Family feud sparks battle for control of San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are facing a family fight for team control. On Monday, Jan. 6, Sheel Seidler, the widow of former owner Peter Seidler, filed a lawsuit against Seidler’s brothers, seeking to ensure what she calls “the vision Peter and I shared for the team.”
In the lawsuit –– filed in the state of Texas, where Peter and Sheel own a residence –– Sheel Seidler is attempting to wrest control from Bob and Matt Seidler, accusing them of “breaches of fiduciary duty and fraud” as trustees that control the franchise.
In a statement posted on social media, Sheel Seidler added, “As the holder of the largest individual ownership stake in the San Diego Padres, and the sole beneficiary of the Seidler Trusts, which possess exclusive rights with respect to control of the franchise, I am seeking to be named the control person for the Padres.”
To @Padres fans, I want you to hear directly from me. Peter and I had a mission to bring championship baseball to San Diego. That remains my commitment to you. Read my full statement below. pic.twitter.com/YW605jZ0P8
The lawsuit also alleges that the brothers have “irreconcilable conflicts of interest” and sold the trust’s assets to themselves at “far-below-market prices” in an effort to gain control of the team.
Peter Seidler died in 2023 after a months-long illness and complications from cancer. An interim control person, Eric Kutsenda—a friend and business partner of Peter Seidler—has been running the franchise for the 13 months since his passing. Major League Baseball expects a new control person to be named by the start of spring training in late February.
A spokesperson for the Peter Seidler Trust said in a statement that the lawsuit is “without merit.” The spokesperson added, “Peter had a clear estate plan, that plan specifically named three of his nine siblings, with whom he had worked closely for many decades, as successor trustees of his trust and Peter himself prohibited Sheel from ever serving as trustee.”
The statement went on to declare that Sheel Seidler agreed she would not interfere with the process of choosing someone for that role.
Record 9 teams will pay MLB luxury tax totaling $311 million in January
A record nine Major League Baseball teams are going to have to pay the tax man come January. According to ESPN and the Associated Press, the league sent a memo to the teams late Friday, Dec. 20, outlining the bill, known as a “luxury tax.”
The luxury tax, also known as the Competitive Balance Tax, is a tool used by the MLB in lieu of a salary cap on 40-man rosters to discourage runaway spending. The tax takes into account each player’s average annual value, as well as multipliers for teams that are repeat offenders. The threshold teams had to stay under last season was $237 million. Next year the line will go up to $241 million.
No surprise, the reigning World Series Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, are leading the way. They had the highest payroll in 2024 and owe a $103 million luxury tax.
So is paying the massive tax bill worth it? Well, including the Dodgers, seven of the nine teams on the list made the playoffs this past season.
Below are the nine teams over the threshold and what they owe. The top three on this list –– Dodgers, New York Mets and New York Yankees –– have been over the tax for three consecutive seasons and, as a penalty, are paying at a 50% rate.
Los Angeles Dodgers $103 Million
New York Mets $97.1 Million
New York Yankees $62.5 Million
Philadelphia Phillies $14.4 Million
Atlanta Braves $14 Million
Texas Rangers $10.8 Million
Houston Astros $6.5 Million
San Francisco Giants $2.4 Million
Chicago Cubs $570,000
The cumulative $311 million tax is a record, shattering last year’s mark of $209 million. The money collected by the league, which is due on Jan. 21, covers player benefits and retirement funds, while 50% is redistributed to teams that need revenue sharing to stay competitive. Those teams will get about $15 million each this spring.
Trump picks Bondi after Gaetz withdrawal; Hegseth responds to police report
President-elect Donald Trump wasted no time replacing his embattled attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz with Pam Bondi. We’ve got the details of her background. And a volcano in Iceland, once dormant for 800 years, has erupted again — for the seventh time this year. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
Trump picks Bondi after Gaetz withdrawal; Hegseth responds to police report
Bondi served as Florida’s first female attorney general from 2011 to 2019. A year later, she was one of the lawyers who defended Trump during his first impeachment trial where he was ultimately acquitted by the Senate. She also served on Trump’s Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during his first term.
