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Column: Chicago Cubs are ready to make their move with Cody Bellinger on the roster and Jeimer Candelario en route

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:53 GMT

Cody Bellinger spent much of July answering questions about whether or not he would be traded.But as the Chicago Cubs got on a hot streak and Bellinger continued putting up numbers that make him a good bet to win National League Player of the Month, it became obvious that President Jed Hoyer couldn’t deal the would-be free agent and still be able to show his face at Wrigley Field.As the Cubs prepared to play the first-place Cincinnati Reds on Monday, the eve of the Aug. 1 trade deadline, manager David Ross confirmed what everyone expected — that Bellinger was sticking around for the rest of the season.A little while later, before the Cubs’ 6-5 loss to the Reds, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported the Cubs had acquired third baseman Jeimer Candelario from the Washington Nationals. The Cubs were taking batting practice at the time, but afterward could go check out the news on MLB Trade Rumors, the popular online clearinghouse for baseball rumors. The Cubs con...

Leprosy warning issued by CDC for people traveling in Florida

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:53 GMT

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that cases of leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, are surging in Florida and should be considered when making travel plans.The infectious disease primarily affects the skin and nervous system and can be easy to treat if caught early.Leprosy has been historically uncommon in the United States, but has more than doubled in the South over the last 10 years. In a case report issued Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that Central Florida has accounted for 81% of reported cases in the state and almost one-fifth of reported cases nationwide.Of the 159 new leprosy cases reported in the United States in 2020, Florida was among the top reporting states with nearly 30 cases. The Florida Department of Health reported 19 cases from July 2022 to July 2023, with one South Florida case in Palm Beach County.The CDC said if untreated, the disease can progress to paralysis, blindness, the loss of one’s eyebrow...

Hyde Park hit-and-run case: Mattapan man pleads not guilty to killing 4-year-old boy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:53 GMT

The Mattapan man charged with striking and killing a Hyde Park 4-year-old boy and then fleeing the scene pleaded not guilty today and was ordered held pending $15,000 bail.Olguens Joseph, 30, of Mattapan, is charged with motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of personal injury or death and operating an unregistered vehicle. He appeared in municipal court in West Roxbury Tuesday morning at around 11 a.m. where a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.Many members of the family of victim 4-year-old Ivan Pierre lined the benches in the courtroom.The proceedings were punctuated by Haitian Creole interpretation relayed over conference call as Joseph stood cuffed in the dock. He wore a maroon collared shirt under another long-sleeved shirt featuring drawings of teddy bears with Xs for eyes.The prosecution asked for a bail of $15,000 and that if released he not be able to drive and to have no contact with his alleged victim’s family. The prosecutor added that ...

Ford restarts electric pickup truck factory after retooling to increase output, says orders are up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:53 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is resuming production of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup after closing a factory in Dearborn, Michigan, for six weeks to triple production capacity. The move comes just two weeks after the company cut prices on all versions of the trucks, some by as much as $10,000, fueling speculation that demand had fallen. But company officials said Tuesday that they’re getting six times the orders now than before the price cuts, and Ford has an order bank big enough to take up 45 days of production at the reworked Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. The company wouldn’t give an exact number of orders. Lightning sales in the second quarter of the year were more than double the same period in 2022, but there were up only 4% from the first quarter.Ford says that’s because they stopped production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle center in June to add equipment and expand the plant so it can make more vehicles. The plant, which now employs about 2,000 workers,...

Three county parks close for month of August

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:53 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- During the peak of the summer heat, the county is taking precautions and closing three of San Diego’s most strenuous trails for the month of August.“People can get into big trouble because you just can’t quite carry enough water. Your body just uses it so fast,” Ranger Kyle Icke said.The closures include Hellhole Canyon Preserve in Valley Center, El Capitan in Lakeside and Mt. Gower in Ramona.During the summer, park rangers always urge hikers to stay hydrated and hike early morning or in the evening.“We go when the sun’s coming down. We check the weather daily since we live in Ramona, I mean, I check the weather hourly,” Michelle Tondreau West said. How to visit Cabrillo National Monument for free this week While you will see gates shut and closure signs at the three locations noted as the most dangerous in the month of August, the county does not issue fines or violations for entering at your own risk.  However, officials say the safety risks can lead to medical...

