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Red Sox Notebook: Brayan Bello makes Grapefruit League debut

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

After a brief, but worrisome shutdown for forearm soreness delayed his preseason, Brayan Bello made his Grapefruit League debut in Clearwater on Sunday.Bello entered the game in the sixth inning of what turned out to be a 9-5 victory over the Phillies at their Florida home, BayCare Ballpark, and pitched two perfect innings.From his first pitch, which clocked in at 96.2 mph, the 23-year-old righty made it look easy. He faced the minimum and only needed 25 pitches (18 for strikes) to get through two frames. He struck out three and got the other three batters to ground out.“He acts like he belongs here,” Alex Cora told reporters. Bello said he feels excellent.Bello debuted on July 6 of last year and appeared in 13 games, including 11 starts, for the big-league club. After getting off to a bumpy start, the rookie was dominant down the stretch; over five starts in September, he posted a 1.65 ERA and struck out 27 batters in 27 1/3 innings. He then spent the offseason working with H...

Mets 26-man roster projection as spring training draws to a close, injuries mount

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

Things sure have changed for the Mets over the last two weeks.The Mets’ World Series hopes took a hit last week when closer Edwin Diaz underwent knee surgery following a World Baseball Classic injury and outfielder Brandon Nimmo suffered sprains to his right knee and ankle as the result of an awkward slide into second base. The bullpen has been beleaguered with injuries to left-hander Brooks Raley and right-handers Bryce Montes de Oca and Sam Coonrod.Further fueling the concerns of fans is the performances of Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso in the WBC. The duo is a combined 2-for-18 for Team USA. Despite the thrilling theatrics of the Americans’ quarterfinal victory over Venezuela on Saturday night, some fans are still calling for the event to end or at least be moved to another time of the year so it doesn’t affect the Major League season.But the WBC concerns are futile at best for the moment. The regular season is less than two weeks away and as of Sunday, we know Di...

Biden calls Netanyahu with judicial plan ‘concern’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. — President Joe Biden spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express “concern” over his government’s planned overhaul of the country’s judicial system that has sparked widespread protests across Israel and to encourage compromise.The White House said Biden reiterated U.S. concerns about the measure to roll back the judiciary’s insulation from the country’s political system, in a call a senior administration official described as “candid and constructive.” There was no immediate indication that Netanyahu was shying away from the action, after rejecting a compromise last week offered by the country’s figurehead president.The official, who requested anonymity to discuss the leaders’ private call, said that Biden spoke to Netanyahu “as a friend of Israel in the hopes that there can be a compromise formula found.”The White House in statement added that Biden “underscored...

Healey named as one of USA Today’s ‘Women of the Year’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

It’s maybe a bit of a layup for the newspaper, but USA Today has announced that the former point guard turned attorney general and now Gov. Maura Healey made the cut as one of their Women of the Year.“Healey, the first woman and openly LGBTQ person to be elected as Governor in Massachusetts history, is being recognized for being a trailblazing leader for LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights as well as for championing for justice and equality,” a spokesperson for the Gannett owned newspaper said with the announcement.After nomination by readers, USA Today staff and a panel of experts, the honor is presented to women “who have broken barriers, including the stratosphere, to make significant change in their communities and around the world,” according to the company.Healey’s selection for the honor comes alongside that of former First Lady Michelle Obama, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, actress and philanthropist Goldie Hawn and her foundation, the women...

Governor Newsom visits San Diego to talk mental health, fentanyl

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- California Governor Gavin Newsom is stopping in San Diego on Sunday as part of his four-city tour to address state issues.Newsom gave remarks shorty after 1:30 p.m. Sunday in San Diego. He discussed policy, including modernizing our behavioral health system. He also spoke about building more mental health housing facilities.The governor also stopped by a National Guard facility in National City at 4:30 p.m. to deliver remarks on the fentanyl and opioid crises in the state. Newsom to start California tour with homelessness proposal Ahead of his stop in America's Finest City, Newsom announced plans to address California's homelessness crisis in Sacramento on Thursday. The governor said the state will spend around $30 million to build 1,200 small homes across the state in 2023.County officials confirmed 150 of those tiny homes will be built in the San Diego region.Newsom also made a visit to the Bay Area Friday, where he announced plans to transform San Quentin State Pr...

