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Casas is Rookie of the Year finalist, a legendary Red Sox ROY has thoughts

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:42:21 GMT

After a season of adjustments, Triston Casas is a finalist for American League Rookie of the Year.Six Red Sox players have won the award since the league adopted the accolade in 1947: Dustin Pedroia (‘07), Garciaparra (‘97), Fred Lynn (‘75), Carlton Fisk (‘72), Don Schwall (‘61), and Walt Dropo (‘50). Casas is the organization’s first ROY finalist since Andrew Benintendi in 2017.Much like Pedroia’s ROY season, Casas got off to a slow start after making his first Opening Day roster. On June 13, he was hitting .197 with a .683 OPS, having collected 36 hits in his first 59 games of the year. At least publicly, Alex Cora wouldn’t entertain the possibility of sending him back down to Triple-A.Between the following day and season’s end, Casas, hit .312 with a .982 OPS, and 76 hits over his last 72 games. Overall, he finished the year at .263/.367/.490 over 132 games, with 113 hits, 21 doubles, 24 home runs, 66 runs, and 65 RBI. As he began figuring it out, his manager made the Pedroia com...

Federal authorities announce ‘staggering’ seizure of candy-shaped fentanyl and meth in Lynn

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:42:21 GMT

Investigators say they have seized what is believed to be among the largest cache of drugs in a single location in New England history — and some of the bogus pills were disguised as Valentine’s candy hearts.The feds said Monday it was more than enough fentanyl, meth and other controlled substances to dose every person in Massachusetts.“The numbers you’re about to hear are staggering,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy. “But before I get to them, I just want to remind everybody as we stand in this room today, six people in Massachusetts are going to die of opioid-related overdoses. Six people today, six people tomorrow, six people Wednesday.“Last year, we lost 2,357 residents of Massachusetts,” he continued. “Every one of those people is someone’s child. Maybe someone’s parent. Someone’s loved one.”The seizure, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, included an...

Chula Vista officials calling on city councilmember to resign amid fraud charges

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:42:21 GMT

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include a statement issued by Mayor John McCann issued after initial publication.CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Chula Vista city officials are now calling on City Councilmember Andrea Cardenas to resign after allegations that she and her brother defrauded a federal COVID relief program were made public in felony indictments last week.Jose Preciado, who represents District 2 on the council, issued a statement on Monday saying that he was "stunned by the disturbing charges" against the District 4 representative, adding that the claims "undermine the fundamental trust the public must have in their elected leaders.""Personally, I am saddened and struggling to reconcile these charges with a person I’ve known and admired since she was a passionate community activist in high school, long before she was ever in political office or a position of power," he continued. "Andrea has the right to due process and the presumption of innocence in court, but the r...

Suspect wanted after attempted child luring in South Bay

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:42:21 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Authorities are looking for a man suspected of trying to lure a child into a van Monday in the Ocean View Hills neighborhood.Around 7 a.m., the San Diego Police Department responded to the scene after receiving a report of the attempt near the intersection of Ocean View Hills Parkway and Hidden Trails Drive, Lt. Adam Sharki said in a news release.According to SDPD, a man driving a white Ford Econoline van pulled up to a young girl, complimented her looks and offered her cash to get into the van. He then got out of the van, which prompted the girl to run away. Chula Vista official calling on city councilmember to resign amid fraud charges The suspect then fled the location and was last seen southbound on Ocean View Hills Parkway, Sharki said. He is described as man in his 40s, with a full beard and mustache, wearing sunglasses, a black hat and black T-shirt.Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the San Diego Police Department or Crime Stoppers at (888) 5...

Teen injured in shooting at Chula Vista house party

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:42:21 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — A 14-year-old was seriously injured in a shooting at a house party in Chula Vista Saturday night, police confirmed in a release on Monday.On Saturday, Chula Vista police received multiple calls around 9:23 p.m. reporting that gunshots were heard in the 600 block of W Manor Drive and that people were seen fleeing the area.Upon arrival to the house, responding officers located a 14-year-old boy on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds after speaking with witnesses still on scene, according to CVPD. It is unclear where on his body the injuries were located.The victim was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and is currently in stable condition. His identity is being withheld by law enforcement given his age.No other people were believed to have been injured during the incident. Shoe stores targeted in overnight burglaries While the incident remains under investigation, preliminary findings suggest that the victim was leaving a house party in the area...

