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Associated Press
24 minutes ago
- General
- Associated Press
Clarke Schmidt and 3 Yankees relievers combine for 1-0 shutout of Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Clarke Schmidt allowed four hits over six sharp innings and the New York Yankees made a first-inning run stand up in a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night. Schmidt (2-2) struck out four and walked one in a 99-pitch effort to help the Yankees complete a three-game sweep and win for the ninth time in 10 games. Ian Hamilton threw 1 2/3 innings, Tim Hill got the last out of the eighth and Mark Leiter Jr. struck out two in the ninth for his second save. The Angels, who averaged 7.6 runs during an eight-game winning streak from May 16-23, have scored only five in their last five games — all losses. Yusei Kikuchi (1-5) yielded four hits in five innings, striking out four and walking five. He threw 93 pitches, 51 strikes.
Associated Press
44 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Hassell hits 1st major league homer and Nationals rout Mariners 9-0
SEATTLE (AP) — Robert Hassell III had three hits and two RBIs, including his first major league home run, and James Wood also went deep as the Washington Nationals routed the Seattle Mariners 9-0 on Wednesday night. Luis García Jr. and Josh Bell launched consecutive homers to help back Trevor Williams, who tossed six splendid innings. Bell finished with three hits and Wood drove in three runs. Playing his sixth major league game, Hassell hit a solo homer in the eighth to make it 7-0. The touted rookie began the night batting .118 (2 for 17) with one RBI since making his debut last Thursday. The 23-year-old Hassell was drafted eighth overall by San Diego in 2020 and traded to Washington — along with Wood, CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore — for Juan Soto and Bell in a blockbuster deal at the August 2022 deadline. ___ AP MLB:
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Quakes extend LA Galaxy's MLS record season-opening winless streak to 16 games with 1-0 victory
CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Substitute Ousseni Bouda scored in the 74th minute, and the San Jose Earthquakes extended the LA Galaxy's MLS record season-opening winless streak to 16 games with a 1-0 victory Wednesday night. Bouda slipped between two defenders and got his third goal of the season on a precise pass from fellow substitute Preston Judd for the Quakes, who snapped a four-game losing streak in the California Clasico rivalry. The defending MLS Cup champion Galaxy (0-12-4) are edging toward historic ignominy after dropping yet another match at the stadium where they went unbeaten in 2024 and won their league-record sixth title in December. The MLS record is 19 straight winless matches in league play by the MetroStars in 1999. Real Salt Lake also played 18 straight without a win from 2005-06. Earl Edwards Jr. made six saves to keep his third clean sheet of the season for San Jose, which is unbeaten in eight matches across all competitions in May. Quakes head coach Bruce Arena had a successful return to the stadium where he led the Galaxy for nine seasons and won three MLS Cup championships. The Galaxy nearly salvaged a draw in the final minute of second-half injury time, but Edwards saved captain Maya Yoshida's header deep in the San Jose box. Supporters chanted 'We want better!' after the final whistle. The Galaxy's woes have only compounded throughout the new season despite the return to health of stars Joseph Paintsil, Gabriel Pec and Marco Reus. All three international veterans played major roles on last year's championship team, but were limited by injury in the new year. Reus left in the 59th minute against San Jose after sitting down on the grass without contact and eventually walking off the field. Reus struggled with a knee injury earlier in the season, but had been playing well in recent matches. Disorganized in attack and lacking any crispness in their passing, the Galaxy still look lost without Catalan midfielder Riqui Puig, who orchestrated their excellence throughout the 2024 season before tearing a knee ligament in the conference final. Puig could return this summer, but LA also had to part with a handful of key contributors to last season's team due to the salary cap constraints created annually for the MLS champion by title bonuses in their players' contracts. The Galaxy's leadership has declined to panic during this mammoth skid, even extending the contract of head coach Greg Vanney two weeks ago when the winless streak was at a mere 13 games. LA's Novak Micovic had to make two diving saves in the first two minutes of play, and he finished with four saves in the scoreless first half. San Jose's Ian Harkes hit the crossbar from long range in the 22nd minute. The Galaxy host Salt Lake on Saturday night. If they don't beat Salt Lake or win at St. Louis on June 14, they could tie the MetroStars' record June 25 at Colorado. ___ AP soccer:
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Paul Maurice, Rod Brind'Amour skipped player handshakes after East final. It was for a good reason
Florida coach Paul Maurice did not shake hands with the Carolina Hurricanes when the Eastern Conference final ended. And he asked Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour not to shake hands with the Panthers, either. It wasn't out of disrespect. Quite the contrary, really. The handshake line at the end of a playoff series is one of hockey's sacred traditions, no matter how physical the series was before one team eventually prevailed. And Maurice thinks the handshakes are part of what makes the game great to hockey fans, and he's all for it happening. He has just said repeatedly throughout this postseason that he thinks the coaches shouldn't be part of it — reiterating that after the Panthers eliminated the Hurricanes on Wednesday night, even going as far as convincing Brind'Amour to sit it out himself. In that moment, Maurice said, nothing should take the attention off the players on the two teams that just played a series. 'I don't believe that the coaches should shake players' hands at the end,' Maurice said. 'There's this long list of people in suits and track suits. We had like 400 people on the ice. They're all really important to our group. But not one of them was in the game.' So, just as he did after the Round 2 win over Toronto, Maurice and his staff shook hands with Brind'Amour and other members of the Carolina staff. That happened near the benches, while the players partook in the traditional handshake line down the center of the ice. Maurice said several weeks ago that he isn't sure when the post-round handshake expanded to include coaches, and figures someone years ago did it just to either be seen or grab some television time. He said when he started coaching, people in the suits weren't in those handshake moments. This season, he's been trying to amend the tradition. And he thanked Brind'Amour for taking a risk, as Maurice said, in agreeing with him. 'There's something for me visually, with the camera on just the men who played, blocked shots, fought for each other, it's end of one's season, it's excitement for the other,' Maurice said. 'The last thing that a player on the Carolina Hurricanes deserves is 50 more guys in suits, they have no idea who they are and that's not a negative. There's something really kind of beautiful about just the camera on those men who played shaking hands. And we should respect that.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Will Mexico's judicial elections hurt democracy or make the courts accountable?
