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3 Chicago Cubs takeaways from GM meetings, including, the rotation after Marcus Stroman’s opt-out and Craig Counsell’s surprising departure

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:28:11 GMT

The annual MLB general managers meetings lay the groundwork for the rest of the offseason.The Chicago Cubs’ unexpected hiring of manager Craig Counsell added a wrinkle to what should have been an otherwise normal beginning to free agency. But it didn’t change the mission this week for President Jed Hoyer and the Cubs front office: getting an early feel for the free-agent market, the trade landscape and meeting with agents, including Scott Boras.As the Cubs prepare to formally introduce Counsell next week, here are three takeaways from the GM meetings.1. Craig Counsell’s departure to rival a surprise for Brewers GM.Thirty-six hours after the Chicago Cubs named Craig Counsell their manager, Brewers general manager Matt Arnold stated he was surprised by Counsell leaving Milwaukee for a division rival but still spoke highly of his friend.“From our perspective, it’s always been about people, that’s something Craig and I talked about a lot after working...

‘It’s not a well-rounded club’: Chris Getz gives a frank assessment of the Chicago White Sox, and more from the MLB GM meetings

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:28:11 GMT

General manager Chris Getz gave a frank assessment of the Chicago White Sox in the aftermath of a 101-loss season.“We have a talented group, there is no question,” Getz said Tuesday during the MLB general managers meetings at a resort in Paradise Valley, Ariz. “I don’t like our team, and we have to make some adjustments to improve in 2024.“When I say ‘I don’t like our team,’ we’ve got pieces that are talented and attractive and they can be part of a winning club, but obviously we haven’t gone out there and performed. It’s not a well-rounded club right now and so we’ve got to find players to come in here and help get us in the right direction.”Manager Pedro Grifol echoed Getz’s sentiments during a video conference call Tuesday.“When we talk about team, it’s not about one guy or two or five, it’s about 26 guys really loving to play with each other when that bell rings, and we didnR...

5 things to watch in the Chicago Bears-Carolina Panthers game — plus our Week 10 predictions

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:28:11 GMT

The Chicago Bears will play their second Thursday night game of the season, welcoming the Carolina Panthers to Soldier Field. The teams were partners in the early March trade that sent the No. 1 pick to Carolina in exchange for wide receiver DJ Moore and four other draft selections.Now the Bears and Panthers, with a combined 3-15 record, will meet on the field in a prime-time clash. As kickoff nears, here’s our snapshot look at Thursday’s game.Player in the spotlightDJ MooreThe last time Moore played on a Thursday night, he owned the stage. Eight catches, 230 yards, three touchdowns in a blowout of the Washington Commanders. It was an explosive outing that represented just how good Moore can be and how valuable he is to the Bears offense.This Thursday night show at Soldier Field comes against Moore’s former team, with the 26-year-old receiver predictably downplaying the reunion and dismissing the idea he’ll have extra motivation.“The extra juice comes f...

Canada says it can fight climate change and be major oil nation. Massive fires may force a reckoning

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:28:11 GMT

FORT MCMURRAY, Canada (AP) — During a May wildfire that scorched a vast swath of spruce and pine forest in northwestern Canada, Julia Cardinal lost a riverside cabin that was many things to her: retirement project, gift from from her husband, and somewhere to live by nature, as her family had done for generations.“That was our dream home,” said Cardinal, a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. “It’s like a displacement.”Thousands of wildfires in Canada this year have incinerated an area larger than Florida, releasing into the atmosphere more than three times the amount of carbon dioxide that is produced by Canada in an entire year. And some are still burning.Canadian leaders, including liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have long insisted the country can exploit its natural resources while protecting biodiversity and leading the global fight against climate change. But the seemingly endless fire season is putting a spotlight on two aspects of Canada that increasingly f...

Uzbekistan hosts summit of regional economic alliance

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:28:11 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — An economic bloc that includes several ex-Soviet nations along with Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey held a summit Thursday, with leaders vowing to further expand trade and economic ties.Members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), who met in Uzbekistan’s capital of Tashkent, discussed plans for speeding regional economic integration.They also talked about the need for increasing the ECO’s global profile through fostering regional and global partnerships. “Our vast region, which is home to half a billion people, has a great potential for developing cooperation in trade, economy, industry, investment, innovation and transport,” the summit’s host, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, said in a speech at the summit.He said it was important to “fully utilize the potential of transcontinental transport corridors that pass through our territories and link us with major markets in the Asia-Pacific region, South Asia, the Middle E...

