
DALLAS (AP) — The championship vision that led Nathan Eovaldi to sign with Texas as a free agent two years ago is the same one that brought him back to the Rangers. A World Series title in his first season was followed by a losing record this year. “I believe in the guys in the group that we have. We were able to do it in ‘23. I don’t feel a lot has changed,” Eovaldi said Friday, a day after finalizing a $75 million, three-year contract . “We had a down year last year, but I've said it before, you learn a lot from losing seasons.” Eovaldi had declined a $20 million player option to become a free agent again and reached an agreement during the winter meetings in Dallas. Texas also acquired slugging corner infielder Jake Burger in a swap with Miami. Burger had fallen asleep before getting a call late Tuesday night that he had been traded to Texas, where his family is planning to move after the October birth of a daughter with Down syndrome. “The other city that is really good other than Nashville in terms of children's hospital and resources for her Downs is in Dallas," Burger said. “Not just from the baseball spectrum, from the life aspect as well ... I feel like it was meant to be, and we couldn’t be more more excited about that.” In the Nashville area, Burger lives close to Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, whom he plans to visit with soon. His former Marlins manager, Skip Schumaker , was hired last month by the Rangers as a senior adviser for baseball operations, and Luis Urueta, Miami’s bench coach the past two seasons, recently joined Bochy’s on-field coaching staff for 2025. Burger and Rangers pitcher Dane Dunning were once roommates in the Chicago White Sox organization. Burger hit .250 with 29 home runs and 76 RBIs in 137 games for the Marlins last season, when he started 59 games at third base and 50 starts at first. He was with the White Sox in Texas when he got traded to Miami on Aug. 1, 2023, and four days later hit his first homer with the Marlins at Globe Life Field. When the Rangers made the title run in 2023, Eovaldi was 5-0 with a 2.95 ERA in six postseason starts. He was the winning pitcher in their World Series-clinching Game 5 at Arizona. He was also part of Boston’s 2018 title. Eovaldi was 12-8 this year with a 3.80 ERA in 29 starts, the last seven scoreless innings in the regular-season finale. He is 24-13 with a 3.72 ERA in 54 starts for Texas the past two seasons. The new deal for the Texas native, who who turns 35 in February, includes a $12 million signing bonus, half payable on Nov. 15, 2026, and the rest on Jan. 15, 2028, and salaries of $18 million next season, $25 million in 2026 and $20 million in 2027. He gets a full no-trade provision. After being welcomed back by Chris Young, the team's president of baseball operations, the pitcher said he never felt like he really left. The Rangers stayed in contact throughout the process after he declined his option Nov. 4. “Kind of listening to the market and everything, I’m extremely happy to be back. I’m glad we were we were able to make it all work out,” Eovaldi said. “We had a lot of teams reach out right away and we were in contact with most them across the league. Ultimately we were able to make it back here.” ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press
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The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — David Green scored 20 points as Rhode Island beat Detroit Mercy 81-75 on Wednesday. Green also contributed eight rebounds for the Rams (6-0). Cam Estevez scored 15 points, shooting 5 for 6 from beyond the arc. Jamarques Lawrence shot 4 for 9, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc to finish with 13 points. The Rams picked up their sixth straight victory. Orlando Lovejoy finished with 28 points, seven assists and two steals for the Titans (3-5). Legend Geeter added 11 points, six rebounds and four steals for Detroit Mercy. Jared Lary also had 10 points and six rebounds. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .None
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comments likening Kamala Harris’s election loss to an attack on women’s rights and progress earned him criticism from the country’s premiers and from American billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday. Speaking on Tuesday night at an event hosted by the Equal Voice Foundation — an organization dedicated to improving gender representation in Canadian politics — Trudeau said there are regressive forces fighting against women’s progress. “It shouldn’t be that way. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. We were supposed to be on a steady, if difficult sometimes, march towards progress,” Trudeau said, adding he is a proud feminist and will always be an ally. “And yet, just a few weeks ago, the United States voted for a second time to not elect its first woman president. Everywhere, women’s rights and women’s progress are under attack. Overtly, and subtly.” In a post on X on Wednesday, Musk responded to Trudeau’s remarks, saying, “He’s such an insufferable tool. Won’t be in power for much longer.” The comments also didn’t sit well with the country’s premiers, with whom Trudeau and several cabinet ministers met late Wednesday to discuss Canada’s approach to negotiations with the U.S. Incoming president Donald Trump has threatened Canada with a 25 per cent tariff on its imports to the United States unless the country meets his demands to improve security at the border. The Liberal government has been urging the premiers and opposition leaders alike to present a united “Team Canada” front to the Americans. