Latest news with #Stebbins
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Dodgers Pushed to Release Slumping $17 Million Veteran As Losses Pile Up
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The defending World Series champions are suddenly on the ropes. On the heels of a 12-21 stretch since July 4, the Los Angeles Dodgers have fallen to second place in the National League West. They held a nine-game lead before this cold streak began, making it almost impossible to see the fall coming. The Dodgers can still win this division race, but they'll need to quickly get up off the mat, especially with six of their next 10 games against the new division leaders, the San Diego Padres. Could that be cause for a roster shakeup? PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 10: A New Era Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap is seen against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the game at PNC Park on May 10, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin... PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 10: A New Era Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap is seen against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the game at PNC Park on May 10, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)FanSided's Katrina Stebbins thinks the Dodgers have no other choice but to cut their losses with an expensive veteran who has been a thorn in his team's side all season. On Wednesday, Stebbins urged the Dodgers to release veteran Michael Conforto, who signed a one-year, $17 million contract in December and has produced minus-0.6 bWAR as the regular starter in left field. "Conforto successfully duped the front office into thinking that his July success was sustainable and they weren't proactive about finding a replacement outfielder (at the trade deadline)," Stebbins wrote. "Now, their internal options are low with three utility men on the (injured list). Still, Dodgers fans would probably prefer to see a minor leaguer come up or Dalton Rushing get some major league reps in the outfield than keep watching Conforto play." The Dodgers designated outfielder Jason Heyward for assignment and subsequently released him last August, a precedent Stebbins was quick to point out. And though Conforto is making nearly double Heyward's salary, it's not as though Los Angeles is worried about keeping its payroll below a certain threshold. Conforto is now 3-for-30 in August. Could a couple more bad games do him in? More MLB: Astros $95M Six-Time All-Star Seeking Second Opinion After 'Gut Punch' Injury
San Francisco Chronicle
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘The Return' asks whether an Israeli and a Palestinian can rewrite their script
He's learned to bear his life; she means trouble. He knows the Orwellian rules of their police state, including that there are probably new dicta he doesn't yet know about; she's been gone long enough to be horrified on his behalf. When this unnamed duo meet in an auto body shop in Israel, there's a template they're expected to follow. He, the Arab mechanic, must be accommodating and subservient, even if she, the Jewish customer, takes conversational liberties. He can't risk otherwise; she could report him or even be an official herself. But in 'The Return,' which opened Sunday, Aug. 10, at the Garret at ACT's Toni Rembe Theater, she (Elissa Beth Stebbins) goes way too far immediately. She marvels at the fact he (Nick Musleh) is allowed to work on army jeeps, given his background, and asks if he gets treated and paid the same as his Jewish coworkers. It's like she wants to break him, but not for the usual reasons. Stebbins plays her as someone who knows she has all the power but hates that fact, and has to learn she can't do anything about it. In the two-hander, mounted by Golden Thread Productions in partnership with Art2Action, Inc., the surface-level mysteries are whether these two apparent strangers already know each other and what agenda could spur her to keep asking him questions that hint at a criminal history and make them both so uncomfortable. But the deeper question of Hanna Eady and Edward Mast's play is whether the pair can deviate from the rulebook history has handed them. No impetuous escape from it all or sunshine-and-rainbows cross-cultural reconciliation is possible. The forces against them are too great. But can one small human gesture break through? And if so, dare they — and we — hope for a better world? As she keeps flinging herself against his weathered defenses, Eady (who also directs) hits a few false notes. Restrained naturalism, where both actors thrive, keeps ratcheting into hysterical pitches. A scream of frustration bleeds into a sad string instrument sound cue, cutting off a scene. It's like the theater equivalent of an author triple-underlining his text instead of finding the right words. Still, at least most of the time, the first-rate performers make their credulity-straining premise (which I won't spoil here) and occasional clichés downright plausible. Stebbins, among the region's most incisive parsers of subtext, finds secret doors to the unknown within her lines. Her eyes are agonized then haunted, melting then teasing. At one point, when she says goodbye, you can tell that what her character really wants to say is, 'But why does it have to be over?' Musleh is a study in understatement. His character's open yet subdued mien communicates a lifetime spent appeasing an abusive authority, and he always juggles just enough possibilities to keep the show's mystery aloft. For the longest time, you can't entirely tell whether his character really believes the self-negating propaganda he's spouting, per Israeli brainwashing, or he's just that adroit in doublespeak. But then, when he finally allows himself something real and human, Musleh's whole being seems to shine. Connection is doomed in the world of 'The Return.' It can't last. Yet these two still manage one defiant Hollywood-perfect final gesture. It didn't have to end that way. A clumsy attempt at goodness has probably ruined at least one life, so recrimination — or worse — would be understandable. But people still reach out for each other. That, Eady and Mast insist, has to mean something.
