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  • Dodgers beat Yankees, win 2024 World Series

    Dodgers beat Yankees, win 2024 World Series

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    NEW YORK — The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second World Series championship in five seasons, overcoming a five-run deficit with the help of three Yankees defensive miscues and rallying on sacrifice flies from Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts in the eighth inning to beat New York 7-6 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

    What You Need To Know

    • Dave Roberts won his second championship in nine seasons as manager as the Dodgers, matching Lasorda and trailing the four of Walter Alston

    • The Dodgers won for the fourth time in 12 Series meetings with the Yankees

    • New York remained without a title since winning its record 27th in 2009

    • The Dodgers earned their eighth championship and seventh since leaving Brooklyn for Los Angeles — their first in a non-shortened season since 1988

    Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, Alex Verdugo’s RBI single chased Jack Flaherty in the second and Giancarlo Stanton’s third-inning homer against Ryan Brasier built a 5-0 Yankees lead.

    But errors by Judge in center and Anthony Volpe at shortstop, combined with pitcher Gerrit Cole failing to cover first on Betts’ grounder, helped Los Angeles score five unearned runs in the fifth.

    After Stanton’s sixth-inning sacrifice fly put the Yankees back ahead 6-5, the Dodgers loaded the bases against loser Tommy Kahnle in the eighth before the sacrifice flies off Luke Weaver.

    Winner Blake Treinen escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the bottom half by retiring Stanton on a flyout and striking out Anthony Rizzo.

    Walker Buehler, making his first relief appearance since his rookie season in 2018, pitched a perfect ninth for his first major league save.

    “We’re obviously resilient, but there’s so much love in the clubhouse that won this game today,” Betts said. “That’s what it was. It was love, it was grit. I mean, it was just a beautiful thing. I’m just proud of us and I’m happy for us.”

    When Buehler struck out Verdugo to end the game, the Dodgers poured onto the field to celebrate between the mound and first base, capping a season in which they won 98 games and finished with the best regular-season record.

    “There’s just a lot of ways we can win baseball games,” Buehler said. “Obviously the superstars we have on our team and the discipline, it just kind of all adds up.”

    Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ record-setting $700 million signing and baseball’s first 50-homer, 50-steal player, went 2 for 19 with no RBIs and had one single after separating his shoulder during a stolen base attempt in Game 2.

    Freddie Freeman hit a two-run single to tie the Series record of 12 RBIs, set by Bobby Richardson over seven games in 1960. With the Dodgers one out from losing Friday’s opener, Freeman hit a game-ending grand slam reminiscent of Kirk Gibson’s homer off Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley in 1988’s Game 1 that sparked Los Angeles to the title.

    The Dodgers earned their eighth championship and seventh since leaving Brooklyn for Los Angeles — their first in a non-shortened season since 1988. They won a neutral-site World Series against Tampa Bay in 2020 after a 60-game regular season and couldn’t have a parade because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    These Dodgers of Ohtani, Freeman & Betts joined the 1955 Duke Snider and Roy Campanella Boys of Summer, the Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale era that spanned the three titles from 1959-65, the Tommy Lasorda-led groups 1981 and ’88 and the Betts and Clayton Kershaw champions of 2020.

    Dave Roberts won his second championship in nine seasons as manager as the Dodgers, matching Lasorda and trailing the four of Walter Alston. The Dodgers won for the fourth time in 12 Series meetings with the Yankees.

    New York remained without a title since winning its record 27th in 2009. The Yankees acquired Juan Soto from San Diego in December knowing he would be eligible for free agency after the 2024 Series. The 26-year-old star went 5 for 16 one RBI in the Series heading into intensely followed bidding on the open market.

    Judge finished 4 for 18 with three RBIs.

    Cole didn’t allow a hit until Kiké Hernández singled leading off the fifth. Judge, who an inning earlier made a leaping catch at the wall to deny Freeman an extra-base hit, dropped Tommy Edman’s fly to center. Shortstop Anthony Volpe then bounced a throw to third on Will Smith’s grounder, allowing the Dodgers to load the bases with no outs.

    Cole struck out Lux and Ohtani, and Betts hit a grounder to Rizzo. Cole didn’t cover first, pointing at Rizzo to run to the bag as Betts outraced the first baseman.

    Freeman followed with a two-run single and Teoscar Hernández hit a tying two-run double. Max Muncy walked before Kiké Hernández grounded into a forceout on Cole’s 48th pitch of the inning.

    “We just take advantage of every mistake they made in that inning,” Teoscar Hernández said. “We put some good at-bats together. We put the ball in play.”

    Stanton’s sixth-inning sacrifice fly off Brusdar Graterol put the Yankees ahead 6-5, but the Dodgers rallied one last time in the eighth.

    Kiké Hernández singled off Tommy Kahnle leading off. Edman followed with an infield hit and Smith walked on four pitches. Lux’s sacrifice fly off Luke Weaver tied the score. Ohtani reached on catcher’s interference and Betts followed with another sacrifice fly to give the Dodgers their first lead.

    Purchased by Guggenheim Baseball Management in 2012, the Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman from Tampa Bay to head their baseball operations two years later. He boosted the front office with a multitude of analytics and performance science staff, and ownership supplied the cash.

    Los Angeles went on an unprecedented $1.25 billion spending spree last offseason on deals with Ohtani, pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and James Paxton, and outfielder Teoscar Hernández. Much of the money was future obligations that raised the Dodgers’ deferred compensation to $915.5 million owed from 2028-44.

    Faced with injuries, the Dodgers acquired Flaherty, Edman and reliever Michael Kopech ahead of the trade deadline, and all became important cogs in the title run. The additions boosted payroll to $266 million, third behind the Mets and the Yankees, plus a projected $43 million luxury tax.

    Up next

    Los Angeles opens its spring schedule on Feb. 20 against the Chicago Cubs at Camelback Ranch, and the Yankees start the next day against Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida.

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    Associated Press

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  • Robinhood launches presidential election trades

    Robinhood launches presidential election trades

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    The stock-trading app Robinhood will allow customers to bet on the outcome of November’s election.

    The so-called presidential election event contracts are launching with a small group of customers Monday, allowing them to trade based on who they think will win the 2024 presidential election.

    What You Need To Know

    • The stock-trading app Robinhood will allow customers to bet on the outcome of November’s election

    • The so-called presidential election event contracts are launching with a small group of customers Monday, allowing them to trade based on who they think will win the 2024 presidential election

    • An event contract is a forecast contract, the value of which depends on a specific event happening by a specific time; they are based on yes or no answers to a question about the event

    • For the Robinhood presidential election contract, the questions are: Will Kamala Harris win the U.S. presidential election in 2024 and Will Donald Trump win the U.S. presidential election in 2024? 


    An event contract is a forecast contract, the value of which depends on a specific event happening by a specific time. They are based on “yes” or “no” answers to a question about the event. 

    For the Robinhood presidential election contracts, the questions are: “Will Kamala Harris win the U.S. presidential election in 2024?” and “Will Donald Trump win the U.S. presidential election in 2024?” Customers can only own “yes” contracts for one candidate.

    “We’ve heard from our customers that having access to the market in real time is essential,” the company said in a statement on its website announcing the new presidential event contracts. “We believe event contracts give people a tool to engage in real-time decision-making, unlocking a new asset class that democratizes access to events as they unfold.”

    Those who trade in the presidential election contracts will receive $1 for every contract they own if their candidate is certified in January and nothing if they are not. Robinhood charges one cent per contract. 

    The Robinhood announcement comes as the presidential campaign enters its final week, with Harris and Trump neck and neck in the polls.

    Last month, a federal appeals court allowed the prediction exchange platform Kalshi to offer Congressional Control Contracts, enabling buyers to bet on which political party will control the Senate and House following next month’s election. 

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    Susan Carpenter

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  • Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 33, truck ramming near Tel Aviv kills 1

    Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 33, truck ramming near Tel Aviv kills 1

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    Israeli strikes on northern Gaza have killed at least 33 people, mostly women and children, Palestinian officials said Sunday, as Israel’s offensive in the hard-hit and isolated area entered a third week and the U.N. secretary-general called the plight of Palestinians there “unbearable.” Israel said it targeted militants.

    In a separate development, a truck rammed into a bus stop near Tel Aviv, killing one person and wounding more than 30. Israeli police said the attacker was an Arab citizen of Israel. The ramming occurred outside a military base and near the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad spy agency.

