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Chicago Cubs trade Zach McKinstry for a pitching prospect — opening up a roster spot for Miles Mastrobuoni

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:21 GMT

The Chicago Cubs haven’t finalized their opening-day roster, but Monday’s trade of infielder Zach McKinstry to the Detroit Tigers opened up a spot for infielder Miles Mastrobuoni.McKinstry was sent to the Tigers for Carlos Guzman, a 24-year-old minor-league pitching prospect who posted a 4.11 ERA in 27 games last year with Class-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie.Mastrobuoni, a second baseman and right fielder, hit .333 with 2 RBIs in 18 games this spring. The 27-year-old left-handed hitter was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays last November for minor-league reliever Alfredo Zárraga.He’ll back up Nico Hoerner at second along with Nick Madrigal, and will also be a fourth outfielder, meaning Christopher Morel will start the season at Triple-A Iowa.Morel was informed of the decision Monday, though it was not made official. President Jed Hoyer said earlier Morel needed to play regularly. Morel hit .235 with 16 home runs in 2022 after being a surprise call-up from Do...

Yankees’ Jimmy Cordero eager to contribute ahead of big league comeback

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:21 GMT

TAMPA — Jimmy Cordero hasn’t thrown a major league pitch since Oct. 1, 2020, when the former White Sox reliever tossed a scoreless inning in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.Tommy John surgery derailed the righty’s career the following March and left him unable to pitch in 2021. But the Yankees threw Cordero a lifeline, signing him to a minor league deal that December. Now he and the team may be on the verge of reaping rewards made possible by that flyer.The hard-throwing Cordero cracked the Yankees’ Opening Day roster Sunday after he spent last season entirely at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 31-year-old shined for the RailRiders, recording a 2.09 ERA over 38.2 innings while striking out 31.8 percent of the hitters he faced.That campaign helped Cordero force his way onto the Yankees’ 40-man roster over the offseason, which in turn helped him land a gig in the Bombers’ bullpen on the heels of a solid spring.Cordero has a 4.00 ERA with nin...

Ticker: Almost half workers keep side hustle; Disney to layoff 7,000

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:21 GMT

Almost half of employed consumers hold a side job or have some other form of supplemental income such as selling artisan products, according to data released Monday by LendingClub Corp. in partnership with industry publication Pymnts.com.And it’s not just low-income or cash-strapped households who are turning to additional income to help pay the bills, either.  Those earning $100,000 annually are more likely to have a growing supplemental income, the survey found.Overall, consumers may be amassing more than $50 billion a month in cash through extra earnings — with a large portion of that money undeclared to tax authorities, according to the report.“A vast majority of consumers became used to working from home during the pandemic, and after returning to work, many kept flexible hours and turned to alternative income streams to expand their earning potential beyond a 9-to-5 job,” Anuj Nayar, financial health officer at LendingClub, said in the report.Disney to layoff 7,000Walt Disney ...

Video: Runaway tire launches car into midair spin on LA freeway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:21 GMT

(KTLA) -- Dash-cam footage from a Tesla captured the moment a vehicle on a Southern California freeway ran over a tire that had just come off a nearby pickup truck, launching the car into a midair spin. The incident occurred on Mar. 23 on the 118 Freeway in Chatsworth and was caught on Anoop Khatra’s dashboard camera.  Video shows traffic moving along the roadway when a dark-colored vehicle approaches a pickup truck that had just transitioned into the middle lane. Moments later, the truck’s front driver’s side tire pops off right in front of the dark-colored car.  The driver of the dark-colored vehicle runs over the tire and shoots into a midair spin before crashing back onto the freeway hood first and rolling back right side up. As if that weren't scary enough, video also shows the tire coming back into frame and slamming into the wreckage of the vehicle as it skids to a stop.  Khatra said the driver of the dark-colored vehicle was the sole occupant of the car, and t...

Jumbled wreckage complicates chocolate factory blast probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:21 GMT

WEST READING, Pa. — Investigators looking for the cause of a deadly explosion that leveled part of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory faced an even more difficult task Monday as they combed through wreckage that was extensively picked apart and moved around during the intensive weekend search for victims and survivors.Seven people were killed and several others wounded in the powerful blast at the R.M Palmer Co. plant in West Reading, Pennsylvania, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia. One survivor was pulled from the rubble hours after the powerful explosion rattled windows and shook houses.With the recovery effort now over, attention turned to identifying the cause — a task complicated by the jumbled wreckage.“The No. 1 goal of this, once the fire was out, gas stopped, is to look for the victims,” Pennsylvania State Police Master Trooper David Beohm said at a news conference Monday afternoon. “So with that, when they picked the building apart with the excavator, ...

