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Why Matt Mervis and Christopher Morel are in tough spots as Chicago Cubs try to get their anemic offense on track

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:22 GMT

Chicago Cubs first baseman Matt Mervis got the pitch he wanted.He worked a 2-0 count against Los Angeles Angels starter Jaime Barria in the fifth inning Wednesday when a slider from the right-hander caught too much of the zone. Mervis smoked the ball, pulling it to right field with the hardest-hit ball — 110.1 mph — any player either team produced in the game.Mervis, though, had nothing to show for the great contact.Despite the .750 expected batting average on the 300-foot line drive, Angels right fielder Mickey Moniak hauled it in to keep the runner at first. The frustrating sequence epitomized the struggles Mervis has experienced through his first 22 major-league games and, more broadly, the Cubs’ maddening offensive inconsistency.Mervis finished 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the Cubs’ 6-2 loss. He hasn’t been able to get going since the Cubs promoted him May 5 after he conquered Triple-A pitching in the first month of the season.Manager David Ross has ...

Five years later, Billy McKinney gets second chance with Yankees: ‘Earned the opportunity’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:22 GMT

Billy McKinney’s first stint with the Yankees only lasted two games. Five years later, he’s earned another shot with the Bombers.The Yankees added McKinney to their active roster on Wednesday when they placed Aaron Judge on the 10-day injured list and put Ryan Weber on the 60-day IL. McKinney first joined the Yankees’ organization as a prospect in 2016 when they acquired him, Gleyber Torres, Adam Warren and Rashad Crawford from the Cubs for Aroldis Chapman. McKinney then made his major league debut and picked up his first hit with the Yanks on March 30, 2018, but he only appeared in one other game for the team, which came the very next day.The Yankees shipped McKinney and Brandon Drury to the Blue Jays for J.A. Happ that summer, thus beginning a well-traveled career for McKinney. He saw major league action with the Jays, Brewers, Mets, Dodgers and Athletics before rejoining the Yankees on a minor league deal this past winter.McKinney, 28, slashed .274/.388/.511 wit...

East Village fire impacts traffic near SR-94 westbound off ramp

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:22 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is on the scene of a structure fire on the 1600 block of F Street, near the State Route 94 westbound off ramp.The incident has prompted authorities to detour traffic in the area. All of the westbound lanes of SR-94 are blocked. Motorist are encouraged to use alternative routes if possible.A fire chief confirmed to FOX 5 that the probable cause of the fire is batteries from e-bikes and scooters.Crews working to gather more information surrounding the circumstances leading up to the blaze. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Baltimore police commissioner departing after 4 years; led department through court-ordered reforms

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:22 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael S. Harrison is stepping down after four years in the role.Harrison’s departure was announced Thursday morning at a news conference held on short notice at City Hall.Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said Deputy Commissioner Richard Worley, a longtime veteran of the force, will be acting commissioner.During a police department budget hearing earlier this week, Harrison denied to Baltimore City Council members that he was seeking a position in Washington, D.C. But he hedged when asked whether he would stay in Baltimore through the end of his contract.Harrison was appointed commissioner in 2019 and granted a five-year contract, which would have ended in March 2024. He moved to Baltimore from New Orleans, where he led that city’s police department through a reform process similar to the court-ordered changes being implemented in Baltimore.The Baltimore Police Department was placed under a federal consent decree in 2017 after Department ...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts as a trading lull continues

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting in early trading on Wall Street, continuing this week’s lull as markets wait for several big events next week. The S&P 500 was up less than 0.1% early Thursday, and it hasn’t moved by more than 0.4% any day this week. The Dow was up 34 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite was up 0.2%. GameStop sank 20% after ousting the CEO who was brought in to try and turn around the struggling video game retailer. The market has been mostly calm after charging higher last week on data suggesting a long-feared recession may not be imminent. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street stabilized before Thursday’s opening bell after a heavy sell-off a day earlier in the tech sector dragged some benchmarks lower.Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than 0.1% in premarket. Global shares were mixed and oil prices rebounded after losing ground early.Government data on jobless claim...

