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Pope speaks of secret peace 'mission,' help for Ukraine kids

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:11:48 GMT

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday revealed that a secret peace “mission” in Russia's war in Ukraine was under way, though he gave no details, and said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.“I’m available to do anything,” Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. “There’s a mission that’s not public that’s underway; when it’s public I’ll talk about it.”Francis gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary.Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a concern since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Francis said the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do “all that is humanly possible” to reunite families.“All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don’t help,” F...

Remains found last week identified as missing Missouri man

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:11:48 GMT

ELSBERRY, Mo. - The family of a Pike County, Missouri, man who went missing nearly four years ago received word last week that his remains had been discovered and identified. On the afternoon of April 24, a field hand working south of Elsberry contacted the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office after discovering partial human remains.Authorities brought the remains to the Lincoln County Coroner's Office for forensic analysis. Meanwhile, a K9 unit and drone were used to search the area for addition remains, to no avail.On April 26, a forensic odontologist successfully identified the remains belonging to Timothy Padfield.Padfield was reported missing on May 31, 2019, by his wife. Kim Gardner wants new judge in effort to remove her from office At the time, Mrs. Padfield told the sheriff's office she last spoke with Timothy the day before around 5 p.m. He'd attempted to retrieve items from their home in Annada, which had been rendered inaccessible due to flooding.During the call, Timothy to...

Missouri lawsuit isn’t the only defamation case against far-right site Gateway Pundit

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:11:48 GMT

Soon after the 2020 election, Eric Coomer’s name started trending on Twitter, often accompanied with the hashtag #ArrestEricCoomer.At the time, he was living in Colorado and working as director of product security for Dominion Voting Systems, the company ensnared in unfounded election fraud conspiracies following former President Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden. Coomer found himself at the center of the conspiracy after a right-wing podcaster named Joseph Oltmann claimed without evidence that he’d infiltrated an antifa conference call in which a Dominion employee named Eric allegedly said: “Trump is not gonna win. I made f-ing sure of that.”A series of Coomer’s Facebook posts making disparaging comments about Trump soon surfaced, including a satirical manifesto that he didn’t write that was signed by “antifa.” Oltmann’s theory was picked up by other right-wing media and shared on Twitter by one of Trump’s sons. It eventually found its way to the St. Louis-based the Gatewa...

Broncos still have holes to fill on roster with 2023 NFL draft in the books

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:11:48 GMT

The NFL Draft is over, but Broncos general manager George Paton knows there’s more work to be done.“We’re going to keep looking for certain positions,” Paton said. “That’s part of what you do. When you’re in my seat, you’re always looking to help your football team.”Denver used the draft to give quarterback Russell Wilson another weapon in the passing game while adding depth at inside linebacker and the secondary. Still, there appear to be glaring holes on both sides of the ball that need to be addressed. Here are a few needs for the Broncos after the draft.Offensive tackleThe Broncos haven’t drafted an offensive tackle since 2017. Selecting a developmental tackle in the later rounds of this year’s draft seemed logical. However, the Broncos went in a different direction.Newly acquired Mike McGlinchey and holdover Garett Bolles, who sustained a season-ending leg injury in October, will be Denver’s starting right and left tackles. The concern is the...

SF Giants’ games in Mexico City have been ‘electric.’ Is it a viable option for MLB expansion?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:11:48 GMT

MEXICO CITY — Major League Baseball’s first regular-season foray into North America’s largest market has been a rousing success, with sold-out crowds, passionate fans and rave reviews from players (yes, even the pitchers). So, with commissioner Rob Manfred already outspoken about expansion, why not Mexico City?The atmosphere, with a cacophony of noisemakers, crowd karaokes that put “Sweet Caroline” at Fenway Park to shame and alternating chants of “Let’s go Giants!” and “Let’s go Padres!”, has been second to none, and not even a pair of losses to the Padres — dropping Sunday’s finale, 6-4 — could spoil the Giants’ perception of the trip.“I think it’s great,” infielder J.D. Davis said. “It’s a little bit of a launchpad and everything. Obviously the pitchers probably don’t like it as much. It’s fun. The atmosphere is great. I think it’s electric. It’s just a great place to play. I have nothing ba...