    What You Need To Know

    • Palestinian officials say Israeli strikes on northern Gaza have killed at least 33 people, mostly women and children
    • Israel’s offensive in the hard-hit and isolated north entered a third week Sunday
    • The U.N. secretary-general calls the plight of Palestinians there “unbearable”
    • In a separate development, Israeli medics say a truck rammed into a bus stop near Tel Aviv, killing one person and wounding more than 30
    • Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader says Israeli strikes on the country over the weekend “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” while stopping short of calling for retaliation. It was Israel’s first open attack on its archenemy

    Iran’s supreme leader, meanwhile, said Israeli strikes on the country on Saturday in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” while stopping short of calling for retaliation. It was Israel’s first open attack on its archenemy.

    That exchange of fire has raised fears of an all-out regional war pitting Israel and the United States against Iran and its militant proxies, which include Hamas and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion earlier this month after nearly a year of lower-level conflict.

    Two Israeli strikes killed eight people in Sidon city in southern Lebanon, with 25 wounded, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. One strike hit a residential building, according to footage taken by an Associated Press reporter.

    The Israeli military said four soldiers, including a military rabbi, were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, without providing details. It said five other personnel were severely wounded. An explosive drone and a projectile fired from Lebanon wounded five people in Israel, authorities said.

    Netanyahu says strikes on Iran achieved Israel’s goals

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his first public comments on the strikes said “we severely harmed Iran’s defense capabilities and its ability to produce missiles that are aimed toward us.”

    Satellite images showed damage to two secretive Iranian military bases, one linked to work on nuclear weapons that Western intelligence agencies and nuclear inspectors say was discontinued in 2003, and another linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program. Iran on Sunday said a civilian had been killed, with no details. It earlier said four people with the military air defense were killed.

    Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, said “it is up to the authorities to determine how to convey the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli regime.” Khamenei would make any final decision on how Iran responds.

    Later Sunday, protesters disrupted a speech by Netanyahu at a nationally broadcast ceremony for victims of Hamas’ attack on southern Israel last year that sparked the war in Gaza. People shouted “Shame on you” and forced Netanyahu to stop his speech. Many Israelis blame Netanyahu for the failures that led to the’ attack and hold him responsible for not yet bringing home remaining hostages.

    An Israeli official said Mossad chief David Barnea is traveling to Qatar for cease-fire and hostage release talks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose details.

    Truck ramming in Israel wounds dozens

    In Ramat Hasharon, northeast of Tel Aviv, the truck slammed into a bus as Israelis were returning to work after a holiday, leaving some people stuck under vehicles.

    Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said six of the wounded were in serious condition. The Ichilov Medical Center reported that one person had died.

    Asi Aharoni, a police spokesperson, told reporters the attacker had been “neutralized,” without saying if the assailant was dead.

    Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group praised the attack but did not claim it.

    Palestinians have carried out scores of stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks over the years. Tensions have soared since the war in Gaza began. Israel has carried out regular military raids into the occupied West Bank that have left hundreds dead. Most appear to have been militants killed during shootouts with Israeli forces, but Palestinians taking part in violent protests and civilian bystanders have also been killed.

    ‘Horrific circumstances’ in northern Gaza

    The Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service said 11 women and two children were among the 22 killed in strikes late Saturday on several homes and buildings in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya. It said another 15 were wounded. The Israeli military said it carried out a strike on militants.

    A Health Ministry official, Hussein Mohesin, said 11 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza. The Israeli army did not immediately comment. Israel has struck a number of such shelters, often killing women and children, saying it targets militants hiding among civilians.

    Israel has waged a massive air and ground offensive in northern Gaza since early October, saying Hamas militants have regrouped there. Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled to Gaza City in the latest wave of displacement.

    Aid groups have warned of a catastrophic situation in northern Gaza, which has suffered the heaviest destruction of the war. Israel has severely limited the entry of basic humanitarian aid in recent weeks, and the three remaining hospitals in the north — one raided over the weekend — say they have been overwhelmed by waves of wounded.

    The U.N. secretary-general in a statement by his spokesperson noted “harrowing levels of death.” The International Committee of the Red Cross on Saturday described the civilian population in “horrific circumstances.”

    The war began when Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s border wall and stormed into southern Israel in a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023. They killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.

    Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

    The offensive has devastated much of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people have crowded into squalid tent camps, and aid groups say hunger is rampant.

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    Associated Press

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  • Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 33, truck ramming near Tel Aviv kills 1

    Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 33, truck ramming near Tel Aviv kills 1

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    Israeli strikes on northern Gaza have killed at least 33 people, mostly women and children, Palestinian officials said Sunday, as Israel’s offensive in the hard-hit and isolated area entered a third week and the U.N. secretary-general called the plight of Palestinians there “unbearable.” Israel said it targeted militants.

    In a separate development, a truck rammed into a bus stop near Tel Aviv, killing one person and wounding more than 30. Israeli police said the attacker was an Arab citizen of Israel. The ramming occurred outside a military base and near the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad spy agency.

    What You Need To Know

    • Palestinian officials say Israeli strikes on northern Gaza have killed at least 33 people, mostly women and children
    • Israel’s offensive in the hard-hit and isolated north entered a third week Sunday
    • The U.N. secretary-general calls the plight of Palestinians there “unbearable”
    • In a separate development, Israeli medics say a truck rammed into a bus stop near Tel Aviv, killing one person and wounding more than 30
    • Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader says Israeli strikes on the country over the weekend “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” while stopping short of calling for retaliation. It was Israel’s first open attack on its archenemy

    Iran’s supreme leader, meanwhile, said Israeli strikes on the country on Saturday in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” while stopping short of calling for retaliation. It was Israel’s first open attack on its archenemy.

    That exchange of fire has raised fears of an all-out regional war pitting Israel and the United States against Iran and its militant proxies, which include Hamas and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion earlier this month after nearly a year of lower-level conflict.

    Two Israeli strikes killed eight people in Sidon city in southern Lebanon, with 25 wounded, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. One strike hit a residential building, according to footage taken by an Associated Press reporter.

    The Israeli military said four soldiers, including a military rabbi, were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, without providing details. It said five other personnel were severely wounded. An explosive drone and a projectile fired from Lebanon wounded five people in Israel, authorities said.

    Netanyahu says strikes on Iran achieved Israel’s goals

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his first public comments on the strikes said “we severely harmed Iran’s defense capabilities and its ability to produce missiles that are aimed toward us.”

    Satellite images showed damage to two secretive Iranian military bases, one linked to work on nuclear weapons that Western intelligence agencies and nuclear inspectors say was discontinued in 2003, and another linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program. Iran on Sunday said a civilian had been killed, with no details. It earlier said four people with the military air defense were killed.

    Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, said “it is up to the authorities to determine how to convey the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli regime.” Khamenei would make any final decision on how Iran responds.

    Later Sunday, protesters disrupted a speech by Netanyahu at a nationally broadcast ceremony for victims of Hamas’ attack on southern Israel last year that sparked the war in Gaza. People shouted “Shame on you” and forced Netanyahu to stop his speech. Many Israelis blame Netanyahu for the failures that led to the’ attack and hold him responsible for not yet bringing home remaining hostages.

    An Israeli official said Mossad chief David Barnea is traveling to Qatar for cease-fire and hostage release talks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose details.

    Truck ramming in Israel wounds dozens

    In Ramat Hasharon, northeast of Tel Aviv, the truck slammed into a bus as Israelis were returning to work after a holiday, leaving some people stuck under vehicles.

    Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said six of the wounded were in serious condition. The Ichilov Medical Center reported that one person had died.

    Asi Aharoni, a police spokesperson, told reporters the attacker had been “neutralized,” without saying if the assailant was dead.

    Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group praised the attack but did not claim it.

    Palestinians have carried out scores of stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks over the years. Tensions have soared since the war in Gaza began. Israel has carried out regular military raids into the occupied West Bank that have left hundreds dead. Most appear to have been militants killed during shootouts with Israeli forces, but Palestinians taking part in violent protests and civilian bystanders have also been killed.

    ‘Horrific circumstances’ in northern Gaza

    The Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service said 11 women and two children were among the 22 killed in strikes late Saturday on several homes and buildings in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya. It said another 15 were wounded. The Israeli military said it carried out a strike on militants.

    A Health Ministry official, Hussein Mohesin, said 11 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza. The Israeli army did not immediately comment. Israel has struck a number of such shelters, often killing women and children, saying it targets militants hiding among civilians.

