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Rule 5 pick Blake Sabol making big impression at SF Giants camp. Can he make the roster?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:27 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — You probably hadn’t heard of Blake Sabol before the San Francisco Giants acquired him in the Rule 5 draft this past December. Yet his presence commands a room.“It’s fun to talk to a few guys in this clubhouse with their confidence,” starter Alex Cobb said, recalling a telling interaction with the 25-year-old former Pirates farmhand, whom the Giants are hoping can convert into a good enough catcher to carry his enticing left-handed bat (and infectious personality) on their 26-man roster.“I talked to Sabol about what his concerns are going into the season,” Cobb said. “He’s very confident in his catching.“I was like, can you hit?“He goes, ‘Oh yeah, I can hit.’“I love that.”What Sabol has done so far with his commanding presence in Giants camp couldn’t have made a better case for a spot on the active roster, a requirement of his Rule 5 status (if he is not on their roster, they must offer ...

Advocates push for state amendment to make housing a ‘human right’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:27 GMT

Should the state guarantee a right to housing for all Californians?A coalition of anti-poverty advocates led by Matt Haney, a Democratic state assemblymember from San Francisco, is proposing an amendment to the state constitution that seeks to do just that.The amendment does not define a right to housing, and backers have offered few specifics about what it would mean in practice. But they say it could make it easier for state officials to sue local governments that resist adding significantly more affordable housing. To pass, it needs a two-thirds majority in the state Legislature and then approval by voters.At a news conference in Sacramento this week, Haney, alongside leaders from advocacy groups including the ACLU of California and Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, touted the amendment as a long-awaited solution to the state’s affordable housing shortage.“This is a crisis, and the status quo approach that doesn’t recognize (housing) as a funda...

Ohtani long HR powers Japan to group win at World Classic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:27 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a 448-foot, three-run home run in the first inning that landed just below his image on an video advertising board and had four RBIs to lead Japan over Australia 7-1 Sunday night at the World Baseball Classic.Japan, already assured of advancement, won its group with a 4-0 record and will play a quarterfinal on Wednesday against the second-place team from Group A, to be determined later Sunday. South Korea beat the Czech Republic 7-3 in the day’s other Group B game.Ohtani turned on a hanging curveball from loser Will Sherriff, who didn’t even watch the flight of the ball into the Tokyo Dome’s right-field seats, bending and putting hands on his knees. It was the first home run of the tournament for Ohtani, who is 6 for 12 with eight RBIs and seven walks. He walked with the bases loaded in the sixth, the third straight walk after reliever Blake Townsend entered.Winner Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out eight in four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no wa...

Esposas y madres rusas piden a Putin que deje de enviar hombres reclutados “al matadero”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:27 GMT

(CNN) — Un grupo de esposas y madres rusas ha pedido al presidente Vladimir Putin que deje de enviar a sus maridos e hijos “al matadero” obligándolos a unirse a grupos de asalto sin la capacitación o los suministros adecuados.En un video compartido por el canal independiente ruso Telegram SOTA, las mujeres dijeron que sus seres queridos habían sido “obligados a unirse a grupos de asalto” a principios de marzo a pesar de haber recibido solo cuatro días de entrenamiento desde su movilización en septiembre.El video muestra a las mujeres sosteniendo un cartel en ruso que dice: “580 División Separada de Artillería de Obús”, con fecha del 11 de marzo de 2023.El grupo sostiene un cartel en ruso que decía: “División Separada de Artillería de Obús 580”.“Mi esposo… está ubicado en la línea de contacto con el enemigo”, dice una mujer en la grabación.“Nuestros [hombres] movilizados son enviados como corderos al matadero para asaltar áreas fortificadas, cinco a la v...

Denver Weather: Partly sunny and cooler today, early week warmup ahead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:27 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- It will be a partly sunny and cooler end to the weekend, with warmer weather coming to start the work week off.Cooler Sunday It will be partly sunny and cooler Sunday with highs in the upper 30s and low-40s and running about 10-12 degrees below normal.In the mountains, scattered light snow showers continue today with 1-2 inches possible along western-facing slopes.  Isolated to scattered snow showers are possible in the Front Range Foothills and on Palmer Divide this evening.   Early week warmupIt will be warmer in Denver to start the work week.  Monday’s highs should hit in the mid-50s where we should normally be.   Scattered light snow showers persist in the High Country on Monday.   Tuesday and Wednesday should be nice with highs in the mid-60s. Next snow in Denver, St. Patrick’s Day The next storm system arrives late Wednesday into Thursday with accumulating snow and possible travel impacts to northeast Colorado and in the central and norther...

