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Back in Baltimore with Mets, Buck Showalter thrilled to see Orioles in first place: ‘Great for the city’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:24:47 GMT

Much has changed about Camden Yards since Buck Showalter last managed a game there. But what captured his eye the most was something new a few blocks away.“They’ve got a Topgolf now?” Showalter said. “Man, if they’d have had that here, I’d have been a little later to the ballpark.”Friday’s matchup between the Orioles and Showalter’s New York Mets marked the longtime Baltimore manager’s first meeting with his old team since his tenure ended after the 2018 season. Managing the Orioles from late in the 2010 season until then, Showalter led Baltimore to a 669-684 record, with the team making three playoff appearances from 2012 to 2016 in a stretch in which it was the American League’s winningest team.Speaking to a gaggle of Baltimore and New York media in the visiting coaches’ locker room at Camden Yards before Friday night’s game, Showalter recalled many positive memories from his time in Baltimore, such as r...

Imperial Beach passes new ordinance for retail gun sales

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:24:47 GMT

IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. -- The City of Imperial Beach is opening the door for gun sales after unanimously approving an ordinance this week and ending a temporary ban on issuing permits to gun retailers.“We're a family-oriented community. We just want to make sure that this particular ordinance was the right fit for our city," said Mayor Paloma Aguirre.The city enacted a 45-day moratorium on permits in June after a local woman applied for a business license.The owner, Stephanie Gilreath, said her sporting goods store Outdoor Woman would open on Palm Avenue, selling mostly outdoor gear with gun sales making up around 10% of the business.“Our legal counsel worked to research a number of other cities to see what they were doing," Aguirre said, "(like) 100-plus other ordinances out there to kind of get an idea of what would be a good fit with cities that are similar to us socio-demographically."The new ordinance includes rules for permits, how guns are stored, who has access to them, alon...

Big Ten grabs Ducks, Huskies and AP source says Big 12 poised to take 3 more from reeling Pac-12

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:24:47 GMT

Dealing a combination of crushing blows to the Pac-12, the Big Ten announced Friday it will accept Oregon and Washington as new members next August, and the Big 12 was poised to complete its raid of the beleaguered conference on the West Coast.The Big Ten earlier in the day cleared the way for the Pacific Northwest rivals to join the league next year and the Ducks were first to make it official with a brief video call that ended in a unanimous vote by its 13 trustees. The Big Ten a short time later said its presidents’ council had voted to accept the Ducks along with Washington.“Our student-athletes will participate at the highest level of collegiate athletic competition, and our alumni, friends, and fans will be able to carry the spirit of Oregon across the country,” Oregon President John Karl Scholz said.The Big 12, meanwhile, has three more Pac-12 schools in its sights, a week after luring away Colorado.A person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Pre...

Golfer Angel Cabrera is released on parole after 2 years following gender violence cases

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:24:47 GMT

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Argentine golfer Ángel Cabrera was released from jail on parole on Friday after he completed two years in custody over gender violence cases against two of his ex-girlfriends.Judge Cristóbal Laje Ros of Cordoba province — 800 kilometers north of Buenos Aires (500 miles) — released the golfer after psychological tests on the 53-year-old Cabrera.“Cabrera has internalized the damaging mistakes he made. He regrets it,” the judge told a local television station. “He will return to his home with his family.”Cabrera, the 2007 U.S. Open champion and 2009 Masters winner, was sentenced in July 2021 to two years in prison for threats and harassment of Cecilia Torres Mana, his partner between 2016 and 2018.In November 2022, he was also on trial for threats and harassment against Micaela Escudero, another of his ex-girlfriends. Cabrera pleaded guilty, the court made the two sentences concurrent and gave him three years and 10 months in prison.Torres Mana and Escudero sa...

Multiple people injured in Idaho school bus crash blocking major highway, police say

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:24:47 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Multiple people were believed to be injured in a school bus crash that blocked both lanes of a winding Idaho highway Friday afternoon, authorities said. The Valley County Sheriff’s Office said they were notified of the crash about 3 p.m., and first responders from several agencies were at the scene. There was limited information available, however, because the the crash happened in an area that has little to no cellular service roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Boise. Idaho State Police spokesperson Aaron Snell said the crash was initially reported as a roll-over bus crash and that there were occupants on board the bus, but it wasn’t immediately clear which organization was using the bus. Several Boise-area parents were reporting on social media sites that the bus was carrying children home from the Treasure Valley YMCA’s Camp at Horsethief Reservoir. When asked about those reports, Treasure Valley YMCA Director David Duro said, “We are ...

