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Column: Half-full or half-empty? 5 things to watch in July as the Chicago Cubs reach the halfway mark.

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:22 GMT

The Chicago Cubs reached the halfway point of the season Saturday night, and whether the glass was half-full or half-empty was in the eye of the beholder.At the start of spring training, PECOTA projections had the Cubs winning 77 games and finishing third in the National League Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers.After Saturday’s weather-delayed 6-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, the Cubs are 38-43, on pace for 76 wins and fourth in the division, five games behind the co-leading Brewers and Cincinnati Reds.The half-full crowd could point to a 14-11 record in June as a sign the Cubs have begun to get their act together. The half-empty crowd could suggest a sub-.500 first-half record indicates little progress from the last two losing seasons.Asked about the PECOTA projection in spring training, Cubs President Jed Hoyer said 87 or more wins were within sight.“That has to be our goal, to be a team that’s plus-10 or more, and that’s what...

For presidents, July Fourth is a day to chill or strut or get an earful of red, white and boo

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Through history, the Fourth of July has been a day for some presidents to declare their independence from the public. They’ve bailed to the beach, the mountains, the golf course, the farm, the ranch. In the middle of the Depression, Franklin Roosevelt was sailing to Hawaii on a fishing and working vacation.It’s also been a day for some presidents to insert themselves front and center in the fabric of it all. Teddy Roosevelt drew hundreds of thousands for his July Fourth oratory. In 2019, Donald Trump marshaled tanks, bombers and other war machinery for a celebration that typically avoids military muscle.Richard Nixon enraged the anti-war masses without even showing up. As the anti-Nixon demonstrations of 1970 showed, Independence Day in the capital isn’t always just fun and games. It has a tradition of red, white and boo, too.In modern times, though, presidents have tended to stand back and let the people party. George W. Bush had a ceremony welcoming immigrants as...

Russia launches first drone strike on Kyiv in 12 days

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:22 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — After a relative lull, Russia launched a drone attack early Sunday on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, officials said. It was the first such attack of the war in 12 days.All of the Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones were detected and shot down, according to Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv city administration. In addition to the city itself, the surrounding Kyiv region was targeted. Kyiv regional Gov. Ruslan Kravchenko reported that one person was wounded by falling debris from a destroyed drone.Officials in the Ukrainian capital didn’t provide an exact number of drones that attacked the city. But Ukraine’s air force said that across the country, eight Shaheds and three Kalibr cruise missiles were launched by the Russians.Further south, a 13-year-old boy was wounded in overnight shelling of Ukraine’s partially occupied southern Kherson province, said Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, spokesman for the Ukrainian administration of the province. The child was w...

City of Toronto set to begin 5-month construction project on Broadview Avenue

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:22 GMT

For those who live or visit Toronto’s Riverdale neighbourhood, be prepared for it to be a little more difficult to get around as construction crews will be shutting down part of Broadview Avenue for five months.Beginning on Tuesday, the southbound lanes of Broadview Avenue will be closed between Danforth Avenue and Gerrard Street East. On the same stretch of road, there will just be one narrow northbound lane open for vehicles. Also, there will be lane closures on Broadview Avenue between Erindale and Danforth Avenues between September and November.“Our infrastructure is aging and there is no question that there is a need for replacement and updating of this infrastructure,” Mo Pannu, the City of Toronto’s director of roadways design and construction, said Friday morning while acknowledging the difficulty the project will mean.“Obviously this will bring a lot of challenges and we are hoping that we will have patience from our area residents, businesses as wel...

Sneakers of the House: Canada’s MPs embrace comfort, style in office footwear trend

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:22 GMT

OTTAWA, Ill. — You won’t catch Omar Alghabra in a pair of Jordans. The federal transport minister has been loyal to the Adidas brand ever since he was a kid playing soccer in Saudi Arabia.“Adidas was the shoe of choice for kids in the late ’70s and early ’80s,” Alghabra said. The ones known as the “originals” — black with three thick white stripes down the sides — were “a big deal.”That nostalgia is what drives his current sneaker collection, which often turns heads when strolls through the corridors on Parliament Hill, or attends a G7 meeting, where his counterparts comment on his kicks.“Positively of course,” he said.He also wants to make one thing clear: he’s not a sneakerhead, but an “Adidas-head,” which is the kind of thing only a sneakerhead would say.This fascination with the history and specific models of sneakers has driven what is now a multibillion-dollar reselling industry, and created a ...

