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Jake Bauers’ misplay in left field sinks Yankees as Rays take series opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:02 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG — Prior to the Yankees’ first game of the year against the Rays, Aaron Boone shared a glowing scouting report on the Yankees’ first-place, American League East rivals.“No real weakness. They’re doing everything,” Boone said at Tropicana Field. “They’re slugging with the best of ‘em. They’re hitting the ball out of the ballpark. They’re playing defense. They’re athletic. They can pitch. So there’s not an area right now where you’re saying, ‘Oh, they’re kind of struggling.’ They’re kind of covering all the bases right now and off to the historic start.”The last-place Yankees went on to give Tampa Bay a run for its money Friday, but the Rays squeezed out a 5-4 win, their MLB-leading 27th of the year, thanks to some of the strengths Boone mentioned — and a big Bombers blunder.Tampa Bay took the lead for good in the seventh inning when Wander Franco slice...

Needham defeats fellow volleyball powerhouse Westfield, 3-0, for 59th straight win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:02 GMT

NEEDHAM – In each of the past two state title-winning seasons, one constant within Needham volleyball’s multi-faceted identity was Raymond Weng orchestrating the attack as its premier setter.Not anymore.Adding to a long string of games as the No. 1 Rockets’ Swiss Army knife, Weng delivered one of his best performances of the season as part of a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-17) nonleague sweep of No. 7 Westfield (12-2) on Friday evening. Eight of his 15 kills came in the third set, pairing with 12 assists and two aces to help lead Needham (13-0) to its 59th straight win.Weng, a two-time All-Scholastic, has been a primary leader in the majority of those 59 games. He has impressed head coach Dave Powell in this transition to a heavy-hitting role all year, but this one – against the reigning Div. 2 state champions – certainly stood out.“He’s a hitter,” Powell said. “He’s a really good server, he’s a really good hitter. If he’s in the front row, we try to feed him in certain situations. He’s a ...

Local organization seeking host homes for migrants after Title 42 expires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:02 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- In the last days of Title 42, with more and more migrants gathering along the border, a looming question is where will migrants go after they’re allowed into the U.S. to move forward with asylum claims?“It's going to be very scary to see those families potentially on the street," said Alberto Melchor with Safe Harbors Project, a local organization that has helped asylum seekers find temporary housing since 2015.The group, in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee, is now launching a Host Family Program, seeking compassionate individuals and families in the San Diego area who are willing to share their homes with a migrant family for three to six months.“We have already been seeing an increase in migrants and asylum seekers looking for shelter because there isn't anything out there," Melchor said. Highest-rated restaurants for burgers in San Diego, according to Yelp Under the program, Safe Harbors Network will take selected migrant families and match the...

Blue Jays rebound with shutout win over Pirates to arrest miserable slide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:02 GMT

Those four games at Fenway Park this week may very well turn out to be the four worst days the Toronto Blue Jays have this season.A rough turn for the rotation meant a lot of extended outings for the bullpen, which led to a lot of long innings in the field. Some defensive miscues followed, compounding everyone’s time on their feet in the miserable weather, and that carried over into at-bats.Add an improved Boston Red Sox team eager to turn around last year’s 3-16 season series between the AL East rivals, and you get a damning four-game sweep.“We just really fell into a little bit of a snowball effect … and kind of lost the time-of-possession, if you will, right there,” is how Blue Jays manager John Schneider put it. “This team and the way that we’re built, we are very well-suited to take care of the ball, have good at-bats, make good pitches. We’ve seen that this year. It just hasn’t been happening.”Hence, the Blue Jays mad...

Texas petrochemical plant fire sends 5 workers to hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:02 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Fire erupted at a petrochemical plant in the Houston area Friday, leaving five workers hospitalized and sending up a huge plume of smoke visible for miles.Emergency responders were called to help around 3 p.m. at the Shell facility in Deer Park, a suburb east of Houston. The city of Deer Park said in an advisory that there was no shelter-in-place order for residents.Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said five contracted employees were hospitalized for precautionary reasons, adding that they were not burned. He said they were taken to a hospital due to heat exhaustion and proximity to the fire.Nothing exploded, Gonzalez said, although the sheriff’s office initially responded to emergency calls saying there was an explosion.As of Friday evening, the fire was still burning but had died down and was contained, Gonzalez said.The cause of the blaze was still being investigated. Officials said they were monitoring the air for any impact from the fire but so far there w...

