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Chicago White Sox are still aiming for ‘a significant step forward’ to make up ground in the AL Central

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:49 GMT

The Chicago White Sox understood June would present some major tests as they tried to climb back into contention.“We looked at the schedule going into Yankee Stadium and then playing a good Marlins team and going to Dodger Stadium and Seattle and now playing a really good Texas team that we knew this path was going to be difficult for this two-, three-to-four-week stretch leading up to the (All-Star) break, and we’ve been a tick under .500 in that stretch,” general manager Rick Hahn said before Monday’s game against the Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field.“So it hasn’t been devastating, but it absolutely hasn’t been a significant step forward.”The Sox are still aiming to take those steps.Starting with the first game of that Yankees series on June 6, the Sox were 5-7 entering Monday’s series opener against the Rangers.They were 11 games under .500 (31-42) and in fourth place, but still just 5 1/2 games out of first in the American Le...

Justin Verlander returns to Houston to face Astros for first time

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:49 GMT

HOUSTON — The last time Justin Verlander was in Minute Maid Park, he was on the field celebrating with his Houston Astros teammates. It was his second World Series win with the Astros and his first since getting married and becoming a father. Verlander and model Kate Upton wed just days after the Astros won the World Series in 2017.It’s been a strange year for Verlander. He returned to his first Major League home in Detroit in May and now returns to his second in Houston with the Mets desperately trying to turn their season around. Verlander himself is trying to recapture the form he had with the club down the hall last season when he won the American League Cy Young Award.“A lot of changes in my life while I was here,” Verlander said Monday in the Minute Maid Park visitors clubhouse. “A lot of maturity as a person as a player. That 34-40 age range, I feel like, naturally, in life that’s kind of like a new chapter in a lot of people’s storie...

Column: Adbert Alzolay growing more comfortable as the Chicago Cubs’ de facto closer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:49 GMT

Back in spring training when the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen picture was still fuzzy, manager David Ross said he never felt the need to label anyone as his closer.When you don’t have a closer, you can’t have a closer controversy.Still, it was assumed veteran Michael Fulmer would inherit the role based on his recent experience closing games, and that generally was how the season unfolded in April.But 2 1/2 months in, the look of the back end of the bullpen has changed dramatically. It now appears Adbert Alzolay has taken the closer’s role and run with it.Or has he?“He’s at the back end of our game, for sure,” Ross said. “Is he our closer? You could say at the moment, if it matches up best … him and (Mark) Leiter, we’ve kind of flipped through those pockets. It just seems to be as of late, Leiter’s pocket has been coming in the eighth.”It’s understandable if Ross doesn’t want to mess with success. But no one...

O’Bryant teachers pen opposition to proposed West Roxbury move ahead of first community meeting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:49 GMT

Two teachers at the O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science wrote an open letter outlining broad concerns with the proposal to move the school to West Roxbury announced weeks ago.“We understand that many students, staff, and families have conflicting feelings about this proposal, but as long-time BPS teachers, we believe moving Boston’s most diverse exam school to the least T-accessible neighborhood in the city is not in the best interests of our students,” wrote history teacher Aparna Lakshmi and English teacher Robert Comeau in a letter published on Schoolyard News.The letter comes nearly two weeks after Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper announced a proposal to move the O’Bryant to a West Roxbury Educational Complex and expand Madison Park Technical Vocational High School — two schools that currently share a campus.Officials noted the proposal will take several years to implement. The first remote community meeting on the O’Br...

Four kids found hidden in filthy South Boston apartment where a man died: ‘Sickening’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:49 GMT

Four children living in squalid conditions while being hidden from first responders were found in an apartment filled with “alcohol, drugs, sex toys” and a dead man, according to an incident report and outraged officials.“This is sickening,” said At-Large City Councilor Michael Flaherty. “I was informed by people at the scene that there were drugs, alcohol, sex toys all around the apartment as well as a dead body on the floor.”That fire department report, obtained by the Herald and confirmed by police response, states that a BFD crew was sent to Old Colony Avenue Saturday morning for a call that a man had gone into cardiac arrest and required medical attention. That address is the Mary Ellen McCormack Housing complex run by the city.However, according to the incident report, firefighters found more than just a routine medical emergency.“The apartment was in extremely unsanitary conditions. Approximately 6 adults, who appeared to be males, were see...

