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The Orioles could be on the playoff margin all season. Their first series showed how thin it is. | ANALYSIS

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:16:18 GMT

Back in December, when “liftoff” was still a word fans hoped would define the Orioles’ offseason, executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said it would be difficult to “chart a course” for the team to be division front-runners. The goal, he said then and has since repeated, was to reach the postseason.The winter ended without Baltimore having done enough to even make that a likelihood, and thus, in an ideal scenario, the Orioles will spend this season somewhere on the margin of in and out of the postseason hunt. Their first series this weekend in Boston showed how thin that margin could be.In dropping two out of three game against a Red Sox team projected to join them near the bottom of the American League East standings, the Orioles impressed offensively but struggled on the mound and in the field in each game. Given that Baltimore’s hopes of reaching the playoff could well come down to a one-game margin, each defeat could prove t...

Leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia meet after months of tension

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:16:18 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — The leaders of Egypt and Saudi Arabia have met in the kingdom amid months of tension between the two regional powers, officials said Monday.President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, held talks late Sunday that focused on ties between the two heavyweights, according to Egyptian presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy.Fahmy said in a statement that the two leaders “affirmed mutual concern for promoting common cooperation in all fields.” They also agreed to continue “coordination and consultation” on regional and international topics, he added.The statement did not give further details. The meeting came as el-Sissi’s government is struggling to overcome an economic crises blamed on the war in Europe, but also under what critics say is mismanagement of the economy. It also came as two heavy powers have sought to mend their frayed ties with other regional powers, including Iran and Turkey.Bin Salman, widely kn...

Russia blames Ukraine for bomb that killed military blogger

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:16:18 GMT

Russia’s top counterterrorism agency said Monday that the bombing attack that killed a well-known Russian military blogger was staged by Ukrainian security agencies.Russian officials said Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, was killed Sunday as he was leading a discussion at a cafe on the banks of the Neva River in the historic heart of St. Petersburg. Over 30 people were wounded by the blast, and 10 of them remain in grave condition, according to the authorities.The National Anti-Terrorist Committee, a state structure that coordinates counterterrorism, said that the attack on Tatarsky was “planned by Ukrainian special services” with the involvement of people who have cooperated with an anti-corruption foundation created by jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. It noted that the arrested suspect was an “active supporter” of Navalny’s group.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Russian police on Monday arrested a woman suspected of delivering a bomb that kille...

Oil prices soar on producer output cuts; World shares higher

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:16:18 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Oil prices soared nearly 6% on Monday after Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers said they will cut production by 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the year. Shares in Asia were mixed. U.S. benchmark crude oil rose $4.24 to $79.91 per barrel, or 5.6%, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose $1.30 to $75.67 per barrel on Friday, ahead of the weekend meeting where members of the so-called OPEC+ group of oil exporting countries decided on the cuts, which are in addition to a reduction announced last October that infuriated the Biden administration. Brent crude, the pricing basis for international oils, gained $4.35 to $84.24 per barrel, or 5.4%. The cuts in oil output immediately pushed prices higher and were expected to boost gas prices, adding to strains in many countries where high fuel prices are a heavy burden. Higher oil prices also will complicate the efforts by central banks to rein in inflation. “This will cr...

Romanian, German, Moldovan leaders meet in Bucharest

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:16:18 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will pay an official visit to Romania’s capital on Monday for trilateral talks with the presidents of Romania and Moldova, as the three nations look to boost ties on a range of topics amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.The German leader will meet first with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest, for bilateral talks focussed on security, economy, and energy. They will also discuss defense cooperation on NATO’s eastern flank and security in the Black Sea region.Iohannis’ office said the aim of the talks is to ensure “close coordination” within the European Union and NATO, as well as ways to support Ukraine and Moldova, both of which were granted EU candidate status last June in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Other topics will include helping Ukrainian refugees and facilitating the transit of Ukrainian grain to the global market as the war drags on. Later on Monday, Iohannis and S...

