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Column: By replacing David Ross with Craig Counsell, Chicago Cubs President Jed Hoyer dips into Theo Epstein’s playbook

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

Craig Counsell, baseball’s most coveted free-agent manager since Joe Maddon, was hired by the Chicago Cubs on Monday in a cold-blooded move that harked back to the time former Cubs President Theo Epstein brought Maddon to the North Side nine years ago.With a five-year deal for Counsell that’s reportedly worth a record $40 million, Cubs President Jed Hoyer signaled the missing piece in Year 3 of the team’s rebuild was a well-respected manager who could get the most out of his players and get them to a championship level.David Ross, the favorite son of Epstein and a hero of the Cubs’ 2016 World Series champions, was hired by Epstein to replace Maddon in October 2019. But he apparently failed to show Hoyer he was still the right man for the job after a season-ending collapse cost the Cubs a National League wild-card spot.In a press release Monday, Hoyer said Ross “continually showcased his ability to lead,” adding that his “legacy will be felt ...

Nashville investigating after possible leak of Covenant shooting images

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Nashville mayor’s office called on the city’s legal team Monday to investigate the possible unauthorized release of the writings of the shooter who indiscriminately opened fire at the private Nashville school in March, killing three children and three adults before being fatally shot by police. Mayor Freddie O’Connell issued the statement shortly after conservative radio host Steven Crowder released what he said were three images of Audrey Hale’s writings from the day of the shooting. Metro Nashville Police Department said Monday the images were not “MNPD crime scene images” and that it was working with Nashville’s legal department in the investigation.Meanwhile, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation declined to confirm the authentication. Authorities have not disclosed any of Hale’s journals or writings that were collected after the March 27 shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville. The shooter left behind at least...

Local broadcasts for 15 NBA teams will remain on Bally Sports after agreement

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

The NBA and Diamond Sports Group, the largest owner of regional sports networks, have reached an agreement that will keep local broadcasts for 15 teams on Bally Sports through the end of this season.The agreement, which was contained in a court filing made Monday, is subject to court approval. Diamond Sports has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the Southern District of Texas since it filed for protection in March. The company said in a financial filing last year that it had debt of $8.67 billion.While there will be a reduction in rights payments for some teams, the local rights for 15 franchises will revert back to those teams at the end of this season. The NBA is also on the verge of beginning negotiations for national rights, which expire after the 2024-25 season.The agreement provides stability for fans, networks and NBA teams after Major League Baseball had to take over the broadcasts of San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks games last season after agreements cou...

Maine man sentenced to 15 years for mosque attack plot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A 19-year-old from Maine who the FBI says built homemade explosives and plotted to attack a mosque in the name of the Islamic State group was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison.Xavier Pelkey, of Waterville, entered an agreement with prosecutors in April in which he pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists while a second charge was dropped. Pelkey planned to contribute firearms, ammunition and explosives for a mass shooting at a Shiite mosque in the Chicago area and possibly other houses of worship, and he was in communication with a pair of juveniles, one in Canada and one Chicago, about the plot, law enforcement officials said.Pelkey was 18 when he was arrested by FBI agents who found three homemade explosives in his home. The devices were made of fireworks bundled with staples, pins and thumb tacks to create shrapnel, the FBI said. Investigators also found a handwritten document about the planned mosque attack, claiming it in the name of ...

A processing glitch has held up a ‘small percentage’ of bank deposits since Thursday, overseer says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A processing glitch in the network that processes electronic transfers between nearly all U.S. bank accounts led to delays in settling deposits, some of which remain stalled, according to the private company that operates the system. The Clearing House Payments Co. said Monday that a technical error on Thursday resulted in some payment information sent to banks with account numbers and customer names masked, preventing them from being processed immediately. TCH, as the company is known, is owned by a group of 22 major banks, including Citibank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase.Many customers have complained about the problem on social media, noting that delayed paycheck deposits have imperiled important automatic payments such as mortgage payments, rent and credit-card bills.TCH apologized for the error and emphasized that individual banks were not responsible for the situation. It also noted that the issue affected only a “very small percentag...

