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Column: The Chicago Cubs’ postseason fate could be decided in overtime — a fitting ending to a turbulent season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:35 GMT

Major League Baseball decided last year to end the tradition of Game 163 tiebreaker games when it added a third wild-card team in each league.But this season could give us Game 162 1/2 — or perhaps Game 162 1/9 — thanks to the suspended game Thursday night in New York between the Mets and Miami Marlins.The Chicago Cubs woke up Friday to the news they might have to wait until Monday to find out their postseason fate.In a season as crazy as this, the possibility of overtime seems like the perfect ending for a Cubs team that has gone from 10 games under .500 to playoff contender to potentially collapsing with 13 losses in 19 games down the stretch.The Marlins had just taken a 2-1 lead over the Mets in the ninth inning when rain halted the game, eventually resulting in the suspension. They scored the go-ahead runs off reliever Anthony Kay, whom the Cubs designated for assignment earlier this month and the Mets claimed off waivers.The Marlins gained a half-game on the Cubs ...

Friday rains add to above average rainfall for September in Boston [+radar loop]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:35 GMT

Boston is in line to wrap the third consecutive month with above average rainfall as wet conditions blanketed the area Friday, according to the National Weather Service’s Boston office.A wet summer — and the fourth consecutive month of above-normal rainfall for some municipalities in Massachusetts — comes a year after the state experienced a drought that left crops damaged and officials urging residents to conserve water.National Weather Service observations from Logan International Airport show nearly 3.5 inches of rain for September, about two-tenths an inch above normal. And expected rainfalls on Friday and Saturday will add to that total, said NWS Boston meteorologist Frank Nocera.“But at least it looks like next week, starting Sunday, we could have a stretch of dry weather. So that’ll be welcomed,” Nocera said. “But the big takeaway is, there was a wet summer. Most places, it’s either the third or the fourth consecutive month of being above normal ...

State announces non-binding ‘memorandum of understanding’ with Orioles, but not a lease

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:35 GMT

The Orioles and representatives of Gov. Wes Moore said Friday they have reached agreement on a non-binding “memorandum of understanding” — but not a lease — to keep the Orioles committed to Camden Yard for 30 years.While representatives from the governor’s office and the team proclaimed Thursday night that there was a 30-year agreement, they acknowledged during a Friday morning briefing that no lease has been signed. And they said an extension of the current lease for at least a year or two may be needed because both sides have not agreed to final terms yet.Under the memorandum, the Orioles would cease paying rent to the state for Camden Yards but would assume responsibility for stadium operations and management.The memorandum, which calls for a 30-year commitment, is not a legally binding document.The details, in a briefing with reporters, followed an announcement to fans during Thursday night’s Orioles game about a lease agreement.“...

United Auto Workers strikes spread to Chicago and Lansing as 7,000 more workers join the picket line

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:35 GMT

By TOM KRISHER and DAVID KOENIG (AP Business Writers)DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers expanded its two-week strikes against Detroit automakers Friday, adding 7,000 workers at a Ford plant in Chicago and a General Motors assembly factory near Lansing, Michigan.Union President Shawn Fain told workers on a video appearance Friday that negotiations haven’t broken down, but the strikes were escalated because Ford and GM have refused to make meaningful progress in contract talks.Jeep maker Stellantis was spared from the third round of strikes.The GM plant in Delta Township, near Lansing, makes large crossover SUVs such as the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. A nearby metal parts stamping plant with 300 workers will remain open, Fain said.The Chicago Ford plant makes the Ford Explorer and Explorer Police Interceptors, as well as the Lincoln Aviator SUV. The Explorer interceptor is the nation’s top selling police vehicle.“Sadly, despite our willingness to bargain, Ford and GM hav...

California Gov. Newsom will pick Feinstein’s replacement. He pledged in past to choose a Black woman

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:35 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Democrats’ delicate majority in the U.S. Senate puts extra pressure on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to quickly pick a replacement for Sen. Dianne Feinstein after her death.Already, names were being floated Friday in California circles. The situation is complicated and wrought with political risk for Newsom, a term-limited governor with national political ambitions of his own.The Democratic governor has promised to appoint a Black woman. He has also promised to avoid the field of candidates already running for Feinstein’s seat, which was set to expire at the end of next year and includes Rep. Barbara Lee, one of the state’s most prominent Black women currently serving in elected office. In filling the Senate vacancy, Newsom has the sole authority to name a successor. He could even pick himself, though that is unlikely.Newsom made no mention of Feinstein’s replacement in a statement he issued marking her death Friday morning.“Dianne F...

