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‘There’s a camaraderie we have.’ For Chicago Cubs fans who made the trek to London, the trip is unique — and bittersweet.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:11 GMT

For longtime Chicago Cubs fan Marci Watts, the London Series represented the perfect 55th wedding anniversary gift for her parents, who are diehard St. Louis Cardinals fans.The teams’ rivalry and a trip to London created the perfect union for the family’s split allegiance. Watts grew up in the Peoria area, which is well known for its divided fan support between the Cubs and Cardinals. Her best friend was a Cubs fan and despite her parents, Wayne and Sharen Cinotto, supporting the Cardinals, Watts gravitated toward the lovable losers and fell in love with Wrigley Field when making trips to the city with her friend’s family during the 1970s.“It’s become a family tradition to argue about them,” Watts told the Tribune on Thursday from the team’s fan rally at Horse and Guardsman pub. “I didn’t even realize until I was older, in my teens, that I was doing something that was interesting, shall we say.”However, those travel plans i...

2023 NBA Draft: Analysis of Victor Wembanyama to Spurs, Brandon Miller and rest of the Top 10 selections

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:11 GMT

With the first pick, the “Wemby Draft” went according to plan. We’ll see if Victor Wembanyama’s career follows suit. Wembanyama, the giant Frenchman, shook Adam Silver’s hand in a dark green suit and officially joined the San Antonio Spurs. The process was drawn out by the NBA to achieve maximum airtime for ESPN, with the Spurs requiring the full five minutes for the pick.Then the clock started on the real drama, with Michael Jordan making his final pick as Hornets owner at No. 2. Here were the top-10 picks from Thursday’s draft:1. SPURS: VICTOR WEMBANYAMAPrevious Team: Metropolitans 92 (France)Age: 19Height: 7-4Weight: 209 poundsThe Frenchman is considered a talent without rival because of his combination of height, athleticism and skill. His presence places the Spurs back on the national map after four years without a playoff appearance. It also probably extends the career of Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich. The talent and uniqueness is undeni...

Fatal shooting leads to police chase, shootout with suspect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:11 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- A fatal shooting in North County led to a police chase that then turned into a deadly shootout with a suspect Friday morning, authorities said. The ordeal ended at a shopping center off Sol Drive and Gold Drive in Oceanside. The Oceanside Police Department is asking the public to avoid the area. PHOTOS: A starry, starry night in San Diego offers a summer salutation FOX 5's Elizabeth Alvarez was at the scene and reported seeing a silver sedan parked in a lot with the drivers side door open. Police tape is cautioning off the area as an investigation takes place. This comes after a call came in to OPD reporting a family disturbance at a home in the 500 block of Fredricks Avenue around midnight. When officers arrived they found a woman deceased at the home. A suspect description and vehicle description went out quickly and authorities were able to locate the individual. OPD says a pursuit then ensued and the chase stretched out over multiple freeways, including th...

Evangelical leaders press GOP presidential candidates to advocate for more abortion restrictions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, some of the Republican Party’s most influential evangelical Christian figures assembled Friday to celebrate a ruling that sent shockwaves through American politics and stripped away a long-standing constitutional protection.At the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual conference, Republican presidential candidates were urged to push for more abortion restrictions, even as Democrats insist the issue will buoy them going into the 2024 election.Former President Donald Trump, whose three Supreme Court nominees allowed for the reversal of nationwide abortion rights, will give the keynote address Saturday night, the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. On Friday’s schedule were many rivals, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Not far from the ...

Stock market today: Wall Street drops again as oil prices and stocks worldwide slide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Another drop for stocks on Friday has Wall Street on track to close out its first losing week in the last six.The S&P 500 was 0.7% lower in early trading, pulling back further from last week when it reached its highest level in more than a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 238 points, or 0.7%, at 33,707, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% lower.Stocks fell even more in markets abroad, while crude oil prices dropped on worries that a global economy under threat of a recession will burn less fuel.Europe’s economy appears to be weaker than expected, according to a preliminary report measuring manufacturing and services businesses. That’s adding to this week’s hesitance in markets, caused by a crank higher in interest rates by central banks around the world as they try to get high inflation under control. High rates drive down inflation by slowing the economy, which raises the risk of a recession.High interest rates in the...