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexicans will vote in the country's first judicial elections Sunday. The fiercely debated question is whether electing judges will deepen democratic decay or purge courts of rampant corruption and impunity. The vote comes as power in Mexico has been increasingly concentrated in the popular president's office, and as organized crime wields significant political influence in many parts of the country. Critics worry that electing judges will weaken checks and balances on government and stack the courts in favor of the ruling party. Judges and court staff previously earned their positions through merit and experience. Now the election has more than 7,700 candidates vying for more than 2,600 judicial positions, including on Mexico's Supreme Court. Hundreds more positions will be elected in 2027. 'We've never seen something like this before. What Mexico is doing is like an experiment, and we don't know what the outcome of it will be,' said Carin Zissis, director of the Council of the Americas' Washington office. Mexico's ruling party overhauls the courts Mexico's judicial elections will pick judges across every level of government, an unprecedented situation globally. Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador led the push for the overhaul. The highly popular leader was long at odds with Mexican courts, which regularly struck down reform proposals and halted projects they called an overreach of executive power. López Obrador went as far as publicly criticizing judges in his press briefings. Last September, after dominating presidential and legislative elections, his Morena party jammed the constitutional reform through congress. His ally and successor, President Claudia Sheinbaum, has continued to champion it. The overhaul notably put limits on the Supreme Court's power to widely block presidential actions and laws, and set up a disciplinary tribunal for judges. 'The way I see it, the Supreme Court is going to once again become irrelevant, just like it was in the old days of authoritarian rule ... when its ability to monitor constitutionality was basically null,' said Rafael Estada, a constitutional historian. Sheinbaum and López Obrador have asserted that by popularly electing judges, they can root out corruption in the judiciary and bring the branch closer to the people. 'Who is going to choose the judges on the court now? The Mexican people. That's the big difference between what once was and what now is,' Sheinbaum said Monday as she called on Mexicans to vote. 'And that,' she added, 'is democracy.' Many on the ballot won a lottery after being screened by committees made up of people from the three branches of government — two of which are controlled by the president's party. To qualify, candidates need a law degree, five years of professional experience, an essay and letters of recommendation from friends and colleagues. Concerns about democratic decay The passage of the reform legislation sparked weeks of protests by judges and judicial staff, a sharp rebuke from the Biden administration and concerns by international investors, causing the Mexican peso to dip. Opponents have called on Mexicans to boycott the vote, and the election is projected to have low turnout. The opponents – former judges, legal experts, politicians and foreign observers -— say that battling corruption and impunity in the courts is not a bad idea. Most Mexicans agree that the judiciary is rife with corruption. 'The judiciary has a lot of scores to settle in this country,' said Georgina De la Fuente, election specialist with the Mexican consulting firm Strategia Electoral. But critics say the ruling party is simply politicizing the courts at an opportune moment, when Sheinbaum is highly popular. Judicial candidates are not allowed to announce their party affiliation and are unable to accept party funds or hold major campaign events. A number of former Morena government officials and allies, however, have posted lists on social media of which ones to elect. Mexico's electoral authority said Wednesday it also had investigated cases of physical guides handed out to potential voters in Mexico City and Nuevo Leon state, something it said could amount to 'coercion.' 'The way in which this reform was designed does not give people greater access to justice. It was designed to take control of the judiciary and blur the division of powers,' De la Fuente said. 'Opening a Pandora's box' Others warn that the overhaul could open the judiciary to questionable judges and allow organized crime to further influence Mexico's justice system. A number of candidates have raised eyebrows. Chief among them is Silvia Delgado García, a former lawyer for drug kingpin Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, who is running to be a criminal court judge in the northern border state of Chihuahua. Critics 'speak out of ignorance because whether or not I've represented some person doesn't transform you into that person,' she told the AP as she handed out campaign flyers to people crossing the border from Ciudad Juarez to El Paso, Texas. 'What I can promise you is I'll be an impartial judge,' she told some voters. Watchdogs also say that last year's vote on the reform was rushed through, criteria for candidates wasn't always followed, the number of candidates was limited by a lottery and lower-court orders trying to keep the reforms from taking effect were ignored. Zissis, of Council of the Americas, said the reforms could increase instability in the region at a time of rapid political change. Mexico's government has been working furiously to talk U.S. President Donald Trump down from tariff threats and meet demands by his administration to crack down on organized crime. At the same time, Trump has been locked in political fights with courts trying to block various actions. The turmoil could hurt international investment in Mexico if investors believe their money is less secure, Zissis said. 'It feels like Mexico is opening a Pandora's box,' she said. ___ Associated Press journalists María Verza and Christian Chávez contributed to this report from Mexico City and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
