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Braves face Phillies in NLDS looking for payback after shocking playoff loss a year ago

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:43:41 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves walked off the field a year ago a thoroughly beaten team, their defense of the World Series championship wiped out in less than a week.Now, they’ve got another shot at the team that delivered the playoff heartache.The 104-win Braves romped to their sixth straight division title with the major leagues’ best record and a power-packed lineup that tied the team record with 307 homers. They open the best-of-five NL Division Series on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies in a much-anticipated postseason rematch.“A really cool series on paper, right?” Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber said before a workout at Truist Park. Led by MVP favorite Ronald Acuña Jr., the first player with 40 homers and 70 stolen bases in a season, the Braves are eager to replicate their run to the World Series championship in 2021.They’d prefer to forget what happened last October.After finishing 14 games behind Atlanta during the regular season, the Phillies...

Percentage of successful MLB video reviews drops slightly. Marlins, Nationals best overturn rate

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:43:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Team-initiated video reviews were slightly less successful in the major leagues this season, which saw overturned calls drop to 48.5% from 50.2% in 2022.Major League Baseball said Friday that 625 of 1,288 club challenges were overturned. There were 304 calls confirmed (23.6%) and 359 allowed to stand (27.9%)— where there was not enough evidence to confirm or overturn.Miami led the major leagues with a 75% success rate, followed by Washington (74.2%), Houston (67.7%), Arizona and Kansas City (65.1% each).The Los Angeles Angels (29.4%), Detroit (32.6%), Pittsburgh (38%), Cincinnati (38.7%), Toronto (38.9%) and Baltimore (39.6%) were the least successful.In addition, there were 180 crew chief reviews initiated by umpires. MLB said those led to 36 overturned calls, a 20% rate. Eighty-seven calls were confirmed and 39 allowed to stand. Of the crew chief reviews, five were for rules checks and 13 for record-keeping.Including crew chief reviews there were 1,468 total review...

Boulder King Soopers shooting suspect found competent to stand trial

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:43:41 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A trial will move forward in the 2021 mass shooting at a Boulder grocery store after a judge found the suspect competent to stand trial.Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa faces dozens of charges, including 10 counts of first-degree murder, in the shooting at a King Soopers store on Table Mesa Drive. Elijah McClain trial nears end: Defense rests after attempt to dismiss charges The case has been on hold for two years while Alissa's competency was at issue. He was found mentally competent by experts at the state mental hospital in August, but his defense attorney asked for the determination to be debated in court.That hearing happened in September, with his defense arguing that Alissa, who has schizophrenia, is not competent and cited the psychiatric evaluations describing him as "profoundly mentally ill."FILE - Pictures of the 10 victims of a mass shooting in a King Soopers grocery store are posted on a cement barrier, April 23, 2021, outside the supermarket in Boulder, Col...

Man accused in wrong-way crash on I-95 in Miami charged with DUI manslaughter after victim dies

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:43:41 GMT

A South Florida man who was involved in a wrong-way crash while driving under the influence has been charged with manslaughter and vehicular homicide after one of the victims died, police said.Jespere Jean appeared before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer on Friday, months after the now deadly wreck on Interstate 95 in Miami.Police said the suspect was behind the wheel of a white Nissan Altima and heading southbound along the northbound lanes when he smashed into a black Toyota Camry head on near Southwest Eighth Street, at around 3:50 a.m., Feb. 26.“The defendant’s blood alcohol level was .131, so well over the legal limit,” said a prosecutor during Jean’s bond hearing.After the crash, one victim was seen sitting on the side of the road. Rescue crews pulled another victim out of the Camry, and a third victim covered his face with his hands, overcome with emotion.But there were four people inside the Camry. Paramedics transported three of them in serio...

Woman critically injured by lightning strike in Dorchester reunited with once-missing dog as her recovery continues

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:43:41 GMT

A woman who survived a lightning strike while out walking her dog in Dorchester continues to recover and was recently reunited with her canine companion.Thalita Teixeira Padilla was critically injured on Sept. 9 when she was struck by lightning while walking along Savin Hill Beach. The 31-year-old travel nurse had been walking her dog, Bruce, with a friend when it happened.Left with serious injuries, she was taken to Boston Medical Center for treatment while Massachusetts State Police asked for the public’s help in finding Bruce, who ran off after the incident.That same night, a man named Hiep Ngo Pare was able to come across the pup and, weeks later, the two were reunited as Thalita continues her recovery.Sharing photos of the reunion, Thalita’s family also shared footage with 7NEWS of the 31 year old going outside for the first time since she was injured.A GoFundMe campaign set up to support her can be found here.

