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Orioles newcomer Jacob Webb emerging as a reliable reliever: ‘They wanted me for a reason’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:42 GMT

In a matter of three days, Jacob Webb went from being rejected by a team with a small chance of making the playoffs to being accepted by one with the best record in the American League.The Los Angeles Angels acquired three pitchers at the trade deadline, a collection of moves that bumped Webb out of their bullpen plans. He was designated for assignment and subsequently turned down by 13 other clubs during the waiver process.The lone team in the AL that wanted Webb: the Orioles.The process of being designated for assignment and changing teams in the middle of the season, Webb said, was a “shock.” He grew up an Angels fan and enjoyed his time with the organization playing alongside all-time greats Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.However, the disappointment of being put on waivers quickly turned to excitement once he saw the team that claimed him.“They picked me up for a reason,” Webb said. “It’s nice to have some confidence behind you.”That confi...

Five things to watch in Patriots’ preseason finale vs. Titans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:42 GMT

Mac Jones received a ton of snaps in the Patriots’ final training camp session of the summer on Wednesday, which makes us wonder how much (if at all) we’ll see the starting QB in Friday’s third and final preseason game against the Tennessee Titans.Jones could certainly use some more live reps, but he’s had a strong summer, and it might not be worth risking him behind an offensive line still missing key starters due to injuries.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Julian Edelman set to reunite with Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski on FOX Sports New England Patriots | Patriots training camp Day 29: Razor-sharp Mac Jones tosses 2 TDs to close final preseason practice New England Patriots | Patriots waive recent addition, place wide receiver on injured reserve New England Patriots | Patriots’ Jack Jones hopes to be available Week 1 amid gun charges New England Patriots | How Ezekiel Elliott sees his role with Rh...

Spanish soccer president refuses to resign despite kissing a player on the lips at Women’s World Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:42 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The president of the Spanish soccer federation refused to resign Friday despite an uproar for kissing a player on the lips without her consent after the Women’s World Cup final.Luis Rubiales told an emergency general assembly of the federation “I won’t resign” four times in quick succession and claimed he was a victim of a witch hunt by “false feminists.”Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the award ceremony after Spain beat England in the final in Sydney, Australia, marring the title celebrations with his actions.Several Spanish media outlets had reported on Thursday that Rubiales was planning to step down.Instead, he said the kiss was “mutual and with the consent” of Hermoso. He received various applause from the overwhelming male assembly.Hermoso had said in a video streamed on social media after the kiss last Sunday that “I didn’t like it, but what can I do.”THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.BARCELONA, Spain (AP...

Kremlin denies role in plane crash believed to have killed Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:42 GMT

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, on Friday rejected allegations that the Kremlin was behind a plane crash that is presumed to have killed mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose brutal fighters were feared in Ukraine, Africa and Syria and conducted a brief but shocking mutiny in Russia two months ago.Prigozhin, who was listed among those on board the plane, was eulogized by Putin, even as suspicions grew that the Russian leader was behind a Wednesday crash that many saw as an assassination.A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that the plane was downed by an intentional explosion. One of the U.S. and Western officials who described the initial U.S. assessment said it determined that Prigozhin was “very likely” targeted and that the explosion falls in line with Putin’s “long history of trying to silence his critics.”The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, did not offer any details abou...

Lebanon’s interim central bank chief vows not to lend money to government, calls for economic reform

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:42 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s interim central bank governor called on the country’s ruling class Friday to quickly implement economic and financial reforms warning that the central bank won’t offer loans to the state and does not plan on printing money to cover the huge budget deficit to avoid worsening inflation.Wassim Mansouri’s comments came nearly a month after he took over the leadership at the central bank after the term of his predecessor, Riad Salameh, ended on July 31.Lebanon is in the grips of the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history. Since the financial meltdown began in October 2019, the country’s political class — blamed for decades of corruption and mismanagement — has been resisting economic and financial reforms requested by the international community.Since taking office, Mansouri has been urging the government to pass some reforms, cautioning that the central bank cannot continue to spend money to fund the government’s budget deficit.“Every day...

