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Column: The Chicago Cubs’ playoff fate could be decided Saturday after a gut-wrenching loss to the Milwaukee Brewers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:40 GMT

After another tough one-run loss Friday night at American Family Field, the Chicago Cubs found themselves on the brink of elimination with two games remaining.A season marked by wild swings was about to end, perhaps as soon as Saturday night in Milwaukee.Manager David Ross said after the gut-wrenching 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Brewers that the feeling in the clubhouse was no different than it had been the last week or so.“Same as it’s been,” Ross said. “We’ve got to win every game. It’s been that way for a while now. I know the score.”In a season as crazy as this, the possibility of overtime seemed like the perfect ending for a Cubs team that has gone from 10 games under .500 to playoff contender to potentially collapsing with 14 losses in 20 games down the stretch.The Miami Marlins’ suspended game against the New York Mets on Thursday meant the Cubs could have forced them to play the final inning Monday to beat them out for t...

Emerging election issues in New Jersey include lawsuits over outing trans students, offshore wind

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:40 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Republicans are seizing on flashpoint issues in this year’s election, aiming to energize voters over the state’s lawsuits against school districts to stop them from outing transgender students to their parents as well as stoking skepticism toward offshore wind turbines.Both subjects are turning up in GOP talking points, fueling the party’s hopes of expanding Republican victories from two years ago when they netted seven seats in the Assembly and Senate. All 80 seats in the Assembly and all 40 in the Senate are up for grabs this November, with mail-in ballots already going out to voters. Democrats have a nearly million-voter registration advantage over Republicans, and they also controlled the redistricting process last year when they had little incentive to redraw maps unfavorably to their party. Democrats, meanwhile, are pointing to what they said was a lesson learned from a close gubernatorial race in 2021: Focus on affordability, ...

An arrest has been made in Tupac Shakur’s killing. Here’s what we know about the case and the rapper

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:40 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An arrest has been made in Tupac Shakur’s killing, the latest twist in one of the biggest unsolved cases in hip-hop history.Duane “Keffe D” Davis was arrested on suspicion of murder early Friday morning and has been indicted on a murder charge in Las Vegas.The case returned to the spotlight in July when Nevada authorities served a search warrant in connection with the rap star’s shooting death. Here’s what to know about one of the most infamous fatal shootings in hip-hop history: WHAT’S NEW IN THE INVESTIGATION?Authorities on Friday arrested Davis, who’s name has long been linked with Shakur’s death. He is the relative of a man who emerged as a suspect shortly after the rapper’s killing. Shakur was gunned down while riding in a car on the Las Vegas strip on Sept. 7, 1996.In July, authorities executed a warrant in the nearby city of Henderson at Davis’ house. He’s the uncle of Orlando Anderson, one of Shakur’s known rivals who authorit...

New York stunned and swamped by record-breaking rainfall as more downpours are expected

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — One of New York’s wettest days in decades left the metropolitan area stunned and swamped Friday after heavy rainfall knocked out several subway and commuter rail lines, stranded drivers on highways, flooded basements and shuttered a terminal at LaGuardia Airport for hours.Some 8.65 inches (21.97 centimeters) of rain had fallen at John F. Kennedy Airport by nightfall Friday, surpassing the record for any September day set during Hurricane Donna in 1960, the National Weather Service said.Parts of Brooklyn saw more than 7.25 inches (18.41 centimeters), with at least one spot recording 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) in a single hour, according to weather and city officials. More downpours were expected Saturday. The deluge came two years after the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped record-breaking rain on the Northeast and killed at least 13 people in New York City, mostly in flooded basement apartments. Although no deaths or severe injuries have been reported, Friday...

Colorado laws that add 3-day wait period to buy guns and open paths to sue gun industry take effect

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:40 GMT

DENVER (AP) — When two Colorado gun control laws take effect Sunday, purchasing a firearm will require a three-day waiting period — meant to curtail suicide attempts and shootings — and gun violence victims will have an easier path toward filing lawsuits against the firearm industry.The laws, pushed through Colorado’s Democrat-controlled legislature this year, come as violent crime and mass shootings surge nationwide — including last year’s bloodshed at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, where a gunman killed five people and wounded 17 others.The new laws edge the once-purple Colorado nearer the Democratic bastions of California and New York. But gun groups have vowed to challenge the restrictions in court, encouraged by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expanded gun rights last year.The Colorado laws were spurred by waves of protests over gun violence this year. Students flooded the Colorado Capitol’s halls in March after a high school student was shot and ki...