    Israel has waged a massive air and ground offensive in northern Gaza since early October, saying Hamas militants have regrouped there. Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled to Gaza City in the latest wave of displacement.

    Aid groups have warned of a catastrophic situation in northern Gaza, which has suffered the heaviest destruction of the war. Israel has severely limited the entry of basic humanitarian aid in recent weeks, and the three remaining hospitals in the north — one raided over the weekend — say they have been overwhelmed by waves of wounded.

    The U.N. secretary-general in a statement by his spokesperson noted “harrowing levels of death.” The International Committee of the Red Cross on Saturday described the civilian population in “horrific circumstances.”

    The war began when Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s border wall and stormed into southern Israel in a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023. They killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.

    Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

    The offensive has devastated much of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people have crowded into squalid tent camps, and aid groups say hunger is rampant.

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    Associated Press

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  • Gambling is ‘public health threat,’ panel of experts says

    Gambling is ‘public health threat,’ panel of experts says

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    Gambling has emerged as “a neglected, understudied, and expanding public health threat” throughout the world, a panel wrote in The Lancet medical journal Thursday.

    What You Need To Know

    • Gambling has emerged as “a neglected, understudied, and expanding public health threat” throughout the world, a panel wrote in The Lancet medical journal Thursday

    • The Lancet’s Public Health Commission on gambling wrote in its report that the growth of the gambling industry has been fueled by online gaming, easier access through mobile devices, legalization and the introduction of commercial gambling to new areas

    • As a result, 46.2% of adults and 17.9% of adolescents are estimated to have gambled globally in the past year, according to the commission’s analysis

    • Arguing that balancing public health and economic interests is crucial, the commission issued a series of recommendations

    The Lancet’s Public Health Commission on gambling wrote in its report that the growth of the gambling industry has been fueled by online gaming, easier access through mobile devices, legalization and the introduction of commercial gambling to new areas.

    As a result, 46.2% of adults and 17.9% of adolescents are estimated to have gambled globally in the past year, according to the commission’s analysis. That translates into about 80 million of the nearly 450 million adults who placed bets experiencing a gambling disorder or problematic gambling, the report said.

    Some form of gambling is now legal in more than 80% of countries, with betters’ net losses projected to reach nearly $700 billion by 2028, the report said. And with online access, gambling is available everywhere, the authors added. 

    “Gambling can inflict substantial harm on individuals, families, and communities,” the commission wrote. “Beyond the obvious danger of financial losses and financial ruin, these harms can include loss of employment, broken relationships, health effects, and crime-related impacts. Gambling can heighten the risk of suicidality and domestic violence.”

    The report’s authors wrote that the consequences of the digitalization of the gambling industry — which also includes highly targeted advertising — have not yet been fully recognized. They said that the industry has developed partnerships with media and social media companies and sports leagues that make it part of a “corporate ecosystem” that “wields substantial influence over policy” and regulation.

    The gambling industry has staved off broader policy changes by focusing its narrative on individual responsibility, the commission wrote. 

    “However, framing the problem in this way and narrowly focusing policy attention on a small subset of the people who gamble draws attention away from industry practices and corporate behaviour,” the authors wrote in the U.K.-based journal. “We must also seriously examine the structures and systems that govern the design, provision, and promotion of gambling products.”

    Governments, meanwhile, are conflicted because of the tax revenues they collect from legal betting, the panel wrote.

    Arguing that balancing public health and economic interests is crucial, the commission issued a series of recommendations. They include effective regulation in all countries, even those where wagering is not legal, including bans or restrictions on gambling access, marketing and sponsorships. 

    The commission recommended regulatory provisions that would protect children and young people by enforcing minimum age requirements and mandatory identification. According to The Lancet’s analysis, more than 10% of adolescents have gambled online despite a widespread agreement that commercial betting among adolescents should be prohibited.

    The authors also call for affordable, universal support and treatment for gambling harms and campaigns to raise awareness about the dangers. And they suggested international coordination to develop strategies aimed at helping protect people from gambling harms.

    “Our conclusion is clear: gambling poses a threat to public health, the control of which requires a substantial expansion and tightening of gambling industry regulation,” the commission said. “Timely response to this growing worldwide threat necessitates concerted action at intergovernmental, national, and regional government levels.

    Joe Maloney, senior vice president for strategic communications at the American Gaming Association, a trade industry group for U.S. casinos, said in a statement to Spectrum News the “regulated U.S. gaming industry works diligently with state regulators to foster a safe and responsible environment for consumers,” adding it has in recent years “made significant investments towards advancing responsible gaming initiatives, expanding available consumer resources, and developing tools to promote safer gambling.”

    “We firmly support ongoing discussions and the adoption of best practices to ensure the continued implementation of effective safeguards,” Maloney said.

    Note: This article was updated to include the statement from the American Gaming Association.

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    Ryan Chatelain

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  • Judge orders Virginia to restore 1,600 voter registrations

    Judge orders Virginia to restore 1,600 voter registrations

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    A federal judge on Friday ordered Virginia to restore more than 1,600 voter registrations that she said were illegally purged in the last two months in an effort to stop noncitizens from voting.

    What You Need To Know

    • A federal judge on Friday ordered Virginia to restore more than 1,600 voter registrations that she said were illegally purged in the last two months in an effort to stop noncitizens from voting

    • The injunction was sought by the Justice Department, which claimed the voter registrations were wrongly canceled during a 90-day quiet period ahead of the November election that restricts states from making large-scale changes to their voter rolls to prevent errors

    • The Justice Department and private groups, including the League of Women Voters, said many of the 1,600 voters whose registrations were canceled were in fact citizens whose registrations were canceled because of bureaucratic errors or simple mistakes like a mischecked box on a form

    • State officials said they will appeal, and Virginia’s Republican attorney general Jason Miyares criticized the ruling



    U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles granted an injunction request brought against Virginia election officials by the Justice Department, which claimed the voter registrations were wrongly canceled during a 90-day quiet period ahead of the November election that restricts states from making large-scale changes to their voter rolls.

    State officials said they will appeal.

    The Justice Department and private groups, including the League of Women Voters, said many of the 1,600 voters whose registrations were canceled were in fact citizens whose registrations were canceled because of bureaucratic errors or simple mistakes like a mischecked box on a form.

    Justice Department lawyer Sejal Jhaveri said during an all-day injunction hearing Thursday in Alexandria, Virginia, that’s precisely why federal law prevents states from implementing systematic changes to the voter rolls in the 90 days before an election, “to prevent the harm of having eligible voters removed in a period where it’s hard to remedy.”

    Giles said Friday that the state is not completely prohibited from removing noncitizens from the voting rolls during the 90-day quiet period, but that it must do so on an individualized basis rather than the automated, systematic program employed by the state.

    State officials argued unsuccessfully that the canceled registrations followed careful procedures that targeted people who explicitly identified themselves as noncitizens to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

    Charles Cooper, a lawyer for the state, said during arguments Thursday that the federal law was never intended to provide protections to noncitizens, who by definition can’t vote in federal elections.

    “Congress couldn’t possibly have intended to prevent the removal … of persons who were never eligible to vote in the first place,” Cooper argued.

    The plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit, though, said that many people are wrongly identified as noncitizens by the DMV simply by checking the wrong box on a form. They were unable to identify exactly how many of the 1,600 purged voters are in fact citizens — Virginia only identified this week the names and addresses of the affected individuals in response to a court order — but provided anecdotal evidence of individuals whose registrations were wrongly canceled.

    Cooper acknowledged that some of the 1,600 voters identified by the state as noncitizens may well be citizens, but he said restoring all of them to the rolls means that in all likelihood “there’s going to hundreds of noncitizens back on those rolls. If a noncitizen votes, it cancels out a legal vote. And that is a harm,” he said.

    Virginia’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, issued an executive order in August requiring daily checks of DMV data against voter rolls to identify noncitizens.

    State officials said any voter identified as a noncitizen was notified and given two weeks to dispute their disqualification before being removed. If they returned a form attesting to their citizenship, their registration would not be canceled.

    Prior to Youngkin’s executive order, the state did monthly checks of the voter rolls against DMV data, in accordance with a state law passed in 2006.

    Youngkin said the Justice Department was wrongly targeting him for upholding a law that was followed by his predecessors, including Democrats, even if they didn’t take the extra step of ordering daily checks as he did in his executive order.

    “Let’s be clear about what just happened: only eleven days before a Presidential election, a federal judge ordered Virginia to reinstate over 1,500 individuals–who self-identified themselves as noncitizens–back onto the voter rolls.,” Youngkin said in a statement after Friday’s hearing.

