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MLB Notes: How do ‘underdog’ Red Sox playoff odds stack up against AL rivals?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:02 GMT

Chaim Bloom ruffled some feathers around New England on Tuesday when he called the Red Sox “underdogs” after largely standing pat at the trade deadline. It wasn’t exactly a ringing vote of confidence in the club, which had put together one of the best records in baseball over the prior three weeks.Bracing as it was to hear, Bloom wasn’t wrong.Entering Saturday the Red Sox playoff odds stood at 22.1% according to FanGraphs, the highest among American League teams currently below the playoff cutline but significantly lower than their closest playoff competitor, the Toronto Blue Jays.That doesn’t mean the Red Sox can’t make the playoffs, but it is a good indicator that the club has a lot of work to do.So how exactly do the Red Sox stack up against the rest of the American League? Here’s a snapshot of each playoff contender, their odds, their remaining schedules and other factors that could play a role down the stretch. All playoff odds are acco...

One pie at a time, Red Sox superfan raising awareness of rare stomach disease

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:02 GMT

Sports aren’t just about competition and entertainment, they can also provide a platform to help make a real difference in the world.Millions of dollars have been raised for cancer research thanks to the Red Sox partnership with The Jimmy Fund, and a decade ago former Boston College baseball star Pete Frates kicked off the wildly successful Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money and awareness of ALS.Now a local Red Sox fan hopes to make an impact for those battling another rare and debilitating disease.Andrew Belliveau, a 26-year-old Lynn native, has spent most of his life battling gastroparesis, a condition that stops or slows the movement of food from your stomach to your intestines and makes it difficult for those afflicted to digest food. The disease is not well known among the general public, but in recent years Belliveau has tried to change that through his Gastroparesis Pie Face Challenge.“Being from Lynn I got to see firsthand what the Frates family did for ALS and ...

A deadline has arrived for Niger’s junta to reinstate the president. Residents brace for what’s next

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:02 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The deadline has arrived Sunday for Niger’s military junta to reinstate the country’s ousted president, but the West Africa regional bloc that has threatened a military intervention faces prominent appeals to pursue more peaceful means.Neighboring Nigeria’s Senate on Saturday pushed back against the plan by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, urging Nigeria’s president, the bloc’s current chair, to explore options other than the use of force. ECOWAS can still move ahead, as final decisions are taken by consensus by member states, but the warning on the eve of Sunday’s deadline raised questions about the intervention’s fate.Algeria and Chad, non-ECOWAS neighbors with strong militaries in the region, both have said they oppose the use of force or won’t intervene militarily, and neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso – both run by juntas – have said an intervention would be a “declaration of war” against them, too.Niger’s ousted President Mohamed Bazoum...

Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra seen in video at Cambodian leader’s birthday party

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:02 GMT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attended a birthday party for outgoing Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh, according to video posted online Sunday, a day after Thaksin said he would delay plans to return to Thailand following years of self-imposed exile.Thaksin’s appearance in Cambodia came at a politically sensitive time in neighboring Thailand, as Pheu Thai, the latest in a string of parties affiliated with Thaksin, is seeking to win enough support in Parliament for one of its members to become the next prime minister almost three months after a general election in May.Thaksin said on Saturday on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that he would delay a planned return to Thailand next Thursday for “no longer than two weeks,” citing a doctor’s appointment.His daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who campaigned for prime minister with Pheu Thai in the latest election, had said nearly two weeks ago her father would return to T...

Pope wraps up an improvised World Youth Day with 1.5 million attendees and a very big Mass

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:02 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis wrapped up his five-day trip to Portugal on Sunday with a massive open-air Mass for an estimated 1.5 million people who camped out overnight on a vast field to attend the grand finale of the World Youth Day festival.The sun rose over the River Tagus, waking up pilgrims who slept on mats, cots and the bare ground to be in place for Francis’ Mass, scheduled for early to avoid midday temperatures that are expected to hit 40 degrees C (104 F). Starting at dawn, a priest-DJ started spinning thumping reggae and Christian hymns from the sound system.Francis set out earlier than planned Sunday morning to loop the field in his popemobile, continuing the improvisation that has characterized this trip. He has ditched speeches in favor of off-the-cuff conversations with young people and substituted a formal prayer for peace in Ukraine at the Fatima shrine, long associated with exhortations of peace and conversion in Russia. The Vatican later published part o...

