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Tampa Bay Rays star Wander Franco under investigation for alleged inappropriate relationship with minor

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:51 GMT

Tampa Bay Rays star shortstop Wander Franco was placed on the restricted list Monday as MLB investigates allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a minor.Franco, 22, did not travel with the Rays on their upcoming six-game road trip to California. Additionally, he did not play Sunday, when the reports were first shared on social media.“During today’s game, we were made aware of the social media posts that are circulating regarding Wander Franco,” the Rays said Sunday in a statement. “We take the situation seriously and are in close contact with Major League Baseball as it conducts its due diligence.”After the game, Rays manager Kevin Cash claimed it was a scheduled off day for Franco. The team had scheduled a promotion for Sunday in which all fans 14 and under received a “Wander Franco snapback hat.”“I’m aware of the speculation, and I’m not going to comment any further on that,” Cash said. “The...

Americans flock to areas with harshest climate change effects

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:51 GMT

By Anna Helhoski | NerdWalletNearly 68 million people in the U.S. were facing extreme weather alerts as of Aug. 7 — that’s about one-fifth of the U.S. population. Due to climate change, more people experience hazardous weather conditions like extreme heat, wildfires, storms and floods, and they experience them more often. Some places are more vulnerable to climate change’s impact than others, but that doesn’t stop people from moving to those spots.A new analysis by NerdWallet finds that the majority of the fastest-growing places in the U.S. are also high-risk areas for natural hazards.“Extreme heat and humidity is going to be a reality pretty much no matter where you move,” says Alex De Sherbinin, senior research scientist, deputy director and adjunct professor of climate at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University in New York. “But life-threatening damages from those kinds of things are going to be more restricted to some locales than others.”You’re more likely to experie...

Din Tai Fung at Westfield UTC temporarily closed for repairs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:51 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Din Tai Fung, the popular Chinese restaurant known for their Xiao Long Bao soup dumplings, has temporarily closed their San Diego location.According to their website, the Din Tai Fung located at Westfield UTC mall in University City is temporarily closed for repairs. "We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and are working to re-open as quickly as possible," the website said. This famous ramen restaurant from Tokyo is expanding to San Diego FOX 5 has reached out to the restaurant for more information on what prompted the repairs and an anticipated timeline on when the location might open.Din Tai Fung, which currently has seven locations in California, first opened in Taiwan, with their signature soup dumplings helping the restaurant expand internationally to 13 countries. The Hong Kong branch was even awarded a Michelin star.Din Tai Fung's San Diego outpost is located in the UTC Westfield shopping center at 4301 La Jolla Village Drive Ste 2000. The...

Military responds as wildfires close evacuation routes out of N.W.T. towns

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:51 GMT

HAY RIVER, N.W.T. — Members of the Canadian Forces have been deployed to help deal with wildfires along the Alberta-Northwest Territories boundary that have forced the evacuation of the town of Hay River.A National Defence spokeswoman said Monday a reconnaissance team was on the ground in the community along the south shore of Great Slave Lake. She did not say how big the team was, nor what equipment or capabilities they were bringing with them. Meanwhile, with the road out of town closed by the fire, residents continued to be evacuated by air. Local officials report all long-term care residents and hospital patients have been transported to Yellowknife. No one is believed to be missing.The Kakisa fire travelled approximately 39 kilometres toward Hay River Sunday due to high winds. There was significant structure damage in the hamlet of Enterprise. Significant damage has also occurred to Northwestel fibre lines as well as some electrical lines.Firefighters have been arriving from ot...

Man sentenced for abandoning baby after MLB pitcher Dennis Eckersley’s daughter gave birth in woods

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:51 GMT

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A 45-year-old New Hampshire man will spend at least a year in jail for endangering the life of a newborn baby, after MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley’s daughter gave birth in the woods last year during subfreezing temperatures.George Theberge was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor child endangerment charge, having reached a deal with prosecutors, plus an additional six months behind bars for a probation violation stemming from his arrest in January and a drug charge.The baby boy was left alone in a tent for more than an hour on Dec. 26 as the temperature dipped to 15 degrees (minus 9.4 degrees Celsius), authorities said.A police affidavit referred to Theberge as the boyfriend of the baby’s mother, Alexandra Eckersley, 26, who is accused of abandoning her son without heat or proper clothing. She pleaded not guilty to charges of assault, reckless conduct, and other counts, and was released on bail. She awaits trial next ...

