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Connor Bedard broke windows and records in becoming the NHL draft’s presumptive No. 1 pick

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:21:59 GMT

The tales of how much time Connor Bedard devoted to developing his precise and productive puck-shooting skills while growing up in the secluded neighborhood of Lynn Valley, tucked amid Vancouver’s North Shore mountains, have become the stuff of lore.Marred floors, broken windows, the thud of shots keeping neighbors up at night and Bedard turning down a family vacation to Disneyland are among them. They all paved the way for the 17-year-old to be the presumptive No. 1 pick when the Chicago Blackhawks open the two-day NHL draft in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday.And that doesn’t include the time Bedard’s mother, Melanie, was pulled over by police because of a license plate chipped by various errant attempts.“I don’t think I was missing that bad,” Bedard said with a laugh while attending the NHL combine earlier this month.“Maybe hit a post, ricocheted and hit the car or something,” he added. “My mom probably had some valuable things broken by me. But, you know, I hope she doesn’t mi...

Mets Notebook: David Peterson expected to be called up and start Tuesday vs. Brewers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:21:59 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Despite the struggles at the Major League and Triple-A levels, the Mets are giving left-hander David Peterson another shot.The club is expected to call up the former first-round pick to take Tylor Megill’s turn through the rotation Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers. The club was hesitant to confirm this information, but by process of elimination, it’s easy to see Peterson is the most viable candidate. Left-hander Joey Lucchesi pitched Friday night and right-hander Jose Butto pitched Saturday. The Mets don’t seem to be in a rush to promote right-hander Mike Vasil, who has made two starts since moving from Double-A Binghamton to Triple-A Syracuse.So, the club will see if Peterson, who had an 8.08 ERA in eight MLB starts this season and a 4.86 ERA in seven minor league starts, has solved his problems in Syracuse.One of the biggest problems was his slider. Peterson had lamented it after his last big league start in Washington and after previous...

Riders plunge from a derailed roller coaster in Sweden, killing one and injuring several others

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:21:59 GMT

By KARL RITTER (Associated Press)STOCKHOLM (AP) — A roller coaster train derailed in Stockholm on Sunday, sending some passengers plunging to the ground in an amusement park accident that left one dead and nine injured, police and park officials said.Witnesses described a chaotic scene at the Gröna Lund park as the front of the train appeared to jump off the tracks before coming to a stop, with one car tilted toward the ground.“The front of the train partly derailed and stopped on the track at a height of between 6 and 8 meters (between 20 and 25 feet),” park chief executive Jan Eriksson said. “A total of 14 people were on board, of which one person has died and several are injured.”The regional government said nine people were taken to a hospital, one of them in serious condition. Three of the injured were children, all of them with minor injuries, it said.Witness Ziba Assadi told Swedish broadcaster TV4 that she was standing just below the Jetlin...

RUN IN THE SUN

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:21:59 GMT

Scenes from the Boston Athletic Association’s annual 10K Sunday through the Back Bay. More than 7,800 athletes from 49 states and 102 countries participated in the 6.2-mile race presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Russian mercenaries’ revolt undermines Putin and could lead to further challenges to his rule

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:21:59 GMT

For the first time in his more than 20-year rule, President Vladimir Putin’s power appeared to hang in the balance this weekend.And even though the rebellious Russian mercenary forces who descended on Moscow have turned back, Putin will struggle to project the image of a man in total control that he once did. That could set the stage for further challenges to his rule at home and could weaken Russia’s hand in the war in Ukraine.With spectacular ease and a stated aim of ousting Russia’s defense minister, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner troops swept into Rostov-on-Don, a city of 1.1 million people, and seized the military headquarters there. They then continued hundreds of kilometers (miles) north on a lightning march toward the capital without meeting any serious resistance.Some were even cheered — a sign that Prigozhin’s positioning of himself as an enemy of a corrupt and incompetent elite resonated and a detail that will not be lost on those surrounding Putin in ...