Australian, US, Filipino forces practice retaking an island in a drill along the South China Sea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:42 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Australian and Filipino forces, backed by U.S. Marines, practiced retaking an island seized by hostile forces in a large military drill Friday on the northwestern Philippine coast facing the disputed South China Sea.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and visiting Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles watched the mock beach landings, assaults and helicopter insertion of forces on a Philippine navy base with 1,200 Australians, 560 Filipinos and 120 U.S. Marines participating.On Monday, Australian, Filipino and American forces conducted air assault maneuvers in Rizal town in western Palawan province, which also faces the South China Sea.The three countries are among the most vocal critics of China’s increasingly aggressive and confrontational actions in the disputed waters, but the Philippine military said Beijing was not the envisioned target of the combat drills, the largest so far between Australia and the Philippines.“It’s an important aspect...

French former President Nicolas Sarkozy to go on trial over Libya financing for 2007 campaign

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:42 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French investigative magistrates on Friday ordered former president Nicolas Sarkozy and 12 others to go on trial on charges that his 2007 presidential campaign received millions in illegal financing from the government of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.The national financial prosecutor, Jean-François Bohnert, announced that the decade-long investigation has been formally closed. The trial will run from January to April 2025, the statement said.The case is the biggest and most shocking of multiple corruption investigations involving Sarkozy. He has been convicted in two others. He denies wrongdoing in all cases.In the Libya case, he is charged with illegal campaign financing, embezzling, passive corruption and related counts.Sarkozy has been under investigation in the Libya case since 2013. Investigators examined claims that Gadhafi’s government secretly gave Sarkozy 50 million euros for his winning 2007 campaign. The sum would be more than double the legal campaign ...

AP Election Brief | What to expect in Mississippi’s runoff primaries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Think of it as the Mississippi Primaries: The Sequel. On Tuesday, voters in the Magnolia State will head back to the polls to resolve a handful of state legislative contests from the Aug. 8 primaries in which no candidate reached the vote majority needed to advance to the November general election.Six runoff primaries, three apiece for Republicans and Democrats, will be held in House districts scattered throughout the state, stretching from the northern border with Tennessee to the southern tip of the Gulf Coast.In District 66, located in heavily Democratic Hinds County and including parts of Southwest Jackson, two candidates are vying to replace outgoing Rep. De’Keither Stamps, who is running for the state Public Service Commission. Fabian Nelson, owner of a local real estate firm, faces Roshunda Harris-Allen, an alderwoman for the city of Byrum and a professor at Tougaloo College’s School of Education. Nelson, who would become the state’s first openly gay lawmake...

Taiwan’s vice president accuses China of using trade curbs to influence elections

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:42 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s vice president and frontrunner in the presidential elections has accused China of using “unfair” trade practices to influence the elections.William Lai, in a meeting Friday with foreign press in Taipei, said China has targeted Taiwan’s “agricultural products potentially in an effort to undermine the coming elections.”His comments come after China on Monday announced it would suspend mango imports from Taiwan after import authorities detected “pests” on the fruit. The trade curb is largely believed to be politically motivated.Taiwan is due to hold presidential elections in January 2024. Over the weekend, Beijing launched war games around Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China claims as its own. China and Taiwan split in 1949 following a civil war that ended with the ruling Communist Party taking control over the mainland.Beijing has never renounced the use of force as a means of retaking Taiwan. China’s political leadership sees Lai and Taiwan’s incu...

Danish government to present draft law making it illegal to burn the Quran or other religious texts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:42 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Danish government on Friday said it will propose a law that would make it illegal to desecrate any holy book in Denmark, where a recent string of public desecrations of the Quran by a handful of anti-Islam activists has sparked angry demonstrations in Muslim countries.Denmark has been viewed as a country that facilitates insult and denigration of the cultures, religions, and traditions of other countries, the government said. The proposal by the center-right government is to extend Denmark’s existing ban on burning foreign flags by also “prohibiting improper treatment of objects of significant religious significance to a religious community,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said. “The bill will make it punishable, for example, to burn the Quran or the Bible in public. It will only aim at actions in a public place or with the intention of spreading in a wider circle,” Hummelgaard said, adding that it would be punishable by fines or up to ...