Walker’s 459-foot blast helps D-backs beat Marlins 5-2

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

Walker’s 459-foot blast helps D-backs beat Marlins 5-2 PHOENIX (AP) — Christian Walker has hit nearly 100 homers in his big-league career, so he knows a well-struck baseball when he feels it. The 459-foot moonshot he launched into the second deck at Chase Field ranks right up there with his best.Walker hit his sixth homer in the past eight games, Zac Gallen threw seven quality innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Miami Marlins 5-2 on Monday night.Walker needs three more homers to get to 100, which might not be a big milestone to some. But for the 32-year-old first baseman, who didn’t really get established in his big leagues until he was in his late 20s, it’s a sign that his hard work continues to pay off.“To be honest, the numbers are cool, but as long as I’m showing up and contributing to the offense, wherever the totals fall, they fall,” Walker said. “Just to show up, feel competitive and be a part of his lineup is exciting.”The Diamondbacks finished with 13 hits and improved to 20-15 this season. The...

Ohtani, Drury lead Angels to 6-4 victory over Astros

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

Ohtani, Drury lead Angels to 6-4 victory over Astros ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani had a pair of RBI doubles, Brandon Drury drove in the go-ahead run with a triple in the eighth inning, and the Los Angeles Angels rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Monday night.Taylor Ward had three hits and Hunter Renfroe homered for the Angels, who bounced back after being outscored 26-9 in losses to Texas on Saturday and Sunday.“It’s awesome. The fight that we have to show that relentlessness throughout the lineup it’s pretty cool. It feels like we’re never out of it,” Ward said.It is also the third time in the past six games the Angels have come back to win when they either trailed or were tied after seven innings. David Hensley homered for the Astros, who have dropped five of six.Ohtani tied it at 4-all in the fifth inning with a line-drive double off the wall in right-center to drive in Taylor Ward. The Japanese two-way star, who takes the mound for his eighth start of the season on Tuesday, also had a run-scoring double ...

Tres comandantes de la Yihad Islámica entre los numerosos muertos en ataques israelíes contra Gaza

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

Tres comandantes de la Yihad Islámica entre los numerosos muertos en ataques israelíes contra Gaza Gaza y Jerusalén (CNN) — Tres comandantes de la Yihad Islámica se encontraban entre las al menos 12 personas muertas en los ataques de aviones y helicópteros israelíes contra múltiples objetivos en Gaza a primera hora de este martes.El Ministerio de Sanidad de Gaza informó que al menos 12 personas habían muerto y 20 habían resultado heridas en los ataques aéreos hasta las 5 de la mañana, hora local, y advirtió de que el número de víctimas podría aumentar.“Los equipos de ambulancias siguen evacuando a las víctimas de las zonas atacadas por la ocupación”, declaró el Ministerio de Sanidad, refiriéndose a Israel.Las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel (IDF, por sus siglas en inglés) confirmaron que lanzaron ataques aéreos antes del amanecer en Gaza, diciendo que era una “respuesta a la agresión incesante por parte de la organización terrorista Yihad Islámica”.Tensión en Medio Oriente: ataques cruzados desde Israel y Gaza tras operación israelí en la mezquita de al...

China announces tit-for-tat expulsion of Canadian diplomat amid dispute over alleged threats against Canadian lawmaker

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

China announces tit-for-tat expulsion of Canadian diplomat amid dispute over alleged threats against Canadian lawmaker BEIJING (AP) — China announces tit-for-tat expulsion of Canadian diplomat amid dispute over alleged threats against Canadian lawmaker.Source

Lakers beat Warriors for 3-1 lead; Heat push Knicks to brink

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

Lakers beat Warriors for 3-1 lead; Heat push Knicks to brink LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lonnie Walker scored all of his 15 points in a phenomenal fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied late to take a 3-1 series lead with a 104-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 on Monday night.LeBron James scored 27 points and Anthony Davis had 23 points and 15 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who moved to the brink of an improbable trip to the Western Conference finals with their eighth consecutive home victory since March.Los Angeles overcame Stephen Curry’s third career postseason triple-double down the stretch largely because of Walker, who has made a seismic impact in returning to the Lakers’ rotation in this series after the former starter was stuck on the bench in recent weeks.Curry had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in his 13th career triple-double for the defending champion Warriors, who will have to overcome a 3-1 series deficit for only the second time in franchise history to continue their NBA title defense. Gol...

