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BOOK: Yankees Aaron Judge’s quest to break Roger Maris’ home run record was pursuit of history

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:57 GMT

You didn’t have to be a Yankees fan to appreciate history being made last summer.Even those misguided souls who hate the Bronx Bombers were invested. As it became apparent that Aaron Judge could break Roger Maris’ American League home run record, the baseball world focused on the outfielder’s quest.On Oct. 4, Judge hit a slider and made the record books. Bryan Hoch details this journey in “62: Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees, and the Pursuit of Greatness.”There’s deep reporting here and an appreciation for the sport’s history. Sometimes this is so detailed that it defines insider baseball. Few true fans, though, would pass on learning more. What comes through is a portrait of a focused, honorable man.It’s not as if Yankees fans just noticed Judge last season. The powerful outfielder carries himself with grace and always puts the team first. In 2017, he slammed 52 home runs, earning the title of Rookie of the Year.Last season, though,...

Column: Like the weather in Chicago, the Cubs’ ‘buy or sell’ mode can change by the minute

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:57 GMT

As one of baseball’s most prominent in-between teams, the sub-.500 Chicago Cubs have teetered between being buyers and sellers as the Aug. 1 trade deadline nears.With a team that alternates between dominant stretches and periods during which they look like they’ll never win again, Cubs President Jed Hoyer faces enormous pressure deciding which way to go.Buy? Sell? Stand pat?Hoyer has been asked the same question for more than a month now. “I don’t want this to be a day-to-day assessment-type thing,” Hoyer said Friday. “It’s baseball.”Hoyer is absolutely correct. Obviously, a better way to approach the question of whether to buy or sell and the trade deadline would be an inning-by-inning assessment-type thing.So here’s our inning-by-inning analysis of what Hoyer should do, based on Saturday’s 10-4 victory against the Boston Red Sox at Wrigley Field.First inning: Marcus Stroman, the Cubs’ best trading chip, skates throu...

Leominster’s Lavender Darcangelo earns golden buzzer on America’s Got Talent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:57 GMT

LEOMINSTER – Tears of joy streamed down Lavender Darcangelo’s face after America’s Got Talent judge Heidi Klum hit the golden buzzer in response to the talented young woman’s incredibly moving performance.Fitchburg resident Lavender Darcangelo, seen here with dad Wil Darcangelo, wowed the judges and audience during her performance on the America’s Got Talent auditions episode that aired on July 11. (COURTESY TRAE PATTON/NBC)All four judges and the entire audience gave Lavender a standing ovation during the auditions episode that aired this past Tuesday after she closed the show by singing “Out Here on My Own” by Irene Cara from the musical “Fame,” a song with uplifting lyrics that match the 27-year-old phenom’s positive attitude.The blind and autistic vocalist and disability advocate is a Fitchburg native who lives in Leominster and said onstage she dreams of building “a school where the classes are based off of what kids are naturally curious at, so a school I would have thri...

Fargo police don’t yet have a motive for the shooting that killed 1 officer and injured 2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:57 GMT

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A gunman opened fire on police and firefighters “for no known reason” as they responded to a traffic crash in North Dakota, killing one officer and wounding two others before another officer killed him, Fargo’s police chief said Saturday. Chief David Zibolski said officer Jake Wallin, a military veteran, was killed in the shooting Friday afternoon. Two other officers, Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes, were wounded. A fourth officer, Zach Robinson, shot and killed the suspect, Zibolski said.A 25-year-old woman was also injured, but authorities did not say who shot her. The gunman did not hit any firefighters, Zibolski said, but a fire truck was struck by gunfire. Zibolski identified the suspect as Mohamad Barakat, 37, of Fargo, but provided few details about him or the shooting, citing officials’ desire to protect the investigation. He said he was confident authorities would eventually determine the motive.“The first thing we always want to know in a situation like thi...

More than 8,000 Quebec households still without power following severe storm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:57 GMT

MONTREAL — Power outages persist in the Montreal area 48 hours after severe thunderstorms ripped through southern Quebec, downing trees, snapping poles and breaking wires.Hydro-Québec reports more than 8,100 customers are still without power as of Saturday afternoon, down from more than 20,000 earlier in the day and a Thursday evening peak of more than 300,000.There are 182 ongoing outages, down from more than 500 Saturday morning, with most remaining blackouts in Montreal and the regions to its north and south. The utility company said Saturday morning that work to repair the electricity network in some isolated areas could last until the beginning of next week.Around 400 Hydro-Québec teams were in the field working to restore electricity to affected areas Saturday.Thursday’s storm also caused localized flooding in Montreal, where a city spokesperson said some neighbourhoods received a month’s worth of rain in less than two hours.This report by The Canadian Press was fi...

