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It was a trifecta that even now makes me happy. I was 14 or so when I wandered those endless rows of tables that day, at a massive show at Cervantes Convention Center in downtown St. Louis. I’d gone to dozens of smaller shows before, and went to dozens after. I would walk around my binder — the one with Upper Deck stickers on the front cover — hoping to find someone who would give me $3 for one of the Tom Gordon cards on that page of Rated Rookies so I could buy more packs....

Durst, 76, has never been charged in connection with the death of his wife Kathie Durst, who disappeared in 1982. She was later declared dead despite no body ever being found—but the real estate scion is now on trial in Los Angeles for the murder of his friend Susan Berman in 2000. Prosecutors allege Durst shot and killed Berman in her Beverly Hills home to prevent police from asking her about the disappearance of his wife....

That’s the beat the Saints are marching to against the Packers — gumbo, po-boy, crawfish and big, primetime wins over conference powers. LIVE: NFL scores, stats | More: Week 8 images New Orleans (2-4) stumbles into Sunday night’s game against Green Bay (5-2) desperate for a win. It’s now or never for the Saints, even in the pathetic NFC South. If considering 2014 trends, there’s no reason the Saints should beat the Packers....

To an adult, this year’s children’s books only confirm some obvious truths: that there’s a reason little-known folk tales are little known; that the only famous people who should write children’s books are people who got famous writing children’s books; that multicultural good intentions are no substitute for a good story. But to a child–who knows? Even supermodel Paulina Porizkova’s fashionably biodiverse (and thoroughly disagreeable) The Adventures of Ralphie the Roach (Doubleday....

And when you look at the team’s record with and without the captain, that clamor was hardly surprising. Argentina dug deep to take a 2-2 draw against Venezuela last Tuesday, with Messi back in Barcelona recovering from an injury. Then, on Wednesday, the Albiceleste fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Paraguay. It was the sixth match in which he has played no part during the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, and his absence has often been sorely felt by the nation....

Howell, a computer science student at Texas State University, had been at a protest near police headquarters on the night of May 31 when police hit him with a round meant for another protester standing near him. The 20-year-old was identified by his brother Joshua Howell in an op-ed for Texas A&M University’s student newspaper The Battalion. Howell wrote his brother had sustained a fractured skull and brain damage....

Singh had been taking a stroll through Montreal’s Atwater Market ahead of a French-language debate when he was approached by a white man who asked how the politician was doing. Leaning closer to Singh, the man can be heard saying, “You know what?” before offering some unsolicited advice. “You should really cut your turban off and you [inaudible] look like a Canadian.” Putting a hand on the man’s shoulder, Singh quickly shut down the racist suggestion, telling him: “I think Canadians look like all sorts of people....

Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg is undefeated no more. While the right-hander struck out 10 and only walked one, he surrendered six runs over six innings in a home start against the Dodgers on Thursday. Justin Turner was responsible for nearly every run scored against Strasburg, who fell to 13-1 on the year with a 2.83 ERA. Turner hammered two home runs and drove in five runs — all against Strasburg, whose only run support came on a Bryce Harper sacrifice fly in the first inning....

The Serie A champions held Monaco scoreless in a 2-0 away win in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final tie. The result was Juventus’ six straight clean sheet in the competition, which sets a new club record in Europe’s top continental club tournament. Higuain delivers for classy Juve The last club to score against in the Champions League against Juventus was Sevilla, back on November 22, in a 3-1 loss to the Old Lady....

Considering the season he’s had, that means that Kahne had a great day. He rallied from contact with a spinning Kyle Larson on Lap 7 to finish fifth in the Quicken Loans 400. It was Kahne's best finish in four races and just his second top-five this season. He was able to rally after losing a lap by getting the free pass — something he never got after a wreck at Charlotte Motor Speedway — and eventually was able to leave with a solid result....

Kahne was leading the race on the restart with 17 laps remaining in the Crown Royal 400 but Gordon, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, already had him beat by the time they got to the start-finish line. Kahne dropped to fifth in one lap and eventually finished sixth after running out of fuel in Turn 3 on the final lap. If Kahne had gotten the restart he wanted, he said he wouldn’t have been able to make it to the finish line....

Harris is leading the U.S. delegation to the Munich Security Conference “as a resounding signal that engagement with our Allies and partners is an absolutely critical part of our overall diplomacy in our approach to this situation,” a senior administration official told reporters on a preview call on Wednesday. The vice president will be discussing a “full range of issues” throughout the trip, the official said. They include unity between allies, the economic measures that have been prepared and will be imposed if Russia invades Ukraine, the U....

Hypoxen is one of three medications, all of which can be used to treat heart conditions, that were found in a sample taken from Valieva on December 25, according to a document filed in her Sunday hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Trimetazidine, one of the other drugs found in the sample, is on a list of banned drugs from antidoping officials, according to the Times. Valieva, 15, has been surrounded by controversy ever since reports emerged that she had tested positive for trimetazidine after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics were already underway, and the young figure skater had already helped lead the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to gold in the team event....

The Chiefs have a bad history in this moment, and the Texans have already won in Kansas City this season. The Chiefs (12-4) will host the Texans (11-6) on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:05 p.m. ET. Before the Chiefs can write off the Texans as an underling who’s traveling to Missouri as an underdog, here are things to consider about the AFC South champion Texans:...

Kelly proposed a $250 rebate to individual tax filers and $500 to married couples filing together. Even those who didn’t owe taxes would receive the rebate, Kelly’s office said. The rebates would cost the state about $445 million. The governor said the state is able to pay the one-time rebates, as they wouldn’t permanently decrease state revenues. The state budget is in much better shape than it was before lawmakers reversed a majority of former GOP Governor Sam Brownback’s tax cuts in 2017, with tax collections surpassing expectations....

Luke Schemm, a 17-year-old senior at Wallace County High School, was taken off life support at a Denver-area hospital at the request of his family. Schemm had previously been declared brain dead. MORE: Notable sports deaths of 2015 | 9-year-old in Ohio dies during practice Schemm’s father, David, said that Luke suffered trauma to the brain that caused it to swell and shut off blood flow. “Our hearts are shattered,” David Schemm said Wednesday night on Facebook....

The victory was very different from Kansas’ Final Four matchup against Villanova, which was a wire-to-wire win. Kansas went into the half down 40-25 and then stormed back to outscore North Carolina by 18 points in the second half. The 15-point comeback is the biggest in championship history. Timely baskets by Remy Martin and David McCormack helped to power the Jayhawks’ rally against a Tar Heels team that was hobbled in the second half....