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Chicago White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. showcases Home Run Derby power — including a 484-foot blast — before falling in semifinals

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:10:25 GMT

Luis Robert Jr. had a simple message for his Home Run Derby pitcher, Chicago White Sox bullpen catcher Luis Sierra.“Throw the ball in the middle and I’ll take care of the rest,” Robert said through an interpreter Monday afternoon.The top seed in the eight-player field, Robert displayed the easy power that has made him one of the game’s rising stars. He advanced to the semifinals of the Home Run Derby at T-Mobile Park, where he lost to Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena.Robert hit 22 home runs in the semis to Arozarena’s 35. The two hugged after Robert completed his swings.Robert hit 50 total homers in his entertaining two rounds.Robert turned it up a notch when he had to in his opening-round matchup with Adley Rutschman.The Baltimore Orioles catcher put on a show batting left-handed and then right-handed.With his father Randy pitching, Rutschman bashed 27 homers. He hit 21 from the left side and then hit six from the right side during his 30-seco...

Relentless rain causes floods in Northeast, prompts rescues and swamps Vermont’s capital

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:10:25 GMT

By LISA RATHKE and JOHN MINCHILLO (Associated Press)ANDOVER, Vt. (AP) — Rescue teams raced into Vermont on Monday after heavy rain drenched parts of the Northeast, washing out roads, forcing evacuations and halting some airline travel. One person was killed in New York’s Hudson Valley as she tried to escape her flooded home.Mike Cannon of Vermont Urban Search and Rescue said crews from North Carolina, Michigan and Connecticut were among those helping to get to towns that have been unreachable since torrents of rain belted the state. The towns of Londonderry and Weston were inaccessible, Cannon said, and rescuers were heading there to do welfare checks. Water levels at several dams were being closely monitored.Flooding hit Vermont’s state capital, with Montpelier Town Manager Bill Fraser estimating Monday night that knee-high waters had reached much of downtown and were expected to rise a couple more feet during the night. Montpelier had largely been spared during T...

Orioles’ Adley Rutschman puts on switch-hitting show in Home Run Derby but falls in opening round

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:10:25 GMT

When Randy Rutschman got a call from his son asking to throw to him in the Home Run Derby, he felt it was a sign of Adley Rutschman’s competitive intentions in the event.“He could have chosen 100 other people that’d probably do a better job than me,” Randy said. “But that told me it was more about the experience.”It was one father, son, and those watching at home and at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park — an announced 46,952 — won’t soon forget. The Orioles’ second-year catcher lost in the opening round to top seed Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox but highlighted the matchup with a showcase of his switch-hitting prowess.After the 25-year-old hit 21 home runs from the left side in his first three minutes, he shared a big hug with Randy. Then, when he stepped in the right-handed batter’s box for the bonus 30 seconds, the real show began.Seven of Rutschman’s eight swings from the right side resulted in the ball...

Blue Jays’ Vlad Guerrero Jr. wins thrilling 2023 Home Run Derby

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:10:25 GMT

Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the 2023 Home Run Derby, beating Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena in a tense and thrilling final that came down to the wire.Guerrero Jr., who conquered Arozarena 25-23 in the showdown, joins Vladimir Guerrero Sr. as the only father-son duo in Major League history to win a Home Run Derby.Pacific NorthBEST ????Vladdy wins the 2023 #HRDerby pic.twitter.com/LjEpJt6S1B— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 11, 2023Guerrero is the first Blue Jay in history to win the competition. He was runner-up in 2019 when Guerrero set a record for most overall homers in the derby with 91.Guerrero’s 25 home runs set a finals record against Arozarena, beating New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso’s previous total of 23 last year.Guerrero hit 26 home runs in the first round of this year’s Home Run Derby, eliminating Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts, who finished with 11.The Blue Jays slugger went up against Seattle Mariners ...

Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero and Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena face off for Home Run Derby title

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:10:25 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero and Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena advanced to the final of the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night.Guerrero defeated Julio Rodríguez 21-20 in the semifinals after the Mariners star hit a record 41 in the first round in front of his hometown fans.Arozarena defeated Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox 35-22 in the semifinals. Robert hit the longest drive of the night, a 484-foot shot to left in the second round.Trying to become the youngest Derby winner at age 22, Rodríguez knocked out two-time champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, who hit 21. Rodríguez beat Corey Seager 32-24 in the first round last year at Dodger Stadium, then knocked out Alonso 31-23 before losing to Juan Soto 19-18 in the final.Arozarena beat Texas’ Adolis García 24-17 in the opening pairing before a crowd of 46,952 at T-Mobile Park. García is the godfather to Arozarena’s daughter, and the two jumped into each other’s arms during warmups.Robert knocked out B...

