond only to medications associated with the genes it tests for.

Some drugs are broken down in very complicated pathways entailing multiple proteins and byproducts, and the usefulness of PGx testing for them remains unclear. For example, the antidepressant bupropion has three major pathways involved in its breakdown and forms three active byproducts that can interact with other drugs or body processes. This makes predicting how you will respond to the drug much more challenging because there is more than one variable involved. In many cases, there also isn’t conclusive data to confidently predict the general function of a protein and how it would affect your response to a drug.

The applicability of PGx test results is additionally limited by a lack of diversity of study participants. Typically, populations of European ancestry are overrepresented in clinical trials. An ongoing research initiative by the National Institutes of Health called the All of Us Research Program aims to address this issue by collecting genetic samples from people of diverse backgrounds.The All of Us research program seeks to conduct research that is more representative of a diverse population.

Another limitation of direct-to-consumer PGx tests is that they can predict drug response based only on your genetics. Lifestyle and environmental factors such as your age, liver or kidney function, tobacco use, drug interactions and other diseases can heavily influence how you may respond to medication. For example, leafy greens with high amounts of vitamin K can lower the effectiveness of the blood thinner warfarin. But PGx tests don’t take these factors into account.

Finally, your PGx results may predict that you may respond to medications differently, but this does not guarantee that the medication won’t have its intended effect. In other words, PGx testing is predictive rather than deterministic.

Risks of PGx testing

PGx testing carries the risk of not telling the whole story of drug response. If variations within the gene are not found, the testing company often assumes the proteins those genes code for function normally. Because of this assumption, someone carrying a rare or unknown variant may receive inaccurate results.

It may be tempting for some people to see their results and want to change their dose or discontinue their medications. However, this can be dangerous. Abruptly stopping some medications may cause withdrawal effects. Never change the way you take your medications without consulting your pharmacist and physician first.

Sharing your PGx test results with all the clinicians involved in your care can help prevent medication failure and improve safety. Pharmacists are increasingly trained in pharmacogenomics and can serve as a resource to address medication-related questions or concerns.

PGx tests that are not authorized by the Food and Drug Administration cannot be clinically interpreted and therefore cannot be used to inform prescribing. Results from these tests should not be added to your medical record.

Benefits of PGx testing

Direct-to-consumer PGx testing can empower patients to advocate for themselves and be an active participant in their health care by increasing access to and knowledge of their genetic information.

Patients’ knowledge of their PGx genetic profile has the potential to improve treatment safety. For example, a 2023 study of over 6,000 patients in Europe found that those who used their PGx results to guide medication therapy were 30% less likely to experience adverse drug reactions.

Most PGx test results stay valid throughout a patient’s life, and retesting is not needed unless additional genes or variants need to be evaluated. As more research on gene variants is conducted, prescribing recommendations may be updated.

Overall, genetic information from direct-to-consumer PGx tests can help you collaborate with health care professionals to select more effective medications with a lower risk of side effects.

FAITHORN, Mich. (WJMN) — It was a normal evening in Faithorn, Michigan for the Chase family on Wednesday that quickly turned into an extensive search-and-rescue operation for a toddler.

Brooke Chase was home with her son and 2-year-old daughter, Thea. Her husband Alex was at work. Also at the house was Marcus Christy, Alex's brother-in-law.

“She is her uncle’s shadow and is constantly with him, that's why it's such a shock to us that she left his side,” Brooke Chase told Nexstar's WJMN.

Christy said he had been taking a break from pressure-washing the side of the home when he told Thea to go into the house because it was getting late.

“We thought she went back in the house," Christy explained. A little while later, Brooke and Christy realized neither knew where Thea was. That's when the search began.

After their initial search, they noticed she wasn't the only one missing.

“We were searching all around the yard up and down the road, screaming at the top of our lungs her name, calling for the dogs because the dogs were missing too,” said Brooke.

It was around then that Brooke called Alex at work. “My wife called me, and as soon as I heard her voice, I knew that something was definitely wrong. I didn't think twice, I just came home.”

Brooke said the search for Thea started around 7:40 p.m., and by 8 p.m. police were mobilizing resources.

“We had a lot of boots on the ground in a very short period of time," said Jeremy Hauswirth, Iron Mountain Post Commander for Michigan State Police. "We had drones that were on site, police K-9s from several different departments, both state police and county. We had citizen volunteers and search and rescue available.”

Christy and the Chase family said the response from the community was incredible. “This place was flocked with people within half an hour.”

Four long hours later came news of the discovery, not by the drones or the K-9s, but by a family friend on an ATV.

“He went way, way farther than anybody else was searching,” Brooke said. “And [Thea] was way out there. He had said that if it wasn't for the dogs poking out of the trees, he would not have seen her.”

