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Orioles’ Adley Rutschman puts on ‘unbelievable’ switch-hitting show in Home Run Derby but falls in opening round

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:57:24 GMT

When Randy Rutschman got a call from his son asking to throw to him in the Home Run Derby, he felt it was a sign of Adley Rutschman’s competitive intentions in the event.“He could have chosen 100 other people that’d probably do a better job than me,” Randy said. “But that told me it was more about the experience.”It was one that father, son, and those watching at home and at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park — an announced 46,952 — won’t soon forget. The Orioles’ second-year catcher lost in the opening round to top seed Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox but highlighted the matchup with a showcase of his switch-hitting prowess.After the 25-year-old hit 21 home runs from the left side in his first three minutes, he shared a big hug with Randy, a moment the younger Rutschman described as his highlight of the evening. Then, when he stepped into the right-handed batter’s box for the bonus 30 seconds, the real show began...

The pitch clock was a topic at the All-Star Game. But how will it operate in the postseason?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:57:24 GMT

National League All-Star starting pitcher Zac Gallen sized up the difference the pitch clock has made for him.“Last year we didn’t have the pitch clock, I didn’t make the All-Star Game,” the Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander said Monday with a smile. “This year there was a pitch clock and I made the All-Star Game. So maybe it helped.”The line drew laughs from the news conference attendees.“It was definitely an adjustment period,” Gallen continued. “Spring training was, for sure. It was tough. But I think just like everybody else, we just adapt. There’s certain parts where you can kind of game it and also parts where you have to think clearly, maybe take a mound visit in a spot where you’re not expecting to.“I’m still figuring it out. But the (game) times are down dramatically. I think it’s a little bit more enjoyable for the fans. Yeah, so I don’t mind it.”While many of the game’s b...

Woman scalped with sword at park

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:57:24 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A 63-year-old woman was scalped with a sword at a park in the City Heights neighborhood early Tuesday, and police are still searching for the assailant, authorities said.Authorities said the attack happened around 1:30 a.m. at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park. The woman walked about a block to a Starbucks with a 24-hour drive-thru, where people saw her and called 911. The victim described the sword as several feet in length."Obviously very concerned if this is a random and unprovoked attack, very concerning to us, and I'm sure the community is concerned as well," Lt. Adam Sharki with the San Diego Police Department said. Brothers found dead inside East County home The incident happened across the street from San Diego Police Department's Mid-City Division."Obviously seeing those kinds of injuries, traumatic for the person receiving it, traumatic for the witnesses who are trying to help her, and for the first responders, they tend to injured people all the time an...

Elizabeth Holmes on track for early release from her 11-year prison sentence for Theranos scam

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:57:24 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has apparently behaved well enough during the first six weeks of her more than 11-year prison sentence for duping investors in her blood-testing hoax to be eligible for release nearly two years ahead of schedule, federal officials confirmed Tuesday.The U.S. Bureau of Prisons currently projects that Holmes, 39, will be released from a Bryan, Texas, prison on December 29, 2032. That would be 115 months, or slightly more than 9 1/2 years, after she began her prison sentence of 11 years and three months imposed by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila last November.Holmes was convicted on four counts of fraud and conspiracy following a high-profile trial in San Jose, California, that riveted Silicon Valley for months.Her prison sentence hasn’t changed, but like all prisoners who follow the rules she can qualify for an early release under the federal government’s “good time” guidelines. Her projected release date — a fe...

U.S. hiker dies after falling from popular B.C. hiking trail near Whistler

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:57:24 GMT

WHISTLER, B.C. — Mounties in British Columbia say a 28-year-old American woman has died after falling from a popular hiking trail near Whistler. Sea to Sky RCMP have identified the woman as Nicole Killian from Richmond, Vermont, who was a member of a rescue team in her hometown.Sea to Sky officers as well as RCMP Air Services, BC Ambulance paramedics and Whistler Search and Rescue responded to a report that a woman had fallen off the Black Tusk chimney portion of Garibaldi Provincial Park on Monday and was seriously injured. Police say she died of her injuries a short time after they arrived to provide medical aid.They say the RCMP, the BC Coroners Service and BC Parks are now working on a joint investigation to determine events leading up the incident. They are asking anyone with information to come forward.“Garibaldi Provincial Park and the Black Tusk is a highly popular area in the Sea to Sky and although readily travelled this remains a technical and advanced level hike,&...