WSP Global Q3 profit and revenue up as business grows across all segments

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:28:11 GMT

MONTREAL — WSP Global Inc. is reporting its third-quarter profit and revenue both rose by nearly a quarter compared with a year ago, buoyed by organic growth as well as recent acquisitions.The engineering company says its net earnings attributable to shareholders grew to $156.2 million or $1.25 per share for the three months ended Sept. 30 compared with $127.5 million or $1.05 per share in the same period a year earlier.Revenue rose 24 per cent to $3.6 billion in its third quarter from $2.9 billion the year before.On an adjusted basis, WSP’s profit climbed to $1.98 per share in its most recent quarter compared with $1.59 per share a year earlier.The result beat analyst expectations for $1.90 per share, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.Chief executive Alexandre L’Heureux also says a seven per cent year-over-year backlog growth to $14.28 billion in the third quarter speaks to continued demand for the Montreal-based firm’s services.This report by The Canad...

Veteran Spanish conservative politician shot in face in Madrid street

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:28:11 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Veteran Spanish right-wing politician Alejandro Vidal-Quadras has been taken to a hospital in Madrid after being shot in a street in the capital, police said Thursday.Police said he was shot in the face on a central street around 1:30 p.m. local time and was conscious when taken to a hospital.Vidal-Quadras, 78, was a long-time member of Spain’s conservative Popular Party, its regional leader in Catalonia, and a European Parliament member before he broke away to help found the far-right Vox party. He left Vox shortly after a failed attempt to win a European lawmaker seat in 2014.Police are investigating the shooting.Vox President Santiago Abascal said he believed Vidal-Quadras’ life was not in immediate danger.“Thank god it seems that Alejandro Vidal-Quadras is out of danger,” Abascal said.Popular Party President Alberto Núñez Feijóo deplored the shooting and wished for his recovery.The Associated Press

Few community college students go on to earn 4-year degrees. Some states have found ways to help

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:28:11 GMT

After delaying college for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jaden Todd wasn’t sure a four-year school was the right place to start.“I was extremely concerned that I forgot how to learn,” he said.Community college appealed as a stepping stone, but he also had heard stories of students who had to start over when they transferred because their credits didn’t count at the new school. Todd, 21, was relieved to wind up at Northern Virginia Community College’s ADVANCE program, a partnership with George Mason University that put him on a clear path to his goal of a bachelor’s degree in computer science.Such established arrangements between two- and four-year colleges and universities have shown promise in helping more community college students go on to earn bachelor’s degrees, according to data released Thursday by U.S. Education Department. Only 13% of federal financial aid recipients who enrolled in community college in 2014 received a bachelor’s degree within eigh...

In Wisconsin, old fashioneds come with brandy. Lawmakers want to make it somewhat official

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:28:11 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — In Wisconsin, the old fashioned cocktail comes with brandy, not bourbon.Now, state lawmakers want to make it somewhat official.A bipartisan resolution declaring the brandy old fashioned as the official Wisconsin state cocktail was up for approval Thursday in the state Assembly. It’s a resolution, not a bill, so even if passed by the Assembly and Senate the brandy old fashioned won’t make it onto the list of other official state symbols that include milk as the official beverage, kringle as the official pastry and corn as the official grain. Getting that level of recognition, enshrined in the state’s “Blue Book,” requires introduction of a bill, a public hearing and then the signature of the governor.Some efforts to declare official state symbols, like Colby as the official cheese, have run into opposition. The Colby proposal, around since 2019, has gotten shredded by those concerned that naming just one official cheese would hurt the sales, or ...

Hit summer movies help Cineplex reports record Q3 revenue

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:28:11 GMT

TORONTO — Cineplex Inc. reported net income of $29.7 million in its latest quarter as Barbie, Oppenheimer and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning helped its revenue hit an all-time quarterly record.The movie theatre company says the profit amounted to 40 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, down from $30.9 million or 43 cents per diluted share a year earlier.The results for the quarter last year included a $49.8-million one-time gain related to the reorganization of its Scene loyalty program.Revenue for the quarter this year totalled $463.6 million, up from $339.8 million in the same quarter last year.The increase came as theatre attendance rose to nearly 15.7 million for the quarter compared with nearly 11.1 million a year earlier.Box office revenue per patron rose to $12.00 compared with $11.25 a year ago, while concession revenue per patron was $8.44, up from $8.35 in the same quarter last year.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2023.C...