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Cerullo: As division rivals load up, Red Sox still have lots of work to do

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:14:47 GMT

The Winter Meetings have come and gone, and right now the Red Sox find themselves marginally improved but still largely in the same place they were on Monday.Two of Boston’s division rivals, however, are on the verge of much bigger leaps forward.The New York Yankees came into the offseason needing two starting outfielders. First they picked up Alex Verdugo and have now reeled in Juan Soto in a blockbuster trade, sending pitchers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez and catcher Kyle Higashioka to San Diego to land the three-time All-Star.The Toronto Blue Jays needed a bat. Now they’re reportedly a finalist for Shohei Ohtani, who could make his long awaited decision by the end of this weekend.The Red Sox, on the other hand, needed pitching. They’ve gotten some, but mostly in the form of prospects and depth pieces who could help a little now and maybe more down the road. Greg Weissert, part of the Verdugo return, and Justin Slaten, a Rule 5 pick acqui...

Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine to miss 3-4 more weeks with right foot soreness

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:14:47 GMT

Zach LaVine likely won’t play for the Chicago Bulls again until 2024.The team announced Wednesday that LaVine will require three to four more weeks of treatment to address right foot soreness, which has already sidelined the guard intermittently for the last two weeks.This timeline would place LaVine’s earliest expected return to the court on Dec. 28 for a home game against the Indiana Pacers. But LaVine could remain sidelined until the new year. That leaves little time before the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline, by when the Bulls are expected to move LaVine as the team approaches a future without their longtime star.The injury occurred during a home game against the Miami Heat on Nov. 20 — just days after LaVine chose not to deny reports that he is interested in a trade away from Chicago.LaVine played through the injury for both games of a homestand against the Heat, then missed one road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He returned for three games but was pulled ...

Gates Foundation takes on poverty in the U.S. with $100 million commitment

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:14:47 GMT

GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska (AP) — In recent years, city leaders in Grand Island, Nebraska, observed that many workers and students were walking or biking long distances to their jobs or schools. So when city administrator, Laura McAloon, learned of an opportunity to study the development of a bus system to meet those transportation needs, she jumped at it.The opportunity was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in collaboration with the International City/County Management Association, a network of local government administrators. And it sent McAloon to Washington along with other local leaders to learn about strategies and policies to lift people in their community out of poverty. The Gates Foundation announced Thursday that it will donate $100 million to expand its work on economic mobility — a move that the country’s largest foundation says is a change in how it operates, putting more power in the hands of grantees and looking to accelerate the speed at which its gifts ...

AP Election Brief | What to expect in Houston’s mayoral runoff election

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:14:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s down to two candidates in the race to lead the nation’s fourth-largest city. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire will face off in Saturday’s runoff election to be the next mayor of Houston.Whitmire and Jackson Lee, both Democrats, were the top two vote-getters in the Nov. 7 general election, but neither candidate received the vote majority required to avoid a runoff. Whitmire led the 18-person field with 42% of the vote, while Jackson Lee placed second with 36%. The rest of the pack, including one write-in candidate, trailed far behind, with no other candidate breaking the 10% mark.The winner will replace term-limited Mayor Sylvester Turner, also a Democrat. In the final debates of the campaign held Sunday and Monday, both candidates discussed their plans to address some of the major challenges facing the city, including crime, infrastructure, affordable housing and its budget. Jackson Lee also addressed a leaked audio recording purported...

Seychelles declares state of emergency after explosion amid destructive flooding

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:14:47 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Authorities in Seychelles declared a state of emergency Thursday after a blast at an explosives store caused “massive damage” in an industrial area also facing flooding amid heavy rainfall, according to the presidency.The blast happened overnight in the Providence area of Mahe, the largest and most populous island of the Seychelles. Providence is located 710 kilometers (441 miles) from Victoria, the Seychelles capital. “Everyone is being asked to stay at home,” the presidency said in a statement. “All schools will be closed. Only workers in the essential services and persons traveling will be allowed free movement.”Emergency services were at work in the area, the statement said. There was no immediate word on any casualties from the blast.Much of East Africa is getting heavy rainfall that has caused deadly flooding.Hundreds have died across the region and millions have been displaced since the heavy rains began in late October.Other East African countries, inc...

