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Cubs host the Reds on home losing streak

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:25 GMT

Cincinnati Reds (23-29, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (22-29, fifth in the NL Central)Chicago; Sunday, 2:20 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Reds: Graham Ashcraft (2-3, 5.57 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 41 strikeouts); Cubs: Drew Smyly (5-1, 2.93 ERA, .96 WHIP, 51 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cubs -157, Reds +134; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs look to stop their three-game home skid with a win against the Cincinnati Reds.Chicago is 13-14 at home and 22-29 overall. The Cubs have the sixth-ranked team batting average in the NL at .257.Cincinnati has gone 9-15 on the road and 23-29 overall. The Reds have a 15-7 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.The teams square off Sunday for the fifth time this season. The Reds lead the season series 3-1.TOP PERFORMERS: Ian Happ has 14 doubles, four home runs and 21 RBI for the Cubs. Christopher Morel is 11-for-37 with two doubles and five home runs over the past 10 games.Jonathan India has 14 doubles and five...

Rockies and Mets meet, winner claims 3-game series

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:25 GMT

New York Mets (27-26, third in the NL East) vs. Colorado Rockies (23-30, fifth in the NL West)Denver; Sunday, 3:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Mets: Tylor Megill (5-3, 4.32 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 40 strikeouts); Rockies: Austin Gomber (4-4, 6.48 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 31 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Mets -147, Rockies +125; over/under is 12 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Rockies and New York Mets play on Sunday with the winner claiming the three-game series.Colorado has gone 14-14 in home games and 23-30 overall. The Rockies have a 7-2 record in games when they hit at least two home runs.New York is 15-17 on the road and 27-26 overall. The Mets have a 10-1 record in games when they did not give up a home run.The teams match up Sunday for the sixth time this season. The Rockies are ahead 3-2 in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Elias Diaz has a .333 batting average to lead the Rockies, and has 11 doubles and six home runs. Randal Grichuk is 12-for-34 with four RBI over the last 10 ga...

Phillies face the Braves with 2-1 series lead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:25 GMT

Philadelphia Phillies (25-27, fourth in the NL East) vs. Atlanta Braves (31-21, first in the NL East)Atlanta; Sunday, 7:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Phillies: Dylan Covey (0-0, 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, nine strikeouts); Braves: Spencer Strider (4-2, 3.12 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 97 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Braves -260, Phillies +215; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Philadelphia Phillies play the Atlanta Braves leading the series 2-1.Atlanta has a 14-14 record at home and a 31-21 record overall. The Braves lead the NL with 86 total home runs, averaging 1.7 per game.Philadelphia has an 11-17 record in road games and a 25-27 record overall. Phillies hitters are batting a collective .258, which ranks fourth in the NL.The teams meet Sunday for the fourth time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Olson has 10 doubles, a triple, 14 home runs and 37 RBI while hitting .227 for the Braves. Marcell Ozuna is 14-for-35 with two doubles and three home runs over the last 10 games.Kyle Sch...

Kyiv hit by largest drone attack of the war, Ukraine says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:25 GMT

Russia carried out overnight the largest drone attack on the city of Kyiv since Moscow launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago, Ukrainian military officials claimed on Sunday.Ukraine’s air defense system shot down 52 out of 54 Russian drones, Kyiv’s air force wrote on Telegram.“It was exceptional in its density — the maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest period of time,” Kyiv City’s military administration wrote on Telegram.Ukrainian officials noted that the drone strikes took place on the last Sunday of May when Kyiv marks the anniversary of its official founding 1,541 years ago.The massive Russian attack comes as Moscow has intensified missile and drone strikes amid speculation of a looming Ukrainian counteroffensive. Ukraine’s military command called it the biggest air attack since Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022. Kyiv officials said the air strikes were carried out by Iranian-made drones and took place over several wa...

Voters in Turkey choose between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu in presidential runoff

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:25 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Voters in Turkey returned to the polls Sunday to decide whether the country’s longtime leader stretches his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade, or is unseated by a challenger who has promised to restore a more democratic society.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been at Turkey’s helm for 20 years, is favored to win a new five-year term in the second-round runoff, after coming just short of an outright victory in the first round on May 14.The divisive populist finished four percentage points ahead of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party alliance and leader of Turkey’s center-left main opposition party. Erdogan’s performance came despite crippling inflation and the effects of a devastating earthquake three months ago.Speaking to reporters after casting his vote at a school in Istanbul, Erdogan noted that it’s the first presidential runoff election in Turkey’s history. He also praised the high voter turnout in the first round and...

