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When and how the Orioles can clinch a playoff spot

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:34:31 GMT

The Orioles have their eye on their first American League East title since 2014, and this week, they can improve their chances while also locking up a playoff spot for the first time in seven years.Entering Wednesday, Baltimore’s magic number for a playoff spot is four, a number determined based on numerous tiebreakers and head-to-head matchups between the teams in the wild-card race. Effectively, there is no scenario the Orioles finish with 95 wins — four more than they have now — and miss the playoffs.At the earliest, Baltimore can lock up a playoff spot Thursday, when they begin a critical four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles lead the Rays by three games in the AL East heading into Wednesday’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals.Here’s a look at when and how the Orioles can clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2016.Magic number explainerFirst, let’s quickly explain the magic number. In a straight-up scenario...

Mayo Clinic Q and A: Countdown to control anxiety

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:34:31 GMT

By Mayo Clinic News Network (TNS)DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I recently turned 45 and have been dealing with anxiety for several years. My feelings of worry, stress and fatigue have increased, leading me to avoid social events and limit activities I used to enjoy. My friend suggested I try something she called mindfulness meditation to help manage my anxiety. What is this technique, and how can I start doing it?ANSWER: Anxiety is often described as sustained and excessive worry that a person cannot control related to the anticipation of a future threat, such as a traumatic event. At times, anxiety can significantly and adversely affect our daily lives, work, relationships and overall happiness. Anxiety also can manifest as an irritable, worried, restless and debilitating stress response lasting minutes to days. Most everyone has had anxiety surrounding a stressful situation.Anxiety becomes an obstacle when it affects our day-to-day lives. Anxiety can negatively affect people at home, work, sc...

Tech titans have ‘a very civilized discussion’ with senators on artificial intelligence, Musk says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:34:31 GMT

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and MATT O’BRIEN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been talking for months about accomplishing a potentially impossible task: passing bipartisan legislation within the next year that encourages the rapid development of artificial intelligence and mitigates its biggest risks.On Wednesday, he convened a meeting of some of the country’s most prominent technology executives, among others, to ask them how Congress should do it. The closed-door forum on Capitol Hill included almost two dozen tech executives, tech advocates, civil rights groups and labor leaders. The guest list featured some of the industry’s biggest names: Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and X and Tesla’s Elon Musk as well as former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. All 100 senators were invited; the public was not. “Today, we begin an enormous and complex and vital undertaking: building a foundation for bipartisan AI policy that Co...

McCarthy impeachment inquiry into Biden appears to win over even the most reluctant Republicans

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:34:31 GMT

By LISA MASCARO, STEPHEN GROVES and KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s sudden decision to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden has won over even the most reluctant Republicans, with some GOP lawmakers pushing for it to move quickly rather than drag into the 2024 election year.McCarthy opened and closed a private meeting Wednesday of House Republicans justifying his reasoning for the inquiry sought by former President Donald Trump, the party’s frontrunner to challenge Biden next year.The White House mobilized to fight what it called the “unprecedented, unfounded claims” against the president regarding his son, Hunter, and the family finances. In a 14-page memo to news media leaders, the White House urged them to hold Republicans “accountable for the fact that they are lurching toward impeachment over allegations that are not only unfounded but, in virtually all cases, have been activel...

Patriots offensive line gets bad news at Wednesday practice before Dolphins game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:34:31 GMT

FOXBORO — Patriots left tackle Trent Brown was missing at Wednesday’s padded practice, the team’s first ahead of its Sunday night showdown against the Dolphins.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick cagey with injury updates on three offensive starters New England Patriots | Source: Patriots signing ex-Eagles, Saints QB to practice squad New England Patriots | Patriots rookie Marte Mapu doesn’t know what position he’ll play, so he learned them all New England Patriots | Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte moving past 4th-down error with this advice New England Patriots | Patriots WR coach explains JuJu Smith-Schuster’s smaller-than-expected role in Week 1 The reason for Brown’s absence is unknown. The 6-foot-8, 380-pounder played every offensive snap in the Pats’ season opener last week against the Eagles. Prior to that game, the team listed Brown as ...