    Giles, for her part, questioned the timing of Youngkin’s executive order, which was issued on Aug. 7, the very beginning of the 90-day quiet period required under federal law.

    “It’s not happenstance that this was announced exactly on the 90th day” of the quiet period, she said Friday from the bench.

    Her injunction requires voter registrations be restored for all of those canceled as a result of Youngkin’s executive order, and that letters be sent out within five days informing those voters of their restored status. The letters will also include a note of caution informing those individuals that if they are indeed noncitizens, that they are barred from casting ballots under federal law.

    The plaintiffs had asked the judge to grant those voters an extension of the deadline to request absentee ballots, but Giles denied that request, saying it would result in confusion.

    “We may not be able to achieve everything we would want,” she said.

    Virginia’s Republican attorney general, Jason Miyares, issued a statement after Friday’s hearing criticizing the ruling.

    “It should never be illegal to remove an illegal voter,” he said. “Yet, today a Court – urged by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice – ordered Virginia to put the names of non-citizens back on the voter rolls, mere days before a presidential election.”

    U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who had alterted Justice Department officials to the removals. praised the ruling.

    “Governor Youngkin’s purges have served only one purpose – to disenfranchise thousands of lawfully voting citizens of the Commonwealth. That stops today,” he said.

    Nearly 6 million Virginians are registered to vote.

    A similar lawsuit was filed in Alabama, and a federal judge there last week ordered the state to restore eligibility for more than 3,200 voters who had been deemed ineligible noncitizens. Testimony from state officials in that case showed that roughly 2,000 of the 3,251 voters who were made inactive were actually legally registered citizens.

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    Associated Press

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  • CDC says 75 people in 13 states sickened in E. coli outbreak

    CDC says 75 people in 13 states sickened in E. coli outbreak

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    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday provided updated figures about the E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, which has now sickened 75 people in 13 states, including one person who died.

    “The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses,” the CDC said in its update.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday provided updated figures about the E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, which has now sickened 75 people in 13 states
    • A California-based produce company is the source of fresh onions linked to a deadly E. coli food poisoning outbreak at McDonald’s restaurants, according to officials with the restaurant chain

    • Meanwhile, other fast-food restaurants across the nation pulled onions from their menus

    • Taylor Farms of Salinas, California, recalled fresh whole and diced onions this week because they could be contaminated with E. coli bacteria

    Of the 61 people with available information, the agency said, 22 people have been hospitalized, including two that developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition that can cause kidney failure. 

    The individuals sickened range in age from 13 to 88. Sixty percent are male, while 40% are female. Of the 42 people that state and local public health officials have interviewed, all of them reported eating at McDonald’s before being sickened, 39 said they ate a beef hamburger, and 31 recalled eating a Quarter Pounder.

    A California-based produce company was the source of fresh onions linked to a deadly E. coli food poisoning outbreak at McDonald’s, officials with the restaurant chain said Thursday. Meanwhile, other fast-food restaurants — including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Burger King — pulled onions from some menus.

    McDonald’s officials said that Taylor Farms, of Salinas, California, sent onions to one distribution facility, which led the fast-food chain to remove Quarter Pounder hamburgers from restaurants in several states. McDonald’s didn’t say which facility it was.

    Investigators said they were focused on slivered onions as a potential source of the infections.

    U.S. Foods, a major wholesaler to restaurants across the country, said Thursday that Taylor Farms had issued a recall this week for peeled whole and diced yellow onions for potential E. coli contamination. The recalled onions came from a Taylor Farms facility in Colorado, a U.S. Foods spokesperson said. But the wholesaler also noted that it wasn’t a McDonald’s supplier and that its recall didn’t include any products sold at the fast-food chain’s restaurants.

    Taylor Farms did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

    Officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not confirm that the agency is investigating Taylor Farms. A spokesperson said Thursday that the agency is “looking at all sources” of the outbreak.

    In the meantime, other national restaurant chains temporarily stopped using fresh onions.

    “As we continue to monitor the recently reported E. coli outbreak, and out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively removed fresh onions from select Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants,” Yum Brands said in a statement.

    Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands wouldn’t say where onions were removed or whether the company uses the same supplier as McDonald’s. Yum Brands said it will continue to follow guidance from regulators and its suppliers.

    Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King, said Thursday that 5% of its restaurants use onions distributed by Taylor Farms’ Colorado facility. Burger King restaurants get deliveries of whole, fresh onions and its employees wash, peel and slice them.

    Even though it wasn’t contacted by health officials and it had no indications of illness, Restaurant Brands said it asked the restaurants that received onions from the Colorado facility to dispose of them two days ago. The company said it’s restocking with onions from other suppliers.

    Chipotle said Thursday it doesn’t source onions from Taylor Farms or us any other ingredients from the Colorado facility.

    Onions have been implicated in previous outbreaks. In 2015, Taylor Farms recalled a celery and onion mix used in Costco chicken salads after 19 people were sickened with E. coli. Last year, 80 people were sickened and one died in an outbreak of salmonella poisoning tied to bagged diced onions from Gills Onions of Oxnard, California.

    Victims were infected with E. coli 0157:H7, a type of bacteria that produces a dangerous toxin. It causes about 74,000 infections in the U.S. annually, leading to more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 deaths each year, according to CDC.

    A Greeley, Colorado, man is suing McDonald’s after contracting an E. coli infection. In a lawsuit filed this week, Eric Stelly said he ate food from local McDonald’s on Oct. 4 and fell ill two days later. After he sought emergency care, health officials confirmed his infection was part of the outbreak.

    Symptoms occur of E. coli poisoning can occur quickly, within a day or two of eating contaminated food. They typically include fever, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea and signs of dehydration — little or no peeing, increased thirst and dizziness. The infection is especially dangerous for children younger than 5, people who are elderly, pregnant or who have weakened immune systems.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • RNC rebuilding legal operation after Trump allies’ failed efforts in 2020

    RNC rebuilding legal operation after Trump allies’ failed efforts in 2020

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    The last time Donald Trump ran for president, the lawyers most directly involved in his efforts to overturn the election wound up sanctioned, criminally prosecuted or even sued for millions of dollars.

    What You Need To Know

    • The last time Donald Trump ran for president, some of the lawyers most directly involved in his efforts to overturn the election wound up disbarred, criminally prosecuted or sued for millions

    • This time, Republican party leaders are aiming to turn the page from that chaotic and failed effort and say they’ll have a professional legal operation

    • Democrats are warning of a renewed potential to undermine confidence in the electoral process

    • Republicans and Democrats are already fighting in court over election rules, but the Trump team finds itself under a particularly intense microscope given the aftermath of the 2020 race
    • That’s when longshot legal efforts to challenge the results were dismissed by judges as frivolous

    This time around, Republican party leaders are working to present a more organized, skilled legal operation even as Trump continues to deny he lost the 2020 election and sows doubt about the integrity of the upcoming one.

    “It has been very important to make sure that in every aspect, we are going to have a fully professional operation,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley told The Associated Press.

    As Republicans and Democrats fight in court over election rules, the Trump team finds itself under a particularly intense microscope given the aftermath of the 2020 race when meritless legal efforts challenging the results were repeatedly rejected by judges appointed by presidents of both political parties. Scrambling to undo the results, Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a violent clash with law enforcement.

    The chaotic court challenges were pushed by a loosely organized group of lawyers who ascended in Trump’s orbit after experienced, establishment attorneys who had advised the then-president during the campaign backed away from his false claims of widespread fraud. This year, the Republican National Committee has launched a coordinated “election integrity” initiative that involves the recruitment of thousands of lawyers, polling-place monitors and poll workers, who officials insist will operate within the law.

    “What we have seen in court over the course of the last six months and as we’ve ramped up to these 130-plus lawsuits is a testament to making sure that we’re working with the states and working with the courts to get a really truly, responsible program up and running,” Whatley added.

    But there’s no guarantee that a well-credentialed team will equal better results if the arguments are again rooted in baseless claims, or that the effort, like in 2020, won’t be co-opted after the election by different attorneys.

    A new legal team takes shape

    Among the lawyers with prominent roles are Steven Kenny, the RNC’s senior counsel, who worked at the high-powered law firm of Jones Day; Gineen Bresso, who was nominated by then-President George W. Bush to serve on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and later became chair; and Josh Helton, general counsel for Mike Huckabee’s 2016 presidential campaign.