New York Post
12-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Tish James' pro-consumer push could spark 'legal shakedowns' and boost greedy lawyers, businesses say
New York business groups are blasting Attorney General Tish James for a pro-consumer push they fear would be a legislative misfire – boosting greedy lawyers and unleashing 'legal shakedowns.' James' FAIR Business Practices Act looks to tighten up consumer protections to crack down on shady crimes like deed theft, junk fees and hard-to-cancel subscriptions but critics said it will open up small businesses to frivolous lawsuits and legal threats. 'The so-called FAIR Act would be anything but fair to New York's business community, especially Main Street businesses,' said Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of NY. Advertisement 3 Attorney General Letitia James makes an announcement about new legislation to protect consumers and small businesses at AG office in New York on March 13, 2025. Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire / 'It strips away long standing legal safeguards and due process protections – like ensuring that claims are consumer-oriented or that plaintiffs actually have standing to sue – and replaces them with a system that invites abuse,' Stebbins added. 'The bill would specifically authorize profit-motivated law firms to send letters demanding pre-suit settlements for damages and fees,' Stebbins said. 'That's a recipe for a cottage industry of legal shakedowns, where small businesses are targeted not for wrongdoing, but because they lack the resources to fight back.' Advertisement The act targets companies engaged in artificial intelligence-based schemes, online phishing scams and data breaches. It also takes aim at student loan services that steer borrowers into more expensive repayment plans, unscrupulous car dealers, shady nursing homes that sue relatives of deceased residents for unpaid bills — and health insurance companies that use long lists of in-network doctors who turn out not to accept patients' insurance. But business advocates worry it'll have an unintended burden on small businesses, citing a study claiming 'excess tort costs' already saddle New Yorkers with $61.8 billion in unnecessary legal bills. 3 The entrance to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters is seen during a protest on February 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. Getty Images Advertisement Ashley Ranslow, New York State Director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said James' proposal 'would make it easier for lawyers to shake down small businesses with vague legal threats. 'Lawmakers should be focused on cutting costs and supporting small businesses, not making it easier for wealthy lawyers who have demonstrated no actual harm to sue them out of existence,' she said. Justin Wilcox, executive director of Upstate United, said the bill has 'vague definitions' that lawyers will exploit for profit, not justice. Advertisement Business Council lobbyist Chelsea Lemon said Gov. Kathy Hochul and lawmakers need to reject the bill if they are 'truly serious about addressing affordability.' James had no immediate comment to backlash from business interests. But during a press conference in March, she said the legislation was necessary while criticizing the Trump administration. 'At a time when the federal government is making life harder, we want to make life easier for New Yorkers,' James said. 'The FAIR Business Practices Act will close loopholes that make it too easy for New Yorkers to be scammed, and will allow my office to go after anyone who violates the law and look forward to working with my partners in state government to ensure that as Washington retreats from protecting consumers, New York steps up to lead.' 3 During a press conference in March, James said the legislation was necessary while criticizing the Trump administration. Pixsooz – Her office on Sunday provided statements from the Student Borrower Protection Center and the Small Business Majority who support the FAIR Act. James has been in the political and legal fire herself of late. Advertisement Trump's Justice Department last week launched a criminal probe into mortgage fraud claims against her. Taxpayers also could be on the hook for legal bills from the investigation into her real estate dealings, according to the state budget. James dismissed the allegations as 'baseless' and claimed the federal probe was part of a 'revenge tour' by the president because she brought civil fraud charges against him and his company, the Trump Organization. James famously professed, 'no one is above the law,' when she launched her investigation into Trump in 2019 — which ended with a $454 million judgment against him and his real estate firm.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pentagon launches probe into Signalgate after Trump White House declares case "closed
The Pentagon is diving deeper into the controversy surrounding a group chat between Trump administration officials discussing war plans in Yemen. Department of Defense Inspector General Steven Stibbins shared in a memo that he plans to investigate Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's contributions to the group chat, which unwittingly contained a member of the press. The announcement of the probe on Thursday came days after the Trump White House shared that the matter was "closed." 'The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business,' Stebbins wrote. The probe was launched at the request of the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Those Senators, Roger Wicker, R-Miss, and Jack Reed, D-R.I., said reporting on Hegseth and others' conduct 'raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss classified and sensitive information." Questions over security have dogged the DoD since National Security Advisor Michael Waltz inadvertently added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the group chat that also contained Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. The new investigation comes just days after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's claim that the matter was settled. 'This case has been closed here at the White House, as far as we are concerned,' Leavitt said on Monday. Stebbins has served as the acting Inspector General for the Department of Defense since January when Trump fired the previous IG amid a massive purge of the bureaucrats charged with agency oversight.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pentagon inspector general to investigate Pete Hegseth's role in Signal chat leak
The top internal investigative office at the Pentagon announced Thursday that it would probe allegations that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used the commercially available messaging app Signal to discuss classified information about a U.S. military strike in Yemen. The announcement comes about 10 days after The Atlantic revealed that its editor-in-chief was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat that included Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz and other senior administration officials discussing upcoming military actions. 'The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other [Department of Defense] personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business,' acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins wrote in a memo to Hegseth. Stebbins said his decision to conduct the review was spurred by a March 26 letter from Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., the chair and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. In their letter, the senators asked Stebbins to 'conduct an inquiry' into whether Hegseth shared sensitive or classified information in the group chat. . Specifically, Wicker and Reed asked Stebbins to determine what exactly Hegseth communicated in the chat and whether he'd adhered to the Pentagon's classification and declassification policies as well as its policies on sharing sensitive and classified information on nongovernment networks and devices. They further requested information on whether the White House, Pentagon, National Security Council and other departments all have the same policies for communicating this kind of information. Hegseth and other senior administration officials have repeatedly denied that he shared classified info in the group chat. The inspector general inquiry will also look at whether rules about records retention were followed. The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg wrote last week that Waltz added him to a Signal group chat called 'Houthi PC small group' where Vance, Waltz, Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and others discussed plans to strike Houthi militants in Yemen. After Hegseth and the White House denied any classified information or specific plans were disclosed in the chat, The Atlantic published a full transcript of the conversation, which included Hegseth sharing operational details ahead of the attack. Those details included the timing and nature of specific strikes, using language like, '1410: More F-18s LAUNCH,' and '1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.' President Donald Trump told NBC News last weekend that no one involved in the Signal group chat would be fired. This article was originally published on