Police: Georgia man who killed 3 was in gunfight earlier

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:02 GMT

MOULTRIE, Ga. (AP) — A man in Georgia who, police said, killed his workplace manager, mother and grandmother before taking his own life, had been involved in a gunfight less than 48 hours earlier, law enforcement said Friday.Security video from a McDonald’s in the south Georgia town of Moultrie showed Kentavious White, 26, shoot store manager Amia Smith, 41, after getting her to come to the door before dawn on Thursday morning, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. The footage then showed White step inside the restaurant and shoot himself.After finding the shooting at the McDonald’s, police found White’s mother, 50-year-old Susie Arnold, and grandmother, 74-year-old Hilda Marshall, shot dead in their adjoining homes less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away. Marshall was dead when police found her, while Arnold died later at a hospital.All three of the slain women appeared to have been shot multiple times, Colquitt County Coroner C. Verlyn Brock told The Associated Pre...

Homewood-Flossmoor High School students may not have their prom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:02 GMT

CHICAGO -- Angry parents are speaking out on Chicago's West side after a last minute venue change leaves dozens of students shut out of prom this weekend.Parents of some students at Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School said they've spent hundreds, even thousands, on dresses, limo rentals, and other preparations for their children's prom. But, now their kids are without a ticket to this Saturday's prom and they want school leaders to step up and fix the problem.With less than 24 hours until Homewood-Flossmoor's prom, some local activists, elected officials, and parents are still calling for a resolution after they said dozens of students are being left out of an event that marks a major milestone for many high schoolers. More migrants expected this weekend in Chicago Impacted families said it was well before the cut-off date for tickets when they were already sold out.Local activist, Early Walker with the group "I'm Telling, Don't Shoot," said school leaders have rejected his o...

'I'm petrified': Colorado homeowner finds snakes in walls of new home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:02 GMT

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (KDVR) — Amber Hall and her two kids moved into their new home in Centennial, Colorado, back in April. Hall, 42, is a single mom and says she's worked her whole life to buy a home."It was amazing," Hall said.But that quickly changed when Hall made a horrifying discovery: snakes living inside her walls and underneath her home. Bill banning gender transition care for youth stalls in Texas House again after protest, delay "I was unpacking in here and one of my dogs crouched down and started walking over to this corner really slow, so I was like, 'What is it, buddy?' I thought maybe it was a spider, whatever. I came over and as I came over I saw the snake slither up the wall," Hall said. "I started watching and there were more and more and more snakes."(Credit: Amber Hall)Snakes behind drywall, snakes under the patioSince then she's found the snakes behind her drywall and underneath her patio. She says she's spent more than a $1,000 so far on traps and professional h...

Bailey Ober shines as Twins blank Guardians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:02 GMT

CLEVELAND — Guardians starting pitcher Peyton Battenfield had a mild flirtation with a perfect game on Friday, not allowing a baserunner until the sixth inning. And yet, Twins starter Bailey Ober was somehow even more impressive.A seven-inning gem from Ober — sorely needed after a 12-inning game the day before — and one big swing from Max Kepler helped propel the Twins to a 2-0 win over the Guardians on Friday night in the series opener at Progressive Field.Ober’s start, during which he didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning, was perhaps one of the best of his career. The starter mowed down Guardians hitters, making quick work of them.The only time he faced even the slightest bit of trouble was in his final inning. Guardians star José Ramírez led off the frame with a single and aggressively tried to race home from second with two outs on Oscar Gonzalez’s chopper back to Ober. Ober’s throw to Donovan Solano at first was too late to retire Gonzalez, but a head’s-up thr...

Rockies waste chances, great start by Antonio Senzatela in 1-0 loss to Mets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:02 GMT

Trouble stalks the Rockies on the road and usually finds them.Case in point: In the eighth inning, with Jurickson Profar on third base and pinch-runner Brenton Doyle on first, Ryan McMahon, mired in a deep slump, ripped a line drive off reliever David Robertson. McMahon was credited with a hit, but instead of tying the game, McMahon’s liner hit Doyle for the final out of the inning.The final: Mets 1, Rockies 0 on Friday night at Citi Field. The game’s only run came on Brandon Nimmo’s home run in the fourth.It was a painful end to the Rockies’ modest four-game winning streak, made worse because they wasted an excellent start by Antonio Senzatela.And, following their tired, familiar M.O. on the road, the Rockies wasted multiple opportunities to score, leaving 10 men on base and going 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position.Senzatela, making his first start since suffering a torn ACL in his left knee on Aug. 18 at St. Louis, pitched a terrific game. Over five i...