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Michael Kopech undergoes surgery to remove a cyst from his right knee, ending the Chicago White Sox pitcher’s season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:51 GMT

Michael Kopech worked as an opener Wednesday for the Chicago White Sox at Nationals Park.It turned out to be his final outing of the season. The Sox on Friday placed the right-hander on the injured list with right knee inflammation.“It had been bothering him the whole year,” manager Pedro Grifol said before Friday’s game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. “He’s been treating that the whole year. It was just time to get him back on the mound (Wednesday), let him start a game and finish off on a good note and then go get it fixed to make sure he has a good offseason.”Kopech underwent surgery Friday morning to remove a cyst from his right knee in a procedure performed at Rush Oak Brook Surgery Center by Dr. Nikhil Verma, the lead team doctor. The Sox said Kopech’s full recovery time is expected to take six to eight weeks.Kopech went 5-12 with a 5.43 ERA in 30 games (27 starts) this season. Control was an issue. He had 134 strikeouts in ...

Orioles to celebrate Hall of Famer Jim Palmer’s 60 years with franchise in pregame ceremony Friday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:51 GMT

Ahead of their Sept. 29 game with the Boston Red Sox, the Orioles will recognize Hall of Famer Jim Palmer’s 60 years with the organization.Palmer, 77, signed with Baltimore in August 1963. The right-handed pitcher spent all 19 of his major league seasons with the Orioles, winning 268 games, three Cy Young Awards and three World Series titles. He’s spent many of the years since in the broadcast booth, calling Friday night’s game against the Cleveland Guardians on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network when the team announced the celebration.“We are honoring Jim Palmer in a special pregame ceremony as we celebrate 60 years with the organization and a list of accomplishments that could take us the rest of the game to fill,” MASN play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown said.“I guess I’ll have to be there then,” Palmer quipped in response.After listing off some of the accomplishments of Palmer’s playing career, Brown added, “Beyond that, yo...

Column: The Chicago Cubs are in a tailspin despite a 6-0 win. Someone notify David Ross and Marquee Sports Network.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:51 GMT

Panic time at Wrigley Field?Not yet perhaps, but the Chicago Cubs’ struggles in September have fans on edge during the final regular-seasonseries of the season at Wrigley Field.A 6-0 victory against the lowly Colorado Rockies on Friday was exactly what the Cubs needed to pacify a crowd of 32,150, but it could be a temporary reprieve unless they sweep the series.Marcus Stroman was named the surprise starter for Saturday’s game, though manager David Ross ended his interview session without allowing any questions on his decision.Ross noted after Thursday’s loss to Pittsburgh that the Pirates were not a team of “our caliber.” If that’s the case, neither are the 97-loss Rockies, who sent Noah Davis, a pitcher with a 9.58 ERA, against the Cubs on Friday.Seiya Suzuki’s two-run homer in the fourth and a combined shutout by Jameson Taillon and two relievers helped the Cubs end a two-game skid and move a half-game ahead of the Miami Marlins for the No...

Federal judge again strikes down California law banning gun magazines of more than 10 rounds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:51 GMT

By ADAM BEAM (Associated Press)SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California cannot ban gun owners from having detachable magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, a federal judge ruled Friday.The decision from U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez won’t take effect immediately. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, has already filed a notice to appeal the ruling. The ban is likely to remain in effect while the case is still pending.This is the second time Benitez has struck down California’s law banning certain types of magazines. The first time he struck it down — way back in 2017 — an appeals court ended up reversing his decision.But last year, the U.S. Supreme Court set a new standard for how to interpret the nation’s gun laws. The new standard relies more on the historical tradition of gun regulation rather than public interests, including safety. The Supreme Court ordered the case to be heard again in light of the new standards. It’s on...

Britain uses UN speech to show that it wants to be a leader on how the world handles AI

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:51 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Britain pitched itself to the world Friday as a ready leader in shaping an international response to the rise of artificial intelligence, with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden telling the U.N. General Assembly his country was “determined to be in the vanguard.”Touting the United Kingdom’s tech companies, its universities and even Industrial Revolution-era innovations, he said the nation has “the grounding to make AI a success and make it safe.” He went on to suggest that a British AI task force, which is working on methods for assessing AI systems’ vulnerability, could develop expertise to offer internationally.His remarks at the assembly’s annual meeting of world leaders previewed an AI safety summit that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is convening in November. Dowden’s speech also came as other countries and multinational groups — including the European Union, the bloc that Britain left in 2020 — are making moves on artificial i...

