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For Chicago Cubs reliever Julian Merryweather, locked-in mechanics and health has been a consistency game changer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

Staying healthy has been a challenge at times for right-hander Julian Merryweather.The Chicago Cubs’ reliever always possessed electric stuff, but his inconsistencies often stemmed from unreliable mechanics and struggles to stay off the injured list. Both areas have come together as Merryweather and the Cubs hoped when the organization claimed him off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays in January.“Staying within my delivery, my mechanics have had ups and downs this year, but I feel like when my mechanics are right everything comes from there,” Merryweather told the Tribune on Tuesday before the Cubs took a 17-3 victory over the Washington Nationals. “My lower half — legs and hips — really drive the whole delivery for me, just timing, my rhythm, everything comes from there, like all the velocity.”Merryweather’s emergence as a go-to option in high-leverage spots will likely have teams inquiring about the 31-year-old if the Cubs sell at t...

High-water rescue crews save people flooded in Kentucky as death toll rises in northeast US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — High-water rescue crews pulled people from flooded homes and vehicles in Kentucky Wednesday, where waves of thunderstorms prompted flash flood warnings and watches. A search continued for two children swept away after torrential rains in the northeast.The National Weather Service estimated that as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain could fall in the area where Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri meet at the convergence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.Atmospheric scientists say the global warming responsible for unrelenting heat in the Southwest also is making this kind of extreme rainfall a more frequent reality, because clouds hold more moisture as the temperature rises, resulting in more destructive storms. There were several reports of people being rescued from high water surrounding homes and vehicles in the Mayfield and Wingo areas early Wednesday, according to Keith Cooley, a senior forecaster with the weather service in Paducah, Kentucky. He ...

Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara released on charges related to crash, ordered not to drive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

City Councilor Kendra Lara was released on personal recognizance today after her arraignment on a host of charges related to her alleged high speed crash into the side of a Jamaica Plan home last month.Lara was arraigned a West Roxbury District Court moments after a judge found probable cause to charge her on a summons related to the June 30 event.Lara was also charged with driving without a valid driver’s license, and the judge on Wednesday ordered her not to drive unless she obtains a valid one.Lara left the court after this morning’s arraignment to a chorus of calls for her resignation from a crowd of hecklers waiting outside.Lara appeared in court facing charges of driving an unregistered, uninsured vehicle with a revoked license before crashing into a Jamaica Plain home last month.Her defense attorney objected to the arraignment and unsuccessfully attempted to get the charges dismissed.Instead, First Assistant Clerk Magistrate Paul Troi tacked on two additional charges, includi...

Homeless shelter to open in heart of Oceanside

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- A new year-round homeless shelter is set to open in the heart of Oceanside in the coming weeks, the City Manager's Office announced Tuesday.The Oceanside Navigation Center, which sits on the property of a former school located at 3131 Oceanside Boulevard, has undergone major renovations and upgrades. The city says the project was funded by a generous grant award of $3.3 million from the County of San Diego and $2.25 million in federal funding secured by California Congressman Mike Levin. County gun safety reform initiative fails after Board of Supervisors vote Within the building, a variety of support services and case management will be provided with the goal of transitioning individuals into a stable and healthy permanent living situation. The city says this initiative is poised to make a significant impact on homelessness and mitigate community impacts in Oceanside."Our goal is not just to provide a bed for the night, but to provide our residents with ...

German woman voices remorse over enslaved Yazidi girl’s death at new court hearing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German woman convicted on charges that she and her husband allowed the death by thirst of a 5-year-old Yazidi girl she and her husband kept as a slave when they were members of the Islamic State group in Iraq expressed remorse as a new sentencing hearing opened on Wednesday.A federal court in March ordered judges in Munich to reconsider the sentence of the 32-year-old, who has been identified only as Jennifer W. in line with German privacy rules. She risks a more severe sentence than the 10 years she was given at her original trial.The defendant was convicted in October 2021 of, among other things, two counts of crimes against humanity through enslavement, in one case resulting in death, being an accessory to attempted murder and membership in a terrorist organization abroad. Prosecutors have accused her of standing by as her then husband chained the young Yazidi girl in a courtyard and left her to die of thirst. At her original trial, the court found that she did no...

