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Betts ties MLB record with 10th leadoff homer in first half to help Dodgers rout Angels 10-5

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:11:24 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Dodgers ended the first half of the season with a bang.All-Star Mookie Betts hit his 10th leadoff homer — tying the most in the first half in major league history — and Los Angeles homered five times for the second straight game to beat the slumping Angels 10-5 on Saturday night.“I think Mookie might be the only guy that wants to play through the break,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. The Dodgers head into the All-Star break a season-high 13 games over .500 with a record of 51-38, a half-game behind NL West-leading Arizona.“We wanted to finish strong through the first half,” Roberts said. “Once we get going again, there’s another finish line at the end of October.”The Angels dropped their season-high fifth straight to fall below .500 at 45-46. It was their 10th consecutive loss in the Freeway Series, the club’s longest-ever skid against the Dodgers. The Angels gave up 11 hits in an 11-4 loss Friday.Angels All-Star Shohei Ohtani hit his major le...

Blake Snell strikes out 11 in 6 shutout innings in the Padres’ 3-1 victory over the Mets

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:11:24 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Blake Snell allowed only one hit and struck out 11 in six shutout innings, Matthew Batten hit a two-run shot for his first homer in the majors and the San Diego Padres beat the New York Met 3-1 on Saturday night.The Padres ended the Mets’ winning streak at six, winning for the fourth time in five games.Snell (6-7) had his fifth double-digit strikeout game of the season, all in his past six starts. He has won his last six decisions, lowering his ERA to 2.85.Josh Hader pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save of the season.The Padres took a 3-0 lead in the second inning against Mets starter David Peterson (2-7). Gary Sanchez doubled and eventually scored from third on Brandon Dixon’s sacrifice fly. Batten, who was filling in for the injured Ha-Seong Kim at second base, added his two-run homer to left field. He was called up from Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday.Peterson lasted 5-1/3 innings, giving up three runs, five hits and striking out seven.New York cut it to...

Driussi propels Austin to 4-1 victory over Minnesota United

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:11:24 GMT

SAINT PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Sebastián Driussi scored a pair of goals, the first one on a penalty kick, and Austin FC breezed to a 4-1 victory over Minnesota United on Saturday night.Diego Fagundez staked Austin (8-8-5) to a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute when he used an assist from Daniel Pereira to score for a second time this season.Driussi’s PK goal came in the 45th minute and gave Austin a 2-0 lead at halftime.Driussi stretched the lead to 3-0 six minutes into the second half. His sixth goal of the campaign came with assists from Pereira and Ethan Finlay.Defender Devin Padelford scored the first goal of his career to get Minnesota United (6-8-6) on the scoreboard in the 85th minute. The 20-year-old has played 111 minutes in four appearances this season. Hassani Dotson and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi had assists.Brad Stuver saved six shots for Austin. Clint Irwin finished with four saves in his fourth start of the regular season for Minnesota United. Minnesota United was coming off a 4...

South Korean lawmakers berate IAEA chief over Japanese plans to release treated Fukushima wastewater

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:11:24 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean opposition lawmakers sharply criticized the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog for its approval of Japanese plans to release treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant during a tense meeting in Seoul on Sunday, with protesters screaming outside the door.Rafael Mariano Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s director general, arrived in South Korea over the weekend to engage with government officials and critics and help reduce public concerns about food safety. The planned release of the Fukushima plant’s treated wastewater emerged as a major political issue in South Korea after the IAEA last week approved the Japanese discharge plans, saying the process would meet international safety standards and pose negligible environmental and health impacts.South Korea’s government has also endorsed the safety of the Japanese plans, saying that the contamination levels of water pumped out from the pla...

Y2K fashion has taken over. And Gen Z is loving it

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:11:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — First came the supposed death of skinny jeans. Then, the resurgence of cargo pants, halter tops and baby tees.If there’s one thing retailers can agree on, it’s that Gen Z is hot for the early 2000s fashion trends now booming in popularity. College interns and young workers are donning wide-legged slacks at the office. The claw clip, a retro hair staple, is back; as are mesh tops, miniskirts and a host of colorful apparel that can make consumers look like they stepped out of a Disney Channel show from 2004. Fueled by social media platforms including TikTok, the so-called Y2K trend resurfaced as consumers began attending parties and going out after pandemic lockdowns. What began with hair accessories like butterfly clips and the comeback of straight-leg jeans has expanded to all-denim garments, cargo and flare pants and everything shiny, among other looks. Casey Lewis, a New York trend analyst, noted so many micro trends — often tagged with the suffix “core” — cranked ...

