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Lucas: DeSantis can beat Biden, his real test is Trump

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:06:38 GMT

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis can defeat President Joe Biden.Biden has dropped so low in the polls on all the issues that the only way he can get re-elected is by getting the millions of illegal immigrants he let into the country vote for him.Which means that practically any Republican can beat him, especially a candidate like DeSantis.But first the 44-year-old governor must get by Donald Trump, 76, which will be no easy task.While the field of Republican presidential candidates continues to grow, there is hardly a candidate—outside of DeSantis—with the standing and toughness needed to stand up to the pugnacious Trump.A couple of the candidates, unannounced and official, worked for Trump (Vice President Mike Pence, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley) while a third potential candidate (Chris Christie) tried to but failed to get hired.One only has to recall how Trump, with his slash and burn technique, wrecked the candidacy of several GOP opponents in the 2016 television debates and end...

May Farm Report: Red Sox promote Shane Drohan, Marcelo Mayer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:06:38 GMT

It’s hard to imagine anyone having a better start to the season than Shane Drohan had with the Portland Sea Dogs.One of the organization’s strikeout leaders in 2022 with Greenville, the 24-year-old lefty earned a promotion out of spring training and dominated Double-A, going 5-0 with a 1.32 ERA over his first six starts of the year with Portland.In the blink of an eye Drohan went from relative obscurity to arguably Boston’s top pitching prospect, and the club wasted no time promoting him to Triple-A after he proved himself ready for a bigger challenge.But the road to the big leagues isn’t easy and it certainly isn’t always smooth, lessons Drohan quickly learned upon his arrival in Worcester.His first two starts at Triple-A did not go well. Through 7 ⅔ innings he has allowed 10 earned runs while allowing six walks and four home runs to go along with just seven strikeouts.Some adjustments to the higher level will clearly be necessary, but even with the rocky Triple-A debut Drohan has ...

Orioles minor league report: Connor Norby, Coby Mayo continue to show off organization’s deep infield stockpile

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:06:38 GMT

For much of this season, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Joey Ortiz have garnered the majority of the attention given to Orioles infield prospects.Henderson, the former No. 1 prospect in baseball who has now graduated from such status, is playing almost every day for the Orioles. Holliday has been lighting the lower levels of the minor leagues on fire. Westburg is pushing for a spot in the big leagues with his stellar play in Triple-A, and Ortiz, another Norfolk Tides infielder, spent two short stints with Baltimore and performed well each time.But the organization’s stockpile of infield prospects doesn’t end with those four, of course. Connor Norby and Coby Mayo, Baltimore’s other two young infielders who received top 100 prospect status by at least one major publication in the offseason, both excelled on the farm last week.Norby, the Orioles’ sixth-ranked prospect and No. 78 on Baseball America’s list, had one of the best weeks...

China expresses support for Serbia in renewed Kosovo clashes involving NATO troops

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:06:38 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday expressed its support for Serbia’s efforts to “safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity” following renewed violence between ethnic Serbs and NATO peacekeeping troops in Kosovo. China’s ruling Communist Party has long been a critic of the NATO alliance, stemming partly from the bombing of Beijing’s embassy in Belgrade during the 1999 air campaign to end Serbia’s brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. The bombing, in which three Chinese journalists were killed, has long been used by Beijing to mobilize anti-Western sentiment. The U.S. apologized for the attack, blaming it on faulty intelligence. Its diplomatic missions in Beijing and other Chinese cities were assaulted in the fallout, setting ties on a negative trajectory that has grown ever more tense in recent years. China, along with Russia and Serbia, does not recognize Kosovo’s 2008 independence and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Tuesday placed the blame fo...