It was Buddy, the big Rottweiler that the man found first. Brooke says he was lying near a berm a short distance from an ATV trail, roughly three miles from their home. When he stopped to investigate, he found Thea sleeping with her head resting on the family's other dog, Hartley.

When she was found, Brooke was at the house while Marcus and Alex were leading a search party in another part of the woods.

“As soon as we heard she was found I started running. And I was like I stopped because I was like 'Oh, I don't even know where the heck she is.' You know what I mean? Me and Alex both just started running. And then they said they're en route back to the house. We started running back to the house.” 

Medical staff determined Thea was in good health after she was found.

As far as the police investigation, authorities don't believe foul play or negligence played any part in the whole ordeal. Commander Hauswirth said sometimes things like this are inevitable.

“I’ve raised four kids of my own, and you can be the best parent on the planet and they have their own minds. They will do things in an instant that will surprise you. Even the best of parents can blink and their child can be gone.”

With Thea in her arms, Brooke said, “She has no idea the amount of stress that she put me through last night, and her father, and everybody else.”

The Chase family says they want to thank everyone involved in the search to find their daughter.

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Six people, the youngest just 9 years old, are dead after a tragic crash between a freight train and an SUV in Florida. died Sunday, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said the crash happened at about 6:45 p.m. after a Cadillac Escalade carrying a family and a friend of theirs was struck by a train traveling 55 mph in Plant City.

The family was heading to a quinceañera at the time of the incident, according to authorities.

Deputies said video they obtained from the crash shows the SUV slowly moving across the railroad but never coming to a stop. The train's conductor tried signaling to the driver with a horn, authorities added, and was unable to slow the train.

"As you can imagine, the carnage that's created when these two collide," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "The SUV, we can see from the video begins to catapult and flip violently several times before it's landed."

The victims of the crash were "violently" ejected upon impact, killing six of them and critically injuring another.

The deceased victims were identified as driver Jose G. Hernandez, 52; Enedelia Hernandez, 51; Jakub A. Lopez, 17; Alyssa Hernandez, 17; Anaelia Hernandez, 22; and Julian Hernandez, 9.

The surviving victim was said to be the front passenger, 23-year-old Guillermo E. Gama III. The sheriff's office said he is in critical condition at Lakeland Regional Health as of Sunday morning.

Chronister said the scene was horrific to see, describing the family's SUV as a "soft drink can that was smashed."

"I think anyone who has seen the carnage that's been created, whenever you compound that with children lost their lives here, maybe an entire family, maybe an entire family lost their life here tonight," Chronister said Saturday night. "We're all visibly shaken."

No one on the train suffered injuries in the crash, officials said.

The train crossing did not have crossing arms, only a stop sign. However, rail safety expert Michael Callanan said the road was not meant for public traffic.

"This road is a privately maintained road, an access road to a home," Callanan said. "There's two homes back there I believe. It's not a public thoroughfare road; it's just a road to get to the house. Therefore it's not required to have those warning devices there because it's privately owned."

(The Conversation) - When city governments spend more money than they take in, officials often search for ways to generate revenue. One increasingly common source of money is traffic tickets. And research shows police officers issue more traffic tickets when cities are financially in a deficit.

But police represent only one aspect of this revenue-generating system. Judges and their courts also use traffic citations to generate money for the cities that employ them.

As scholars of public finance, we study how cities raise money to pay for their operations. Our new research indicates that judges in cities facing red ink often use their positions to maximize revenue from traffic tickets. They can do this by adding financial penalties to unpaid tickets. Judges often use the extra penalties to encourage people to pay.

The process of generating dollars through traffic tickets, though, begins with the police.

Revenue-motivated policing

Traffic violations are common. Whether drivers fail to signal a turn or drive a few miles per hour above the speed limit, it is not difficult for police to find someone who violated a traffic law. Officers have the discretion to pick and choose when to ticket and can adjust the number of tickets they issue based on factors that are not related to whether someone broke the law.

Those factors include the race of the driver or the racial makeup of the neighborhood the officers are patrolling. Usually, this means African American drivers and drivers in neighborhoods with more African American residents are ticketed at higher rates than other people.

Another factor affecting ticketing, but unrelated to whether drivers are breaking traffic laws, is the budgetary situation of the city.

One high-profile example of how a city’s use of traffic tickets can be a problem is Ferguson, Missouri. According to a 2015 Department of Justice report, “Ferguson’s law enforcement practices are shaped by the city’s focus on revenue rather than by public safety needs.” And those practices affected African Americans disproportionately. According to that report, African Americans made up 67% of the city’s population at the time, but they were the subjects of 85% of traffic stops, 90% of the tickets, 92% of the warrants police issued and 96% of the arrests.

Ferguson was neither the first nor the only local government to replenish its coffers through traffic tickets. In the years since that federal report, numerous studies have shown that police and other city personnel increase the volume of traffic tickets they issue based on budgetary need.

