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Chicago baseball report: Final regular-season week brings Cubs down to the wire, while White Sox try to avoid 100 losses

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

A sweep of the Colorado Rockies sends the Chicago Cubs into the final week of the regular season in playoff position with six games to go.The Chicago White Sox need to win three of their final six games to avoid 100 losses. They finish the season at home with three against the Arizona Diamondbacks and three against the San Diego Padres. A schedule change means the Diamondbacks series will begin Tuesday and conclude Thursday, with Monday an off day.Every Monday throughout the regular season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead for the Cubs and Sox.Cubs infielder Miles Mastrobuoni making the most of his playing timeThe life of a bench player tends to bring limited playing time and sometimes being the odd man out when a roster spot is needed.Miles Mastrobuoni knew he wouldn’t be getting many at-bats after the Cubs recalled him Aug. 19. He went a month before starting a game and in that span recorded four plate appearance...

Orioles reset: 3 playoff roster questions entering regular season’s final week

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

With the American League East still unsecured, the Orioles can’t quite turn their attention to the playoffs just yet. But with one week left in the regular season, decisions loom for Baltimore.Regardless of whether the Orioles win the division for the first time since 2014 or collapse to disappointingly settle for a wild-card spot, their roster will reduce from 28 players back to 26 come the postseason, though they can make changes between each round. Those two reductions could come in any number of ways, with Baltimore’s final six games and the momentum various players take into the playoffs likely to factor into those choices.As the final week of the regular season begins, here are three questions the Orioles face when it comes to their initial playoff roster.1. Who makes the playoff rotation?The outcome here somewhat depends on whether the Orioles hold off the Tampa Bay Rays to win the AL East and bypass the wild-card round, given they would need three starters maximu...

Taylor Swift turns out to see Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs play

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

Travis Kelce put the ball in Taylor Swift’s court, and she wound up bringing it to Arrowhead Stadium after all.The 12-time Grammy Award winner took advantage of an invitation from the All-Pro tight end to see the Kansas City Chiefs play the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. Swift was decked out in red and white while watching alongside Kelce’s mother, Donna, from one of the glass-enclosed suites on a sun-splashed afternoon in Kansas City.She got quite a show, too. Kelce grabbed a 3-yard TD pass in the third quarter, and the reigning Super Bowl champions went on to a 41-10 win.Kelce did not speak to reporters afterward, but he was spotted leaving Arrowhead with Swift by his side.Talk about being at the right place at the right time! Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce leaving Arrowhead together after the game. #Bears #ChiefsKingdom #NFL pic.twitter.com/wrMoDszOme— Jarrett Payton (@paytonsun) September 25, 2023“He told me at the last minute” that Swift was coming to the ga...

Film legend Sophia Loren has successful surgery after fracturing a leg in a fall at home, agent says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

ROME (AP) — Film legend Sophia Loren is recovering from successful surgery for a leg fracture after she fell in her Switzerland home, an agent for the 89-year-old Italian actor said Monday.Agent Andrea Giusti said in an email that Loren fell in a bathroom on Sunday and the surgery was performed later that day. The operation “went very well,” Giusti said. The agent didn’t immediately say which bone was broken. Italian state TV network Rai said she fractured a thigh bone. Loren has lived in a Swiss villa near Lake Geneva for decades. Earlier this month, she appeared, looking radiant, with Italian designer Giorgio Armani in Venice at a fashion show held on the sidelines of the city’s annual film festival. She celebrated her 89th birthday last week. She was scheduled to appear at a restaurant that bears her name in Bari, a city in southern Italy, this but her fall forced a cancellation of the event. According to her agent, Loren gave the restaurant the right to use her name and image.Th...

Latest talks between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt over mega dam on the Nile end without breakthrough

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The latest talks over the mega dam that Ethiopia is building on the Nile River’s main tributary have broken up without an agreement.The two-day talks between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt on the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam ended on Sunday night in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. Ethiopia’s chief negotiator, Seleshi Bekele, said the countries had “exchanged constructive ideas on various outstanding issues” and added that his country remains committed to continuing the negotiations.Egypt’s water ministry blamed Ethiopia for the failure to make a breakthrough, alleging that Addis Ababa was “opposed to any compromise.” It expressed concern and said an agreement was needed to protect Egypt’s water security and national interests.Talks have rumbled on for years over the controversial $4.6 billion project, whose construction started in 2011. It is expected to produce over 6,000 megawatts of electricity — double Ethiopia’s current output and enough ...