‘Not as dire’: Canada’s 2024 food price report released. Here’s what experts are forecasting

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:14:47 GMT

The 14th annual food price report was released on Thursday with a focus on how Canadians are spending less despite inflation, either by reducing the quantity or quality of food, or by substituting less expensive alternatives.In all, Canada’s 2024 Food Price Report predicts an increase of 2.5 to 4.5 per cent in overall food costs in the new year, with a rise across the board.Sylvain Charlebois, professor and director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, says that in 2023, all sections of the grocery sector were impacted by inflation. Charlebois says they expect a “soft landing,” with inflation expected to cool for the new year.“We’re expecting some price wars. Things are tightening up right now for grocers and suppliers,” Charlebois told CityNews. “We’re expecting an inflation rate of 2.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent … but we wouldn’t be surprised if it falls below that threshold.”Charlebois says that wh...

South Korea Olympic committee pushes athletes to attend navy boot camp, triggering rebukes

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:14:47 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Olympic committee is pushing to send hundreds of athletes to a military training center to enhance their mental toughness for the Paris Olympics, a move that’s been criticized as outdated and regressive.The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee advised domestic associations last week to send athletes to the Korea Marine Corps camp in the southeastern port city of Pohang for three days of training this month, according to some associations.About 320 athletes, including women, are expected at the boot camp, committee officials said on Thursday. Sports associations have previously asked their athletes to take marine-style training ahead of big sports events but it’s the first time the Olympic committee has recommended it, committee officials added.Those officials reportedly decided on the camp following the Asian Games in China in October, when South Korea finished third in the gold medal count to China and Japan.After the Asian Games, Olymp...

2024 to bring slower food inflation as prices continue to moderate: report

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:14:47 GMT

Food prices will keep rising in 2024, though at a slower pace, according to the latest Food Price Report.The 14th annual report by Dalhousie University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Guelph and the University of Saskatchewan predicted that food prices will rise between 2.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent next year as inflation continues to moderate. However, grocers will be in fierce competition next year to try and win back loyalty from customers who have been shopping around more to try and save money, said project lead and director of Dalhousie’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab Sylvain Charlebois.“I think loyalty is going to be a huge battleground,” he said. This competition could lead to mild deflation on the prices of some essential food items, he said, even as overall food prices will continue to rise. “How do you get people to come back? (With) rebates, discounts. And that leads to price wars.” Some categories are predicted to experience faster price rises tha...

Live updates | Widening Israeli offensive in southern Gaza worsens dire humanitarian conditions

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:14:47 GMT

The Israeli military hit Rafah in southern Gaza twice overnight, residents said, as United Nations officials warned there are no safe places left in the besieged territory.The center of Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis, has also seen fighting amid Israel’s widening air and ground offensive in the southern part of the territory that has displaced tens of thousands more Palestinians and worsened dire humanitarian conditions.Distribution of food, water and medicine have been prevented outside a sliver of southern Gaza, and new military evacuation orders are squeezing people into ever-smaller areas.The United Nations said 1.87 million people — more than 80% of Gaza’s population — have been driven from their homes since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, triggered by the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas assault on southern Israel.Around 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death tol...

Former UK leader Boris Johnson defends efforts to balance health and economy at COVID-19 inquiry

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:14:47 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his efforts to balance the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 as he gave a second day of testimony Thursday to Britain’s public inquiry into the government’s response to the pandemic.Johnson was grilled about his government’s “Eat Out to Help Out” program, which supported the hospitality industry by subsidizing restaurant meals, and delays in imposing a second national lockdown as infection rates began to rise toward the end of 2020. Leading scientists have testified that they weren’t part of the discussions on the program and that it was obvious it would increase transmission risks. Johnson said he had no reason to question the restaurant initiative.“I must emphasize, it was not at the time presented to me as something that would add to the budget of risk,” he said. Johnson, who is testifying under oath, admitted Wednesday that he made mistakes in grasping the extent of the pandemic and tha...