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Column: Where would the Chicago Cubs be had they re-signed Javier Báez?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

When the Chicago Cubs dealt Javier Báez to the New York Mets during the great summer sell-off of 2021, many fans hoped they’d bring him back as a free agent that offseason.While President Jed Hoyer reportedly spoke with Báez’s agent about a return, the Cubs had no intention of paying the kind of money the Detroit Tigers did when they reeled him in with a six-year, $140 million deal.As Báez faced his old team Monday at Comerica Park, the Cubs were in the middle of a playoff hunt while the Tigers remained in their usual mode — perpetually rebuilding. The Cubs took the first game of the series, 7-6.So would the Cubs be in the same place had Hoyer re-signed Báez?The obvious answer is “no chance.”Báez’s .592 OPS going into Monday’s game was second-worst in the majors among qualified hitters, ahead of only White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson (.568). He’s hit a combined .231 with a .637 OPS in his two seasons in Detroit,...

‘T. rexes’ race to photo finish at Washington state track

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

AUBURN, Wash. (AP) — A track for live horse racing in suburban Seattle turned prehistoric over the weekend as more than 200 people ran down the track cloaked in inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur costumes.The 2023 T-Rex World Championships at Emerald Downs — an event that started in 2017 as a pest control company’s team-building activity — ended in a photo finish on Sunday, with three competitors hitting the finish line together.Ocean Kim, who entered the race as Boto Rex, took top honors in the 100-yard (91.2-meter) dash after officials agreed Kim, of Kauai, Hawaii, hit the finish wire just ahead of the pack. Second place went to Colton Winegar of Boise, Idaho, who entered as Deno the Dino. Seth Hirschi, of Renton, as Rex Ray Machine, finished in third.The actual T. rex roamed the planet between 65 million and 67 million years ago. A study published two years ago in the journal Science estimated that about 2.5 billion of the dinosaurs ever lived. Hollywood movies such as t...

Japan to start releasing Fukushima plant’s treated radioactive water to sea as early as Thursday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese government announced Tuesday the treated and diluted radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will be released into the ocean as early as Thursday.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave the final go-ahead at a meeting of Cabinet ministers involved in the plan and instructed the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, to be ready to start the release Thursday if weather permits.The water release begins nearly 12 and half years after the March 2011 nuclear meltdowns caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami.Japanese fisheries groups have opposed the plan out of worry of further damage to the reputation of their seafood. Groups in China and South Korea have also raised concern, making it a political and diplomatic issue.The government and TEPCO say the water must be released to make room for the plant’s decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks. They say the treatment and dilution will make the wastewater safer than inte...

FACT FOCUS: Is Dodger Stadium flooded? No, it was just an illusion

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

A viral aerial video of Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium has many social media users convinced that floodwaters submerged the ballpark over the weekend amid Tropical Storm Hilary.“Dodger Stadium flooded in Los Angeles after Tropical Storm Hilary slams California,” reads one popular post on X, formerly known as Twitter, alongside a still from the footage appearing to show the stadium surrounded by water. “Dodger Stadium is an island,” said another.But the team says the stadium, which is built into a hill, was never under water — and the apparent flood in the video is just an optical illusion.Here’s a closer look at the facts.CLAIM: An aerial video shows Dodger Stadium was flooded during Tropical Storm Hilary.THE FACTS: The stadium was not flooded, Steve Brener, a spokesperson for the Dodgers, told The Associated Press. The team also posted a picture online of the parking lot looking dry on Monday. While the footage from Sunday does make it look like a moat formed around the outside of the...

Trump to surrender Thursday on Georgia charges tied to efforts to overturn 2020 election

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

Former President Donald Trump says he will surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday to face charges in the case accusing him of illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss.“Can you believe it? I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED,” Trump wrote on his social media network Monday night, hours after court papers said his bond was set at $200,000.The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday afternoon that when Trump surrenders, there will be a “hard lockdown” of the area surrounding the main county jail.Trump, according to the papers, is also barred from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case — including on social media — according to the bond agreement signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Trump’s defense attorneys and the judge. It explicitly includes “posts on social media or reposts of posts” made by others.Trump has repeatedly us...

