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GM Preller says Melvin will be back as manager of the underwhelming Padres

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:12 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Bob Melvin will be back as manager of the big-spending San Diego Padres following the most disappointing season in franchise history, general manager A.J. Preller said Wednesday.The GM also downplayed reports of a fractured relationship with Melvin, who has guided the Padres to the only two winning records in a full season under Preller and has a year left on his contract.“Bob is our manager and is going to be our manager going forward," Preller said during a video news conference. "A lot's been said in the last few weeks, obviously, but both he and I are very excited about the challenge of getting this group back to the postseason next year.”The announcement came three days after the star-laden Padres finished 82-80. They were eliminated from playoff contention on Friday night, a bitter result for a team that entered the season with World Series aspirations after making a stirring run to the NL Championship Series last fall and then increasing their payroll to arou...

‘Bear attack bad’: Alberta couple identified as pair killed in grizzly bear attack

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:12 GMT

A family member of the couple killed by a grizzly bear in the wilderness of Banff National Park says he knew something was wrong as soon as he received a call with a message from their satellite device.Colin Inglis said his nephew, Doug Inglis, and Jenny Gusse, both 62, from Lethbridge, Alta., died in the bear attack on the weekend. Their seven-year-old border collie named Tris was also killed.The longtime couple, he said, was on a weeklong backpacking trip in the area and had been checking in daily with him and Gusse’s mom.Inglis received a text message from their inReach device at 4:52 p.m. Friday saying they had been delayed but that everything was OK.A representative with the satellite device company reached out at 8:15 p.m.“I got an actual phone call from Garmin saying that the SOS had been activated and that somebody had actually entered into the inReach (a message) that said, ‘bear attack bad,'” he said Wednesday in an interview.“‘Bear atta...

Ottawa puts more money toward study of Winnipeg landfill search for women’s remains

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:12 GMT

The families of two slain First Nations women whose remains are believed to be in a Winnipeg-area landfill say they have renewed hope after Manitoba’s provincial election and the federal government’s commitment of $740,000 toward further assessing the scope of a search.“We’ve been beat down so many times and never wanted to lose that hope,” said Melissa Robinson, whose cousin, 39-year-old Morgan Harris, is one of the women.“I just feel like everything has been renewed and that fire has been relit.”Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree said in Ottawa on Wednesday that more research is needed to figure out how a search could be done to find the remains of Harris and Marcedes Myran, believed to be at the Prairie Green Landfill north of Winnipeg.Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Harris, Myran and two others — Rebecca Contois, whose partial remains were found in a different landfill last year, and an...

Quebec police arrest 13 over alleged grandparent scams linked to organized crime

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:12 GMT

MONTREAL — Thirteen people were arrested Wednesday in connection with an alleged grandparent fraud scheme linked to organized crime, Quebec provincial police said.Police say the alleged frauds, which targeted people in the United States, took place between May 2019 and March 2021.The 12 men and one woman, aged between 26 and 43, were scheduled to appear in a Montreal court Wednesday afternoon, Quebec prosecutors said.All 13 face charges of fraud over $5,000, according to charging documents. Others face a variety of additional charges, including identity theft, conspiracy and attempted fraud. Four are charged with committing an offence for a criminal organization.Provincial police spokeswoman Sgt. Catherine Bernard said Quebec police worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other American agencies as part of the probe. Shelley Orman, with the FBI’s Baltimore field office, said U.S. authorities believe the scam stole more than US$2.5 million from 85 elderly victims.Fi...

Health care workers picket outside US hospitals in multiple states, kicking off 3-day strike

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:12 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers took to picket lines in multiple states on Wednesday, starting a massive strike that the company warned could cause delays at its hospitals and clinics that serve nearly 13 million Americans.The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, representing about 85,000 of the health system’s employees nationally, approved a strike for three days in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, and for one day in Virginia and Washington, D.C. Some 75,000 people were expected to participate in the pickets.“They’re not listening to the frontline health care workers,” said Mikki Fletchall, a licensed vocational nurse based in a Kaiser medical office in Camarillo, California. “We’re striking because of our patients.”The nonprofit company said its 39 hospitals, including emergency rooms, will remain open. Doctors are not participating, and Oakland, California-based Kaiser said it was bringing in thousands of temporary workers to...