5 Republicans will be on stage for the third presidential debate. Here’s who missed the cut

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:42:21 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The field of candidates onstage for the third Republican presidential debate will be the smallest yet.Five hopefuls will participate in Wednesday night’s debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, according to the Republican National Committee.To have qualified for the third debate, candidates needed at least 4% support in two national polls or 4% in one national poll as well as two polls from four of the early-voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. All the polls used for qualification must have been approved by the RNC.The White House hopefuls also needed at least 70,000 unique donors, with at least 200 of those coming from 20 states or territories. Additionally, they had to sign an RNC pledge promising to support the party’s eventual nominee.The escalating qualification markers have become increasingly difficult for candidates to satisfy. One candidate, former Vice President Mike Pence, suspended...

22 UN peacekeepers injured when convoy leaving rebel area hit improvised explosive devices, UN says

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:42:21 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Twenty-two U.N. peacekeepers in a convoy withdrawing from a rebel stronghold in northern Mali were injured when their vehicles hit improvised explosive devices on two occasions on Saturday, the United Nations said Monday.There have now been six incidents since the peacekeepers left their base in Kidal on Oct. 31 for the estimated 350 kilometer (220-mile) trip to Gao, injuring a total of at least 39 peacekeepers, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.Eight peacekeepers were injured by improvised explosive devices last Wednesday and seven early Friday, he said, and at least two peacekeepers were injured in two earlier IED attacks.Dujarric said the 22 peacekeepers injured Saturday had to be evacuated by air to receive treatment in Gao.In June, Mali’s military junta, which overthrew the democratically elected president in 2021, ordered the nearly 15,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force known as MINUSMA to leave after a decade of working on stemming a jihadi insurgenc...

UN Security Council fails to agree on Israel-Hamas war as Gaza death toll passes 10,000

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:42:21 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council on Monday failed again to agree on a resolution on the monthlong Israel-Hamas war. Despite more than two hours of closed-door discussions Monday, differences remained. The U.S. is calling for “humanitarian pauses” while many other council members are demanding a “humanitarian cease-fire” to deliver desperately needed aid and prevent more civilian deaths in Gaza.“We talked about humanitarian pauses and we’re interested in pursuing language on that score,” U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters after the meeting. “But there are disagreements within the council about whether that’s acceptable.”U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier Monday told reporters he wanted an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and a halt to the “spiral of escalation” already taking place from the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Yemen.Guterres said international humanitarian law, which demands protection of civilians and ...

Chicago suburb drops citations against reporter for asking too many questions

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:42:21 GMT

CALUMET CITY, Ill. (AP) — Officials in a suburban Chicago community on Monday dropped municipal citations against a local news reporter for what they said were persistent contacts with city officials seeking comment on treacherous fall flooding. The reversal occurred days after officials in Calumet City mailed several citations to Hank Sanders, a Daily Southtown reporter whose job includes covering the suburb, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday. The Southtown is owned by the Tribune’s parent company,The tickets from the city of 35,000, located 24 miles (39 kilometers) south of Chicago, had alleged “interference/hampering of city employees” by Sanders.The Southtown published a story online Oct. 19 and in print Oct. 20 in which Sanders reported that consultants had informed Calumet City officials that their stormwater facilities were in poor condition before September’s historic rains caused flooding.A day after the story was published online, Sanders continued to report on the issue...

Indigenous men imprisoned for 18 years for Alaska murder settle for $5M after vacated conviction

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:42:21 GMT

Three of the four Indigenous men who served 18 years in prison for a murder conviction in Alaska that was ultimately vacated will receive a total of nearly $5 million in a settlement confirmed by the city of Fairbanks on Monday.The convictions of the so-called Fairbanks Four in the 1997 death of Fairbanks teenager John Hartman were vacated in 2015 after a key state witness recanted testimony and following a weeks-long hearing reexamining the case that raised the possibility others had killed Hartman. The men — George Frese, Eugene Vent, Marvin Roberts and Kevin Pease — argued that an agreement that led to their release in which they agreed not to sue was not legally binding because they were coerced. The men also maintained there was a history of discrimination against Alaska Natives by local police. Pease is Native American; Frese, Vent and Roberts are Athabascan Alaska Natives.The legal fight over whether the men could sue the city despite the agreement has gone on for years. In 2...