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Battenfeld: It’s Donald Trump against the weight of the entire federal government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

It’s now Donald Trump vs. the entire federal government, the corrupt media, the Democratic machine and the Republican establishment.Trump – under siege from the weight of the charges against him – will limp into the 2024 campaign, but the best bet is that he collapses. Ron DeSantis is next in line, but even he will face a withering assault from Democrats.Trump right now has got a bigger problem than loud-mouthed Chris Christie.The Biden administration and Trump’s enemies are determined to break him down, saddling him with so much baggage it is impossible for him to continue.There is no noble goal here for justice, basically, Trump’s foes fear him and want to block him from being president again.And right now they are succeeding. They are raising doubts among Republicans and firing up Democrats. Even Mike Pence is no longer afraid to trash Trump.Financially, physically and emotionally Trump must be drained. It seems more than one person can take.The entire weight of the federal gover...

How many pitches is too many? In college baseball playoffs, it’s an annual debate.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

If it’s June, it’s time to scrutinize pitch counts in the college baseball playoffs.On June 2, junior Paul Skenes threw 124 pitches in LSU’s 7-2 victory over Tulane in an NCAA Division I Regional. Three days later, sophomore Matt Savedoff tossed a career-high 147 pitches in Johns Hopkins’ 8-2 win against Baldwin Wallace in the Division III College World Series semifinals.And last Thursday, graduate student Gabriel Romano threw a career-high 164 pitches — nearly twice as many as MLB pitchers average (86) in a given start, according to Baseball-Reference — in the Blue Jays’ 11-6 victory over Lynchburg in the finals.The high pitch counts caused a stir on social media with several commentators criticizing the teams for the usage of their pitchers. Skenes’ performance raised eyebrows in Major League Baseball circles, according to The Washington Post.These cases are not equal. Romano was likely pitching the last game of his career. Skenes, m...

Jackson Holliday’s family takes in firsthand view of Orioles prospect’s growth with Aberdeen IronBirds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

There are babysitting rooms at ballparks where major leaguers can drop off their kids in capable hands while they play baseball. Jackson Holliday wanted no part of them. He and his younger brother, Ethan, preferred to be in the stands where they could lock in on every pitch.They mimicked stances, tracked each play and could name everyone on the field. Baseball has always been the guiding light of Jackson’s life.“He’d want to come to the field with me. He’d want to hit balls and want people to play catch with him,” said Matt Holliday, Jackson’s father, a 7-time All-Star and 2011 World Series champion. “He always had incredible mechanics in his swing even as a toddler. He kind of naturally could just hit the ball. I always thought when he got stronger that he would really take off from a pro prospect standpoint.”Now here he was, playing at Ripken Stadium a year removed from being drafted No. 1 overall by the Orioles and nearly two months...

MBTA on-time service dropped last fall, T cites staffing shortages and delays of heavy rail rapid transit cars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

MBTA trains and buses were running late more often last year, according to a new T report that blames the lack of reliability on staffing shortages and the delayed delivery of heavy rail rapid transit cars.The MBTA on Wednesday released its second annual Service Delivery Report, which evaluated service during the fall 2022 season from Aug. 29 to Dec. 18.According to the report, the MBTA’s reliability of service last fall generally decreased for rapid transit and bus services compared to the fall of 2021. For instance, weekday rapid transit reliability went down from 89.4% in the fall of 2021 to 86% last fall. The 86% on-time performance was below the target of 90%.Bus reliability also declined, dropping from 70.4% in the fall of 2021 to 68.8% last fall. That was also under the on-time performance target of 75%.“Decreases in reliability are a consequence of the ongoing staffing shortages for operators and dispatchers, and the delayed delivery of heavy rail rapid transit c...