Stock market today: Wall Street ends higher as the bond market loosens its vise and oil falls

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed higher as the bond market loosened its vise on the stock market. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% Wednesday, coming off a 1.4% tumble that sent it to its lowest level in four months. The Dow rose 127 points, a day after wiping out its gains for the year. The Nasdaq composite added 1.4%. Treasury yields eased to give the stock market some more oxygen after reports suggested the U.S. economy may be cooling. Oil prices also tumbled by $5 per barrel to take some pressure off inflation and the threat of rates staying very high. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is steadying itself Wednesday as the bond market loosens its vise on the stock market following signals of a cooling U.S. economy.The S&P 500 was 0.4% higher in late trading, coming off a 1.4% tumble that had sent it to its lowest level in four months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5 points, or less than 0.1%, a day after wiping ou...

Southern California county files lawsuits alleging power company’s equipment sparked wildfires

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:12 GMT

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California county has filed lawsuits alleging a major power company’s negligence caused two wildfires that collectively burned thousands of acres and prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.Orange County, which is home to more than 3 million people between Los Angeles and San Diego, filed a pair of lawsuits against Southern California Edison in which it alleges the company’s equipment played a role in wildfires in 2020 and 2022.The county said in the lawsuit that it believes that the Coastal Fire — which burned 200 acres (80 hectares), destroyed 20 homes and prompted more than 900 people to evacuate in May 2022 — was caused by an electrical failure on a utility pole that supported a distribution line. The county alleged the incident occurred because Southern California Edison, known as SCE, failed to maintain its facilities in a safe manner in an area of significant risk of wildfire.“We demand that the utilities responsi...

Prosecutors focus on video evidence in trial of Washington officers charged in Manny Ellis’ death

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:12 GMT

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A cellphone video of the 2020 fatal arrest of Manny Ellis shows the Black man on the ground with his hands in the air in surrender as police officers held his neck and shot him with a Taser, according to the testimony Wednesday of a forensic video analyst in the trial of three Washington officers accused in his death.Prosecutors are also expected to call Ellis’ sister and mother to the stand. Tacoma Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank, both white, are charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Officer Timothy Rankine, who is Asian American, is charged with manslaughter. All three have pleaded not guilty.Video evidence will be key in the case against the officers. The officers have claimed that the 33-year-old Ellis aggressively fought back, but the videos show he was in a surrender position during the attack.Grant Fredericks, owner of a forensic video analysis company, walked the jury, slide by slide, through one of the cellphone vide...

McCarthy’s ouster leaves the House adrift as divided Republicans seek to unite behind a new leader

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The stunning removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker has left the House adrift as Republicans struggle to bring order to their fractured majority and begin the difficult and potentially prolonged process of uniting around a new leader. The House convened briefly Wednesday and then went into recess, with North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, the caretaker speaker pro-tempore, serving in the job with very little power for the foreseeable future. Other Republicans left Washington, awaiting the next steps.The House will try to elect a speaker as soon as next week. The timing is nowhere near certain as Republicans line up for their chance at the gavel amid the bitter divisions that sparked the chaos.The House majority leader, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., is in line for the post, but he faced an immediate challenge from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the Judiciary Committee chairman and a favorite of conservatives, who quickly announced his own candidacy. Others are expected to emer...

Nichols College president resigns amid allegations of misconduct at Coast Guard Academy

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:12 GMT

DUDLEY, Mass. (AP) — A former Coast Guard Academy professor whose tenure coincided with a sexual harassment scandal has resigned as president of Nichols College in Massachusetts.Glenn Sulmasy stepped down Tuesday amid an investigation initiated by the private, four-year college after accusations from Sulmasy’s time at the academy came to light.“In light of these reports and facts uncovered to date during our ongoing investigation, and their impact on President Sulmasy’s ability to lead Nichols College, the board strongly believes the institution’s best interest is to pursue new leadership,” the college said.Neither Sulmasy nor his attorney immediately returned messages seeking comment Wednesday. The Coast Guard in June apologized for failing to take “appropriate action” years earlier when accusations of sexual assault and harassment surfaced at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. An investigation dubbed “Operation Fouled Anchor” identified 62 substantiated...