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Orioles hitters are walking at an uncharacteristically high rate. They believe the trend is ‘sustainable.’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:51:11 GMT

Through the first month of the season, the Orioles find themselves in a position no Baltimore offense this century has been: near the top of the walks leaderboard.The Orioles rank high in several pitch-discipline stats, including fourth in walk rate and pitches per plate appearance — a stark contrast to the free-swinging clubs of yesteryear.But the Orioles aren’t just seeing a lot of pitches for the sake of seeing pitches, co-hitting coach Matt Borgschulte said.“We’re not necessarily trying to see more pitches,” Borgschulte said. “We’re trying to swing at the right ones.”Entering Tuesday, the Orioles walked in 10.2% of their plate appearances and averaged 4.03 pitches in those trips to the plate. The last time the club accepted free passes that often was in 1995. The only three teams in the majors who are walking more often than the Orioles are the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and San Diego Padres — three teams projected to...

Chicago Bears Q&A: Who are some potential options at defensive end? Could Ryan Poles swing a trade for Chase Young?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:51:11 GMT

Now that the dust has settled after the NFL draft, Chicago Bears fans have questions. Did general manager Ryan Poles make the right selections? Which positions are now strengths — and which ones remain weaknesses? And where will the Bears find a pass rusher?The Tribune’s Brad Biggs reaches into his weekly Bears mailbag and provides some answers.Can you share perspective around what potential options Ryan Poles will explore for defensive end support, including a trade for one in the last year of his contract? Who is in this potential pool of players? — @rgbears69The good thing is there’s no shortage of options with a handful of experienced defensive ends on the market, including former Bears first-round pick Leonard Floyd, Jadeveon Clowney, Yannick Ngakoue, Frank Clark, Justin Houston and Trey Flowers. Floyd might be the best of the bunch, but it’s unknown what kind of contract he’s seeking. Clearly no team was interested in meeting his asking pric...

Palace weapons arrest comes amid coronation security push

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:51:11 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The coronation of King Charles III involves one of the most important and complex security operations in U.K. history, Britain’s security minister said Wednesday, after police arrested a man and blew up a suspicious bag outside Buckingham Palace. A suspect was being questioned by police over Tuesday’s incident, which happened four days before scores of foreign royals, dignitaries and heads of state are expected to attend the coronation of King Charles III.Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said the coronation involves “one of the most important security operations that the country has put into plan.”“This is an enormously important moment for the country,” Tugendhat told Times Radio. “The police are, to put it mildly, all over it, and our intelligence and other security forces are extremely aware of the challenges that we face and ready to deal with them — as the police did quite brilliantly yesterday.”The Metropolitan Police said officers arrested a man on Tuesday ...

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seizes tanker in Strait of Hormuz

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:51:11 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the second-such capture by Tehran in under a week amid heightened tensions over its nuclear program. The taking of the oil tanker Niovi renewed concerns about Iran threatening maritime traffic in the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all crude passes. It also comes amid the disappearance of a crude oil tanker in southeast Asia believed to be carrying Iranian crude oil amid reports it may have been seized by the U.S. The U.S. Navy published surveillance footage shot by an aerial drone of about dozen Guard vessels swarming the tanker around 6:20 a.m. The drone had been on a routine patrol in the area and saw the seizure, though the Navy did not receive a distress call from the Niovi itself, 5th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins said. Those Guard ships “forced the oil tanker to rev...

EU wants to ramp up ammunition production to help Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:51:11 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union announced fresh plans to ramp up the large-scale production of ammunition, seeking to both benefit Ukraine while the country is at war with Russia and to improve the bloc’s geopolitical credentials.Ukraine is poised to launch a planned spring counteroffensive to recover Russian-occupied territory, but the country has burned through ammunition at a furious rate, according to analysts. Western allies have provided ammunition, and the government in Kyiv has asked them to supply much more.“Let’s give first, let’s deliver first, what Ukraine needs immediately. Because again, we know exactly what’s happening on the ground,” Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, said. He wants to use at least 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to fund the Act in Support of Ammunition Production, or ASAP, with the goal of providing Ukraine with ammunition and replenishing the stocks in member countries. EU funds would provide half of the money, with the ...

