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Canada aiming for a Tokyo-style run to title at Women’s World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:40 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Canada knows it can overcome an opening-game draw at the Women’s World Cup because it won gold at the Tokyo Olympics when it bounced back from a first game draw against Japan. Now Canada must rebound again following a scoreless draw against Nigeria in its opening World Cup game. The Canadians face Ireland, which is on debut in the tournament, on Wednesday in the Western Australia capital of Perth in an important Group B match. Canada coach Bev Priestman likened her team’s appearance to the Tokyo team.“This is tournament football and if I go back to the Olympic games that we won, we started it with a draw, so you’ve got to move on very quickly,” she said. Captain Christine Sinclair, at 40 among the oldest players at the World Cup, uncharacteristically missed a penalty in the 50th minute against the Nigerians. Sinclair is the top international scorer of all time, men or women, with 190 career goals.“Of course the team and I are devastated we di...

Diamondbacks come into matchup against the Cardinals on losing streak

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:40 GMT

St. Louis Cardinals (45-56, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (54-47, second in the NL West)Phoenix; Tuesday, 9:40 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Steven Matz (0-0); Diamondbacks: TBDFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Diamondbacks -120, Cardinals +100; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Arizona Diamondbacks look to stop a five-game skid when they take on the St. Louis Cardinals.Arizona has gone 26-25 in home games and 54-47 overall. Diamondbacks hitters have a collective .327 on-base percentage, the sixth-ranked percentage in the NL.St. Louis has a 23-30 record in road games and a 45-56 record overall. The Cardinals have a 25-16 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.The matchup Tuesday is the fifth time these teams match up this season. The season series is tied 2-2.TOP PERFORMERS: Christian Walker leads the Diamondbacks with 21 home runs while slugging .518. Ketel Marte is 14-for-41 with four doubles, two triples, two home runs and 11 RBI over ...

Pirates play the Padres leading series 1-0

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:40 GMT

Pittsburgh Pirates (44-56, fifth in the NL Central) vs. San Diego Padres (48-53, fourth in the NL West)San Diego; Tuesday, 9:40 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Rich Hill (7-9, 4.92 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 94 strikeouts); Padres: Blake Snell (6-8, 2.75 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 143 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Padres -278, Pirates +228; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates meet the San Diego Padres with a 1-0 series lead.San Diego is 25-24 in home games and 48-53 overall. Padres pitchers have a collective 3.84 ERA, which ranks seventh in MLB play.Pittsburgh is 21-30 on the road and 44-56 overall. The Pirates have a 33-4 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents.The teams match up Tuesday for the fifth time this season. The Pirates are up 4-0 in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Juan Soto has 24 doubles and 19 home runs for the Padres. Ha-Seong Kim is 14-for-38 with two doubles, four home runs and five RBI over the past 10 games.Jack Suwinski i...

Brewers play the Reds with 1-0 series lead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:40 GMT

Cincinnati Reds (55-47, second in the NL Central) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (56-45, first in the NL Central)Milwaukee; Tuesday, 8:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Reds: Andrew Abbott (5-2, 2.10 ERA, .92 WHIP, 57 strikeouts); Brewers: Corbin Burnes (9-5, 3.49 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 125 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Brewers -151, Reds +129; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Milwaukee Brewers face the Cincinnati Reds, leading the series 1-0.Milwaukee has gone 28-23 in home games and 56-45 overall. The Brewers have a 20-8 record in games decided by one run.Cincinnati is 55-47 overall and 27-21 in road games. The Reds have hit 114 total home runs to rank eighth in the NL.The teams square off Tuesday for the 12th time this season. The Brewers are ahead 9-2 in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Christian Yelich has 23 doubles, two triples and 14 home runs while hitting .286 for the Brewers. William Contreras is 13-for-40 with four doubles and a home run over the past 10 games.Jake Fraley ha...

Firefighters contain boat fire in Aventura; cause under investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:40 GMT

Officials are investigating the cause of a blaze after firefighters battled a fierce boat fire that erupted on Monday night. The flames sparked on a vessel located off 5000 Island Estates Drive, near Williams Island. No individuals were on board the vessel at the time of the incident.Despite encountering difficulty in accessing the engine room, crews eventually gained control and successfully extinguished the blaze. As of now, the cause of the boat fire remains unknown. Investigators are actively examining the scene to determine the factors that sparked the blaze.

