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☆ Cactus League roundup: Seth Lugo leads Padres to win
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lugo hasn't started a major league game in the regular season since 2020 and has just 38 career starts. Trent Grisham went 2-for-3 and Aaron Brooks got the win for the Padres, as they held the White Sox to four hits. Athletics 12, Diamondbacks 7Kevin Smith went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Jace Peterson drove in two as host Oakland beat Arizona in Mesa. McLain went 2-for-2. Brewers 7, Dodgers 4Garrett Mitchell hit two home runs and had four RBIs to lead host Milwaukee past Los Angeles in Phoenix.

☆ Grapefruit League roundup: Pete Alonso hits first HR for Mets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Daniel Vogelbach had two hits with an RBI and Abraham Almonte went 2-for-2 with two RBIs for the Mets. Justin Dirden went 2-for-2 with a homer and a key single in the seventh-inning uprising. Bobby Dalbec also went 2-for-2 with a homer and two RBIs and two runs for Boston. CJ Abrams went 2-for-3 with a run scored and Erick Mejia singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning for the Nationals. Phillies 7, Yankees 4Weston Wilson went 2-for-2 with four RBIs to help host Philadelphia defeat New York in Clearwater.

☆ Honduras extends, expands state of emergency for second time
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TEGUCIGALPA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The Honduran government extended its state of emergency for a second time on Tuesday, while also expanding it to cover a growing portion of the Central American country, as part of leftist President Xiomara Castro's crackdown on gangs. The state of emergency, initially covering the country's two largest cities, now covers 123 municipalities. "The success of the operation is measured by the number of lives saved, not by the number of arrests, weapons seized or drugs seized," Sanchez added. The state of emergency allows authorities to restrict freedom of movement and assembly, as well as to search homes and make arrests without a warrant. Honduras' crackdown follows a nearly year-old state of emergency in neighboring El Salvador, which has widespread public support but has swelled the prison population and drawn allegations of human rights abuses.

☆ Cuba suffers third major blackout in a week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Cuba on Tuesday suffered its third major blackout in little more than a week, leaving a vast swath of the center and east of the island without power, energy officials said on state-run TV. The blackout Tuesday spanned 430 miles (700 km) from Cienfuegos province in south-central Cuba to Guantanamo, on the far southeastern tip, leaving more than half of the country´s population of 11 million without power. On Saturday, another blackout cut power for millions of people from Matanzas, east of Havana, to Guantanamo, an outage power officials attributed to a "human operation error." The Minister of Energy and Mines said last week that rolling blackouts would resume and last until May while the country overhauls decades-old oil-fired power plants ahead of the summer season. Cold War-era embargo on Cuba, which complicates financing and purchase of parts, fuel and capital investment.

The jury found Garcia Luna guilty on all five counts he faced, which included continuing criminal enterprise and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Garcia Luna is one of the highest-ranking Mexican officials ever accused of ties to drug trafficking. Garcia Luna, who moved to the United States after leaving office and was arrested in 2019, had pleaded not guilty. Cesar de Castro, a defense lawyer, portrayed Garcia Luna as a hardworking family man and said his accusers had "incredible motives to lie." Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 following his conviction in Brooklyn on drug trafficking and murder conspiracy charges.

☆ How unusually mild weather prevented what could've been the first aircraft carrier battle since World War II
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Sebastien Roblin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Argentine jets were poised to strike when the usually turbulent South Atlantic winds took a mild turn. Few of the half-dozen Argentine aviators expected to survive the attack, dubbed "Banzai Night" after the famous Japanese battle cry. Government of ArgentinaIronically, the Veinticinco de Mayo was originally a British carrier named the HMS Venerable launched by the Cammell Laird shipyard near the end of World War II. After a damaging boiler-room fire, the Karel was sold in 1969 to the Argentine Navy which extensively modernized and rebuilt the 25-year-old vessel. The Harrier and the Sea DartSea Harrier jump jets aboard HMS Hermes in the South Atlantic on May 1, 1982.

