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Powers will play for the six-player state title in football after outlasting South Wasco County 40-30 in the semifinals Saturday at Cottage Grove. The top-ranked Cruisers will face Harper Charter, the No. 2 ranked team, in the championship game this Saturday. Harper Charter beat the combined Prairie City/Burnt River squad 65-22 in the other semifinal game. The championship game is at 2 p.m. Saturday at Caldera High School in Bend. Both teams enter the title contest with perfect records. Powers overcame four turnovers and a few costly penalties to beat the Redsides in their semifinal game. Just like in the quarterfinals, they trailed early, as well, before taking the lead. South Wasco County had the ball first, and took just three plays to score, with quarterback Storm McCoy connecting with George Barnett on a 54-yard score. It was the first of four touchdown passes, all to different players, for McCoy. Marcel Sandoval’s conversion kick gave the Redsides an early 8-0 lead. The Cruisers then promptly lost a fumble, the first of their four turnovers, and Sandoval recovered for the Redsides. But right away, the Cruisers forced the first South Wasco County turnovers, with Rene Sears recovering the miscue. A big run by Jayce Shorb moved the ball deep into South Wasco territory and Sears connected with Patrick Mahmoud on a 10-yard touchdown pass. Sears added the conversion run and the Cruisers trailed just 8-7 with 6:19 go in the first quarter. The first big Powers penalty came on the ensuring South Wasco County possession, an offsides penalty on a play when the Redsides snapped the ball over the quarterback’s head for what would have been a safety. The Redsides then reached the Cruisers’ 10 yard line, but another snap over the quarterback’s head led to a big loss and the Cruisers stopped the drive when Mahmoud knocked down a fourth-down pass. This time it was Braden Bushnell connecting with Mahmoud on a 67-yard touchdown pass to put the Cruisers in front for good, 13-8 after a failed conversion attempt. After another quick stop, Powers drove the field and Shorb scored from 1 yard out. Bushnell hit Sears for the conversion, giving the Cruisers a 20-8 lead early in the second. The Redsides had another snap over the quarterback’s head on a fourth-down play giving Powers the ball at the South Wasco County 11, but the Cruisers were unable to capitalize. South Wasco County drove the field and McCoy hit Marcos Chavez for a 14-yard score, pulling the Redsides within 20-14. Both teams scored in the final minute of the first half — a 17- yard run by Sears for Powers and an 18-yard pass from McCoy to Coy Shirley for the Redsides — but South Wasco County made its kick and Powers missed its conversion and the Cruisers’ halftime lead was 26-22, a close score by Powers standards for the season. The Cruisers scored quickly in the third quarter, a two-play drive with Sears connecting with Talon Blanton for a pass down to the South Wasco County 11 and then a conversion pass from Sears to Blanton. The Cruisers then recovered a squib kick, with Sears falling on the ball, and Sears connected with Brody Harless for a 6-yard touchdown that gave Powers a 40-22 lead with 6:22 to go in the third quarter. Blanton recovered the squib kick again, with Blanton getting on the ball, but South Wasco County got an interception by Barnett. Powers forced another turnover, with Mahmoud intercepting in the end zone. But Powers had a fumble and this time, the Redsides converted, with Gavin Hagen scoring an 88- yard catch-and-run touchdown on a pass from McCoy. Sandoval’s kick made it 40-30 in the final minute of the third quarter, but the score turned out to be the final touchdown of the game. The final quarter wasn’t without excitement, though. Powers had a long touchdown run by Shorb called back by a penalty, got a sack by Dan Shorb to end the ensuing South Wasco County drive, and then lost its final turnover. South Wasco County got the ball down to the Powers 4, but was unable to score. Blanton had a big sack to push the ball out to the 17 and the Redsides dropped a potential touchdown pass. Powers ran out the clock and advanced to the championship game for the first time since 2003, when Powers lost to Powder Valley. The Cruisers got their last state title in 1998, the last of three straight state championships. In the win over South Wasco County, Sears rushed for 139 yards and the two scores and also completed 6 of 14 passes for 94 yards and two more touchdowns. Bushnell and Jayce Shorb combined for 95 more rushing yards and Bushnell completed 5 of 11 passes for 113 yards. Mahmoud had three catches for 88 yards, while Blanton had three receptions for 62 and Jayce Shorb three for 48. Mahmoud had a team-best 10 tackles while Jayce Shorb had six tackles for loss. For South Wasco County, McCoy completed 18 of 33 passes for 431 yards. Hagan had seven catches for 190 yards and Barnett five catches for 147. Barnett had a team-best 70 rushing yards but the team had negative yards in all, due to McCoy losing 101 yards on 10 carries. Harper Charter, like Powers, is unbeaten on the season and twice beat South Wasco County, 45-6 in September and 