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Professional options increase for softball players as sport grows

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Former UCLA softball star Megan Faraimo was one of 12 players with the option of choosing between two professional leagues after being drafted by both.Faraimo chose Athletes Unlimited over Women’s Professional Fastpitch. She knew some of the players from the Team USA program that were with Athletes Unlimited and she liked what she saw when she watched its games on ESPN last year.Neither league existed when Faraimo started her college career during the 2018-19 school year.“I think either way, it’s really cool to see people still playing this sport and continuing to grow the sport that I love so much,” Faraimo said. “I just felt like AU was a better fit for me at this time.”Washington’s Baylee Klingler, Kentucky’s Kayla Kowalik, Arkansas’ Chenise Delce, Florida’s Charla Echols and Northwestern’s Jordyn Rudd all picked WPF. Oklahoma’s Alex Storako and Haley Lee, Florida State’s Kathryn Sandercock, Oklahoma State’s Rachel Becker and Kiley Naomi and Alabama’s M...

Condado Montgomery ofrece talleres de defensa propia para mujeres

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

Actividades que deberían ser comunes y no representar ningún riesgo para cientos de mujeres en nuestra área, como caminar o tomar el Metro, se vuelven su mayor preocupación y deben lidiar con ello a diario. Ante los altos índices delictivos, muchas dicen sentirse vulnerables.Según One World Education, 1 de cada 4 mujeres en el área metropolitana de DC ha sufrido violencia de alguna forma. Actividades tan comunes como usar el transporte público representan un desafío.Yesskely Valderrama, quien llegó hace cinco meses al área, dijo que ya han intentado robarle su patineta en dos oportunidades y en parte cree que por verse indefensa.“Yo uso el tren prácticamente hasta la última hora, 11 de la noche, y no me siento muy segura porque siempre estamos solos. No hay seguridad”, dijo Valderrama. Aunque la delincuencia está a la orden del día, algunas mujeres sienten que son más vulnerables a agresiones sexuales.“Siempre hay varias personas caminando juntos cerca, es bien fácil que alguie...

Shuttle buses replace trains after Green Line trolley derails near Packard’s Corner

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

A trolley derailment along the Green Line’s B Branch prompted major disruptions for commuters Monday, with shuttle buses set to replace train service along a large section of the line through the end of service for the day, according to the MBTA. The transportation authority said around 2:10 p.m. that what was first reported as a disabled train turned out to be a derailed trolley at Packard’s Corner.As crews respond, officials said service between Blandford Street and Washington Street stations would be replaced with shuttle buses, in the meantime.“Expect delays as Buses are dispatched,” the MBTA said in a tweet.In an update 30 minutes later, officials said the switch to shuttle bus service had been extended to between Kenmore and Washington Street, while noting that Route 57 buses would provide free rides to passengers, in the meantime.Two dozen personnel were on scene as of around 5 p.m. working to get the train back on its tracks.By 6 p.m., the train had be...

Black bear roams through Arlington, Lexington, prompts warnings, school delays

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

A black bear that prompted a warning and a delayed opening for Arlington schools Monday morning continued to roam around the area throughout the day, being spotted at a farm in neighboring Lexington by Monday afternoon. As authorities tracked the animal, some in the community shared their reactions. At Wilson Farms in Lexington, Store Manager Richie Salerno said he saw the bear run out from behind a building earlier in the day.Colleague Robbie Sampson also saw the bear. “[He was] probably 200-300 pounds, maybe three and a half feet tall,” Sampson said. Sampson captured video of the bear. Another video captured by Arlington police showed the bear darting across a row of plants. “He made his way to the food,” Salerno said. “Smart bear.” In Arlington, Betti Tasanari was one of the first people to spot the bear on Monday morning around 7 a.m. She said she saw the bear when she was taking her dog out. “A lady drives by and she starts yelling at us ‘There’s a bear...

San Diegans to soon receive postcards for jury summons

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Greetings from the San Diego Superior Court! Jury summons mailings from the Central Courthouse will now be in the form of a postcard, not an envelope with a full sheet of paper.The new-look delivery material, which aims to be more cost effective and produce less waste with mailings, will be distributed to San Diegans' mailboxes in mid-June for jurors summoned to the week of July 24, court officials said. The San Diego Superior Court also believes postcards will create a quicker check-in process at local courthouses, as well as a more efficient orientation for summoned jurors who have been able to complete pre-screening online. “The court’s jury duty summons has had the same look for decades, so we want to alert the public to the change in appearance of the summons and the improvement this will bring to their juror experience,” Presiding Judge Michael T. Smyth said. “We want all San Diegans to keep an eye on their mailboxes for the new postcards which, with other improve...

