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How Patrick Wisdom’s attacking mindset has the Chicago Cubs 3rd baseman off to a sizzling start at the plate

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:41 GMT

By the final day of Patrick Wisdom’s scorching stretch of five home runs in four games last week, the Chicago Cubs third baseman was running out of ways to explain his electric streak.“Man, if I could replicate that feeling and bottle it up and hold on to it …” Wisdom said with a wide grin.And even when it was about him, Wisdom made sure to turn the focus to those around him. When asked what impressed him the most about how he had been producing, he instead credited his teammates and coaches for producing an environment that makes it easy to have fun on the field.It’s a simplified explanation for his performance through 20 games. The 31-year-old Wisdom takes a .256/.310/.679 slash line, nine home runs and a 163 OPS+ into Tuesday night’s series opener against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field.Since earning an everyday opportunity in May 2021, Wisdom has been capable of carrying the offense for stretches. He’s one reason the Cubs have star...

The Belichick Way: Behind the scenes of Bill and Brian Belichick’s talks at a coaching clinic

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:41 GMT

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Brian Belichick peeks his head out from behind a black curtain along the back wall of a wide, windowless room.His presentation was supposed to begin one minute ago beneath the stands at Shi Stadium, home of Rutgers football and, on this Friday night, a clinic for New Jersey high school coaches. Belichick eyes the small stage in front of him, the dropped projector screen, the podium within an arm’s reach and his audience of a few hundred.The room’s listed capacity is 250, but the power of celebrity will soon cause that number to double. Belichick ducks back behind the curtain. What’s another minute to kill?Less than two weeks out from the NFL Draft, the Patriots’ draft preparation is almost complete. Belichick arrived on campus hours earlier with company, not to scout prospects but speak at the invitation of Rutgers coach Greg Schiano.Finally, a tall, clean-shaven, bald man wearing the unofficial uniform of football coaches everywhere  – khakis and a team polo – cl...

Court reject family’s bid to change Russian-sounding surname

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:41 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A court in Germany has rejected a married couple’s request to legally change their Russian-sounding surname due to negative repercussions they said they had experienced since the start of the war in Ukraine.The couple had sought to force officials in the southwest German state of Rhineland Palatinate to authorize the change, claiming that they and their daughter had suffered in their daily lives because of their last name.The regional administrative court in Koblenz did not provide the couple’s surname in line with German privacy rules.The court said Tuesday that judges dismissed the Germany-born couple’s request on the grounds that the reasons they gave for the change were insufficient.“The fact that a family name is of foreign origin or doesn’t sound German is in itself generally not an important reason for a name change,” the court said in a statement. It said the negative treatment the couple claimed to have experienced since the start of Russia’s...

Family: Chinese journalist faces espionage charges

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:41 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — A veteran Chinese journalist who worked at a ruling Communist Party-affiliated newspaper and was a Harvard University fellow faces espionage charges after being detained while meeting with a Japanese diplomat in a restaurant, his family said Monday.Dong Yuyu, deputy head of the editorial department at Guangming Daily, regularly met with foreign journalists and diplomats to help understand global trends. But Chinese authorities regarded his contacts with foreign diplomats as evidence of spying, according to a family statement. Dong is the latest in a series of liberal Chinese voices to be accused by the government of being linked to what it terms foreign interference.As a non-Communist Party member, he was one of the most pro-reform voices at Guangming Daily and wrote articles in favor of an independent legal system, his family said. He was awarded a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University in 2006-07 and became a visiting fellow at Keio University in Japan in 2010. Fou...

Italy’s Meloni calls for unity on Liberation Day anniversary

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:41 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday called for unity among political forces in celebrating the anniversary of the liberation from the Nazis and their Fascist allies on April 25, 1945. Meloni, whose hard-right Brother of Italy party traces its roots to the wreckage of Italian fascism at the end of World War Two, firmly rejected accusations of fascism nostalgia within the party.In an open letter to Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera, Meloni wrote she hoped that the celebrations could be an occasion of “renewed national concord,” strengthening Italy’s role in the world as “essential stronghold of democracy.”Allies and aides of the 46-year-old premier have been accused in several occasions of downplaying atrocities carried out by the Nazis and Fascists, or distorting historical facts concerning the partisan movement that fought to liberate the country.Six months after she took office, Meloni’s presence at the official remembrance event at Rome’s Altar of the Fatherla...