Senate Republicans outline border security measures they want as a condition for aiding Ukraine

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have released a sweeping set of U.S. border security proposals as a condition for sending more aid to Ukraine, laying out a draft plan to resume construction on parts of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, curtail humanitarian parole for people who cross into the United States and make it more difficult for migrants to qualify for asylum. President Joe Biden last month sent Congress a $105 billion request for aid to Ukraine and Israel that also sought $14 billion for managing the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. But Republicans have said the White House proposals do not have enough teeth, and have pushed border policy changes to be linked with the aid for the two countries’ conflicts.Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has not said whether he supports the proposal released Monday by Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jim Lankford of Oklahoma. But he told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that he has been di...

Nearly 1M chickens will be killed on a Minnesota farm because of bird flu

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

Nearly 1 million chickens on a Minnesota egg farm will be slaughtered to help limit the spread of the highly contagious bird flu after it was confirmed there, officials said Monday.The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the virus was found at a farm in Wright County, Minnesota, as well as in three smaller flocks in South Dakota and Iowa. Whenever the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus is detected on a farm, the entire flock is killed as to keep it from spreading to other farms.In addition to the Minnesota case, the USDA said some 26,800 turkeys will be killed on a farm in McPherson County in South Dakota and nearly 17,000 birds will be slaughtered on two farms in Iowa’s Clay County.The egg and poultry industry has been dealing with a bird flu outbreak since last year. In 2022, nearly 58 million birds — mostly chicken and turkeys — were slaughtered to deal with the virus, contributing significantly higher egg and turkey prices. The Minnesota farm is the first egg-layi...

New Mexico St lawsuit alleges guns were often present in locker room

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

Two former New Mexico State basketball players and a student manager filed a lawsuit Monday saying their teammates frequently brought guns into the locker room where they sexually assaulted players as a way of ensuring everyone on the team remained “humble.”Kyle Feit, along with a teammate and student manager who did not want their names used, filed the lawsuit in district court in Las Cruces, New Mexico, against the school, its athletic director, Mario Moccia, and former coaches and players. All but Moccia were fired or left last season; Moccia received a contract extension and a raise.The lawsuit was filed the same day as the Aggies’ 2023-24 season opener, at Kentucky.Feit revealed his name, the lawsuit says, because “his interest in speaking out and holding all of the defendants accountable outweighs his desire to protect his personal privacy interests.”Some of the allegations — that players would sexually assault teammates after forcing them to pull their pants down — were...

A 17-year-old boy wanted in the killing of a passenger resting on a Seattle bus turns himself in

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — A 17-year-old boy wanted in the fatal and apparently random shooting of a passenger who was resting on a Seattle bus last month has turned himself in, police said Monday.Miguel Rivera Dominguez, of the south suburb of Burien, faces charges of first-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in what prosecutors called “the senseless execution of a total stranger.”The King County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Rivera Dominguez turned himself in without incident Monday morning. King County Superior Court records did not list an attorney who might comment on his behalf. He is being charged as an adult.According to charging documents filed last week, Rivera Dominguez was riding on a King County Metro bus in White Center, an unincorporated neighborhood south of Seattle, on Oct. 3 when he pulled a cord to request a stop and then shot Marcel Da’jon Wagner, 21, who appeared to be sleeping.A friend who was with Rivera Dominguez at the t...

Backstage with the Fugees: Pras on his hip-hop legacy as he awaits sentencing in conspiracy case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s Sunday night, backstage ahead of the second Los Angeles show of Lauryn Hill and the Fugees’ anniversary tour. It will be a few hours yet before Hill opens the concert with a solo set of “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” 25 years after its release. The seats in the arena are slowly starting to fill.Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, a founding member of the Fugees, is sitting in his dressing room at the Kia Forum, watching the Buffalo Bills play the Cincinnati Bengals. Tonight is a celebration — of his landmark group, of all of the generations who have loved their music — and of his freedom, however much remains. In April, the rapper accused in multimillion-dollar political conspiracies spanning two presidencies was convicted of 10 counts, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, after a trial in Washington, D.C., federal court that saw testimony from the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio.“Some of the lyrics, this art, is i...