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Japan’s automakers unveil EVs galore at Tokyo show to catch up with Tesla, other electric rivals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:17 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — “We love battery EVs.”Takero Kato, the executive in charge of electric vehicles at Toyota, said that not once, but twice, to emphasize what he considers the message at this year’s Tokyo auto show.It’s a message ringing clear at the Tokyo Mobility Show, which will run through Nov. 5 at Tokyo Big Sight hall and where battery-powered electric vehicles are the star at practically every booth.Mazda Motor Corp. is highlighting a sportscar concept that is a plug-in EV packed with its signature rotary engine. Honda Motor Co. is showing off its Prelude sportscar EV concept. Toyota Motor Corp.’s lean angular Lexus concept, set to go on sale in 2026, is an electric vehicle running on lithium-ion batteries. Journalists got a preview Wednesday ahead of the show’s public opening Saturday. U.S. automakers like General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Cor. aren’t exhibiting at the show and have not taken part for some years. The Americans make up a very tiny fraction of Japanese auto sa...

Longshot World Series: Diamondbacks vs Rangers is a Fall Classic few saw coming

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:17 GMT

Tell the truth: How many people picked Arizona and Texas to meet in the World Series?A Rangers-Diamondbacks matchup had 1,750 to 1 odds when wagering opened last fall.But in an era when 12 teams make the playoffs, sustained excellence over the six-month regular season has become a boarding pass, not the journey, leading to a Longshot Series that opens Friday night at Globe Life Field.“Once you get into the big dance, anything can happen,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said before Tuesday night’s 4-2 win at Philadelphia advanced Arizona to its first World Series since 2001. “Throw it all out the window. The teams that get in deserve to be in.”All the glamour teams are watching at home: the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves stumbled in the Division Series, defending champion Houston was ousted by Texas, and the New York Yankees didn’t even make it to the postseason.Instead, Major League Baseball has its third all-wild card meeting. a Grand Canyon vs. Lone Star finale o...

Vietnam’s Vinfast committed to selling EVs to US despite challenges, intense competition

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:17 GMT

HAIPHONG, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese automaker Vinfast plunged right into the crowded and hypercompetitive U.S. auto market, gambling that if it can sell its electric vehicles to finicky Americans, it can succeed anywhere.So far, that gamble has yet to pay off. Its CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said in a recent interview with The Associated Press that the U.S. market is “difficult.” It has sold just 2,009 electric vehicles in the U.S., less than 1% of total of total U.S. EV sales, according to Motorintelligence.com. Worldwide, Vinfast sold just 19,562 EVs from April-September, well below its 2023 target of 50,000. But Vinfast is committed to riding the wave of countries trying to switch to EVs to cut emissions, Thuy said while speaking with The Associated Press at Vinfast’s sleek headquarters in Hanoi.Prioritizing the U.S. market, despite its stringent regulations, tough scrutiny by the media, and opposition from Vinfast’s advisers was a deliberate decision, she said.“We wanted to ...

Diamondbacks stun Phillies 4-2 in Game 7 of NLCS to reach first World Series in 22 years

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:17 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Corbin Carroll went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, and the Arizona Diamondbacks advanced to the World Series for the first time in 22 years Tuesday night by stunning the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series.Arizona plays the Texas Rangers in the World Series, with Game 1 set for Friday night at Globe Life Field. In their only other trip to the Fall Classic, the Diamondbacks won a seven-game thriller against the New York Yankees in 2001.The young Diamondbacks, who at 84-78 squeezed into the playoffs as the final NL wild card, completed their comeback from an 0-2 hole in the NLCS. They won Games 6 and 7 in Philadelphia, where the defending National League champions had been 12-2 over the past two postseasons — including 11-0 in NL playoff games. Brandon Pfaadt struck out seven in four innings and five relievers combined to pitch their way out of late-inning jams for the surprising NL pennant winners.Bryce Harper and the rest...

Air Canada accused of holding up British MP ‘because his name is Mohammad’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:17 GMT

LONDON — Air Canada is being accused in the U.K. House of Commons of delaying a British MP from boarding a flight “because his name is Mohammad.”Clive Betts, raising a point of order in the House this week, said fellow Labour MP Mohammad Yasin was pulled aside for questioning recently at London’s Heathrow airport “for a considerable period” while other lawmakers he was travelling with were allowed through.Betts told the House that Yasin was asked whether he was carrying a knife and where he was born. He said the questioning was being done by “officials from Air Canada and, we believe, the Canadian government” despite Yasin having a visa to enter Canada. Betts said Yasin was eventually allowed to get on the flight, but he was “challenged” again at the Montreal and Toronto airports.He said while Yasin has received apologies from Air Canada as well as Canada’s parliamentary secretary to the federal immigration minister, it was important to put Yasin’s expe...