    David Warrington, who represented Trump during the congressional Jan. 6 investigation, has also been involved in lawsuits, including one in Michigan challenging the designation of voter registration agencies.

    The RNC’s litigation so far has been aimed at ensuring voter ID requirements; asserting that non-citizens are improperly voting; and challenging what they see as lax rules on mail-in and absentee voting.

    Democrats have sounded alarms about the election integrity initiative, calling it an effort to sow distrust in the process and pave the way to cry foul if Trump loses. They have warned that election deniers installed in voting-related positions may refuse to certify legitimate results. And they’ve assembled a team of veteran attorneys, including longtime Democratic lawyer Marc Elias, and filed their own lawsuits, including challenging Georgia rules they fear could be used by Trump allies to delay or avoid certification. A judge last week invalidated seven of the rules.

    The flurry of litigation is hardly surprising in a competitive election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, that could turn on about a half-dozen battleground states.

    Familiar figures from 2020 have resurfaced

    Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who participated in a January 2021 phone call in which Trump implored Georgia officials to “find” enough votes to declare him the winner, has championed lawsuits challenging rules on how overseas voters, including military members abroad, cast their ballots. (On Monday, judges in North Carolina and Michigan rejected efforts to disqualify ballots of certain overseas voters.)

    The RNC earlier this year named Christina Bobb to head its election integrity division. A former reporter for the conservative One America News Network, Bobb has been indicted by Arizona’s attorney general, accused of joining an effort to promote a slate of Trump electors after the 2020 election even though Democrat Joe Biden won the state. Her attorney, Thomas Jacobs, said Bobb “had no involvement in the arrangements to select or present these alternate electors” and would seek to dismiss the charges.

    Trump has been criminally charged with trying to overturn the 2020 election, yet his continued insistence that the contest was marred by fraud has been adopted by many within the party even though judges, election officials and Trump’s own attorney general found no evidence of that.

    Trump says there’s no evidence of cheating so far in 2024

    In May, Charlie Spies, a veteran election law attorney with ties to Mitt Romney and Ron DeSantis, resigned as the RNC’s chief counsel after about two months. He made waves at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference by saying there was “zero evidence” a voting machine software glitch had caused thousands of votes to switch in the 2020 election.

    Whatley said in a radio interview in the weeks after the 2020 election that there was “massive fraud.” But he has largely avoided using Trump’s characterization of Biden’s victory, and said in one 2021 interview that Biden “absolutely” was legitimately elected.

    Standing together Monday in North Carolina, Trump praised Whatley as having been “very much into stopping the steal” in 2020. Though Trump has said he hasn’t seen evidence of cheating in 2024, he has repeatedly raised doubts about the process, telling his supporters they need to turn out to make the result “too big to rig.”

    Among the established Republican political lawyers who resisted the legal challenges in 2020 was Justin Riemer, a lawyer for John McCain’s 2008 campaign who was later chief counsel for the RNC but clashed with Trump allies after the election. He warned an RNC colleague in a November 2020 email that the legal efforts were getting “laughed out of court.”

    “It’s setting us back in our fight for election integrity and they are misleading millions of people who have wishful thinking that the president is going to somehow win this thing,” Riemer wrote in the email about Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, two lawyers who helped engineer Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.

    Consequences for Trump-allied lawyers

    Giuliani was disbarred in New York and Washington; Ellis lost her law license in Colorado. The two, along with Sidney Powell, another lawyer central to advancing Trump’s claims, were among 19 people charged in Fulton County, Georgia, with conspiring to overturn the election.

    Both Powell and Ellis pleaded guilty.

    Giuliani was ordered to pay $148 million to two former Georgia poll workers who sued him over lies he spread about them in 2020 that upended their lives. He subsequently filed for bankruptcy.

    “All of that,” said UCLA law professor Rick Hasen, “should be a deterrent to a thinking lawyer who might want to replicate something like that.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Home sales fell in September to slowest pace in almost 30 years

    Home sales fell in September to slowest pace in almost 30 years

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    Sales of existing homes in the United States have dropped to their lowest level since 1995, the National Assn. of Realtors reported Wednesday. Sales fell 1% in September and are down 3.5% from a year earlier.

    What You Need To Know

    • Existing home sales fell 1% in September and are down 3.5% from a year earlier, according to the National Assn. of Realtors

    • While sales fell, prices have continued to increase; he median price of an existing home for sale increased 3% in September compared with a year earlier to $404,500

    • The number of unsold existing homes increased 1.5% in September compared with a month earlier and 23% compared with a year ago

    • Homes are now sitting on the market an average of 28 days — up from 26 days in August and 21 days in September 2023


    “Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a four-million-unit pace for the past 12 months, but factors usually associated with higher home sales are developing,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. 

    “There are more inventory choices for consumers, lower mortgage rates than a year ago and continued job additions to the economy,” Yun said. “Perhaps some consumers are hesitating about moving forward with a major expenditure like purchasing a home before the upcoming election.”

    While sales fell, prices have continued to increase. The median price of an existing home for sale increased 3% in September compared with a year earlier to $404,500. It was the 15th consecutive month of price increases. 

    Mortgage rates are also increasing. As of October 17, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.44% — up from 6.32% a week earlier.

    The number of unsold existing homes increased 1.5% in September compared with a month earlier and 23% compared with a year ago. Homes are now sitting on the market an average of 28 days — up from 26 days in August and 21 days in September 2023.

    “More inventory is certainly good news for home buyers as it gives consumers more properties to view before making a decision,” Yun said. 

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    Susan Carpenter

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  • Trump targets hardcore partisans, Harris goes after moderates

    Trump targets hardcore partisans, Harris goes after moderates

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    In battleground Pennsylvania, Kamala Harris warned that democracy and reproductive rights were at stake as she campaigned alongside a former Republican congresswoman. 

    Going to the same state the day before, Donald Trump served French fries at a closed McDonald’s.

    As the 2024 presidential contest speeds to its conclusion on Nov. 5, Harris and Trump are embracing wildly different strategies to energize the coalitions they need to win. Both are making bets that will prove prescient or ill-advised.

    What You Need To Know

    • As the 2024 presidential contest speeds to its conclusion, Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are embracing wildly different strategies

    • Both are racing to energize the coalitions they need to win the presidency on Nov. 5

    • Trump’s team has largely abandoned traditional efforts to target moderate voters in the final days before the election

    • His campaign is focusing instead on his base of fiery partisans and low-propensity voters — especially young men — with tough talk at rallies and media appearances


    Trump’s team has largely abandoned traditional efforts to broaden his message to target moderate voters, focusing instead on energizing his base of fiery partisans and turning out low-propensity voters — especially young men of all races — with tough talk and events aimed at getting attention online.

    Harris is leaning into a more traditional all-of-the-above playbook targeting the narrow slice of undecided voters that remain, especially moderates, college-educated suburbanites, and women of all races and education. More than Trump, she is going after Republican women who may have supported rival Nikki Haley in this year’s GOP primary and are dissatisfied with the former president.

    “It’s all pieces of a very complex puzzle,” Harris senior campaign adviser David Plouffe said this week. “This would all be a simpler exercise if you can focus just on one voter cohort. You can’t. And you got to make sure you know you’re doing well enough with all of them so that when you put all that together it adds up to 50%.”

    Trump’s team sees it as a much simpler equation.

    His aides insist that efforts to maximize turnout from Trump’s hardcore base do not mean he’s ignoring swing voters, even if he’s not tailoring a different message to reach them.

    “I just think that there’s a misunderstanding on what’s motivating those people,” Trump political director James Blair said. “I mean, the fact is the economy’s motivating those people. Those people overwhelmingly think that they’re worse off than they were four years ago … So then the question becomes: Who’s better equipped to fix it?”

    The divergent strategies underscore the stark differences between the candidates themselves, in personality and policy.

    Harris, a former California senator who would be the first female president, has promised to include a Republican in her Cabinet, while prioritizing efforts to protect democracy, reproducctive rights and the middle class. Trump, a former president, has vowed to fight for the working class as well. He also has promised a campaign of retribution against his politial enemies with an administration packed with loyalists.

    One point on which both camps agree: The election will be decided by voters in just seven swing states, a political map that has not shifted significantly or narrowed as Election Day speeds into view. They are Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

    One Harris adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy, described the situation as “still terrifyingly close in all seven.”

