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Chicago baseball report: Willson Contreras and José Abreu return this week — and the Cubs’ Christopher Morel quandary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:54:02 GMT

It’s homecoming week for former Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, former Kansas City Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol and former Chicago White Sox first baseman José Abreu.But some of them might not be in the mood to celebrate.Contreras’ return to Wrigley Field on Monday with the St. Louis Cardinals coincides with the loss of his catching position. Grifol’s return to Kauffman Stadium on Monday for a four-game series comes amid one of the worst starts in White Sox history. And Abreu entered Sunday hitting .223 with no home runs and a .527 OPS for the Houston Astros, who visit the Sox for three games starting Friday.Now we’ll see how they fare in their old stomping grounds.Every Monday throughout the season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead for the Cubs and White Sox.Waiting on MorelThe Christopher Morel saga is beginning to look a lot like the Nico Hoerner story from 2021.After early succ...

War overshadows Victory Day, Russia’s crucial holiday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:54:02 GMT

Victory Day, Russia’s most important secular holiday, lauds two tenets that are central to its identity: military might and moral rectitude. But the war in Ukraine undermines both this year.The holiday falling on Tuesday marks the 78th anniversary of Germany’s capitulation in World War II after a relentless Red Army offensive pushed German forces from Stalingrad, deep inside Russia, all the way to Berlin, about 2,200 kilometers (1,300 miles).The Soviet Union lost at least 20 million people in the war; the suffering and valor that went into the German defeat have been touchstones ever since.However, many regions have canceled their May 9 observances because of concerns the events could be targets for Ukrainian attacks. The famed parade in Moscow’s Red Square will go ahead following Russia’s claim of an attempted Ukrainian drone attack on the Kremlin, whose spires loom next to the parade venue, but amid ramped-up security measures. The use of drones has been once again ban...

Spain records hottest and driest April on record

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:54:02 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Drought-stricken Spain says last month was the hottest and driest April since records began in 1961.The State Meteorological Agency, known by the Spanish acronym AEMET, said Monday the average daily temperature in April was 14.9 degrees Celsius (58.8 Fahrenheit), that is 3 degrees Celsius above the average.AEMET said average maximum temperatures during the month were up by 4.7 Celsius.Rainfall was a fifth of what would normally be expected in the month, making it the driest April on record in Spain. Last year was Spain’s hottest since record-keeping started in 1961, and also the country’s sixth driest. Three years of scant rainfall and high temperatures put the country officially into long-term drought earlier this year.A flash study by a group of international scientists last week found that record-breaking April temperatures in Spain, Portugal and northern Africa were made 100 times more likely by human-caused climate change and would have been almost impossible in t...

Kimberly Palmer: How to make summer camp more affordable

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:54:02 GMT

To create a fun but affordable summer for her daughters, ages 11 and 13, Flossie McCowald plans out camps well in advance. The Pennsylvania resident snags early bird discounts, takes advantage of a church-based sleepaway camp that offers scholarships and leverages sibling discounts.“Every little bit helps,” says McCowald, who is the founder of SuperMomHacks.com, where she writes about parenting.That’s especially true when camp is more expensive than ever. “We’re in an inflationary environment, and camp is no exception,” says Tom Rosenberg, president and CEO of the American Camp Association, which represents camps and industry professionals. He adds that camps are facing price increases across every major cost category, including staffing, insurance and transportation.The ACA says that according to responses it collected from members nationwide in 2022, on average day camp costs $88 a day and overnight camp costs $173 a day, while some camps are free, and most offer need-based financ...

Police deploy in schools in Serbia as opposition plan march

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:54:02 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Police on Monday deployed in schools throughout Serbia in an effort to restore a shaken sense of security following two mass shootings last week — including one in a primary school — that left 17 people dead and 21 wounded, many of them children.The shootings last Wednesday in Belgrade and a day later in a rural area south of the capital left the nation stunned. The shootings also triggered calls to encourage tolerance and rid society of widespread hate speech and a gun culture stemming from the 1990s wars. Opposition parties urged citizens to come to a march against violence in central Belgrade later on Monday. They demanded the resignations of government ministers and changes in mainstream media that often host convicted war criminals and crime figures on their airwaves.Education Minister Branko Ruzic submitted his resignation on Wednesday and authorities launched a gun crackdown, but opposition said this was too little, too late. “We have to learn anew how...

