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Mets Notebook: Buck Showalter not ready to place Starling Marte on IL despite outfielder’s unavailability

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:56 GMT

With Starling Marte out of the lineup once again with his second migraine headache of the week, the Mets may need to make a roster decision.The right fielder missed his third game since Saturday with a migraine Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox. He hasn’t been available off the bench and likely won’t be for a few days. The 34-year-old has dealt with severe migraines in the past but two in the span of only a few days gives the Mets some cause for concern.“He’s had them before, but not this close [together],” manager Buck Showalter said Wednesday before the Mets hosted the Chicago White Sox in the second game of a three-game series. “That’s why we’re going to do some tests and do some things to rule out some things.”Marte, who saw specialists Wednesday to try to determine the cause of the headaches, spent much of the last few days vomiting, and while the training staff is doing all they can to keep fluids in him, he’s s...

Brayan Bello’s career first culminates in frustrating Red Sox loss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:56 GMT

Given another chance to pad their record against an unfortunate team, the Red Sox dropped the series finale in Oakland, falling 6-5 to the A’s on Wednesday afternoon.The game yielded several career milestones for Red Sox players. Yu Chang’s 221st career Major League game set a record for games by a player born in Taiwan and Kiké Hernández became the 50th Puerto Rico-born player to reach 1,000 career MLB games. In the eighth inning, Kenley Jansen made his 800th career appearance, the 54th pitcher all-time and only active arm to do so.Otherwise, little else went well for the Red Sox, though the contest began in promising fashion. After his team got shut out on Tuesday night, Justin Turner roared back with a vengeance in the first inning, walloping a two-run homer for an immediate lead. Doing so extended his hitting streak to 15 games, moving him into sole possession of the longest streak ever by a Red Sox player aged 38 or older.But the usually-dominant Brayan Bello looked...

Comic-Con crowds arrive in downtown San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:56 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Comic-Con 2023 is underway! The electricity palpable in the Gaslamp Quarter as downtown San Diego hosts more than a 100,000 fandoms through the weekend. The San Diego Convention Center is one part of this massive event that will be watched across the globe, as people take it in year after year.The sold-out event will see 50 to 60,000 people a day and about 200,000 for the weekend. Parking at the convention center and surrounding lots have been booked for weeks.  The trolley is strongly encouraged. MORE: San Diego Comic-Con “We have three stations that take you steps away from all the action, both inside Comic-Con, and all the festivities that they are having outside," said Mark Olson, the Communications and Marketing Director for FTS.This year they have added three lines just for Comic-Con, running every 15 minutes. If you buy online in advance, multi-day passes are discounted and shuttles are available to move people from event to event and hotel to convention center...

WATCH: Auto theft suspect carjacks 2 vehicles during wild L.A. pursuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:56 GMT

A man who was wanted for stealing a van carjacked two additional vehicles during a dangerous pursuit through the San Fernando Valley Wednesday afternoon.The Los Angeles Police Department began tracking the suspect after learning he was wanted for stealing a van at a gas station in Ventura round 9 a.m., officials said. The stolen van was first spotted by LAPD officers in the North Hollywood area around 11 a.m. and they began to chase the suspect, police said. At some point, two LAPD officers were involved in a crash and the chase was called off. Different officers spotted the van again around noon, but quickly called off the pursuit again because of the suspect's erratic driving, police said. Authorities began chasing the driver again around 1 p.m., and about a half-hour later he abandoned the van, its tires disabled by spike strips, and then ran to a Chevron gas station in Porter Ranch where he got into a BMW sedan that was stopped at one of the fuel pumps. A stolen vehicle suspect ...

Israel to allow Palestinian Americans entry in bid to qualify for US visa waiver program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:56 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel announced Wednesday that it would be allowing all American citizens, including dual-nationality Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, to enter the country through its international airport as part of an agreement to qualify for a visa waiver program with the U.S.Israel has pushed for years to secure visa-free entry for its citizens to the U.S., a privilege enjoyed by 40 countries, mostly in Europe and Asia. But that request has been thwarted over the U.S. government’s demand that the country provide equal treatment at its borders to all American citizens, including Palestinian Americans, who are often barred from entering the country through Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport. Instead, those traveling to the occupied West Bank or the Gaza Strip must enter via neighboring Jordan or Egypt. Other Americans of Arab origin or Muslim faith say they’ve suffered similar restrictions, as well as U.S. citizens with political views Israel finds objectionable.U....

