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Nootbaar says pepper-grinder sales are ‘up quite a bit’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:44 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Lars Nootbaar’s pepper-grinder gesture is catching on all across Japan, not just at the Tokyo Dome.You see people doing it on the trains, across the counter ordering a coffee and of course among the 40,000 fans who have packed the Tokyo Dome to watch Japan play in the World Baseball Classic.“The fans have leaned it to that. It’s been pretty cool,” Nootbaar said Thursday. “I heard the pepper grinders around the country, their sales have gone up quite a bit this past week.”Nootbaar should ask for a commission, or an endorsement. Behind Shohei Ohtani, he’s become Japan’s No. 2 attraction.“It’s been great,” said the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, who grew up in California. “The fans have embraced me. The team has embraced me, which has been so great for me to be able to be myself and just go about my day normally with these guys. They’ve been fantastic. I didn’t really expect it to turn out this way.”Nootbaar said he’s ready ...

Analysis: Chalk rules in women’s March Madness bracket picks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:44 GMT

The women’s NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins with 68 teams vying for the national championship and cutting down the nets in Dallas.There’s a new format to March Madness, with two regionals in Seattle and Greenville, South Carolina, instead of the usual four. Here’s a look at what could happen over the next few weeks. This guidance will be 100% accurate — until the first round tips off on Friday.CHALK RULESA No. 1 seed has won the national championship the past 10 tournaments and 14 of 15. The only time that didn’t happen was in 2011 when coach Gary Blair led Texas A&M to the title as a No. 2 seed. Since 2005, at least two of the No. 1s have made the Final Four every year except for 2016. This year’s overwhelming betting favorite is top-ranked and defending national champion South Carolina, the only undefeated team in the tourney.LACK OF MAJOR UPSETSThere is a feeling that parity continues to find its way into women’s basketball with 19 losses...

MARCH MADNESS ’23: An AP trivia quiz for the NCAA Tournament

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:44 GMT

How well do you know the NCAA Tournament? Try this AP trivia quiz about the history of March Madness:1. What is the name of the video highlight recap of each year’s NCAA Tournament?2. What is the highest number of games one team can play in a single NCAA Tournament?3. What team emerged from the first-ever First Four to reach the Final Four?4. Which coach has won the most NCAA Tournament games? Hint: He is retired.5. Eight schools have won more than two NCAA tournament titles. Which one has not? a.) Kansasb.) Villanovac.) North Carolina Stated.) Connecticut6. Who is the only three-time Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four?7. What was the first No. 16 seed to win in the NCAA Tournament? Who did they beat?8. What was the first No. 15 seed to win in the NCAA Tournament? Who did they beat?9. Who is the only coach to win the national championship at two schools?10. Who holds the NCAA career record for most points scored in the tournament?11. What program has made the most appearances...

Watch the moment Russian jet struck US drone over Black Sea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:44 GMT

The Pentagon has released footage of a Russian fighter jet colliding with a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday.While making what the Pentagon said was a routine flight in international airspace, the uncrewed MQ-9 Reaper was intercepted by two Russian Su-27 fighter jets. The warplanes dumped jet fuel on the drone and flew in front of it before one of the jets struck the drone’s propeller.U.S. operators were forced to ditch the uncrewed aircraft in the Black Sea. The U.S. said the Russian pilots were “reckless” and “unprofessional.” Russian officials denied responsibility for the crash, shifting blame to the drone’s pilots.Despite the incident, the U.S. will continue conducting surveillance flights worldwide, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday.“Make no mistake, the United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows,” Austin said at the start of a virtual meeting of nations supporting Ukraine against Russia. “It i...

Poland smashes Russian spy ring, defense minister says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:44 GMT

Poland’s security services have broken up a Russian spy network, the Polish defense minister said Thursday.“It was a spy group, they were collecting information for the benefit of those who attacked Ukraine,” Mariusz Błaszczak told public broadcaster PR1, adding that “the entire spy network had been dismantled.”Błaszczak did not specify the kind of actions the group was involved in, but said it represented a “real” threat. He said Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński would give more details at a press conference Thursday morning.The minister’s announcement is in line with previous reports from private radio broadcaster RFM, which said Wednesday — without identifying its sources — that six foreign nationals suspected of collecting information on behalf of the Russian secret service had been arrested by Polish intelligence services.According to RFM, the alleged spy ring had installed cameras on highways and railways — including near an air...

