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‘This is always where I’ve expected myself’: Matt Mervis’ journey to Wrigley Field highlights the Chicago Cubs’ renewed depth

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:19 GMT

Jeff and Ellen Mervis had just arrived at Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Thursday afternoon when the call came through.Matt Mervis’ parents were heading to Columbus, Ohio, where Triple-A Iowa was scheduled to play four games over the weekend when the Chicago Cubs promoted the 25-year-old first baseman.“Change your flight, you’ve got a new destination,” Mervis told them. “I don’t think she believed me for a second.”Around 1 p.m. Thursday, Mervis heard from vice president of player development Jared Banner: ”Are you ready to play in Chicago? Pack your stuff and get to the stadium, congratulations.”As the news washed over him, Mervis felt as if he had blacked out for a minute. He tried to think of the first people he wanted to share the news with, prompting the call to his mom.“It was hard for me to hold back emotions,” Mervis said. “My family has been really, really supportive throughout the whole p...

Ticker: Herb Chambers brand heads west; FDA questions birth control product

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:19 GMT

The Herb Chambers brand has headed west.Herb Chambers Lincoln of Westborough has just been opened. Lincoln fans will find a selection of new and pre-owned vehicles on-site, including new Lincoln Navigator SUVs, Nautilus models, Aviators, and Corsairs. Plug-in hybrid fans can browse the Lincoln PHEV lineup.The new center is located at 75 Otis St in Westborough, on Route 9.Children’s TrustThe Children’s Trust, Massachusetts’ child abuse prevention agency, announced today that George Regan, Jr. of Boston has joined its Board of Directors.“We are thrilled to welcome George to the Children’s Trust’s board. His depth of knowledge anddeep network in Boston and beyond will undoubtedly help us strengthen our child abuseprevention strategies and programs,” said Jennifer Valenzuela, Executive Director of theChildren’s Trust.The Children’s Trust develops programs and influences public policies by building ProtectiveFactors that support the overall well-being of children and their families.Over-...

Former Sheriff's deputy arrested, suspected of possessing child pornography

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:19 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- A former Sheriff's deputy was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of possession of child pornography and an assault weapon, according to law enforcement.Jose Soto was arrested after San Diego police carried out a search warrant in the 200 block of Beneviana Drive in Chula Vista, the department confirmed. Evidence found during the search prompted his arrest, SDPD said."The Sheriff is deeply disappointed and frustrated by the arrest of a former employee," the San Diego Sheriff's Department said in a statement on Soto's arrest. "It is very unfortunate the hard work of so many is overshadowed by an incident such as this." Police identify suspect in deadly South Bay restaurant attack Soto joined SDSO as a Detentions and Court Services Deputy in 1998, the department said, serving there until he retired in January 2022. He was rehired in a part-time role in September of 2022 and was assigned to the South Bay Courthouse.He was released from his part-time duties on May 2, ...

UN: South Sudan struggling to implement power-sharing deal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:19 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — South Sudan is facing violent clashes and increasing disillusionment and frustration as it struggles to implement the most challenging provisions of a fragile 2018 power-sharing agreement, U.N. experts say in a new report. The world’s newest nation is struggling to integrate rival military forces, draft a new constitution and prepare for its first election as an independent country in December 2024, the experts monitoring sanctions against the world’s newest nation said in a report to the U.N. Security Council obtained Friday by The Associated Press.The country’s stability “will likely turn on the government’s ability to reward the patience of those who remain committed to peace, rather than those who have sought to reshape it through violence,” the report says. There were high hopes when oil-rich South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long conflict. But the country slid into a civil war in December 2013 largely based on et...

Lawyer says ‘psychotic break’ explains stepson’s killing

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:19 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A lawyer for a Colorado woman who repeatedly stabbed and then shot her 11-year-old stepson before driving his body across the country said Friday that the brutality of the attack was the strongest evidence that the killing was the result of a “psychotic break.”During closing arguments in Letecia Stauch’s murder trial in Colorado Springs, Josh Tolini urged jurors to find her not guilty by reason of insanity. He emphasized that she would be kept confined at the state mental hospital if they reached that verdict in the 2020 killing of Gannon Stauch. Tolini said prosecutors had not shown why the special needs teacher would want to kill the slight 80-pound boy she cared for and lived with in such a violent way.“This wasn’t a pre-planned calculated killing for some gain. This was a psychotic break fueled by rage attacking a demon from the past,” he said in court before jurors began deliberations.Prosecutors say Gannon was stabbed 18 times before being hit in the ...

