Braves host the Rockies, aim to continue home win streak

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:17 GMT

Braves host the Rockies, aim to continue home win streak Colorado Rockies (29-44, fifth in the NL West) vs. Atlanta Braves (45-26, first in the NL East)Atlanta; Sunday, 1:35 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Rockies: Chase Anderson (0-0, 2.72 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 25 strikeouts); Braves: Charlie Morton (5-6, 3.60 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 85 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Braves -317, Rockies +253; over/under is 9 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves will try to keep their three-game home win streak alive when they take on the Colorado Rockies.Atlanta has a 45-26 record overall and a 23-15 record at home. The Braves have the highest team on-base percentage in the NL at .336.Colorado is 29-44 overall and 13-25 on the road. The Rockies have the eighth-ranked team batting average in the NL at .254.Sunday’s game is the fourth time these teams meet this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Olson leads Atlanta with 20 home runs while slugging .494. Ronald Acuna Jr. is 12-for-40 with three home runs and 12 RBI over the past 10 games.Elias Diaz has a .295 bat...

Reportan al menos 11 muertos tras paso de “ciclón extratropical” en el sur de Brasil

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:17 GMT

Reportan al menos 11 muertos tras paso de “ciclón extratropical” en el sur de Brasil (CNN) — Un “ciclón extratropical” azotó el estado de Río Grande Do Sul, en Brasil, dejando al menos 11 muertos y 2.330 personas sin hogar, según las autoridades locales.Al menos 20 personas siguen desaparecidas, 18 de ellas en Caraá y dos en Três Forquilhas.En su viaje a las regiones más afectadas, las autoridades gubernamentales han reforzado el papel de la estructura de socorro del estado y han hecho un llamado a “la solidaridad de la población”. El gobernador de Río Grande Do Sul, Eduardo Leite, dijo que el Cuerpo Militar de Bomberos realizó cerca de 2.400 rescates en los últimos dos días, aunque las operaciones siguen en marcha.“Nuestra prioridad en este momento es encontrar a los desaparecidos y salvar a las personas que aún puedan estar varadas por las inundaciones”, escribió Leite en un comunicado. “Tenemos a todos nuestros equipos sobre el terreno, y la Secretaría de Logística y Transportes ya está analizando los puentes y carr...

‘Frustrated’ EU countries resolve renewables feud with concession for France

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:17 GMT

‘Frustrated’ EU countries resolve renewables feud with concession for France EU ambassadors on Friday agreed to new rules boosting green energy, overcoming a French-led deadlock by offering Paris a concession on hydrogen and nuclear energy.For weeks, talks on the Renewable Energy Directive (REDIII) stalled as a French-led coalition sought carve-outs in the text including a greater role for atomic energy — much to the irritation of nuclear-skeptic countries including Luxembourg, Austria and Germany.REDIII, one of the last outstanding files in the Commission’s mammoth Fit for 55 climate package, aims to bring the share of renewables in the bloc’s overall energy mix to 42.5 percent by 2030.The agreement was based on a proposal by the Swedish Council presidency that added an amendment to the legal text that “acknowledged” the difficulties in asking hard-to-abate ammonia facilities to stop using fossil hydrogen. The add-on is accompanied by a Commission declaration, seen by POLITICO, where the EU executive said it would “on a case by...

The Orioles’ James McCann has a ‘new perspective on life’ since becoming a father of twins born in NICU

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:17 GMT

The Orioles’ James McCann has a ‘new perspective on life’ since becoming a father of twins born in NICU Christian McCann has discovered, in his mind, a grave injustice.Earlier this month, the 5-year-old son of James and Jessica McCann broached the subject with his father.“Daddy, it’s not fair,” Christian exclaimed. “You play more games than we do.”Christian and his twin brother, Kane, are now playing coach pitch baseball, and they can’t get enough. James, a 10-year major league veteran now with the Orioles, chuckled, as parents with curious children often do.“I don’t think you want to play 162 games yet,” James replied. “But maybe one day.”However, his boys’ love of baseball might not have been possible, the McCanns say, without the neonatal intensive care unit where Christian and Kane spent the first seven weeks of their lives.“If it weren’t for the people at the hospital that took care of us, we may not have two healthy boys right now,” Jessica said. “We owe so much thanks to those people...

Both sides suffer heavy casualties as Ukraine strikes back against Russia, UK assessment says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:17 GMT

Both sides suffer heavy casualties as Ukraine strikes back against Russia, UK assessment says KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine are suffering high numbers of military casualties as Ukraine fights to dislodge the Kremlin’s forces from occupied areas in the early stages of its counteroffensive, British officials said Sunday.Russian losses are probably at their highest level since the peak of the battle for Bakhmut in March, U.K. military officials said in their regular assessment. According to British intelligence, the most intense fighting has centered on the southeastern Zaporizhzhia province, around Bakhmut and further west in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province. While the update reported that Ukraine was on the offensive in these areas and had “made small advances,” it said that Russian forces were conducting “relatively effective defensive operations” in Ukraine’s south.The Ukrainian military said in a regular update Sunday morning that over the previous 24 hours Russia had carried out 43 airstrikes, four missile strikes and 51 attacks from multiple rocket launchers....

