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MLB batting average up 16 points, game time down 31 minutes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball’s new rules designed to speed pace of play and encourage more action seem to be working through the first 1 1/2 weeks of the season.Batting average is up 16 points, stolen bases have spiked 30% and the average game time is down 31 minutes, on track to be the sport’s lowest since 1984.Limits on infield shifts, a pitch clock and larger bases were all implemented on opening day after testing in the minors and a dress rehearsal of sorts during this year’s big league spring training.“I think they’re good for the game,” Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “The goal was to not have them get in the way of how we play. That doesn’t guarantee you’re going to win or lose or play well or bad, but just not get in the way. “And for the most part, we still have I think a couple pitchers that we’re trying to get a little more comfortable, but I think we’re doing OK.”The league-wide batting average is .249, a rise from .233 d...

Will Trump attend his rape trial? Judge wants to know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge wants to know if ex-President Donald Trump plans to attend a New York trial this month resulting from a columnist’s claims that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued an order Monday directing parties in the case to notify him by April 20 whether they will be present throughout the trial, scheduled to start April 25 in Manhattan federal court.A writer, E. Jean Carroll, sued Trump in November, saying he raped her in early 1996 after a chance meeting at the Bergdorf Goodman department store. He has repeatedly and emphatically denied it in language sure to be highlighted for a jury that will decide whether the rape occurred and if Trump defamed Carroll with his comments.The rape claims were made immediately after a temporary state law took effect allowing adult rape victims to sue their abusers, even if attacks happened decades ago.Trump’s lawyers did not respond Monday to requests for comment on ...

Netanyahu reverses firing of defense minister amid tension

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:34 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday reversed his decision to fire his defense minister over criticism of the government’s contentious plan to overhaul the judiciary.In a televised speech, Netanyahu said that Yoav Gallant is staying at his post. “I decided to put the differences we had behind us,” he said. “Gallant remains in his position and we will continue to work together for the security of the citizens of Israel.”In a tweet showing himself sitting next to Netanyahu, Gallant wrote: “We continue together with full strength, for Israel’s security.” Netanyahu announced late last month that Gallant was fired. The decision set off a wave of spontaneous mass protests and a general strike that threatened to paralyze the country, forcing the Israeli leader to suspend his divisive plan to overhaul the judicial system.Netanyahu never sent Gallant a formal termination letter. As of Monday, Gallant — whose criticism of Netanyahu’s planned judicial changes le...

Estados buscan prohibir cosméticos con productos químicos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:34 GMT

Un número creciente de legislaturas estatales está considerando la prohibición de cosméticos y otros productos de consumo que contienen un grupo de químicos sintéticos potencialmente dañinos conocidos como PFAS.En Vermont, el Senado estatal dio su aprobación final esta semana a la legislación que prohibiría a los fabricantes y proveedores vender o distribuir cosméticos o productos menstruales en el estado que contengan sustancias perfluoroalquiladas y polifluoroalquiladas, así como una serie de otras sustancias químicas.Los productos incluyen champú, maquillaje, desodorante, protector solar, tintes para el cabello y más, detalló el senador estatal Terry Williams, republicano y miembro del Comité Senatorial de Salud y Bienestar.“Muchos químicos tóxicos conocidos se usan o se encuentran como contaminantes en productos para el cuidado personal, incluidos PFAS, plomo y formaldehído”, indicó Williams al informar sobre el proyecto de ley a sus colegas del Senado.California, Colorado y Mar...

Colorado, other wealthy states have high EV rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:34 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- More money means more electric vehicles. Colorado has been at the forefront of many pushes for renewable energy development and carbon offsetting programs - all the while maintaining its spot as one of the country's biggest fossil fuel producers. Denver police involved in Jeffco shooting Electric vehicles are the same. Colorado has one of the nation's highest adoption rates for electric vehicles, meaning one of the highest percentages of all drivers who have switched to EVs from gasoline-powered vehicles. Colorado has the fourth-highest EV adoption rate in the country (2.21%), according to an analysis from insurance brokerage QuoteWizard. As one of the nation's wealthiest states, it's not shocking Colorado would have a high EV adoption rate. The states with the highest EV rates tend to be the states with the highest income levels. There is a clear correlation between a state's income levels and the state's EV adoption rate. The states with the highest EV adoption ...

