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The Rays are real and may not be going away anytime soon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

The Rays and their $74 million payroll are off to a ridiculous 13-0 start, annihilating every opponent in their path with 10 of their wins being decided by four or more runs. It’s an auspicious start, and one underpinned by more than simple good fortune over a handful of games. The Rays, Yankee fans may be troubled to learn, are both the real deal this season and poised to commit these types of atrocities to the AL East for some years to come.For a start, the Rays were already pretty good. Kevin Cash’s club managed 86 wins and snuck in as the third Wild Card before losing to the Cleveland Guardians — despite missing arguably their two biggest offensive contributors for the majority of last season.Highly-touted shortstop Wander Franco played just 83 games due to a broken hamate bone/hamstring injuries while Brandon Lowe — who slugged 39 homers in 2021 — appeared in just 65 games due to a stress reaction in his lower back.Now their No. 2 and 4 hitters are...

European spacecraft rockets toward Jupiter and its icy moons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

A European spacecraft rocketed away Friday on a decadelong quest to explore Jupiter and three of its icy moons that could have buried oceans.The journey began with a morning liftoff by Europe’s Ariane rocket from French Guiana in South America.It will take the robotic explorer, dubbed Juice, eight years to reach Jupiter, where it will scope out not only the solar system’s biggest planet but also Europa, Callisto and Ganymede. The three ice-encrusted moons are believed to harbor underground oceans, where sea life could exist.Then in perhaps the most impressive feat of all, Juice will attempt to go into orbit around Ganymede: No spacecraft has ever orbited a moon other than our own.With so many moons,— at last count 95 — astronomers consider Jupiter a mini solar system of its own, with missions like Juice long overdue.“We are not going to detect life with Juice,” stressed the European Space Agency’s project scientist, Olivier Witasse. But learning more about the moons and their ...

China’s Xi, Brazil’s Lula meet in Beijing to boost ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with visiting Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday as part of a push to boost ties between two of the world’s largest developing nations.The meeting came on the second day of Lula’s visit to China, his country’s most important trading partner and key ally in his bid to challenge Western-dominated economic institutions. Lula was greeted with full military honors, including a 21-gun salute, at the Great Hall of the People adjacent to Tiananmen Square in the heart of the Chinese capital.Their talks focused largely on trade ties and other forms of cooperation, but also touched on the conflict in Ukraine, with the leaders agreeing on the need for a negotiated settlement, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. “As comprehensive strategic partners, China and Brazil share extensive common interests,” Xi said, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “China … sees the relationship as a high priority on its di...

US retail sales fall 1% amid high inflation, rising rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans cut their spending at retail stores and restaurants in March for the second straight month, a sign consumers are becoming more cautious after a burst of spending in January. Retail sales dropped 1% in March from February, a sharper decline than the 0.2% fall in the previous month. Lower sales of autos, electronics, and at home and garden stores drove the decline. The data isn’t adjusted for inflation, which rose only slightly last month.The decline in sales adds to other recent evidence that the economy is cooling as consumers grapple with higher interest rates and the impact of a year-long bout of elevated inflation. Companies are posting fewer open jobs, hiring has slowed even as it remains solid, and layoffs have ticked up. In addition, economists are closely watching to see if banks pull back on lending in the wake of the collapse of two large banks last month. Many smaller banks have lost deposits to larger competitors, which could force them t...

3-vehicle crash blocks off section of Gardiner at Kipling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

A section of the Gardiner Expressway in the west end is blocked off to drivers after a three-vehicle crash during the Friday morning rush-hour commute.Toronto police responded to the scene on the westbound Gardiner Expressway at Kipling Avenue just before 8 a.m.Police say all three lanes of the expressway are blocked but traffic is getting through on the shoulder.Police also say there is a lot of debris on the road and to use “extreme caution” when driving in the area, adding that drivers may want to consider alternate routes.No injuries have been reported.

How do you give away 133,000 chocolate bars?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

In today’s Big Story podcast, when an independent Alberta chocolatier found herself with an unexpected surplus of 133,000 Rum and Butter bars, all with an expiration date in June, she turned to Facebook for help. The post ended up leading to more responses than she ever could have imagined.Jana Pruden wrote about the incredible candy bar surplus in The Globe and Mail. She joins us on The Big Story to explain why it is so difficult to get rid of that much chocolate, even when you’re trying to give it away for free.“Crystal is happy to accept the loss, to donate the bars, she just really wants them to be eaten and enjoyed, but she doesn’t want to be in a situation where its going to cost her thousands of dollars more to get rid of them, that would be the worst case scenario, or them ending up in the dump which is another possibility,” she said.So, how do you give away 133,000 chocolate bars before time runs out?You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google...

Russia trained Belarusian pilots in nuclear weapons use

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Belarusian air force crews have completed their training for using tactical nuclear weapons as part of Russia’s plan to deploy the weapons to its ally Belarus amid the fighting in neighboring Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.The ministry released a video in which a Belarusian pilot said that the training course in Russia had given the crews of the Belarusian air force’s Su-25 ground attack jets the necessary skills for using the weapons.Russian President Vladimir Putin declared last month that Moscow planned to put some of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. It was another attempt by the Kremlin leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage the West from supporting Ukraine. Russia has a union agreement with Belarus that envisions close political, economic and military ties. Russian troops used Belarusian territory to roll into Ukraine from the north in February 2022 and have maintained a presence in Belarus.The deployment of Russia...

Spanish climber leaves cave after 500 days in isolation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish mountain climber emerged Friday from a cave 70 meters (230 feet) underground where she spent 500 days isolated from the outside world.Beatriz Flamini, 50, of Madrid, left the cave in southern Spain shortly after 9 a.m. after being told by supporters that she had completed the feat she set out to accomplish on Nov. 21, 2021. Spanish media said the spell underground set a new world record, but the claim could not be immediately confirmed.Blinking and smiling as she embraced well-wishers, Flamini’s first words including asking who would be paying for a celebratory round of beers. In brief comments to journalists, Flamini described the experience of being cut off from the world as “excellent, unbeatable.” She then asked to be excused as she needed a shower, not having had one in more than 16 months. In 1987, Italian Maurizio Montalbini set a world record by spending 210 days in a cave. Internet searches shows reports of a Serb who spent more than 460 days u...

Populist Iraqi cleric announces suspension of his movement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr announced Friday that he would suspend the movement he leads for one year, citing “corruption” among some of his followers.A group within the Sadrists, dubbing itself the “Owners of the Cause,” believes that al-Sadr is Imam Mahdi, a Shiite religious leader said to have vanished more than 1,000 years ago, who is expected to return leading an army of the faithful to defeat evil in the world.On Friday, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced that an investigative court had ordered the arrest of 65 alleged members of the “Owners of the Cause,” which it described as a disruptive “gang.”In a statement posted on his Twitter account, al-Sadr said, “I want to be a reformer for Iraq, and I cannot reform the Sadrist movement.” He added that he will freeze all activities of the movement — except for religious activities such as Friday prayers.Al-Sadr resigned from politics last August following a nearly ...

1 dead in Northwest Indiana house fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

CALUMET TOWNSHIP, Ind. — One person died Friday morning following a house fire in Northwest Indiana.Authorities were dispatched to the 4900 block of Hayes Street, located in Calumet Township, on the report of a fire.One person died as a result.WGN News will update this story once more information becomes available.