Bondi and Trump’s connection came under scrutiny in 2013 when she did not join a lawsuit against Trump in connection to fraud allegations toward Trump University. At the time, Trump’s foundation made a $25,000 donation to a campaign group backing Bondi. Both denied any impropriety.
The 59-year-old Bondi currently leads the legal arm of the conservative think tank America First Policy Institute, which worked with the Trump campaign to help shape policy for his upcoming administration. If confirmed by the Senate, she would oversee the Department of Justice.
In announcing his pick on his platform Truth Social, Trump said, “For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting crime, and making America safe again.”
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 21, 2024
Gaetz, who resigned from Congress shortly after Trump nominated him, released a statement earlier in the day saying his confirmation was “unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition.” He also called Trump’s nomination of Bondi a “stellar selection.”
The former Florida congressman had been the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation regarding allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, including accusations he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. He has denied any wrongdoing and the panel did not agree on Wednesday, Nov. 20, on whether to release its report.
Now attention is turning to Trump’s pick for defense secretary, war veteran and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth. He met with Senators on Thursday as a newly released police report detailed allegations about an alleged sexual assault in 2017.
The report was released to media outlets in response to public records requests. No charges were filed in the case and Hegseth has said the encounter was consensual.
Hegseth spoke to reporters about the allegations Thursday.
“As far as the media is concerned, I’ll put it very simple: the matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared and that’s where I’m going to leave it,” he said.
Hegseth’s attorney said the allegations are false and Hegseth settled in 2020 only out of fear that he would lose his job at Fox News if the woman’s accusations became public.
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey concedes to Republican rival Dave McCormick
The Associated Press called the race in favor of McCormick two days after the election.
It was one of the closest races in the state’s history — so close, it triggered an automatic recount under state law. Despite Casey conceding, the recount is still going on and results are expected Wednesday, Nov. 27.
Senator Bob Casey dedicated his career to bettering our commonwealth. Dina and I want to extend our sincere gratitude to Senator Casey, Terese, and their family for their decades of service, hard work, and personal sacrifice.
This is Pennsylvania’s fourth recount since 2004. None of the previous ones changed the outcome.
With McCormick’s victory, Republicans will control the U.S. Senate by a 53-47 margin, picking up four seats in the 2024 election.
Alabama carries out nation’s 3rd nitrogen gas execution
An Alabama prisoner became the third person in not just the state, but the U.S. to be executed with nitrogen gas Thursday night. Carey Grayson, 50, was one of four men convicted of murdering a female hitchhiker in 1994 when he was a teenager.
In a controversial move, Alabama began using nitrogen gas this year to carry out some executions. It entails the inmate inhaling pure nitrogen through a mask until he suffocates. Critics say it is inhumane and painful, but the state maintains the method is constitutional.
NFL issues security alert after homes of Mahomes, Kelce burglarized
The NFL has issued a warning for players after thieves burglarized the homes of two of its biggest stars in the league. Kansas City Chiefs players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce had their homes broken into within days of each other last month in the Kansas City metro area.
The NFL put out a security alert Thursday saying the criminals target players’ homes on days the athletes have games. Players were told to take precautions and implement home security measures to reduce the risk of being targeted.
NFL officials also recommended players avoid updating social media with check-ins or daily activities until the end of the day and refrain from posting expensive items on their accounts.
Volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula erupts for 7th time this year
In Iceland, a volcano has erupted for the seventh time just this year. This latest eruption happened late Wednesday night in Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula.
Tourists had to be evacuated from the Blue Lagoon, Iceland’s most famous tourist attraction. Iceland’s official tourism site said this most recent event, which created a nearly two-mile fissure, was significantly smaller than the last eruption in August which opened a 2.5-mile fissure.
Experts said the volcano had been dormant for 800 years before it became active again in 2021. Since then, a total of 10 eruptions have happened, including this latest one.
Ohtani, Judge named MLB’s most valuable players
Baseball superstars Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge both had award-winning seasons, and now, both have been named MVPs of their respective leagues.
For the second straight year, both MVPs have won unanimously!
