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Harper, Schwarber, Castellanos power Phillies past Diamondbacks 5-3 in Game 1 of NLCS

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:28:41 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper smashed the first pitch he saw on his 31st birthday into the seats, Kyle Schwarber hit his first homer of the postseason and Nick Castellanos also went deep again to power the Philadelphia Phillies past the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series on Monday night.Harper held up three fingers on his left hand and one on his right and pretended to blow them out like candles on a cake as he crossed the plate. Harper, who also walked, scored twice and knocked in two runs, hit his 10th homer in two postseasons with the Phillies.“I’ve always wanted to play on my birthday,” he said before the game. Zack Wheeler struck out eight in six innings to help the defending National League champions win their seventh Game 1 of the last two postseasons. Wheeler sawed two bats in half during the first two innings, leaving the Diamondbacks with more pieces of busted lumber than hits through five.José Alvarado got four big outs on 15 pitches and C...

Rockets rally to top Spurs, who sat Wembanyama

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:28:41 GMT

San Antonio sat No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama in a 99-89 loss to Houston on Monday night that saw the Rockets two first-round picks play well.Amen Thompson, the fourth overall selection, and 20th pick Cam Whitmore finished with 15 points apiece and the Rockets (3-0) outscored San Antonio 36-13 in the final period to remain unbeaten.The Spurs (1-2) led 79-65 after Doug McDermott’s 3-pointer with 11:06 left to play. The Rockets battled back, taking an 88-87 lead on two free throws by Darius Days with 4:24 left to play. Whitmore followed with a 3-pointer, then hit two shots in the final 96 seconds, scoring 11 in the period.Newcomer Fred VanVleet had 12 points and three steals for Houston. Aaron Holiday also scored 12.Zach Collins paced the Spurs with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Jeremy Sochan added 13 points and four steals. 76ERS 127, NETS 119Kelly Oubre Jr. had 21 points, Tobias Harris and Paul Reed scored 18 apiece and Philadelphia earned its first presea...

Denver mayor urged to revisit homeless plan

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:28:41 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A homeless rights advocacy group held a rally on the steps of Denver city hall on Monday afternoon, asking the mayor to change his approach to homelessness.The group Housekeys Action Network Denver, or HAND, wants Mayor Mike Johnston to stop sweeps entirely. The organization also wants actual housing versus shelters as a landing spot for the homeless population."We want him to fulfill his promises that he had made," HAND spokesperson Ana Gloom said.Gloom said the group had met with the mayor late last week and was planning to attend Monday night's city council meeting. Denver announces micro-community location, nixes other proposed site Johnston's House1000 initiative has set a goal to get 1,000 residents off the streets by the end of the year."He bit off way more than he could chew," Gloom said.Monday night, the city council voted to extend the mayor's emergency declaration on homelessness.

Editorial: States run out of room for migrants – does it matter?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:28:41 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey blinked.She, like many governors trying to manage the unceasing influx of migrants across their state borders, ran into a harsh reality: there is a bottom to the well.Healey announced Monday that the state’s shelter system will fill by the end of the month. After that the Bay State will not be able to provide housing for families in need as required by law.As she and other governors have learned, there are limits to the number of unhoused people and families that shelters can hold, a limit to the hotels and motels that can put up the overflow, and an eventual limit to the money available to cover the mounting costs of these efforts.As the Herald reported, the Massachusetts shelter system won’t be able to help any further without intervention by the Biden Administration.Good luck with that. New York City Mayor Eric Adams called for Biden to give it a leg up as migrants overwhelmed that city’s shelters, and criticized the lack of substantive action....

Adcock & Sasser: Congress must safeguard healthcare info

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:28:41 GMT

In an era marked by powerful adversaries and increasing cyber threats, elected representatives and professionals in the healthcare industry must work across party lines to address a critical issue that affects everyone: cybersecurity in healthcare.We rely more than ever on advanced technology for our national defense and daily lives. From financial institutions to gas stations, from grocery stores to hospitals, our critical infrastructure hinges on high-tech servers and software. Unfortunately, hostile nations and bad actors deploy hackers to infiltrate these systems, compromising our national security and personal data.One of the most vulnerable sectors to cyberattacks is our healthcare system. Disturbingly, frequent cyberattacks plague healthcare organizations, disrupting patient care and endangering lives. Just recently, a cyberattack targeting Prospect Medical Holdings wreaked havoc in several states, rendering emergency rooms inoperable and restricting access to digital medical...