Prominent Egyptian political activist and acclaimed academic dies at 85

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:35 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a prominent Egyptian-American academic and pro-democracy activist during the reign of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, died on Friday. He was 85.Ibrahim’s death was announced by Egyptian state media on Friday although few further details were given. The acclaimed academic was a leading critic of Mubarak’s autocratic government and an advocate for the rights of minority groups in Egypt, such as Coptic Christians. He spent most of the 2000s either detained or in self-imposed exile. It remains unclear where he died and what the cause of death was. Ibrahim was born in 1938 near the northern delta city of Mansoura and turned to a career in academia after finishing school.In the 1980s he founded two Cairo-based rights organizations: The Arab Organization for Human Rights, and later, The Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies. Both were critical of Mubarak’s government and other Arab states.In 2000, while a university professor...

Another suit to disqualify Trump under the Constitution’s ‘insurrection’ clause is filed in Michigan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:35 GMT

A liberal group on Friday filed a lawsuit in Michigan contending that former president Donald Trump is disqualified from regaining his old job based on a rarely used, post-Civil War provision in the U.S. Constitution. This is the first time an organization with significant legal resources has sought to block the GOP frontrunner’s campaign in a swing state.Free Speech For People argued that Trump’s attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and encouragement of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol violated section three of the 14th Amendment, which holds that anyone who swore an oath to uphold the constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against it is barred from holding office. The case is the second the organization has filed to block the GOP presidential frontrunner’s bid, following one in Minnesota. Dozens of cases have been filed nationally but the Free Speech For People cases and one filed in Colorado by another liberal group are the first...

Navy to start randomly testing SEALs, special warfare troops for steroids

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:35 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Navy will begin randomly testing its special operations forces for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs beginning in November, taking a groundbreaking step that military leaders have long resisted.Rear Adm. Keith Davids, commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, announced the new program Friday in a message to his force, calling it necessary to protect their health, safety and military readiness. The Navy will be the first to begin random testing, but Army Special Operations Command said it will soon follow suit, although no start date has been set.The Army and Navy have the largest and most well known special operations forces, including the Navy SEALs and Army’s Delta Force, Green Berets and Ranger Regiment. They are often called on to do the military’s most sensitive and dangerous missions. The physical and mental challenges of getting through their selection and training programs and the pressures of the risky missions can lead to some to use pe...

NBA suspends former Spurs guard Joshua Primo for 4 games for exposing himself to women

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:35 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA suspended former San Antonio Spurs guard Joshua Primo on Friday for four games without pay for conduct detrimental to the league.League investigators said that Primo engaged in inappropriate behavior by exposing himself to women. Primo insists his conduct was not intentional, the league said, and investigators found no evidence that he engaged in any misconduct apart from the brief exposures.Nonetheless, the NBA said his behavior does not conform to league standards and warrants discipline.Primo, a 20-year-old Canadian who spent one college season at Alabama, has not played in the NBA since the Spurs terminated his contract last October. The Spurs chose him with the 12th overall pick in the 2021 draft.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nbaThe Associated Press

New York City area under state of emergency after storms flood subways, strand people in cars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:35 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A potent rush-hour rainstorm swamped the New York metropolitan area on Friday, shutting down parts of the city’s subway system, flooding streets and highways, and delaying flights into LaGuardia Airport.Up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell in some areas overnight, and as much as 7 inches (18 centimeters) more was expected throughout the day, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday morning. By midday, although there was a break in the clouds, Mayor Eric Adams urged people to stay put if possible. “It is not over, and I don’t want these gaps in heavy rain to give the appearance that it is over,” he said at a news briefing. He and Hochul, both Democrats, declared states of emergency. No storm-related deaths or critical injuries had been reported as of midday, city officials said. But residents struggled to get around the waterlogged metropolis.Traffic hit a standstill, with water above cars’ tires, on a stretch of the FDR Drive — a major artery ...