Federal Environment Minister suspending urban park study after Ford’s Greenbelt reversal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is expected today to stop a study of the Rouge National Urban Park that was launched after Ontario Premier Doug Ford opened nearby protected lands to development.Guilbeault says in a statement obtained by The Canadian Press that he is indefinitely suspending the study in response to Ford announcing last week that he is cancelling plans to develop parcels of the Greenbelt.Part of the Greenbelt in question is adjacent to the park in eastern Toronto and Guilbeault says the study was to assess the environmental effects of development next to sensitive lands after Indigenous people and the general public expressed concerns.Guilbeault said when he first announced the study that Rouge National Urban Park is home to 42 species at risk, including the bank swallow, the red-headed woodpecker and the monarch butterfly.Ford announced Thursday that it was a “mistake” to remove 15 parcels of land from the Greenbelt, and he pledged to retur...

Thousands of Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh as the Turkish president visits Azerbaijan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Thousands of Armenians streamed out of Nagorno-Karabakh after the Azerbaijani military reclaimed full control of the breakaway region while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Azerbaijan Monday in a show of support to its ally. The Azerbaijani military routed Armenian forces in a 24-hour blitz last week, forcing the separatist authorities to agree to lay down weapons and start talks on Nagorno-Karabakh’s “reintegration” into Azerbaijan after three decades of separatist rule. A second round of talks between Azerbaijani officials and separatist representatives began in Khojaly Tuesday following the opening meeting last week. While Azerbaijan pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in the region and restore supplies after a 10-month blockade, many local residents feared reprisals and said they were planning to leave for Armenia.The Armenian government said that 4,850 Nagorno-Karabakh residents had fled to Armenia as of midday Monday.“I...

France’s Macron to unveil latest plan for meeting climate-related commitments in the coming years

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

PARIS (AP) — President Emmanuel Macron was preparing to unveil Monday how France plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the country’s climate-related commitments within the next seven years. France has committed to reducing its emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, in line with a European Union target. To get there, the country must go “twice as fast” as the pace of its current path, Macron said in an interview that aired Sunday night on national television channels TF1 and France 2.Details of his government’s new plan are expected after he meets with key ministers at the Elysee presidential palace on Monday afternoon.Macron announced Sunday that the country’s two remaining coal-burning plants would cease operating and be converted to biomass energy, which is produced by burning wood, plants and other organic material, by 2027. The coal plants currently represent less than 1% of France’s electricity production.The two plants were initially set to c...

Kimberly Palmer: 7 saving strategies you may not have tried yet

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

With the holiday shopping season just starting and prices of many consumer goods continuing to rise, saving money can seem impossible. But those financial pressures also make doing so even more important.“Saving is your margin,” says Eric Maldonado, a certified financial planner and owner of Aquila Wealth Advisors. “When things happen — your car breaks down or there’s a layoff, or smaller stuff like gifts for the holidays — you have something to fall back on.” Maldonado notes that saving can also allow you to have money for fun things.The personal savings rate for Americans has been dropping in the last few months, and as of July was 3.5%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.Maldonado recommends aiming for a savings rate closer to 20% of your take-home income. “You can live off of 80% and put 20% toward deferred gratification,” he suggests.That guidance matches the popular 50/30/20 budget, which suggests putting 50% of your take-home income toward needs, 30% toward wan...

WGN Jarrett Payton's viral video captures Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift leaving Arrowhead Stadium together

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop star Taylor Swift were spotted together at Arrowhead Stadium stadium following Sunday's game.In a video captured by WGN TV's Jarrett Payton, Kelce and Swift could be seen walking side by side after the Chief's blowout win against the Chicago Bears. The video has gone viral and as of Monday morning, has over nine million views.Talk about being at the right place at the right time! Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce leaving Arrowhead together after the game. #Bears #ChiefsKingdom #NFL pic.twitter.com/wrMoDszOme— Jarrett Payton (@paytonsun) September 25, 2023In his Twitter post, Payton said "Talk about being at the right place at the right time! Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce leaving Arrowhead together after the game."Swift was seen during the game sitting next to Kelce's mother in a box suite, cheering on the Chiefs. Taylor Swift attends Chiefs game against Bears amid Kelce dating rumors The news comes amid rumors ...