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Maryland plans to spend $1.2 billion on stadium improvements for the Orioles and Ravens. How much money is that really?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:13:48 GMT

There is a small group of predominantly Black neighborhoods in East Baltimore where the homicide rate has plunged, vacant homes have been renovated, property values are rising and new residents have arrived without displacing existing ones.The coalition of religious leaders overseeing those improvements — a nonprofit called BUILD — wants to take its model to neighborhoods across Baltimore and tackle the city’s crisis of empty lots and vacant homes. But many people have balked at the plan’s estimated price tag: $2.5 billion in government bonds.It’s a big number, acknowledged the Rev. George Hopkins, BUILD’s co-chair, but he wishes people could see the same value in Baltimore’s neighborhoods that they see in the stadiums where the Ravens and Orioles play.Those stadiums are slated to receive $1.2 billion of public money — $600 million each — in the coming years. To Hopkins and other Baltimore advocates, it’s proof that politic...

Orioles minor league report: From Samuel Basallo to Jackson Holliday, a look at the biggest risers — and fallers — on the farm

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:13:48 GMT

Samuel Basallo’s promotion is just further proof of his standout 2023 campaign.At 18 years old, the catcher began his first year of full-season ball with Low-A Delmarva. He’s ending it in Double-A.Basallo, now 19, hasn’t just zoomed up the Orioles’ prospect rankings, but he’s been one of the biggest risers in the sport. He began the season ranked by Baseball America as Baltimore’s 15th-best prospect, nowhere near the publication’s top 100. He leapfrogged up to No. 4 on the Orioles’ list and No. 44 in the top 100 thanks to his impressive production.Basallo, the best player the Orioles have signed internationally under general manager Mike Elias’ regime, posted solid numbers in Low-A (.887 OPS) but then broke out with High-A Aberdeen over the summer, slashing .333/.444/.688 — good for a 1.131 OPS — in 27 games. In his 110 contests between the two levels, he totaled 25 doubles, 20 home runs, 84 RBIs, 12 stolen bases and ...

Patriots-Eagles film review: How Mac Jones and Bill O’Brien are already problem-solving

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:13:48 GMT

All told, the Patriots’ season opener came as close to a draw as a 5-point game can.Offensively, the Patriots were a smidge more explosive and a touch more efficient than the Eagles. Their defense created one fewer turnover, but allowed three fewer trips into the red zone. The Pats’ special teams won the field position battle, through Eagles kicker Jake Elliott (4-for-4 on field goals) proved to be far and away the best player on the field in that phase.Ultimately, the difference between the Pats and the reigning NFC champions was not the gulf in roster talent many expected. It was that the Patriots committed the only cardinal sign of the game: Mac Jones’ pick-six.That interception yielded an early two-score lead for Philadelphia, which cashed in an Ezekiel Elliott fumble on the Pats’ next snap to jump ahead 16-0. At the Patriots’ invitation and welcome, the Eagles set the terms of engagement Sunday through an early lead that forced Jones and his rookie...

Libyan city buries 700 people killed in devastating floods as 10,000 are reported missing

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:13:48 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Libya’s eastern city of Derna has buried 700 people killed in devastating flooding and 10,000 were reported missing as rescuer teams struggled to retrieve many more bodies from the horrific deluge, officials said Tuesday. Mediterranean storm Daniel on Sunday night caused havoc and flash flooding in many towns in eastern Libya but the worst destruction was in Derna, where heavy rainfall and floods broke dams and washed away entire neighborhoods, authorities said.“The situation is catastrophic,” said Othman Abduljaleel, the health minister in Libya’s eastern government. “The bodies are still lying on the ground in many parts (of the city). Hospitals are filled with bodies. And there are areas we have yet to reach.”Authorities estimated earlier that as many as 2,000 people may have perished in Derna alone. The Ambulance and Emergency Authority, which coordinates search and rescue efforts, said about 2,300 people died in Derna but did not clarify what that figur...

Heavy rain brings flash flooding in parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:13:48 GMT

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — Heavy rainfall has flooded parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with one city declaring a state of emergency as water poured into homes, created sinkholes and stranded drivers.Mayor Dean Mazzarella in Leominster, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Boston, urged people not to venture outside as roads flooded Monday night, but some residents were evacuated as water came into their basements. All schools were closed Tuesday and two shelters were set up.“Everything’s just one big lake,” Mazzarella said in a recording posted online Monday night. “Find a high spot somewhere. Find a high spot and stay there until this is over.” There were no immediate reports of injuries.Early Tuesday, the city said people living in areas near a brook and the North Nashua River in Leominster should “immediately evacuate” as a precaution, “due to a potential issue at the Barrett Park Pond Dam.”Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said earlier that emergency boat ...