2023 and 2024 are the only two times that both MVPs were unanimous selections. pic.twitter.com/tkmu3IHmem
In a unanimous decision on Thursday, the Dodgers’ Ohtani, who became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in one season, claimed his third MVP title. It’s his first in the National League. He joins Hall of Famer Frank Thomas as the only two players to get MVP honors in both leagues.
Judge received his second American League MVP in the last three years.
The two culminated their MVP seasons by meeting in last month’s World Series, where Ohtani and the Dodgers walked away with the championship.
Senators seek to protect minor league baseball pay with Fair Ball Act
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., introduced new legislation Wednesday, Nov. 20, aimed at strengthening pay protections for minor league baseball players. The Fair Ball Act would pair back an exemption in the Save America’s Pastime Act (SAPA) that allows Major League Baseball to avoid wage and overtime laws.
The proposed act would allow SAPA’s wage exemption to stay in place as long as minor league players are collectively bargained. In the absence of a union agreement, players would be entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay.
“While I commend MLB for voluntarily recognizing the unionization of Minor League Baseball Players in 2022, it is time to rollback SAPA in deference to the gains made by that historic unionization,” Durbin said in a statement.
The battle over minor league pay
For years, minor league players struggled under the league’s antitrust exemption, which allowed MLB to pay them less than minimum wage. In 2014, former players filed a class action lawsuit against the MLB, claiming the league violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state minimum wage and overtime laws. Those players said they worked 50 to 60 hours per week and weren’t paid for work done during camps outside of the regular season. Lower-level minor leaguers were making as little as $5,000 a year.
Around this time, the MLB lobbied for the Save America’s Pastime Act to protect minor league pay practices from legal action. Lawmakers introduced the bill in 2016 as the lawsuit was making its way through the courts. It didn’t get much support at first but eventually made it into 2018’s omnibus spending package.
“It was snuck in on page 1,967 of the bill in the dark of night,” said Garrett Broshuis, a former minor leaguer and lawyer behind the lawsuit. “Most of the congressmen and congresswomen didn’t know it was in there when they were voting for it.”
The MLB eventually settled the lawsuit in 2022. The league agreed to pay minor league players $185 million in restitution. As a result, roughly 24,000 minor leaguers who played from 2009 to 2022 were eligible for payments that averaged roughly $5,000.
That same year, minor league players made history by joining the MLB Players Association, getting union representation for the first time. The MLBPA then agreed to a five-year labor contract that significantly increased salaries and confirmed players would be paid for off-season work.
Under the terms of the deal, minimum salaries for players in rookie complex leagues jumped from $4,800 to $19,800. Meanwhile, Triple-A players’ minimum salaries doubled from $17,500 to $35,800.
Despite bargaining, the exemption still exists
While the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) gives minor leaguers a better wage, the law on the books, the Save America’s Pastime Act, said the MLB doesn’t have to abide by the nation’s minimum wage and overtime laws.
The Fair Ball Act, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal-D-Conn., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., aims to stop the MLB from using the previous legislation to strong-arm the union and players when they enter negotiations after the 2027 season.
“It would do this by ensuring MLB has a continued interest in maintaining a CBA—which would trigger the exemption from federal wage and hour laws for Minor League players in deference to the CBA—and would prevent MLB from using SAPA’s broad exemption as leverage during the next round of CBA negotiations,” Durbin said in a statement about the legislation.
Sen. Durbin’s passion for baseball stretches decades
The MLBPA said its more than 6,000 members expressed their “full support for the Fair Ball Act.”
“For decades, the living and working conditions faced by Minor League ballplayers were indefensible,” MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark wrote in a letter to Durbin. “Whether in the form of poverty-level wages, substandard living conditions, or inadequate food and nutrition (to name just a few), Minor Leaguers were treated as secondclass citizens instead of the world-class athletes that they are.”
The MLB has not commented on the bill. With just weeks left in the congressional session and a major spending bill to pass before Dec. 20, it’s unlikely to get much traction before the next Congress.
Major League Baseball spring training is just a couple of months away now and it’s getting a high-tech upgrade. This year, MLB is testing out robotic umpires.
