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McConnell leaves rehab facility after therapy for concussion

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Saturday he has been released from the rehabilitation facility where he had physical therapy for a concussion caused by a fall earlier this month.The 81-year-old Kentucky Republican said in a statement released by his office that he will work from home for the next few days. The Senate is scheduled to be on break for the weeks of April 3 and April 10.McConnell was at dinner on March 8 after a hotel reception for a campaign committee aligned with him when he tripped and fell. In addition to the concussion, he also had a rib fracture.He was released from the hospital on March 13 and, upon the advice of his doctor, moved to an inpatient rehabilitation facility for physical therapy and to continue his recovery.Concussions can be serious injuries and take time for recovery. Even a single incident of concussion can limit a person’s abilities during that period.“I’m going to follow the advice of my physical therapists and spen...

Ruling halts oil exports from Iraq’s Kurdish area via Turkey

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Iraqi officials announced Saturday that Baghdad has won an international arbitration case that will halt oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region by way of Turkey.Officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish regional government, have long been at odds over sharing of oil revenues. In 2014, the Kurdish region decided to unilaterally export oil through an independent pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.Baghdad called the move “smuggling” and “robbery” and filed a case against Turkey in the International Court of Arbitration, arguing that Turkey was violating the provisions of the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline agreement signed in 1973.The central government considers it illegal for Irbil to export oil without going through the Iraqi national oil company, while Kurdish authorities have said the practice is meant to compensate for budget transfers withheld from the Kurdish region by Baghdad.Iraq’s ministry of oil said in a statement that the ministry, via ...

Republican leaders speak at rally before Trump is scheduled to take the stage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

WACO (Nexstar) — Months after announcing his third bid for the White House, former President Donald Trump's first major rally of the presidential cycle is underway in Waco.National and Texas Republican leaders spoke Friday to a crowd of enthusiastic Trump supporters. Speakers so far have included, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fl.), U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores (Tx.), U.S. Rep. Roger Williams (Tx.), U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (Tx.), Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and musician Ted Nugent. At Trump rally @danpatrick now touting banning CRT in K-12 last session and current efforts to do so in higher Ed. Also talked about Senate’s effort to ban gender-affirming care for children, blamed House for its failure in 2021, asking crowd to call state reps #txlege— Monica Madden (@themonicamadden) March 25, 2023Marjorie Taylor Green follows Matt Gaetz on the stage. She just said:“We should be bombing the Mexican cartels, defendin...

State boys basketball: History-making New Life falls to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in Class A final

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

Early in his basketball days, a trainer asked Max Briggs what he hoped to do in the sport.His answer was simple: “I want to put New Life on the map.”That was a shared goal between Briggs and his many teammates dating back to middle school and, for many of them, even earlier. It was a group of New Life Academy students who wanted to do well and earn some recognition for the Woodbury school.Mission accomplished.The Eagles fell short of their ultimate goal to win a state championship — falling 59-49 to top-seeded Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in the Class A final on Saturday at Target Center —but New Life Academy still made school history by even playing in its first title game. So, just prior to standing in line for the medal ceremony, often a difficult, emotional time for the second-place finishers, Eagles coach Robbie Whitney made sure to tell his players to keep their heads up and smile.“It’s never fun ending the season on a loss but, man, taking second place in the state, this is somethin...

Amazon driver arrested after altercation and alleged assault on angry customer who jumped onto hood of the delivery vehicle

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

Authorities in St. Paul say an Amazon driver was arrested on suspicion of assault after an altercation with an unhappy customer escalated into a fistfight followed by the customer jumping on the hood of the vehicle and then falling off as the driver drove away.It began about 1 p.m. on Saturday when officers were called to the 900 block of Randolph Avenue on a report of an assault.When officers arrived, they found a 51-year-old man with facial injuries, said St. Paul police Sgt. Mike Ernster.Investigators say it appears the altercation happened after the delivery driver dropped off a package and got into a fight with a man who said a package was missing. The delivery driver allegedly punched the man in the face and tried to leave.The man tried to stop the delivery driver from leaving by jumping onto the hood of the vehicle. The driver began to drive away with the man on the hood, but the man fell off a short distance later.The man was taken to Regions Hospital with facial injuries an...