The first pill to treat postpartum depression has been approved by US health officials

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:24:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials have approved the first pill specifically intended to treat severe depression after childbirth, a condition that affects thousands of new mothers in the U.S. each year.The Food and Drug Administration on Friday granted approval of the drug, Zurzuvae, for adults experiencing severe depression related to childbirth or pregnancy. The pill is taken once a day for 14 days.“Having access to an oral medication will be a beneficial option for many of these women coping with extreme, and sometimes life-threatening, feelings,” said Dr. Tiffany Farchione, FDA’s director of psychiatric drugs, in a statement.Postpartum depression affects an estimated 400,000 people a year, and while it often ends on its own within a couple weeks, it can continue for months or even years. Standard treatment includes counseling or antidepressants, which can take weeks to work and don’t help everyone.The new pill is from Sage Therapeutics, which has a similar i...

Charles Ogletree, longtime legal and civil rights scholar at Harvard Law School, dies at 70

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:24:47 GMT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Charles J. Ogletree Jr., a law professor and civil rights scholar with a distinguished career at Harvard Law School and whose list of clients ranged from Anita Hill to Tupac Shakur, died Friday after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 70.A California native who often spoke of his humble roots, Ogletree worked in the farm fields of the Central Valley before establishing himself as a legal scholar at one of the nation’s most prominent law schools where he taught Barack and Michelle Obama.Harvard Law School Dean John F. Manning shared news of Ogletree’s death in a message to the campus community Friday.“Charles was a tireless advocate for civil rights, equality, human dignity, and social justice,” Manning said in the message that the law school emailed to The Associated Press. “He changed the world in so many ways, and he will be sorely missed in a world that very much needs him.”Ogletree represented Hill when she accused Clarenc...

California investigates school district’s parental notification policy on children’s gender identity

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:24:47 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s attorney general said Friday he was investigating whether a local school district infringed on students’ civil rights by adopting a policy that requires teachers to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender or wants to use a name or pronoun different from what’s on their birth certificate.Rob Bonta said the policy, approved by the Chino Valley Unified School District in July, could force schools to “out” their students, increasing a student’s risk of being bullied or committing self-harm or suicide. The policy also requires parents to be notified within three days if their child asked for access to gender-based sports or wants to use a different bathroom or changing rooms that do not match their assigned gender at birth.“Students should never fear going to school for simply being who they are,” Bonta said in a statement, adding that the “forced outing policy threatens the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ students vulner...

'It's a game changer': Wounded veteran celebrates new airplane bathroom accessibility rule

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:24:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Advocates are celebrating a new rule from the Department of Transportation that will make airplane bathrooms more accessible. However, they're hesitant, because travelers won't see these changes immediately.As a wounded veteran who uses a wheelchair, Charles Brown knows that for those with disabilities, flying often means going without access to a bathroom."It's demeaning, it's degrading. You have to dehydrate yourself so you don't have to urinate," Brown said.Brown used to be the president of Paralyzed Veterans of America. He and the group have spent years advocating for accessibility on airplanes. ‘That’s unacceptable’: Lawmakers call out State Department for persistent passport problems  Now that's happening. Under the new DOT rule, starting in three years, new planes will be required to have accessibility features like bathroom grab bars and call buttons. In 2033, new planes must expand their bathrooms."It's a gamechanger. It allows more people with disa...

ACLU sues to block Texas restrictions on drag

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:24:47 GMT

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas is challenging an impending state law restricting drag performances, arguing in a lawsuit filed this week in federal court that the measure unconstitutionally violates the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in June signed legislation restricting certain drag performances that take place in public or where they could be viewed by a minor. Similar laws have been enacted this year in Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota, Montana and Tennessee.The Montana and Florida measures, however, are currently unenforceable due to federal court orders, and Tennessee’s drag ban was ruled unconstitutional in June. The state has appealed that decision.The Texas law, which is set to take effect Sept. 1, prohibits businesses from hosting “sexually oriented performances” in which someone is nude or appeals to the “prurient interest in sex” in the presence of minors. The law also applies...