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Orioles hitters strategize use of limited pitch clock timeouts: ‘We just have to be smart’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:44:07 GMT

On opening day, Austin Hays achieved a major league first. He had the ability to dodge the distinction.After Orioles third baseman Ramón Urías was hit by a pitch in Baltimore’s March 30 season opener against the Boston Red Sox, Hays, due up next, gave his teammate time to collect himself. But those few extra seconds came back to bite the Orioles outfielder as he became the first hitter called for a pitch clock violation under Major League Baseball’s new timer system, beginning his at-bat with an 0-1 count.Hays, though, could have prevented that automatic strikeout. Once per plate appearance, hitters can call timeout, resetting the clock to avoid the penalty or simply to afford themselves time to think through what the opposing pitcher might do next.But Hays also didn’t want to use his timeout then and need it later.“I think every hitter is using their timeout every single at-bat. It at least seems like it,” Hays said. “A lot of guys make...

UN: India on track to become world’s most populous country

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:44:07 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India is on track to become the world’s most populous nation, surpassing China by 2.9 million people by mid-2023, according to data released by the United Nations on Wednesday.The South Asian country will have an estimated 1.4286 billion people against China’s 1.4257 billion by the middle of the year, according to U.N. projections. Demographers say that the limits of population data make it impossible to calculate an exact date.China has had the world’s largest population since at least 1950, the year United Nations population data began. Both China and India have more than 1.4 billion people, and combined they make up more than a third of the world’s 8 billion people.Not long ago, India wasn’t expected to become most populous until later this decade. But the timing has been sped up by a drop in China’s fertility rate, with families having fewer children.Today, China has an aging population with stagnant growth despite the government retreating fro...

Strong earthquake shakes Papua New Guinea

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:44:07 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A strong earthquake shook Papua New Guinea on Wednesday but no serious damage or casualties were expected, officials said.The magnitude 6.3 earthquake was centered in West New Britain province at a depth of 55.7 kilometers (35 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said.It said the quake caused strong shaking, but economic losses and casualties were expected to be small.Papua New Guinea is on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, to the east of Indonesia and north of Australia. It sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where much of the world’s earthquake and volcanic activity occurs.A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit a remote region of Papua New Guinea earlier this month, killing at least four people and destroying more than 300 homes.Last September, a magnitude 7.6 quake killed 21 people.The Associated Press

Credit Suisse faulted over probe of Nazi-linked accounts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:44:07 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — U.S. lawmakers have accused embattled Swiss bank Credit Suisse of limiting the scope of an internal investigation into Nazi clients and Nazi-linked accounts, including some that were open until just a few years ago. The Senate Budget Committee says an independent ombudsman initially brought in by the bank to oversee the probe was “inexplicably terminated” as he carried out his work, and it faulted “incomplete” reports that were hindered by restrictions. Credit Suisse said it was “fully cooperating” with the committee’s inquiry but rejected some claims from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights group, that brought to light in 2020 allegations of possible Nazi-linked accounts at Switzerland’s second-largest bank.Despite the hurdles, the reports from the ombudsman and forensic research team revealed at least 99 accounts for senior Nazi officials in Germany or members of a Nazi-affliliated groups in Argentina, most of which were n...

Edmunds: 2023 Honda Civic Type R vs. 2023 Volkswagen Golf R

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:44:07 GMT

If a traditional two-door sports car isn’t practical enough for you, consider one of these hot hatch options: the Volkswagen Golf R or the Honda Civic Type R. The Volkswagen Golf R’s excellent combination of fun driving dynamics, all-wheel-drive traction and generous cargo space has made it a long-running favorite for driving enthusiasts. Its 2022 redesign brought many upgrades, including more power. Even fresher is the redesigned 2023 Honda Civic Type R. Compared to the outgoing model, it boasts more restrained styling, greater performance and a modernized interior. Which four-door sport compact is the best? Edmunds’ experts compared them to find out.PERFORMANCE AND HANDLING Both hot hatches are powered by turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines that churn out impressive power. The front-wheel-drive Type R produces 315 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque. The all-wheel-drive Golf R also makes 315 horsepower but less torque, 280 lb-ft when equipped with the standard six-speed ma...