53-20 on Oct. 25. The Hornets also beat Joseph, the squad Powers beat in the quarterfinals, 48-7. Unlike Powers, which has six seniors among its 12 players, Harper Charter is a junior-dominated club, with one senior and nine juniors. In the other championship matchups: : Lake Oswego beat Central Catholic 33-24 in one semifinal and West Linn held off Sheldon 28-21 in the other, setting up a championship game between the top two teams. The Lakers and Lions meet at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Hillsboro Stadium. In the secondary 6A championship, for the second 16 teams in the state’s largest classification, rivals and neighbors North Medford and South Medford will square off after North Medford beat Jesuit 42-32 and South Medford shut out Newberg 17-0. The game will be at 5 p.m. Saturday in the stadium the two teams share. : Wilsonville knocked off top-ranked Silverton 32-29 to advance to the final against Mountain View, which beat West Albany 40-17 in the other semifinal. The championship game is at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Hillsboro Stadium. : Top-ranked Marist Catholic dominated Scappoose 41-7 to set up a championship-game rematch against Henley, which won last year’s title over the Spartans 42- 23. Henley edged Cascade 21-14, coming from 14 points down in the fourth quarter and winning the game in overtime. The tying touchdown came with just 19 seconds to go in regulation. The championship game is at 1 p.m. Saturday at Spiegelberg Stadium in Medford. : Vale and Burns will meet for the title. One week after knocking off top-ranked Siuslaw, North Valley was stymied by Vale’s defense and fell 20-3. The Vikings have won 12 state titles, the last in 2015, and are unbeaten this year. Burns, meanwhile, upset No. 2 Banks 22-15, the third straight upset for the 11th-seed Hilanders. Burns fell to Vale 18-12 back in early October. Burns has shut out five opponents and given up one touchdown or less to three others. Vale has given up one touchdown or less seven times and won another game by forfeit. The game will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Summit High School in Bend. : St. Paul knocked off top-seed Heppner 18-12 to reach the championship game, where the unbeaten Buckaroos will meet Sunset Conference champion Oakridge. The Oakers, the No. 2 seed, also are unbeaten and eliminated Gervais 28-14 one week after also knocking out Myrtle Point. The championship game is at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cottage Grove High School. : Top seed Adrian will face North Douglas for the title after both won semifinal games Saturday. Adrian beat Crane 34-26 to improve to 11-0 on the season. Unbeaten North Douglas beat Crosspoint Christian 50-6 behind another huge game from Hunter Vaughn, who had four touchdown runs and a TD catch and ran for 287 yards on 13 carries. For the season, Vaughn has rushed for 2,654 yards and 45 touchdowns. The championship game is at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Summit High School.SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Dan Campbell stood at the podium after Detroit blew a 17-point lead to San Francisco in last season's NFC title game and talked about how that might have been the Lions' only shot at reaching the Super Bowl. The coach knew how difficult it would be to maintain that high level of play through injuries, attrition and with a target on their back as a top contender in the NFC. Eleven months later as Campbell and the Lions prepare to return to Levi's Stadium for the first time since that loss , that has proved to be prophetic — for San Francisco instead of Detroit. The Lions (13-2) head into the rematch Monday night with the inside track at the top seed in the NFC playoffs, while the 49ers (6-9) have already been eliminated from postseason contention . The element of revenge for last season's 34-31 loss is secondary for Detroit, considering what's on the line the last two weeks of the season. The Lions can clinch the top seed in the NFC by winning their final two games or with a win against the Niners if Minnesota loses to Green Bay on Sunday. “Anytime we lose, the thought of losing is going to motivate you to not want to lose again, particularly with where you were at,” Campbell said. “So, that’s always going to bring its own level of motivation to it. But this is where we’re at in the season, we know that we need another win, we understand where we’re at in the division and the NFC, so I think it’s all encompassing.” While the Lions have no need to search for motivation, that's not the case for the 49ers, who are playing out the string of a lost season after making losing back-to-back NFC title games in 2021-22 and the Super Bowl last season. A run of injuries to key players like Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa and Brandon Aiyuk, combined with inconsistent play all season have led to the 49ers having nothing to play for in the final two games. “It’s obviously not where you want to be this time of year,” Bosa said. "It’s different, especially watching where we’re at last year against this team. Just that feeling of December, January football is a feeling that I’ve gotten used to