☆ Judge could take months to decide case of Castro-era Cuban debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The trial ended last week, but it could be months before the judge, Sara Cockerill, renders judgement in the case of CRF vs Banco Nacional de Cuba & Cuba. Her decision is central to whether Cuba may finally be forced to pay back billions of dollars in unpaid debts. At one point the barrister for CRF cited a British property case regarding the lease of a fried fish shop. The question before the judge is of whether the fund has the right to sue Cuba. No matter how the judge rules, the Cuban government will still owe the money.

☆ A 300 million-year-old fossilized fish has the world's 'oldest preserved vertebrate brain.' It offers new clues about evolutionary history, say scientists.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Scientists discovered the fossilized brain of a vertebrate in a 319-million-year-old fossil. The rare finding offers new insights into the evolution of extinct bony fish related to the salmon. The finding suggests a more complex brain evolution pattern, allowing researchers to define better "how and when present-day bony fishes evolved." Researchers believe the extinct ray-finned fish would have been about six to eight inches long, and its brain and associated nerves are roughly an inch long. The ancient fish is on loan to scientists from the Manchester Museum in England.

☆ A Mexico soccer icon entered politics. Prosecutors say narcos followed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Cuernavaca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +27 min

Regional politicians, officials and military officers gathered in the Morelos state capital of Cuernavaca for breakfast in February 2022 to mark Mexico’s annual Army day. Mexican drug lords have a long tradition of buying off politicians in exchange for government protection of their illicit trade. Attempts to reach two of the alleged drug traffickers in the photo – Figueroa and Irving Solano Vera – were unsuccessful. Prosecutors in April asked the Morelos state congress to impeach Blanco so that he could be stripped of that shield. “He likes me very much because I’m not a politician,” Blanco told Reuters, in reference to the president.

☆ New US Marine units are taking position on 'key terrain' around Taiwan as tensions rise with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The US and Japan said in January that a Marine Littoral Regiment will be set up in Japan by 2025. A Marine Littoral Regiment will also hold a major exercise in the northern Philippines this spring. That unit, the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, is the second of three Marine Littoral Regiments planned for the Indo-Pacific region, the first of which was activated in March 2022 and is based in Hawaii. Within weeks of its activation, the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment was participating in the US-Philippine military exercise Balikatan. Members of 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment in Hawaii in August 2022.

☆ US Marines are taking position on 'key terrain' around Taiwan as tensions rise with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The US and Japan said in January that a Marine Littoral Regiment will be set up in Japan by 2025. That unit, the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, is the second of three Marine Littoral Regiments planned for the Indo-Pacific region, the first of which was activated in March 2022 and is based in Hawaii. Within weeks of its activation, the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment was participating in the US-Philippine military exercise Balikatan. New threat, new forceUS Marines provide security for an amphibious landing during Balikatan 22 in northern Luzon in March 2022. US Marines during an amphibious landing as part of Balikatan 22 in northern Luzon in March 2022.

☆ House Democrats have already found something to love about Kevin McCarthy's Republican-led House
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The House just used an open process for amending legislation for the first time in 7 years. But in interviews with Insider this week, Democrats also expressed skepticism that the use of open rules would be more than a one-time thing; the open rules that the chamber utilized last week were provided for as part of the House GOP's rules package. "We'll see how long this lasts," said Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, a long-time ally of Pelosi. Spanberger herself had fun with open amendments, submitting one that would exclude drilling from areas offshore because the GOP majority was "looking to destroy Virginia's beautiful coastline." said Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who said he generally favors an open process.