Vast majority of Europeans see Russia as an adversary, poll finds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:44 GMT

Russia is widely seen as an “adversary” or “rival” by Europeans, while the EU is perceived as stronger than before the start of Moscow’s war on Ukraine, according to a report by the European Council on Foreign Relations published Thursday.On average, two-thirds of those polled across 10 European countries consider Russia as a rival to their own country, while 40 percent see it as weaker than before it invaded Ukraine.The “adversary” stance was strongest in Denmark (82 percent), followed by Estonia and Poland (both 79 percent), Britain (77 percent), Germany (69 percent), Spain (65 percent), France (59 percent), Portugal (57 percent) and Italy (54 percent). In Romania, 44 percent said Russia is an adversary or rival.The EU, meanwhile, is seen as stronger than a year ago everywhere — including in the post-Brexit U.K. — except Italy.Political scientists Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard, who wrote the report, say the results show that the war in Ukraine has created three blocs in...

US military releases footage of Russian fighter jet forcing down American drone over Black Sea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:44 GMT

(CNN) — US European Command released footage of the Tuesday encounter between a US surveillance drone and the Russian fighter jets as it played out over the Black Sea.The newly declassified video depicts critical moments in the mid-air encounter, which the Pentagon said lasted between 30 and 40 minutes.The video shows the camera of the MQ-9 Reaper drone pointed backward toward its tail and the drone’s propeller, which is mounted on the rear, spinning. Then, a Russian Sukhoi SU-27 fighter jet is shown approaching. As it draws closer, the Russian fighter jet dumps fuel as it intercepts the US drone.In another portion of the footage, the Russian jet makes another pass. As it approaches, it again dumps fuel. The video from the drone is then disrupted as the Russian fighter jet collides with the MQ-9 Reaper, damaging the propeller and ultimately forcing the US to bring down the drone in the Black Sea. Russia has denied that a collision occurred.When the ca...

Boston University warning students about dangerous ‘BORG’ alcohol trend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:44 GMT

Boston University is warning students about a dangerous binge drinking trend ahead of the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. BU’s Student Health Services is recommending against drinking “blackout rage gallons,” or “BORGS,” which involve mixing alcohol with water and flavorings in a plastic gallon jug.Earlier this month, UMass Amherst issued a similar warning when dozens of students were hospitalized after drinking BORGs during a pre-Spring Break bash.

Wellesley College in uncomfortable national spotlight over exclusionary gender policy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:44 GMT

The elite liberal all-women’s Wellesley College finds itself in an uncomfortable position today – pressed by students and caught in a web of wokeness.Related ArticlesOpinion Columnists | Wellesley College students call for admission of trans men Students at the school – whose famous alumni include Hillary Clinton – are revolting over the administration’s exclusion of transgender males and some non-binary students, putting the national spotlight squarely on the famous campus in the hills west of Boston.If you are assigned at birth as a woman but identify as a man you can’t get into Wellesley. This policy can cause students to hide their true identity in order to be admitted to the campus, and stay in the closet.But if you are assigned at birth as a man and identify as a woman you are allowed to enroll.These policies are at the heart of the controversy at Wellesley, where students recently took a non-binding vote to change the school’s “transphobic” stance so transgend...

Hewitt: 7 March Madness storylines to watch, and predicting the bracket

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:44 GMT

This year’s men’s NCAA Tournament is as wide open as it’s ever been.As an Associated Press Top 25 voter, I can attest to that. Filling out a poll this season was a weekly challenge harder than past years. There are certainly a handful of favorites to cut down the nets in Houston in April, but there are no dominant teams. The gap has closed between high-major, blueblood programs and the rest of the pack. The extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic – making for more experienced teams across the landscape – and the introduction of NIL are among the factors.All of this is to say – this should be another incredibly exciting tournament. Let’s dive into some of the top storylines as the tourney begins Thursday with a 12:15 p.m. tip between Maryland and West Virginia.Can Kansas repeat?The defending champion Jayhawks had a terrific regular season even after losing Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun, winning the Big 12 regular-season title and winning 17 Quadrant 1 games – an NCAA m...