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Orioles’ Ryan Mountcastle feels like ‘a normal human’ after monthlong absence with vertigo

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

Whenever Ryan Mountcastle’s heart rate went up, he began to feel light-headed, dizzy and nauseated. The feelings increased whenever the first baseman stepped in the batter’s box for the Orioles. Hitting, already a difficult task, felt impossible.Having missed a month after experiencing vertigo, Mountcastle rejoined the Orioles on Sunday for the final game before the All-Star break, activated off the injured list with left-hander Bruce Zimmermann optioned to Norfolk. Mountcastle, 26, last played for Baltimore on June 8, but he believes he was already dealing with symptoms then. In his final two games, both in Milwaukee, Mountcastle went hitless in eight at-bats with five strikeouts.“After the last game, I was like, ‘I think there’s something wrong,’” he said Sunday in the visitors’ clubhouse at Minneapolis’ Target Field. “This feels like the longest I’ve ever gone without playing, and it wasn’t fun at all. Just h...

Red Sox notebook: Houck has unique memento to remember injury, a 3D-printed model of his own skull

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

Tanner Houck is back in the Red Sox clubhouse, and three weeks after being hit in the face by a line drive he’s feeling back to his old self and will soon begin working his way back to the mound.But while his facial fracture will heal, Houck will always carry the experience with him. He’ll also have a vivid reminder to display on his shelf too.Houck got a unique memento from the doctors after undergoing surgery — a 3D-printed model of his own skull, facial fracture and all. The print was created from a scan and was used by the doctors to examine his injury and help perform the surgery, and afterwards Houck got to bring it home. It’s now displayed in his locker.“It’s amazing what medical technology can do,” Houck said.Houck suffered the injury on June 16 when he was struck by a 89.7 mph line drive off the bat of Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka. He said he remembers being hit and everything that happened afterwards, and he recalled initially checkin...

Canada’s Christine Sinclair leads squad into her sixth FIFA Women’s World Cup

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

Christine Sinclair has scored in five FIFA Women’s World Cups during her career. As impressive as that is, she will be looking to make it six when the 2023 tournament kicks off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.The 40-year-old Sinclair was one of 23 women named on Sunday by head coach Bev Priestman to Canada’s roster for the event, which Sinclair first played at in 2003. That was 323 caps and 190 goals ago for the native of Burnaby, B.C.Sinclair will be joined on the 23-player squad by veterans and household names Kadeisha Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence, and Sophie Schmidt, who represent a combined 469 national team games between them.Missing from the group is veteran midfielder Desiree Scott, who could not recover from knee surgery in time to make the squad. Janine Beckie had already been ruled out due to a torn ACL she suffered in March. Defender Jade Rose, a rising star at just 20, was forced to withdraw from the pre-tournament camp due to injury.Midfielder Marie-Yas...

Florida prosecutors are laying out their case against a plastic surgeon facing the death penalty

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida prosecutors seeking the death penalty for a plastic surgeon accused of killing a lawyer and dumping his body in the Everglades have laid out their case in new court filings.Authorities say Dr. Tomasz Kosowski killed attorney Steven Cozzi in the bathroom of Cozzi’s law office moments after both participated in a March 21 conference call about a lengthy, acrimonious legal battle over medical billing. Prosecutors said in court documents that Kosowski took the call from a Toyota pickup truck outside the office and that he had supplies to commit the killing, including trash bags, a syringe containing a paralyzing drug and a wagon to haul the corpse out.Although Cozzi’s body has never been found, investigators used cellphone records and surveillance video to track Kosowski to a remote area west of Miami on the Tamiami Trail, also known as U.S. Highway 41. That’s where they believe Kosowski tossed the body into a Dumpster that was event...

Election tensions rise in Zimbabwe after police bar opposition party from holding a rally

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

BINDURA, Zimbabwe (AP) — Opposition party supporters in Zimbabwe chanted and sang freedom songs outside a courthouse Sunday following a decision to ban them from holding a rally six weeks before elections.The court in the town of Bindura upheld Friday’s police order that the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change party could not hold the rally to officially launch its election campaign because the venue was unsuitable. The CCC had appealed in court against the order.The decision increased tensions in the southern African nation, which has a history of violent and disputed elections.The CCC immediately criticized the move as more evidence of a push by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ruling ZANU-PF party to silence the opposition using the police and the courts.Mnangagwa, 80, replaced long-ruling autocrat Robert Mugabe in a coup in 2017. He promised a new era of freedom and prosperity for Zimbabweans, who had seen their country’s economy crumble amid some of the hig...