North Korea may try to launch a military spy satellite in the coming days after its earlier failure

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — North Korea told Japan on Tuesday it plans to launch a satellite in the coming days, possibly a second try to put a military spy satellite into orbit three months after its first effort failed, Japanese officials said.In late May, a North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite plunged into the sea soon after liftoff, posing a setback to leader Kim Jong Un’s push to establish a space-based surveillance system to better monitor the U.S. and South Korea. North Korea had vowed to make a second attempt after studying what went wrong with the first launch.Japan’s coast guard said North Korean authorities notified it about a plan to launch a satellite from Aug. 24 and the end of Aug. 30. Coast guard spokesperson Hiromune Kikuchi said that the notice didn’t specify what type of satellite North Korea intends to launch but that he believes it possibly refers to one similar to the spy satellite in the May launch. The North Korean notice mentioned three maritime z...

Suspect who killed store owner had ripped down Pride flag and shouted homophobic slurs, sheriff says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

CEDAR GLEN, Calif. (AP) — A 27-year-old man killed by California sheriff’s deputies over the weekend after he fatally shot a store owner had ripped down an LGBTQ+ Pride flag outside the business and shouted homophobic slurs at the woman, authorities said Monday. When deputies confronted Travis Ikeguchi on foot about a mile from the store Friday night, he opened fire on them, striking multiple squad cars, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus told reporters. Deputies returned fire and shot Ikeguchi, who died at the scene, Dicus said. No deputies were hurt. Laura Ann Carleton was pronounced dead at Mag.Pi, the store she owned and operated in Cedar Glen. The small community in the San Bernadino Mountains is roughly 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of downtown Los Angeles.“Investigators determined that prior to the shooting the suspect tore down a Pride, or rainbow, flag that was hanging in front of the store and yelled many homophobic slurs toward Carleton,” Dicus said during ...

There's only one new car still selling for under $20K

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – New vehicle inflation may be falling in 2023, but if you're in the market for a new car and want to spend less than $20,000, there's only one option – and there could soon be none.That car, according to a Kelley Blue Book (KBB) analysis, is the Mitsubishi Mirage.The average sales price in July was $19,205, the report found, with similar compact offerings such as the Hyundai Venue, Kia Rio, Nissan Versa and Toyota Corolla all going for "well over $20,000."In 2021, the average transaction price for a new car, which had increased along a steady line since 2012, jumped sharply in 2021, peaking near $50,000.The Mirage, with hatchback and sedan versions, costs less than half of what the average U.S. new vehicle does. That average is now just above $48,000 — 25% more than before the pandemic struck three years ago.“I just won’t pay that kind of price,” said Karen Schaeppi of suburban Minneapolis, who bought a red Mirage sedan last month for around $19,000. Schaeppi, who is 78, ...

Taco Bell, other food chains could move to digital-only sales: CFO

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

(WJW) - Is it time to put the cash away? Taco Bell and other popular fast-food chains might become digital-only in the near future.During an earnings call earlier this month, parent company Yum! Brands, Inc. addressed plans to eventually move to 100% digital sales at its restaurants.This includes fast food chains like Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC. Move over Chick-fil-A, new drive-thru crowned the fastest So, what does this mean? In an interview with the CFO Journal, Chief Financial Officer Chris Turner said more customers would be ordering through apps, websites or kiosks in the stores.Yum! Brands is already testing the use of artificial intelligence to take drive-thru orders, the CFO Journal reported. See it: Home made almost entirely of foam being constructed in Texas According to company leaders, "in the U.S., digital sales have increased almost 35% year over year with kiosks now deployed in 100% of Taco Bell stores."It's unclear when the company plans to reach its goal.Ma...

Federal judge dismisses second lawsuit over ‘Black Lives Matter’ posters in Lakeville schools

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit a group of parents and taxpayers brought against the Lakeville school district in hopes of getting Black Lives Matter posters banned from the community’s schools.U.S. District Judge Jerry W. Blackwell dismissed the lawsuit, stating that the posters constituted government speech and therefore did not fall under the First Amendment challenge.According to court documents, after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police in May 2020, “school administrators, staff, and teachers joined much of the country in finding ways to support their students, including Black students.”The Lakeville school board participated in this exercise when they “vetted and authorized a multicultural poster series,” including two posters that read ‘Black Lives Matter.’“Not everyone supported the decision. Believing the posters carried political messages, some parents and students objected to hanging ‘Black Lives Ma...