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US to let MLB stars play for Cuba in World Baseball Classic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:24 GMT

HAVANA (AP) — The United States will permit Major League Baseball players from Cuba to represent their home country in the World Baseball Classic next year.The decision announced Dec. 24 in a news release by the Baseball Federation of Cuba (FCB) could be a big step in once again turning Cuba’s national team into heavy hitters on an international stage.Major League Baseball confirmed that the U.S. granted the license to FCB. It clears the way for MLB stars such as José Abreu, Yordan Alvarez, Randy Arozarena, Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert to play for Cuba in the WBC in March if they choose to accept a potential invitation.It’s up to each country’s national governing body to pick the players on its WBC team. Final 30-man rosters are due Feb. 7 for the WBC, which begins March 8 with Cuba facing the Netherlands in Taiwan.While the sport of choice for much of Latin America is soccer, baseball dominates in Cuba. The island has gained fame around the world for its baseball talent...

Ottawa commits to ‘targeted’ bail reforms that would address repeat violent offenders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:24 GMT

OTTAWA — Justice Minister David Lametti says the federal government will move forward quickly on “targeted reforms” to the Criminal Code that would update Canada’s bail system.Lametti says the reforms will address challenges posed by repeat violent offenders and those facing firearms and other weapons charges. He made the commitment this afternoon following what he called a good and productive meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts.Premiers, federal Conservatives and law enforcement leaders have ramped up pressure on Ottawa since the beginning of the year to make bail more restrictive. A January letter from all 13 premiers to the prime minister called for a “reverse onus” system for some offences, which would require a person seeking bail to prove why they should not stay behind bars.Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro says the provinces are united in calling for substantive changes, and he says they will continue to put forward mor...

Stocks fall as Wall Street wonders what will break next

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell Friday after the largest U.S. bank failure in more than a decade raised worries on Wall Street about what’s next to break as interest rates keep climbing.The S&P 500 was 1.4% lower in late trading after scrapping back from deeper losses earlier in the day. It’s on pace for its worst week since September. That’s despite a highly anticipated report on Friday showing pay raises for workers are slowing and other signals Wall Street wants to see of cooling pressure on inflation.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 349 points, or 1.1%, at 31,904, as of 3:20 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.7% lower.Some of the market’s sharpest drops were again coming from the financial industry, where stocks tanked for a second day. Regulators took over Silicon Valley Bank in a surprise midday move after shares of its parent company, SVB Financial, plunged more than 60% this week. The company, which served the industry surrounding ...

CP NewsAlert: B.C. dropping vaccine requirement for provincial public servants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:24 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia is rescinding its policy that required provincial public servants to be vaccinated against COVID-19.The province says that from April 3, BC Public Service employees will no longer be required to provide proof of vaccination.More comingThe Canadian Press

Ontario could ban TikTok in public schools, Lecce says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:24 GMT

One day after the province announced a ban of the social media platform TikTok on government-operated devices, Ontario’s education minister said they’re considering doing the same in public schools.Stephen Lecce was asked about the possibility at a press conference in Mississauga, admitting that officials are perturbed about the impact TikTok has on children.“That is a decision point I expect we will communicate on,” Lecce said. “We obviously share a very profound concern about the privacy impacts for young people.”When it comes to those specific effects on younger people, a Dec. 2022 study by the non-profit Center for Countering Digital Hate found that TikTok could surface potentially harmful content related to suicide and eating disorders to teenagers within minutes of them creating an account.That study also revealed that the app suggested videos about body image and mental health roughly every 39 seconds within 30 minutes.“I am concerned...

