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Inside the Orioles’ playoff-clinching clubhouse celebration, from a laundry cart shower to cork collecting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:32 GMT

Orioles players, coaches and personnel funneled into the clubhouse after an 11-inning tussle with the Tampa Bay Rays, each donning bright orange shirts with “Take October” plastered across the chest. Manager Brandon Hyde lifted his hat slightly up off his forehead with a sigh of relief and raised a Budweiser in his right hand to address the plastic-wrapped room.“Wouldn’t have done it any other way today,” Hyde said of the Orioles’ 5-4 win that doubled their lead in the American League East and came soon after the Texas Rangers’ loss solidified the organization’s first trip to the playoffs since 2016. “Absolute grind. So proud of you guys this whole year.”With each word out of the fifth-year manager’s mouth, another bottle of champagne popped in anticipation of a moment this team has longed for. “The first step,” Hyde said. And again, “This is the first step,” as each bottle of Bouvet champagne ...

McCarthy trying to avoid government shutdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:32 GMT

Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he wants to avoid a U.S. government shutdown because it would undermine his party’s leverage in negotiations over spending cuts sought by Republicans.“I want to make sure we don’t shut down,” McCarthy said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. “I don’t think that is a win for the American public and I definitely believe it’ll make our hand weaker if we shut down.”With the federal government rapidly approaching its Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year, the Republican leader cited signs of progress on getting spending bills through the House. He didn’t provide specifics.Some House Republicans last week said they are convinced Congress won’t be able to avert a partial shutdown of many agencies or even reach a deal to temporarily extend government funding.McCarthy’s insistence on averting a shutdown has put him in a clash with House GOP conservatives who are calling for spending cuts, border security measures and other demands that Democrats have said they oppose. ...

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un heads home after Russian journey that raised concern about weapons deals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:32 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is on his way home Sunday from Russia, ending a six-day trip that triggered global concerns about weapons transfer deals between the two countries locked in separate standoffs with the West.Kim’s armored train departed to the sound of the Russian patriotic march song “Farewell of Slavianka” at the end of a farewell ceremony at a railway station in Artyom, a far eastern Russian city about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the border with North Korea, Russia’s state news agency RIA reported.Senior officials including Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov and Primorye regional Gov. Oleg Kozhemyako were present at the ceremony, which featured a Russian military band playing both North Korean and Russian national anthems. It was Kim’s longest foreign travel since he took power in late 2011. Observers said Kim was expected to return to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, around Monday afternoon.Since entering...

Chicago Symphony Orchestra, musicians union agree to 3-year contract

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:32 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Symphony Orchestra says it agreed Sunday to a three-year contract with its musicians union on a deal to replace the agreement that expires Sunday.The deal must be ratified by the CSO board of trustees and the orchestra members in the Chicago Federation of Musicians.CSO musicians struck for two days in September 2012 and for seven weeks March and April of 2019 before agreeing to a contract calling for a 13.25% wage increase over five years.The CSO said details of the deal will be released after ratification.Music director emeritus for life Riccardo Muti leads the CSO season-opening concert on Sept. 21 at Orchestra Hall and will take the orchestra to New York to open Carnegie Hall’s season on Oct. 4.The Associated Press

Police offer warning after several armed robberies on Near North Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:32 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are offering a warning to the public after several armed robberies on the Near North Side in the past two weeks. According to police, during two of the reported robberies, the victims were pistol-whipped by the offenders. Police say the robberies happened between Saturday, Sept. 9, and Saturday, Sept. 16, during various hours of the day. During each of the robberies, police say a group of one to four men wearing dark-colored clothing approached the victims on foot before holding them at gunpoint and demanding their property. The offenders then fled the scene in a white car.Police say the men, who are believed to be between 15 and 20 years of age, stand between 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-8 and are all between 120 and 170 lbs. Chicago police provided the following timeline of the robberies that took place between 9/9/23 and 9/16/23:400 block of West Locust Street in the morning hours on Saturday, Sept. 9.1400 block of North Sedgwick Street in the morning hours on T...

Tropical Storm Nigel strengthens, could be hurricane Monday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:32 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Nigel is on track to becoming the next hurricane of the 2023 Atlantic season, according to the National Hurricane Center.In its 11 a.m. advisory, the NHC said Tropical Storm Nigel strengthened again with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, a jump from earlier in the morning. The center of Tropical Storm Nigel was said to be about 990 miles northeast of the Lesser Antilles as it moved north-northwest at 13 mph."Nigel is expected to become a major hurricane by the middle of the week, but will move toward the north and be a fish storm," Eric Stone, a meteorologist with Nexstar's WFLA, said. A "fish storm" refers to a storm that doesn't threaten land, but could cause problems for fishermen or along shipping routes. Meanwhile, the NHC is tracking another area of interest off the west coast of Africa. A tropical wave there is expected to move off the coast Wednesday and could be a tropical depression later this week, according to forecasters. The NHC said that system c...

El Niño into 2024: What that means for winter and spring

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:32 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It's been a given for several months that we would be looking at an El Niño in the winter. The latest guidance suggests 99% certainty of El Niño from December through February. It won't just be a regular El Niño either, there's 60% odds it will be a "strong" El Niño. The stronger the El Niño, the more likely Winter forecastTypically we see the most predictable impacts from El Niño in Central Texas during the winter. Usually this means wetter and cooler weather.The mid-August release of the winter forecast from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has odds in our favor for more rain this winter, but the temperature outlook is near normal.Winter rainfall forecast (CPC)Winter temperature forecast (CPC)Winter is usually our driest season with only 7.25" in an average meteorological winter in Austin from December through February. Catching up on precipitation deficits that have grown through the year would do wonders for us heading into the warmer months next year.Spring s...

PHOTOS: Denver Broncos fall short to Washington Commanders 35-33 in NFL Week 2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:32 GMT

The Denver Broncos host the Washington Commanders at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, September 17, 2023, during week 2 of the NFL season. Blowing an 18-point lead, Denver lost 35-33 to Washington.

Gilroy: 34-year-old pedestrian hit and killed by driver

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:32 GMT

GILROY — A 34-year-old man was hit and killed by a vehicle on First Street, between Wren and Kern avenues on Saturday night, authorities said.Around 9 p.m., the Gilroy Police Department responded to several 9-1-1 reports that a pedestrian was struck by a driver. When officers arrived, they found the man — whose identity has yet to be released — suffering major injuries. Police said they administered “emergency life-saving measures,” but the man ultimately died at the scene.The driver of the vehicle has been cooperative with police, and an preliminary investigation found the man had been on an electric skateboard in the road before the crash.Anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact Sgt. Michael McMahon at (408) 846-0350 or [email protected]. Anonymous tips can also by submitted by calling (408) 846-0330.

Jets offer encouragement for Zach Wilson in QB’s first start since Aaron Rodgers’ injury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:32 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Zach Wilson was in full uniform in the New York Jets locker room long after the game, getting some words of encouragement from tight end Tyler Conklin and some of his teammates.Even though the Jets had just lost 30-10 to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, with Wilson thrust back into the starting role after four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers tore his left Achilles four snaps in the season opener a week earlier, they don’t see the same young quarterback who struggled so much the past two years. “He’s a completely different player, in my opinion. Going through his reads, sitting in the pocket. I mean, they have a good D-line. They create a lot of pressure,” Conklin said. “We have complete trust and faith in him. … We’re going to keep making sure he knows we got his back.”Plus, Wilson and the Jets (1-1) really didn’t get a lot of chances on offense. They had the ball for less than 18 minutes, and the three interceptions in the fourth quarter occurred w...