being really competitive and being in the mix. I think we’re doing a good job of staying engaged and obviously this is our job, so we’re going to finish it strong. Detroit’s faith in Jameson Williams is paying off, taking advantage of his game-breaking abilities with big plays. Jared Goff heaved an 82-yard touchdown pass over Williams’ shoulders and into his hands in last week’s win at Chicago. Earlier this season, Goff threw 70-, 64- and 52-yard passes for scores to the third-year receiver. “We work on it a ton, him and I do, and it’s a testament to him,” Goff said. “He’s asking for it. He wants that work, and I’m more than happy to give it to him during the week. It’s good. Our connection continues to grow. He’s obviously one of the best deep threats in our league, even when it’s not perfect.” The 49ers head into the game scrambling to put together an offensive line. Williams has been out for more than a month with an ankle injury and his backup at left tackle, Jaylon Moore, is now sidelined by a quadriceps injury. Left guard Aaron Banks injured his knee last week, while his backup Ben Bartch is already out with an ankle injury. That will leave the Niners with two third-stringers protecting Brock Purdy. But Shanahan said he isn’t thinking of sitting Purdy to protect him. “People deal with that throughout the year on other weeks, too,” he said. “I mean, we’ve got a football team. We’ve got to go out and we’ve got two games here and we’ve got to see what guys we can put out there and whatever we do we’re going to put a game plan together to, as best as we can to give us a chance to win.” Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who may have a chance for the second straight offseason to be an NFL head coach, routinely pulls off trick plays and his latest was a doozy. Goff intentionally stumbled after taking a snap and Jahmyr Gibbs went to the ground as their teammates yelled, “fumble,” to fool the Bears on a 21-yard touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta. “Those make you feel good because everybody is invested in it,” Campbell said. “It’s fun. It’s different. It’s sound. “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s sound.” San Francisco kicker Jake Moody is having a rough second season after being drafted in the third round a year ago. Moody has missed seven field goals this season, including a 41-yarder last week at Miami. Moody is just 10 for 16 since coming back from a high ankle sprain in his kicking foot, but Shanahan said he still has confidence in him. “I still feel the same about him, that I believe he’ll be our guy,” Shanahan said. "I mean everyone’s got to perform and do things like that. I think he has had a tough year. Before his high ankle sprain, he missed one. ... I think he was 12 of 13 before that, so I thought he was doing really well." AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflJeremiah Ellison won't seek reelection to Minneapolis City Council

Former NHLer and now media personality Jay Rosehill wasn’t too happy after hearing comments made from Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse regarding Ryan Reaves. Nurse, who has yet to play since taking a high hit from Reaves last Saturday, made it clear that , one that resulted in a five-game suspension for the Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer. “You can argue about the intent, but there are certain guys in this league that, each shift, they go out there and try and go inflict pain,” Nurse told reporters yesterday. “I think it was pretty obvious what was going on there.” It was reported that Reaves was able to find the Oilers blue liner not long after the hit in an attempt to apologize, though that didn’t seem to change Nurse’s perception. Now, Rosehill is getting involved. Speaking on Leafs Morning Take, Rosehill not only criticized Nurse for skating around the net with his head down, but also seemed to have an issue with the physical blue liner suggesting Reaves was trying to hurt him. “Darnell is a guy who has played the game hard; he’s thrown big hits before. Darnell, you’ve taken off your glove to punch other players with a barehanded fist. Are you out there to hurt guys? No,” Rosehill said. “He’s playing hard and playing within the game, the game within the game. That’s what Revo is doing. Do you honestly think Revo wouldn’t have rather made that hit eight inches behind and caught your shoulder? He would’ve blown you up to kingdom come and stood over you saying, ‘Choo choo, Darnell.’ “Darnell’s wheeling the net like it’s a Sunday beer skate, forgetting he’s in the NHL with a fourth-line forward forechecking him. Revo screws up, catches only his head, wraps it around the other side of his body. It’s a bad look. It’s the last thing that Ryan Reaves wanted. ... If he caught your shoulder, he would’ve blown you into the third deck.” Though Nurse has yet to return, he was able to skate with his teammates yesterday, indicating he’s making solid progress in his recovery. Regardless of what side of the argument one falls in, everybody can agree that given all the attention this entire situation has received, these two teams going head-to-head once again on February 1 is going to be a must-watch game.