Letters: 2 major mistakes lead to a revised opinion of Gov. Walz

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:17 GMT

Letters: 2 major mistakes lead to a revised opinion of Gov. Walz Revising his opinion of the governorI used to like Gov. Walz but in light of two major mistakes he made in the recent past, I have revised my opinion of him.Mistake #1 was his hiding from responsibility for his administration’s supervision of the massive $250 million fraud using federal money to feed non-existent children. There must have been a number of people asleep at the wheel for this to have happened. But, he was the number one sleeper.Mistake #2 just occurred with the removal of $350,000 from his budget for the Positive Alternatives Grant. This money supported entities involved in helping hopeless pregnant women carry their babies to term. This support involved counseling, training, finances and new equipment for launching a new life. I cannot imagine what went through Walz’s head except for the militant voices of the pro-abortion crowd dominating Minnesota state government.I am reminded of the Bible verse in Matthew. “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do un...

Ask Amy: Did my neighbor have to make me seem like a jerk on Facebook?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:17 GMT

Ask Amy: Did my neighbor have to make me seem like a jerk on Facebook? Dear Amy: Until recently, my neighbor “Ron” and I always got along very well.Ron works from home, and I am retired.I enjoy working in my garage, house or yard during the day, usually between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. While working in the garage, I will listen to music, and sometimes it can be a little loud because of the tools I am using.Recently Ron posted on Facebook a profanity-laced post about my loud music, saying that it interferes with his job.Basically, he made me out to be an inconsiderate jerk, which is the farthest thing from the truth. All he or his wife had to do was to let me know it was an issue, and I would have turned it down, no problem.When my wife talked to them about the situation, first they denied that they were referring to me, blaming it on the neighbors across the street. (Not true.)Then they tried to turn it around, blaming my wife for telling me about the FB post.My wife eventually got a half-hearted apology, which she said should be directed toward me.They said...

How Exxon Captured a Country Without Firing a Shot

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:17 GMT

How Exxon Captured a Country Without Firing a Shot Guyana’s high court handed down a historic ruling in May against both the country’s Environmental Protection Agency and Exxon Mobil’s subsidiary in the region. If it sounds strange that the EPA and Exxon were co-defendants in a case, yes, that’s precisely the point.The case was brought on behalf of two Guyanese citizens, Frederick Collins and Godfrey Whyte. They accused the EPA of failing to enforce the requirements of its own permits by never securing a guarantee from Exxon or its subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, that the company would cover all costs related to a possible oil spill.“Guyana taxpayers are currently exposed,” Tom Sanzillo, director of financial analysis for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said. “The potential consequences for Guyana are catastrophic.”That’s because Exxon’s drilling project in Guyana is the riskiest kind: deep-water offshore drilling, which involves intense pressure bearing down on complex equipmen...

Putin advierte a la OTAN de que se verá arrastrada a la guerra de Ucrania y dice que Rusia tiene más armas nucleares

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:17 GMT

Putin advierte a la OTAN de que se verá arrastrada a la guerra de Ucrania y dice que Rusia tiene más armas nucleares (CNN) — El presidente de Rusia, Vladimir Putin, advirtió que existe un “grave peligro” de que la OTAN se vea arrastrada aún más a la guerra de Ucrania si los miembros de la alianza siguen suministrando armamento militar a Kyiv.“La OTAN, por supuesto, está siendo arrastrada a la guerra en Ucrania, ¿de qué estamos hablando aquí?”, dijo Putin en el Foro Económico Internacional de San Petersburgo este viernes.“Los suministros de armamento militar pesado a Ucrania están en curso, ahora están estudiando la posibilidad de dar a Ucrania los jets”.El comentario parecía ser una referencia a los aviones de combate F-16 que algunos miembros de la alianza de la OTAN están planeando suministrar a Ucrania.La OTAN, u Organización del Tratado del Atlántico Norte, se formó tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial para defender a las naciones occidentales de la Unión Soviética, y la alianza contiene una cláusula de defensa mutua por la que un ataque a uno de sus miembro...

UEFA president Čeferin dismisses idea of threat to European soccer from big-spending Saudis

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:17 GMT

UEFA president Čeferin dismisses idea of threat to European soccer from big-spending Saudis GENEVA (AP) — European soccer should not be afraid of a player exodus to Saudi Arabian clubs, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said Sunday, suggesting the country was making a mistake investing in stars at the end of their careers.Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have taken hundreds of millions of dollars to join Saudi Arabian clubs this year and similar offers were made to Lionel Messi and Luka Modrić. They have combined to win every Ballon d’Or awarded since 2008 and all are aged at least 35.More players are expected to follow after four top Saudi Arabian clubs were effectively nationalized this month when taken into majority ownership by the Public Investment Fund sovereign wealth operation chaired by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.Čeferin was asked by Netherlands broadcaster NOS if he was scared of a player exodus, and answered emphatically: “No, no, no.”“I think that it’s mainly a mistake for Saudi Arabian football,” the UEFA president said in an interview bro...