Deluge from ruptured Ukrainian dam is latest tragedy for Kherson residents since Russian invasion

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:22 GMT

KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Yurii, a former Ukrainian soldier, knows all too well about living in his rickety attic: It was here, during Russia’s eight-month occupation of the southern city of Kherson, that he hid to avoid capture by the invaders.Now, the 51-year-old in fatigues is taking refuge again, after the latest big development in Russia’s war in Ukraine: A breach of the Kakhovka dam upstream on the Dnieper River that sent floodwaters gushing through his home and rising to the low edge of his corrugated metal roof.Authorities on both sides of the river – Russians control the east bank near the delta, the Ukrainians the west — say thousands of people have lost their homes in the torrential flood, where waters were still rising on Wednesday. Like many other determined and defiant Ukrainians, Yurii has faced disaster after disaster since Russian forces swept into Ukraine over 15 months ago. Like many, his anger has grown over their perceived disregard for peaceful Ukrainians.“They d...

Russia shells Ukrainian city inundated by dam collapse after Zelenskyy visits area

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:22 GMT

KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces on Thursday shelled a southern Ukrainian city that was inundated in a catastrophic dam collapse, Ukrainian officials said, forcing a suspension of some rescue work hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to the area to assess the damage. At least five people have died, many are homeless, and tens of thousands are without drinking water after the Kakhovka dam’s destruction. Ukraine accused Russia of blowing of the facility, which Moscow’s forces controlled, while Russia said Ukraine bombarded it.The ensuing flooding has ruined crops, displaced land mines, wrought widespread environmental damage, and set the stage for long-term electricity shortages. Exclusive drone footage captured by The Associated Press showed the ruined dam falling into the flooded river and hundreds of submerged homes, greenhouses and even a church.In Kherson city, the largest municipality affected, repeated Russian shelling echoed overhead in the earl...

Alcaraz and Djokovic demand attention at French Open; Ruud and Zverev are in the semis, too

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:22 GMT

PARIS (AP) — As intriguing as Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic is — and it’s plenty intriguing — there are storylines worth following in the other French Open men’s semifinal, too.No, frankly, Casper Ruud vs. Alexander Zverev, which will be played second on Friday, does not deserve the same billing. It’s missing the cache and the resumes that the other two guys remaining in the field at Roland Garros will carry into Court Philippe Chatrier.Still, even without Djokovic’s 22 Grand Slam titles — with a chance to break a tie with Rafael Nadal for the most earned by a man in tennis history — or even Alcaraz’s lone such trophy, and even without Alcaraz’s current No. 1 ranking or Djokovic’s current No. 3 with a shot at moving back up (along with the career record for most weeks atop the ATP), No. 4 Ruud and No. 22 Zverev bring terrific games and past close-and-yet-so-far history at major tournaments.Let’s examine Ruud first.He is a 24-year-old from Norway who is coached by his father, a f...

Pakistani Taliban target police in northwestern province, kill 2 officers and guard at a local bank

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:22 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — The Pakistani Taliban targeted security forces in a northwestern province in Pakistan on Thursday, killing two officers and a guard at a nearby bank, authorities said. The attack took place near a fruit market in the town of Mingora, located in the district of Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to senior local police officer Shafiullah Khan. Police cordoned off the area and were searching for the three attackers who had fled the scene. The Pakistani Taliban — also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP — claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement to the media.Thursday’s attack followed as shootout on Sunday between Pakistani troops and militants in North Waziristan, also a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The region is a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban. Although the Pakistani military claims it has cleared the region of militants, occasional attacks and shootouts continue, raising concerns that the Pakistani Taliban...

Man City, Inter Milan meet in Champions League final of contrasting club history

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:22 GMT

Manchester City will enter the Champions League final on Saturday as a modern soccer and financial heavyweight compared to Inter Milan.That is a new twist in the European history of two clubs who have rarely operated at the same level and whose respective status, on and off the field, flipped about 12 years ago.Inter had the aristocratic, storied tradition and trophies while City was an English third-tier team when crosstown rival Manchester United lifted the iconic European Cup trophy in 1999.“One is a kind of old nobility,” European soccer consultant Olivier Jarosz told The Associated Press about Inter, “and one comes from a working-class family that has made a nice marriage with money.”Yet both City and Inter were teammates on the failed Super League project in 2021, albeit for different reasons. Loss-making Inter was seeking to avoid being left behind by English Premier League dominance; financial juggernaut City, backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth, didn’t want to be lef...