Video provides first clear views of WWII aircraft carriers lost in the pivotal Battle of Midway

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:40 GMT

Footage from deep in the Pacific Ocean has given the first detailed look at three World War II aircraft carriers that sank in the pivotal Battle of Midway and could help solve mysteries about the days-long barrage that marked a shift in control of the Pacific theater from Japanese to U.S. forces.Remote submersibles operating 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) below the surface conducted extensive archeological surveys in September of the Akagi and the Kaga, two of the four Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers destroyed during the June 1942 battle, as well as the U.S.S. Yorktown.The high-quality video includes the official identification of the Akagi, while also providing new clues about the final hours of the aircraft carriers. The footage shows how the island, or the tall structure that rose above the Yorktown’s wooden deck, was damaged by extremely high heat and how the crew went to great lengths to keep the American ship from sinking.Julian Hodges, one of the last living veterans who s...

Maldivians vote in a runoff presidential election that will decide whether India or China holds sway

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:40 GMT

MALE, Maldives (AP) — Maldivians were voting Saturday in the runoff presidential election which has turned into a virtual referendum on which regional power — India or China — will have the biggest influence in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation.Neither main opposition candidate Mohamed Muiz nor incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih got more than 50% in the first round of voting earlier in September, triggering a runoff election. Solih, who was first elected president in 2018, is battling allegations by Muiz that he had allowed India an unchecked presence in the country. Muiz’s party, the People’s National Congress, is viewed as heavily pro-China. Muiz secured a surprise lead with more than 46% of votes in the first round, while Solih secured 39% votes.Abdullah Yameen, leader of the People’s National Congress, made the Maldives a part of China’s Belt and Road initiative during his presidency 2013 to 2018. The initiative is meant to build railroads, ports and highways to e...

China’s factory activity expands for first time in six months, in latest sign economy is recovering

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:40 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s factory activity in September recorded its first expansion in six months, an official survey said Saturday, providing another sign that the world’s second-largest economy is gradually improving following its post-pandemic malaise.According to the government statistics bureau and an official industry group, the monthly purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.2 this month from 49.7 in August measured on a 100-point scale. Numbers above 50 indicate activity is increasing.Measures of production, new orders and employment all rose from August, the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing said. But the bureau’s senior statistician, Zhao Qinghe, said the manufacturing industry still faces some difficulties in its recovery and development.Since China lifted its tough COVID-19 restrictions, its leaders have been trying to boost the economy with a series of measures and promising to support entrepreneurs who generate...

The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week 4: Panthers will have Young, not Dalton, facing Vikings

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:40 GMT

UPDATE: 12:36 a.m. Saturday The Loop, for one, was all excited about the prospect of watching ancient Andy Dalton face the Vikings’ defense on Sunday in Carolina. Even made him our Deepest Sleeper. But alas, No. 1 draft pick Bryce Young has been cleared to play in Sunday’s battle of The Winless in Charlotte, N.C.While the rookie QB is good to go, Panthers RB Miles Sanders is still considered questionable. If he cannot go, then look for more work for Chuba Hubbard. Not good work, but more work.Two top-tier running backs are still very iffy for this week. The Chargers are listing Austin Ekeler as doubtful, while the Giants say Saquon Barkley is questionable. But with the prospect of a Monday night game against San Francisco not too appealing anyway, we’d suggest you keep Saquads on the bench.Baltimore will be without two of its top receivers this week: former Gophers standout Rashod Bateman and former Pro Bowler Odell Beckham Jr.Players listed as questionable as of this morning includ...

Ryder Cup: Europeans know job is ‘not done’ after drubbing U.S. on day one

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:40 GMT

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — Europe swept the opening session of the Ryder Cup for the first time in its history, a beating so thorough that none of the foursomes matches reached the 18th hole.And then somehow it got even worse for the Americans.Right when they were on the verge of escaping Friday with a manageable deficit, Europe delivered one punch after another on the 18th hole at Marco Simone. It left the Americans without a single win on opening day for the first time in Ryder Cup history, and it gave Europe a record-tying lead in its bid to regain the cup.Three fourballs matches came to the 597-yard closing hole, all of them looking like a red American point on the board.And then Viktor Hovland made a 25-foot birdie putt. Jon Rahm made a 35-foot eagle putt that slammed into the back of the cup. Justin Rose finished it with an 8-foot birdie putt, all those matches ending in a tie.For a moment, it looked like the day would end with Europe holding a 5-3 lead.Instead, it was 6 1/2...