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Yankees, Mets enter Subway Series looking for more than bragging rights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:31 GMT

The latest Subway Series comes with much more on the line than bragging rights for the Yankees and Mets.Both teams, built with win-now rosters filled with expensive veterans, enter this week’s two-game set at Yankee Stadium outside of the postseason picture and running out of time to establish themselves as the contenders many expected them to be.For the Yankees (53-47), Tuesday and Wednesday’s games represent the final soft spots on their schedule before back-to-back-to-back series against the likely postseason-bound Orioles, Rays and Astros.The Yankees are coming off a three-game sweep of the 28-73 Royals, but they’re still just 8-11 in July and two games behind the Blue Jays for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.“Any team we play, we need to make sure we’re ready to go in this clubhouse before we take the field,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said after going 4-for-4 in Sunday’s win. “The Mets coming, it’s going...

Opposition in Kenya gathers evidence of ‘police atrocities’ against protesters to take to the ICC

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:31 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Opposition parties in Kenya said on Tuesday they are filing charges against the government for “police atrocities” that left 30 people dead at the International Criminal Court in the wake of protests against the rising cost of living and the levying of new taxes.Opposition coalition leader Raila Odinga called for a press conference in the capital, Nairobi, announcing that his party was “assembling more evidence” of police brutality against protesters. He also said they were gathering evidence to prove “the targeting of people” from his “Luo ethnic community” living in western Kenya, where protesters were admitted to hospital with bullet-related injuries.Police have been accused of shooting at protesters using live bullets in areas where the opposition enjoys wide political support.There has been no immediate comment from the government.In the last three weeks, protests have spread across Kenya with people calling out President William Ruto’s administration over...

Stock market today: Wall Street opens mixed ahead of Big Tech earnings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening mixed Tuesday as Wall Street waits to hear from some of its most influential companies, and whether their huge rally this year was justified. The S&P 500 was little changed in early trading, still near its highest level in more than 15 months. The Dow slipped 20 points, less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.4%. General Electric jumped 6.5% after reporting stronger profit for the spring than analysts expected. GE also raised its forecasts. Alphabet and Microsoft report after trading closes. The Federal Reserve began its latest meeting on interest rates.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.NEW YORK (AP) — Global stock markets and Wall Street futures were mixed Tuesday after China’s ruling Communist Party promised to shore up its sagging economy ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting traders hope will announce this interest rate cycle’s final increase.London and Shanghai advanced while Tokyo and Pari...

Chicago boy, 10, fires shot at police officers called to scene after youth opens fire inside a home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:31 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A 10-year-old boy fired a shot at Chicago police officers during a standoff with officers called to the scene after the youth opened fire inside a home, police said.No one was injured in Monday’s shooting and the boy was taken to a hospital for observation, police said.Officers responded to a home in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood about 11:20 a.m. after learning the boy had fired shots inside the residence and was experiencing “mental distress,” police said in a statement.Chicago Police Deputy Chief Migdalia Bulnes told reporters at the scene that the boy stepped out onto a porch, pointed a gun at the officers and at his own head before he fired a single gunshot, sending officers ducking for cover.Bulnes said officers tried to de-escalate the situation by firing bean bag rounds at the home without striking the boy, but “it was too quick for them to bring a negotiator out.” She said the boy went back inside the house before returning to the porch and pointi...

These Trader Joe’s cookies may contain rocks. See the products under recall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Trader Joe’s is recalling two cookie products because they may contain rocks, the grocery chain announced Friday.The recall impacts Trader Joe’s Almond Windmill Cookies and Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies with “sell by” dates ranging from October 17, 2023 to October 21, 2023.According to Trader Joe’s, the recalled cookies have been removed from store shelves and destroyed — but the company is urging consumers to check their cabinets and get a refund.“If you purchased or received any donations of Almond Windmill Cookies and/or Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies, please do not eat them,” Trader Joe’s wrote in its announcement, instructing customers to throw away the products or return them to any store for a full refund. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”Lot codes for the recalled products and customer service contact information can be found on Trader Joe’s website.Trader Joe’s did ...

