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Red Sox notebook: Joely Rodríguez, Garrett Whitlock taking steps towards returning from injuries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:50:57 GMT

Joely Rodríguez will pitch for Double-A Portland on Saturday, and could be activated before Monday’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners.The left-handed reliever was Boston’s first free agent signing last November, but hasn’t pitched for the big-league team yet. He began the season on the injured list, after suffering a right oblique strain during a spring training game.Rodríguez last pitched for the New York Mets. In 2022, he posted a 4.47 ERA across a career-high 55 games, including nine games finished. He ranked in the 84th MLB percentile or better in expected slugging (84), hard hit rate (91), chase rate (94), barrel rate (95) and average exit velocity (96). He struck out 57 batters and only gave up three home runs, but also issued a career-worst 26 walks, putting him in the sixth percentile in walk rate.Upgrading the bullpen was one of Boston’s top priorities over the offseason, and despite some dicey moments, the extreme makeover is paying off. R...

Ukraine says it has retaken territory near Bakhmut

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:50:57 GMT

Ukrainian military commanders said Friday that their troops had recaptured more territory from Russian forces at the scene of the war’s longest and bloodiest battle, for the eastern city of Bakhmut, but it wasn’t clear if this marked the start of Kyiv’s long-expected counteroffensive.Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said Ukrainian forces had stepped up attacks north of the region while denying speculation by Russian military bloggers that the Kyiv forces had achieved “defense breakthroughs.”The 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of territory that Ukrainian forces south of Bakhmut retook this week represented a significant gain and will protect an important supply chain, according to commanders of Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, a special forces unit that led the attack.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met with the top military commanders Friday, noting that Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi reported his forces “stopped the enemy and even pushed him back in some directions.”In...

Highest-rated cafes in San Diego, according to Yelp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:50:57 GMT

SAN DIEGO — From the first coffee houses in the Ottoman Empire to Boston's London Coffee House, cafes have always been an egalitarian place to gather, sip, and share ideas, many of which have changed the world.During the Enlightenment, cafes would regularly entertain the likes of Voltaire, Rousseau, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Isaac Newton. Later, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre would spend hours in cafes, pondering their works and holding court alongside other intellectuals.Needless to say, coffee and cafes beget some revolutionary ideas; sipping a cup may even be a political act. When settlers dumped tea into the Boston Harbor to send a message to the British empire, tea became a British loyalist's drink, and coffee became a popular substitute. Unsurprisingly, Boston's London Coffee House opened in 1689, was soon renamed the American Coffee House. Later on in Philadelphia, Merchant Coffee House, also known as the City Tavern, would host the likes of George Was...

Tennessee company refuses US request to recall 67 million potentially dangerous air bag inflators

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:50:57 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — A Tennessee company is heading for a legal battle with U.S. auto safety regulators after refusing a request that millions of potentially dangerous air bag inflators be recalled.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday that ARC Automotive Inc. of Knoxville should recall 67 million inflators in the U.S. because they could explode and hurl shrapnel. At least two people have been killed in the U.S. and Canada, and six others have been hurt as a result of defective ARC inflators, the agency said.The recall would cover a large portion of the 284 million vehicles now on U.S. roads, but the percentage is difficult to determine. Some have ARC inflators for both the driver and front passenger. In a letter posted Friday, the agency told ARC that it has tentatively concluded after an eight-year investigation that ARC front driver and passenger inflators have a safety defect.But ARC responded that it no defect exists in the inflators, and that any problems we...

Democrats in the Minnesota Legislature poised to pass contentious gun control measures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:50:57 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Democratic Minnesota senators, holding firm despite only a one-vote majority, were poised Friday to pass gun control legislation strongly supported by the governor that would align the battleground state with others nationally that have taken steps to keep guns out of the hands of people in crisis and criminals.The proposals include a “red flag law” that would allow authorities to ask courts for “extreme risk protection orders” to temporarily take guns away from people deemed to be an imminent threat to others or themselves. The provision is part of a broad public safety budget bill that also contains expanded background checks for gun transfers. “What we are going to be providing — finally — is a path forward for families and law enforcement who know that someone’s exhibiting signs of crisis and danger,” said Democratic Sen. Rob Latz of St. Louis Park, chairman of the Senate public safety committee. “And it will give them lawful tools to sep...

