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Dodgers aim to keep win streak going against the Pirates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

Los Angeles Dodgers (13-11, first in the NL West) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (16-8, first in the NL Central)Pittsburgh; Wednesday, 6:35 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Dodgers: Tony Gonsolin (0-0); Pirates: Roansy Contreras (2-1, 4.57 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 19 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Dodgers -143, Pirates +122; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Dodgers will attempt to keep their three-game win streak alive when they visit the Pittsburgh Pirates.Pittsburgh is 7-4 at home and 16-8 overall. The Pirates have the 10th-best team ERA in baseball at 3.78.Los Angeles has a 13-11 record overall and a 7-5 record in road games. The Dodgers have the second-best team slugging percentage in the majors at .459.Wednesday’s game is the second time these teams meet this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Andrew McCutchen has four doubles and five home runs while hitting .270 for the Pirates. Jack Suwinski is 11-for-29 with four doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.James Outm...

Marlins bring road skid into matchup against the Braves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

Miami Marlins (12-12, third in the NL East) vs. Atlanta Braves (16-8, first in the NL East)Atlanta; Wednesday, 7:20 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Sandy Alcantara (1-2, 5.84 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 20 strikeouts); Braves: Bryce Elder (2-0, 1.14 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 23 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Braves -158, Marlins +135; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Miami Marlins hit the road against the Atlanta Braves looking to break a three-game road slide.Atlanta has a 6-6 record at home and a 16-8 record overall. The Braves have gone 5-2 in games decided by one run.Miami has a 5-6 record on the road and a 12-12 record overall. The Marlins have gone 9-1 in games when they did not allow a home run.The teams meet Wednesday for the third time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Sean Murphy has seven doubles, six home runs and 16 RBI for the Braves. Ozzie Albies is 13-for-39 with two doubles, a triple and five home runs over the past 10 games.Luis Arraez has five doubles, a triple and a home r...

Titans finalize last piece of NFL’s next pricey stadium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have the final financing piece for the NFL’s next pricey stadium with the largest public investment yet that they hope to open for the 2027 season.The Metro Nashville City Council finally approved by a 26-12 vote early Wednesday morning on the final reading to allow its sports authority to issue $760 million in bonds. That combines with $500 million in state bonds for $1.2 billion in public financing committed to the Titans’ enclosed stadium.That gives Tennessee the largest public price tag for a stadium, topping the $850 million commitment from New York for Buffalo’s new $1.5 billion stadium.The stadium’s total cost is estimated at $2.1 billion. The Titans, with help from the NFL and personal seat licenses, will provide the remaining $840 million. Controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk thanked everyone involved as the Titans start on a new chapter. “For more than 25 years, Nashville, Tennessee, has been the Tita...

‘Not a competition’: UK’s Braverman hits back at criticism of Sudan evacuation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

LONDON — Home Secretary Suella Braverman dismissed suggestions the U.K. failed to prioritize the evacuation of non-embassy staff from Sudan.In a round of interviews Wednesday morning, the U.K. home secretary defended British evacuation efforts and rejected suggestions the government has been slow to help civilians leave the African nation, which has been plunged into conflict amid a power-struggle.The British government has faced criticism for the speed of its evacuation. It removed U.K. diplomats from the country over the weekend, and began flights for other British passport-holders Tuesday. Ministers argued that the conditions on the ground were too dangerous pending a cease-fire, which began late Monday, and flights carrying Brits from Sudan began landing in Cyprus overnight. More are due today.In remarks which have been interpreted as a swipe at the U.K. government, the German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said she would not leave German citizens “to their own devices...

Use Gulf trade deal to challenge human rights abuses, MPs urge UK

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

LONDON — Britain should use a coveted post-Brexit trade deal with a six-country bloc of Gulf nations to challenge “substantial and persistent human rights abuses,” a cross-party group of MPs urged Wednesday.In a new report, the Commons international trade committee flagged “extreme concern” about human rights in the Gulf Cooperation Council, whose members include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).British ministers are in talks with the bloc about a potential trade deal, as the U.K. seeks new partners in the wake of Brexit. But human rights fears in GCC countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have been highly publicized in recent years. Homosexuality is illegal in five of the six countries in the GCC and there are widespread concerns about the exploitation of workers across the bloc.The UAE’s trade minister told POLITICO in March that the U.K. should not expect trade deals with the bloc if it tries to tal...