Dear Abby: Protect daughters from misbehaving nephew

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:28:41 GMT

Dear Abby: My wife and I are raising our two daughters (6 and 7) alongside my sister and her son (10). My sister and her baby daddy separated before their child’s birth because he was physically and emotionally abusive. However, the law allows him to still be in the boy’s life.I love my sister and my nephew, which is why we are raising our families as a village. The problem is, we are seeing similar characteristics in my nephew’s behavior toward our daughters. He’s manipulative and a little “overly familiar” toward my eldest daughter. She looks up to him, and he uses it to get her to do what he wants.Now my 7-year-old is emotionally abusing and ostracizing my 6-year-old. I’m torn because my gut tells me to move and get my girls away from my nephew, but he, too, is a child, and I want to continue to support him so he can grow into a decent man. However, I am not willing to sacrifice my girls for his potential. What to do? — Cautious Mom...

San Diego District Attorney meets with businesses to crack down on organized retail crimes

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:28:41 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced a renewed push and how she plans to hold thieves accountable for organized retail theft in San Diego.“San Diego is not the good place to come and do this, we are going to find you, we are going to find you," Stephan said outside of an ULTA Beauty store Monday afternoon.Stephan met with ULTA Beauty loss prevention management and employees as she toured their San Marcos location. The store on Las Posas Road was hit last year by an organized retail theft ring that operated all throughout Southern California. "The San Marcos store was one of 21 ULTA Beauty stores targeted by one of the defendants who stole $127,000 worth of fragrances in just one month," the DA's office said in a news release Monday."During their last incident in 2022, the group encountered San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies who were waiting in the ULTA Beauty parking lot and took up pursuit" the release went on to say. "A bicyclist was hit by the...

Republicans will try to elect Trump ally Rep. Jim Jordan as House speaker but GOP holdouts remain

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:28:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans will try to elect a firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan as the new House speaker, elevating a chief ally of Donald Trump to a center-seat of U.S. power and showing just how far the hard-right flank has moved into the GOP mainstream.On Tuesday, the House is scheduled to start voting at noon in what could become a showdown for the gavel. At least a handful of holdout Republicans are refusing to give Jordan their votes, viewing the Ohio Republican as too extreme for the powerful position of House speaker, second in line to the presidency.But with public pressure bearing down on lawmakers from Trump’s allies including Fox News’ Sean Hannity, it’s not clear how long the holdouts can last. Jordan swiftly flipped dozens of detractors in a matter of days, shoring up reluctant Republicans who have few options left two weeks after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster. “The American people deserve to have their Congress and House of Representatives working, and y...

PG&E’s plan to bury power lines and prevent wildfires faces opposition because of high rates

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:28:41 GMT

VACAVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric — one of the nation’s largest utilities whose equipment has sparked some of California’s deadliest wildfires — wants to bury power lines in some of its most at-risk areas to prevent destructive blazes like the 2018 Paradise fire that killed 85 people.But state regulators are balking at the utility’s plan because it would take too long and cost $5.9 billion. The company’s customers — who already have some of the highest rates in the country — would have to pay for it. Regulators want PG&E to put a protective cover over many of its overhead power lines instead of burying them. The cover approach is cheaper, but riskier. PG&E says burying a power line reduces the chance it will start a wildfire by 99% because it can’t be blown down by wind storms. The protective cover, which would better insulate the power line should it fall to the ground, would reduce that chance by 62%.“We’re not going to live ...

Trump scheduled to be questioned in lawsuits from ex-FBI employees who sent negative texts about him

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:28:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is scheduled to be questioned under oath Tuesday as part of lawsuits from two former FBI employees who provoked the former president’s outrage after sending each other pejorative text messages about him.Peter Strzok, who was a lead agent in the FBI’s investigation into ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, has alleged in a lawsuit against the Justice Department that he was wrongfully fired for exercising his First Amendment rights when he and a colleague traded anti-Trump text messages in the weeks before he became president.Lisa Page, the FBI lawyer who texted with Strzok and had also been assigned to the Russia investigation, has sued as well, alleging that the Justice Department violated her privacy by disclosing copies of her messages with Strzok to members of the news media. She voluntarily resigned from the FBI in May 2018, and Strzok was fired several months after that.Both allege that the Justice Department acted under un...