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who chairs the Council of the Federation, said the premiers let Trudeau know his comments were “not helpful at all.” “Donald Trump was elected democratically,” Ford said. “If you like him or you don’t like him, that’s not our issue.” He added that he’s sure Trudeau “got the message loud and clear.” When asked about Ford’s criticism after the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said in French that Trudeau has always been a champion of women in politics. Earlier this week, Trump taunted Trudeau on social media, referring to the prime minister as the governor of what he called the “Great State of Canada.” The post was an apparent reference to a joke Trump cracked at a dinner with Trudeau at his Mar-a-Lago estate nearly two weeks ago. In response to Trudeau’s concerns that a 25 per cent tariff would deal a massive blow to Canada’s economy, the president-elect teased that Canada could join the U.S. as its 51st state. He later posted an AI-generated image on social media of himself standing atop a mountain with a Canadian flag flying, with the caption “Oh Canada.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2024. — With files from Liam Casey in TorontoFirstEnergy Corp. stock underperforms Wednesday when compared to competitorsA child beauty queen’s death, a botched investigation and decades of mystery: What we know about JonBenét Ramsey’s killing
Selden scores 29, Gardner-Webb takes down Bethune-Cookman 79-64
US coach Emma Hayes admits to anthem uncertainty ahead of England stalemateRico Dowdle is hot heading into Week 15 at Carolina, and I expect him to have another outstanding game against the Panthers . He's one of my favorite DFS options for this week. Dowdle comes into Week 15 with three games in a row with at least 19 total touches, and he has at least 98 total yards in each outing against Washington, the Giants and Cincinnati. In his past two games, Dowdle has scored at least 15.1 PPR points in each contest, which includes consecutive games of at least 112 rushing yards. The Panthers are No. 1 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs, and four running backs in their past five games have rushed for at least 103 yards. Those same four running backs ( Alvin Kamara , Tyrone Tracy Jr. , Bucky Irving and Saquon Barkley ) also scored at least 12.4 PPR points in each game. Dowdle is a great price this week as well. He's $6,100 on DraftKings and $7,100 on FanDuel, and I expect him to have one of his best games of the season against the Panthers in Week 15. For more of my DFS plays for Week 15, click on this link to SportsLine . And good luck to your DFS lineups for this week.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The right frame can freeze a moment in time, creating meaning for the masses from a fist pump over a bloodied ear , a bridge crumbled by a ship , towns shredded by nature , and a victory sealed with an on-field kiss . In 2024, photographers across the U.S. captured glimpses of humanity, ranging from a deeply divisive presidential election , to hurricanes and fires that ravaged communities, to campus protests over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The gallery from The Associated Press illustrates a new chapter of political history — the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump , the moment President Joe Biden announced he would no longer run again , the campaign sprint by Vice President Kamala Harris in Biden’s place, and the raw emotion from voters during a grueling contest ultimately won by Trump . Hurricanes whipped through the country with devastating imagery, leaving a path of wreckage and death from Florida to Appalachia . After Hurricane Helene , Lake Lure in North Carolina was shown in a jarring photo covered in shards of debris thick enough to hide the surface of the water. Hurricane Milton ripped apart the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, home to Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. The scale of destruction experienced in some corners of the country in 2024 was hard to capture and might have been harder to fathom. That was the case when a container ship slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse and crumple around the vessel, killing construction workers on the bridge. As flames torched the landscape in California , another image captured firefighters and sheriff’s deputies pushing a vintage car away from a burning home. Elsewhere in California , one photo is aglow with bright orange flames, broken up only by the subtle features of an animal running through them. But hope also persevered in the face of devastation. In Helene’s aftermath , an image from Crystal River, Florida, shows Dustin Holmes holding hands with his girlfriend, Hailey Morgan, as they sloshed through floodwaters with her 4- and 7-year-old children to return to their flooded home. And in Manasota Key, Florida, a family was lit up by the glow of flashlights as they walked to check on their home damaged by Milton. Other photos from 2024 also grabbed the darkness and shadows to emphasize light: among them, a rocket liftoff and a total solar eclipse . And, yes, eclipse glasses were back in style for a shared moment of skygazing. But many other photos delivered a blast of color, from the spectrum of the northern lights across a Maine sky to a crew of workers wading into the deep-red of a Massachusetts cranberry bog . And, once again, Taylor Swift captured the country’s attention, even as a part of the crowd. She rushed down from the stands to kiss her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, after the Chiefs won the AFC Championship , en route to another Super Bowl win.