Post-soccer match brawl in Germany leaves teen with life-threatening injuries; 16-year-old detained

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:06:38 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A 15-year-old soccer player has been hospitalized with life-threatening brain injuries after being struck by an opposing player in a post-match fight during an international youth tournament in Germany. A 16-year-old from a French team was jailed pending further investigation by a judge in Frankfurt, where the match against a team from Berlin took place on Sunday. Frankfurt police said in a statement Tuesday that a scuffle broke out between players after the final whistle and escalated into punches being thrown. The victim was struck in the head or neck area and collapsed, police said. He was treated by emergency medical personnel at the scene and taken to a hospital.Police are asking witnesses who may have video of the incident to contact police. The Associated Press

Most in US say don’t ban race in college admissions but its role should be small: AP-NORC poll

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:06:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Supreme Court decides the fate of affirmative action, most U.S. adults say the court should allow colleges to consider race as part of the admissions process, yet few believe students’ race should ultimately play a major role in decisions, according to a new poll.The May poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 63% say the Supreme Court should not block colleges from considering race or ethnicity in their admission systems. The poll found little divide along political or racial lines.But those polled were more likely to say factors including grades and standardized test scores should be important, while 68% of adults said race and ethnicity should not be a significant factor.The poll reflects general support for affirmative action even as the future of the practice remains in doubt. The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on lawsuits challenging admissions systems at Harvard University and the University of North C...

Toyota, Daimler Truck, Hino, Mitsubishi Fuso joining forces in ecological technology

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:06:38 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — German truck maker Daimler, Japan’s top automaker Toyota and two other automakers said Tuesday they will work together on new technologies, including using hydrogen fuel, to help fight climate change.The companies said Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., whose top stakeholder is Daimler Truck, and Hino Motors, the truck maker in the Toyota group, will merge. Daimler Truck and Toyota Motor Corp. will equally invest in the holding company of the Mitsubishi-Hino merger, they said without giving a dollar amount for the deal. The companies plan to cooperate in reducing carbon emissions and developing other technologies such as autonomous driving, net-connected services and electric vehicles.“This collaboration among our four companies is a partnership for creating the future of commercial vehicles in Japan and the future of a ‘mobility society,’ said Toyota Motor Corp. Chief Executive Koji Sato.The two truck companies will work on commercial vehicle development, procurement...

Free concert, other celebrations in Jordan ahead of kingdom’s first major royal wedding in years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:06:38 GMT

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Several thousand cheering and flag-waving Jordanians packed a sports stadium for a free concert in the capital of Amman as part of celebrations leading up the kingdom’s first major royal wedding in years.Crown Prince Hussein, 28, is to marry Saudi architect Rajwa Alseif, 29, on Thursday at Zahran Palace in downtown Amman, the same wedding venue previously chosen by the prince’s father, King Abdullah II, and his grandfather, the late King Hussein.The nuptials come after a rough patch for the royals, including a public rift between the king and his half-brother, and are seen as a way of shoring up public support at a time of persistent economic difficulties.Designed to convey a sense of continuity, Thursday’s ceremony is expected to include some of the same features as previous royal weddings, including a motorcade of red Land Rover jeeps escorting the couple through the streets of Amman after the ceremony.Palace officials have been tight-lipped ...

Rolling thunder: Contestants chase cheese wheel down a hill in chaotic UK race

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:06:38 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The big cheese of extreme U.K. sports events is back.Hundreds of spectators gathered Monday to watch dozens of reckless racers chase a 7-pound (3 kilogram) wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down the near-vertical Cooper’s Hill, near Gloucester in southwest England.The first racer to finish behind the fast-rolling cheese gets to keep it.The cheese-rolling race has been held at Cooper’s Hill, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of London, since at least 1826, and the sport of cheese-rolling is believed to be much older.The rough-and-tumble event often comes with safety concerns. Few competitors manage to stay on their feet all the way down the 200-yard (180 meter) hill, and this year several had to be helped, limping, from the course.Canadian contestant Delaney Irving, 19, won the women’s race despite being briefly knocked unconscious.“I just remember hitting my head, and now I have the cheese,” said Irving, who comes from Nanaimo, British Columbia.Matt Crolla, 28, fro...

GasBuddy: Average Albany prices increase over four cents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:06:38 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Average gasoline prices in Albany have risen 4.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.71/g Tuesday, according to GasBuddy's survey of 546 stations in Albany. Prices in Albany are 1.6 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 115.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 4.9 cents in the last week and stands at $3.91 per gallon. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Albany was priced at $3.45/g Monday while the most expensive was $3.89/g, a difference of 44.0 cents per gallon. The lowest price in the state Monday was $2.89/g while the highest was $4.69/g, a difference of $1.80/g.The national average price of gasoline has risen 2.7 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.55/g Tuesday. The national average is down 3.2 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 105.5 cents ...