Virginia Republicans roll out early and absentee voting push ahead of legislative elections

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:57:24 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Republicans on Tuesday launched an early and absentee voting push ahead of this fall’s legislative elections, an initiative intended to boost ballot access measures that GOP lawmakers in the state have sought to roll back in recent years. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin described the program during an appearance on Fox News and in subsequent video announcement, saying it would help voters understand their options for casting a ballot and increase turnout. Every seat in the General Assembly will be up for grabs in November in an election cycle that will determine party control of the currently divided Legislature for the final two years of Youngkin’s term. “Republicans got to stop sitting on the sidelines and allowing the Democrats to do a better job of voting early. I’m tired of us going into elections down thousands of votes,” Youngkin, who also advocated for early voting during his winning 2021 campaign, said on Fox.The initiative dubbed “S...

‘I could die today’: Casino employee recalls armed heist at trial of Las Vegas police officer

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:57:24 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — At the trial of a Las Vegas police officer accused in a trio of casino heists, an employee said Tuesday that she had never been more afraid in her nearly 40-year gaming career than when she came face to face with a robber.“All I kept thinking in my head was: I could die today,” said Sherry McGrath, who was supervising the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino’s sportsbook the day that authorities said Caleb Rogers stormed the sportsbook while armed with a weapon issued by the police department.Prosecutors for the federal government are expected to paint Rogers, 35, as a gambling addict whose debts were snowballing when he allegedly stole nearly $165,000 from casinos off the Las Vegas Strip between November 2021 and February 2022.Dressed in a gray suit with his hair pulled back into a low bun, Rogers showed no emotion Tuesday as McGrath and three more Rio hotel-casino employees described that morning as the “worst” and “scariest” day of their careers.At the time of the he...

Saints’ Kamara pleads no contest to misdemeanor in man’s beating at Las Vegas club

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:57:24 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara pleaded no contest Tuesday to a misdemeanor and agreed to pay medical costs for a man who was beaten into unconsciousness at a Las Vegas nightclub the weekend before the 2022 NFL Pro Bowl, authorities said.Three other men, including Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Chris Lammons and co-defendants Darrin Young and Percy Harris, also entered pleas to reduced charges Tuesday in an agreement that avoided a trial and possible prison time.None of the defendants was in court for the written plea agreement. Each was represented by their attorney before Clark County District Court Judge Tara Clark Newberry. The court action was confirmed by Kamara’s attorney, David Chesnoff.Kamara, 27, pleaded no contest to breach of the peace and was sentenced to 30 hours of community service, which he can complete in New Orleans, Chesnoff said.“Alvin is pleased that this matter is behind him and looks forward to a successful NFL season,” Chesnoff a...

‘Long days ahead,’ says Eby as B.C.’s wildfire evacuation orders and alerts climb

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:57:24 GMT

Escalating wildfires and worsening drought across British Columbia signal challenging times ahead, with the province and nation facing the worst fire season in 100 years, said Premier David Eby.Evacuation orders and alerts were expanded Tuesday near several wildfires in B.C.’s northern regions as communities try to keep residents safe and the BC Wildfire Service battles an increasing number of fires.Eby, in Winnipeg for a meeting of premiers Tuesday, said help is on the way for fire-threatened communities, but the coming months could see conditions not experienced in a century.The Regional District of Bulkley Nechako ordered more properties evacuated late Monday near two out-of-control fires in the Burns Lake area of central B.C., including a 3.5-square-kilometre blaze just east of the village, not far from Highway 16.The district says the evacuation is mainly to protect infrastructure and to close surrounding recreational trails, while the other evacuation, along the north sh...

Ticketmaster halts Taylor Swift ticket sales in France, cites issue with third-party provider

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:57:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The trouble between Ticketmaster and Taylor Swift’s“Eras” tour isn’t over — with the latest snafu impacting fans hoping to score tickets in France.On Tuesday, after some fans reported issues with accessing Ticketmaster’s site, sales for six of Swift’s upcoming shows in Paris and Lyon were abruptly postponed. An explanation wasn’t immediately clear, but in posts on Ticketmaster’s French Twitter several hours after the pause began, the ticket seller cited a problem with a third-party provider.Ticketmaster directed The Associated Press to the Twitter statement. In the posts, Ticketmaster maintained that tickets to the France shows are still available and that the provider was “working to resolve this matter as soon as possible.”The company added that any codes that were not used for ticket purchases on Tuesday will remain valid — and that impacted fans “will be notified directly of the new onsale date and time.” The new times have yet...