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Shohei Ohtani was ‘exceptionally attracted to this country,’ Blue Jays GM says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:51 GMT

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins has shed some light on the team’s failed pursuit of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani after being famously tight-lipped about the entire process during MLB’s Winter Meetings last month.Speaking to reporters over Zoom on Wednesday, Atkins confirmed Ohtani did travel to the Blue Jays spring training complex in Dunedin, Fla., and said, “There’s no doubt in my mind” that Ohtani was interested in joining the club.“We were obviously disappointed with the outcome, and it was a very difficult phone call to receive. One of the more difficult ones in my career,” Atkins said. “At the same time, (it was an) incredible process and just group effort and collaboration that (we) feel so good about. Not only that process, but what it meant to be in that position for this organization, for the city, for the country. There’s no doubt in my mind he was exceptionally attracted to this country, this city, th...

An Arkansas sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot, and a suspect is in custody, state police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:51 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed Tuesday and a suspect is in custody, said Arkansas State Police, who provided little additional details on the shooting.State police on Tuesday night said it was investigating the shooting of the Stone County deputy that occurred at 4:30 p.m. A news conference was expected later on the shooting, police said Tuesday night.Police did not identify the deputy or the suspect, or say where in the north Arkansas county the shooting occurred.A Stone County deputy died in a shooting in 2019 in Leslie, about 77 miles (124 kilometers) north of Little Rock, when responding to a domestic welfare check. The suspect in the shooting was also fatally shot.The Associated Press

Vancouver region closes out 2023 with higher home sales, average price of $1,168,700

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:51 GMT

VANCOUVER — The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouversays December home sales rose compared with a year earlier as the region closed out 2023 with balanced market conditions despite high borrowing costs.The board says 1,345 homes changed hands in December, a 3.2 per cent increase from the same month in 2022, but 36.4 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.There were 1,327 new listings of detached, attached and apartment properties last month, a 9.9 per cent increase from a year earlier, as new listings were 22.7 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.The composite benchmark home price in December for Metro Vancouver was $1,168,700, a five per cent increase from December 2022, but down 1.4 per cent from November 2023.Andrew Lis, the board’s director of economics and data analytics, says higher borrowing costs haven’t been enough to dissuade buyers from entering the market, but that “the story of 2023 is one of too few homes available relative to the pool ...

Japan police arrest a knife-wielding woman inside a train after 4 people are reported injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:51 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Police arrested a woman who wielded a knife and injured four passengers inside a train that stopped at Tokyo’s electronic town of Akihabara late Wednesday, Japanese media reported. Police rushed to the scene after a report that a woman was brandishing a knife while the train stopped at the Akihabara station, where four people were injured and taken to a hospital, NHK public television reported.Police arrested the attacker, identified only as a woman in her 20s, on suspicion of attempted murder, Kyodo News reported. It said at least three men who were stabbed were taken to hospitals.No other details, including the condition of the injured and a motive for the attack, were available. Police declined to confirm the media reports.Violent crimes are rare in Japan, which has strict gun control laws and only a handful of gun-related crimes annually. But in recent years, there have been several high-profile cases involving random knife attacks and arson on subways, and th...

3 to hospital after driver of stolen SUV crashes into vehicle: OPP

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:51 GMT

Three people were injured after their vehicle was involved in a collision with the driver of a stolen SUV, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said the two-vehicle crash happened on Wednesday in the Highway 6 and Upper James Street area.Burlington OPP officers confirmed the driver of a stolen SUV was travelling southbound on Upper James when he collided with the vehicle, which was travelling northbound on Highway 6 and making a left turn. 3 people to hospital after a stolen vehicle was involved in a 2 car crash on #Hwy6/Upper James. #BurlingtonOPP investigating, charges laid on the driver and passenger of the stolen vehicle ^ks pic.twitter.com/XofjXKgKTZ— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) January 3, 2024Sgt. Schmidt said the driver of the northbound vehicle was treated for relatively minor injuries. Two other female passengers were also hurt, one with minor injuries and another with serious injuries.The driver of the stolen SUV was not injured and...

