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Column: Can the Chicago Cubs awaken from a bad dream — or is this the new normal?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:00 GMT

The mystery ailment to Seiya Suzuki remained a secret Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, though the Chicago Cubs right fielder was back in the starting lineup for the rain-delayed 11-3 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates.“My body feels really good,” Suzuki said through an interpreter. “These past couple days I’ve just been dreaming. … I’ve been having those dreams of getting bullied. But I feel like I’m back.”That also sounded like a perfect explanation for what has been ailing the Cubs, who returned from a 4-6 West Coast trip nine games under .500 after starting the season 12-7.Maybe it all has been just a bad dream, and the Cubs suddenly will wake up against the division-leading Pirates, whom they play five times in their next eight games in home-and-away series.The Cubs have been pushed around since their hot start, posting a .362 winning percentage (17-30) and threatening to fall into sellers at the trade deadline for the third straight se...

Column: Chicago Bears need the Justin Fields fireworks shows to continue. But as a runner, the QB needs to be more selective.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:00 GMT

On his way to a record-breaking 2022 season, one in which he rushed for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns while creating a YouTube amusement park, Justin Fields made it perfectly clear. Those rushing exploits were fun and all. But his elevator to stardom as an NFL quarterback must be powered by his growth as a passer.Sure, Fields acknowledged a slight bit of disappointment in finishing 63 yards shy of Lamar Jackson’s single-season rushing record for a quarterback. “Of course,” he said the day after the Bears’ last-place season ended. “But that’s a rushing record. And I’m a quarterback. That would’ve been cool to have. But I’m not really into records like that. If there was one record I’d like to break, it’d be a passing record.“We’ll see if we can get that done in the near future.”Fields will get no arguments from his coaches, who day by day, practice by practice, meeting by meeting continue pushing h...

Despite serious legal threat, Trump turns day in court into a campaign event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s four years in the White House, even on some of the most consequential days of his presidency, were punctuated by the spectacle and attempts at showmanship he cultivated from years as a tabloid fixture and reality star.The former president’s history-making appearance Tuesday as a criminal defendant in a Florida federal court was no different.The former commander in chief, accused of being careless with some of the country’s most sensitive secrets and obstructing authorities as they tried to recover critical documents, pleaded not guilty to 37 charges. But he treated the day like a campaign event, even as he faces serious threats to his political ambitions and his freedom.Takeaways from Trump’s day in federal court:ALWAYS CAMPAIGNINGDespite the seriousness of the charges, Trump, ever the showman, sought to maximize any political benefits from the day. The Republican had encouraged supporters to show up at the federal courthouse — and hundreds did — while...

New I-5 carpool lanes to cut North County commute in half: Caltrans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Commute times are about to decrease by half for some motorists who travel on Interstate 5, according to Caltrans and the San Diego Association of Governments.Four additional miles of carpool lanes will open Wednesday in North County on the I-5 south going from Oceanside to Carlsbad. San Diego City Council votes to approve homeless encampment ban This is part of a nearly $900 million project that will add up to 13 miles of carpool lanes. According to Caltrans, drivers who use the fast lanes, or high-occupancy vehicles (HOV), will save at least 50 percent of commute time during peak travel hours.Caltrans says this milestone completes the Build North Coast Corridor (NCC) program, which transportation officials described as on "one of the largest infrastructure improvement projects in the San Diego region." Motorists traveling in North County will now have expanded access to carpool lanes in each direction from State Route (SR) 78 in Oceanside to Palomar Airport Road in C...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts ahead of Fed decision

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting in early trading on Wall Street as investors wait to hear what the Federal Reserve’s latest decision will be on interest rates. The S&P 500 was little changed early Wednesday after riding a winning streak to its best level since April 2022. The Dow fell 137 points, or 0.4% and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%. Markets were mostly quiet, with the main event coming later in the afternoon when the Fed will announce its latest move on interest rates. The Fed has jacked up rates to their highest levels since 2007 in hopes of getting inflation under control.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street futures are mixed Wednesday ahead of an interest rate policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve and new inflation data.Futures for the Dow fell about 0.1% before the bell and the S&P 500 ticked up 0.2%.A cooler reading on U.S. inflation on Tuesday buoyed hopes the Federal Reserve will announce that it is skipping ...