Train derails in rural North Dakota and spills chemicals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:21 GMT

WYNDMERE, N.D. (AP) — A Canadian Pacific train derailed in rural North Dakota Sunday night and spilled hazardous materials. But local authorities and the railroad said there is no threat to public safety.There were no injuries and no fire associated with the derailment, which occurred in a rural area outside Wyndmere, a town of several hundred people about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Fargo.Canadian Pacific spokesperson Andy Cummings said 31 of the 70 cars on the train, including several carrying hazardous materials, left the tracks around 11:15 p.m. Sunday.Four cars filled with liquid asphalt and two railcars filled with ethylene glycol spilled some of those chemicals in the derailment. And Cummings said a car carrying propylene was punctured and released some vapor.It wasn’t immediately clear how much of the chemicals were released, but there are no waterways nearby and the chemical spills were contained at the site of the derailment. The railroad’s hazardous ...

Umpire ejects Realmuto after bizarre game ball exchange

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:21 GMT

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto was ejected Monday in a spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays for an awkward ball exchange that followed a pitch-clock violation.Home plate umpire Randy Rosenberg had just finished calling a ball on Phillies pitcher Craig Kimbrel for taking too long on the mound when the at-bat in the fourth inning devolved into the bizarre ejection.Kimbrel asked for a fresh ball after the violation, and Rosenberg threw him one. Kimbrel then threw out that baseball and asked for another. Rosenberg tried handing that ball to Realmuto to throw, but the catcher blindly turned his glove away and the ball dropped to the ground.Rosenberg immediately ejected Realmuto.Realmuto, still squatting in his catcher’s position with his back to Rosenberg, turned around and expressed confusion about what had just happened.Phillies manager Rob Thomson then came to the plate for an explanation.“How does he expect me to know he’s giving ...

N. Carolina governor signs Medicaid expansion bill into law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:21 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Monday signed a Medicaid expansion law that was a decade in the making and gives the Democrat a legacy-setting victory, although one significant hurdle remains before coverage can be implemented, thanks to a Republican-backed provision.At an Executive Mansion ceremony attended by hundreds, Cooper celebrated passage of expansion legislation, which he’s ardently sought since being first elected governor in 2016. It took Republicans in charge of the General Assembly all this time to come around to the idea and agree to offer coverage to more low-income adults, with federal coffers paying for most of it.North Carolina has been among 11 states who haven’t accepted expansion from the federal government. States with Republican leaders have recently been considering expansion after years of opposition.“This law, once implemented, will be the working families bill of the decade,” Cooper said. “Today is a historic step toward a heal...

Indiana bill banning gender-affirming care sent to governor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:21 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana House Republicans on Monday approved a bill that would ban all gender-affirming care for minors in the state, sending the measure to Indiana’s Republican governor amid a wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation across the U.S.The House advanced the ban 65-30 after contentious hearings that primarily featured testimony from vocal opponents. The bill would prohibit transgender youth under 18 from accessing hormone therapies, puberty blockers and surgeries in the state.“This is good public policy to protect our children from irreversible, harmful, life-altering procedures,” said bill sponsor Indiana Rep. Joanna King of Middlebury.In many U.S. states, lawmakers are approving or considering laws that target transgender health care and limit competitions open to trans athletes.At least nine states have enacted laws restricting or banning some forms of gender-affirming healthcare for minors: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, Tennessee, Utah and...

Saskatchewan looks to boost critical minerals industry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:21 GMT

REGINA — The Saskatchewan government is hoping to bolster critical mineral exploration after announcing a strategy Monday that aims to attract investment and double production by 2030.The plan would see the province expand a tax credit program and provide millions more dollars in grants to companies. The federal government has promoted critical minerals as being essential for moving toward a greener and more digitally focused economy. Producing more of them at home would also help avoid supply-chain disruptions, given China is the main producer, Ottawa has said. Critical minerals include lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel, zinc and rare earth elements. They are used for batteries, solar panels, computer chips and electrical transmission lines.“The world’s moving to where batteries are going to have a bigger impact on all our lives. Critical minerals are incredibly important,” Energy Minister Jim Reiter said. “The time is now.”The Saskatchewan Party governm...