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Boston’s official 2023 Christmas Tree arrives from Nova Scotia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:11 GMT

Boston’s official 2023 Christmas tree arrived at Boston Common from Nova Scotia Tuesday ahead of this year’s scheduled tree lighting later this month. Santa Claus was on hand to help welcome the new tree to Boston. Crews were later seen working to secure the tree in place. This year’s tree is a 40-year-old white spruce. It stands 45-feet tall and was donated by landowner Bette Gourley in the town of Stewiacke, Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia has, for decades, sent a tree to Boston as a sign of thanks for relief efforts after a massive explosion in Halifax, Nova Scotia in December, 1917. The explosion happened aboard a munitions ship in Halifax Harbor and devastated part of the city. Boston quickly sent a train loaded with supplies and emergency personnel to aid with the response, as described in a statement from the office of Mayor Michelle Wu.Back for an 82nd year, this year’s Boston Common Tree Lighting is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 30. Festivities will kick off at 6 p.m...

Japan’s pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto is set to become MLB’s next star

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:11 GMT

(CNN) — Watch out baseball fans; Japan’s next big star looks to be on the move.Pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto is set to make a high-profile switch to Major League Baseball (MLB) during the offseason, after he was posted as a free agent by Japan’s Orix Buffaloes on Monday.The 25-year-old is expected to attract the attention of the league’s biggest franchises and could receive a highly-lucrative contract worth around $200m, per Reuters.A bidding war is expected to get underway on Tuesday and will run until January 4.Yamamoto has certainly impressed during the early part of his career, being awarded the Eiji Sawamura Award – given to the top starting pitcher in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) – on three occasions.He was 16-6 this last season with a 1.21 ERA; form that saw him win his third consecutive Triple Crown – in wins, ETA and strikeouts – in the NPB’s Pacific League.The right-hander, who boasts a fastball comfortably in the mid-to-...

US home sales on pace for the worst year since 1993

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:11 GMT

Washington, DC (CNN) — Home sales may have their worst year in 30 years. Sales slumped in October and prices continued to climb, as mortgage rates surged last month and inventory remained extraordinarily low. That kept homebuyers out of the market, according to a monthly report from the National Association of Realtors released Tuesday.Home sales remained at 13-year lows as buyers competed for the few available homes on the market and continued to push up prices. Elevated prices, together with the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage nearing 8% in October, have created the least affordable market in several decades.The median price for existing homes — which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — climbed to $391,800 last month. That was up 3.4% from a year ago and marked the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year price increases. It was the highest median price on record for the month of October. P...

Former Orioles closer Zack Britton announces retirement: ‘Looking forward to the next chapter’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:11 GMT

No pitcher in Orioles history was better at finishing games than Zack Britton. This week, it was his career that he brought to an end.Britton announced his retirement Monday, ending a 12-year major league career that included 7 1/2 seasons with Baltimore. The 35-year-old left-hander was the Orioles’ third-round pick in the 2006 draft and made his major league debut in 2011 as a starter before becoming one of the best relievers in baseball.“Thankful to have had the opportunity to live out my childhood dream these past 12 years,” Britton posted on social media. “Looking forward to the next chapter.”Britton’s 139 saves are the second most in Orioles history, and his 92.7% save percentage is the best of the 47 Baltimore pitchers with more than 10 saves. In 2016, Britton posted an 0.54 ERA — the best in MLB history for any pitcher who threw at least 50 innings in a season — and converted all 47 of his save opportunities, finishing fourth in...

Mike Preston: The Ravens’ offense can still be effective without TE Mark Andrews. Here’s how. | COMMENTARY

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:11 GMT

Ravens tight end Mark Andrews is invaluable, but he isn’t irreplaceable.The Ravens have been working since their star tight end injured his ankle in the first quarter of Thursday night’s game against the Bengals on how to prepare for life without the sixth-year, three-time Pro Bowl performer.Coach John Harbaugh said Monday afternoon there is an “outside chance” that Andrews could return before the end of the season. Until then, the Ravens have to figure out who will fill his shoes.That won’t be easy.Andrews has been quarterback Lamar Jackson’s primary target since the two were rookies in 2018. He has been Jackson’s favorite receiver both in the middle of the field and inside the red zone, with his 381 catches for 4,857 yards and 40 touchdowns as proof.“We have a lot of guys that can step up and make plays — wide receivers, tight ends, running backs,” Harbaugh said. “I feel really good about the guys that are going to ...