Teenage shooter kills 8 children, guard at school in Serbia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:51:11 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A teenager opened fire at his school in Serbia’s capital Wednesday, killing eight children and a school guard before being arrested in the school yard, police said. Six more children and a teacher were hospitalized.A father of a student at the school in central Belgrade said the shooter entered his daughter’s classroom, firing at her teacher and then her classmates as they ducked under their desks. Most students were able to flee through a back door, according to a local official.Police said the shooter, whom they identified by his initials, K.K., was a student at the Vladislav Ribnikar school and was born in 2009. They said he used his father’s gun.Local media footage showed a commotion as police removed the suspect, whose head was covered as officers led him to a car. Police sealed off the blocks around Vladislav Ribnikar, which is what’s known as a primary school, whose students would typically range in age from 6 to 15. Authorities later carried body bags...

Mother, 3 children fatally shot in Florida; suspect sought

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:51:11 GMT

LAKE WALES, Fla. (AP) — Police in central Florida tried early Wednesday to arrest a man suspected of fatally shooting a 40-year-old woman and her three children, ages 21, 17 and 11. “We know exactly where he’s at right now, and we’re working to take him into custody in as safe a way as we can,” Lake Wales Police Chief Chris Velasquez said during a news conference outside the apartment complex where the victims lived, east of Tampa.Police are working to arrest Al Stenson, 38, on four counts of first-degree murder. A motive was not yet known, but Velasquez said Stenson is known to the family and may have lived at the apartment. There was no immediate threat to the public.Investigators believe the victims, whose names have not been released, were shot around 5 a.m. Tuesday. Police were called to the scene just before 9 p.m., when someone found their bodies in the apartment.“Our hearts are broken” for the family, he said.The Associated Press

Zelenskyy seeks more firepower for Ukraine in Finland visit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:51:11 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Helsinki for talks with the prime ministers of four Nordic countries Wednesday as part of his effort to secure greater firepower for his country’s armed forces as they figure out how to dislodge Russian troops from occupied areas of Ukraine.The Nordic countries — Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark — have been among Kyiv’s strongest backers since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Before the meeting with Zelenskyy in Finland’s capital, Nordic officials appeared ready to provide more aid as the war stretches into its 15th month.“There is still an urgent need for military support to ensure that the Ukrainians stand as strong as possible in the fight against Russia,” Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen said in a statement.Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, another of the summit attendees, said: “Here in the north, we have a more unpredictable and aggressive Russian ne...

Floods amid heavy rainfall kill more than 100 in Rwanda

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:51:11 GMT

A public broadcaster in Rwanda says 109 people have been killed in flooding amid torrential rain in the western and northern provinces of the country.The death toll “continues to rise,” the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency said Wednesday. “This could be the highest disaster-induced death toll to be recorded in the country in the shortest period according to available records from recent years,” the government-backed New Times newspaper reported Wednesday. Parts of East Africa, including Uganda’s southwest, are seeing heavy rainfall. At least three people drowned in floods last week after a river burst its banks in the remote Ugandan district of Rukungiri. Rodney Muhumuza, The Associated Press

Loblaw Companies reports $418M Q1 profit, raises quarterly dividend 10%

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:51:11 GMT

BRAMPTON, Ont. — Loblaw Companies Ltd. raised its dividend 10 per cent as it reported a profit available to common shareholders of $418 million for its first quarter.The parent company of Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Mart says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 44.6 cents per share, up from 40.5 cents per share.The increase for shareholders came as Loblaw reported its profit amounted to $1.29 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 25, down from $437 million or $1.30 per diluted share in the same quarter last year when the company saw a one-time gain from a favourable court ruling.Revenue for the 12-week period totalled nearly $13 billion, up from nearly $12.3 billion a year earlier. Food retail same-stores sales were up 3.1 per cent, while drug retail same-store sales increased by 7.4 per cent.On adjusted basis, Loblaw says it earned $1.55 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $1.36 per diluted share a year ago.Analysts on average had expect...