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Chicago Cubs salvage series with a win — and they still control their postseason fate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:53 GMT

Just when the Chicago Cubs have appeared to be on the brink of watching their postseason aspirations spiral away, they come through.That’s how good teams perform, and the Cubs have shown a knack for moving past a tough couple of games, staying locked in and maintaining their hold on a playoff spot. They bounced back following a pair walk-off losses last weekend in Cincinnati to win the series finale, leading into a sweep of the San Francisco Giants, and after dropping three consecutive games to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Cubs took care of business in Sunday’s 5-2 win.“I feel like we’ve been honestly grinding away at it the last couple days and just nothing really to show for it,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “Once again, it’s just one of those things we’ve got to stay the course and continue to prepare and go out there and obviously compete.”Three solo home runs in the third inning — Christopher Morel, and back-to-back...

Bill Belichick provides update on Patriots ‘exempt’ QB Matt Correl

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:53 GMT

Head coach Bill Belichick said Monday that the Patriots have been in contact with quarterback Matt Corral since he was placed on the exempt/left squad list Saturday afternoon.A source told the Herald that Corral left the team without notice. He didn’t practice Friday, and his absence was listed on the injury report as “not injury related.”Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick ‘might’ have fourth-down regret from Patriots’ loss to Eagles New England Patriots | Patriots back Mac Jones while QB blames himself for loss New England Patriots | Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez leaves a mark in memorable NFL debut New England Patriots | Kendrick Bourne feels Patriots can ‘play with any team’ after eventful performance New England Patriots | Callahan: Tom Brady’s return a reminder of Patriots’ fast-fading glory “He’s in exempt status,”...

Bill Belichick ‘might’ have fourth-down regret from Patriots’ loss to Eagles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:53 GMT

The Patriots attempted four fourth-down conversions in Sunday’s season-opening loss to the Eagles, and in retrospect, head coach Bill Belichick might have wanted one back.But it’s probably not the play you’re thinking of.Belichick said he still would have gone for it on fourth-and-3 from the Eagles’ 17-yard line down eight points with 9:39 left in the game. Quarterback Mac Jones’ pass went incomplete to running back Ezekiel Elliott, and the Patriots turned the ball over on downs.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick provides update on Patriots ‘exempt’ QB Matt Correl New England Patriots | Patriots back Mac Jones while QB blames himself for loss New England Patriots | Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez leaves a mark in memorable NFL debut New England Patriots | Kendrick Bourne feels Patriots can ‘play with any team’ after eventful performance New England Patriots | ...

What to know about a major rescue underway to bring a US researcher out of a deep Turkish cave

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:53 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A major rescue operation is underway in Turkey’s Taurus Mountains to bring out an American researcher who fell seriously ill nine days ago at a depth of some 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) from the entrance of one of the world’s deepest caves. An experienced cave rescuer himself, Mark Dickey is being assisted by teams of international rescuers who by Monday had brought him to 300 meters (nearly 1,000 feet) from the surface.Here’s what to know about the caver and the rescue operation:WHAT HAPPENED?Dickey, a 40-year-old accomplished cave explorer from Croton-on-Hudson, New York, was 1040 meters (3,412 feet) from the entrance of the Morca Cave on an expedition, when he became stricken with severe stomach bleeding on Sept. 2. There were several other people with him, including three other Americans, on the mission to map the 1,276-meter (4,186-foot) deep cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association.In perilous condition, doctors, paramedics, and experience...

A new campaign ad from Poland’s ruling party features Germany’s chancellor in unfavorable light

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:53 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s conservative ruling party unveiled a new campaign ad Monday that portrays German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in an unfavorable light. The Law and Justice party has governed Poland since 2015 and is seeking to keep power when the country holds an Oct. 15 parliamentary election. In the new campaign spot, party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski pretends to reject a call from Scholz suggesting Poland should raise the retirement age, which is one of the topics of a voter referendum taking place at the same time as the election. The question targets the main opposition party, Civic Platform and its leader, Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister and European Union president who was on good terms with Germany. Civic Platform raised the retirement age before Law and Justice came to power. In the spot, Kaczynski speaks into a cellphone and tells a pretend employee of the German Embassy in Warsaw: “Please apologize to the chancellor, but it will be the Poles who wi...