    Trump rejects the traditional pivot to the middle

    Trump is speaking largely to his loyal Republican base at the expense of moderate voters, especially suburban women. He peppers his rallies with profanity, personal insults against Harris and ominous talk of “enemies within.”

    He has said repeatedly over the last week that Democrats like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., represent a more serious threat to the United States than China and Russia do.

    Trump has also rejected recent opportunities to speak to more traditional audiences, turning down an interview with CBS’ popular “60 Minutes” and refusing to debate Harris for a second time unless it was moderated by Fox News, home to several of his favorite conservative hosts.

    Instead, his campaign is scheduling appearances on podcasts and online shows geared towards young men — especially working-class Hispanic and Black men, who typically vote less frequently and tend to favor Democrats.

    He’s attended sporting events including mixed-martial arts fights and football games, putting him in front of audiences who don’t typically engage with traditional media outlets.

    Josh Rouse, a 28-year-old Black man and registered Republican, said he’s only recently been drawn to politics. He didn’t vote in 2016, but voted for Trump in 2020.

    “If anything, I think it’s important to remember we’re all people, regardless of whether you’re white or Black,” said Rouse, who works in roofing and attended Trump’s rally in Greenville, North Carolina, this week. “It doesn’t matter who you are. He speaks to all of us.”

    Trump’s team has also created viral moments in non-political settings like his trip to McDonald’s on Sunday, part of an extended campaign to cast doubt on Harris’ work history at the fast-food franchise. Trump also went to Coachella, California, and will host a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday — both in heavily Democratic states but where the related media attention and online content would surely reach swing-state voters.

    Trump has kept an aggressive schedule. He is set to visit every battleground state this week save Wisconsin.

    Harris makes Republicans part of her persuasion playbook

    Backed by an avalanche of campaign cash, Harris is holding in-person events but also launching a sprawling door-knocking operation, hyper-targeted online ads and a carefully designed media strategy to reach specific voting blocs.

    Harris’ team believes that roughly 10% of voters in the battleground states are still persuadable, either because they are truly undecided or because their support for Trump is soft. The campaign vows to keep trying to persuade such voters until the final minutes of in-person voting.

    Her team sees the possibility of significant growth among Republican, college-educated, suburban women alienated by Trump’s extreme rhetoric. Even small shifts in swing states could have massive electoral implications.

    The Harris campaign quickly produced digital ads last week highlighting Trump’s description of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection as “a day of love.” And Harris spent most of Monday campaigning in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin alongside Liz Cheney, a Republican House leader during Trump’s presidency who swung sharply against him after Jan. 6.

    Harris is scheduled to visit Houston for an event Friday with women who have been affected by the state’s ban on all abortions, which took effect after the Supreme Court, including three justices nominated by Trump, overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. She’ll be going there after spending time in Georgia, which banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

    Nicolette Milholin, 45, of Mont Clare, Pennsylvania, said she considered herself a political independent until Trump was elected in 2016.

    “To me, democracy is at stake,” Milholin said at a Harris event this week in Chester County, Pennsylvania. “We have a party that was built for a family and a dynasty. And then we have a party here represented by Kamala Harris, that was built for our country.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Former Abercrombie & Fitch chief arrested on federal sex trafficking charges

    Former Abercrombie & Fitch chief arrested on federal sex trafficking charges

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    Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man were arrested Tuesday on charges of luring dozens of men into sex parties held around the world, sometimes by dangling the promise of modeling for the clothing retailer.

    Jeffries, partner Matthew Smith and their employee James Jacobson “operated an international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015, using Jeffries’ status, wealth and a web of household staffers to fulfill the couple’s sexual desires and keep it all secret, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn.

    What You Need To Know

    • A spokesperson for federal prosecutors says former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries and two other men have been arrested on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges

    • Jeffries, partner Matthew Smith and their employee James Jacobson “operated an international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015, using Jeffries’ status, wealth and a web of household staffers to fulfill the couple’s sexual desires and keep it all secret, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn

    • They come after years of sexual misconduct allegations from young people who said Jeffries lured them with promises of modeling work and then pressed them into sex acts

    • Jeffries’ attorney says he will “respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse — not the media”


    The charges follow sexual misconduct allegations, made in lawsuits and the media, from young people who said Jeffries promised modeling work and then pressed them into sex acts.

    Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, said by email he would “respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse — not the media.”

    Messages seeking comment were sent to attorneys for Smith and Jacobson.

    Jeffries and Smith were arrested in Florida and were due to make an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon in West Palm Beach. Jacobson was arrested in Wisconsin and due in court in St. Paul, Minnesota. Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Breon Peace and FBI and police officials were set to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

    Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson are charged with sex trafficking and interstate prostitution.

    According to the indictment, they paid for dozens of men to travel within the U.S. and internationally to engage in commercial sex with them and other men in New York and at hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and St. Barts. The indictment describes sexual bacchanals in which the recruited men were given drugs, lubricant, condoms, costumes, sex toys and, sometimes, erection-inducing penile injections that caused painful, hourslong reactions.

    The defendants led the men to believe that attending the events would help their careers, including their chances of getting Abercrombie modeling gigs — or that not complying could harm their prospects, the indictment says.

    Jeffries and Smith employed Jacobson to recruit and hire the men, who typically had to undergo “tryouts” by having sex with Jacobson first, according to the indictment. It says other, unnamed household staffers also helped facilitate the events, including by acting as security and providing alcohol, muscle relaxants, Viagra and other items.

    Jeffries became CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch in 1992 and left in 2014. The New Albany, Ohio-based company declined to comment on his arrest. 

    Abercrombie last year said it had hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation after a report on similar allegations was aired by the BBC.

    The BBC investigation included a dozen men who described being at events involving sex acts they said were staged by Jeffries and Smith, often at his home in New York and hotels in London, Paris and elsewhere.

    The BBC report also described Jacobson as a middleman who recruited men for the events. He told the news outlet at the time that he hadn’t engaged in and didn’t know of “any coercive, deceptive or forceful behavior.”

    A lawsuit filed in New York last year accused Abercrombie of allowing Jeffries to run a sex-trafficking organization during his 22-year tenure. It said that Jeffries had modeling scouts scouring the internet for victims, and that some prospective models became sex-trafficking victims. At the time, Bieber declined to comment on the allegations. 

    Abercrombie & Fitch traces its roots to a hunting and outdoors goods store that was founded in 1892. By the time Jeffries arrived a century later, the brand was a retail also-ran.

    He was credited with transforming it into a darling of turn-of-the-millennium teen mall culture, known for its nouveau-preppy aesthetic — and for some controversy surrounding it. Jeffries alienated some customers by talking about how the company went after attractive kids who could fit into its clothes. 

    After the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession, A&F’s popularity started to fade again. By the time Jeffries left, a hedge fund had pushed the company’s board to replace him because of the company’s lagging performance. But the company has rebounded in recent years.

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    Associated Press

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  • Yellen says isolationism ‘made America and the world worse off’

    Yellen says isolationism ‘made America and the world worse off’

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    Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told world financial leaders Tuesday that the U.S. economy has grown stronger because the Biden administration rejected isolationism, offering a barely veiled criticism of former President Donald Trump’s policies two weeks before the U.S. election.

    What You Need To Know

    • Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. economy has grown stronger because the Biden administration rejected isolationism

    • Her comments were a thinly veiled criticism of former President Donald Trump’s policies

    • Without mentioning Trump by name, she said in a speech that the Biden administration had ended a period of international isolationism that “made America and the world worse off”

    • The IMF released its international outlook on the global economy on Tuesday morning and upgraded its economic outlook for the United States this year while lowering its expectations for growth in Europe and China



    Yellen opened the IMF and World Bank annual meetings by highlighting U.S. economic growth since the nation was in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without mentioning Trump by name, she said in a speech that the Biden administration had ended a period of international isolationism that “made America and the world worse off.”

    “We went from millions having lost their jobs to a historic labor market recovery,” Yellen said. She said U.S. economic growth has been “almost twice as fast as most other advanced economies this year and last, even as inflation came down sooner.”

    The IMF released its international outlook on the global economy on Tuesday morning and upgraded its economic outlook for the United States this year while lowering its expectations for growth in Europe and China.

    The IMF expects the U.S. economy — the world’s largest — to expand 2.8% this year, down slightly from 2.9% in 2023 but an improvement on the 2.6% it had forecast for 2024 back in July. Growth in the United States has been led by strong consumer spending, fueled by healthy gains in inflation-adjusted wages.