Mercedes EQE500 is an EV techy dream

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

As the EV market continues to evolve into what our future could look like automobile-wise, German manufacturers have their hands full in trying to beat the competition to the dealerships.Mercedes Benz has always been a leader in manufacturing with innovation as well as testing the market with their releases. In Grasso’s Garage this week, Mercedes delivered the EQE500 4Matic. This new release is a head scratcher in appearance, but one heck of a machine on the inside.Powered as only an EV and with a 252 mile range on a full charge, it seems to be specifically designed to be the local upscale cruiser. With most EV owners, who plug in every night when they get home, this range is not an issue. Comfort, luxury and power all top the charts for the MB EQE500. Powered with Dual Permanently Synchronous Electric Motors w/300 kW with 90.6 kWh high voltage batteries, the MB EQE500 is quick on its feet. Comfort Suspension with Selective Damping, 10-Degree Rear Axle Steering and new-generation MB...

NATO sees no change in Russia’s nuclear posture despite Belarus leader’s claims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO sees no sign that Russia has changed its nuclear posture, the head of the military alliance said Thursday, after President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that Belarus has already received some tactical nuclear weapons from Moscow.In an interview on state television on Tuesday, Lukashenko brashly warned that he wouldn’t hesitate to order their use if Belarus faced an act of aggression. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the weapons will be deployed to Belarus next month and will remain under Moscow’s exclusive control.“We are, of course, closely monitoring what Russia is doing. So far, we haven’t seen any changes in the nuclear posture that requires any changes in our posture,” Stoltenberg told reporters before chairing a meeting of NATO defense ministers at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.NATO’s secretive nuclear defense planning group is set to meet on Friday. The meeting has long been planned and is not a reaction to recent developments, but the a...

South Korea says North Korea has launched ballistic missile toward sea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile off its east coast.South Korea’s military says the North Korean launch occurred Thursday evening but gave no further details.The launch came after North Korea’s military vowed an unspecified response after South Korean and U.S. troops finished five rounds of large-scale live-fire drills near the Koreas’ heavily fortified border earlier Thursday.The Associated Press

UN atomic watchdog chief visits Ukraine nuclear plant threatened by war with Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog visited Europe’s largest atomic power plant Thursday in southern Ukraine, where a recent dam burst and the start of a counteroffensive in the war by Kyiv’s forces have heightened safety risks.The visit was announced by Ukraine’s national nuclear energy company, Energoatom, in a Telegram post.Rafael Mariano Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency chief, met Tuesday in Kyiv with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss concerns about the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.The IAEA has repeatedly expressed alarm about the facility, which is one of the 10 biggest in the world, amid fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe. The agency has officials stationed at the plant, which is still run by its Ukrainian staff.The plant has repeatedly been caught in the crossfire since Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022 and seized the facility shortly after. Last week, the destructi...

SIU investigating after man critically injured in interaction with Toronto police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

The province’s Special Investigations Unit is investigating after a man was sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries following an interaction with police in downtown Toronto.Officers were called to the area of Jarvis and Richmond streets around 3 a.m. on Wednesday for reports of a person in crisis.Few details are known about what happened when officers arrived. Paramedics confirm a man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.Photos from the scene show broken glass, pillows and other debris scattered on the street and sidewalk.The Special Investigations Unit is investigating after Toronto police responded to a call on Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto on June 15, 2023. CITYNEWS/Bertram DandyThere is a large police presence in the area,Jarvis is closed in both directions from Richmond to Adelaide Street for the investigation.The SIU is called in to investigate any police interaction resulting in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a ...

Suspect in mass shooting at Colorado gay nightclub expected to take plea deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:56 GMT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The suspect in a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub is expected to strike a plea deal to state murder and hate charges that would ensure at least a life sentence for the attack that killed five people and wounded 17, several survivors told The Associated Press. Word of a possible legal resolution of last year’s Club Q massacre follows a series of jailhouse phone calls from the suspect to the AP expressing remorse and the intention to face the consequences at the next scheduled court hearing this month.“I have to take responsibility for what happened,” 23-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich said in their first public comments about the case. Federal and state authorities and defense attorneys declined to comment on a possible plea deal. But Colorado law requires victims to be notified of such deals, and several people who lost loved ones or were wounded in the attack told the AP that state prosecutors have given them advance word that Aldrich w...