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Former Padres catcher Austin Nola agrees to minor league deal with Brewers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former San Diego Padres catcher Austin Nola has agreed to a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers that includes an invitation to major league spring training.Nola, 34, batted .146 with a .260 on-base percentage, one homer and eight RBIs in 52 games with the Padres last season. He has a career batting average of .249 with a .326 on-base percentage, 24 homers and 136 RBIs in 345 games with the Seattle (2019-20) and the Padres (2020-23).Although he’s primarily a catcher, Nola also has made appearances at first base, second base, third base and in the outfield.The Nola deal came two weeks after the Brewers signed catcher Eric Haase to a $1 million, one-year contract. Haase, 31, batted .201 with a .247 on-base percentage, four homers, 26 RBIs and four steals in 89 games with Detroit and Cleveland last season.Haase’s deal includes $250,000 in performance bonuses for games; $50,000 for 25 and each additional 25 through 125.Milwaukee needs to find a new backup ...

Vikings rule out RT O’Neill and CBs Murphy and Blackmon for finale vs. Lions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have ruled out right tackle Brian O’Neill and cornerbacks Mekhi Blackmon and Byron Murphy because of injuries for their final regular-season game at Detroit.O’Neill missed two games with a sprained ankle and returned last week against Green Bay, but he came out of that game with significant soreness and was unable to practice this week. Murphy (knee) and Blackmon (shoulder) are two of the team’s top three cornerbacks. Andrew Booth will join Akayleb Evans in the starting lineup against the NFC North champion Lions. Murphy will miss his third straight game.The Vikings need to win Sunday and have three other games go their way — losses by Green Bay, Seattle and either New Orleans or Tampa Bay — in order to make the playoffs.Nick Mullens will start at quarterback and Joshua Dobbs will serve as the backup against the Lions, who have secured at least the No. 3 seed in the NFC. They’d get the No. 2 seed with a win and losses...

President Joe Biden lambastes Trump for Jan. 6 Capitol riot, a day ‘we nearly lost America’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

FILE - President Joe Biden responds to a question as he walks back to the White House in Washington, Jan. 2, 2024, after returning from a vacation with his family in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Biden is holding his first political event of 2024 near Valley Forge, Pa., on Friday, marking the third anniversary of the Capitol attack.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)(AP/Susan Walsh) FILE - President Joe Biden responds to a question as he walks back to the White House in Washington, Jan. 2, 2024, after returning from a vacation with his family in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Biden is holding his first political event of 2024 near Valley Forge, Pa., on Friday, marking the third anniversary of the Capitol attack.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)(AP/Susan Walsh) ...

Stock market today: Wall Street shaves off some losses to close its worst week in the last 10

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed its worst week since Halloween with a listless Friday after reports showed workers are getting bigger raises, but key parts of the economy still don’t look like they’re overheating. The S&P 500 rose 8.56 points, or 0.2%, to 4,697.24 after drifting between small gains and losses through the day. It capped the first down week for the index in the last 10, after it roared into 2024 on hopes that inflation and the overall economy are cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates sharply through the year.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 25.77, or 0.1%, to 37.466.11 and inched closer to its record set earlier in the week. The Nasdaq composite added 13.77, or 0.1%, to 14,524.07.Treasury yields swung sharply in the bond market following the economic reports. They initially climbed after the latest monthly jobs report showed U.S. employers unexpectedly accelerated their hiring last month. Average hourly pay for workers also rose, whe...

Hope abounds for the NFL’s final four as Browns, Lions, Texans and Jaguars eye elusive Super Bowl

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — They are bonded by football futility for now, but surely not forever. Right?Cleveland, Detroit, Houston and Jacksonville — the NFL’s final four, if you will — are the last remaining teams to never make a Super Bowl. They’re far from favorites yet still in contention to end their droughts as the playoffs near.The Browns (11-5) and Lions (11-5) have clinched postseason berths. The Texans (9-7) and Jaguars (9-7) can join them with victories this weekend.“It’s great for all four of those franchises,” said retired NFL cornerback Johnathan Joseph, who spent nine of his 15 professional seasons with Houston. “They’re on the verge and they’re not going away. They’re all young teams with young talent. It’s only a matter of time.”The Browns, Lions and Jaguars have been close before, all of them reaching conference championship games in different decades and losing in stomach-churning fashion.Here’s a look at a few defining failures for the NFL’s final four:CLEVELAND B...

Pirates left-hander and former Rays right-hander suspended under minor league drug program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Hader Blanco and free-agent right-hander Ismael Laureano were suspended for 56 games each Friday following positive tests under baseball’s minor league drug program.Both tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Stanozolol, the commissioner’s office said.Blanco, 18, was on the roster of the Dominican Summer League Pirates after going 3-0 with a 4.86 ERA in 17 relief appearances in the DSL last year.Laureano, also 18, was released by Tampa Bay on Nov. 6. He was 1-0 with a 10.38 ERA in 14 appearances last year with the DSL Rays.They were the first players disciplined this year under the minor league program.Fifteen players were disciplined last year under the minor league program and Milwaukee Brewers right-hander J.C. Mejía was suspended 162 games under the major league program.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlbSource

Dominican judge orders conditional release of Rays shortstop Wander Franco while probe continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — A Dominican judge on Friday ordered the conditional release of Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco while he is investigated for allegations he had a brief relationship with a 14-year-old girl and gave her mother a small car and thousands of dollars in exchange for her consent, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press.The judge said Wander is allowed to leave the Dominican Republic but must return once a month to meet with authorities.Wander, who was expected to be released early Saturday, did not speak to reporters after the hearing ended.The 22-year-old All-Star is accused of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering. A judge who is scheduled to issue a ruling in the case on Friday has several options: release Franco on bond, temporarily arrest him, prevent him from leaving the Dominican Republic or demand that he make occasional appearances until the investigation or a trial has ended.The girl’s 35-year-old ...

Dominican judge orders Rays shortstop Wander Franco released conditionally as probe continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — Dominican judge orders Rays shortstop Wander Franco released conditionally as probe continues.Source

The Supreme Court will decide if Donald Trump can be kept off 2024 presidential ballots

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Friday it will decide whether former President Donald Trump can be kept off the ballot because of his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, inserting the court squarely in the 2024 presidential campaign. The justices acknowledged the need to reach a decision quickly, as voters will soon begin casting presidential primary ballots across the country. The court agreed to take up Trump's appeal of a case from Colorado stemming from his role in the events that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Arguments will be held in early February. The court will be considering for the first time the meaning and reach of a provision of the 14th Amendment barring some people who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office. The amendment was adopted in 1868, following the Civil War. It has been so rarely used that the nation's highest court had no previous occasion to interpret it.Colorado's Supreme Court, by a 4-3 vote, r...

Randy Roedema sentenced to 14 months in jail for involvement in death of Elijah McClain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:34 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- On Friday, former Aurora officer Randy Roedema was sentenced to 4 years of probation, 90 days of jail and 200 hours of community service for criminally negligent homicide in the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died after a confrontation with Aurora Police in August of 2019. The judge also sentenced him to 14 months in jail with work release for his third-degree assault conviction. The sentences are to run concurrently.An attorney for Roedema said Friday in court during sentencing statements his client intends to file an appeal.Sheneen McClain, Elijah's mother, also spoke during the sentencing hearing."Randy Roedema stole my son's life away," Sheneen McClain said. What to know about Elijah McClain’s death and the criminal trial of 2 officers BackgroundOn the night of Aug. 24, 2019, Elijah McClain was walking home from a convenience store when Aurora Police confronted him after a 911 caller told police McClain looked "sketchy" because he was wea...