UK says Russian hackers aim to attack key infrastructure

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:44:07 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Russian hackers are seeking to “disrupt or destroy” Britain’s critical infrastructure and not enough is being done to stop them, U.K. government officials asserted Wednesday.Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre issued an official threat notice to operators of Britain’s electricity, water and other critical systems, telling them to boost their defenses.“I don’t think we are yet doing enough to protect our infrastructure from the cyber threats emerging from Russia-aligning groups,” the center’s chief, Lindy Cameron, said.Cabinet Minister Oliver Dowden said the threat comes from hackers sympathetic to Russia though not necessarily directed by the Russian state. He described them as the cyber equivalent of the Wagner Group, the private Russian company with mercenaries fighting in Ukraine. He said that while the alleged hackers currently lack the capacity to do widespread damage to U.K. systems, the threat is growing.“Disclosing this threat is not something we do lightl...

Woman, 65, killed in multi-vehicle Etobicoke crash involving alleged drunk driver

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:44:07 GMT

A woman is dead and another woman is facing impaired driving charges after a multi-vehicle crash in north Etobicoke.Police were called to the intersection of Finch Avenue and Albion Road just after 11 p.m. Tuesday for a collision involving four vehicles.Police tell Citynews all parties involved in the crash were travelling southbound on Albion when an alleged drunk driver lost control of their vehicle and struck a second vehicle. A third and fourth vehicle then became involved in the crash.The driver of the vehicle that was initially hit, a 65-year-old woman, was pronounced dead at the scene.Two women in their 30s were taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, including the alleged drunk driver who caused the crash. Another person was treated for minor injuries at the scene.The woman who is believed to have caused the collision is facing charges including impaired driving.The intersection of Finch and Albion was closed for the investigation but roads reopened...

Corporate volunteerism: ‘Not charity. It’s good business.’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:44:07 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The one-day volunteering event — where employees give back to their communities by packing boxes of food or cleaning up a park or fundraising — is so ingrained in corporations that it’s long been lampooned by pop culture.However, as the national decline of volunteerism deepens, both corporations and nonprofits are looking for something more useful.“A leader calling up the nonprofit saying, ‘Hey, I have 20 people that can be over there in an hour. What do you want them to do?’ That’s not helpful,” said Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas, managing director of corporate insights and engagement at Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, which advises companies on sustainability and corporate responsibility issues.“What you want is for those volunteers to be part of an ongoing engagement, so those volunteers become embedded in the community,” she said. “They understand better what those participants needs are and they truly are then approaching their volunteerism work not as ‘I’m help...

Suspect in Japan PM attack may have had election grudge

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:44:07 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — An unemployed 24-year-old man who allegedly threw a pipe bomb at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wanted to be a politician and believed that he was unfairly blocked from running for Japan’s parliament by an age requirement, according to media reports and social media posts that appeared to be his. The suspect, Ryuji Kimura, was wrestled to the ground and arrested Saturday at a campaign event in the fishing port of Saikazaki, in the western Japanese city of Wakayama. The explosive, believed to be a pipe bomb, landed near Kishida, who escaped unhurt.Kimura has refused to talk to police, but reports that he became angry after failing to register for an election and had sued the government might shed light on his motives. In June last year he filed a lawsuit with the Kobe District Court claiming that he should have been allowed to register for the July 2022 Upper House election. A candidate must be aged 30 years or older and present a 3 million yen ($22,260) deposit to r...

French publishing manager freed after arrest in London

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:44:07 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The manager of a Paris publishing house has been released by police in London after his employer said he was arrested following questioning about participation in France’s protests against pension reform.Ernest Moret, foreign rights manager at Editions La Fabrique, had been questioned after arriving at St. Pancras railway station Monday from Paris on his way to the London Book Fair, the publisher said in a joint statement with London’s radical Verso Books.A Metropolitan Police spokesperson didn’t name Moret, but said Wednesday that a 28-year-old man who was stopped by officers at the train station and arrested on suspicion of obstructing their investigation had been released on bail on Tuesday evening. No charges were filed, but the investigation continued.Police wouldn’t provide information about why Moret was stopped and questioned, but a spokesperson said he was interviewed by port officers under a law that allows them to question someone who may b...