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Orioles closer Félix Bautista throws first bullpen session since elbow injury: ‘Sounds like it went pretty well’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:00 GMT

Orioles closer Félix Bautista took a significant step toward a potential return this season, throwing his first bullpen session since partially tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow Aug. 25 against the Colorado Rockies.The right-hander’s throwing plans had slowly progressed from playing catch on flat ground a few times a week to throwing on back-to-back days Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, he ramped up and threw about 20 to 25 pitches in the bullpen, per manager Brandon Hyde’s estimation, while mixing in splitters and sliders before the Orioles’ matinee against the Tampa Bay Rays.“I think it went pretty well,” Hyde said. “That was the next step in his throwing progression so we’ll see how he feels tomorrow, just taking it day by day. … I just ran into him after the side session and it sounds like it went pretty well, so that’s always encouraging.”Hyde tempered his feelings of encouragement with a rem...

Chula Vista residents command city to reopen Harborside Park

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:00 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- Several Chula Vista residents staged a protest Saturday, commanding that city leaders reopen the popular Harborside Park.Dozen were seen gathered outside the fence at 670 Oxford St., with many holding signs that read "Save Harborside Park!" Chula Vista City Council votes not to reopen Harborside Park yet These residents are voicing opposition to the city's idea of replacing the beloved park with high-density housing. Last year, the 5-acre park was closed by the city after it was overrun by homeless encampments.Though city leaders initially planned on reopening the space, they voted in May to investigate the possibility of declaring it as "surplus land" that could be sold to developers. "Taking it away from our children and our families now just to put more housing -- that's going to bring more families that are going to need parks," said Myssie McCann, the wife of Chula Vista Mayor John McCann. "There's no reason whatsoever that these families should have to...

Photos: Packages of meth, heroin found in pickup truck

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:00 GMT

CALEXICO, Calif. -- Packages of methamphetamine and heroin were found hidden throughout a pickup truck at the Calexico West port of entry last weekend.According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officers encountered a 35-year-old man -- a U.S. citizen -- driving a 2020 pickup truck around 11:44 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10.The driver was applying for entry into the U.S. from Mexico when a CBP officer performing a primary inspection referred the driver for further examination, officials explained. Oceanside police dog ‘Jenko’ retires CBP says officers observed irregularities during an x-ray examination of the vehicle, and a K-9 enforcement team then responded to the scene. The dog alerted to the presence of narcotics.At that time, CBP officers discovered and extracted 223 packages from the rear passenger door, spare tire, and gas tank area of the pickup truck. Narcotics are seen hidden in a passenger door of a pickup truck. (Credit: CBP)Narcotics are seen hidden in a gas tank. (Cr...

Israel criticizes UN vote to list ruins near ancient Jericho as World Heritage Site in Palestine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:00 GMT

JERICHO, West Bank (AP) — A U.N. committee voted Sunday to list prehistoric ruins near the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine, a decision that angered Israel, which controls the territory and does not recognize a Palestinian state.Jericho is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities on earth, and is in a part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank that is administered by the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. The listing refers to the Tell es-Sultan archaeological site nearby, which contains prehistoric ruins dating back to the ninth millennium B.C. and is outside the ancient city itself.The decision was made at a meeting of the U.N. World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. Israel’s foreign ministry released a statement Sunday that said the listing was a “cynical” ploy by the Palestinians to politicize UNESCO, and that Israel wi...

Drew Barrymore and ‘The Talk’ postpone their daytime talk shows until after the Hollywood strikes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Drew Barrymore, who drew criticism for taping new episodes of her daytime talk show despite the ongoing writers and actors strikes, now says she’ll wait until the labor issues are resolved. Hours later CBS’ “The Talk” did the same. “I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore posted on Instagram on Sunday. “I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today.”Barrymore’s initial decision to return to the air Monday — without her three union writers and with picketers outside her studio — was met with pushback on social media. Her show resumed taping in New York last week and was picketed by striking writers.“We support Drew’s decision to pause the show’s return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her,” said a CBS Media Ventures spokespe...