The automated ball-strike challenge system, or ABS, made its debut in the 2022 Triple-A season. Now, it’ll be tested out at 13 ballparks hosting 19 different major league teams when spring training starts in February.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he wants players to get some experience with the new technology as the league figures out how it will eventually be implemented. The new system is expected to be a big part of the conversation as the Umpires Association’s contract is set to expire on Dec. 1.
The commissioner said he’s eying bringing the new tech in for the 2026 regular season, but that’ll depend on whether testing is a home run or strikes out.
Dodgers World Series celebration turns to chaos on LA streets
A joyous celebration Wednesday night, Oct. 30, on the streets of Los Angeles for the Dodgers’ World Series victory turned into bedlam and chaos. Revelers clashed with police with some throwing projectiles and fireworks at officers.
Authorities called in extra resources, and the LAPD sent out an alert on social media about a “hostile crowd” surrounding a bus not far from Dodger Stadium around 12:35 am local time.
The group set the bus on fire. According to officials, the driver and five passengers safely evacuated before the fire ignited.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority released a statement saying, “Metro is disappointed and angered by the senseless act of vandalism on one of our buses following the Dodgers World Series win.”
Police also reported looting at several stores, with images showing people walking out with sneakers from a Nike store. The LAPD advised people to “leave the area immediately” and “follow all officers’ orders.”
Early Thursday morning, Oct. 31, on X, the LAPD Central Division said several dispersal orders had been given and arrests had been made. Police haven’t yet said how many people were taken into custody.
Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement shortly after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 to clinch their eighth World Series title. The mayor congratulated the Dodgers and sent out a warning for anyone thinking of causing trouble saying, “violence will not be tolerated.”
Despite the incidents, the celebration is continuing. The Dodgers will hold a championship parade in downtown Los Angeles Friday, Nov. 1, followed by a ticketed event for fans at Dodger Stadium.
With six days until the election, former President Donald Trump stumped in Allentown, Pennsylvania as Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her “closing argument.” We have what each said about what’s at stake next Tuesday. Also, details on what happened after a gunman opened fire from a hotel in Atlanta. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024.
Harris gives closing argument as Trump addresses Biden’s comments
Some twists on the campaign trail with under a week to go now to Election Day and already more than 50 million ballots cast. Both presidential candidates gave dueling speeches Tuesday night, Oct. 29.
The Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris delivered what she described as her “closing argument” to the American people near the White House as the Republican nominee former President Donald Trump looked to court Latino voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
During her address at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., the vice president emphasized its significance as the same site where former President Trump spoke to his supporters right before the riots on the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“So tonight, I will speak to everyone about the choice and stakes in this election,” she said. “Look, we know who Donald Trump is. He is the person who stood at this very spot nearly four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election.”
The vice president also told voters she will seek common ground, saying she will give those who disagree with her a “seat at the table.”
“As Americans, we rise and fall together,” she said. “America, for too long, we have been consumed with too much division, chaos and mutual distrust. And it can be easy then to forget a simple truth: it doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to be this way. We have to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms.”
In Pennsylvania, former President Trump reached out to voters during a rally in the majority Hispanic town of Allentown.
“I’m here today with a message of hope for all Americans,” he said. “With your vote this election — oh, do I look forward to this election. We — I’m going to say ‘we’ because we are going to do it as a group. We will end inflation. Wwe will stop the invasion of criminals into our country. And we will bring back the American dream. We’re doing it together, Pennsylvania.”
During his rally, the former president asked his supporters to vote and send in their mail-in ballots early, saying “they’ve already cheated” in the state — a reference to law enforcement in Lancaster County announcing they were investigating around 2,500 voter registration forms for alleged fraud.
Trump turned his attention to President Joe Biden after Florida Sen. Marco Rubio joined him on stage.
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but I have breaking news for you Mr. President,” Rubio told Trump. “You may not have heard this: just moments ago, Joe Biden stated that our supporters are garbage, are garbage. He’s talking about the border patrol, he’s talking about nurses, he’s talking about teachers, he’s talking about everyday Americans who love their country and want to dream big again and support you Mr. President.”
