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Luis Robert Jr. says the ‘intensity and urgency’ of the WBC helped prepare him for the Chicago White Sox season

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:34 GMT

The World Baseball Classic took Luis Robert Jr. from Taichung, Taiwan, to Tokyo and finally to Miami with Team Cuba.The Chicago White Sox center fielder called it “a beautiful experience.”“It was all that I imagined,” Robert said through an interpreter Wednesday at Camelback Ranch. “It was very special to represent my country.”Robert slashed .259/.286/.296 with one double and four RBIs in six games, going 7-for-27.“Luis is Luis, he’s a dynamic talent,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “So just to watch him move around out there in center field is really special for me to see.”Grifol noted similarities between Robert and former Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain.“The way they move out there in center field is very similar, which is special,” Grifol said. “He’ll bring a little bit of everything to us.”Robert’s WBC experience included a little bit of eve...

What is lead and what are the dangers of exposure?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:34 GMT

Lead is a chemical element that has seen industrial and household use for hundreds of years, perhaps most famously by the Roman Empire as a sweetener for their wine, a pliable metal for plumbing, and a pigment in paint.Lead was used in paint for a variety of reasons, not the least of which were the sharp colors of some lead oxides, but also because it is notable for its ability to expand and contract along with changes in the temperature of the base material it’s applied to without cracking.The toxic effects of lead exposure were suspected by the ancient Greeks and Romans — the legendary architect Vitruvius warned of the danger of drinking the water near lead mines — but despite this the use of the chemical expanded following the industrial revolution.The chemical is a neurotoxin which the human body does not readily process but instead accumulates in the skeleton, organs and musculature.Once exposed to it, the chemical can interfere with normal bodily function resulting, acco...

Court chews on Jack Daniel’s dog toy dispute

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:34 GMT

WASHINGTON — A dispute between Jack Daniel’s and the makers of a squeaking dog toy that mimics the whiskey’s signature bottle gave the Supreme Court a lot to chew on Wednesday.The question for the court involves whether the toy’s maker infringed on Jack Daniel’s trademarks, and the justices were largely on their best behavior, not picking up on the toy’s poop humor and puns.Still, with three of the justices either completely or almost totally silent, it wasn’t clear whether Jack Daniel’s case is on the rocks or whether the makers of the Bad Spaniels toy had been, well, bad.Justice Samuel Alito expressed skepticism for Jack Daniel’s arguments. “Could any reasonable person think that Jack Daniel’s had approved this use of the mark?” he asked at one point, suggesting the toy was an unmistakable parody and legally acceptable.When the company’s lawyer pushed back on the justice’s knowledge about dog toys, Alito responded in part...

Massachusetts Attorney General reaches deal to keep Fenway women’s apartment building affordable

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:34 GMT

One of the lowest-cost housing options for women in Boston will remain that way following an agreement secured with the state attorney general’s office.The Our Lady Guild House, a single-occupancy apartment building on Charlesgate West, lists its smallest room, a 10-by-11 footer, at $810 and its largest, a 12-by-14, at $950 — Boston steals, especially at easy walking distance to several arts and parks, including Fenway.The property is owned by the Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception, though state’s filing lists a separate entity named for the building since 1981, and has its apartment building open for residency by about 130 “women of all faiths and national origins” — but the Attorney General’s office said a sale is pending that could could have put the affordability of this housing in jeopardy.On Wednesday, the AG’s office announced that it had secured a deal with the owners and management of the House that provides “protections against evictions and rent increases whil...

Taylor Hendricks set to become UCF’s first one-and-done, declares for NBA Draft

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:34 GMT

UCF men’s basketball star Taylor Hendricks declared for the 2023 NBA draft on Wednesday, he told ESPN.Hendricks, a freshman who quickly rose in projected mock drafts throughout the season, has signed with attorney Raymond Brothers, the president of Roc Nation basketball, the report said.“I want to thank my mom and brothers Tyler and Jamal,” Hendricks said. “Also, UCF and coach Johnny Dawkins for pushing me to develop my game and help get me where I am now.”By deciding to forgo his remaining three years of eligibility, Hendricks becomes the first one-and-done NBA draft prospect in UCF’s program history.The 6-foot-9 forward started all 34 games and led the team in scoring, rebounds and blocks for the Knights (19-15), whose season ended in the second round of the NIT in a loss Sunday at Oregon.Versatile on both ends of the court, Hendricks was the only player in the country with 60 or more made 3-pointers, 55-plus blocks and at least 35 dunks.“...