Strike-throwing and second chances: A reintroduction to Andrew Bailey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:11 GMT

As a pitcher, Andrew Bailey’s time in Boston was short and frustrating, bookended by injuries and surgeries.How he’ll fare as the Red Sox’s new pitching coach remains to be seen, but he’s thrilled and grateful to get a second chance.“I’m really excited about the opportunity to work with Boston, you know, be a Red Sock again, and come back to the organization in a different capacity,” he said over Zoom on Tuesday. “Life’s too short to turn down opportunities like this.”By his own admission, he knows how disappointing this game can be. He began his career with back-to-back All-Star seasons in Oakland, where he was named 2009 American League Rookie of the Year. They traded him to Boston, and made 49 appearances for the Red Sox between 2012-13, meaning he was part of one of the worst seasons in franchise history and one of the greatest.“I know what failure feels like in a major market and in Boston, specifically,” he said. “I know what it’s like to blow a save in Boston… We won th...

Andrew Bailey calls Craig Breslow ‘a true friend,’ says they’ve long hoped to work together

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:11 GMT

Back in their playing days, Craig Breslow and Andrew Bailey used to sit in the bullpen talking about life after retirement. Even then Breslow imagined himself running a team, and Bailey would say he could be his bullpen coach, pitching coach or manager.Fast forward about a decade, and that vision has become a reality.Bailey was officially introduced as the Red Sox new pitching coach on Tuesday, making the former big league veteran one of Breslow’s first additions as chief baseball officer. Bailey said getting to team up with Breslow was a big part of why he took the job and that he’s grateful for the opportunity to be back in Boston.“Life’s too short to turn down opportunities like this,” Bailey said. “To be able to kind of joke around like that with a former teammate and a true friend and now be able to see that path laid out and to be able compete together in another capacity is special, and I think that drove a lot of my thinking.”A two-t...

The journey of Minnesota’s Rutt the moose is tracked by a herd of fans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:11 GMT

A herd of followers are tracking a moose on the loose in southern Minnesota, hoping the majestic animal’s journey ends safely after it was spotted Tuesday 140 miles (225 km) northwest of Minneapolis.Fans have been tracking the young male moose for weeks and posting updates on a Facebook page that as of Tuesday had more than 18,000 followers. Admirers call the animal “Bullwinkle” or “Rutt,” the latter in homage to a scatterbrained moose from the movie “Brother Bear.”A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources big game expert told the Minnesota Star Tribune that moose typically only roam in northern Minnesota, making the now-famous moose’s visit to south and central Minnesota a rare treat. Todd Froberg, the agency’s big game program coordinator, said the young moose is likely looking for home territory or other moose and is expected to continue moving north.“He’s lost, and he’s trying to get home to his family,” said Bernie Stang, a moose fan who spotted the animal i...

Influential Iowa evangelical leader endorses Bob Vander Plaats endorses Ron DeSantis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:11 GMT

Bob Vander Plaats, an influential Iowa evangelical leader, endorsed Ron DeSantis for president Tuesday, boosting the Florida governor as he goes all in on the leadoff caucus state in an effort to trip up Republican front-runner Donald Trump.Vander Plaats is the second major backer DeSantis has picked up in Iowa this month, joining popular Gov. Kim Reynolds. Evangelicals are a crucial voting bloc in Iowa’s Republican caucuses. Vander Plaats, president of the Family Leader, has endorsed the eventual winner in every GOP caucus since 2008 and is potentially jeopardizing his streak by picking DeSantis, who trails far behind Trump in polls. His decision will test his sway among Iowa evangelicals, many of whom continue to support Trump.If Trump wins Iowa, he’ll probably go on to be the nominee, “but I don’t think America is going to elect him president again,” Vander Plaats told Fox News host Bret Baier. “I think America would be well served to have a choice, and I ...

California can share gun owners’ personal information with researchers, appeals court rules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:11 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A state appeals court ruled that California can continue providing personal information of gun owners to researchers to study gun violence, reversing last year’s decision by a lower court judge who said such data sharing violates privacy rights.In 2021, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law allowing the state’s Department of Justice to share identifying information of more than 4 million gun owners in California with qualified research institutions to help them better study gun violence, accidents and suicides. The information — which the state collects with every firearm sale to perform background checks — include names, addresses, phone numbers, and any criminal records, among other things. Under the law, researchers can use the information and make their findings public, but can’t release any identifying information of gun owners.In response, gun owners and organizations sued the state, arguing that the disclosure of their informati...