Is tonight your lucky night? Mega Millions $1.1 billion jackpot up for grabs again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:53 GMT

(NEXSTAR) -- A estimated $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot will again be up for grabs Tuesday night, giving lottery players a chance to snap an unlucky streak that has stretched on for months.The current jackpot has steadily grown since April after a ticketholder in New York matched all six numbers to win a $20 million prize. (The previous jackpot, awarded days before on April 14, was worth $483 million.) A total of 46 players, meanwhile, have won second-tier prizes worth $1 million or more since the last jackpot was won, the Mega Millions lottery confirmed in a press release. Joining an office lottery pool for the $910M Mega Millions jackpot? What to know Tuesday night's drawing will be the 30th since someone last won the jackpot.The drought is due to a combination of poor luck and terrible odds, as the chance of winning the Mega Millions jackpot is 1 in 302.6 million. The odds of winning smaller prizes, ranging from $1 million to $2, are significantly better.Larg...

Once nearing extinction, Brazil’s golden monkeys have rebounded from yellow fever, scientists say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:53 GMT

There are now more golden lion tamarins bounding between branches in the Brazilian rainforest than at any time since efforts to save the species started in the 1970s, a new survey reveals.Once on the brink of extinction, with only about 200 animals in the wild, the population has rebounded to around 4,800, according to a study released Tuesday by the Brazilian science and conservation nonprofit Golden Lion Tamarin Association.“We are celebrating, but always keeping one eye on other threats, because life’s not easy,” said the nonprofit’s president, Luís Paulo Ferraz.Golden lion tamarins are small monkeys with long tails and copper-colored fur that live in family groups led by a mated pair. Usually, they give birth annually to twins, which all family members help to raise by bringing them food and carrying them on their backs.The monkeys, which live only in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, are still considered endangered.The population survey was conducted over roughly a year. Researchers we...

Bond is denied for South Carolina woman accused of killing newlywed bride in drunken crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:53 GMT

A judge has denied bond for a woman accused of killing a newlywed bride when she drunkenly slammed her Toyota Camry into a golf cart along a South Carolina beach road.Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, will remain behind bars awaiting trial after officials say she drove over twice the speed limit into a low-speed vehicle escorting a couple on their wedding day. Her blood alcohol content exceeded three times the legal level, according to a toxicology report. She faces charges of reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of driving under the influence causing death or great bodily injury.“This is certainly a very tragic situation for all concerned,” Circuit Judge Michael Nettles said after delivering his decision.Nettles asked that both parties work to expedite the trial, which is currently scheduled for March 2024. If the case is not heard by then, Komoroski can be released on a $150,000 surety bond. She would be subject to electronic monitoring and placed on house arrest.Komoroski, appeari...

Democratic lawmakers slam the lack of attorney access for asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of Democratic members of Congress asked the Biden administration Tuesday to end expedited screening of asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody, calling it a “rushed practice” that has allowed little access to legal counsel.As the administration prepared to launch speedy screenings at Border Patrol holding facilities this spring , authorities pledged access to counsel would be a key difference from a Trump-era version of the policy. So far, that promise appears unfulfilled.A coterie of involved attorneys estimated that perhaps 100 migrants secured formal representation in the first three months of the policy, The Associated Press reported last month, and only hundreds more have received informal advice through one-time phone calls ahead of the expedited screenings. That represents a mere fraction of the thousands of expedited screenings since early April, though authorities have not provided a precise count.The letter to the Homeland Security and Justice Depa...

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, first Black woman to serve as state Assembly speaker, dies at 71

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:53 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who made history as the first Black woman to serve as speaker of the state Assembly, died Tuesday. She was 71.Oliver served as Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s top deputy, stepping in for him while the governor was out of state and also overseeing the Department of Community Affairs, which coordinates state aid to towns and cities and supervises code enforcement.No cause of death was given, Murphy’s office said in a statement from the Oliver family. Murphy said he and his family are distraught at the news. Naming Oliver as his lieutenant governor was, he said, “the best decision I ever made.”As acting governor, she signed a handful of bills including a 2021 measure that established a pilot program to overhaul the state’s juvenile justice system in four cities and which aimed to reintegrate young people into their communities.Murphy’s office announced on July 31 that Oliver was hospitalized while filling in for Murphy, who was in I...