☆ Chaos and intrigue reign in UK court fight over Castro-era Cuban debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Cuban government and an investment firm are battling in a British court over decades-old debts racked up by the communist-run island nation. Kin Cheung | APIllegally recorded videos, chaotic protests and testimony from an imprisoned Cuban bank official marked the first week of a high-stakes trial in the UK High Court between Cuba and an investment fund. Adding to the intrigue: a court attendee who's a dead ringer for Raul Castro's son and Fidel Castro's nephew, Alejandro. Cuban officials say the man is just a press officer for the Cuban Embassy in the UK. Debt in distressDefaulted sovereign debt, like that of Cuba, trades on the secondary market.

☆ House Democrats just launched a 'Dads Caucus' to push for parental leave, the child tax credit, and universal childcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A group of House Democrats just established the "Dads Caucus" to push for reforms. They want to expand parental leave, the child tax credit, and childcare funding to help working families. Last Thursday, House Democrats launched the Congressional Dads Caucus, a group that says it will advocate for legislation that includes guaranteed paid parental leave, the expansion of the child tax credit, and universal childcare. The US is the only industrialized country that doesn't require employers to offer paid parental leave, and only 25% of workers have access to it, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The expanded child tax credit passed in the American Rescue Plan, which offered monthly payments to parents between March and December of 2021, helped reduce the child poverty rate to historic lows.

☆ Tucker Carlson bizarrely suggested that the US should send an armed force to 'liberate' Canada from Justin Trudeau
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tucker Carlson called for the US to send an armed force to "liberate" Canada from Justin Trudeau. He compared Trudeau to Fidel Castro and said he was "completely in favor of a Bay of Pigs operation." We're spending all this money to liberate Ukraine from the Russians, why are we not sending an armed force to liberate Canada from Trudeau? Carlson has previously said he was rooting for Russia in the conflict in Ukraine, which he later claimed was a joke following widespread condemnation. He has also previously suggested military action against another of the United States' neighbors when in 2019, he advocated for the US to "strike back" at Mexico.

A group of House Democrats announced Thursday they were forming the Congressional Dads Caucus to focus on family issues. "Why am I, a father, getting praised for doing what mothers do every single day, which is care for their children?" The lawmaker dads were joined at the news conference by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a member of the Moms in the House Caucus. Another member of the Congressional Dads Caucus, Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said all those issues became more real to him when he became a father. Other members of the caucus include Reps. Dan Goldman and Jamaal Bowman of New York, Joe Neguse of Colorado and Joaquin Castro of Texas.

☆ Peru recalls ambassador to Honduras for 'unacceptable interference' as diplomatic spat deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Peru's President Dina Boluarte speaks as she meets with foreign press, in Lima, Peru January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Angela PonceJan 26 (Reuters) - Peru withdrew its ambassador to Honduras, Jorge Raffo, due to Honduras' "unacceptable interference" in the internal affairs of Peru, the South American nation's foreign ministry said on Thursday. The step is part of a deepening showdown between Peru President Dina Boluarte and her regional peers, including the leftist leaders of Mexico, Bolivia and Honduras. "As a consequence of the position adopted by Honduras, bilateral relations with said country will be maintained, indefinitely, at the level of chargé d'affaires," the foreign ministry said on Twitter. Boluarte became president in December after Castillo attempted to illegally dissolve Congress, was ousted and detained.

☆ Cuba begins London court battle over unpaid Castro-era debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Students hold images of the late Cuban President Fidel Castro during an event commemorating the five year anniversary of his death, in Havana, Cuba, November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Cuba began a high-stakes legal battle in London's High Court on Monday over unpaid Fidel Castro-era government debt now held by one of the communist-run country's creditors. CRF originally launched the claim almost three years ago after Havana refused a debt relief offer made by CRF and some other bond holders back in 2018. But having not dealt with its commercial creditors in the so-called London Club the country remains shut out of international capital markets. ($1 = 0.9210 euros)Reporting by Marc Jones and Sam Tobin; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil police raid governor's house over capital riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The raid targeted Rocha's house and workplaces, police said. Rocha was not on site during the raid, which was followed by lawyers from his defense team. This raid it is unnecessary and fruitless," his lawyer Cleber Lopes said, adding that the governor had no connection to the violence. The operation drew criticism from lawyers, as Rocha was head of the Brazilian Bar Association before he became governor. It included 24 warrants covering five states and the capital Brasilia, it said in a statement.