Tourists received no safety warnings before New Zealand volcano eruption killed 22, prosecutor says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:10:25 GMT

WEL.LINGTON, New Zealand — Tourists received no health and safety warnings before they landed on New Zealand’s most active volcano ahead of a 2019 eruption that killed 22 people, a prosecutor said Tuesday.There were 47 people on White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Indigenous Maori name Whakaari, when superheated steam erupted on Dec. 9. Most of the 25 people who survived were severely burned.The island’s owners, brothers Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, their company Whakaari Management Ltd. and tour operators I.D. Tours NZ Ltd. and Tauranga Tourism Services Ltd. went on trial Tuesday in Auckland District Court for allegedly failing to adequately protect tourists and staff.Prosecutor Kristy McDonald said in opening the prosecution case that the eruption at the popular tourist destination was not predictable but was foreseeable. The 20 tourists and two tour guides who died were given no warning of the risks, she said.“They were not given the opportunity to m...

Yemen’s rivals are not only clashing on the ground but battling economically for revenue from ports

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:10:25 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Sporadic armed clashes between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and government forces are straining peace efforts, and the rivals are now also battling over revenue from ports, trade, banking and natural resources, the country’s U.N. envoy said Monday. Special Representative Hans Grundberg told the U.N. Security Council that the fight over economic wealth “has become inseparable from the political and military conflict.” While fighting has decreased markedly in Yemen since a truce in April 2022, he said, “continued sparks of violence alongside public threats to return to large-scale fighting increase fear and tensions.” Grundberg said Yemenis have enjoyed the longest period of relative calm since the civil war erupted in 2014, but “the situation on the ground remains fragile and challenging.” He pointed to clashes in five frontline areas, including Hodeida where Yemen’s main port is and the oil-rich eastern province of Marib which Iran-backed Houthi rebels at...

Colombian prosecutors accuse former presidential candidate of taking money from Odebrecht

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:10:25 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian prosecutors accused a former presidential candidate Monday of receiving at least $2.8 million from Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant that has admitted paying bribes across Latin America to secure infrastructure contracts.Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, a former finance minister who came close to winning the 2014 election, was charged with fraud, illicit enrichment and falsification of documents. Charged at a public hearing that lasted four hours, Zuluaga pleaded innocent.Prosecutors said Zuluaga met with Odebrecht executives prior to the 2014 presidential campaign and agreed to a scheme through which the construction company helped pay for the services of a political strategist, using accounts in Panama. Officials said Zuluaga did not report the Odebrecht contributions with Colombia’s National Electoral Council, as required by law, and instructed his son, who was then his campaign manager, to hide those funds.Zuluaga was a close ally of conservative A...

CPD: Chicago teen missing for two weeks

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:10:25 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department is asking for the public's help in locating a missing teenager who was last seen on Saturday, June 24.Zaden Miller, 15, was last seen on the 4800 block of North Francisco Avenue in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood on Saturday, June 24. Missing Portage Park teen considered high-risk, police say Miller has been described as 5-foot-1, weighing 101 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.Anyone with information regarding Zaden Miller's whereabouts are asked to contact the Chicago Police Department at

Pair of carjackings happen within 2 hours of each other on same street in Lake View

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:10:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Two carjackings took place within two hours of one another on the same street in Lake View early Monday morning, according to the Chicago Police Department.The first carjacking took place around 2:20 a.m. in the 3200 block of North Ashland Avenue. Police said an 18-year-old male victim relayed that two unidentified male offenders got out of a black Jeep and approached him as he was entering his vehicle. One of the offenders pointed a gun at the victim and demanded his keys, to which the victim complied and and the offenders fled the scene in a black Honda Civic with the black Jeep following behind it. Sex offender charged with murder after 10-year-old Rockford girl found dead The second carjacking took place around 3:43 a.m. in the 4000 block of North Ashland Avenue.Police said in this incident a male and female victim said three unidentified male offenders exited a black sedan and approached them as they were parking their vehicle. One of the offenders then pointed a gu...