EU, Ukraine together on Europe Day, but Kyiv remains outside

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

EU, Ukraine together on Europe Day, but Kyiv remains outside BRUSSELS (AP) — For the first time, Ukraine and the European Union are marking Europe Day, that celebration of “peace and unity,” together. Don’t let anyone be fooled too much, though.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive branch, made a special trip to Kyiv on Tuesday to deliver the warm words of common destiny after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his nation would from now on “celebrate Europe Day together with all of free Europe.”More than a year into the war with invading Russia, Ukraine wants to badly join the bloc as an essential part to anchor its future in the Western world. “Europe Day,” when the 27 current members celebrate their bond as one, also shows how far that moment is still off.Next month, it will be one year already since the EU nations granted Ukraine candidate status, lavished the nation with praise, boosted it with aid and military support and sanctioned Kyiv’s enemy Russia with ever more...

In global rush to regulate AI, Europe set to be trailblazer

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

In global rush to regulate AI, Europe set to be trailblazer LONDON (AP) — The breathtaking development of artificial intelligence has dazzled users by composing music, creating images and writing essays, while also raising fears about its implications. Even European Union officials working on groundbreaking rules to govern the emerging technology were caught off guard by AI’s rapid rise.The 27-nation bloc proposed the Western world’s first AI rules two years ago, focusing on reining in risky but narrowly focused applications. General purpose AI systems like chatbots were barely mentioned. Lawmakers working on the AI Act considered whether to include them but weren’t sure how, or even if it was necessary. “Then ChatGPT kind of boom, exploded,” said Dragos Tudorache, a Romanian member of the European Parliament co-leading the measure. “If there was still some that doubted as to whether we need something at all, I think the doubt was quickly vanished.” The release of ChatGPT last year captured the world’s attention because of its ab...

Oil giant Saudi Aramco reports $31.88B profit in 1st quarter

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

Oil giant Saudi Aramco reports $31.88B profit in 1st quarter DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil giant Saudi Aramco reported a first-quarter profit on Tuesday of $31.88 billion, down from $39.47 billion the same quarter last year.The firm known formally as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. blamed the drop on lower global oil prices. Aramco made a $30.73 billion profit in the fourth quarter of last year.“The results reflect Aramco’s continued high reliability, focus on cost and our ability to react to market conditions as we generate strong cash flows and further strengthen the balance sheet,” Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said in a statement. Aramco separately said that it “believes it is well positioned to withstand fluctuating commodity prices through its low-cost upstream production.” Saudi Arabia’s vast oil resources, located close to the surface of its desert expanse, make it one of the world’s least expensive places to produce crude. For every $10 rise in the price of a barrel of oil, Saudi Arabia stands to make an additional $40 b...

As key votes loom, Turkish parties vow to send migrants home

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

As key votes loom, Turkish parties vow to send migrants home ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — For Nidal Jumaa, a Syrian from Aleppo, life in Turkey is tough. He works part-time at a furniture workshop and collects plastics and cardboard from trash cans that he sells for recycling, but can hardly afford the rent for his run-down house in a low-income neighborhood of Ankara. Despite the hardship, the 31-year-old would prefer to remain in Turkey than return to Syria where he no longer has a house or a job. Most of all, he worries that his 2-year-old son, Hikmat, who requires regular medical supervision following two surgeries, wouldn’t be able to receive the treatment he needs back home.“Where would we go in Syria? Everywhere is destroyed because of the war,” Jumaa said. “We can’t go back. Hikmat is sick. He can’t even walk.”Syrians fleeing the civil war — now into its 12th year — were once welcomed in Turkey out of compassion, making the country home to the world’s largest refugee community. But as their numbers grew — and as the country began to gr...

Soldier to be sentenced for murder in Texas protest shooting

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

Soldier to be sentenced for murder in Texas protest shooting AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder in the shooting death of an armed protester in a Black Lives Matter march in Texas faces up to life in prison when his sentencing hearing begins Tuesday, even as Gov. Greg Abbott presses for the chance to pardon the soldier.Sentencing for Daniel Perry is scheduled to last up to two days. State District Judge Clifford Brown, who presided over Perry’s trial, last week denied his request for a new trial.Perry was convicted in April in the 2020 shooting of 28-year-old Garrett Foster, who was legally carrying an AK-47 rifle through downtown Austin during a summer of nationwide unrest over police killings and racial injustice. The verdict prompted outrage from prominent conservatives including former Fox News star Tucker Carlson, who called the shooting an act of self-defense and criticized Abbott on the air after he didn’t come on his show.Abbott, a former judge who has not ruled out a 2024 presidential run, tweeted the ...