Spanish rescue service saves 84 migrants, finds 1 man dead on vessel close to the Canary Islands

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:31 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Rescuers saved 84 migrants and found one man dead on board a boat close to the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service said Tuesday. A spokesman for the service said the survivors included 83 men and one woman, all from sub-Saharan African countries. Several needed medical treatment on arrival at Gran Canaria, located off the northwest coast of Africa. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be named in the media.The boat was detected before dawn by a Spanish Civil Guard radar.Nearly 1,000 migrants have died while trying to reach Spain by sea in the first six months of 2023, according to the Spanish migrant rights group Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders). In recent years, most of the boats heading to Spain have come from Senegal or Morocco.Ciarán Giles, The Associated Press

A firefighting plane crashes as fires rage out of control and new evacuations are ordered in Greece

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:31 GMT

RHODES, Greece (AP) — A firefighting plane crashed in southern Greece on Tuesday as authorities battled fires across the country amid a return of heat wave temperatures.The crash occurred on the island of Evia and was aired in a state television broadcast that showed the low-flying aircraft disappearing into a canyon before a fireball was seen moments later. There was no immediate information about the plane’s crew.A third successive heat wave in Greece pushed temperatures back above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across parts of the country Tuesday following more nighttime evacuations from fires that have raged out of control for days.The latest evacuation orders were issued on the islands of Corfu and Evia, while a blaze on the island of Rhodes continued to move inland, torching mountainous forest areas, including a part of a nature reserve.Desperate residents, many with wet towels around their necks to stave off the scorching heat, used shovels to beat back fla...

Book Review: Genevieve Gornichec spins a fun yarn with ‘The Weaver and the Witch Queen’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:31 GMT

“The Weaver and the Witch Queen” by Genevieve Gornichec (Ace)They say your second book is the hardest one to write, but Genevieve Gornichec — leaning on her Norse mythology love yet again as with debut “The Witch’s Heart” – performs a magic hat trick with her sophomore novel. Historical fantasy “The Weaver and the Witch Queen” finds its footing immediately as tween friends Gunnhild and less well-off sisters Oddny and Signy reunite for a special celebration on their Norwegian fjord, only to be horribly separated by a seeress foretelling that one of them will destroy the other two’s lives without naming the culprit. As a result, ambitious Gunnhild runs into the night with the witch in order to get away from her cruel mother and forge her own destiny, while the sisters stay at their father’s’ farm with no prospects, until a decade later a violent raid tears them apart as well. The now young women’s journeys come together once again as cross paths with the charismatic if unwieldy ...

Russia declares independent TV channel ‘undesirable,’ banning it from country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:31 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian prosecutor-general’s office on Tuesday declared independent TV channel Dozhd to be an undesirable organization, continuing the country’s wide crackdown on news media and groups regarded as threats to Russia’s security.The designation outlaws Dozhd from operating in Russia and exposes its journalists, staff and donors to potential criminal charges.Dozhd, which is often critical of the Kremlin, closed its operations in Russia soon after the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, moving first to Latvia and then to the Netherlands. The prosecutor-general’s office said Dozhd had spread extremist material and discredited authorities.The channel frequently offended authorities with its coverage of Russia’s political opposition and criticism of the Kremlin. It was removed from Russian cable TV systems in 2014 after conducting a controversial poll of whether viewers thought the Soviet Union should have surrendered in the World War II siege of Leningrad...

China removes its outspoken foreign minister, fueling rumors of rivalries within the Communist Party

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:31 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China removed outspoken Foreign Minister Qin Gang from office on Tuesday and replaced him with his predecessor, Wang Yi, in a move that has already fueled rumors over the personal lives and political rivalries of China’s Communist Party elite. In its announcement on the national evening news, state broadcaster CCTV gave no reason for Qin’s removal. He had dropped out of sight almost a month ago and the Foreign Ministry has provided no information about his status. That is in keeping with the ruling Communist Party’s standard approach to personnel matters within a highly opaque political system where the media and free speech are severely restricted.The ministry made no comment at its daily briefing on Tuesday. The move comes amid a foreign backlash against China’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy, of which Qin was a chief proponent. Adding to the mystery around Qin’s removal, it was approved at an unusually scheduled meeting of the Standing Com...