MIAMI — As her students finished their online exam, Arlet Lara got up to make a cafe con leche. Her 16-year-old son found her on the kitchen floor. First, he called Dad in a panic. Then 911. “I had a stroke and my life made a 180-degree turn,” Lara told the Miami Herald, recalling the medical scare she experienced in May 2020 in the early months of the COVID pandemic. “The stroke affected my left side of the body,” the North Miami woman and former high school math teacher said. Lara, an avid runner and gym goer, couldn’t even walk. “It was hard,” the 50-year-old mom said. After years of rehabilitation therapy and a foot surgery, Lara can walk again. But she still struggles with moving. This summer, she became the first patient in South Florida to get an implant of a new and only FDA-approved nerve stimulation device designed to help ischemic stroke survivors regain movement in their arms and hands. This first procedure was at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Lara’s rehab was at at the Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, part of a partnership between Jackson Health System and UHealth. Every year, thousands in the United States have a stroke, with one occurring every 40 seconds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The majority of strokes are ischemic, often caused by blood clots that obstruct blood flow to the brain. For survivors, most of whom are left with some level of disability, the Vivistim Paired VNS System, the device implanted in Lara’s chest, could be a game changer in recovery, said Dr. Robert Starke, a UHealth neurosurgeon and interventional neuroradiologist. He also serves as co-director of endovascular neurosurgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital, part of Miami-Dade’s public hospital system. What to know about the stroke device The Vivistim Paired VNS System is a small pacemaker-like device implanted in the upper chest and neck area. Patients can go home the same day. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the stroke rehabilitation system in 2021 to be used alongside post-ischemic stroke rehabilitation therapy to treat moderate to severe mobility issues in hands and arms. Lara’s occupational therapist can activate the device during rehabilitation sessions to electrically stimulate the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain down to the abdomen and regulates various parts of the body’s nervous system. The electrical stimulation rewires the brain to improve a stroke survivor’s ability to move their arms and hands. How it worked on the first Jackson patient Lara also has a magnet she can use to activate the device when she wants to practice at home. Her therapy consists of repetitive tasks, including coloring, pinching cubes and grabbing and releasing cylindrical shapes. After several weeks of rehabilitation therapy with the device, Lara has seen improvement. “Little by little, I’m noticing that my hand is getting stronger. I am already able to brush my teeth with the left hand,” she told the Miami Herald in September. Since then, Lara has finished the initial six-week Vivitism therapy program, and is continuing to use the device in her rehabilitation therapy. She continues to improve and can now eat better with her left hand and can brush her hair with less difficulty, according to her occupational therapist, Neil Batungbakal. Lara learned about the device through an online group for stroke survivors and contacted the company to inquire. She then connected them with her Jackson medical team. Now a year later, the device is available to Jackson patients. So far, four patients have received the implant at Jackson. Starke sees the device as an opportunity to help bring survivors one step closer to regaining full mobility. Strokes are a leading cause of disability worldwide. While most stroke survivors can usually recover some function through treatment and rehabilitation, they tend to hit a “major plateau” after the first six months of recovery, he said. Vivistim, when paired with rehabilitation therapy, could change that. Jackson Health said results of a clinical trial published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet in 2021 showed that the device, “when paired with high-repetition, task-specific occupational or physical therapy, helps generate two to three times more hand and arm function for stroke survivors than rehabilitation therapy alone.” The device has even shown to benefit patients 20 years from their original stroke, according to Starke. “So now a lot of these patients that had strokes 10-15 years ago that thought that they would never be able to use their arm in any sort of real functional way are now able to have a real meaningful function, which is pretty tremendous,” Starke said. More about the device Vivistim’s vagus-nerve stimulation technology was developed by researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas’ Texas Biomedical Device Center and is being sold commercially by Austin-based MicroTransponder, a company started by university graduates. Similar devices are used to treat epilepsy and depression. For Lara, the device is a new tool to help her recovery journey. “Everything becomes a challenge so we are working with small things every day because I want to get back as many functions as possible,” Lara said. Patients interested in Vivistim should speak with their doctor to check their eligibility. The FDA said patients should make sure to discuss any prior medical history, including concurrent forms of brain stimulation, current diathermy treatment, previous brain surgery, depression, respiratory diseases and disorders such as asthma, and cardiac abnormalities. “Adverse events included but were not limited to dysphonia (difficulty speaking), bruising, falling, general hoarseness, general pain, hoarseness after surgery, low mood, muscle pain, fracture, headache, rash, dizziness, throat irritation, urinary tract infection and fatigue,” the FDA said.