Youth lawsuit challenging Montana’s pro-fossil fuel policies is heading to trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:50:57 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana judge on Friday said a climate change lawsuit from young people challenging the state’s pro-fossil fuel policies will proceed to trial despite efforts by the state to derail the case.The upcoming trial in Helena would be the first of its kind in the United States, according to experts in climate law who said the nation is lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of climate litigation. However, because of prior rulings that limited the scope of the Montana case, a victory for the plaintiffs would not automatically alter the state’s regulation of fossil fuels.Attorneys for the 16 young plaintiffs, ranging in age from 5 to 22, alleged state officials were trying to avoid the upcoming trial when Republican lawmakers in March repealed the state’s energy policy — one of two laws that the case challenges. The plaintiffs and their backers are hoping to use the two-week trial that’s set to start on June 12 to highlight the dangers of fossil fue...

New menopause drug for hot flashes gets FDA approval

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:50:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators on Friday approved a new type of drug for women dealing with uncomfortable hot flashes caused by menopause. The Food and Drug Administration approved the once-a-day pill from Astellas Pharma to treat moderate-to-severe symptoms, which can include sweating, flushing and chills. Astellas’ drug, Veozah, uses a new approach, targeting brain connections that help control body temperature. The FDA said the medication will provide “an additional safe and effective treatment option for women,” in a statement.More than 80% of women experience hot flashes during menopause, the FDA noted, as the body gradually produces lower levels of reproductive hormones between the ages of 45 and 55.The most common treatment consists of hormonal pills aimed at boosting levels of estrogen and progestin. But the treatment isn’t appropriate for some women, including those with a history of stroke, blood clots, heart attack and other health conditions. ...

Investigators comb through Ontario village a day after OPP officer dies in shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:50:57 GMT

BOURGET, Ont. — Investigators combed through a property in a small village east of Ottawa on Friday as police looked to gather more information on a shooting that left one officer dead and two others injured a day earlier. Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Eric Mueller died in hospital following the early Thursday shooting at a home in Bourget, Ont. The 42-year-old and two other officers had been responding to a disturbance call, police have said. Alain Bellefeuille, a 39-year-old Bourget resident, is charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in the case. He’s expected to appear in court on Thursday in nearby L’Orignal, Ont. In Bourget, police vehicles were parked Friday near the home where the shooting took place and officers went to and from the property. Police barricades remained in place in some areas and officers were seen going door-to-door in the area.Veronique Poirier-Larabie had set up a small bunch of colourful silk flowers ...

Washington Commanders timeline under Dan Snyder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:50:57 GMT

Dan Snyder’s ownership of the Washington Commanders, which has been a matter of considerable debate for many years, is coming to an end.Snyder has agreed to sell the team for a record $6.05 billion to a group led by Philadelphia 76ers and Devils owner Josh Harris, which also includes Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.Snyder’s ownership was been under fire long before he and wife Tanya even considered putting the team up for sale. Some centered around a lack of success on the field: two playoff game victories since he bought the team in 1999. But recent events away from football put more heat on Snyder, with a series of scandals and investigations that spanned three different team names. Most recently, the Commanders settled a lawsuit with the District of Columbia for $625,000 over withholding fans’ season-ticket deposit money.A look at what has brought Snyder to this point:JULY 2020Amid a national reckoning over racism in the wake of the George Floyd protests,...

Witness: Teen wounded by Baltimore police was shot in the back while running away

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:50:57 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — A teenager critically wounded by Baltimore police Thursday afternoon was shot in the back while running from officers, according to an eyewitness account that raised more questions about whether the shooting was justified.Baltimore police said the shooting followed a short foot pursuit that began because an officer thought the teen was armed and approached him. The teen ran away, ignoring commands to drop his gun, according to police.Officials are considering whether to release body-camera footage of the shooting, which has prompted heated criticism of the Baltimore’s embattled police department. Other police shootings in cities nationwide have raised similar issues in recent years, with prosecutors, courts and the public considering when an officer should use whatever means necessary to stop a fleeing suspect.Baltimore police said the 17-year-old was carrying a gun with an extended magazine, but they declined to provide many other details about the shooting, includ...