Kim’s trip to Russia could be like his last one and involve a daylong ride on his armored train

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:53 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kim Jong Un’s confirmed trip to Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin has drawn attention to the traditional method of travel for North Korean leaders: luxury, armored trains that have long been a part of the dynasty’s lore and are symbols of its deep isolation.A brief statement on the Kremlin’s website on Monday said Kim’s visit was taking place at Putin’s invitation “in the coming days.” North Korean state media also reported the meeting but didn’t specify when and where it would happen.The last time the two leaders met, in April 2019, Kim made a rattling, full-day journey along his country’s aging railways to get to far east Russia. South Korean media cited anonymous government sources to report Monday that a train presumably carrying Kim had departed from North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang. Putin and Kim could meet in eastern Russia’s city of Vladivostok, where Kim took his green-and-yellow armored train to their previous su...

Israel’s contentious legal overhaul comes to a head as judges hear cases on their own fate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:53 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan has plunged the country into nine months of unrest and exposed bitter divisions within Israeli society. On Tuesday, the country’s gaze shifts from the streets to the courtroom, where a panel of Supreme Court judges will deliberate over the very laws meant to curtail their power.Israel’s High Court is to hear the first of three flashpoint cases in the coming weeks, all dealing with the legality of the overhaul.Netanyahu unveiled the plan early this year, saying the country’s unelected judges hold too much power over parliament. He is backed by an alliance of ultranationalist and religious parties, each motivated by different grievances against the legal system. Opponents say the plan will push the country toward authoritarian rule by concentrating power in the hands of Netanyahu and his parliamentary allies.The court’s rulings could set the stage for a constitutional crisis, casting ...

Kim Jong Un is heading to Russia. What do Pyongyang and Moscow want from each other?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:53 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is heading to Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that is likely to focus on Russia’s desire to buy ammunition to refill reserves drained by its war in Ukraine. The meeting will also underscore deepening cooperation as the two isolated leaders are locked in separate confrontations with the U.S. In return for providing ammunition, North Korea will likely want shipments of food and energy and transfers of sophisticated weapons technologies.A meeting with Putin would be Kim’s first with a foreign leader since North Korea closed its borders in January 2020. They met for the first time in April 2019, two months after Kim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with then-U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed.Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, in July and asked Kim to send more ammunition to Russia, according to U.S. officials. Shoigu said Moscow and Pyongyang were considering...

Stock market today: Wall Street pushes higher in ahead of more inflation data this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:53 GMT

Wall Street is tracking higher early Monday ahead of new inflation data this week that will provide some insight into where prices are heading and how that is playing out for households and for the economy.The futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%. The U.S. releases monthly consumer prices on Wednesday, which is followed a day later by producer prices, the cost of goods before they reach the consumer. Both effect retail sales, and the U.S. releases August statistics on that front as well on Thursday.Economists expect that consumer prices rose slightly in August, up 3.6% from a year ago. Inflation has been generally cooling since peaking above 9% last summer, but the worry is the last bit of improvement to get to the Fed’s 2% inflation target may prove the most difficult.High interest rates are supposed to slow the economy and hurt the job market, which should ultimately help undercut inflation. But the highest rates in more than tw...

Residents mobilize in search of dozens missing after Nigeria boat accident. Death toll rises to 28

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:53 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The death toll in the boat accident in north-central Nigeria’s Niger State has risen to 28, emergency services said Monday, as communities mobilized in support of an intensified search for dozens still missing after the passenger boat capsized.The boat capsized along the Niger River on Sunday morning with more than 100 villagers, mostly women and children, aboard. They were traveling to their farmlands in the Gbajibo community, located 251 kilometers (156 miles) from the state capital Minna, the closest source of emergency response.It took several hours before help could reach the community because of its remote location, and villagers nearby were on the lookout for bodies floating on the river, Niger State Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ibrahim Audu told The Associated Press.Divers recovered four more bodies from the river by Monday morning with at least 40 passengers believed to be still missing, Audu said. Thirty had been rescued. “Instruction has bee...