Chicago firefighter in court Wednesday for NYE road rage shooting incident

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:51 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago firefighter is due in court Wednesday in connection to a road rage shooting on New Year's Eve.According to police, 34-year-old Omotayo Kassim is facing several felony charges including aggravated battery by discharge of a firearm, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm from an occupied vehicle.Police said the charges stem from a shooting that unfolded just before 8 p.m. Sunday in the 1600 block of West Foster Avenue in Andersonville.Police say a 35-year-old man who was driving a Jeep attempted to make a U-turn, when Kassim allegedly exited a Chevy Tahoe and opened fire. Chicago firefighter charged in connection with apparent road rage shooting in Andersonville Police say the victim suffered a gunshot wound to his face and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.Kassim was taken into custody at the scene.He is scheduled to attend a detention hearing at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

California retailers now required to have gender-neutral toy aisles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:51 GMT

(KTLA) – Major retailers in California are now required to have gender-neutral toy aisles under a new state law that went into effect Monday.The new law requires retail department stores physically located in California with 500 or more employees to “maintain a gender-neutral section or area, to be labeled at the discretion of the retailer.” New California law to limit how much landlords can charge for security deposits Stores that already have gender-focused toy areas won’t have to get rid of them but instead add a toy section that would apply to children of any gender, according to the law’s text.The law passed the state Legislature and was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021. Retailers that don’t comply with the law will initially be fined $250, followed by $500 for repeat offenders.California Assembly member Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley) said it was a child who inspired him to introduce the bill.“I was inspired to introduce this bill after 8-year-old Britten asked, ‘Why should a...

ABJ: Tesla expands to suburb northeast of Austin as footprint grows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:51 GMT

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) -- Tesla Inc.'s growing footprint in the Austin area now includes a sizable facility in Hutto. But what it's for remains unclear.The Austin Business Journal visited the 36,000-square-foot site at 200 County Road 199 in the fast-growing industrial hub northeast of Austin in late December. The parking lot was full and a nondescript warehouse-style building was bustling with employees in construction vests and helmets, but there were no signs listing any companies and no clear indications of who was occupying it. The only traces it could be Tesla were a handful of the company's electric vehicle charging stations out front.But Elon Musk's EV manufacturing and clean energy company is linked to the site in state filings, and it has been confirmed by Hutto officials. Tesla's expansion to Hutto underscores the company's wide-reaching plans for the region — as far south as San Antonio and, now, as far north as Hutto — as it continues buildout of its multibill...

Biden administration set to sue Texas as US Speaker visits border

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:51 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- The Department of Justice is expected to file a lawsuit against Texas and its controversial new border security law on Wednesday, accusing the state of infringing on federal authority and empowering local police to unconstitutionally arrest suspected illegal immigrants.Last week, federal authorities threatened to sue to block Senate Bill 4 if Gov. Greg Abbott did not assure them the state will not enforce the law by Jan. 3.“SB 4 effectively creates a separate state immigration scheme by imposing criminal penalties for violations of federal provisions on unlawful entry and reentry into the United States…and by authorizing state judges to order the removal of noncitizens from the United States,” the DOJ wrote in a letter sent to Abbott and obtained by Nexstar. “SB 4, therefore, intrudes into a field that is occupied by the federal government and is preempted.” US Department of Justice threatens to sue Texas over new border security law Abbott signed the bill into...

1 dead following convenience store robbery in Fredericksburg

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:51 GMT

Editor’s note: The above video shows KXAN’s morning headlines for Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2023.FREDERICKSBURG, Texas (KXAN) — One person died in Fredericksburg late Tuesday following an aggravated robbery at a convenience store in the 1000 block of South State Highway 16, according to the Fredericksburg Police Department.FPD said officers responded to a call at 11:47 p.m. regarding a person who was shot. At the scene, police found a man, later identified as 48-year-old Arthur Cortez, outside the store with a gunshot wound.Officers performed first aid, but Cortez was later pronounced dead, according to FPD.A clerk at the store told police a man entered the store, went to the back to put on a white skull mask, and returned to the front before firing a gun.The clerk said the suspect demanded money, so the clerk retrieved it from the cash drawer. The suspect then left the store, and the clerk was unharmed during the robbery, according to police.FPD said surveillance video showed the suspect ...