Waves of migrants brave jungle to reach border

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:43:41 GMT

BAJO CHIQUITO, Panama — Rain-swollen rivers only briefly slowed the otherwise uninterrupted flow of migrants through this jungle-covered border area separating Colombia and Panama and by midweek another 2,000 bedraggled migrants stumbled out of the Darien jungle.Pregnant women and men carrying children atop their shoulders waded across the waist-deep Tuquesa river and into the Indigenous outpost of Bajo Chiquito where some fell to the ground in exhaustion and relief as Panamanian officials waited to register their arrival.Crossing through the dense, lawless jungle not long ago was unthinkable to most people. In recent years, it became a brutal slog of a week or more. But some migrants arriving this week described an organized trek completed in as little as 2 ½ days on trails marked by colored ribbons and assisted by guides and porters, part of what officials say has become a business generating millions of dollars.That efficiency combined with the unrelenting economic factors pushin...

Here’s what the Rangers said about the Orioles ahead of Saturday’s ALDS opener: ‘It’s going to be a battle’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:43:41 GMT

No bulletin-board material was handed out Friday.The Orioles and Texas Rangers participated in a media day before Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday, and both teams had only positive things to say about their opponent.Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde praised the Rangers’ offense, which scored the most runs in the AL at 5.44 per game, while Texas manager Bruce Bochy highlighted the Orioles’ young core.The Orioles, who earned the AL’s top seed after a 101-win campaign, spent all week resting and getting ready for the series, while the 90-win Rangers played in the wild-card series and swept the Tampa Bay Rays. Baltimore and Texas faced off for two series during the regular season, splitting the six games. But they haven’t played one another since late May, adding a level of intrigue heading into the series.Ahead of Game 1 on Saturday, here’s what the Rangers said about the Orioles.Starting pitcher Nathan EovaldiOn the Orioles ...

Security camera, bodycam video released of mass shooting at California biker bar

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:43:41 GMT

In urgent shouts amped with adrenaline, Orange County Sheriff’s deputies repeatedly yelled for the Cook’s Corner gunman to surrender last August in a gun battle shown for the first time in video footage released Friday.But the deputy’s expletive-filled commands went unheeded and the five-minute shootout didn’t end until the gunman who had killed three and injured six others lay dead himself.The video footage from the body camera of a rifle-bearing deputy and from the dash camera of a patrol car shows that from the second they arrived the evening of Aug. 23, seven deputies were battling with the killer, a retired Ventura police sergeant, at the Trabuco Canyon roadhouse.The shooter was later identified as 59-year-old John Patrick Snowling.Warning: The video may disturb some readers. Sheriff’s officials said Snowling entered the bar, walked directly to his wife, Marie, and opened fire without a word. He hit Marie Sprawling, who had earlier filed for divorce, once in the jaw before...

Boston gets greener with $11M federal grant for urban forestry, green spaces

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:43:41 GMT

Environmentalists in Boston are rejoicing as the city’s most tree-deprived neighborhoods are set to become a whole lot greener.U.S. Sen. Ed Markey has secured $11 million in the federal funding that will be pumped toward enhancing urban forestry and access to green spaces across Chinatown, East Boston, Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury. The city’s allotment is included in a $22 million pool for the entire Bay State.The funding comes after the city teamed up with Mass Audubon in the spring to spearhead a coalition dedicated to providing resources to residents who have trees growing on their properties but might not be aware of how to properly care for them.Markey celebrated the funding alongside Mayor Michelle Wu and members of the green jobs program, PowerCorpsBOS, at Franklin Park on Friday.The city’s tree canopy and green spaces are unevenly distributed across its neighborhoods, a result of “systemic disinvestment,” the senator said. The funding will address heat and flooding, decr...

Man accused of killing 10 at Colorado supermarket in 2021 is ruled mentally competent to stand trial

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:43:41 GMT

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A judge ruled Friday that the man accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in a 2021 rampage is mentally competent to stand trial. The decision allows the prosecution of Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa to move forward. Judge Ingrid Bakke ruled that Alissa, who has schizophrenia, is able to understand court proceedings and contribute to his own defense.Bakke presided over a hearing last week to consider an August determination by experts at a state mental hospital that Alissa was competent after previous evaluations found otherwise. Alissa’s defense attorney asked for the hearing to debate the finding. In her ruling, Bakke said she was convinced that, following forced medication, Alissa was more communicative and had a “far improved capacity to elucidate his reasoning and decision-making.” That’s a critical component of competency, which partly hinges on Alissa being able to make informed decisions in his own case, such as whether to testify himself.Al...