As Canadian cities make pandemic patios permanent, experts call for clear standards

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

At the height of social distancing and other restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Canadian cities rolled out temporary patio policies, loosening rules and waiving fees for bars and restaurants looking to seat more customers outdoors.These programs brought a glimmer of hope — and revenue — to businesses that had been forced to shut their doors, allowing them to offer more outdoor dining to citizens eager to leave their houses.Now, as cities transition into their new normal post-pandemic, experts say patios need better across-the-board standardization to make them more accessible, as well as more predictable for the businesses still trying to make up for lost sales.“It was a thing that became an obvious no-brainer for better streets and better neighbourhoods and better cities,” said city planning consultant Brent Toderian, who is also the former chief planner for Vancouver.“So it’s remarkable how bad a job we’ve done.”When the pandemic hit, restaurants and b...

Man found dead in a Minnesota freezer was hiding from police: investigators

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

BIWABIK, Minn. (AP) — A man found dead in a freezer in Minnesota last month was hiding from police, investigators said in a preliminary report.The body of 34-year-old Brandon Lee Buschman of Babbitt, Minnesota, was found in a chest freezer in the basement of an unoccupied home in the town of Biwabik on June 26.Investigators believe Buschman was in the house hiding because there was an active warrant for his arrest, police said in a news release Friday. Girl, 14, found at California Marine base two weeks after being reported missing They believe that he got into the freezer to hide on his own accord, perhaps because officers were in the area.The freezer was an older model that could not be opened from the inside, according to police. The house had no electricity and the freezer was not running when Buschman's body was found.

9 injured in Cleveland shooting, suspect remains at large: police

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

CLEVELAND (WJW) - Police are investigating after nine people were shot in Cleveland's Warehouse District early Sunday morning. The I-Team at Nexstar's WJW has learned that nine were injured after a suspect opened fire toward a group of people at West 6th and Johnson Court around 2:30 a.m. The suspect then left the scene.In an afternoon press conference, Cleveland Police Chief Wayne Drummond confirmed that officers were already on the scene when the shooting happened. They immediately stepped in and rendered aid to the victims. Drummond said the victims, seven men and two women, were ages 23 through 38. One man was critically hurt, but the other victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police are now searching for the suspect, who is described as a Black male who possibly has a gold grill in his mouth. Meanwhile, Bobby George, owner of several downtown businesses like Barley House and Rebol, is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person respo...

No more birthday freebies: Why some companies are reining in their customer rewards programs

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reward programs, including birthday freebies and discounts, have long been a way for brands to build loyalty and incentivize spending. But now some companies are becoming a bit more stingy — and customers are taking notice.Last fall, for example, many balked at Dunkin’s decision to stop offering a free drink on their birthday and instead give them triple loyalty points on their purchase. On June 1, Sephora started requiring a $25 minimum purchase for online customers looking to claim a free gift and 250 loyalty points during their birthday month. And Red Robin added a dine-in only and $4.99 minimum purchase requirement for customers to get their free birthday burger.Changes to birthday rewards or redemption requirements aren't new. Starbucks, which gives its rewards members a free drink or food item for their birthdays, progressively limited the timeframe for redeeming that gift over the years — from 30 days, to one week, to four days and, finally, to jus...

Carousel Lounge celebrates 60 years in Austin

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Carousel Lounge celebrated 60 years in Austin Friday.While the city has grown, the owner said the vibe inside the lounge is still the same. It is known as a bar and wine hangout with live music.Carousel is family owned. Nicki Mebane said her parents opened the lounge in 1963.“I never thought I would be running a bar. My expertise was in banking, but you love the people and the customers,” Mebane said. “It’s a labor of love. It was something I never envisioned myself doing, but you come to love the people and the musicians, and basically, they are the ones that keep it doing.”Carousel Lounge celebrates 60th anniversary (KXAN Photo/Jake Sykes) Carousel Lounge celebrates 60th anniversary (KXAN Photo/Jake Sykes) Carousel Lounge celebrates 60th anniversary (KXAN Photo/Jake Sykes) Carousel Lounge celebrates 60th anniversary (KXAN Photo/Jake Sykes) Carousel Lounge celebrates 60th anniversary (KXAN Photo/Jake Sykes) Carousel Lounge celebrates 60th anniversary (KXAN Photo...