☆ European junk debt sales spring back to life as sentiment improves
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Chiara Elisei | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

According to Refinitiv data, those sales so far in January add to almost $2.2 billion worth of sales in December and $760 million in November. Decades-high inflation and aggressive central bank rate hikes also weighed on debt markets with investors shunning risk assets. Firms are either selling new debt or asking investors to extend the maturity of existing debt, offering in return an increase in the interest they pay. Last week, Air France SA-KLM (AIRF.PA) sold a debut sustainability-linked bond worth one billion euros, giving the European credit market its first major high-yield deal in months. Analysts say that such firms could struggle with selling new debt and might require shareholder support to entice investors.

☆ Here's what you need to know about a blockbuster court fight over Cuba's debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The legal battle is over a portion of Cuba's unpaid commercial debt dating back to the 1980s. If they don't reach a deal, Cuba could then face yet another court fight over whether it finally has to pay. Because of the U.S. embargo against Cuba, American investors are prohibited from owning and trading Cuban debt, which frustrates some frontier-market hedge fund managers in the U.S. They argue that holding Cuban debt would better serve U.S. foreign policy interests because it would give Americans a seat at some future negotiating table. CRF, meanwhile, says in court filings that it first reached out to Cuba 10 years ago to settle the debt but were ignored.

☆ Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida dies at age 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

ROME (AP) — Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida, who achieved international stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world” after the title of one of her movies, died in Rome on Monday, her agent said. Lollobrigida also was an accomplished sculptor, painter and photographer, and eventually essentially dropped film for the other arts. Lollobrigida was born on July 4, 1927 in Subiaco, a picturesque hill town near Rome, where her father was a furniture maker. Lollobrigida began her career in beauty contests, posing for the covers of magazines and making brief appearances in minor films. On her website, Lollobrigida recalled how her family lost its house during the bombings of World War II and went to live in Rome.

☆ Gina Lollobrigida, post WWII Italian film diva, dies at 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ROME, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, a sultry Mediterranean diva who came to represent Italy's vibrant rebirth after World War Two, has died aged 95, her former lawyer said on Monday. "Farewell to a diva of the big screen, protagonist of more than half a century of the Italian film history. Ciao Lollo," Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano wrote on Twitter. One of her last appearances was a cameo in an Italian film in 2011. In an interview with Reuters in the Rome villa in 2006, she complained about intrusive photographers, saying they were still trying to invade her privacy.

☆ Cuba says vulture fund seeking 72 mln euros never a creditor as UK court begins proceedings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Such firms, described as "vulture funds" by the Cuban Central Bank, typically purchase distressed or defaulted debt then sue in international courts to get paid in full. Cuba's Central Bank (BNC) said in a statement on Friday it does not recognize CRF as a creditor. "CRF is not a creditor of the BNC or of Cuba and never has been," the Central Bank superintendent said. The firm claims Cuba owes it 72 million euros in debt in proceedings currently under way in the London court, according to the Central Bank statement. The case will be closely watched by Cuba's creditors, some of whom have struggled to recoup loans as the country wrestles with a dire economic crisis made worse by the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions put in place by former U.S. president President Donald Trump.

☆ A software engineer borrowed an idea from 'Office Space' to steal funds and goods worth about $300,000 from his company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Seattle software engineer is accused of stealing more than $300,000 from his former employer. Court documents stated Ermenildo Valdez Castro was inspired by the cult 1999 movie "Office Space." Castro is a former software engineer for the e-commerce site Zulily that's based in Seattle, Washington. Court documents stated he was directly involved in writing code for the customer checkout process. A document called "OfficeSpace project" was found on Castro's work laptop, according to a report by the Seattle Police Department that was attached to the court documents.

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