Tropical Storm Ophelia off the mid-Atlantic coast producing winds just below hurricane force

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:51 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Tropical Storm Ophelia gained strength as it churned toward the North Carolina coast on Friday, promising a weekend of heavy rain and windy conditions throughout the mid-Atlantic.Forecasters issued a hurricane watch for parts of eastern North Carolina, saying Ophelia showed the potential to gather even more strength as it passes over warm Gulf Stream waters. The storm was expected to make landfall in North Carolina on Saturday morning and dump as much as 7 inches (17.7 centimeters) of rain across portions of the state and into southeast Virginia.The intensifying weather system spun into a tropical storm in the afternoon and by nighttime was producing maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (113 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. At around 8 p.m. forecasters said Ophelia was about 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, and heading north-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph). Water levels were rising along portions of the North Caro...

Yemen’s southern leader renews calls for separate state at UN

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:51 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The head of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council, an umbrella group of heavily armed and well-financed militias, said Friday that he will prioritize the creation of a separate country in negotiations with their rivals, the Houthi rebels.Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s comments, in an interview with The Associated Press, come days after the conclusion of landmark talks in Riyadh between the Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition fighting them in the country’s civil war. The remarks signal that his group might not get on board for a solution without inclusion of a separate state’s creation.Al-Zubaidi has a dual role in Yemeni politics — he is vice president of the country but also the leader of a separatist group that has joined the internationally recognized coalition government seated in the southern city of Aden. His trip to the high-level leaders meeting of the U.N. General Assembly was aimed at amplifying the call for southern separatism, which...

UNGA Briefing: Nagorno-Karabakh, Lavrov and what else is going on at the UN

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:51 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — It’s Day 5 of the U.N. General Assembly high-level meeting that brings world leaders together at U.N. headquarters in New York. Here are the highlights of what happened Thursday at the U.N. and what to keep an eye on Saturday. WHAT HAPPENED AT THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON FRIDAY— Days after landmark talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels, the leader of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council — rivals to the Houthis — told The Associated Press his umbrella group of heavily armed and well-financed militias would prioritize the creation of a separate country.— Speaking of Saudi Arabia (which has not yet spoken at the General Debate), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the General Assembly that Israel was “at the cusp” of a historic agreement with the Gulf country. He brought props.— As the U.S. pledged $100 million to back a proposed multinational police force to Haiti that would be led by Kenya, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry described...

Man wanted in sexual assaults of multiple 8-year-old girls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:51 GMT

Toronto police are trying to identify a man believed to be behind two sexual assaults of 8-year-old girls just north of the city.Authorities responded to the first reported incident at around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the TTC’s Lawrence Station.It’s alleged that while exiting a bus, a man blocked the path of an 8-year-old girl. Police said the man bent down, grabbed the bottom of the young girl’s sweater and lifted it.The victim’s mother intervened, and the man fled the scene on foot.Two days later, police responded to an incident in the Duplex Avenue and Glencairn Avenue area. It’s alleged that a man approached an 8-year-old girl while walking her dog.Police said the man asked to pet the dog, bent down and lifted the victim’s shirt, exposing her stomach.A family member yelled at the man, pushing the girl’s shirt down. Police said the man grabbed the youth’s shirt a second time, lifted it and took a picture. He then fled the area.Police ...

NCAA's CSMAS committee recommends weed be removed from banned drugs list

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:51 GMT

A National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) committee recommended their governing bodies implement legislation to remove marijuana from their list of banned substances Friday, according to a press release from the NCAA.The NCAA's Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports — or CSMAS Committee, for short — recommended that its governing bodies at the DI, DII and DIII levels introduce and adopt legislation that would remove cannabinoids — the psychoactive ingredient found in cannabis — from the list of NCAA banned drug classes.Committee members, who met this week in Indianapolis, also recommended the development of a robust educational strategy to accompany a potential change to cannabinoid legislation.From a broad perspective, the recommendation aims to re-center student-athlete health, while recognizing membership opinions and the changing cultural and legal landscapes surrounding cannabis.According to the press release, the central points of the recomme...