Tulips fill vacant lots in Chicago to highlight redlining

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:19 GMT

CHICAGO -- A sea of floral beauty has attracted people to a South side neighbor where a local artist and economic developer teamed up with the community by using nature to symbolize and bring light to injustice.Residence in Chicago's Washington Park neighborhood were blown away by the beauty blooming in their vacant lots. Thousands of tulips are uniting people and shedding light on one of the roots responsible for a lock of wealth and significant deterioration in many communities of color.Ghian Foreman, the economic developer involved in the project, has helped bloom these tulips on three and a half acres of vacant land at the corner of East 53rd Street and South Prairie Avenue near Washington Park on Chicago's South side.And the tulip garden has quickly attracted a fan base. Lakeview man plants tulip garden to brighten neighborhood When the tulip bulbs were planted last fall, the goal was more than simply adding a vibrate pop of color and beauty to lots left empty. But, digging d...

Trump deposition video in E. Jean Carroll lawsuit released

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:19 GMT

(The Hill) — Former President Trump’s videotaped deposition in E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit was released Friday.The 48 minutes of footage show Trump responding to questions from Carroll’s lawyer over the writer’s claims that he raped her in the mid-1990s. Trump denies her allegations.Carroll has sued Trump in a civil case in federal court in New York City, accusing him of sexual battery and defamation.Portions of the deposition were played for jurors earlier this week, but the footage had not been released publicly. A transcript of the deposition was previously revealed in court filings.The release of the footage follows requests from two journalists to make it publicly available. Closing arguments are expected Monday.This is a developing story.

Fun facts about UT as May 2023 commencement ceremonies kickoff

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:19 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for May 5, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) – Beginning Thursday, the graduating class for May 2023 walked the stage at The University of Texas at Austin.With commencement ceremonies in full swing, here are a few fun facts UT presented during Thursday’s graduation.The university said it had more than 1,000 student organizations available, and UT Austin was the first university with a presidential library on campus. That library was the LBJ Presidential Library, located at 2313 Red River St.During Thursday’s ceremony, 2,746 master’s and doctoral degrees were awarded, along with 7,907 bachelor’s, law and professional degrees.The university said all 50 states were represented at UT Austin, as well as more than 130 countries. From Texas, there are also 214 counties represented at the university’s Austin location.At the university, it said UT had more than 60 national championships, as well as more than 150 Olympic medals won by Long...

St. Paul man acquitted in Maplewood shooting that injured man and two boys, 12 and 15

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:19 GMT

A Ramsey County jury has acquitted a St. Paul man of all nine charges he faced in a shooting that injured three people in Maplewood in 2019.Brendon Joseph Garza, 26, was found not guilty Monday of three counts of attempted murder and six assault charges filed in the shooting that injured two boys, ages 12 and 15, and a 25-year-old man outside a Maplewood apartment building.The jury deliberated for about three hours Monday afternoon before reaching the verdict.“While we respect the jury’s decision, we are disappointed in the outcome,” Dennis Gerhardstein, Ramsey County attorney’s office spokesman, said in a statement this week. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.”Garza was represented by attorney Dan Adkins, who said the “self-defense and defense of others” claim that was raised “resonated with jurors immediately and throughout the trial.”“He was defending himself and his two friends,” Adkins said in an interview this week.One of the boys who was shot t...

Mayo Clinic threatens to kill billions in state investment, if two health care bills pass

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:19 GMT

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Mayo Clinic is threatening to reconsider planned construction projects in Minnesota “four times the size of the investment in U.S. Bank Stadium,” if the Legislature and Gov. Tim Walz enact two statewide health care bills.The threat was included in an email from Kate Johansen, Mayo Clinic’s vice chair of external engagement, to Walz and state lawmakers on Wednesday. The email had the subject line “Mayo HHS Omnibus Concerns.”Johansen wrote, “The two proposals discussed — the Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act (KNABA) and the Health Care Affordability Board — remain serious problems that require immediate attention and action.” The email was made public Friday in reporting by the Minnesota Reformer.Mayo Clinic asked for its facilities to be exempted from the KNABA requirements and to remove the “extremely problematic” Health Care Affordability Board proposal from the state’s Health and Human Services omnibus bill.The KNABA bill would require hosp...