Rantanen has goal, 3 assists as Avalanche beat Islanders 7-4 for record 15th straight road win

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:17 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Mikko Rantanen scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and had three assists as the Colorado Avalanche beat the New York Islanders 7-4 on Tuesday night for their NHL-record 15th straight road win.Ryan Johansen scored twice, Cale Makar had a goal and an assist, and Bowen Byram, Nathan MacKinnon and Ross Colton also scored for Colorado, which won its sixth straight to open the season. Valeri Nichushkin had two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev stopped 27 shots to also improve to 6-0-0 this season. The Avalanche’s winning streak, which includes the last 11 road games of last season, topped the previous mark of 14 set by Buffalo bridging the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. They also matched the 2013-14 team for the best start (6-0-0) since moving to Colorado before the 1995-96 season — one win behind the 1985-86 Quebec Nordiques for tops in franchise history.Cal Clutterbuck had a goal and an assist, Kyle Palmieri and Simon Holmstron also scored, and Noah Dobson ...

'It makes us feel like we don’t matter:' Struggles of those with disabilities and how the city is working to improve accessibility

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:17 GMT

CHICAGO — For those in a wheelchair, navigating the sidewalks of Chicago can be treacherous.Kevin Sullivan, a 32-year-old from Palatine, was born with a condition called arthrogryposis multiplex congenita which affects the range of motion in his arms and legs. Pulitzer Prize winner returns to Northwestern classroom with a lesson on George Floyd’s life Sullivan commuted to the city daily before the pandemic, and on a recent trip downtown he was shocked to still see the corner of Fulton and Jefferson. The curb at the intersection has no curb cut for wheelchairs to access the crosswalk, nor a tactile strip. Those alert visually impaired people when they are about to enter the street.Sullivan reported the issue at this intersection to 311 four years ago, but it was never fixed.“I’m not sure where that lies on their priority list but apparently it’s not very high,” Sullivan said.Damaged curb cuts or ramps like this one are a common sight across the city, as well as broke...

Debris cleared from airfield at Hobby Airport after two private jets 'clipped their wings'

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:17 GMT

The video above was ran in the 9 p.m. KXAN newscastHOUSTON (KXAN) -- The Hobby Airport in Houston is now back open after it was previously shut down due to two private jets that "clipped their wings," a statement on the airport's social media said.Reports of the two jets moving on the airfield came in at approximately 3:30 p.m., the airport said. No injuries were reported.Shortly after 7 p.m., the airport said the debris was cleared from the airfield, and the airport restored flight operations.

High school football roundup: Two Rivers shuts out Hastings, sets up clash with Cadets

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:17 GMT

CLASS 5ATwo Rivers 14, Hastings 0: Two Rivers (8-1) avenged its only loss of the season, delivering its second shutout in three weeks.The Warriors have now won seven straight games after falling 9-7 to Hastings (2-7) in Week 2. Drew Altavilla and Riley Pearce each ran in second-quarter scores for Two Rivers.Two Rivers will meet intracity rival St. Thomas Academy on Saturday in the Section 3 semifinals.Other scores:-Apple Valley beat Bloomington Kennedy 43-7. The Eagles will meet second-seeded Bloomington Jefferson on Saturday in the Section 3 semifinals.-Central downed Academy Force 52-8. The second-seeded Minutemen will host third-seeded Cretin-Derham Hall in Saturday’s Section 4 semifinals. Cretin-Derham Hall beat Harding/Humboldt 40-0 on Tuesday.-Tartan topped Highland Park 26-14, setting up a date between the Titans and Mahtomedi in a Section 4 semifinal on Saturday.CLASS 4ASimley 28, South St. Paul 6: Freshman fill-in quarterback Christian Urbina tossed four touchdown pas...

Ryan Hartman hat trick leads Wild’s rally past Edmonton

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:17 GMT

Bad start, no problem.After a series of bad starts this season, the Wild upped the ante with two on Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center, falling behind a skidding Edmonton team 1-0 in the first 54 seconds, and 3-2 just 32 seconds into the second period.But it wasn’t the difference this time.Ryan Hartman scored a hat trick, and Marco Rossi, Mats Zuccarello and Joel Eriksson Ek each added one as the Wild beat the Oilers, 7-4, and nip an 0-1-1 skid in the bud before starting a three-game road trip on Thursday in Philadelphia.Minnesota scored five third-period goals to overcome an Oilers team that arrived in St. Paul with a 1-3-1 record and without superstar wing Connor McDavid, sidelined one to two weeks with an upper body injury.McDavid led the NHL with 64 goals and 153 points last season, but the Oilers didn’t appear to miss him early.Even as Minnesota focused coming out strong after a series of slow starts — really in every game but a 5-2 victory at Montreal on Oct. 17 — Evan Bouchard sco...