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Struggling Mets hitters seeing signs of a turnaround

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

HOUSTON — Two weeks ago, the Mets were discussing how they could get Francisco Lindor a day off. Now they can’t take his bat out of the lineup.It was around that same time the team sat Daniel Vogelbach to give the designated hitter a mental pause of sorts, and Pete Alonso went down after getting hit with a fastball in the wrist in Atlanta. Since then, Vogelbach has shown signs of recapturing the power that was once his calling card and Tommy Pham has been used as more than just a substitution for Alonso. Now, he has more than earned a spot in the lineup.The Mets are far from being out of the woods when it comes to changing the direction of the 2023 season, but some key position players are showing signs of a turnaround. Manager Buck Showalter won’t say it’s validating, but the club and its analytics team have long backed the entire lineup and been in favor of giving everyone enough playing time to be able to figure things out.“They’re easy to trus...

Boston City Council will hold hearing after four kids found near corpse, drugs, sex toys

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

A member of the Boston City Council wants the Housing Authority to explain exactly what happened at the Mary Ellen McCormack Housing complex, where four children were allegedly found hidden in the back room of an apartment filled with “alcohol, drugs, sex toys” and a dead person.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Kids, ‘drugs, sex toys,’ dead man in South Boston apartment: ‘Sickening’ On Saturday, Boston Police and Fire crews responded to 381 Old Colony Avenue to a report of a person in cardiac arrest who required medical assistance. First responders, according to an incident report obtained by the Herald, found a filthy apartment occupied by uncooperative adults — reportedly dressed in drag — who apparently were hiding the presence of children from them.“I filed this hearing order to address what happened at the (Boston Housing Authority) Saturday,” Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy told the Herald in a Tuesday text message. “It will come up at the...

Barona brush fire stopped at 20 acres; evacuation warnings lifted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A brush fire in the Barona area of East County burned 20 acres Tuesday and led to an evacuation warning for some residents.The fire, dubbed the Wildcat Fire, was burning near a paintball park in the 1800 block of Barona Road, Cal Fire San Diego said.By 5:10 p.m., crews had halted the blaze at 20 acres, fire officials said. Evacuation warnings were briefly in place for San Diego Country Estates along Barona Mesa Road and Vista Vicente Drive. Evacuees were told to go to Olive Peirce Middle School at 1521 Hanson Lane in Ramona.Evacuation warnings are in place for San Diego Country Estates along Barona Mesa Road and Vista Vicente Drive. (Cal Fire San Diego/Twitter)By 5:30 p.m., those evacuation warnings had been lifted, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said. 37-acre brush fire in rural East County prompts evacuations The Wildcat Fire was the latest to ignite Tuesday in eastern San Diego County. A short time before noon, a wildfire broke out on the Manzanita Reser...

Brush fire burns 37 acres in rural East County; evacuations lifted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

SAN DIEO -- A wind-driven wildfire burned dozens of acres Tuesday in rural East County and prompted authorities to order evacuations.The brush fire, dubbed the Black Wood Fire, was reported shortly after 11:30 a.m. near Black Wood and Old Mine roads on the Manzanita Reservation, according to Cal Fire San Diego.At 1:10 p.m., an evacuation order was issued northeast of the Manzanita and Los Posta Indian reservations. Evacuees were told to go to Golden Acorn Casino at 1800 Golden Acorn Way in Campo or Lo Posta Casino at 777 Crestwood Road in Boulevard.That evacuation order was lifted by 5:15 p.m. Body of missing hiker found at Three Sisters Falls By 2:45 p.m., crews had stopped the spread of the wildfire at 37 acres, Cal Fire said, adding that the fire was 10% contained. One outbuilding was destroyed in the flames.

I-8 lanes reopen after El Cajon brush fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A brush fire broke out Tuesday afternoon in El Cajon, prompting the closure of Interstate 8 lanes.The fire was reported near the 800 block of Murray Drive, according to Heartland Fire and Rescue Department. 37-acre brush fire in rural East County prompts evacuations All lanes of westbound Interstate 8 are closed east of El Cajon Boulevard, Caltrans San Diego said on Twitter.Shortly after 5:30 p.m., all lanes had reopened.Earlier Tuesday, a wildfire erupted farther east, prompting evacuations in a rural area near the Manzanita Reservation. Crews halted the spread of that fire at 37 acres.

