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3 takeaways from Chicago White Sox camp, including starter Lucas Giolito adjusting well to the pitch clock

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:50 GMT

With Yoán Moncada away for the World Baseball Classic, Bryan Ramos has been one of the options at third base for the White Sox.Ramos continued his impressive spring, hitting a two-run homer in Friday’s 4-3 victory against the Cubs in a Cactus League game at Sloan Park.Ramos, who turns 21 on Sunday, is 7-for-17 (.412) with the homer and five RBIs in 10 games this spring. Added to the 40-man roster in November, Ramos had a combined .266/.338/.455 slash line with 22 home runs and 86 RBIs in 120 games between Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham in 2022.Designated hitter Yasmani Grandal had two doubles and one RBI Friday while catcher Seby Zavala went 1-for-3, homering in the eighth.In a roster move announced Friday afternoon, the Sox optioned pitcher Nicholas Padilla to Triple-A Charlotte. Here are three more takeaways from White Sox camp.1. Lucas Giolito clicked with the quick pace.Lucas Giolito is enjoying working with a pitch clock more than he even imagined.R...

Margaritaville Hotel coming to San Diego this summer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Vacationers -- or even staycationers -- will soon be able to experience the vibe of paradise in downtown San Diego.A guest room at the Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter. (Katie Elicker)Margaritaville Resorts & Hotels, which has several locations worldwide, announced on its website that it is opening another hotel this July right in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter."Our 235 guest rooms combine the luxuries of a high-end hotel with the comforts of home. Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, we offer a range of room types and suites to suit every need," the hotel said. "Premium features including rainfall showers and plush bedding will elevate your experience." Slice of heaven: San Diego-area shop has best pie in CA, according to Yelp A rendering of the rooftop pool at Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter. (Katie Elicker)Guests looking to relax will be able to head up to the hotel's rooftop for hand-crafted cocktails and frozen con...

Atmospheric river floods California towns, brings rain, snow

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:50 GMT

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — More than 9,000 California residents were under evacuation orders Friday as a new atmospheric river brought heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds, swelling rivers and creeks and flooding several major highways and small rural communities.In Santa Cruz County, a creek bloated by rain destroyed a portion of Main Street in Soquel, a town of 10,000 people, isolating several neighborhoods. Crews were working to remove trees and other debris and find a way for people to cross the creek, county officials said. County authorities asked the town’s residents to stay indoors. Heather Wingfield, a teacher who runs a small urban farm with her husband in Soquel, said she and her neighbors were, for the time being, trapped in their homes as Bates Creek rushed through what was once Main Street.“It’s horrible,” she said. “Hopefully no one has a medical emergency.”Wingfield said her neighbors’ water infrastructure was also washed out, but that her family’s well wo...

Texas women sued for wrongful death after aiding in abortion

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:50 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Three women in Texas are being sued for wrongful death by a man who claims they helped his now-ex-wife obtain medication for an abortion. It’s another test of state-enforced bans since the U.S. Supreme court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision. In a lawsuit filed late Thursday in Galveston County, Marcus Silva alleges assisting in a self-administered abortion is tantamount to aiding a murder. Silva is seeking $1 million in damages.The woman who took the medication in July — weeks after the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion that had been in place since 1973 — is not named in the lawsuit. Texas law protects women who get an abortion from being held liable.Abortion rights groups condemned the lawsuit, calling it an intimidation tactic.“This is an outrageous attempt to scare people from getting abortion care and intimidate those who support their friends, family, and community in their time of need,” Autumn Katz, a lawyer wit...

Michael Cohen to testify Monday in Trump hush-money probe

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify Monday before a Manhattan grand jury investigating hush-money payments made on the former president’s behalf, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. They were not authorized to speak publicly about grand jury proceedings and did so on condition of anonymity.Cohen is a key witness in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation and his testimony is coming at a critical time, as prosecutors close in on a decision on whether to seek charges against Trump. Prosecutors sometimes save their most important witnesses until the end stages of a grand jury investigation.Cohen has been meeting regularly with Manhattan prosecutors in recent weeks, including a day-long session Friday to prepare for his appearance before the grand jury, which has been hearing evidence in the matter since January.Cohen declined to comment to reporters as he left the meeting, saying h...