Executive chair Jamie Irving resigns from Postmedia board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:11 GMT

TORONTO — Postmedia Network Canada Corp. says Jamie Irving has resigned as executive chair of the media conglomerate’s board.The owner of the National Post and several other regional newspapers says Irving intends to pursue other opportunities.It adds lead director Peter Sharpe will assume the chair role on an interim basis effective immediately.Irving has sat on the company’s board since last year, when Postmedia acquired Brunswick News Inc., the media arm of the Irving family empire, for $16.1 million in cash and shares.He assumed the chairman role at the start of this year, when Postmedia chairman Paul Godfrey stepped down.The board change comes after sources told The Canadian Press in January that the newspaper publisher would lay off 11 per cent of its editorial staff. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:PNC)The Canadian Press

Biden will sign an order seeking to protect birth control access a year after Roe was overturned

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is banking on reproductive rights to be a galvanizing issue for voters in the 2024 election as he collects three top-level endorsements, hosts a rally and issues an executive order seeking to bolster access to contraception as the nation marks a year since the Supreme Court decision overturning federal abortion protections.Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday are being endorsed by Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Emily’s List. The groups are throwing their early support behind the reelection effort in part to highlight the importance of the issue for Democrats heading into the election year, the groups’ leaders told The Associated Press.“I think that President Biden has been an incredibly valuable partner, along with Vice President Harris, in fighting back against the onslaught of attacks that we have seen,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. ...

Tony-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ creator, dies at 99

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony- and Grammy Award-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who with composer Jerry Bock made up the premier musical-theater songwriting duos of the 1950s and 1960s with shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Fiorello!” and “The Apple Tree,” has died. He was 99.Known for his wry, subtle humor and deft wordplay, Harnick died in his sleep Friday in New York City of natural causes, said Sean Katz, Harnick’s publicist.Bock and Harnick first hit success for the music and lyrics to “Fiorello!,” which earned them each Tonys and a rare Pulitzer Prize in 1960. In addition, Harnick was nominated for Tonys in 1967 for “The Apple Tree,” in 1971 for “The Rothschilds” and in 1994 for “Cyrano — The Musical.” But their masterpiece was “Fiddler on the Roof.”Bock and Harnick were first introduced at a restaurant by actor Jack Cassidy after the opening-night performance of “Shangri-La,” a ...

Clash over LBGTQ+ decor at Starbucks leads to planned strikes at more than 150 stores in days ahead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:11 GMT

Workers at more than 150 Starbucks locations across the country are planning to go on strike as the coffee chain and a union representing baristas clash over displays supporting LBGTQ+ causes in stores during Pride month.Starbucks Workers United said in a tweet Friday that 3,500 workers will be on strike over the next week. Starbucks has consistently denied claims by union organizers that it was banning Pride displays in its U.S. stores after brands like Disney, Target and Bud Light suffered a related backlash and negative social media campaigns in some parts of the country. Even brands like Chick-fil-A, which closes on Sundays for a day of “rest and worship,” and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store have been targeted online by anti-LBGTQ+ groups and individuals. The union that represents baristas, Workers United, says that store managers around the country have curtailed or removed displays during a monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ people. In some cases, the union said, managers told w...

Ontario cannabis regulator wants feedback on rules restricting window displays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:11 GMT

TORONTO — The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is considering amending regulations that require cannabis stores to ensure pot can’t be seen from the exterior of their shop.The provincial body that oversees the licensing of pot shops says it is collecting feedback on the visibility of cannabis to respond to safety concerns.It says in an email to The Canadian Press that it will be collecting feedback until July 11 and it will notify stores at a later date should it decide to make changes to the regulations.Restrictions limiting the visibility of cannabis from the exterior of stores are meant to ensure minors are not enticed by weed or pot accessories.Most stores comply with the regulations by covering their doors and windows or building an interior wall that blocks the view of people passing by the exterior of the store.A significant rise in robberies prompted Alberta’s cannabis regulator to allow stores to take down window coverings last summer.This report by The Canadi...