Some MTS bus drivers back on road after 5-week strike

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:49 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Teamsters Local 683 has reached a resolution to their strike against Transdev and many MTS buses were seen back on South Bay roads Monday. But while many buses are moving again, not all of the strikes have been resolved, as Teamsters Local 542 is still in its 29th day on strike. “As far as how it feels for us to be out here and them going back, I think it fuels our fire,” said Matthew Snyder with Teamsters Local 542. VIDEO: Baby seal climbs onto Pacific Beach surfers’ boards About 210 union workers have blocked traffic to the paratransit system, demanding pay increases closer in line compared to other bus driving unions. While riders are skeptical of the bus routes, they are happy to see the familiar red vehicles swinging into position with its doors opening wide. “He’s here and I’m going to be soon on my way to Plaza Bonita. I am pleased,” said LJ, a longtime MTS rider from Chula Vista. "Friday I wasn't. I jumped right back on the trolley and started heading for...

City of San Diego commemorates Juneteenth

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:49 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Hundreds of people gathered Monday to witness history as the City of San Diego formally recognized Juneteenth.  Mayor Todd Gloria and members of the San Diego City Council officially proclaimed Juneteenth in the city in a celebration of unity at the George Stevens Senior Center.The mayor shared a poignant memory of his grandfather’s experience with racism -- how he wore a suit every day of his life, even while mowing the front lawn of his Clairmont home, to try to gain respect in a community that did not accept him. Mom of children killed in SR-78 crash suspected of DUI “He’s not a Black man but I share his story with you because there’s a commonality in experiences that we have all had," Gloria said. "A feeling as though this city does not see us, does not care about us, is not willing to invest in us. And so you better believe -- in two generations when he goes from him mowing that lawn in that suit, to his grandson wearing that suit and serving as ma...

Police investigating fatal Etobicoke shooting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:49 GMT

Toronto police are investigating a fatal shooting in Etobicoke on Monday night.Police were called to Dundas Street West and Avonhurst Road at around 7:03 p.m. for reports of someone shot.Police located a victim who was later pronounced dead at the scene.A suspect is in custody, but police have not released any further details or announced any charges at this point.SHOOTING:Dundas St W & Avonhurst Rd7:03 pm– reports of someone shot– police o/s located victim– @Toronto_Fire o/s– @TorontoMedics o/s– victim has been pronounced deceased on scene– suspect in custody– Homicide will take carriage of the investigation#GO1411799^sc— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) June 19, 2023

Injured employees had complained of long commutes before B.C. bus crash: union

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:49 GMT

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — The union representing housekeepers at a pipeline camp who were involved in a bus crash near Prince George, B.C., on Friday says they’re awaiting a grievance decision over complaints about the long ride to get to work.Unite Here Local 40 spokesperson Michelle Travis said Monday that Horizon North, which runs the lodge as part of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, decided in March to move the housekeepers from on-site to Prince George to make room for pipeline workers.That meant a four-hour round-trip ride each workday, which the union argued goes against a collective agreement requirement that they be housed on site. Travis said most of the people on the bus were women and many were immigrants from Somalia and Ethiopia. “Our concern was that in order to make more room for the pipeline workers, they needed to move somebody out,” she said.“So, Horizon North chose to move these workers two hours away … probably the lowest paid workers on...

Himalayan glaciers could lose 80% of their volume if global warming not controlled, study finds

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:49 GMT

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates across the Hindu Kush Himalayan mountain ranges and could lose up to 80% of their current volume this century if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t sharply reduced, according to a new report.The report Tuesday from Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development warned that flash floods and avalanches would grow more likely in coming years, and that the availability of fresh water would be affected for nearly 2 billion people who live downstream of 12 rivers that originate in the mountains.Ice and snow in the Hindu Kush Himalayan ranges is an important source of water for those rivers, which flow through 16 countries in Asia and provide fresh water to 240 million people in the mountains and anther 1.65 billion downstream.“The people living in these mountains who have contributed next to nothing to global warming are at high risk due to climate change,” said Amina Maharjan, a migration spe...