Yellen is visiting India yet again to promote closer ties and tackle global economic problems

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — On the heels of a trip to Beijing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is back in India for the third time in nine months, this time to meet finance ministers from the Group of 20 nations about global economic challenges like the increased threat of debt defaults facing low-income countries.Yellen will use her time in Gandhinagar to try to foster warming relations between the U.S. and India. She also plans a stop in Hanoi, Vietnam, to address supply chain reliability, clean energy transition and other matters of economic resilience.Yellen’s goals for her time in India: press for debt restructuring in developing countries in economic distress, push to modernize global development banks to make them more climate-focused and deepen the ever-growing U.S.-India relationship.Yellen’s frequent stops in the country signal the importance of that relationship at a time of of tensions with China. India’s longstanding relationship with Russia also will loom as the Kreml...

More calls for help after devastating flooding on Chicago's West Side, suburbs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:57 GMT

CHICAGO — Two weeks since heavy rains caused devasting flooding on Chicago's West Side and near west suburbs, there is still little in the way of official help.But on Saturday, there were more calls for help, including from elected officials. ‘When he comes to vote I’m gonna look the other way:’ Cicero president ‘mad’ at governor over flooding response "We have experienced a horrific amount of rainfall in a very short period of time," Rep. Danny Davis, D-Il., said. On Monday, a civil rights attorney filed six FOIA requests in hopes of pinpointing the actions taken during the July 2 storms, including the reversal of the Chicago River, with questions on if that caused backups on the West Side.On Tuesday, after Cook County proclaimed a natural disaster, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was able to do the same and opened up the option for many residents to apply for state aid. If President Joe Biden agrees, they will be able to apply for federal aid as well.The Water Reclamation District, wh...

2 more people charged in deadly shooting at Beach Park mini mart

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:57 GMT

BEACH PARK, Ill. — Two more suspects have been charged in connection with a deadly shooting last year outside a Beach Park mini mart.According to the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Cameron McCullough, 20, and Shelton Sherrod, 22, have now been charged. Police: 3 shot in Beach Park business parking lot Sherrod allegedly had been selling devices to convert guns into automatic weapons, prosecutors said. He faces more than 30 counts of unlawful possession of a weapon and is being held on a $5 million bond.McCullough is charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, prosecutors said. He is being held in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and will be extradited after his sentence.Jaziya Bankston and Dishelle Flores were previously charged with unlawful use of a weapon and possession of cannabis.They were shot after an argument in what prosecutors described as a drug deal.A third person, Christopher Williams, 22, was killed in the shootout.

Many Gen-Xers facing retirement 'nightmare' due to lack of savings: report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:57 GMT

(The Hill) — Members of Generation X don’t have much stored in savings, according to a new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS).The report found that the “forgotten generation” faces a “dismal” retirement future. The typical Gen X household — with those born between 1965 and 1980 — has around $40,000 saved for retirement, while the bottom half of savers only have a few thousands banked. Pence says abortion should be banned for nonviable pregnancies “Generation X grew up in the shadow of the postwar economic boom that so greatly benefitted their generation predecessors, the Baby Boomers," the report says. "Many in Generation X spent their formative years as the United States grappled with the oil crisis, ‘stagflation,’ and a growing sense of disillusionment following the Watergate crisis." Slightly over half of Gen-Xers have employer-sponsored retirement plans, the report found. Most members — regardless of race, gender or income — are also failing to me...

Hutto KOKEFEST 2023 canceled, KOKE FM says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:57 GMT

HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) -- KOKE-FM announced Texas Music Network's cancellation of KOKEFEST 2023, which was scheduled for Aug. 4 and 5 at Adam Orgain Park in Hutto, the Hutto station announced on Twitter Friday. "We understand that this comes as a disappointment as this is not a decision we have taken lightly," KOKE-FM said.Furthermore, ticket holders will receive and email notification with refund instructions, the Hutto station said. For additional details, visit kokefest.com.