The Taliban have waged a systematic assault on freedom in Afghanistan, says UN human rights chief

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:13:48 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban have waged a systematic assault on the freedom of Afghanistan’s people, including women and girls experiencing “immeasurably cruel” oppression, the U.N.’s human rights chief said Tuesday.United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said that human rights are in a state of collapse in Afghanistan more than two years after the Taliban returned to power and stripped back institutional protections at all levels. He urged U.N. member states to help fill the void. “The shocking level of oppression of Afghan women and girls is immeasurably cruel,” Turk said during a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. “Afghanistan has set a devastating precedent as the only country in the world where women and girls are denied access to secondary and higher education.”The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, as U.S and NATO forces withdrew from the country after more than two decades of war. They initially prom...

Fans cheer German basketball team’s return home after winning World Cup title

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:13:48 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Fans cheered Germany’s basketball team on its return home Tuesday after winning the World Cup for the first time.The team, led by tournament MVP Dennis Schröder of the Toronto Raptors, went direct from a long-haul flight from the Philippines to an event Tuesday morning at a sponsor’s headquarters in Frankfurt. A group of fans, including many children, and German politicians gathered to greet the champions.“I hope that we can get a lot of children and older people, move them to play basketball,” Schröder told the crowd as “We Are The Champions” played.In a country where soccer is the most popular sport, Germany’s World Cup campaign initially attracted little attention until the 113-111 upset win over the United States in the semifinals on Thursday.That unexpected victory brought momentum at home ahead of beating Serbia 83-77 in the final on Sunday. Even then, though, the team’s historic success had to compete for attention with the fi...

Farm laborers to receive greater protections under Biden administration proposal

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:13:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Immigrant farm workers would receive a raft of new protections under a Biden administration proposal to be announced Tuesday, which would boost safety requirements on farms and raise transparency around how such workers are brought to the U.S., to combat human trafficking. The proposal would reform the H-2A visa program, under which hundreds of thousands of immigrants, mostly from Mexico, take on seasonal jobs in the U.S. agriculture industry. The number of people admitted under the program has soared in recent years, as rapid hiring after the pandemic and a low unemployment rate has left many farmers scrambling for workers. Last year, about 370,000 people were admitted with H-2A visas, double the number in 2016 and five times as many as in 2005, Labor Department officials said. Yet as the popularity of the program has grown, so have concerns about abuses. Reports of overcrowded farm vehicles and fatalities have increased as the numbers have risen, senior departmen...

Google has new ad tracking settings: How to alter yours

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:13:48 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — If you use Google Chrome, you may have received a new pop-up in recent weeks, warning you about its new “enhanced ad privacy.” However, without a little effort on your end, your data isn’t exactly getting any privacy protection. It's part of Google's parting ways with online cookies, instead assigning certain topics to users based on their Chrome activity that can then be used to provide personalized ads. Some of the information can also be shared with sites so they can show you personalized ads and track the performance of their own ads.“We’re launching new privacy features that give you more choice over the ads you see,” the notification that some users are receiving reads. It then goes on to explain how Google Chrome tracks your interests “based on your recent browsing history.” Sites can later “ask for this information” in order to offer you personalized ads.  Google makes it easier to remove personal info Like other Chrome privacy settings we’ve seen bef...

Hurricane Lee whips up waves along northern Caribbean as it churns through open waters

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:13:48 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (WFLA) — Hurricane Lee whipped up waves of more than 15 feet on Monday as the Category 3 storm cranked through open waters just north of the Caribbean region.The storm is not expected to make landfall this week, although forecasters said residents of New England and nearby areas should keep a close eye on Lee, which was predicted to slowly turn northward later in the coming days. Hurricane Margot forms in Atlantic The storm was located about 575 miles south of Bermuda, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 mphand was moving northwest at 7 mph.The center said Lee is likely to pass just west of Bermuda late Thursday and Friday and be located offshore of the mid-Atlantic states and New England by the end of the week.(NOAA)“Although Lee is expected to weaken later in the week, it is expected to significantly increase in size and hazards will extend well away from the storm center,” the agency said.Bermuda could experien...