“Remember Hillary [Clinton], she said ‘deplorable’ and then she said ‘irredeemable,’ right?” Trump responded. “But she said ‘deplorable.’ That didn’t work out. Garbage, I think, is worse right?”
What they were referring to were comments made by President Biden during a Voto Latino campaign call Tuesday night. Biden spoke about the comedian who made controversial jokes about Puerto Rico during Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally over the weekend.
“Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage,’” the president said. “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.”
The White House issued a statement saying, “The president referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’” President Biden himself followed up on his comments with a post on X saying, “Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage…the comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”
During an appearance on Fox News Tuesday night, Trump told host Sean Hannity nobody from his campaign vetted the comedian before the MSG rally.
As it pertains to the alleged voter fraud in Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro told CNN there will be safe elections in the state and when asked about Biden’s “garbage” comment, Shapiro said, “It’s certainly not the words I would choose.”
Supreme Court rules RFK Jr. will remain on ballot in 2 swing states
It was unlikely the Supreme Court would have ruled in his favor, because voting is already underway in both states. Kennedy’s name also remains on the ballot in some other states, but he did not ask the Supreme Court to take it off anywhere but Wisconsin and Michigan in an apparent move to secure more voters for his ally Trump.
Steve Bannon spends first day out of prison stumping for Trump
Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon wasted no time showing his support for the former president after being released from prison early Tuesday morning. Bannon just finished serving a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from Congress during its investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
Bannon’s first order of business was to resume his podcast “WarRoom.” He then held a news conference urging Republicans to turn out in droves to vote for Trump on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
“I’ve been empowered by my four months at Danbury Federal Prison,” Bannon said during the news conference.
He added, “Obviously with seven days or six days left, you have to have a convergence of the get out the vote effort. I am not a huge believer in our ability to actually participate in rallies or do rallies because right now I think President Trump does great and he has people long there are going to do rallies in the different states. Our focus is one thing to make sure that we get as many American citizens, either early voting when they can or to the polls next Tuesday.”
He has pleaded not guilty to money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges. His trial in that case is scheduled to begin in December.
Paul Pelosi attacker sentenced to life term on state charges
A judge sentenced the man who broke into former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s northern California home and attacked her husband, Paul, with a hammer to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
David DePape, 44, was already serving 30 years in federal prison for the attack when a San Francisco jury found him guilty of multiple state charges in June.
Both the prosecution and defense said the life without parole sentence will be served concurrently with DePape’s federal sentence. It has not yet been determined where he will serve his punishment.
Suspect in custody after shots fired at Atlanta Four Seasons
A police officer and a suspected shooter are recovering after gunfire broke out at a building that houses a Four Seasons Hotel and residences in Atlanta Tuesday. The Atlanta police chief said the officer was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
UPDATE: Barricaded Gunman turned Active Shooter Situation Zone 5 at 75 14th Street Sound from Mayor Andre Dickens & Chief Darin Schierbaumhttps://t.co/TjSDcj3YTj
Authorities say the man fired at least once from the balcony of a residence on the 33rd floor of the 53-story high-rise building. They say he also shot through walls and doors, but no other injuries were reported.
Police said the suspect lives in the residential portion of the building and was not a guest at the Four Seasons hotel portion.
Yankees deny Dodgers a World Series sweep with Game 4 win
Despite another Freddie Freeman home run — becoming the first player to homer in games 1, 2, 3, and 4 — the Yankees crushed the Dodgers 11-4 in Game 4 Tuesday night in the Bronx, highlighted by three home runs including a grand slam by shortstop Anthony Volpe.
The game also featured an odd moment when Yankees fans tried to pry a foul ball out of the glove of Dodgers’ Mookie Betts. The fans were escorted from their seats by stadium security after that play.
The 11 runs were the most by the Yankees in a World Series game since Game 5 of the 1978 series when they scored 12 against the Dodgers.
Now the Yankees are hoping to do what no other team has done in Major League Baseball history: come back from being down 3-0 in the Fall Classic to win it all.
The Dodgers still just need one more win to claim the championship.