Biden to push clean energy, economic agenda in Minneapolis

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:16:18 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to tour a clean energy technology manufacturer in suburban Minneapolis on Monday as part of his effort to highlight his investment agenda ahead of an expected reelection campaign.Biden plans to highlight job growth and investments nationwide while pushing clean energy and manufacturing in the U.S. during his visit to engine maker Cummins Inc. The company intends to announce in conjunction with the Democratic president’s visit that it’s investing more than $1 billion in its U.S. engine manufacturing network in Indiana, North Carolina and New York to update facilities so they can produce low- to zero-carbon engines. According to the White House, Biden’s economic plan has led to $2.7 billion in federal funding for roughly 182 infrastructure projects across Minnesota, including transportation projects and better access to clean water.The president regularly highlights the CHIPS Act, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bi...

Swiss prosecutors probe Credit Suisse ahead of UBS takeover

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:16:18 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss attorney general’s office says it has opened a probe into the events surrounding embattled bank Credit Suisse, which is to be taken over by rival UBS.Switzerland’s government and financial regulators helped engineer the hastily arranged, $3.25 billion agreement that was aimed in part to help calm worries about the global financial system and will leave the country with a single huge global bank.The attorney general’s office said Monday that it wanted to “proactively fulfill its remit and its responsibility to contribute to a clean Swiss financial sector.” It said that it has set up “monitoring” that would enable it to get involved immediately if any offenses were committed that come under its auspices.The office said the probe falls short of a formal investigation and is not a criminal inquiry. The office was responding to an emailed request Monday for comment after the Financial Times reported about the probe over the weekend. The statement made ...

UK passport office workers kick off 5-week strike

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:16:18 GMT

LONDON (AP) — British passport office workers kicked off a five-week strike on Monday, as the latest group of civil servants to demand a pay raise in response to double-digit inflation threatened to cause headaches for travelers ahead of the summer holiday season.The walkout by some 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union is taking place as Britons seek to renew their travel documents in preparation for their summer vacations. Despite fears of delays, the government hasn’t changed its estimate that it will take up to 10 weeks to get a passport.The walkout is the latest in a wave of strikes that has disrupted Britons’ lives for months. Public-sector workers including doctors, teachers, train and bus drivers, airport baggage handlers, border officers and postal workers are demanding pay increases to keep pace with inflation, which stands at 10.4%.A cost-of-living crisis fueled by sharp rises in food and energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left ma...

Snoop Dog steps in at last second during WrestleMania, wins match

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:16:18 GMT

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Leave it to Snoop Dogg to emerge as the Most Valuable Performer of WrestleMania 39.During a weekend that saw World Wrestling Entertainment set a two-night attendance record for their signature event, rumors of a possible sale and Roman Reigns remaining the undisputed champion, the iconic rapper stepped up in an emergency.Snoop Dogg was co-hosting a segment between matches on Sunday at SoFi Stadium with wrestler Mike “The Miz” Mizanin when he goaded Mizanin into an impromptu match with Shane McMahon, who made his appearance at a WWE event for the first time in 14 months. McMahon and Mizanin traded punches before McMahon tore his quad when he did a leapfrog maneuver while trying to avoid Mizanin. Here’s where Trump’s other ongoing legal cases stand Doctors checked on McMahon before he was helped out of the ring. Snoop Dogg then came back into the ring to continue the match, as he punched “The Miz” twice, then stole a page from “The Rock” and landed a people’...

Marjorie Taylor Greene defends calling Democrats 'pedophiles,' eliciting eye-roll from 60 Minutes' Stahl

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:16:18 GMT

(The Hill) - Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) defended calling Democrats "pedophiles" in a new interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" Sunday, eliciting eye-rolls from correspondent Lesley Stahl. Stahl asked Greene about what she called "over-the-top" comments, such as saying that "Democrats are a party of pedophiles.""I would definitely say so," Greene responded. "They support grooming children.""They are not pedophiles," Stahl responded. "Why would you say that?""Democrats support — even Joe Biden the president himself — supports children being sexualized, having transgender surgeries," Greene responded. "Sexualizing children is what pedophiles do to children."Greene's response elicited an eye roll from Stahl, who sighed and said "wow," before asking her next question: whether the congresswoman might fight for what she believed without name calling and personal attacks. "I would ask the same question to the other side. Because all they've done is call me names and insult me nonstop s...