The practice is actually so common that it has several names: “policing for profit” and “revenue-motivated policing” among them.

After a police officer tickets a driver, the process moves to a court.

Ticketing incentives in court

In some cases, the court that will process traffic tickets is operated by the state; in others, it is operated by the municipality. Regardless, the court is responsible for collecting money from traffic tickets.

But which court hears the case matters quite a bit. If a traffic ticket is settled in a state court, the money from fees is divided across the state and its various local governments. But if that same ticket is settled in a municipal court, then the vast majority of the money goes to the city.

Our research examined how this difference affected traffic tickets in Indiana. Like prior research, we found that police from cities facing revenue shortages issued more tickets. But we showed that this only happened when cities ran their own municipal courts. Put another way, the police are only more likely to ticket when it is profitable for the cities they serve.

We also examined how judges use their power to collect more money.

Ferguson once again provides an example of how authorities can abuse this power. As detailed in the Justice Department report, judges did not consider a person’s financial status when levying penalties or setting payment deadlines. They also aggressively applied optional fees for late payments. Lastly, judges and police officers provided incorrect or incomplete information about when or whether defendants were required to appear in court. That meant defendants often racked up additional fees – and sometimes arrest warrants – for failure to appear.

Our research explored whether the problems in Ferguson happened elsewhere. We studied Indiana, where judges can suspend defendants’ driver’s licenses if they have not paid their fines. This is a powerful, but potentially harmful, way to coerce payment. We counted the number of days judges waited before suspending a driver’s license. Then, we looked at whether the city was experiencing a revenue shortfall. We found that judges suspend licenses faster when their cities need more money. The effect was pretty large: A 1% decrease in revenue caused licenses to be suspended three days faster.

Indiana’s property tax system places limits on the amount of revenue cities can collect through property taxes, and cities do not discover how much of their property tax levy they will be able to collect until after the city budget process is complete. This system allowed us to compare cities facing different levels of revenue shortfalls due to state-imposed reductions in property tax revenues.

The bottom line

In some cities and states, officials operate their courts – not just the police department – to generate revenue. We believe this is inherently a problem. The criminal justice system should exist to maximize public safety, not revenue.

But if states change the rules about who keeps the money generated by traffic tickets and related fines, the incentives for revenue maximization go away.

Our research bears this out. Judges will have no reason to suspend licenses faster when their cities are facing a budget crunch if the revenue goes to the state.

This change won’t fix everything. Racial bias in the criminal justice system will still be pervasive. But it could help get rid of policing - and judging - for profit.

CHICAGO — A woman is in critical condition after she was hit by a driver early Sunday morning in Grand Crossing, according to police.

The 32-year-old woman was hit around 2:10 a.m. in the 7500 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue.

She was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said.

According to information from the Chicago Police Department, the driver of a dark-colored SUV who hit the woman left the scene.

No one has been arrested yet, police said.

The crash is still under investigation and anyone with information should call police.

(AP) — NASA’s first asteroid samples fetched from deep space parachuted into the Utah desert Sunday to cap a seven-year journey.

In a flyby of Earth, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the sample capsule from 63,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) out. The small capsule landed four hours later on a remote expanse of military land, as the mothership set off after another asteroid.

“We have touchdown!” Flight Control announced, immediately repeating the news since the landing occurred three minutes before anticipated. Officials later said the orange striped parachute opened four times higher than anticipated — around 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) — which led to the early touchdown.

Scientists estimate the capsule holds at least a cup of rubble from the carbon-rich asteroid known as Bennu, but won’t know for sure until the container is opened. Some spilled and floated away when the spacecraft scooped up too much and rocks jammed the container’s lid during collection three years ago.

Japan, the only other country to bring back asteroid samples, gathered about a teaspoon in a pair of asteroid missions.

The pebbles and dust delivered Sunday represent the biggest haul from beyond the moon. Preserved building blocks from the dawn of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago, the samples will help scientists better understand how Earth and life formed.

Osiris-Rex, the mothership, rocketed away on the $1 billion mission in 2016. It reached Bennu two years later and, using a long stick vacuum, grabbed rubble from the small roundish space rock in 2020. By the time it returned, the spacecraft had logged 4 billion miles (6.2 billion kilometers).

Flight controllers for spacecraft builder Lockheed Martin stood and applauded at touchdown from their base in Colorado, ecstatic to have the precious samples on Earth. NASA camera views showed the charred capsule upside down on the sand with its parachute disconnected and strewn nearby, as the recovery team moved in.

NASA’s recovery effort in Utah included helicopters as well as a temporary clean room set up at the Defense Department’s Utah Test and Training Range. The samples will be flown Monday morning to a new lab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The building already houses the hundreds of pounds (kilograms) of moon rocks gathered by the Apollo astronauts more than a half-century ago.