Montreal wants more affordable housing, developers want to make a profit

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:22 GMT

MONTREAL — For six years, the City of Montreal has been sitting on a vast piece of land that could help relieve a housing shortage, but private developers, whom the city needs to realize its vision for an affordable “eco neighbourhood,” have so far expressed little interest.Montreal has an ambitious plan for the site, a former horse racing track turned into a vacant wasteland more than twice the size of the Chinatown neighbourhood downtown. But Montreal’s ambitions are expensive, says Pierre Boivin, CEO of investment firm Claridge, who co-leads a city-appointed group drafting a new development model for the property.The initial development framework pushed by the administration of Mayor Valérie Plante made it impossible to turn a profit, he said. “At the current market price for land and construction costs and regulations around subsidized housing, the economic model doesn’t stand.”As a housing shortage grips the city, critics say Montreal’s...

How to keep your car seats cooler in the Texas heat

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Hopping into a car on a day when temperatures have exceeded 100 degrees can rattle even the most unflappable among us.  How do other cities deal with extreme heat? While undoubtedly uncomfortable, it can also be dangerous too. On warm days, cars can quickly heat to deadly levels, even with the windows partially down. For parents wanting to reduce heat levels so kids don’t burn themselves on car seats, KXAN meteorologist Kristen Currie shared a few tips. White towel Drape a white towel over darker-colored seats or car seats to keep them a little cooler, as black absorbs the most heat of any colorThe towel can also prevent the seat buckle from heating up and burning your child. Cooling towels You might look into investing in cooling towels to take from your home to your car when headed out. These towels can remain cold for longer than cloth towels and can lower a person’s body temperature in extreme heat.Sun Shades Keep sunshades an...

Texas named best state for summer road trips in new report

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you're planning a road trip this summer, you may not have to go very far. Texas was just named the best state for summer road trips in a new report.WalletHub rated each state based on road trip costs, safety and activities, with various factors determining the score in each category. What is the most visited state park in Texas? Here’s the top 10 countdown Costs include average gas prices and car repairs, as well as lowest prices of campsites and three-star hotel rooms. The safety score was determined by factors including quality of roads and bridges, traffic-related fatalities, share of uninsured drivers and number of car thefts.The activities score took into account national parks, zoos, theme parks, festivals, historical sites and access to scenic byways, among other factors.Texas ranked fifth for activities and seventh for costs, but only 38th for safety. Still, the Lone Star State came out on top overall, with New York and North Carolina in second and third...

Readers and writers: In the realm of myth and magic

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:22 GMT

We’re in the realm of myth and magic today, with a novel based on the great epic Beowulf and a novella inspired by a Japanese folk tale. Both books have covers that are among the most beautiful of the season.(Calumet Editions)“Sister of Grendel”: by Susan Thurston (Calumet Editions, $18.99 paperback).I want to save something sacred and dear within each of us, and especially within Grendel. But I do not make the leap toward a different outcome. All it would take is a simple turn of thought, in one breath. Something to make the murders end and reverse Beowulf’s fate, and pull from his reach the elevation of hero. Turn him into nothing but a visitor. Someone without a place in myth or legend. Definitely not a future king of the Geats with a name still remembered. — From “Sister of Grendel”Susan Thurston (Calumet Editions)Susan Thurston, who lives in St. Paul, makes her fiction debut in this lush reimagining of the tale of Grendel, from the anci...

Literary calendar for week of July 2

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:00:22 GMT

MINNESOTA ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR: A celebration of the local and national rare book community features familiar exhibitors such as Rob Rulon-Miller, Bookhouse in Dinkytown, Dreamhaven Books & Comics, Midway Rare Books, and others eager to meet their customers in person. The fair, hosted Friday and Saturday by St. Thomas University, invites experienced and beginning collectors as attendees, especially those looking for books and manuscripts connected to under-represented groups in the historical record.Allie Alvis (Courtesy of Allie Alvis)A special event at 5 p.m. Friday features Allie Alvis, book historian, social media enthusiast and communicator known as @book_Historian on social media platforms. Alvis, pink-haired rock star of the antiquarian book world, has spoken and published widely on a variety of topics, including the use of arsenic in book binding and glove use when handling rare books.At 1 p.m. Saturday, a three-person panel features guest speakers from the Minneapolis-...