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Dodgers open 3-game series at home against the Marlins

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:58:43 GMT

Miami Marlins (63-59, third in the NL East) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (74-46, first in the NL West)Los Angeles; Friday, 10:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Sandy Alcantara (5-10, 4.15 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 135 strikeouts); Dodgers: Tony Gonsolin (8-4, 4.24 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 80 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Dodgers -147, Marlins +125; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Dodgers host the Miami Marlins on Friday to begin a three-game series.Los Angeles has a 74-46 record overall and a 41-20 record at home. Dodgers hitters are batting a collective .253, which ranks eighth in the NL.Miami is 63-59 overall and 26-32 on the road. The Marlins have a 47-30 record in games when they record eight or more hits.Friday’s game is the first time these teams match up this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Freddie Freeman has 45 doubles, two triples and 23 home runs for the Dodgers. Mookie Betts is 16-for-41 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.Luis Arraez ha...

Mets play the Cardinals leading series 1-0

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:58:43 GMT

New York Mets (56-66, fourth in the NL East) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (54-68, fifth in the NL Central)St. Louis; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Mets: Joey Lucchesi (0-0); Cardinals: Zack Thompson (2-4, 3.96 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 34 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cardinals -149, Mets +130; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets lead 1-0 in a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.St. Louis has a 27-35 record in home games and a 54-68 record overall. The Cardinals are 35-13 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.New York has a 56-66 record overall and a 25-38 record on the road. The Mets have the 10th-ranked team ERA in the NL at 4.54.The teams meet Friday for the fifth time this season. The season series is tied 2-2.TOP PERFORMERS: Nolan Arenado leads St. Louis with 25 home runs while slugging .507. Tommy Edman is 11-for-36 with four home runs and six RBI over the last 10 games.Pete Alonso has 12 doubles, two triples, 37 home runs an...

Nationals start 3-game series at home against the Phillies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:58:43 GMT

Philadelphia Phillies (66-55, second in the NL East) vs. Washington Nationals (55-67, fifth in the NL East)Washington; Friday, 7:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Phillies: Michael Lorenzen (7-7, 3.23 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 93 strikeouts); Nationals: Joan Adon (1-0, 5.14 ERA, .86 WHIP, 14 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Phillies -203, Nationals +170; over/under is 9 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals host the Philadelphia Phillies to begin a three-game series.Washington has gone 27-35 in home games and 55-67 overall. The Nationals are 20-10 in games when they hit at least two home runs.Philadelphia has gone 32-31 on the road and 66-55 overall. The Phillies are 41-9 in games when they scored five or more runs.The matchup Friday is the 11th time these teams square off this season. The Phillies hold a 6-4 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Lane Thomas has 29 doubles, two triples and 20 home runs for the Nationals. Keibert Ruiz is 16-for-38 with two doubles and four hom...

Diamondbacks aim to keep win streak alive against the Padres

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:58:43 GMT

Arizona Diamondbacks (62-60, third in the NL West) vs. San Diego Padres (58-64, fourth in the NL West)San Diego; Friday, 9:40 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Brandon Pfaadt (0-6, 6.91 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 50 strikeouts); Padres: Seth Lugo (4-6, 4.16 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 94 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Padres -179, Diamondbacks +151; over/under is 9 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Arizona Diamondbacks seek to keep a three-game win streak intact when they take on the San Diego Padres.San Diego has gone 32-30 at home and 58-64 overall. The Padres have the 10th-best team on-base percentage in MLB play at .325.Arizona has a 32-29 record on the road and a 62-60 record overall. The Diamondbacks have a 48-29 record in games when they record eight or more hits.The teams play Friday for the 11th time this season. The season series is tied 5-5.TOP PERFORMERS: Juan Soto leads the Padres with 50 extra base hits (25 doubles, a triple and 24 home runs). Gary Sanchez is 9-for-33 with a double, four...

Tax charges from defunct Hunter Biden plea deal dismissed, so probe can move forward

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:58:43 GMT

(CNN) — A federal judge in Delaware dismissed two tax misdemeanor charges against Hunter Biden that were filed as part of his now-defunct plea deal, paving the way for special counsel David Weiss to potentially bring more charges in another jurisdiction as part of his continuing probe.After the plea deal collapsed earlier this month, Weiss’ prosecutors asked District Judge Maryellen Noreika to dismiss the charges in Delaware, so new charges could potentially be brought in California or Washington, DC. Hunter Biden’s lawyers agreed that the charges should be dismissed, because they were only brought in Delaware as part of the earlier plea agreement.Noreika approved the procedural request on Thursday.The two charges brought in Delaware were misdemeanors, for failing to pay taxes on time in 2017 and 2018. Without a plea deal in-hand, Hunter Biden could potentially face more serious charges: IRS whistleblowers who worked on the case told Congress they recommended charging the president’...