The mission’s lead scientist, Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, will accompany the samples to Texas. The opening of the container in Houston in the next day or two will be “the real moment of truth,” given the uncertainty over the amount inside, he said ahead of the landing.

Engineers estimate the canister holds 250 grams (8.82 ounces) of material from Bennu, plus or minus 100 grams (plus or minus 3.53 ounces). Even at the low end, it will easily surpass the minimum requirement of the mission, Lauretta said.

It will take a few weeks to get a precise measurement, said NASA’s lead curator Nicole Lunning.

NASA plans a public show-and-tell in October.

Currently orbiting the sun 50 million miles (81 million kilometers) from Earth, Bennu is about one-third of a mile (one-half of a kilometer) across, roughly the size of the Empire State Building but shaped like a spinning top. It’s believed to be the broken fragment of a much larger asteroid.

During a two-year survey, Osiris-Rex found Bennu to be a chunky rubble pile full of boulders and craters. The surface was so loose that the spacecraft’s vacuum arm sank a foot or two (0.5 meters) into the asteroid, sucking up more material than anticipated and jamming the lid.

These close-up observations may come in handy late in the next century. Bennu is expected to come dangerously close to Earth in 2182 — possibly close enough to hit. The data gleaned by Osiris-Rex will help with any asteroid-deflection effort, according to Lauretta.

Osiris-Rex is already chasing after the asteroid Apophis, and will reach it in 2029.

This was NASA’s third sample return from a deep-space robotic mission. The Genesis spacecraft dropped off bits of solar wind in 2004, but the samples were compromised when the parachute failed and the capsule slammed into the ground. The Stardust spacecraft successfully delivered comet dust in 2006.

NASA’s plans to return samples from Mars are on hold after an independent review board criticized the cost and complexity. The Martian rover Perseverance has spent the past two years collecting core samples for eventual transport to Earth.

(NEXSTAR) — During the warmer months, you may have found yourself out to eat. Maybe you even sat on the patio, enjoying the warm moments before they faded into the chill of winter. 

There is also a pretty good chance you had a cold drink in hand, according to a new report. 

Toast, a restaurant point of sale and management system, recently reviewed customer trends across its roughly 93,000 U.S. restaurants, including people's alcohol-purchasing behaviors. 

Overall, Toast found that if a customer was ordering alcohol, it was most likely going to be beer, which ranked as the most popular adult beverage being ordered in all 50 states during the second quarter of 2023. 

While you may guess a state like Wisconsin, which is home to the most self-reported excessive drinkers and a history in the beer industry, would be ordering beer the most, but it was actually their neighbors to the west. Minnesota restaurant-goers drank roughly 53% more beer per business than restaurant-goers in any other state, according to Toast. 

Kansas and Pennsylvania ranked second and third, though both came in well below the 53% benchmark at 41% and 39%, respectively. 

Kansas was also responsible for another notable upset. Kentucky, with its rich whiskey history, ranked only as third for the most whiskey consumed per restaurant location, Toast found. It was Kansas where whiskey ranked more popular, followed by Ohio. 

Those eating out in Ohio appeared to favor hard seltzers — Toast data shows that, on average, Ohio sold 160% more hard seltzers per restaurant than any other state. These alcoholic beverages often gain popularity in the warm months, except maybe in Wyoming, which served on average 66% fewer hard seltzers than average in Q2 of 2023. 

Vodka was the most popular spirit in nearly every state, according to Toast’s analysis, except in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah, where tequila was more popular. 

Restaurant-goers in Texas consumed the most tequila, Toast found. In fact, they consumed 119% more tequila than diners in any other state. Other southern states — Georgia, Arizona, and Florida — also consumed high amounts of tequila. 

When it came to wine, it was those on the Atlantic Coast that ordered the most. Nowhere was that more apparent than in Massachusetts, where customers ordered 72% more wine than in any other state. Florida came in second for the most wine served per restaurant, followed by Rhode Island. 

There were some states that appeared to love certain types of alcohol more than others. 
Toast found New York, for example, favored gin the most. In Hawaii, it was rum (perfect for Mai Tais) and in Wisconsin, it was brandy (that’s why your Old Fashioned may taste different in the Badger State).

Vermont residents ordered hard cider the most, followed by Oregon and Washington — perfect for when you’re checking out the fall colors in these states.

LASALLE COUNTY, Ill. — Two adults and nine kids were injured Saturday evening in a single-vehicle crash on Route 39 in LaSalle County, according to Illinois State Police.

The crash happened around 6:50 p.m. near Lostant.

According to information from ISP, the driver of a van drove off the road for an unknown reason and rolled the van on its side in a ditch.

There were three adults and 10 kids, ages 5-12 years old, inside the van at the time of the crash, state police said. Two of the adults and nine of the kids were taken to hospitals with injuries.

The extent of their injuries and their conditions weren't released.