A’s end ugly month of April with walk-off win over Cincinnati

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:11:48 GMT

OAKLAND – The ugliest April in the history of the Athletics franchise had a most pleasant ending Sunday.Esteury Ruiz singled to center in the bottom of the ninth to score Jace Peterson from third base as A’s beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-4, snapping a five-game losing streak before a Little League player-fueled crowd of 18,271 at the Coliseum.A’s reliever Zach Jackson got out of a jam in the top of the ninth, stranding Reds runners on second and third base by retiring three straight batters. In the bottom half, Oakland had runners on first and third before the heroics by Ruiz, who collected his first career walk-off hit.The A’s win snapped a nine-game home losing streak and allowed them to finish April with a 5-23 record.The A’s had already set a Major League record for most losses in April, as they dropped to 5-23 overall with a 3-2 loss to the Reds on Saturday, eclipsing a mark set by the Baltimore Orioles, who went 1-22 in 1988.The A’s coughed up a two-run lead in the sixth inning s...

Vaughn, White Sox stop slide with wild 12-9 win against Rays

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:11:48 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — On the very last day of a mostly miserable April, Andrew Vaughn and the Chicago White Sox finally got to celebrate again.Vaughn capped Chicago’s seven-run ninth inning with a three-run homer, and the White Sox stopped a 10-game losing streak with a wild 12-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.Yasmani Grandal also homered and Adam Haseley had four hits as Chicago won for the first time since April 18. It was the longest slide for the team since it also dropped 10 in a row in 2013.“That felt like a huge weight off our shoulders,” Vaughn said. “You know April showers bring May flowers, so here we go.”Chicago finished with a season-high 18 hits. It was the franchise’s biggest ninth-inning comeback since it trailed 10-4 against Minnesota on Sept. 7, 2007, before winning in extra innings.“We’ve got some fight in that clubhouse,” first-year manager Pedro Grifol said. Jake Burger sparked the winning rally with a one-out RBI double against Jalen Beeks (0-2)....

White Sox OF Luis Robert hampered by hamstring tightness

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:11:48 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. was out of the starting lineup Sunday, one day after he was pulled from a loss to Tampa Bay because he failed to hustle up the line on a grounder.Robert jogged to first after he bounced to pitcher Calvin Faucher in the first inning Saturday, leading to a round of boos from the home crowd. First-year manager Pedro Grifol replaced Robert with a pinch hitter in the second.The White Sox went on to a 12-3 loss to the Rays, extending their slide to 10 in a row.Robert said he was trying to play through some right hamstring tightness and should have let Grifol know how he was feeling. Grifol said Robert’s hamstring tightness — not his lack of hustle on the first-inning play — was the reason he was out of the lineup Sunday.“When we are struggling as a ballclub like that, I think it’s human nature for them to want to be a part of us getting back on track. And I think he felt like he could play and help us,” Grifol said. “The proble...

Syndergaard gets first Dodgers’ win in sweep of Cardinals

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:11:48 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Noah Syndergaard got his first win in a Dodgers uniform and Los Angeles got some timely hits and took advantage of mistakes by St. Louis pitchers to defeat the reeling Cardinals 5-3 on Sunday.David Peralta drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who posted their first three-game series sweep of the season.Syndergaard (1-3), who signed a one-year contract during the offseason, allowed three runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. St. Louis was swept in a series for the second time this season and went 2-8 on its season-long 11-day, 10-game road trip. At 10-19, the Cardinals are 10 games behind Pittsburgh in the NL Central. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is the first time since 1907 St. Louis has been at least 10 games behind the division leader at the end of April.The game was tied at 3 in the fifth inning when the Dodgers plated the go-ahead runs. Will Smith led off with a double before Zack Thompson (1-2) walked Max Muncy and Jason Heyward to load the bases. Af...

Gray throws 6 strong innings, Nationals beat Pirates 7-2

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:11:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Josiah Gray pitched six strong innings, Joey Meneses had four hits and the Washington Nationals finally cooled off the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2 in a game delayed nearly 2 1/2 hours by rain Sunday.Jeimer Candelario and Victor Robles each had an early two-run double for Washington, which had lost three straight. Luis García delivered a two-run single in the second, and every Nationals starter got at least one hit.Bryan Reynolds and Tucupita Marcano each had two hits and an RBI for the surprising Pirates, who had won four straight and 11 of 12. Pittsburgh finished April with a 21-8 record.Gray (2-4) allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out six. He retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced. Over his last five starts, the right-hander is 2-2 with a 1.57 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings.Andrés Machado worked two scoreless innings for Washington, and Kyle Finnegan allowed a run in the ninth.Pirates starter Johan Oviedo (2-2) gave up seven run...