Russia arrests head of election watchdog

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:58:43 GMT

The head of Russia’s last independent election-monitoring campaign group has been arrested, as the Kremlin carries out a major crackdown on democratic bodies. “Grigory Melkonyants, co-chairman of the ‘Golos’ movement, has been detained and is being questioned by the Investigative Committee as a suspect,” the Russian vote-monitoring group Golos announced Thursday. Melkonyants’ home was searched Thursday morning and he was then detained.The crackdown has not only targeted Melkonyants but also “14 of his associates in eight regions, including Moscow, Kazan and St. Petersburg,” Russian state newswire RIA Novosti said, citing an anonymous source.According to the AP, which spoke with Melkonyants’ lawyer, the watchdog chief will appear in Moscow’s Basmanny District Court on Friday. He faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison for working with what Russia branded “undesirable” international organizations. Accordin...

Wealthy oil nation lays groundwork for ‘eye-popping’ climate fund

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:58:43 GMT

The United Arab Emirates is considering creating a multibillion-dollar fund to spur clean energy investments across the world that it plans to unveil at this year’s U.N. climate talks in Dubai, according to people familiar with the plan.The fund could amount to tens of billions of dollars, with a sizable slice of the money coming from the UAE’s sovereign wealth reserves, according to seven people with knowledge of the discussions. A G-7 government official said envoys from the oil-rich Mideast nation had privately mentioned the idea of a fund of at least $25 billion.“It’s an eye-popping figure,” one of the people familiar with the concept said.Creation of the fund would be one of the largest ever state-sponsored financial efforts to help countries fight climate change. And it comes as the UAE and Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. who is leading the climate talks, have drawn criticism from environmental advocates and some U.S. and European lawmakers for hosti...

China confirms Xi will attend BRICS summit in South Africa followed by state visit

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:58:43 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend next week’s summit of the BRICS nations in Johannesburg, to be followed by a state visit to South Africa, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying also said in a statement that during his Aug. 21-24 visit to South Africa, Xi will co-chair the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa. China is a core member of the BRICS nations, which also include Brazil, Russia and India. The grouping was predicated on linking the interests of the world’s leading emerging economies but has sought to expand into other civil and governmental fields. Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided not to attend the summit because of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for him, according to South African authorities.The development could be viewed as embarrassing for Putin, who is expected to be the only leader of a country in the bloc not to a...

US, Japan and South Korea agree on new security pledge ahead of Camp David summit

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:58:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States, Japan and South Korea are set to sign on to a new security pledge, committing the three countries to consult with each other in the event of a security crisis or threat in the Pacific, according to Biden administration officials.Details about the new “duty to consult” commitment emerged as President Joe Biden prepared Friday to welcome South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a summit at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. The move is one of several joint efforts that the leaders are expected to announce at the daylong summit, as the three countries look to tighten security and economic ties amid increasing concerns about North Korea’s persistent nuclear threats and Chinese provocations in the Pacific. Kishida, before departing Tokyo on Thursday, told reporters the summit would be a “historic occasion to bolster trilateral strategic cooperation” with Seoul and Washington.“I believe it i...

Japanese government panel finds rampant coverups, mishandling of harassment cases in military

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:58:43 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A panel of experts that investigated harassment cases in Japan’s military and Defense Ministry said Friday it found widespread coverups and reluctance among supervisors to deal with cases, and recommended fundamental improvements.The investigation was commissioned by the ministry after a high-profile sexual assault case was brought by a former soldier.The panel said about 80% of the reported cases involved abuse of power and that sexual harassment accounted for about 12%.It said in a report that more than 60% of the victims in 1,325 cases reported to the panel never sought help from counselors in the military or ministry due to a lack of trust in the system or a fear of retribution.The panel said many of the 400 people it interviewed who had sought help from supervisors or counselors said they did not receive appropriate help and faced coverups, pressure to drop cases, broken confidentiality or a lack of understanding.The report urged the ministry and the military...