Man wanted for death threats, assault after woman attacked in Leaside

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:41 GMT

Toronto police have named a suspect after a woman was assaulted in Leaside last week.Officers were called to the area of Eglinton Avenue West and Laird Drive around 8:30 p.m. Thursday.Police allege a man approached a woman near a parked vehicle and assaulted her. The suspect fled the area before officers arrived.The suspect has been identified as 24-year-old Samuel Wincenty of no fixed address. He is described as five-feet-nine inches tall and 160 lbs.Wincenty is wanted on a number of charges including threatening death, three counts of assault, and theft.

As epic snow melts, a California community braces for floods

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:41 GMT

Ron Caetano is packed and ready to go. His family photos and valuables are in the trailer and he’s put food in carry totes. He moved the rabbits and chickens and their automatic feeders to higher ground.He and his family and dogs could get out in less than an hour, they figure, should more heavy rain or hot weather melt so much mountain snow that gushing water overwhelms the rivers and channel that surround their tight-knit, rural Central California community and give it its name, the Island District.“The water is coming this way,” said Caetano, who started a Facebook group to help organize his neighbors. “I am preparing for the worst and praying for the best and that’s all we can do.”After more than a dozen atmospheric rivers dumped record rain and epic snowfall on California, a reservoir that typically stores water upstream is expected to receive three times its capacity. Caetano and his neighbors in the tree-lined Island District, home to a school, pistachio orchards and horse ra...

Why is Biden announcing 2024 bid now, and what will change?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has formally announced he’s seeking reelection. But he’s also still the president, with roughly 20 months left in his term regardless of whether he wins a second one on Election Day 2024. With Tuesday’s campaign video release, Biden is following through on months of saying he intended to seek reelection. Top Democrats have remained solidly unified behind the president, despite his low approval ratings and many Americans saying they’d rather not see the 80-year-old Biden try for four more years in the White House. But all that has meant Biden faced relatively little pressure to make his 2024 bid official. Here’s a look at why he announced now and how things will, and won’t, change for him going forward:___WHY NOW? A formal reelection announcement means the president is now allowed to raise money directly for his campaign. It’s a change from his speeches at donor events benefiting the Democratic National C...

Millennial Money: How card perks can help pregnant travelers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:41 GMT

I was 10-weeks pregnant and craving pizza while on vacation in Germany. We picked a well-reviewed restaurant, only to be told that no tables would be available that night. My husband, who meant well, suggested we try our luck at a different restaurant a few doors down. But it didn’t serve pizza, and for me at that moment, nothing but pizza would do.So, naturally, I burst into tears.Thankfully, we swiftly found another option and my highly specific food craving was satisfied. But traveling while pregnant is tricky, assuming it’s safe for you to do so (always talk to your doctor or midwife first). Not only might you be dealing with nausea, fatigue, food cravings you may not be able to accommodate in other countries, and other maladies, but also some travel activities can be unsafe during pregnancy.I traveled a few times while pregnant, both for work and leisure, leaning on a few helpful credit card perks to make the experience as comfortable as possible. Your card’s benefits could smo...

Suspicious object halts trains in Japanese city hosting G-7

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:54:41 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A suspicious object found Tuesday in a paper bag inside a commercial building connected to the Hiroshima train station temporarily suspended the high-speed train service and prompted an evacuation of customers and employees, as the Japanese city steps up security ahead of the Group of Seven summit next month.Hiroshima police said its special unit removed the object from the restroom of the building about four hours after it was first spotted, and continued analyzing the content and investigate whether there was any criminal intent involved. The police dispatched a team of explosives handlers and an anti-terrorism unit after temporarily evacuating all customers and employees and closing down the Ekie commercial building that was crowded with people having lunch and shopping. West Japan Railway Co. suspended the Shinkansen service for about two hours.Police officials said there is a possibility of overreaction to something that may turn out to be harmless. Officials have ...