Dodgers-Yankees World Series matchup the more classic kind of ‘moneyball’
The 2024 World Series matchup is the more classic kind of “moneyball,” where two of the most gargantuan payrolls in Major League Baseball meet at the end of the playoff road. The Dodgers-Yankees matchup is between presumed league MVPs, the $700 million Shohei Ohtani and $360 million Aaron Judge.
Both teams sport three players with contracts above $300 million. On the Yankees’ side, it’s Judge, Giancarlo Stanton ($325 million) and Gerrit Cole ($324 million). On the Dodgers’ side, it’s Ohtani, Mookie Betts ($365 million) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($325 million).
The money promised this year to these three players on each side of the Fall Classic combined for more than several teams’ entire annual payrolls, including two teams that made the playoffs (Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers) but fell short of making the World Series.
The Yankees have the second-highest payroll in the major leagues this year, while the Dodgers have the fifth-highest. However, the Dodgers come with an asterisk after some creative accounting with baseball’s top star.
Ohtani’s contract is valid for 10 years totaling $700 million, with an annual payout of $70 million a year. However, he’s only pocketing $2 million a year during the length of the contract, choosing to defer $68 million annually to be paid after the contract expires.
If the Dodgers paid the actual $70 million value this year, they’d be sitting with a 2024 team payroll in line with the Yankees at around $309 million, according to payroll calculations by Spotrac.
To get to the World Series, the Dodgers beat the New York Mets, the team with the highest payroll in all of baseball at nearly $318 million. Meanwhile, the Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians with a payroll worth nearly triple what the Guards brought to the plate.
The Yankees punched their ticket to the World Series on a 2-out, 10th-inning, 3-run homer by Juan Soto. Soto is on a 1-year deal making $31 million. He’s the fourth highest-paid player on the Yankees roster, yet his salary is nearly double the Cleveland Guardians’ top-paid player, 6-time All-Star José Ramirez.
Soto already has a World Series ring with the Washington Nationals, which he won at age 21. Now 26, he has the chance for a second and a big payday to follow. Will the Yankees stretch the bank to keep him long term? Because of his age and propensity to hit it big when it counts, experts say Soto could be looking at a contract where the baseline is $500 million.
Dodgers versus Yankees is the most common matchup in World Series history. The blockbuster teams have met 11 times before, but the last matchup was 43 years ago.
From 1941 to 1981, the Yankees got the best of the Dodgers, 8-3. But what will this new generation of baseball bring?
The Dodgers’ highest-paid players are locked up into the 2030s, while the only Yankees player with a contract that deep is the face of the franchise, Aaron Judge.
Shohei Ohtani’s record-breaking 50/50 ball scores $4.39M at auction
Shohei Ohtani’s historic 50th home run ball sold at auction for a record-breaking $4.39 million Tuesday, Oct. 22, despite being at the center of ongoing legal battles. The record-breaking auction comes days before Ohtani is set to play in the first game of the World Series.
The sale also came despite ongoing litigation playing out in Florida, where two different people have filed lawsuits claiming they caught the ball first. However, it ultimately ended up in the hands of the fan who put it up for auction.
Shohei Ohtani's 50/50 home run ball sold for a record-breaking $4.39 million, per @GoldinCo.
It doesn’t matter who ends up hitting a home run in the lawsuits, though. The ball will still be pitched to the anonymous person who won Tuesday’s bidding war because the auction house said “all parties” claiming ownership of the baseball agreed on the sale.
Meanwhile, Ohtani and the Dodgers are gearing up for Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Yankees on Friday, Oct. 25.
Harris, Trump look for votes in battlegrounds with 2 weeks to go
With exactly two weeks to go until Election Day, both candidates for president are blitzing the battleground states. And we’ve learned how long student loan repayments for about eight million Americans will remain on hold. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.
Harris, Trump look for more votes in battlegrounds with 2 weeks to go
With two weeks to go until Election Day, the presidential candidates are crisscrossing the country trying to pick up any undecided voters that remain.