Japanese talent agency’s probe into alleged abuse by Johnny Kitagawa aims to prevent future cases

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — An investigation by a major Japanese talent agency into sexual abuse allegations against its founder won’t address monetary or criminality questions but rather aims to prevent such cases in the future, the lead investigator said Monday.“We see what has happened at the company and this is a serious governance problem,” Makoto Hayashi, a former prosecutor, told reporters at a Tokyo hotel.Hayashi said the process would focus on hearing from victims who have come forward. The panel will outline where the response at Johnny & Associates failed and provide recommendations to prevent a recurrence, he said.Allegations against Johnny Kitagawa, a powerful figure in Japanese entertainment, have been tossed around for decades but he was never charged with any crime. He died in 2019.The allegations resurfaced as a topic for scrutiny after BBC News produced a special segment earlier this year focused on several people who said they were sexually abused as youngsters while working...

India, Pakistan deploy rescuers and plan evacuations ahead of severe cyclone

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

BENGALURU, India (AP) — India and Pakistan braced for the first severe cyclone this year expected to hit their coastal regions later this week, as authorities on Monday halted fishing activities, deployed rescue personnel and announced evacuation plans for those at risk. From the Arabian Sea, Cyclone Biparjoy is aiming at Pakistan’s southern Sindh province and the coastline of the western Indian state of Gujarat. It is forecast to make landfall on Thursday and could reach maximum wind speeds of up to 200 kph (124 mph), according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department.Disaster management personnel have been deployed to densely populated regions and cities that will be in the storm’s path. The cyclone will likely affect Karachi in Pakistan as well as two of India’s largest ports, Mundra and Kandla, in Gujarat state.Murad Ali Shah, the top elected official in Sindh province, visited the coastal areas and asked authorities to evacuate an estimated 80,000 people to safety....

Lava pours from crater of Philippines’ Mayon Volcano, thousands warned to be ready to flee

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

LEGAZPI, Philippines (AP) — Lava poured from the crater of the Philippines’ most active volcano Monday, prompting officials to warn tens of thousands of villagers to be prepared to flee if the gentle eruption turns into a violent and life-threatening explosion.More than 13,000 people have left the mostly poor farming communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of Mayon Volcano’s crater in mandatory evacuations since volcanic activity increased last week. But an unspecified number of residents remain within the permanent danger zone below Mayon, an area long declared off-limits to people but where generations have lived and farmed because they have nowhere else to go.With the volcano beginning to expel lava Sunday night, the high-risk zone around Mayon may be expanded should the eruption turn violent, said Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Bacolcol said if that happens, people in any expanded danger zone should be prepared t...

Heavy rain in Toronto leads to flooding concerns, watershed warning

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

The Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) warned people to stay away from the Lower Don River after rising water levels near the Don Valley Parkway and Bayview Avenue due to the heavy rainfall.Water levels remain dangerously high throughout the city as Toronto saw two-thirds of a month’s rainfall in 18 hours.The TRCA had previously issued a flood warning, which has since been downgraded due to improving conditions. A watershed warning remains in place until Tuesday.“TRCA advises that the weather system that brought significant rainfall to the GTA and TRCA watersheds has now passed. There is minimal rainfall forecasted for at least the next 24 hours,” the conservation authority wrote on Monday night.TRCA noted that water levels in the Lower Don River are receding, and flooding is not expected in localized watersheds.“However, watercourses will take time to get back down to normal levels. Therefore, higher than normal water levels and flows can be expect...

Australian bus driver released on bail after being charged over 10 passengers’ deaths

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

CESSNOCK, Australia (AP) — A bus driver was driving too fast when his 57-seat vehicle rolled on its side and hit a guard rail in heavy fog, killing 10 wedding guests and injuring 25 others, police alleged Tuesday.Brett Andrew Button, 58, was driving 35 passengers on a 20-minute journey from a wedding reception at the Wandin Estate Winery to the town of Singleton, both in the Hunter Valley wine region of New South Wales state, when the 2009 Volvo bus rolled at a roundabout late Sunday.Button had been in police custody but was released on bail when he appeared in a Cessnock court Tuesday charged with 10 counts of dangerous driving in relation to each death and one count of negligent driving.Earlier, acting Police Assistant Commissioner David Waddell alleged that Button “entered that roundabout driving in a manner that was inconsistent with the conditions.” “Obviously, the speed was too quick for him to negotiate that roundabout, causing the vehicle to fall onto its left side and cause...