Italians pursuing parenthood via surrogates abroad could face prosecution under proposed law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italy’s lawmakers are debating a bill that would make it a crime for Italian citizens to try to become parents through a surrogate’s pregnancy abroad, even in countries where the practice is legal. A 2004 law already banned surrogacy within Italy. The proposed law, which would make it illegal in Italy for citizens to engage a surrogate mother in another country, would authorize prison terms of up to three years and fines of up to 1 million euros ($1.15 million) for convictions. “We strenuously say no to the sale of children. Surrogate maternity is the most extreme form of commercialization of the body,″ lawmaker Maurizo Lupi, who heads a tiny centrist party that is a partner in Italy’s coalition government, said. Protests erupted inside the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament, and outside in a square during the debate that began Monday and continued Tuesday. A vote on the bill has not been scheduled. Lawmakers opposed to the l...

Utah school district returns the Bible to shelves after appeals and outcry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Bible will return to the shelves in a northern Utah school district that provoked an outcry after it banned them from middle and elementary schools last month.The Davis School District, which educates 72,000 students north of Salt Lake City, said in a statement on Tuesday that its board had determined the sacred text was age-appropriate for all district libraries. In allowing the Bible to be accessible to students regardless of their grade level, the board sided with 70 people who filed appeals after it was banned last month.“Based on their assessment of community standards, the appeal committee determined that The Bible has significant, serious value for minors which outweighs the violent or vulgar content it contains,” the committee wrote in a decision published along with school board materials on Tuesday.The committee’s reversal is the latest development in the debate over a Utah law allowing parents to challenge “sensitive materials” available to...

State legislator defeats incumbent senator in Virginia race centered on abortion rights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Former state legislator Lashrecse Aird defeated incumbent and self-described “pro-life” Democrat Sen. Joe Morrissey on Tuesday in a closely watched primary election nomination contest in Virginia that centered on abortion rights.Aird, a former member of the state House of Delegates, ran a campaign heavily focused on Morrissey’s position on abortion. A veteran lawmaker and one of the most controversial figures in Virginia politics, Morrissey has expressed a willingness to vote with Republicans to enact stricter limits on abortion in Virginia sought by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.Morrissey was just one of many incumbents facing spirited challenges Tuesday in an election season that’s been upended by redrawn political maps legislative candidates are running in for the first time this year. In a contentious Republican contest for a southwest Virginia House seat, freshman Del. Wren Williams defeated fellow Del. Marie March. In northern Virginia, former CIA officer...

3 suspects sought after victim hit, stabbed on TTC bus at Castle Frank station: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

Toronto police officers say they’re looking for three suspects after a person was hit and stabbed on a TTC bus at Castle Frank subway station on Tuesday. According to a statement issued by the service Tuesday evening, the incident happened at the downtown TTC station’s bus boarding area at around 1 a.m.Investigators said the victim was on the bus when three suspects got on board. They alleged one of the suspects hit the victim in the face “without provocation.”After the victim asked for help from the bus driver, officers said a second suspect pulled out a knife, hit the victim twice and then stabbed them. The victim, according to investigators, was left with minor physical injuries.The statement said the three suspects then took off from the TTC station before Toronto police officers got to the station.RELATED: TTC says safety measures working, data shows passenger satisfaction downOfficers said they are looking for two males and a female as well as further i...

Manitoba community prepares to say goodbye to 15 seniors killed in bus crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

DAUPHIN, Man. — Joe Coffey is preparing for something that doesn’t normally happen in his small community.He owns Sneath-Strilchuk Funeral Services, one of two funeral homes in Dauphin, Man., a city of 8,600 that is preparing to say goodbye to 15 seniors killed last week in a fiery bus crash.“This isn’t something that happens to funeral directors very often,” Coffey said Tuesday.The minibus was carrying the group of seniors from Dauphin and the surrounding area to a casino Thursday, when it went into the path of a semi-trailer truck on the Trans-Canada Highway near the town of Carberry, some 190 kilometres to the south.Health officials have said 10 others on the bus, including the driver, remained in hospital. Five were in critical condition.Staff at the funeral home knew everyone who was on the bus, Coffey said. They saw them at church and at funerals. Some are related to the victims.“It’s an intimate connection,” Coffey said.When word of the crash spread, he said, his ...