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Chicago White Sox add another infielder with local ties, signing Paul DeJong after last week’s trade for Nicky Lopez

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

The Chicago White Sox continued their work to fill infield holes Tuesday by signing veteran Paul DeJong to a one-year deal, a source confirmed to the Tribune. The move is pending a physical.DeJong, who went to Antioch High School and Illinois State, has a .229/.299/.417 career slash line with 116 home runs and 344 RBIs in 729 career games over seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals (2017-23), Toronto Blue Jays (’23) and San Francisco Giants (’23).He finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 after slashing .285/.325/.532 with 25 home runs and 65 RBIs in 108 games. And he earned an All-Star selection in 2019, when he had career highs in home runs (30) and RBIs (78) in 159 games.The 30-year-old DeJong had a combined .207/.258/.355 slash line last season with 14 home runs and 38 RBIs in 112 games with the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Giants. He has 656 career starts at shortstop and 20 at second base.Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network ...

Woman arrested after kidnapping attempt in East County

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

SANTEE, Calif. -- A woman suspected of trying to kidnap a 1-year-old child in Santee was arrested Tuesday, authorities said.Isela Ortega, 31, faces a charge of attempted kidnapping, Lt. Chris Galve with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a news release. She will be booked into Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility. Substitute teacher arrested after suspected ‘inappropriate activity’ with teen: police The attempted kidnapping occurred Monday just before 6 p.m. when a woman tried to take the child from a shopping cart in the 100 block of Town Center Parkway, according to law enforcement. However, the suspect was unable to remove the child from the cart as they were secured with a lap belt. The woman left the scene and headed south toward Mission Gorge Rd., but she was not located.Around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Ortega was arrested in the 400 block of Orsett Street in Chula Vista, Galve said.

The US and the Philippines conduct joint air, sea patrols in South China Sea not far from Taiwan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The United States and the Philippines are conducting joint air and maritime patrols in the South China Sea, which come as the two countries step up cooperation in the face of growingly aggressive Chinese activity in the area.The Philippine Air Force said Wednesday its aircraft had taken part in joint patrols on Tuesday in the vicinity of Batanes, the northernmost province of the Philippines, which is only about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims as its own. The patrols run through Thursday and also include both the U.S. and Philippine navies. They come only days after Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called the situation in the South China Sea increasingly “dire” as China seeks to assert its presence in an area where multiple nations have competing territorial claims.China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own waters, which has led to disputes not only with the Philippines but also with Vietnam, ...

The top contenders to lead the Netherlands, from a former refugee to an anti-Islam populist

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — No fewer than 26 Dutch political parties are seeking a share of the 150 seats in the lower house of parliament when the Netherlands holds a general election Wednesday. Only a few of them stand a realistic chance of providing the candidate who will succeed Mark Rutte as prime minister.Rutte, who is standing down once a new government is formed, led four coalitions over a record-breaking 13 years, making him the longest-serving Dutch prime minister. These are the main contenders to succeed him. Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius, People’s Party for Freedom and DemocracyDilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, who could become the Netherlands’ first female prime minister, is a former refugee and now advocates cracking down on migration.The 46-year-old justice minister and leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, sees no contradiction in that.Instead, her party riffs on Yeşilgöz-Zegerius’ story in its manifesto as a reason to rein in immigration.“Th...

An election to replace the longest-serving leader of the Netherlands gives voters a clean slate

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — One thing is certain for the Dutch voters casting ballots in a general election on Wednesday: Mark Rutte, the Netherlands’ longest-serving prime minister, is on the way out.His replacement after 13 years in office could be the country’s first female premier or a social democrat who left his job as the European Union’s climate czar to return to national politics. The next prime minister also might turn out to be an anti-Islam lawmaker or a centrist who created his party only three months ago.The outcome is hard to predict given what happened in other European elections in recent months. Populist and hard-right parties triumphed in some EU member nations and faltered in others, creating conflicting messages on where democracy on the continent was heading.Spain set the scene in July, when it looked like the far right together with the conservative Christian Democrats might dislodge Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has led the country...

A Las Vegas high school grapples with how a feud over stolen items escalated into a fatal beating

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Students at a Las Vegas high school had gone home for the day when an urgent message was broadcast from the intercom: A defibrillator was needed near one of the classrooms.A nurse ran in the direction of the emergency. A group of teachers tried to perform CPR. It wasn’t until the next day that social studies teacher Reuben D’Silva learned what happened — a student who was standing up for a friend was put on life support after being brutally beaten by 10 of his peers in a nearby alley.It was a devastating episode for Rancho High School, a predominantly minority campus in east Las Vegas. Some students walked out of class when they heard Jonathan Lewis Jr., 17, wouldn’t survive head trauma and other injuries he suffered in the Nov. 1 attack, D’Silva said.Adding to the devastation is that cellphone video of the beating was widely shared across social media.In the following weeks, a small memorial sprung up in the trash-littered alley bordered by ...

Britain’s Conservative government set to start cutting taxes ahead of likely election next year

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Conservative government will try to win favor with voters by cutting taxes but avoiding worsening inflation in a budget statement Wednesday, coming ahead of a likely national election next year that opinion polls suggest it will lose.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hinted that tax cuts are back on the agenda now that his self-imposed pledge to halve inflation this year has been met and government revenue is higher than anticipated.In a speech Monday, Sunak raised expectations that Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement will begin reducing the tax burden in the U.K., which is the highest in 70 years in the wake of COVID-19 and the energy price spike triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Sunak said Monday that his government would “cut tax and reward hard work” but would “avoid doing anything that puts at risk our progress in controlling inflation.” Inflation eased to 4.6% in October from a year earlier after hitting a 41-year ...

One winning ticket sold for Tuesday’s $40 million Lotto Max jackpot

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

TORONTO — Someone in Ontario is waking up $40 million richer.One winning ticket was drawn for Tuesday’s Lotto Max jackpot.The jackpot for the next draw on Nov. 24 will be an estimated $10 million.The Canadian Press

South Korea partially suspends inter-Korean agreement after North says it put spy satellite in orbit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will partially suspend an inter-Korean agreement Wednesday to restart frontline aerial surveillance of North Korea, after the North said it launched a military spy satellite in violation of United Nations bans, Seoul officials said.The South Korean announcement — which will likely infuriate North Korea — came hours after the North claimed to have placed a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit in its third such launch attempt this year.The North’s claim hasn’t been independently verified; the Pentagon said it was still assessing the success of the launch, while Japan stated there has been no confirmation that the North Korean satellite entered orbit. But the United States and its allies still quickly condemned the North Korean launch, which they believe was meant to improve the country’s missile technology as well as establish a space-based surveillance system.North Korea says it has sovereign, legitimate rights to launch spy satelli...

Kazakhstan wants to attract at least $150 billion in foreign investment by 2029

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

The 6th Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable (KGIR) has concluded with a pledge to attract further investment to the country.More than 500 representatives of international companies and domestic businesses, investors, authoritative experts and opinion leaders attended the event (17 November) in the Kazakh capital of Astana.This year's focus was on regional sustainable growth, covering four areas: investment in advanced technologies, development of regional clusters, transport and logistics potential, and food security.As the country is trying to diversify its economy from traditional oil and gas, Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov revealed that foreign investments will be the main drive to Kazakhstan's economic growth. By 2029, the country plans to double its GDP and attract at least $150 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI)."Attracting investments is the key factor of growth within the national investment policy, taking into account the ESG standards, Kazakhstan is interested ...