When told of Kishida attack, safety chief kept eating eel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s public safety chief has come under fire for his remark that he enjoyed eel rice so much that he kept eating after his agency informed him of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s narrow escape from a pipe bomb attack two weeks ago.Koichi Tani, chair of the National Public Safety Commission for Kishida’s Cabinet, told a governing party gathering Tuesday that he had the local delicacy in front of him for lunch when the phone rang. “I was told that we can eat delicious unagi (eel) rice bowl there, and I was really looking forward to it,” Tani told party lawmakers. “Just as I was going to dig into it, I got a call from the National Police Agency saying something was thrown at the prime minister in Wakayama,” Tani said. “But I fully savored and finished … my unadon (eel rice bowl),” he said, beaming. Tani was in the Shimanto area in the southwestern prefecture of Kochi during the attack — about 250 kilometers (150 miles) southwest of Wakayama, ...

Germany: Van carrying 29 Syrians flees, hits police car

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A van carrying 29 people from Syria collided with a police car after its driver tried to evade a check by officers near Germany’s border with Poland, police said Wednesday. No one was hurt. The van was stopped near Goerlitz on Tuesday evening. Before officers could check the vehicle, the driver suddenly accelerated and drove off, German news agency dpa reported.After a chase, the van collided with a patrol car in Markersdorf, a few kilometers (miles) away. Federal police said no medical treatment was needed for the men, women and children from Syria. The 50-year-old driver is under investigation on suspicion of smuggling foreigners into Germany and dangerous interference with traffic. Police did not immediately give information on his identity.___Follow AP’s coverage of global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migrationThe Associated Press

German company sells heat pump business to US firm Carrier

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Viessmann Group is selling its business with heat pumps, viewed as a key technology in making heating more climate-friendly, to Florida-based Carrier Global Corp. as part of a 12 billion-euro ($13.2 billion) deal. The sale of Viessmann’s “climate solutions” business, which includes heat pumps and which both companies announced late Tuesday, comes as Germany is putting into place plans to phase out gas and oil heating systems as a way to curb global warming. Heat pumps are seen as important to weaning Germans off those systems. German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, who is leading those plans, said the Viessmann deal showed that the market for heat pumps “is so attractive that it is drawing investment.” He said in a statement that the government would examine the deal. “It is important that the advantages of our energy policy and profits that are made with it continue to benefit Germany as a location,” he said. “We will pay attention to this.”Senior...

In The News for April 26 : Sentencing in hit-and-run death of Calgary police officer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of April 26 …What we are watching in Canada …A sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin today for a youth found guilty of manslaughter in the hit-and-run death of a Calgary police officer.Sgt. Andrew Harnett died in hospital on Dec. 31, 2020, after being dragged by a fleeing SUV and falling into the path of an oncoming car. The driver, who cannot be identified because he was 17 at the time, testified during his trial that he was frightened when Harnett and another officer approached the vehicle during a traffic stop and he saw Harnett put his hand on his gun. The youth’s lawyer said his client was guilty of manslaughter, but not first-degree murder, and the judge agreed.The Crown has indicated it will be seeking an adult sentence for the now 20-year-old. The three-day hearing is to include several victim impact...

Kingsolver, O’Farrell among Women’s Prize fiction finalists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

LONDON (AP) — An Appalachian update on Charles Dickens and a tale told by a dolphin are among the six finalists announced Wednesday for the prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction. American writer Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead,” a reworking of “David Copperfield” set in modern-day Virginia, and U.K. novelist Laline Paull’s deep-sea drama “Pod” are among the contenders for the 30,000 pound ($37,000) award.Kingsolver previously won the Women’s Prize in 2010 for “The Lacuna.” Britain’s Maggie O’Farrell, who won in 2020 for “Hamnet,” is a finalist again for Italian Renaissance tale “The Marriage Portrait.”The finalists also include three debut novels: “Trespasses,” a love story by Irish writer Louise Kennedy that is set during Northern Ireland’s years of violence; “Fire Rush,” a dub reggae-drenched coming-of-age tale by Britain’s Jacqueline Crooks; and Sarajevo-set war saga “Black Butterflies” by Britain’s Priscilla Morris.Broadcast journalist Louise Minchin, who is chairin...