'The Emily Talk' aims to help local first responders treat people with disabilities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:24 GMT

PORTER COUNTY, Ind. — For the last eight years, a father and daughter in Northwest Indiana have been educating first responders and students on how to work with people with disabilities.Tom Felter Jr., of Hebron, has been in emergency services since 1986. He's always noticed a void in training first responders with how to treat people who have emotional and physical disabilities.For the last 27 years, he proudly holds another job as father to Emily Felter — who has Down syndrome.Knowing he wanted to combine his experience as Emily's dad and a veteran first responder, Felter Jr. said one moment in Maryland told him to mobilize.In 2013, 26-year-old Ethan Saylor was at a movie theater in Fredericksburg, Maryland watching "Zero Dark Thirty." After the movie was over, Saylor wanted to watch it again — something Felter Jr. said is typical with people with disabilities. "If we get somewhere and Emily is not ready to go in, we aren't going in," Felter Jr. said. "On the flip side, If we are ...

Here's how the 4 Americans abducted in Mexico were found

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:24 GMT

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men, people wearing blindfolds and plenty of activity around a ranch.Authorities headed for the rural area east of Matamoros on Tuesday morning, leaving the highway and driving remote dirt roads looking for the described location, according to Mexican investigative documents viewed Friday by The Associated Press.Finally, they saw the wooden shack far from any homes or businesses, surrounded by brush, and a white pickup parked outside that matched the one the Americans had been loaded into last Friday. Then they began to hear someone shouting, “Help!”Inside the shack, the documents said, Latavia “Tay” McGee and Eric Williams were blindfolded. Beside them were the bodies of Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, wrapped in blankets and plastic bags. When authorities arrived, McGee and Williams shouted desperately to them in English.A guard ...

3 Texas women sued for wrongful death after assisting with abortion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:24 GMT

AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) -- A Texas man whose ex-wife terminated her pregnancy is suing three women who assisted her under the state’s wrongful death statute, the first such case brought since the state’s near-total ban on abortion last summer.Marcus Silva is represented by Jonathan Mitchell, the former solicitor general of Texas and architect of the state’s prohibition on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. The lawsuit is filed in state court in Galveston County, where Silva lives.Silva alleges that his now ex-wife learned she was pregnant in July 2022, the month after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and conspired with two friends to illegally obtain abortion-inducing medication and terminate the pregnancy.The friends texted with the woman, sending her information about Aid Access, an international group that provides abortion-inducing medication through the mail, the lawsuit alleges. Text messages show they instead found a way to acquire the medication in Houston, where the t...

SXSW 2023: Bob Odenkirk, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert Downey Jr. among celebrities expected at spring festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — South by Southwest is back and giving guests a whole lot to check out. The big event brings together the worlds of tech, politics, fashion, music, comedy and film, to name a few. The 10-day conference and festival also continues to bring big names to the capital city.Be on the lookout because here's a list of the some of the celebrities expected to be in Austin for SXSW 2023.*List is subject to change due to scheduling.Comedy US actor Bob Odenkirk arrives for the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City, California, on February 26, 2023. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)Abbi Jacobson Anna KendrickBob OdenkirkChelsea HandlerEric AndréPatton Oswalt Speakers PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 03: Eva Longoria attends the Victoria Beckham Womenswear Fall Winter 2023-2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on March 03, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)Kristen Bell and D...

Woman charged with arson, accused of setting several fires on East 2nd, 3rd Streets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A woman is facing an arson charge for allegedly setting several fires near downtown Austin in February, according to an arrest affidavit. Ruth Rogmad, 43, was arrested in connection to multiple fires involving a residence, fences, trash cans, and motorcycles, according to the affidavit.Image of Ruth Rogmad (APD photo)Around 3 a.m. Feb. 10, the Austin Fire Department responded to reports of multiple fires near the 1000 block of East 2nd Street. Crews found two motorcycles on fire in the area, then found two other fires in a nearby alleyway involving a fence. The fires were extinguished, but approximately $10,000 in damage was caused. The next morning, a resident in the 900 block of East 3rd Street reported to AFD that a fire had occurred on their porch during the night and said they had video of it. Rogmad was seen on surveillance video entering the property through an open gate and using an open flame device to ignite the bottoms of three separate curtains, according...