After strong spring, Bailey Ober still doesn’t know where he’ll start the season

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The uncertainty around his roster status, Bailey Ober admits, has been tough on him.His wife, Montana, has served as a sounding board when he needs to vent and a distraction when he needs to take his mind off of baseball. Chasing around four kids under the age of 4 helps, too.“It’s definitely hard,” Ober said. “But it’s a little better when I come home and I get to play with the kids in the pool and enjoy being a dad.”The right-hander did everything in his power this spring to make the Twins’ decision as difficult as possible. And while they haven’t yet told him whether he will start the season in the majors or at Triple-A, the signs point toward St. Paul.Ober, who finished off his spring slate by giving up three runs in four innings on Saturday, had not given up a run — or even a hit — in his first three Grapefruit League appearances. He spent the offseason trying to get quicker and stronger and said he felt like that had paid off .“I think it’s all out of my han...

Timberwolves’ big ball lineup looked good Wednesday. But it’s about to be put to the test

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

Big ball is about to be put to the test.The approach was ridiculed nationally after Minnesota traded for 7-foot-1 Rudy Gobert to pair with 7-foot Karl-Anthony Towns. It was an official zig while much of the rest of the league zagged with small approaches, particularly with their late-game closing lineups.The early returns were not good. Minnesota went 10-11 in its first 21 contests before Towns went down with a calf strain that caused him to miss four months and forced the Timberwolves to return to more traditional, one-big lineups.But Towns came back Wednesday and with him came again the big-ball approach. Not only did Towns and Gobert share the floor for minutes in the Wolves’ 125-1214 win over Atlanta on Wednesday, but Naz Reid also reverted to playing power forward alongside either center.The same lineups that looked ugly for the first quarter of the season somehow meshed against Atlanta. Minnesota was able to punish the Hawks down low — scoring 62 points in the paint to A...

Saturday’s Twins lineup that could be Opening Day preview

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

FORT MYERS, Fla. — On Friday, the Twins announced their Opening Day starter. Saturday, they might have given a sneak preview of their Opening Day lineup. For the first time all spring, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli wrote out a lineup that looks like it could resemble the one he could trot out Thursday in Kansas City.“I don’t have an Opening Day lineup done,” Baldelli said. “But (this is) a good looking lineup.”Joey Gallo led off and played first base in the Twins’ 9-4 loss to the Braves at Hammond Stadium. He was followed by Carlos Correa at shortstop and Byron Buxton as the designated hitter. Right fielder Max Kepler hit cleanup, followed by Jose Miranda, playing third base for the first time all spring, and Trevor Larnach in left. Michael A. Taylor manned center and Nick Gordon played second.Ryan Jeffers hit last, the only name unlikely to be in the Opening Day lineup. That’s expected to be Christian Vázquez, who had caught the two previous days and had the day off.The Twins will f...

Father/son coaching tandem Dick, Scott Hormann focus on fundamentals with rising Lutheran baseball

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

Dick Hormann played baseball in Japan, so naturally he wants his Lutheran Lions to approach the game like the Samurai.Dick, 86, is Lutheran’s assistant coach under his son, Scott Hormann. Dick’s in his 57th year coaching across four states, but before that, he was a third baseman on an Army team from 1958-62 at Camp Zama — a post just outside Tokyo.Stationed there as part of the United States’ plan to re-establish rapport with Japan following World War II, Dick’s Army team played the minor league teams associated with Nippon Professional Baseball franchises as well as company teams. If he could, Dick would time-travel his Lions back to those days in Japan, just to show them “the team we need to be.”“Today, kids come up and they see the fence and think it’s all about hitting it over the wall,” Dick said. “But they’ve got to understand the game — and the fact that so far, we’re not getting beat by other teams, we&...

Colorado Buffs women’s basketball heads to offseason with excitement about future

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

SEATTLE — Colorado’s season came to a close on Friday night, but the Buffaloes aren’t planning to go anywhere.An 87-77 loss to Iowa in the Sweet 16 might sting for a while, but the CU women’s basketball team is likely to use that as inspiration for its future.“This team will definitely be back and I think everybody knows who Colorado is now,” point guard Jaylyn Sherrod said. “We’ve earned some respect behind our name. Just continue to be hungry.”Under the direction of head coach JR Payne, the Buffs have shown a tendency to use disappointment as fuel. During her seven seasons at CU, Payne has put together a 119-93 record and the program continues to improve.Three seasons into Payne’s tenure, the Buffs were just 44-52, and they were last in the Pac-12 in 2019. In 2020, they began the upward trajectory, going 16-14 and finishing 10th in the Pac-12. They were expecting a WNIT bid before the postseason was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Colorado’s Jaylyn Sherrod (00) lea...