Arctic and global security top agenda as Trudeau meets Nordic leaders in Iceland

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:21:59 GMT

KEFLAVIK, ICELAND — Arctic security and Russia’s invasion in Ukraine were top of mind as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in Iceland Sunday for a two-day summit with Nordic leaders.Trudeau is a guest at the annual meeting of leaders from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, where global security was already high on the agenda before 24 hours of chaos in Russia threw even more uncertainty into the mix.Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the mercenary Wagner Group that has been helping the Russian military invade Ukraine, led a brief armed rebellion through several Russian cities Saturday. He got within 200 kilometres of Moscow before calling the whole thing off.Trudeau spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone Sunday as questions continued to swirl about exactly what Prigozhin intended with his armed march, what effect it will have longer term on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hold on power, and his ongoing invasion of Ukraine.Zelenskyy ackno...

Water being tested where freight train carrying hazardous material plunged into Yellowstone River

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:21:59 GMT

COLUMBUS, Mont. (AP) — Authorities on Sunday were testing the water quality along a stretch of the Yellowstone River where mangled cars carrying hazardous materials remained after crashing into the waterway following a bridge collapse.Seven train cars carrying hot asphalt and molten sulfur fell into the rushing river Saturday morning near the town of Columbus, about 40 miles (about 64 kilometers) west of Billings. The area is in a sparsely populated section of the Yellowstone River Valley, surrounded by ranch and farmland. Water testing began Saturday and will continue as crews work to remove the cars, a spokesperson for train operator Montana Rail Link, Andy Garland, said in a statement Sunday. Montana Rail Link was working with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency on the cleanup, removal and restoration efforts, he said. “Montana Rail Link remains committed to addressing any potential impacts to the area as a result of thi...

Conservative New Democracy party wins landslide victory in Greek elections for second 4-year term

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:21:59 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s conservative New Democracy party won a landslide victory in the country’s second election in five weeks Sunday, with partial official results showing it gaining a comfortable parliamentary majority to form a government for a second four-year term.Official results from nearly 90% of voting centers nationwide showed Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ party with just over 40% of the vote, with his main rival, the left-wing Syriza party, suffering a crushing defeat with just under 18%, even worse than its 20% in the last elections in May. Sunday’s vote came just over a week after a migrant ship capsized and sank off the western coast of Greece, leaving hundreds of people dead and missing and calling into question the actions of Greek authorities and the country’s strict migration policy. But the disaster, one of the worst in the Mediterranean in recent years, did not affect the election, with domestic economic issues at the forefront of vot...

Large crowds pack Toronto streets as Canada’s largest Pride parade begins

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:21:59 GMT

TORONTO — Massive crowds are filling the streets of downtown Toronto today for Canada’s largest Pride parade.The annual event, which caps off weeks of festivities celebrating the city’s LGBTQ community, has attracted thousands of marchers and 250 participating groups. Some prominent politicians are also on hand, including federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and a handful of candidates hoping to be elected as the city’s mayor on Monday.But the event is unfolding amid heightened security prompted by a rise in threats against Pride festivals across the country and a surge in hateful incidents targeting the LGBTQ community.Parade organizer Pride Toronto says policing costs have more than doubled this year, while insurance costs ballooned from $67,000 in 2022 to more than $300,000.Some attendees say the recent attacks on LGBTQ rights make it more important than ever to celebrate Pride.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2023.The Canadian Press

NYC gets $25M for e-bike charging stations, seeking to prevent deadly battery fires

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:21:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — After a series of fires involving faulty e-bike batteries including a recent blaze that claimed four lives, New York City officials announced Sunday that they are receiving a $25 million emergency grant from the federal government to fund scores of charging stations citywide.Mayor Eric Adams hopes the stations will provide a safer way for delivery workers, who rely on e-bikes to efficiently do their jobs, to recharge lithium batteries used to power their bicycles.“This means that residents will no longer need to charge the e-bikes in their apartments — what we find to be extremely dangerous, particularly when you charge them overnight,” Adams said at a news conference Sunday. He was flanked by the state’s two U.S. senators who helped secure the funding from the US. Department of Transportation.The announcement comes after a lithium ion battery caught fire and engulfed an e-bike shop in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The fire and thick smoke spread to apartments a...