Prague government opposes local performance by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:51 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — The local government in Prague said Monday that it “unequivocally” opposes a scheduled performance by Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko in the Czech capital while Russia wages war on Ukraine.Deputy Mayor Jiri Pospisil, who oversees culture in the city, said that all the members of Prague’s governing coalition shared the same view.“All the parties perceive that at a time when the war (in Ukraine) has been ongoing and we read every day about the victims of the Russian attacks in the media, it is insensitive for such a singer to perform here in Prague,” Pospisil said.The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine during the war. The governing coalition in Prague is made up of the same political parties that comprise the Czech government.The view from City Hall does not necessarily mean Netrebko’s Oct 16 performance at Prague’s Municipal House won’t take place as planned. The management of the venue, which is a civic building as well as...

Pilot noticed loss of power before crash of Cold War plane at Michigan show

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:51 GMT

BELLEVILLE, Mich. (AP) — The pilot of a Cold War-era jet noticed it was losing power and decided to eject himself and a crew member before the Soviet fighter plane crashed during a weekend air show in suburban Detroit, an official said Monday.The pilot, who also owns the plane, had serious injuries but nothing life-threatening, while a second person aboard the MiG-23 had mild injuries after they parachuted to the ground, said John Brannen, senior air safety investigator at the National Transportation Safety Board.“It’s very fortunate, of course, that nobody on the ground was injured. … The plane traveled about 500 feet after the initial impact, went through some trees and wound up here next to the apartment building,” Brannen told reporters in Belleville.The MiG-23, which was built in the former Soviet Union in 1981, crashed Sunday during the Thunder Over Michigan Air Show, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Detroit.Brannen said the pilot talked to the Federal Aviation Adm...

Sudan’s top army general accuses rival paramilitary of war crimes in televised speech

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:51 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — In a rare televised speech Monday, the head of Sudan’s military accused the rival paramilitary force of committing war crimes as all-out civil war threatens to engulf the northeast African country.Sudan was plunged into chaos in April when months of simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere.In a speech broadcast on Sudan TV, Burhan accused the RSF and Dagalo of committing violations under the falsehood of promising to restore democracy.“How can you bring about democracy by committing war crimes?” he said, in a speech celebrating Sudan’s annual armed forces day. Earlier this month, rights organization Amnesty International accused both sides of committing extensive war crimes, including deliberate killings of civilians and mass sexual assault. In its 56-page report, the group said almost all rape cases were b...

Federal judges review Alabama’s new congressional map, lack of 2nd majority-Black district

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:51 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A panel of federal judges on Monday began a review of Alabama’s redrawn congressional map which opponents argued defies the court’s mandate to create a second district where Black voters have an opportunity to influence the outcome of an election. The three-judge panel, which blocked the use of the state’s old map last year, will decide whether to let Alabama’s new districts go forward or step in and draw new congressional districts for the state. Alabama was forced to draw new district lines after the U.S. Supreme Court, in a surprise June decision, upheld the panel’s earlier finding that the state’s then-map — which had one Black-majority district out of seven in a state where more than one in four residents is Black — likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act. Lawyers for voters in the case argued Monday that the new plan, which maintains one majority-Black district, still discriminates against Black voters. They said it flouts the panel’s 2022 finding...

An accident at Germany’s biggest theme park injures 4 people, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:51 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Four people were injured in an accident on Monday at Germany’s biggest theme park, police said.The accident happened at the Europa-Park in the town of Rust, near the French and Swiss borders. Police said a structure from which people can jump into a pool appears to have collapsed, German news agency dpa reported.The park said that a mobile pool that was part of a “high-diving show” cracked during the show and the water flowed into an attraction called Atlantica SuperSplash. It said that one guest was slightly grazed but other visitors to the park were not affected. It was unclear who the other three injured people were. The attraction was set to reopen quickly.The park is a popular tourist attraction that drew more than 6 million visitors last year, mostly from Germany, France and Switzerland.It has areas with themes based on different European countries, and three based on fantasy settings. The park also hosts conferences and is a popular venue for events and te...