Yankees Notebook: Scott Effross takes day-by-day approach to Tommy John rehab

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:34 GMT

TAMPA — Scott Effross doesn’t have a definitive timeline for his return from Tommy John surgery, but the Yankees reliever has been throwing for a couple of weeks now.The side-arming righty is up to 60 feet in distance, and he’ll continue to incrementally increase that number. But Effross is not thinking about when he’ll be back pitching for the Yankees. Instead, “I’m just trying to look day-to-day,” he told the Daily News at the team’s spring training complex on Wednesday.The Yanks acquired Effross from the Cubs last August in exchange for pitching prospect Hayden Wesneski. The 29-year-old pitched well over 13 games, recording a 2.13 ERA while picking up three saves. He finished the season with a 2.54 ERA over 60 total outings.The Yankees planned on making Effross an integral part of their postseason bullpen, but news that he needed surgery broke just after the team revealed a playoff roster that didn’t include him on Oct. 11.On ...

Amid bank turmoil, Fed hikes key rate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:34 GMT

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve extended its year-long fight against high inflation by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point despite concerns that higher costs could worsen the turmoil that has gripped the banking system.“The U.S. banking system is sound and resilient,” the Fed said in a statement after its latest policy meeting ended.At the same time, the Fed warned that the upheaval stemming from the fall of two major banks is “likely to result in tighter credit conditions” and “weigh on economic activity, hiring and inflation.”The central bank also signaled that it’s likely nearing the end of its aggressive streak of rate hikes. In its statement, it removed language that had previously said it would keep raising rates at future meetings. The statement now says “some additional policy firming may be appropriate” — a weaker commitment to future hikes.In its latest quarterly projections, the policymakers forecast that...

Ticker: Newsmax returns to DirecTV; More deaths linked to recalled eyedrops

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:34 GMT

Newsmax is returning to DirecTV after a dispute between the parties saw the conservative network removed from the satellite carrier.The duo were initially unable to agree to financial terms on an agreement, which led to DirecTV losing the rights to distribute Newsmax programming on Jan. 25.The companies said Wednesday they’ve reached a multiyear distribution deal that will see the Newsmax channel return to DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse starting on Thursday.Financial terms were not disclosed. And both added the contract dispute was never about politics.“Newsmax recognizes and appreciates that DirecTV clearly supports diverse voices, including conservative ones,” Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said in a statement that also credited DirecTV with helping “give Newsmax its start nearly a decade ago.”More deaths linked to recalled eyedropsU.S. officials are reporting two more deaths and additional cases of vision loss linked to eyedrops tainted with a dr...

Abortion debate churns with legislation and lawsuits

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:34 GMT

Nine months after the U.S. Supreme Court ended a nationwide right to an abortion, the landscape is far from settled, with lawmakers considering broader bans or stronger protections and legal challenges popping up nationwide.It’s been a hectic week for abortion policy with Republican-dominated states seeking to tighten restrictions, Democratic lawmakers trying to protect abortion access — and court fights playing out on multiple fronts.Here’s what’s happening: WHAT’S THE STATUS OF ABORTION PILLS?This question lies at the heart of the most closely watched current abortion-related lawsuit.A combination of two drugs is the nation’s most common method for ending pregnancies.But Alliance Defending Freedom, which opposed abortion, has asked a Texas judge to revoke or suspend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2000 approval of one of the drugs, mifepristone. The legal question looms as the Biden Administration is working on rules to make the pills more widely av...

NTSB: Pilot error in crash killing diet guru Gwen Shamblin

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:34 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A small plane crash in Tennessee that killed weight-loss guru Gwen Shamblin Lara and six others likely happened when her husband piloting the plane — actor Joe Lara — became disoriented in heavy clouds, a final report by the National Transportation Safety Board says.Joe Lara, who played Tarzan in the 1990s TV series “Tarzan: The Epic Adventures,” was flying a Cessna C501 on March 29, 2021, when the aircraft plunged into Percy Priest Lake, minutes after takeoff from an airport just outside Nashville. Flight track data found that the plane “made a series of heading changes, along with several climbs and descents, before it entered a steep, descending left turn,” according to the crash report released Wednesday. The maneuvering is consistent with a type of spatial disorientation called somatogravic illusion, and it likely caused the pilot to perceive that the airplane was pitching up even though it was actually in a continuous descent, according to an NTSB...