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Man snags 2 foul balls in span of 3 pitches at Citi Field, gives them to his mom as birthday gift

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick Wedderburn exchanged hugs with family and friends Friday night as he held aloft his once-in-a-lifetime haul in section 321 at Citi Field — two foul balls snagged in a three-pitch span during the eighth inning of the Mets’ 5-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.But the 23-year-old from Farmingville on Long Island didn’t hesitate when asked what he planned to do with the baseballs.“I’m gonna give her both of them,” he said as he gestured to his mother, Christa, who was at the park as part of her birthday celebration.Patrick, wearing a Pete Alonso jersey, said he was looking at his phone in the fifth row of section 321 — two levels behind home plate at Citi Field — when the first foul ball off the bat of TJ Friedl landed in the second row.“I looked up, I saw it bouncing right there, I dove over, grabbed it,” Patrick said.Friedl then fouled a pitch off towards the third base side before hitting another Drew Smith offering into section 321.“Before I could even think abou...

Trio helps Wings rally past Dream 94-82 in playoff opener

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:28 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Satou Sabally had 32 points, Arike Ogunbowale scored 24 and Teaira McCowan added a double-double to help Dallas overcome a slow start and beat Atlanta 94-82 in a first-round playoff opener on Friday night.Sabally notched a playoff-high for the fourth-seeded Wings, sinking 11 of 20 shots from the floor — with three 3-pointers — and all seven of her free throws. She also had five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Ogunbowale added nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals for the Wings, who went 3-0 against Atlanta in the regular season. McCowan totaled 17 points — on 6-of-7 shooting — and 14 rebounds, including seven on offense. It was her second career postseason double-double.Rhyne Howard, the top pick in the 2022 draft, finished with 36 points for the Dream, who were playing in the postseason for the first time since 2018. Howard made 13 of 29 shots, including 8 of 15 from beyond the arc. Allisha Gray pitched in with 21 points, seven boards and thre...

Tarik Skubal throws 7 dominant innings, Javier Baez drives in 4 in Tigers’ 11-2 victory over Angels

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:28 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Tarik Skubal struck out nine over seven stellar innings of three-hit ball, and Javier Báez had a homer and a three-run double in the Detroit Tigers’ 11-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.Jake Rogers also homered for the Tigers, who have won four of six. Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter drove in two runs apiece as Detroit opened its 10-game California trip with a blowout in a weekend series between two teams about to miss the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season — the longest active postseason droughts in the majors.Skubal (6-3) was dominant in his third straight victory, issuing no walks and retiring the Angels’ first nine hitters before Kyren Paris’ bunt single leading off the fourth. Skubal struck out the side in the sixth, and he finished the seventh after a mound visit from Detroit’s training staff.The Tigers scored a season-high seven runs in the eighth inning off reliever Jhonathan Diaz before Angels infielder Edu...

How China schooled the West on climate change

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:28 GMT

The West: China’s doing nothing on climate. Also the West: China’s dominating green tech, we must fight back! Brussels this week launched an investigation into China’s subsidies for electric cars — a move that risks higher tariffs and a trade war with Beijing. But the announcement, from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, also exposes a deeper truth: decades of drift have left Europe in danger of losing the auto industry it considers a part of its soul.For years, the West has complained that China was a climate villain. That the enormous coal fields of Shanxi somehow excused slow burn climate policy in Washington, Paris or Berlin. Now Beijing is the one lecturing the West about climate credentials.China’s efficient electric car industry has “made great contributions to the global response to climate change and the green transformation, including in the European Union,” said the Chinese commerce ministry in a statement slamming the EU probe.“What we are...

Poland is shaken by reports that consular officials took bribes to help migrants enter Europe and US

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:28 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s conservative governing party was hoping to make migration a key campaign theme ahead of the country’s national election. But not like this, with arrests, dismissals and an attempted suicide among its own ranks.The Law and Justice party is being rocked by reports that Polish consulates issued visas in Africa and Asia in exchange for bribes, opening the door for migrants to enter the European Union — which some hoped to use as a way into the United States.Details about the corruption scandal are coming to light a month ahead of the country’s national election Oct. 15, leaving Law and Justice struggling to control the damage. A former deputy foreign minister who was dismissed amid reports of his involvement in the scandal was hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt.Law and Justice has been the election frontrunner in a field of several parties, and it’s not clear if the affair will dent its support. But opposition politicians have seized on t...