BBC sports programming hit again as impartiality row rumbles on

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:27 GMT

LONDON — BBC program schedules were hit again on Sunday as broadcast executives failed to mitigate the fallout of a dispute over its impartiality standards.Jeremy Hunt, Britain’s chief finance minister, said on Sunday he “profoundly” disagreed with comments made by star football host Gary Lineker, who was taken off-air over recent comments against what he called the government’s “immeasurably cruel policy” on immigration. The broadcaster’s coverage of the Women’s Super League on Sunday was reduced with no pre-match presentation. The BBC reported its Match of the Day 2 program on Sunday will repeat Saturday’s reduced format with no presenters, pundits or commentary.The coverage has been hit due to a boycott from a group of hosts and co-hosts who disagreed with the BBC’s decision to suspend Lineker.BBC Director General Tim Davie apologized for the disruption over the weekend and insisted the broadcaster was “working very hard to reso...

Tractor-trailer driver arrested for DUI on I-89 in NH

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:27 GMT

A 64-year-old New York man is facing an aggravated driving while under the influence charge after being stopped in a tractor-trailer on I-89 in New Hampshire on Saturday, officials said.A trooper responding to a complaint about a tractor-trailer driver who was all over the road around 11:30 p.m. stopped Thomas Hawk, of Newburgh, as he got off at Exit 11, police said.Hawk is expected to be arraigned in Newport District Court on April 11. https://twitter.com/NH_StatePolice/status/1634928056862380032Anyone with information is asked to call Trooper Kenneth McGrath at 603-271-3636.

Police: NH man arrested after doing burnout, fleeing police, crashing into snowbank

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:27 GMT

A New Hampshire man who police say did a “burnout” in front of a trooper before a wild chase that ended in a crash in Hill, New Hampshire is facing a raft of criminal charges.A trooper monitoring traffic on Route 3A in Hill spotted a vehicle go by at 82 mph in a 50 mph zone. When she tried to stop the 1985 Chevy K10 pickup truck, the driver, later identified as John Carter, 36, of Hill, allegedly “stopped in the roadway in front of the trooper, did a ‘burnout’ across the width of the roadway and the accelerated away…”, according to New Hampshire state police. After a chase through multiple roads through Hill, the chase ended when Carter crashed into a snowbank on Old Town Road and jumped out of the vehicle and ran away, police said.He was arrested on charges of operating after certification as a habitual offender, reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled drug, dealing prescription drugs, resisting arrest, reckless op...

Yellen: No federal bailout for Silicon Valley Bank

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:27 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday that the federal government would not bail out Silicon Valley Bank, but is working to help depositors who are concerned about their money.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures deposits up to $250,000, but many of the companies and wealthy people who used the bank — known for its relationships with technology startups and venture capital — had more than that amount in their account. There are fears that some workers across the country won’t receive their paychecks.Yellen, in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation,” provided few details on the government’s next steps. But she emphasized that the situation was much different from the financial crisis almost 15 years ago, which led to bank bailouts to protect the industry.“We’re not going to do that again,” she said. “But we are concerned about depositors, and we’re focused on trying to meet their needs...

Iran claims prisoner swap with US; US calls it ‘cruel lie’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:27 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s top diplomat claimed Sunday that a prisoner swap was near with the U.S., though he offered no evidence to support his assertion. The U.S. immediately dismissed his comments as a “cruel lie.”Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has made similar comments in the past about possible deals with the U.S. on frozen assets abroad and other issues that never came to fruition. Some of those remarks have appeared aimed at shoring up domestic support amid the mass protests challenging Iran’s theocracy and supporting the country’s troubled rial currency.However, in an interview Sunday with Iranian state television, Amirabdollahian claimed that Iran had “reached an agreement in recent days regarding the exchange of prisoners between Iran and the United States.”“If everything goes well on the American’s side, I think we will see the exchange of prisoners in the short term,” he added. He alleged a document between Iran and the ...