    The meetings mark the last major international finance gathering held during the Biden administration and come as economic issues are a top concern for American voters. Republicans have blamed the Biden-Harris administration for inflation that reached a 40-year high before dropping. Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the Biden-Harris administration “created an inflation crisis, record-high gas prices, skyrocketing mortgage and interest rates resulting in the lowest consumer and small business confidence in decades.”

    Voters remain largely divided over whether they prefer the Republican nominee, Trump, or Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris to handle key economic issues, according to an October survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

    Who wins the U.S. election will also have enormous impacts on global finance and the world’s economy.

    Trump and Harris have spoken little about their plans for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. But they have differing views on trade, tariffs and other economic issues. Trump has been skeptical of world financial bodies and is promising heavy tariffs if elected. Harris is more likely to continue the Biden administration approach favoring international cooperation over threats, though she has supported some tariffs.

    Yellen, like other federal officials, is barred from partisan political activity by the Hatch Act and chose her words carefully in her speech. But she praised Biden-Harris initiatives on climate, health care, infrastructure spending and other areas.

    She alluded to Trump’s international leadership saying: “From day one, we rejected isolationism that made America and the world worse off and pursued global economic leadership that supports economies around the world and brings significant benefits to the American people and the U.S. economy.”

    Trump, who has embraced isolationism and criticized multilateral institutions, promises as president to impose a 60% tariff on all Chinese goods and a “universal” tariff of 10% or 20% on everything else that enters the United States, insisting that the cost of taxing imported goods is absorbed by the foreign countries that produce those goods.

    Mainstream economists say that would amount to a tax on American consumers that would make the economy less efficient and send inflation surging in the United States.

    The Biden-Harris administration has not eliminated tariffs imposed on China during the Trump administration and in May also slapped major tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminum and medical equipment.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Exonerated ‘Central Park Five’ members sue Trump for defamation

    Exonerated ‘Central Park Five’ members sue Trump for defamation

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    Five men wrongfully convicted of assaulting and raping a woman in New York’s Central Park in 1989 have sued former President Donald Trump for defamation over comments he made in a debate against Vice President Kamala Harris last month.

    What You Need To Know

    • The five men known as the “Central Park Five” have sued former President Donald Trump for defamation over comments he made in a debate last month
    • They were wrongfully convicted of assaulting and raping a woman in New York’s Central Park in 1989; their convictions were vacated more than a decade later after someone else confessed to the crime

    • At last month’s debate, Vice President Kamala Harris hammered Trump for taking out a full-page ad in all four of New York’s major newspapers in the aftermath of the attack calling for the return of the death penalty 

    • Trump fired back by saying that Harris and other opponents had “to stretch back years” to come up with lines of attack against him, before falsely saying that the five men pleaded guilty and killed someone



    Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown and Korey Wise, initially known as the “Central Park Five” and, later, the “Exonerated Five,” accused Trump in a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania of making “false, misleading and defamatory” statements about their case at the debate.

    The five men were convicted of the attack and sentenced to multiple years in prison. Their convictions were vacated in 2002, more than a decade later, after a serial rapist confessed to the attack, and DNA evidence confirmed he was involved. They sued the city the next year, accusing the city of false arrest, a racially motivated conspiracy to deprive them of their civil rights and a malicious prosecution, and they settled the case in 2014.

    At one point during last month’s debate, Harris condemned Trump for taking out a full-page ad in all four of the city’s major newspapers in the aftermath of the attack calling for the return of the death penalty. Trump fired back by saying that Harris and other opponents had “to stretch back years” to come up with lines of attack against him, before falsely saying that the five men pleaded guilty and killed someone.

    “[T]hey come up with things like what she just said, going back many, many years, when a lot of people including [former New York] Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg agreed with me on the Central Park Five,” Trump said. “They admitted — they said, they pled guilty. And I said, well, if they pled guilty, they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately. And if they pled guilty — then they pled we’re not guilty.”

    The five men did not plead guilty in the case, nor was the victim of the attack killed — as the lawsuit points out, while also pointing out that Ed Koch, not Bloomberg, was mayor at the time of the attack.

    “These statements are demonstrably false,” the complaint says, calling Trump’s rhetoric “extreme and outrageous” and charging that he “intended to cause severe emotional distress to Plaintiffs.”

    The Trump campaign has not responded to a request for comment from Spectrum News. A spokesperson for the former president’s campaign called the lawsuit “frivolous” in a statement to NBC News.

    According to the lawsuit, Salaam — now a New York City Council member — attempted to engage with Trump after the debate in the spin room. People asked Trump if he would “apologize to the Exonerated Five,” and after he didn’t respond, Salaam introduced himself to the former president.

    “Ah, so you’re on my side them,” Trump said, per the lawsuit.

    “No no no, I’m not on your side,” Salaam replied to Trump, who smiled, waved and walked away, according to the complaint.

    The lawsuit also makes note of other statements Trump has made about the case, including posts on his Twitter account from 2013 and a New York Daily News op-ed from 2014 calling the city’s settlement with the men a “disgrace.”

    The defendants are asking for “compensatory damages, for punitive damages and for costs, in an as yet unliquidated sum in excess of $75,000,” and asked for a jury trial to determine that figure.

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    Justin Tasolides

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  • Gerald Ford’s daughter endorses Harris for president

    Gerald Ford’s daughter endorses Harris for president

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    Ahead of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ trip to Michigan on Monday, the daughter of the state’s only U.S. president has endorsed the Vice President.

    Susan Ford Bales, the only daughter of former President Gerald Ford and former first lady Betty Ford, acknowledged that she and Harris would “likely disagree on some policy matters” — after all, she, like her father, is a Republican.

    However, she continued, Harris’ “integrity and commitment to those same principles that guided Dad have led me to conclude” that she should be the next president.

    “She recognizes the good and the greatness in our country,” Ford Bales said. “I know she will defend the rule of law and our Constitution. And I know she will work to bring all Americans together to move us beyond partisanship. That is what America deserves from our President.”

    News of the endorsement was first reported by MLive.

    Former President Ford, who was born in Nebraska but raised Grand Rapids, Michigan, led Republicans in the House of Representatives before he was nominated to be Richard Nixon’s vice president in 1973. Ford became the president following Nixon’s resignation the next year, pardoning him for any crimes he may have committed as president and eventually narrowly losing the 1976 election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

    “When my father, Gerald Ford, was sworn-in as America’s 38th President, the nation was in need of a serious, compassionate and honorable leader who had the courage to do what was right and always to defend our Constitution,” Ford Bales said in a statement. “His dedication to those values helped bring our country through a turbulent time and restored Americans’ trust in our democracy.

    “We face a similar dynamic today,” she continues. “America cannot regress back to a divisive paradigm of loathing toward one another and disdain for our Constitution. We witnessed on January 6 the horrors of what that looks like, and we can never allow a repeat of that tragedy. The forces that incited it must be held accountable. They can never be in a position to ever do it again.”

    Ford Bales, the only daughter of the former president, helped launch National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with her mother in the 1980s and succeeded her mom as chair of the Betty Ford Center, the nonprofit addiction treatment center named for the former first lady. She is also the sponsor of the USS Gerald R. Ford, named for her father, which is currently the world’s largest aircraft carrier and the biggest warship ever built. 

    Earlier this year, Ford Bales joined first lady Jill Biden and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at the White House to unveil a postage stamp bearing the portrait of Betty Ford.

    Harris is heading to Michigan on Monday, in addition to fellow “blue wall” battleground states Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, for a series of moderated conversations with former Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, the vice president’s latest effort to appeal to moderate Republicans who may be disenchanted with former President Donald Trump.

    Ford Bales joins Cheney and a handful of other Republican officials who have endorsed Harris over Trump. 

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    Justin Tasolides

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  • White House proposes rule to expand contraceptive access

    White House proposes rule to expand contraceptive access

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    As Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris makes reproductive rights a centerpiece of her campaign, the Biden-Harris administration on Monday proposed a dramatic expansion of contraception coverage.

    The proposed rule would require that insurers cover the cost of over-the-counter birth control and other measures designed to increase access to contraceptives.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Biden-Harris administration on Monday proposed a dramatic expansion of contraception coverage

    • The proposed rule would require that insurers cover the cost of over-the-counter birth control, including condoms and the nonprescription birth control pill Opill

    • About 65 million women are of reproductive age in the United States

    • The move comes more than two years after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the national right to an abortion


    “Every woman in every state must have reproductive freedom and access to the healthcare they need,” Harris said in a statement released by the White House. 