AI could replace you all with ‘peerbots,’ UK House of Lords warned

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:40 GMT

LONDON — A peer in the U.K.’s House of Lords warned his colleagues that they could all be replaced with “peerbots” if they aren’t cautious about artificial intelligence.Richard John Denison, known as Lord Londesborough, told the upper chamber in a debate on AI Monday that he tried to write his speech using a chatbot.He is, he said, concerned that such technology will “soon be able to write my speeches in my personal style, having scraped [parliamentary record] Hansard” and then deliver an address “in my voice through natural language understanding, having analyzed and processed my speeches on parliamentlive.tv, and with no hesitation, repetition or deviation.”The crossbench peer asked fellow lawmakers: “Is it an exciting or alarming prospect that your Lordships might one day be replaced by “Peerbots” with deeper knowledge, higher productivity and lower running costs?” The comments were first reported by the Guardian.To those keen to dismiss ...

Russian defense chief will visit North Korea this week to ‘strengthen’ military ties

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:40 GMT

A military delegation from Russia is set to visit North Korea this week.Led by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the delegation will visit North Korea from July 25 to 27, ahead of state celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.“This visit will help strengthen Russian-North Korean military ties and will be an important stage in the development of cooperation between the two countries,” the Russian ministry said on Telegram.The relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang has remained warm amid the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine, which has isolated Russia from most Western countries. Last year, Russia bought millions of artillery shells and rockets from North Korea, hinting at the Kremlin’s supply-chain issues for its military effort, the New York Times reported.Western sanctions have hampered Russia’s ability to buy weapons and electronics, forcing Moscow to turn to countries such as North Korea and Iran for supplies.The news of Shoigu’s vi...

Retro: The night New York Yankees star Mickey Mantle was taken to police headquarters in Baltimore

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:40 GMT

Retired Baltimore City Police Sgt. Dick Ellwood was about to go off his shift one night in 1966. He heard a commotion and spotted some staggering imbibers.He normally worked a foot post along Greenmount Avenue and Preston Street, near his boyhood home on East Chase and Valley streets.That night he was assigned to a different spot, Charles and Eager streets.“There were plenty of restaurants there. The idea was to keep things quiet. The area was very busy then,” he said, referring to the part of Charles Street where the old Harvey House, Blue Mirror, Owl Bar, China Clipper, Mount Vernon, Peabody Book Shop and Beer Stube, and Eager House were busy venues.Ellwood was standing at a police call box, a private telephone in a metal box awaiting a message to end his shift, when he heard a commotion.A group of well-dressed men were leaving the Eager House restaurant at West Eager and Morton streets. They were loud and walking the short distance toward Charles Street alongside the ...

EU agriculture ministers meet to discuss vital Ukraine grain exports after Russia halted deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:40 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union agriculture ministers met Tuesday to discuss ways of moving grain vital to global food security out of Ukraine after Russia halted a deal that allowed the exports. At the same time, they want to protect prices for farmers in countries bordering the war-ravaged nation.Germany’s agriculture minister, Cem Ozdemir, warned that the ministers must seek to balance those two issues without eroding the EU’s support for Ukraine in the war sparked by last year’s invasion. If cracks open up in EU unity, “the only one who is happy is Vladimir Putin,” he said.The ministers met in Brussels for the first time since Russia pulled the plug last week on the wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.The deal provided guarantees that ships would not be attacked when entering and leaving Ukrainian ports, wh...

Mid-level Chinese official to visit North Korea in tepid restoration of exchanges between allies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:40 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — With North Korea firing missiles and facing a potential food crisis, China’s ruling Communist Party is sending a mid-level official to visit in hopes of restoring exchanges between the allies. Li Hongzhong will join official North Korean commemorations of the signing of an armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War 70 years ago. North Korea, which launched the ultimately futile attempt to conquer its southern rival, considers the agreement a recognition of victory.The conflict brought in forces from the newly created People’s Republic of China, aided by the Russian air force, while South Korea, the U.S. and troops from various countries under the direction of the United Nations battled to repulse the invasion. The border between the Koreas remains among the most tense in the world. Li is a member of the party’s high-level Politburo and a deputy chairperson of the ceremonial parliament, giving him national office, but not the level of status that would convey a fu...