Modi opponents boycott opening of new Indian Parliament; PM says it breaks with colonial past

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:25 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s major opposition parties on Sunday boycotted the inauguration of a new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a rare show of unity against his Hindu nationalist ruling party, which has ruled for nine years and is seeking a third term in next year’s elections.Modi inaugurated the new Parliament in the capital of New Delhi by offering prayers as Hindu priests chanted religious hymns. Opposition parties criticized the event saying Modi had sidelined President Droupadi Murmu, who has only ceremonial powers but is the head of state and highest constitutional authority.Shortly after the inauguration, a visibly beaming Modi entered Parliament amid a rousing applause by his party lawmakers who chanted “Modi, Modi.” He delivered an almost 40-minute speech in which he hailed India’s parliamentary democracy and said the country had left behind its colonial past, referring to the old Parliament building that was built by the British whe...

Other voices: Dignity Act, a start on immigration reform, deserves a fair hearing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:25 GMT

As the debt ceiling showdown moves toward the critical stages, a bipartisan House group has offered a path forward on another controversial issue: immigration.On Tuesday, a handful of Democrats and Republicans in the lower chamber announced they would introduce the Dignity Act, which The Washington Post described as “the most robust immigration proposal to date this Congress.”Notably, the six main co-sponsors — three Republican, three Democrat — are Hispanic members of Congress who represent border states. The primary authors are Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., and Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas.“We’re not each pursuing the perfect as we see it,” Rep. Salazar said. “We are pursuing a compromise that is real, that is common sense.”As such, the legislation has something for everyone to hate. It includes beefed-up border security, anathema to progressives, and a pathway to legal status for those in the country illegally, a thorn ...

Ask Amy: My grandparents seem rich and healthy, and I’d like my inheritance now

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:25 GMT

Dear Amy: I’m almost 30. My grandparents are in their 80s and healthy.They have told me that they will be leaving me money in their will and, although I’m not sure the amount, they seem to be quite prosperous.I am considering asking them for my inheritance ahead of their passing. My experience during the pandemic has given me a very strong desire to travel for several months.I think my grandparents might feel gratified witnessing me enjoying their legacy, but I don’t know how to ask them.Your advice?– Grateful GrandchildDear Grandchild: There are many factors here which you don’t include. These would be: your grandparents’ health, future housing and medical needs, and their willingness to be manipulated by an adventure-seeking grandchild.Some of this depends on the culture of your family, and of how these elders have lived their own lives.You need to consider the possibility that watching you enjoy yourself might not be as gratifying to this elderly couple as you think.One or both o...

What We’re Reading and Watching

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:25 GMT

Fiction“Nights of Plague,” Orhan PamukLike many other people during the pandemic, I searched for books that could help me understand the impact of a mass disease outbreak on society. Above any book of epidemiology or history, however, I found that this novel by Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk about an outbreak of plague on a fictional Mediterranean island to be the most enlightening about how disease can sap the human spirit and break open divisions within a society. His writing is darkly humorous and full of pathos — highly recommended for anyone looking for a novel to immerse themselves in this summer. – Murtaza Hussain“Cuatro Manos,” Paco Ignacio Taibo II The novel “Cuatro Manos” was published in 1997 and features major historical characters and events from 20th century Latin America. Taibo, a renowned author and activist in Mexico, guides us through a story of two journalists in the 1980s. They begin to investigate unpublished and undiscovered works by Russian revolutionary Leon Tro...

Grilling out this Memorial Day weekend? The do’s and don’ts

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:25 GMT

At Virginia Tech University’s real test food kitchen, the director has one looming goal.“My first priority is to safety,” said Melissa Wright, who heads up the university’s Food Producer Technical Assistance Network.Every year, the unofficial start to summer grilling season comes with a few warnings. The first: avoid cross-contamination, by separating raw meat and fresh produce and toppings, Wright said.“That ground meat is probably going to have E-coli in it, which is a natural organism,” she said. “Think about your wooden cutting boards. You cut it and there’s a groove in there, that bacteria loves to live in that groove. Have separate meat and produce cutting boards.”Also, pay close attention to cooking temperatures, especially for beef-alternative products. Wright said many people tend to overlook the cooking labels when cooking soy, pea or chickpea proteins.Although those proteins don’t have animal products, they still have ingredients that need to reach a certain temperature b...