    Calling it the largest expansion of contraception coverage in more than a decade, she said the “new proposed rule will build on our Administration’s work to protect reproductive freedom by providing millions of women with more options for the affordable contraception they need and deserve.”

    About 65 million women are of reproductive age in the United States, according to the World Health Organization. 

    Provided through the Affordable Care Act, the new rule would apply to condoms, spermicides and the nonprescription birth control pill Opill, as well as emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after unprotected sex. 

    The ACA currently covers the cost of prescription birth control. The new rule would expand to apply to the over-the-counter version the Food and Drug Administration approved last year. 

    The move comes more than two years after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the national right to an abortion. Twenty-one states currently ban abortion or make access to the procedure more restrictive than what was allowed under Roe v. Wade. 

    In a concurring opinion to the Dobbs ruling, conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said that the high court should “reconsider” a number of high-profile rulings, including the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that guaranteed married couples’ right to contraception. 

    Harris on the campaign trail has warned that Griswold could be at risk under a future Trump administration. 

    At least 13 states and Washington, D.C., currently have regulations that protect a woman’s right to contraception, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

    In 2022, the House of Representatives passed the Right to Contraception Act to codify Americans’ right to contraception, but it failed to pass in the Senate.

    A 2022 poll conducted by FiveThirtyEight found widespread support for contraceptives, with about 90% of Americans saying they support condoms and birth control pills and 80% supporting intrauterine devices, or IUDs. Another 70% said they support emergency contraception including Plan B, and almost 60% said they support medical abortion or abortion pills.

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    Susan Carpenter

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  • Blinken heads to Middle East for 11th time since Gaza war began

    Blinken heads to Middle East for 11th time since Gaza war began

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    Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading again to the Middle East, making his 11th trip to the region since the Gaza war erupted last year and as Israel steps up attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

    What You Need To Know

    • Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the Middle East monday for his 11th trip to the region since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted last year

    • The State Department says Blinken will depart on Monday for a weeklong trip to Israel and a number of Arab countries, on a visit that also comes as Israel weighs retaliation against Iran for ballistic missile attacks earlier this month

    • The trip had been expected after President Joe Biden said he would dispatch Blinken to the region following Israel’s killing of Hamas military chief Yahya Sinwar last week

    • Blinken will also raise the importance the administration places on reaching a diplomatic resolution to the escalating conflict between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah



    The State Department said Blinken will depart on Monday for a weeklong trip to Israel and a number of Arab countries, on a visit that also comes as Israel weighs retaliation against Iran for ballistic missile attacks earlier this month.

    The trip had been expected after President Joe Biden said last week he would dispatch Blinken to the region following Israel’s killing of Hamas military chief Yahya Sinwar, a move that some believe could open a window for new talks on a cease-fire proposal that has been languishing for months.

    “Throughout the region, Secretary Blinken will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people. He will continue discussions on post-conflict period planning and emphasize the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives and realize their aspirations free from Hamas’ tyranny,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

    He said Blinken would also underscore the need for a dramatic increase in the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, something that Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear in a letter to Israeli officials last week. That letter reminded Israel that the Biden administration could be forced by U.S. law to curtail some forms of military aid should the delivery of humanitarian assistance continue to be hindered.

    In addition to the conflict in Gaza, Blinken will also raise the importance the administration places on reaching a diplomatic resolution to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and elsewhere.

    “He will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to work with partners across the region to de-escalate tensions and provide lasting stability,” Miller said in the statement.

    Since the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and the Israeli response, Blinken has traveled to the Middle East 10 times seeking an end to the crisis. His previous trips have yielded little in the way of ending hostilities but he has managed to increase aid deliveries to Gaza in the past.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Juan Soto’s 3-run homer sends Yankees past Guardians 5-2 and into World Series

    Juan Soto’s 3-run homer sends Yankees past Guardians 5-2 and into World Series

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    Juan Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the New York Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.

    Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.

    Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade with San Diego in December, moved the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.

    The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

    In the 10th, Austin Wells walked with one out and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.

    Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.

    “I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,’” Soto said.

    Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer for the Yankees, who took care of the Guardians in five games, but it wasn’t easy.

    New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.

    The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.

    Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.

    The Yankees are back in the World Series, back where their fans expect them to be every year.

    The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to manager Aaron Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.

    While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star outfielder — accelerated the team returning to title contender.

    “That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.

    Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.

    It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).

    Before the game, Boone was asked what makes Stanton so good.

    “He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” Boone said. “So there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world.”

    But Boone went on to compliment Stanton’s discipline at the plate, “his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”

    “There’s something that he does when he gets familiarity with people on top of being very physically gifted,” Boone said.

    The Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the fifth off Carlos Rodón on Steven Kwan’s RBI single with two outs. But Cleveland missed a big chance for more, leaving the bases loaded when Lane Thomas grounded out on the first pitch to him from Mark Leiter Jr.

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    Associated Press

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  • Juan Soto’s 3-run homer sends Yankees past Guardians 5-2 and into World Series

    Juan Soto’s 3-run homer sends Yankees past Guardians 5-2 and into World Series

    [ad_1]

    Juan Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the New York Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.

    Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.

    Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade with San Diego in December, moved the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.

    The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

    In the 10th, Austin Wells walked with one out and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.

    Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.

    “I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,’” Soto said.

    Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer for the Yankees, who took care of the Guardians in five games, but it wasn’t easy.

    New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.

    The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.

    Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.

    The Yankees are back in the World Series, back where their fans expect them to be every year.

    The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to manager Aaron Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.

    While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star outfielder — accelerated the team returning to title contender.

    “That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.

    Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.

    It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).

    Before the game, Boone was asked what makes Stanton so good.

    “He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” Boone said. “So there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world.”

    But Boone went on to compliment Stanton’s discipline at the plate, “his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”

    “There’s something that he does when he gets familiarity with people on top of being very physically gifted,” Boone said.

    The Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the fifth off Carlos Rodón on Steven Kwan’s RBI single with two outs. But Cleveland missed a big chance for more, leaving the bases loaded when Lane Thomas grounded out on the first pitch to him from Mark Leiter Jr.

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    Associated Press

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  • Walz to rally with Obama in Madison next week

    Walz to rally with Obama in Madison next week

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    MADISON, Wis. — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will quickly return to the Badger State next Tuesday, Oct. 22 after visiting the state this last Monday, according to the Harris Campaign.

    He’ll be joined by former President Barack Obama for a rally in Madison at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. In the evening, Walz will also travel by himself to Racine and deliver remarks at a rally around 6:45 p.m.

    The visit coincides with the start of early voting in Wisconsin. The purpose of the visit will be to encourage voters to cast their ballot early for Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz, as well as other Democrats, according to the campaign.

    It will be Walz’s sixth visit to Wisconsin.

    Obama is the only presidential candidate in the past six elections who has won Wisconsin by more than a percentage point.

    On the day before the 2012 election, Obama held a rally in Madison that attracted about 18,000 people. Another Obama rally in October of that year drew about 30,000 people.

    Officials did not share any further details on the visit. 

    This story is developing. Check back for updates.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Frozen waffle products recalled due to possible listeria contamination

    Frozen waffle products recalled due to possible listeria contamination

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    OAK BROOK, Ill. — Hundreds of frozen waffle products sold in leading retailers including Publix, Walmart and Target are being recalled because of possible contamination by the listeria bacteria, according to the manufacturer.

    What You Need To Know

    • Hundreds of frozen waffle products sold at Publix, Walmart, Target and other retailers have been recalled due to possible listeria contamination

    • TreeHouse Foods said that it issued a voluntary recall after discovering possible contamination during routing testing at its plant

    • The illness is most dangerous to pregnant women, newborns, adults over 65 and people with weakened immune systems

    TreeHouse Foods said Friday that it issued a voluntary recall after discovering possible contamination during routing testing at its plant. It said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Canadian food regulators are aware of the recall.

    Listeria infections can cause mild illness including fever and diarrhea or more serious problems. The illness is most dangerous to pregnant women, newborns, adults over 65 and people with weakened immune systems, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

    The CDC estimates that 1,600 people are infected with listeria each year in the United States and 260 die.

    The recalled waffles are sold under a variety of names including Walmart’s Great Value, Target’s Good & Gather and private label brands sold by Food Lion, Kroger and Schnucks. TreeHouse published a complete list.

    TreeHouse said there have been no confirmed reports of illness related to the waffles.

    The company said consumers holding any of the products should dispose of them or return them to the store for credit.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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