.@Liz_Cheney: Vice President Harris is going to defend our Constitution. We're not always gonna agree, but I know Vice President Harris will always do what she believes is right for this country. She has a sincere heart, and that's why I'm honored to support her pic.twitter.com/lcFD6MGDSF
“So, I think that we are facing a choice in this election; it’s not about party, it’s about right and wrong,” Cheney said. “And I certainly have many Republicans who will say to me, ‘I can’t be public.’ They do worry about a whole range of things including violence, but they’ll do the right thing.”
In Wisconsin, Harris described her opponent former President Donald Trump as “unstable,” referencing comments made by former Trump cabinet members.
“I think it’s very important that we acknowledge — and I have said publicly that Donald Trump is an unserious man,” Harris said, “and the consequences of him ever being President of United States again are brutally serious. Brutally serious.”
Former President Trump visited North Carolina on Monday where he surveyed the damage created by Hurricane Helene and continued his criticism of the Biden administration’s relief efforts.
“The power of nature, nothing you can do about it, but you got to get a little bit better crew and to do a better job than has been done by the White House,” Trump said. “It’s been not good. Not good. I’m here today in western North Carolina to express a simple message to the incredible people of the state: I’m with you and the American people are with you all the way. We’re going to continue to be with you. We’ll see what happens with the election. And we’re, on January 20th, you’re going to have, I think, a new crew coming in to do it properly and help you in a proper manner.”
Trump made two more stops while in North Carolina Monday, holding a rally and speaking at a faith leaders’ event.
On Tuesday, Oct. 22, former President Trump will continue campaigning in North Carolina with a rally in Greensboro, and Vice President Harris will sit down for an interview with NBC News in Washington, D.C.
Blinken in Israel to revive Gaza cease-fire talks after Sinwar death
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel once again — his 11th visit to the region since war broke out between Israel and Hamas a little more than a year ago.
On my way to Israel and other stops in the Middle East for intensive discussions about the importance of ending the war in Gaza, returning the hostages to their families, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people. pic.twitter.com/lIaRUo7Ea2
This visit is the first stop on a wider tour of the Middle East in which Blinken is expected to revive talks for a cease-fire in Gaza in the wake of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Blinken’s weeklong trip comes as the Middle East braces for Israel’s response to an Iranian missile attack on Tel Aviv earlier this month.
Teen arrested after 2 adults, 3 children killed in shooting at Washington home
Officials with the King County Sheriff’s Office said another teenager who had been injured went to a Seattle hospital. They said that teenager and the teen in custody both live at the home where the shooting happened, but did not know the relationships between those teens and the five people killed.
“I just don’t know the relationships, so I’m going to withhold confirming any relationships, but it does appear to be that this is a family incident,” Deputy Mike Mellis told reporters Monday. “Clearly, a domestic violence incident that involves not only a young man — who’s now in significant trouble — and it involves firearms. Young men and firearms.”
Reports say he has chronic myeloid leukemia, a form of bone marrow cancer, and he’s undergoing treatment at Rikers Island prison in New York where he’s serving a 16-year sentence.
This is just the latest health issue Weinstein has faced behind bars. Last month, he had emergency heart surgery to alleviate a significant amount of fluid in his lungs and heart, and he was hospitalized in July with COVID-19 and double pneumonia.
Student loan payments pause extended for 8 million SAVE plan borrowers
Eight million Americans will be able to continue holding off paying back their student loans for at least another six months, the Department of Education confirmed on Monday.
The Education Department said save enrollees will be placed in an interest-free general forbearance for at least six months pending the outcome of legal challenges to the plan.
Cheapest World Series tickets costing at least $1,000 on secondary market
The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees have each punched their ticket to the World Series and now if you want a ticket, you’ll need at least $1,000. According to SeatGeek, the cheapest single seat for the Game 1 in LA on Friday, Oct. 25, will cost $1,034.
For Game 2 on Saturday, Oct. 26, also at Dodger Stadium, the least expensive ticket is $1,209.
Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 28 and 29, head back to the East Coast, with the cheapest tickets for Yankees Stadium costing $1,385 and $1,110, respectively. A possible Game 5 is showing the same as Game 4.
And “if necessary,” Games 6 and 7 would be back in LA, with the cheapest tickets going for around $1,300 or more.
As for the good seats behind home plate at Dodger Stadium, those tickets are going for $1,500 or more.