South Florida experiences heavy rains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:34 GMT

South Florida experienced a rainy Monday. There was barely a dry spot in town, and there may be more rain on tap. Forecasters say the rain was here to stay throughout the week, and some locals didn’t mind. “Because it’s a change, right?” said a local. “I’ve been waiting for a change in weather. It’s getting too hot.”The wet weather started to swamp South Florida on Sunday, which has saturated some areas with at least two inches of water. “We come to the beach to have a sunny, nice weekend,” said a visitor. It was a washout for visitors who wanted to soak up the sun rather than dodging raindrops. “And this weather is like, it’s not cold, it’s annoying,” the visitor said. Leaving them to make alternate plans.“We’re going to a little bar to have a few drinks, to have some nice food,” the visitor said. Wet weather likely played a role in a three-car crash along Interstate 95 near Ives ...

Louisville bank employee livestreamed attack that killed 4

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:34 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A 23-year-old bank employee armed with a rifle opened fire at his Louisville workplace Monday morning, killing four people — including a close friend of the governor — while livestreaming the attack, authorities said.“Let’s be clear about what this was,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said. “This was an evil act of targeted violence.”The shooting, the 15th mass killing in the country this year, comes just two weeks after a former student killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, about 160 miles (260 kilometers) to the south. That state’s governor and his wife also had friends killed in that shooting.Police arrived as shots were still being fired inside Old National Bank and killed the shooter in an exchange of gunfire, Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said at a news conference.“The suspect shot at officers,” the police chief said. “We then returned fire and stopped...

Police search for shooter in Hallandale Beach that left man hospitalized

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:34 GMT

Police are investigating after shots were fired at a South Florida neighborhood, injuring a man. Hallandale Beach Police arrived to the scene at an apartment building in the area off of Northwest Fifth Terrace, around 2 p.m. Monday. According to officials, the victim was shot on his side and transported to Aventura Medical Center by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue. Witnesses said they heard anywhere between 10 and 12 gunshots.Around two dozen heavily armed police officers, some with police dogs, were seen searching the neighborhood for the suspected shooter. A school was locked down in the area during the search, but that lockdown has since been lifted.It remains unclear if police were able to find the shooter, as they have since cleared the scene.Karon Harington was one of those who heard the gunfire.“We heard a couple of shots going off, and honestly don’t really know anything about the shooting,” he said. “We just heard some shots, some screaming, and that was...

Grand jury indicts mother of 6-year-old who shot teacher

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:34 GMT

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A grand jury in Virginia has indicted the mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher on charges of child neglect and failing to secure her handgun in the family’s home, a prosecutor said Monday.A grand jury sitting in Newport News charged the boy’s 25-year-old mother with felony child neglect and a misdemeanor charge of endangering a child by reckless storage of a firearm, Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn said in a news release.The Associated Press isn’t naming the mother to shield the identity of her son.The boy shot first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner on Jan. 6 inside her classroom at Richneck Elementary School. Police said the boy’s mother legally purchased the gun. Her attorney, James Ellenson, has said the gun was secured on a top shelf in her closet and had a trigger lock.Ellenson has not responded to a call Monday seeking comment on the indictments, which were first reported by the Daily Press.The decision to charge the boyR...

Boston honors Mel King at wreath-laying

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:34 GMT

Boston city leaders gathered alongside family and friends of Mel King on Monday to remember King’s life after he passed away last month at age 94. Officials including Mayor Michelle Wu participated in the wreath-laying event and speaking program at City Hall. In a proclamation, Wu declared Tuesday April 11 as “a citywide day of remembrance in celebration for the life and legacy of the honorable Melvin ‘Mel’ H. King.”“[W]e urge all fellow Bostonians to join in remembering today as a day of celebration and commemoration of a life-well-lived, in devoted service to our community,” Wu said, in part. King’s wake and funeral arrangements were announced last week, with a public visitation scheduled for Monday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. King’s funeral is scheduled for Tuesday at 12 p.m.Both King’s wake and funeral are taking place at the Union United Methodist Church, 485 Columbus Ave. The funeral service will also be livestreamed.An iconic civil rights lead...