Staff working behind the scenes of Canada’s fire fight essential to battle

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:02 GMT

VANCOUVER — The days of fighting wildfires are long and exhausting, so when crews return to camp, the last thing they want to do is search out a place to sleep or find something to eat.Behind the firefighters battling what is B.C.’s most destructive wildfire season is an army of more than 1,400 contracted support staff, doing everything from first aid to sandwich making. Among them is Susanne Callihoo, who manages the Takla incident camp in north-central B.C. for the contract service agency Horizon North. Her job, she explained, is to ensure the camp runs smoothly, that fire crews have all their essential needs met and are as “comfortable” as possible when they finish a shift on the fire lines. “They’re away from home … so we want to keep them well fed and housed,” she said.The small camp has a staff of about eight workers, which includes a chef, cooks, a health staffer, a janitor, a maintenance worker and a designated sandwich maker whose sole jo...

Daily horoscope for August 6, 2023

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:02 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping and important decisions from 9 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. PDT. After that, the Moon moves from Aries into TaurusHappy Birthday for Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023:You are sensual and passionate, and you love adventure and stimulation. (You don’t do boring.) You are attracted to the unique and the unusual. This is a wonderful year to socialize and enjoy yourself! Let your guard down and loosen up. Old friends might reappear in your world.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★If you gamble, be careful today. It’s easy to think something is better than it is. This applies to sports, games and even romantic relationships. Pull in your reins a bit so you can better gauge the lay of the land. Tonight: Patience. This Week: Socialize; enjoy life, especially next weekend.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★Group gatherings at home will be joyful. Nevertheless, something excessive will be the tone of the day. Too many people? Too much food? Arrogant opinions? How many people will that balc...

A Brussels NGO and a Kazakh oligarch in exile in the service of Russia?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:02 GMT

As the European Union spends billions and empties its stockpiles of armaments to help Ukraine in its war against Russia, an NGO, based a stone's throw from the European Commission, is suspected by Kiev of being a horse of Troy from Moscow. Ukrainian authorities have opened an investigation. PAN is able to go further: Brussels is now at the centre of occult influence manoeuvres that could lead to a new “Kazakhgate”. A mind-blowing investigation in which we meet Pier Antonio Panzeri, the main actor of Qatargate and the Belgian MEP Maria Arena… writes Paul Ymepatraux in PAN.Mukhtar Ablyazov and the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) are no strangers to Pan readers. On March 30, 2022, our newspaper devoted an article to the unconditional support that the Honorable Guy Verhofstadt had given them in the corridors of the European Parliament (“Guy Verhofstadt defends a sulphurous pro-Russian ASBL”, PAN, March 30, 2022). We wrote then: “In Warsaw, it is whispered, in well-informed circles, that ...

Seminar on Human Rights Violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir held in Brussels to mark “Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir”

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:02 GMT

The Embassy of Pakistan Brussels organized a Seminar on the eve of Youm-e-Istehsal (Day of exploitation) Kashmir to express its firm support to the people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).The Seminar which was held in hybrid format was aimed at highlighting the Human Rights violations by the Indian government in the IIOJ&K especially in the wake of August 5, 2019 actions to modify the status contrary to the international commitments.Former Member of the European Parliament Mr Phil Bennion, Chairman Kashmir Institute of International Relations Mr. Altaf Hussain Wani, Former President Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry Dr. Mubeen Shah and Chairman EU Kashmir Council Mr. Ali Raza Syed expressed their views focusing on the gross violations by the Indian forces of the right to liberty, health, education, expression, assembly and freedom of religion.While highlighting the grave human rig...

Dear Abby: The children’s impersonal fundraising requests annoy me

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:02 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I am being asked to donate to my grandchildren’s fundraisers for school activities like band, cheerleading, etc. This is happening via email requests from a third-party site using their name.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: The bride’s dramatic cousins unleashed wedding backlash Advice | Dear Abby: This unpleasant couple is ruining my peace and quiet Advice | Dear Abby: He put security cameras everywhere, and now he’s logging our activities Advice | Dear Abby: The photos he takes of me are threatening our marriage Advice | Dear Abby: My friends are going to be angry about what I’ve hidden from them My issue is, I believe my grandchildren should ask me personally, or at least warn me they’re raising money for their activity and I’ll be receiving an email. Am I wrong to want a personal request?GROUCHY GRAN IN NEW MEXICODEAR GRAN: You are not wrong. However,...