Massive landslide forces dozens of evacuations in Rolling Hills Estates

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:11:24 GMT

A massive landslide has forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in a Los Angeles County neighborhood late Saturday night.At least 12 homes were evacuated in Rolling Hills Estates along Peartree Lane next to the canyon area, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn was at the scene and said local sheriff’s deputies will be patrolling the area overnight.A massive landslide has forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in the Rolling Hills Estates neighborhood on July 8, 2023. (L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn)A massive landslide has forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in the Rolling Hills Estates neighborhood on July 8, 2023. (L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn)“Had the chance to speak to residents who are being evacuated,” Hahn said. “Everyone is safe but right now these homes are too unstable to enter.”It’s unclear what initially caused the landslide. No injuries were reported so far.Emergency crews responded to the scene and all...

Chú, Yeimar lead Sounders to 3-2 victory over Whitecaps

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:11:24 GMT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Léo Chú scored two second-half goals and Yeimar Gomez Andrade delivered the winner in stoppage time to rally the Seattle Sounders to a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night.Seattle (10-7-5) snapped its first two-game skid against Vancouver (6-7-7) since 2014. The Whitecaps have never beaten the Sounders three straight times. Vancouver posted just three victories in 24 match-ups against the Sounders in between the two-match win streaks.Defender Ranko Veselinovic found the net for a second time this season, using an assist from Ryan Gauld in the 24th minute to send the Whitecaps into the locker room at halftime with a 1-0 lead.Chú pulled the Sounders even in the 60th minute. Jackson Ragen and Nicolás Lodeiro had assists on the equalizer.Vancouver took a 2-1 lead in the 72nd minute on Gauld’s fifth goal of the season with assists from Brian White and goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.Chú scored the equalizer for Seattle, once again u...

Volkanovski beats Rodriguez with 3rd-round TKO for featherweight title in UFC 290

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:11:24 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — After briefly flirting with the lightweight division, Alexander Volkanovski returned to featherweight and showed Saturday night why he’s still the best in that weight.Volkanovski re-asserted himself as the champion with a technical knockout over Yair Rodriguez at 4:19 of the third round in UFC 290.Rodriguez was the interim champion after Volkanovski temporarily moved up to lightweight, but the Australian left little doubt who the better fighter in running his record to 26-2 in what was scheduled as a five-round bout.“There was a bit of fear … knowing how dangerous he was,” Volkanovski said. “That’s the honest truth. I put in my head. This week, I flipped the switch because of the respect I have for him. Now I’m a champion. I’m the king of the division. No one’s ever stopped me.”Former President Donald Trump, who is running for the Republican nomination in 2024, was among those in attendance. He entered the venue shortly before the...

Bouanga’s PK goal helps LAFC earn 1-1 draw with Earthquakes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:11:24 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dénis Bouanga scored on a first-half penalty kick to help Los Angeles FC earn a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.Bouanga’s 12th goal of the season came in the 37th minute and evened the score. He trails Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar by one goal in the race for the Golden Boot.Bouanga’s PK score for LAFC (9-6-6) came after Cristian Espinoza took a pass from Jack Skahan in the 30th minute and scored for a 10th time this season to give the Earthquakes (7-7-8) a 1-0 lead.John McCarthy had two saves for LAFC. San Jose goalkeeper Daniel de Sousa Brito was tagged with a red card in the 56th minute.The draw is the first in a 15-match series that had seen the home side win eight straight times. Atlanta United and D.C. United have played a league-record 15 times without a tie.LAFC is 2-8-2 in its last 12 matches in all competitions after going 26-8-9 in its previous 43 contests.San Jose entered play with just two victories in its last...

Yellen says Washington might ‘respond to unintended consequences’ for China due to tech export curbs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:11:24 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday said she agreed Washington will listen to Chinese complaints about security-related curbs on U.S. technology exports and might “respond to unintended consequences” as she ended a visit to Beijing aimed at reviving strained relations.Yellen defended “targeted measures” on trade that China’s leaders complain are aimed at hurting its fledgling tech industries. She said the Biden administration wants to “avoid unnecessary repercussions” but gave no indication of possible changes.Relations between the two biggest economies are at their lowest level in decades due to disputes about technology, security and other irritants. A key Chinese complaint is limits on access to processor chips and other U.S. technology on security grounds that threaten to hamper the ruling Communist Party’s development of smartphones, artificial intelligence and other industries.“We will open up channels so that they can express concerns ab...