EU’s von der Leyen to visit Kyiv to celebrate Europe Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:54:02 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is traveling to Kyiv on Tuesday to mark Europe Day together with Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy.The 27-nation bloc traditionally marks its “peace and unity” on May 9. On Monday, Zelenskyy announced his country would equally celebrate the day “together with all of free Europe.” Von der Leyen has already visited Kyiv on several occasions since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 14 months ago. She has been a major driver in providing support for the embattled nation and in setting sanctions targeting the Kremlin. Zelenskyy was in the Netherlands only last week, where he urged speed in having the EU welcome Ukraine as a member. Ukraine is officially a candidate for membership but formal negotiations have yet to begin — a process that could take many years. The Associated Press

CPD investigates death of 24-year-old officer fatally shot outside home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:54:02 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are investigating the death of a fifth district police officer who was fatally shot outside her home in the Avalon Park neighborhood Saturday.According to police reports, 24-year-old Areanah Preston had just completed a tour of duty and was found with a gunshot wound in the 8100 block of South Blackstone Avenue around 1:42 a.m. Man shot and killed while loading car with groceries in Englewood Interim Police Superintendent Eric Carter confirmed that she had just got off the job when she was fatally shot. Police confirmed Preston was on the job for three years and she worked out of the fifth district. "We ask you to keep officer and her family in your prayers," Carter said in a police debriefing Saturday morning. Mayor Lori Lightfoot met with the mother and siblings of the fallen officer. Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson released a statement as well:“This is a profound tragedy, and my heart breaks for the family of the young officer who wa...

Monday Forecast: Mainly cloudy, cool with rain showers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:54:02 GMT

Monday: Mainly cloudy, rain showers, cooler lakeside, E 5-10 G20. High: 50, low: 56Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Monday Night: Evening rain chance, mostly cloudy, NNE 5-15 G20. Low: 49Chicago Area Radar | WGN TVTuesday's weather forecast is looking Mostly sunny, cooler lakeside, N 5-10 G15. High: 67, Low: 58

Nearly half of baby boomers have no retirement savings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:54:02 GMT

(The Hill) - More than two-fifths of baby boomers are nearing retirement with no retirement savings. That fact may surprise you, if you are a typical white-collar worker, dwelling in a corporate culture of near-universal retirement coverage, encouraged to save a half-million dollars or more before taking the gold watch. But many Americans work for smaller companies that don’t offer retirement savings, or are self-employed, or live paycheck to paycheck.  “You think everyone works for a Fortune 500 company, and everybody has a pension plan, but that’s not the reality,” said Craig Martin, managing director of wealth and lending intelligence at J.D. Power.  Fewer than half of working-age Americans have any retirement savings, according to Census data for 2020. Savings rates rise with age, but only to a point. In the 55- to –64-year-old boomer age group, 58 percent of Americans own retirement accounts.  And that is a problem. A newly minted retiree of 6...

Once-cool Facebook may have 3 billion users, but many of them are old

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:54:02 GMT

Facebook says it is not dead. Facebook also wants you to know that it is not just for “old people,” as young people have been saying for years.Now, with the biggest thorn in its side — TikTok — facing heightened government scrutiny amid growing tensions between the U.S. and China, Facebook could, perhaps, position itself as a viable, domestic-bred alternative.There's just one problem: young adults like Devin Walsh have moved on.“I don’t even remember the last time I logged in. It must have been years ago,” said Walsh, 24, who lives in Manhattan and works in public relations.Instead, she checks Instagram, which is also owned by Facebook parent company Meta, about five or six times a day. Then there's TikTok, of course, where she spends about an hour each day scrolling, letting the algorithm find things “I didn't even know I was interested in.”Walsh can't imagine a world in which Facebook, which she joined when she was in 6th grade, becomes a regular part of her life again."It's the b...