Alabama high school band director stunned, arrested after refusing to end performance, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:00 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama high school band director was shocked with a stun gun and arrested after Birmingham police said he wouldn’t tell his band to stop playing.Local news outlets report that Minor High School’s band director was arrested Thursday night after a football game between Minor and Jackson-Olin High School. He’s charged with disorderly conduct, harassment and resisting arrest.Birmingham Police Officer Truman Fitzgerald, a department spokesperson, said police were trying to clear the stadium at Jackson-Olin after the game and asked both bands to stop playing so people wouldn’t linger.Police say the Jackson-Olin band stopped performing, but that the director disregarded officers and told his students to keep playing.Police officers accompanied by school security guards went to arrest him for disorderly conduct but he got into a scuffle with them, Fitzgerald said. He said the band director refused to place his hands behind his back and sho...

The Walnut Foundation raises awareness of increased prostate cancer risks in Black communities

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:00 GMT

As Ontario marks prostate cancer awareness month, a charitable organization is working to raise awareness about the increased risk of the disease among men who are Black.Anthony Henry, the president of The Walnut Foundation, knows first-hand what it’s like to survive the disease, but his devotion to the cause is also fueled by how prostate cancer ran in his family.“Four of us in my family were impacted. Dad was not screened and the outcome was disastrous. The rest of us were screened and we’re all still here today,” he told CityNews.The Walnut Foundation’s name references the size of a normal prostate in younger men. It grows as men age, but that growth isn’t always normal. So in 2007, Dr. Winston Isaac and Simon Samuel formed the organization in an effort to increase general knowledge about the disease, reduce stigma and promote an interest in men’s health.“There just wasn’t enough information and support out there and especiall...

Minnesota man acquitted of killing 3 people, wounding 2 others in case that hinged on alibi defense

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:00 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A judge has acquitted a Minnesota man accused of fatally shooting three people and wounding two others in St. Paul last year in a case that hinged on an alibi defense.Ramsey County Judge Kelly Olmstead on Friday found Antonio Dupree Wright not guilty on all charges, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. Wright, 42, of Minneapolis, had waived a jury trial, allowing the judge to decide his fate.“There’s insufficient evidence to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is the person who committed these heinous crimes,” Olmstead said.Prosecutors had charged Wright with second-degree murder and attempted murder, alleging he was the masked man who fired a handgun at the victims at a St. Paul duplex on Sept. 4, 2022. Killed were Angelica Gonzales, 33, Cory Freeman, 42, and Maisha Spaulding, 44.“There is no question that the victims were intentionally targeted for murder,” Olmstead said. “The sole, true issue in this case is the identity of the shooter....

‘Nun 2’ narrowly edges ‘A Haunting in Venice’ over quiet weekend in movie theaters

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — “The Nun 2” and “A Haunting in Venice” virtually tied for the No. 1 spot in U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, with a slight edge carrying the horror sequel over the Hercule Poirot mystery, according to studio estimates Sunday. In its second weekend of release, Warner Bros.’ “The Nun 2,” a spinoff from the studio’s lucrative “Conjuring” franchise, grossed $14.7 million. If numbers hold, that will give “The Nun 2” (up to $56.5 million total and $158.8 million worldwide) the top spot at the box office for the second straight week. Very close behind was “A Haunting in Venice,” Kenneth Branagh’s third Agatha Christie adaptation following 2017’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and 2022’s “Death on the Nile.” It opened with $14.5 million. Final box-office figures will be released Monday. After the successful run of “Murder on the Orient Express” ($352.8 million worldwide against a production budget of $55 million) and the less-s...

Why humans can’t trust AI: You don’t know how it works, what it’s going to do or whether it’ll serve your interests

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:00 GMT

(The Conversation) - There are alien minds among us. Not the little green men of science fiction, but the alien minds that power the facial recognition in your smartphone, determine your creditworthiness and write poetry and computer code. These alien minds are artificial intelligence systems, the ghost in the machine that you encounter daily.But AI systems have a significant limitation: Many of their inner workings are impenetrable, making them fundamentally unexplainable and unpredictable. Furthermore, constructing AI systems that behave in ways that people expect is a significant challenge.If you fundamentally don’t understand something as unpredictable as AI, how can you trust it?Why AI is unpredictableTrust is grounded in predictability. It depends on your ability to anticipate the behavior of others. If you trust someone and they don’t do what you expect, then your perception of their trustworthiness diminishes.Many AI systems are built on deep learning&nbs...