Special counsel moves to abandon election interference and classified documents cases against Trump49ers QB Brock Purdy resumes throwing but status for this week remains unknownISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security forces launched an operation Tuesday night to disperse supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan who had gathered in the capital to demand his release from prison. The latest development came hours after thousands of Khan supporters, defying government warnings, broke through a barrier of shipping containers blocking off Islamabad and entered a high-security zone, where they clashed with security forces, facing tear gas shelling, mass detentions and gunfire. Tension has been high in Islamabad since Sunday when supporters of the former prime minister began a “long march” from the restive northwest to demand his release. Khan has been in a prison for over a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases that his party says are politically motivated. Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, led the protest, but she fled as police pushed back against demonstrators. Hundreds of Khan’s supporters are being arrested in the ongoing nighttime operation, and police are also seeking to arrest Bibi. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters that the Red Zone, which houses government buildings and embassies, and the surrounding areas have been cleared. Leaders from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, have also fled the protest site. Earlier Tuesday, Pakistan’s army took control of D-Chowk, a large square in the Red Zone, where visiting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is staying. Since Monday, Naqvi had threatened that security forces would use live fire if protesters fired weapons at them. “We have now authorized the police to respond as necessary,” Naqvi said Tuesday while visiting the square. Before the operation began, protester Shahzor Ali said people had taken to the streets because Khan had called for them. “We will stay here until Khan joins us. He will decide what to do next,” Ali said. “If they fire bullets again, we will respond with bullets,” he said. Protester Fareeda Bibi, who is not related to Khan’s wife, said people have suffered greatly for the last two years. “We have really suffered for the last two years, whether it is economically, politically or socially. We have been ruined. I have not seen such a Pakistan in my life,” she said. Authorities have struggled to contain the protest-related violence. Six people, including four members of the security services, were killed when a vehicle rammed them on a street overnight into Tuesday. A police officer died in a separate incident. Dozens of Khan supporters beat a videographer covering the protest for The Associated Press and took his camera. He sustained head injuries and was treated in a hospital. By Tuesday afternoon, fresh waves of protesters made their way unopposed to their final destination in the Red Zone. Most demonstrators had the flag of Khan’s party around their shoulders or wore its tricolors on accessories. Naqvi said Khan’s party had rejected a government offer to rally on the outskirts of the city. Information Minister Atta Tarar warned there would be a severe government reaction to the violence. He said the government did not want Bushra Bibi to achieve her goal of freeing Khan. “She wants bodies falling to the ground. She wants bloodshed,” he said. The government says only the courts can order Khan’s release. He was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament. In a bid to foil the unrest, police have arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters since Friday and suspended mobile and internet services in some parts of the country. Messaging platforms were also experiencing severe disruption in the capital. Khan’s party relies heavily on social media and uses messaging platforms such as WhatsApp to share information, including details of events. The X platform, which is banned in Pakistan, is no longer accessible, even with a VPN. Last Thursday, a court prohibited rallies in the capital and Naqvi said anyone violating the ban would be arrested. Travel between Islamabad and other cities has become nearly impossible because of shipping containers blocking the roads. All education institutions remain closed. Pakistan's Stock Exchange lost more than $1.7 billion Tuesday due to rising political tensions, according to economist Mohammed Sohail from Topline Securities. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan, contributed to this report.