The Federal Reserve will likely leave interest rates alone for the first time in 15 months

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve, having raised interest rates at the fastest pace in four decades, is poised Wednesday to leave rates alone for the first time in 15 months to allow time to gauge the impact of its aggressive drive to tame inflation.Yet top Fed officials have made clear that any such pause may be brief — more of a “skip” — with another rate hike likely as soon as their next meeting in late July.Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other top policymakers have also indicated that they want to assess how much a pullback in bank lending might be weakening the economy. Banks have been slowing their lending — and demand for loans has fallen — as interest rates have risen.Some analysts have expressed concern that the collapse of three large banks last spring could cause nervous lenders to sharply tighten their loan qualifications and worsen the drop in lending. Economists at Goldman Sachs have estimated, though, that such damage will be modest. For the Fed, “skipping” a rate hi...

Volkswagen deal to cost the federal government more than previously announced: PBO

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:00 GMT

OTTAWA — The parliamentary budget officer says Canada’s exclusive contract with German auto giant Volkswagen to build an electric vehicle battery plant in southwestern Ontario will cost the federal government up to $16.3 billion over the next ten years. That figure is higher than what the federal government said the deal would cost taxpayers, which included a $700-million upfront capital investment and up to $13.2 billion in production tax credits.The analysis by the PBO looks at the fiscal and economic costs and benefits of the deal in the construction phase of the facility only.The PBO estimate includes the $700-million contribution for the construction of the plant and $12.8 billion in production support, but also estimates Ottawa will have to make additional tax adjustments that total $2.8 billion to match the benefits offered by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.The analysis also estimates that the deal would create a peak of 3,100 jobs at the start of 2026, but that figur...

Quebec judge rejects request from Muslim group to suspend ban on school prayer rooms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:00 GMT

MONTREAL — A Quebec Superior Court judge has denied a request to suspend the province’s ban on prayer room spaces in public schools.The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the National Council of Canadian Muslims have argued that the ban was causing irreparable harm to Muslim students.Justice Lukasz Granosik disagreed, ruling today that the groups did not prove that there was an urgent need to stay the province’s decree while their case is heard on its merits.Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville in April barred public schools from making space available to students for prayer, citing the province’s policy on institutional secularism.Drainville had said that students would still be allowed to pray discreetly and silently.But the groups argued that Muslim prayers require physical action and that students had been threatened with disciplinary measures for attempting to pray on school property.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, ...

13-year-old arrested in Bosnia for allegedly shooting, wounding teacher

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:00 GMT

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A 13-year-old boy was arrested in Bosnia Wednesday after allegedly shooting and wounding a teacher inside an elementary school building, police and local officials said.The teacher, a 38-year-old man who also served as the assistant headmaster in Lukavac Elementary School in the northeastern town, sustained serious wounds and was undergoing surgery, police said in a statement. The assailant was detained after the shooting in which no students were injured, the statement added.Police released no information about the shooter’s motive, but local officials confirmed the boy was expelled from the school earlier this year for unruly behavior. A local politician in Lukavac, Dino Osmanovic, claimed the boy had previously threatened to take revenge for the disciplinary action. Osmanovic said he notified the police of the danger in late May, but was told they had taken “necessary measures, that everything was under control and that they cannot share ...

Turkey’s Erdogan says his economic views are same but will accept minister’s policies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:00 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in comments published Wednesday he remains firm on his unconventional approach to Turkey’s economy, but suggested his recently appointed finance minister will have leeway to move away from policies many have blamed for a worsening cost-of-living crisis.Erdogan, who was reelected last month, reappointed Mehmet Simsek, an internationally respected banker, to the post of treasury and finance minister in a sign of a pivot from his unusual economic policies. He also appointed Hafize Gaye Erkan, a former U.S.-based bank executive, to head the central bank. She became Turkey’s first woman central bank governor.But lingering uncertainty over Erdogan’s economic direction — coupled with an apparent move to loosen government controls of foreign currency exchanges — led Turkey’s currency to plunge to record lows against the U.S. dollar last week.Speaking to reporters on his return from a trip to Azerbaijan on Tuesday, Erdogan said ...