2 skiers killed in large late-winter avalanches in Colorado

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

MARBLE, Colo. (AP) — A skier was killed in an avalanche on Sunday outside a Colorado ski resort boundary, just a day after authorities recovered the body of another avalanche victim, authorities said.Three skiers were caught in Sunday’s large avalanche in the Maroon bowl area outside of the Aspen Highlands resort near Aspen, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office said.Two of the skiers managed to escape. Further details about the victim were not immediately available.On Saturday, Colorado authorities recovered the body of skier Joel Shute, 36, of Glenwood Springs, after he and two others were caught in a large backcountry avalanche southwest of Marble in western Colorado.Shute had been missing since Friday evening, when the avalanche swept 2,400 feet (730 meters) down a mountainside as the were backcountry touring.The avalanche was two to three feet (up to nearly 1 meter) deep where it began and up to 500 feet (150 meters) wide, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said...

Cuban baseball team draws ire, support in Little Havana

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Jose Vilela fled Cuba for the United States when he was 14 years old after spending six months in a concentration camp. Like many of his compatriots, he settled in Miami’s Cuban neighborhood, Little Havana.Vilela, now 68, paced Sunday afternoon outside loanDepot Park, the Miami Marlins’ home stadium, where the Cuban national baseball team was set to face the United States for a spot in the World Baseball Classic hours later. For prideful expats eager to separate sports from politics, the country’s first ever baseball game in Miami was cause for celebration.But for Vilela and hundreds of others, it was reason to protest the political oppression they escaped. Vilela stalked the stadium Sunday, yelling outside for anyone associated with the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who embraced Soviet-style communism, to leave the community. That included many Cuban players who are technically government employees.“We don’t want them here,” Vilela said. ̶...

5 Connecticut children, ages 8-17, dead after New York crash

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

SCARSDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Five children from Connecticut, ranging in age from 8 to 17, were killed in a fiery early morning crash Sunday on a New York highway, police said. Police believe the vehicle was being driven by a 16-year-old boy when it veered off the Hutchinson River Parkway in Scarsdale, hit a tree and caught fire. A 9-year-old boy, the sixth person in the Nissan Rogue, was the only survivor, according to a statement provided by Kieran O’Leary, spokesperson for the Westchester County Police Department.The 9-year-old was “apparently riding in the rear hatchback/cargo area and escaped out the rear,” according to the statement. The boy was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.The five who were killed include four males and a female. Their identities have not yet been released. Police said they are all from Connecticut.Matt Conway, the superintendent of schools in Derby, Connecticut, said he learned the children were part of a family that recently m...

Hundreds rally for undocumented and migrant worker rights

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

Hundreds of people rallied Sunday to demand the Canadian government do more to help undocumented people, migrant workers, students, families and refugees.The rally at Christie Pits was held to mark the International Day for Elimination of Racism and was organized by the Migrant Workers Alliance and the FCJ Refugee Centre. Similar rallies were also held in Vancouver, Montreal and Sudbury. Jen, who moved to Canada from Uganda in 2017, says it’s been difficult to find an employer who will hire her because of her undocumented status. She says she’s only been able to work the odd job in her chosen field of healthcare. “I’ve gone through a lot that I can’t even put food on my table,” she tells CityNews. “I can’t work and in the few jobs that I got I was exploited because I don’t have rights to defend myself as a person.”“I don’t have rights to defend myself as a person. So at work, even my colleagues exploit me becaus...

Why the Texas Longhorns players love playing for Rodney Terry

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — This season has been a wild one for the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team to say the least, and one thing that's helping the players navigate it is the faith they have in interim head coach Rodney Terry.Following the Longhorns' 71-66 win Saturday over Penn State and the program's first berth in the Sweet 16 since 2008, some of the players described what Terry means to them and how his steady energy and calmness helped them through the adversity caused by Chris Beard's dismissal.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters"He embodies what we are and what we try to be every day," said senior forward Timmy Allen about Terry. "Tough, somebody who has been there before and someone who never shakes at adversity. He's someone who wakes up and tries to attack the day to be great. When I have someone like that in my corner, I'll do anything for them. I'm blessed that h...