New Heritage Minutes are coming with stories of diverse communities

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:50 GMT

Much loved and often parodied, Heritage Minutes could themselves be called a Canadian classic. But since their revival in 2012, the makers of the 60-second sagas have been working to make them more reflective of all communities that call this country home.“For a very long time, Canadian history was really only told through the eyes of specific groups of people — the people who are running the country,” says Anthony Wilson-Smith, President and CEO of Historica Canada, the charitable organization behind the videos.“The people at kind of ground level are the ones who are just as interesting and often shape [history] — a Black civil rights pioneer, Indigenous people who were here before anybody else … our goal is that every Canadian should be able to see themselves reflected in a [Heritage Minute].”He adds that they’re making efforts to ensure representation both in concept and execution.“The company that is producing for us has to h...

MPP Vincent Ke resigns from Ontario PC caucus

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:50 GMT

Vincent Ke, an MPP representing Don Valley North, has resigned from Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party.This follows a report by Global News that Ke was allegedly involved with Chinese interference in at least two instances. Ke is alleged to have served as a financial intermediary for the Chinese communist party.In a statement, Ke refuted the allegations, calling them false and defamatory, but acknowledged he didn’t want to be a distraction.“I will be stepping away from the PC Caucus in order to dedicate my time to clearing my name and representing my constituents,” Ke said.pic.twitter.com/g75IvKqsAP— Vincent Ke – MPP (@vincentkempp) March 11, 2023Premier Doug Ford says that while the allegations against Ke are not proven, “they are serious and deserve his full and undivided attention.”“As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, Mr. Ke offered to step away from the Ontario PC caucus to sit as an independent. The Premie...

3 women missing in Mexico after crossing from Texas on trip

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:50 GMT

PEÑITAS, Texas (AP) — Two sisters from Texas and a friend are missing in Mexico after they crossed the border last month to sell clothes at a flea market, U.S. authorities said Friday.The abduction of four Americans in Mexico that was caught on video last week received an avalanche of attention and was resolved in a matter of days. But the fate of the three women, who haven’t been heard from in about two weeks, remains a mystery and has garnered relatively little publicity.The FBI said Friday it is aware that two sisters from Peñitas, a small border city in Texas near McAllen, and their friend have gone missing. Peñitas Police Chief Roel Bermea said their families have been in touch with Mexican authorities, who are investigating their disappearance.Beyond that, officials in the U.S. and Mexico haven’t said much about their pursuit of Maritza Trinidad Perez Rios, 47; Marina Perez Rios, 48; and their friend, Dora Alicia Cervantes Saenz, 53.The episode stands in stark contrast t...

Evanston home bombarded with packages due to shipping error

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:50 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — Evanston resident Samantha Schwimmer says she has had her share of Amazon packages not addressed to her showing up at her doorstep. For at least a year now, Schwimmer says hundreds of Amazon packages for Trulee Evanston, a senior living community a few blocks from her home, keep showing up at her house. Trulee Evanston’s address is 1815 Norwood Court. Schwimmer’s address has the same numbers but is not on the same street. MORE EVANSTON NEWS | Fraternity at Northwestern University to shut down over repeat violations"At first it was just an annoyance and then it just got the point like, 'what a minute, these are senior citizens who probably really need those medications and don’t have other ways of getting it,"' Schwimmer said.  According to Schwimmer, someone from Amazon called her Friday and told her about a possible glitch in their system. “If a number of an address is near another number that is similar, the system can confuse the locations,” Schwim...

U.S. Secretary of Education visits Austin school

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Friday, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited Webb Middle School in Austin.Cardona toured the school, spoke to parents and laid out his priorities to promote academic excellence. He also discussed the importance of providing every student with a pathway to multilingualism."We believe firmly that to get our students to be able to succeed anywhere in the world. We need to promote multilingualism,” Cardona said. “We have $1.2 billion in the budget for multilingualism, our Title 3, which is the grant that oversees that, the proposal calls for another $300 million to make sure we have more access to programs like the one we saw here.”Secretary Cardona was also scheduled to moderate a discussion panel at South by Southwest Friday, which would focus on ways to develop and implement career pathway programs.