How To Start an E-Commerce Business Using AIVirgin Media O2 has divulged insights indicating a shift in British habits for 2024, with more individuals reverting to office-based work and tucking in for an earlier bedtime. According to the telecoms heavyweight, anonymised data gathered from the O2 mobile network underlined a rise in commuting activities throughout the year, pinpointing that around 48% of people ventured to their office workplaces on a five-day week regularity. Virgin Media O2's broadband figures show that Britons are increasingly opting for an early night, with network usage starting to dwindle from 9.20pm – a whole 20 minutes prior than what was observed back in 2020. Additionally, mornings have become busier earlier on, with network traffic picking up from 6.20am, which is fifteen minutes ahead of previous years. The data compilation also revealed that general broadband consumption advanced by 8.1% in 2024, propelled significantly by the online gaming sector. Plus, an eventful sports calendar featuring high-profile events like the Euros and the Olympics contributed to spikes in streaming, mobile networking, and TV viewership figures. Moreover, the company recorded a 9% spike in mobile data use over this year. Jeanie York, chief technology officer at Virgin Media O2, spoke on the findings: "It was another record-breaking year across our mobile and fixed networks, as our customers continue to use more data than ever before."Georgia loses QB Carson Beck (arm) during SEC title game
Centene Corp. stock rises Wednesday, still underperforms marketUNITED NATIONS, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Britain, France and Germany have told the United Nations Security Council that they are ready - if necessary - to trigger a so-called "snap back" of all international sanctions on Iran to prevent the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon. They will lose the ability to take such action on Oct. 18 next year when a 2015 U.N. resolution expires. The resolution enshrines Iran's deal with Britain, Germany, France, the United States, Russia and China that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. Iran is "dramatically" accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade, the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief told Reuters last week. The move comes as Iran has suffered a series of strategic setbacks, including Israel's assault on Tehran's proxy militias Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and the ouster of Iranian ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Western states say there is no need to enrich uranium to such a high level under any civilian program and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs. Iran denies pursuing nuclear weapons. "Iran must deescalate its nuclear program to create the political environment conducive to meaningful progress and a negotiated solution," the U.N. ambassadors of Britain, Germany and France wrote in a Dec. 6 letter to the Security Council. "We reiterate our determination to use all diplomatic tools to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, including using snap back if necessary," they said. The communication was in response to letters earlier last week from Russia and Iran, which followed an initial note to the council by Britain, Germany and France on Nov. 27. Russia and Iran also then followed up with further letters this week. The tit-for-tat letters came as European and Iranian diplomats met late last month to discuss whether they can work to defuse regional tensions, including over Tehran's nuclear program, before Donald Trump's return to the White House. During his first term, Trump quit the nuclear deal in 2018. In a letter to the council on Monday, Iran's U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani urged the Europeans to "abandon their ineffective and failed policy of pressure and confrontation," saying they "should embrace diplomacy and focus on rebuilding the trust essential to resolving the current impasse." The European parties to the Iran nuclear deal have adopted a tougher stance on Iran in recent months, notably since Tehran ramped up its military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia - in a Tuesday letter - said Britain, Germany and France had no right to invoke the "snap back" of sanctions and that it was irresponsible of them to suggest the possibility of using the "snap back" mechanism. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres submitted his biannual report to the Security Council on the implementation of the 2015 resolution on Tuesday, warning there was a "critical need for a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear issue" given the deteriorating situation across the Middle East. The "snap back" of international sanctions on Iran would require Iran to suspend all nuclear enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, and ban imports of anything that could contribute to those activities or developing nuclear arms delivery systems. It would also reimpose a conventional arms embargo, ban Iran from developing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and revive targeted sanctions on dozens of individuals and entities. Countries also would be urged to inspect shipments to and from Iran and authorized to seize any banned cargo. Sign up here. Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab
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