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan says port workers strike illegal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

VANCOUVER — Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan says a strike by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada is illegal after a ruling by the Canada Industrial Relations Board.In a tweet, O’Regan says the board ordered that the union cease and desist any strike activity because it did not provide 72 hours notice.The strike that has shut down British Columbia’s ports resumed Tuesday after the longshore workers union rejected a tentative mediated deal.The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada says “employers have not addressed the cost of living issues” faced by workers in the last few years.The tentative four-year deal that was rejected had been proposed by a federal mediator at the instruction of O’Regan.  O’Regan and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra have said workers and employers across Canada cannot face further disruption and that they are looking at all options.This report by The Canadian Press was first publi...

Grassroots groups say Canada won’t meet UN Sustainable Development Goals, lacks data

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

OTTAWA — A coalition of grassroots groups says Canada won’t meet goals it set for 2030 as part of a United Nations initiative to bridge inequities around the world.The Sustainable Development Goals are a series of benchmarks around issues such as poverty and gender equality that states have agreed to pursue at home while funding programs to help developing countries.Social Development Minister Karina Gould says Ottawa is making good progress on these goals in Canada, telling a review body in New York City this morning about policies including daycare reform. Yet a coalition of civil-society groups that also sent a delegation to the UN body says Canada lacks adequate data and consultation procedures to get a sense of how different groups are faring, particularly Indigenous Peoples and those with disabilities.The organizations, which also advocate for women and older Canadians, note that Canada is not on track to meet multiple targets by the deadline seven years from now.Gould r...

Northwestern hazing scandal includes former quarterback Lloyd Yates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Former Northwestern quarterback Lloyd Yates is among more than 15 men and women who have retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the Chicago-based Levin & Perconti law to seek damages against the school due to its hazing scandal.“This is a civil rights issue for me,” Crump said at a news conference Wednesday. “Because I think these players have the right to be respected and valued and not hazed, intimidated and retaliated.”Northwestern has been added to a long list of American universities to face a scandal in athletics and may eventually join the trend of making large payouts following allegations of sexual abuse.A former Wildcats football player filed the first lawsuit against Pat Fitzgerald and members of the school’s leadership Tuesday, seeking damages stemming from a hazing scandal that cost the former football coach his job.More lawsuits, filed by multiple law firms, are expected to follow from former football and baseball players as well as from studen...

Masks are out at In-N-Out after burger chain bans employees from wearing them in five states

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The In-N-Out burger chain will bar employees in five states from wearing masks unless they have a doctor’s note, according to internal company emails leaked on social media.In the memo announcing new guidelines for Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Utah workers, the fast food chain pointed to “the importance of customer service and the ability to show our Associates’ smiles and other facial features while considering the health and well-being of all individuals.”The policy, which goes into effect August 14, applies to all In-N-Out employees in those states, except for those who need to wear masks or other protective gear for job duties that require it, like painting. Employees could face disciplinary action, including being fired, if they do not comply, the the memo says.California and Oregon both have laws in place preventing employers from banning masks.It is not the first time that the chain, based in California, has clashed with health experts over...

Stock market today: Wall Street ticks higher and adds to its big rally following profit reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ticking higher Wednesday, adding to the strong run that has pulled Wall Street to its highest levels in more than 15 months.The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher in midday trading, coming off its highest closing level since early April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 129 points, or 0.4%, at 35,081, as of 11:25 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher.Elevance Health was helping to lead the market after it climbed 5% The insurance provider reported stronger profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected, while raising its forecast for earnings over the full year. Stocks also broadly got a boost from easing pressure from the bond market. Yields there were holding steady or falling after a report showed U.K. inflation cooled by more than expected. It eased to 7.9% in June, a 15-month low. The U.K. data follows encouraging U.S. reports that have raised hope inflation is moderating enough to convince the Federal Reserve to h...