
‘You'll be surprised': D-Day for Desley Simpson is drawing near
This is a transcript of Simon Wilson's weekly newsletter Love this City – exploring the ideas and events, the reality and the potential of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
Auckland's deputy mayor Desley Simpson has announced ... that she is going to announce in early June whether she's

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Trim It Right: What Homeowners Should Know About Tree Trimming in Mobile AL
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Glasgow Times
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Pub Quiz June 7: How smart are you? Take this pub quiz
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New York Times
6 minutes ago
- New York Times
Yankees pummel Walker Buehler as Red Sox's first-inning woes continue
NEW YORK — The last time Walker Buehler was on the mound at Yankee Stadium prior to Friday night, he watched as Alex Verdugo swung through a knuckle curveball. That swing-and-miss clinched the World Series for Buehler's Los Angeles Dodgers. He threw his arms wide in elation. It couldn't have been a more different scene nearly eight months later, his first time back on that mound. Advertisement Buehler, now a Boston Red Sox starter, stared blankly as he walked off the field in the second inning. Sixty-seven pitches thrown, seven runs allowed. Another atrocious start for the Red Sox in an unrelenting season. The Red Sox fell 9-6 to New York Yankees on Friday night, the score making the game appear closer than it felt as New York bounded out to a 7-0 lead. It was a different day but the same story for the Red Sox as they've played the same brand of brutal baseball on repeat for the better part of the season. 'It's hard to play this way,' manager Alex Cora said. The Bronx Bombers came out swingin' 💪 — MLB (@MLB) June 6, 2025 The irony of Buehler's bad day was that he returned to his World Series-clinching pitch in the first inning in a tight spot. With two on and two outs after a leadoff walk and an Aaron Judge double, Buehler tried to execute a below-the-zone knuckle curve. This time, with Jazz Chisholm at the plate, the Yankees third baseman pummeled the pitch 417 feet to straightaway center for a 3-0 lead. A single and an Anthony Volpe two-run homer later, and the Red Sox were down 5-0. 'To be honest with you, this organization put a lot of faith in me this offseason, and I've been f—ing embarrassing for us, so it's tough,' Buehler said. 'It's obviously a big game and a big rivalry that I was excited to be a part of, and for it to go the way that it did is super disappointing.' The five-run first ballooned Boston's first-inning ERA to 7.06, second only to the league-worst Colorado Rockies (9.00). 'We prepare, we have to execute,' Cora said. 'At the end, it's execution. It's not the scouting reports or they're showing up late to their bullpen session or to warmup. It's just that we aren't executing, and that's it.' Buehler's second inning wasn't much better. With two on, Chisholm drove in another run with a single to right. Jasson Dominguez walked to load the bases, and Buehler hit Volpe to bring in a seventh run. Trevor Story made a tumbling catch on an infield popup to get out of the inning, but Buehler's exit from the Yankee Stadium mound was a far cry from the jubilation of his last time in New York. Advertisement Coming off a dramatic walk-off win Wednesday in Boston, the Red Sox were riding high, hoping to carry that momentum into a tough stretch of their schedule. Cora said the team's off day Thursday was coming at a good time. But by Friday, it was more of the same malaise. The early seven-run hole made for another nearly impossible task for the Red Sox offense to surmount, though it tried. Marcelo Mayer gave the Red Sox a spark in the fifth inning with his first career home run to put Boston on the board. 'It was a good feeling,' Mayer said. 'Obviously, it kind of sucks when you're losing, but it's definitely a moment I'll remember for the rest of my life.' Mayer traded a signed bat and ball with two young Yankees fans who caught the ball. Marcelo's first career homer! 💥 — Red Sox (@RedSox) June 7, 2025 The following inning, after the Red Sox bullpen had given up another run, Jarren Duran led off with a triple, Rafael Devers walked and Wilyer Abreu hit a sacrifice fly. Yankees starter Will Warren issued back-to-back walks to load the bases and was replaced by Brent Headrick. Cora pinch hit for Mayer with Romy Gonzalez, who smacked a two-run double to pull the Red Sox within 8-4. 'We needed to pinch hit there,' Cora said of his decision to take Mayer out. 'That's a balance between developing the player and winning the game. It felt right there to pinch hit for him. I told him, I don't know if it's going to be this season, but at one point in his career we're not going to pinch hit for him. I made sure to let him know that because he's very important in what we're trying to accomplish. He's part of the future and he's a good player.' The Red Sox bullpen leaked in another run in the sixth before Devers' two-run homer made it 9-6. That's as close as the Red Sox would get. For the way the Red Sox's season has gone, it was a fitting way to begin a three-game series in the Bronx.