Province directs Surrey, B.C., to stay with local police force despite city’s wishes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:56 GMT

VICTORIA — It was, in British Columbia Solicitor General Mike Farnworth’s own estimation, an “extraordinary” use of his powers.But invoking the Police Act to direct the City of Surrey to move ahead with a transition to a municipal police force — against the wishes of its mayor and council — was necessary to ensure the safety of the Metro Vancouver city, he said.Farnworth hopes his decision is the last word in a dispute that has its origins in 2018, when former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum was elected on a promise to replace the RCMP with a municipal force, the Surrey Police Service. But McCallum would lose his job last year to Mayor Brenda Locke, who promised to reverse course and stick with the RCMP.Farnworth said Wednesday that the safety of Surrey residents and the rest of the province is “non-negotiable” and reverting to the RCMP would be moving “backwards,” despite the wishes of Locke and her majority on council.“I know this is an e...

Gunman had 1,800 rounds of ammo as he launched ‘murderous barrage of fire’ on Fargo police officers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:56 GMT

FARGO, N.D. — A man armed with 1,800 rounds of ammunition, a grenade and other explosives in his car unleashed a “murderous barrage of fire” as he ambushed officers who were investigating a routine crash, killing one and wounding two before a fourth stopped him and thwarted what authorities described as plans for further mayhem, officials said Wednesday.Mohamad Barakat, 37, shot Officers Jake Wallin, Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes from inside his car on Friday, from about 15 to 20 feet away, before they could even reach for their guns, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said at a news conference. Wallin was killed while Dotas and Hawes remain hospitalized in critical condition. Wrigley said Barakat also shot and injured a bystander, who was trying to run away when she was hit twice.But Officer Zach Robinson, who just happened to be nearby, “disabled” Barakat’s .223 -caliber rifle with a difficult shot from his own 9 mm handgun from about 75 feet (22.86 meters) away...

Videos purport to show protesters storming Swedish Embassy in Baghdad in protest over Quran burning

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:56 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Protesters angered by the burning of a copy of the Quran stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday, online videos purported to show. The videos showed demonstrators at the diplomatic post. It wasn’t clear if there were any staff inside the complex at the time. Iraqi police and state media did not immediately acknowledge the incident. Swedish officials could not be immediately reached for comment. The demonstration occurred after an Iraqi Christian immigrant last month burned a Quran outside a Stockholm mosque during the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, triggering widespread condemnation in the Islamic world. A similar protest by a far-right activist was held outside Turkey’s Embassy earlier this year, complicating Sweden’s efforts to convince Turkey to let it join NATO.The Associated Press

Women’s World Cup security heightened ahead of opening match following deadly shooting in Auckland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:56 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Security will be heightened ahead of Thursday night’s opening Women’s World Cup game after a gunman killed two people at a downtown construction site in Auckland, roughly 12 hours ahead of co-host New Zealand’s match against Norway. Norway’s team hotel was located within a short distance of the shooting, which occurred in the tourist area of the city near the harbor ferry terminal. Norway captain Maren Mjelde said teammates were awakened by a helicopter hovering outside the hotel. “We felt safe the whole time,” Mjelde said in a statement. “FIFA has a good security system at the hotel, and we have our own security officer in the squad. Everyone seems calm and we are preparing as normal for the game tonight.”Officials from Eden Park, where the game was scheduled to be played following an opening ceremony for the tournament, encouraged ticket holders to arrive to the stadium early. “There will be an increased security presence within...

Russian gymnasts allowed as ‘individual neutral athletes’ from 2024, no decision on Olympics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:56 GMT

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Gymnasts from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to take part in sanctioned competitions as “individual neutral athletes” from the start of 2024, the sport’s governing body said Wednesday, but any decision on the Paris Games will be left to the International Olympic Committee.Russian and Belarus gymnasts had been banned since last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ military support.The executive committee of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said Wednesday it had decided “to authorize, under strict conditions, the participation of athletes and support personnel of Russian and Belarusian sporting nationality in FIG sanctioned events listed on the FIG Calendar as ‘individual neutral athletes’ without any involvement or association with the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus, their respective National Federations or National Olympic Committees.”This may include Olympic qualifying events, the gymn...