22+ min ago (143+ words) Shohei Ohtani plans to play for Japan in next year's World Baseball Classic Ohtani helped Japan win the 2023 WBC, striking out then-Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out of the championship game against the United States. He was named MVP of the tournament. Ohtani won his fourth MVP award this month, shortly after he helped the Dodgers win their second straight World Series title. He returned to the mound this season after not pitching in 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. In the postseason, he had arguably the best game in major league history, striking out 10 batters and hitting three homers as the Dodgers completed a four-game NL Championship Series sweep of Milwaukee. Ohtani did not specify in his post whether he plans to pitch for Japan in the WBC, which begins on March 5....

32+ min ago (293+ words) Television cameras caught Moehrig delivering a punch to Jennings' groin area late in the 49ers' 20-9 victory over the Panthers. Jennings responded by walking over to Moehrig after the game and hitting him in the helmet before giving him a shove. Jennings then needed to be held back before the teams left the field. "I was just responding to some childish behavior," Jennings said. Moehrig said his shot at Jennings was in response to physical play after the whistle and trash talking throughout the game. He acknowledged that he likely will be fined for his actions. Jennings has a history of physical play with his aggressive blocking and running style. That led to him getting ejected after a scuffle with Arizona cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting in last season's finale and now the run-in with Moehrig. But Jennings said he was surprised with how…...

32+ min ago (285+ words) Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesperson for the Afghan government, said on X that Pakistan "bombed" the home of a civilian in Khost province, killing nine children and a woman. He said additional strikes were carried out in the provinces of Kunar and Paktika, injuring four others. Pakistan's military and government did not immediately comment on the allegation, which comes more than a month after cross-border clashes erupted when the Afghan government claimed Pakistani drone strikes hit Kabul. The latest escalation follows a deadly attack a day earlier in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, where two suicide bombers and a gunman stormed the headquarters of the Federal Constabulary. Three officers were killed, and 11 others were wounded in the Monday morning attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the Peshawar attack, but suspicion quickly fell on the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan....

32+ min ago (960+ words) A year on, inflation remains stubbornly high, government borrowing is up and the economy is turgid. The annual budget, due on Wednesday, is expected to bring more tax hikes in pursuit of the same elusive economic boom. Rain Newton-Smith, head of business group the Confederation of British Industry, said Monday that "it feels less like we're on the move, and more like we're stuck in "Groundhog Day." It's not just businesses who are concerned. Alarmed by the government's consistently dire poll ratings, some Labour lawmakers are mulling the once-unthinkable idea of ousting Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who led them to victory less than 18 months ago. Luke Tryl, director of pollster More in Common, said voters "don't understand why there has not been positive change. "This could be a last-chance saloon moment for the government." The government says Treasury chief Rachel…...

52+ min ago (226+ words) The Shenzhou 22 will be used sometime in 2026 by the three astronauts who docked on the Tiangong space station on Nov. 1. Earlier this month, another group of Chinese astronauts from the Shenzhou 20 mission faced a nine-day delay in their return to Earth after their craft's window was damaged. They eventually returned using the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft, which had just carried the replacement crew to Tiangong. While the three-person crew landed safely on Earth, three of their fellow astronauts on the replacement crew were temporarily left without a guaranteed way to return in case of an emergency. The Shenzhou 20 spacecraft " the damaged one, which for now remains in space " will be brought down to Earth later and assessed, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The space program determined it didn't meet safety standards for transporting the astronauts. Chinese astronauts have been carrying out missions…...

1+ hour, 2+ min ago (544+ words) U.S. futures edged lower and oil prices also declined. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was trading less than 0.1% higher, at 48,642.81, after reopening from a holiday. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.3% to 3,859.12. Taiwan's Taiex jumped 1.5%. Chinese markets also advanced. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng climbed 0.4% to 25,821.47, while the Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.9% to 3,872.45. E-commerce giant Alibaba, which was due to report its earnings late Tuesday, gained 1.6%. Australia's S&P/ASX rebounded to edge 0.1% higher, closing at 8,537.00. U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. A day later, it's on to the rush of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The U.S. stock market rallied on Monday, at the start of a week with shortened trading because of the Thanksgiving holiday. The S&P 500 climbed 1.5% to 6,705.12 in one of its best days since the summer. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 46,448.27, and the…...

1+ hour, 2+ min ago (558+ words) U.S. futures edged lower and oil prices also declined. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was trading less than 0.1% higher, at 48,644.92, after reopening from a holiday. In South Korea, the Kospi also traded in a narrow range and was nearly flat at 3,848.00. Taiwan's Taiex was up 1.4%. Chinese markets advanced. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng climbed 0.6% to 25,875.36, while the Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.1% to 3,880.22. E-commerce giant Alibaba, which was due to report its earnings late Tuesday, gained 2.4%. Australia's S&P/ASX gave up 0.2% to 8,510.30. U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. A day later, it's on to the rush of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The U.S. stock market rallied on Monday, at the start of a week with shortened trading because of the Thanksgiving holiday. The S&P 500 climbed 1.5% to 6,705.12 in one of its best days since the summer. The Dow Jones…...

1+ hour, 12+ min ago (252+ words) Cooley gave Utah a 3-1 lead on a breakaway at 4:19 of the third period, and completed his second hat trick of the season into an empty net with 4:19 left. He added a short-handed empty-netter with 2:17 to go for his career-high fourth goal and fifth point of the night. The 21-year-old Cooley had the first four-goal game in the NHL this season to raise his total to 13. He had another natural hat trick in the first period in a 7-4 victory at St. Louis on Oct. 24. He has three career NHL hat tricks. The teams also played Thursday night at Delta Center, with Vegas winning 4-1. Utah rebounded Saturday night, topping the New York Rangers 3-2 at home to end a four-game skid. Vegas fell 4-3 in overtime at Anaheim on Saturday night. Dylan Guenther had a goal and an assist for Utah, and Karel Vejmelka…...

1+ hour, 12+ min ago (247+ words) Cooley gave Utah a 3-1 lead on a breakaway at 4:19 of the third period, and completed his second hat trick of the season into an empty net with 4:19 left. He added a short-handed empty-netter with 2:17 to go for his career-high fourth of the night and 13th of the season. The 21-year-old Cooley had the first four-goal game in the NHL this season. He had another natural hat trick in the first period in a 7-4 victory at St. Louis on Oct. 24. He has three career NHL hat tricks. The teams also played Thursday night at Delta Center, with Vegas winning 4-1. Utah rebounded Saturday night, topping the New York Rangers 3-2 at home to end a four-game skid. Vegas fell 4-3 in overtime at Anaheim on Saturday night. Dylan Guenther had a goal and an assist for Utah, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 33 shots. Ivan Barbashev scored…...

1+ hour, 52+ min ago (364+ words) McCaffrey's big night helped the 49ers (8-4) overcome three interceptions in the first half by Brock Purdy to remain in playoff position headed into the stretch run of the season. Bryce Young and the Panthers (6-6) struggled to take advantage of their opportunities a week after he threw for a franchise-record 448 yards in a win at Atlanta. Young threw for just 169 yards with one touchdown and one interception as Carolina missed a chance to move into sole possession of first place in the NFC South. The 49ers went conservative in the second half after Purdy's rough start to the game, relying mostly on McCaffrey and short passes. The strategy worked with McCaffrey scoring on a 12-yard run to make it 17-3 and the Niners adding a field goal by Matt Gay. Young did connect on one big play, a 29-yard TD pass to Tetairoa McMillan,…...