The cost of damage from the record floods in Greece’s breadbasket is estimated to be in the billions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:28 GMT

ZAGORA, Greece (AP) — The apples were almost ripe for harvesting when the worst storms in more than a century struck Greece’s breadbasket in Thessaly.Now, farmers on the forested slopes of Mount Pilion, which overlooks the plain of Thessaly, say they face millions of euros in damage from the flooding that began earlier this month. They will be lucky to salvage a third of their crop — and that will only happen if wrecked road access to their orchards is patched up in time.As bad as the damage suffered by the Pilion farmers was, their peers in the plain were hit by even greater devastation from last week’s disastrous floods that left 16 people dead, days after wildfires killed 20 people in northeastern Greece.The storms flooded 720 square kilometers (280 square miles), mostly prime farmland, totally destroying crops. They also swamped hundreds of buildings, broke the country’s railway backbone, savaged rural roads and bridges and killed tens of thousands of livestock...

Letter showing Pope Pius XII had detailed information from German Jesuit about Nazi crimes revealed

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:28 GMT

ROME (AP) — Newly discovered correspondence suggests that World War II-era Pope Pius XII had detailed information from a trusted German Jesuit that up to 6,000 Jews and Poles were being gassed each day in German-occupied Poland, undercutting the Holy See’s argument that it couldn’t verify diplomatic reports of Nazi atrocities to denounce them.The documentation from the Vatican archives, published this weekend in Italian daily Corriere della Sera, is likely to further fuel the debate about Pius’ legacy and his now-stalled beatification campaign. Historians have long been divided about Pius’ record, with supporters insisting he used quiet diplomacy to save Jewish lives while critics say he remained silent as the Holocaust raged.Corriere is reproducing a letter dated Dec. 14, 1942 from the German Jesuit priest to Pius’ secretary which is contained in an upcoming book about the newly opened files of Pius’ pontificate by Giovanni Coco, a researcher and archivist in the Vatican’s Ap...

'Piqui's Law' passed after SoCal boy murdered by father in custody battle

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:28 GMT

The tragic death of a South Pasadena boy during a contentious custody battle has now led to the creation of new legislation protecting children from abusive parents. In a unanimous vote on Friday, state assemblymembers passed “Piqui’s Law,” which was sponsored by Senator Susan Rubio of Baldwin Park. The law mandates domestic abuse training for judges, especially when dealing with child safety during custody battles with abusive parents.The law is named after Aramazd Andressian, Jr., a 5-year-old boy known as “Piqui,” who was killed by his father after a trip to Disneyland in 2017.The boy’s mother, Ana Estevez, had warned officials that the boy’s father, Aramazd Andressian, whom she was divorcing was an abusive man. Despite her pleas, the man was granted joint custody of their son.Aramazd Andressian, Jr., a 5-year-old boy known as “Piqui,” pictured with his father in a family photo.Aramazd Andressian, Jr., a 5-year-old boy known as “Piqui,” in a family photo.Aramazd Andressian, Jr., ...

For Amador Valley, win over Monte Vista was for all the haters: ‘It was personal this week’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:28 GMT

PLEASANTON – Jake Goldsworthy felt the Amador Valley High School football team wasn’t getting enough respect prior to its game with unbeaten Monte Vista on Friday night.If that was the case at all before, that figures to change now after the standout senior running back and the Dons earned their biggest win of the young season.The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Goldsworthy rushed for 227 yards and three touchdowns as 16th-ranked Amador Valley, propelled by a huge second quarter, outlasted No. 12 Monte Vista 41-27 before a raucous near-capacity crowd that was celebrating the school’s centennial.With his team trailing by 14 early in the second quarter, Goldsworthy raced down the sideline for a 64-yard touchdown that changed the game’s momentum, as Amador Valley (3-1) reached the end zone three more times before the half to jump ahead 28-21 and never trail again.“We wanted this game so much,” said Goldsworthy, whose other touchdowns came on runs of 20 and 75 yards. “We were underdogs by every sin...

Hillsdale remains undefeated with gutsy plays against Sacred Heart Prep

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:28 GMT

SAN MATEO — The Hillsdale Fighting Knights remain undefeated after a complete win over No. 18 ranked Sacred Heart Prep on Friday night at Hillsdale.Senior quarterback Erick Waugh’s ability to extend plays and convert on a handful of fourth downs paired with a tough defensive front against the Gators’ physical running backs helped the No. 23 Fighting Knights put away a wire-to-wire 21-14 win. They move to 4-0 heading into league play while Sacred Heart moves to 2-2 heading into league play.“It’s a great way to start the season, but now it’s on to league. Our goals are all league-based. I think it’s great for the kids, it’s great for confidence,” head coach Mike Parodi said. “But it’s also something we can look at playing a really well-coached team to see what we need to do to get better.”Sacred Heart got an early jump on Hillsdale when Gators’ senior Anthony Noto tipped Waugh’s third down pass into th...