Correction: US-Apple-Event story

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:34:31 GMT

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — In a story published September 12, 2023, about Apple’s new iPhone 15 line-up, The Associated Press erroneously reported the storage size of the least expensive iPhone 15 Pro Max and and last year’s iPhone 14 Pro Max models. The storage size of the least expensive iPhone 15 Pro is 256 gigabytes, not 256 megabytes and the storage size of the least expensive iPhone 14 Pro Max is 128 gigabytes, not 128 megabytes.

Searchers race to recover bodies in Libya as death toll from flooding hits 5,100

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:34:31 GMT

By SAMY MAGDY and YOUSEF MURAD (Associated Press)DERNA, Libya (AP) — Search teams combed streets, wrecked buildings and even the sea Wednesday to look for bodies in a coastal Libyan city where the collapse of two dams unleashed a massive flash flood that killed at least 5,100 people.The Mediterranean city of Derna has struggled to get help after Sunday night’s deluge washed away most access roads. Aid workers who managed to reach the city described devastation in its center, with thousands still missing and tens of thousands left homeless.“Bodies are everywhere, inside houses, in the streets, at sea. Wherever you go, you find dead men, women, and children,” Emad al-Falah, an aid worker from Benghazi, said over the phone from Derna. “Entire families were lost.”Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding Sunday in many towns of eastern Libya, but the worst-hit was Derna. Two dams in the mountains above the city collapsed, sending floodwaters r...

Former NYC buildings commissioner surrenders in bribery case

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:34:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s onetime top building-safety official took cash, New York Mets tickets, a discount on a luxury apartment and other bribes from a real estate developer, a restaurateur and others and repaid them with favors, prosecutors said Wednesday.Former Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich was awaiting arraignment on bribery, conspiracy and other charges; six co-defendants were charged with bribery. Defense attorney Sam Braverman said Ulrich intended to plead not guilty.Besides serving as Mayor Eric Adams’ buildings chief, Ulrich was a city councilman and an adviser to the first-term mayor. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Ulrich in a statement of illegally “monetizing each elected and appointed role he held in New York City government.”“At every possible turn, he allegedly used his taxpayer-funded positions as city councilmember, then senior mayoral advisor and finally Department of Buildings commissioner to line his pockets,” said Bragg. ...

Housing gap steady as lower incomes expected to offset construction slowdown: CMHC

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:34:31 GMT

TORONTO — Canada will be short about 3.5 million homes by the end of the decade compared with what’s needed to restore affordability, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Wednesday.The estimate is similar to the estimate last year, but that’s because the federal housing agency now expects lower economic growth will push down demand, offsetting the slowdown in home construction seen in the past year.“We were too optimistic about Ontario’s growth coming out of the pandemic,” CMHC deputy chief economist Aled ab Iorwerth said.The lower growth, and lower incomes that go with that, means the agency expects more people especially in Ontario to stay living with parents or roommates, along with other trends that keep people from striking out to look for a home of their own.“You know, we hear of divorced couples staying together because they can’t afford to live in separate housing,” ab Iorwerth said.The lower growth projection for the provinc...

GOP legislative leaders’ co-chair flap has brought the Ohio Redistricting Commission to a standstill

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:34:31 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s latest attempt to draw fair political maps crumbled amid Republican infighting Wednesday, begging the question of whether a commission unable even to appoint its co-chairs will be able to negotiate a bipartisan redistricting solution within the few short weeks it’s been allotted.Gov. Mike DeWine grudgingly gaveled the reconstituted Ohio Redistricting Commission to order. That was despite fellow Republicans Senate President Matt Huffman and House Speaker Jason Stephens — presumably from separate locations somewhere off-site — failing to come to any agreement on who the GOP’s co-chair should be.Without their joint appointee, the panel was unable to begin the business of fixing Statehouse district maps that the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor Republicans five different times.“Our fear is more of the same,” said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio.As commissioners were ...