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Helper woes
Dear Atty. Joji, Our house helper absconded from her job without prior notice. While having to find her replacement is one issue, the bigger concern is that she owes us almost P100,000. We want to take legal action because such amount of money is hard to come by. What type of case can we file to pursue this matter legally? Maris *** Dear Maris, Based on the facts you provided, filing a “Small Claims” case before the lower-level court or the Metropolitan Trial Court is applicable in your case. A.M. No. 08-8-7-SC or “The 2016 Revised Rules of Procedure for Small Claims Cases” provides: Small claims refer to cases involving monetary disputes where the amount in question does not exceed P1,000,000, excluding interest and costs. The purpose of a small claims process is to provide a simpler and a more inexpensive and expeditious means of settling disputes involving purely money claims. The claim or demand may be: (a) For money owed under any of the following: Contract of Lease; Contract of Loan and other credit accommodations; Contract of Services; or Contract of Sale of personal property, excluding the recovery of the personal property, unless it is made the subject of a compromise agreement between the parties. The procedure on small claims cases was promulgated for faster resolution of claims. Since the amount of claim is relatively small, it is the court’s policy not to keep these cases from dragging for long periods before finally being decided. Since the proceedings must be speedy, inexpensive, and informal, the procedure was simplified. However, it is important to note that in Small Claims Cases, parties are generally not allowed to be represented by lawyers. A case for Small Claims may be commenced as follows: SEC. 6. Commencement of Small Claims Action. — A small claims action is commenced by filing with the court an accomplished and verified Statement of Claim (Form 1-SCC) in duplicate, accompanied by a Certification Against Forum Shopping, Splitting a Single Cause of Action, and Multiplicity of Suits (Form 1-A-SCC), and two (2) duly certified photocopies of the actionable document/s subject of the claim, as well as the affidavits of witnesses and other evidence to support the claim. No evidence shall be allowed during the hearing which was not attached to or submitted together with the Statement of Claim, unless good cause is shown for the admission of additional evidence. Alternatively, an action for breach of her employment contract, if any, may be filed against her for her sudden departure without providing proper notice. Hope this helps. Atty. Joji Alonso The post Helper woes appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Sinner, savior or both?: Trump woos evangelicals, women
Former US president Donald Trump courted evangelical Christians and women at two back-to-back Washington events on Friday -- voting blocks whose loyalties to him once seemed contradictory but have now become a well-established part of his base. The legal, moral, and sexual escapades of the scandal-plagued frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination have earned him indictments, impeachments, and public scorn in many quarters. But support among his devotees remains strong. "As a woman, I understand that he can be offensive," Joan Horswell, a 76-year-old retired nurse from Texas, told AFP. But "personally, I like him," she said at the "Pray Vote Stand" summit, put on by the conservative Christian group Family Research Council. Something of a rock star among white evangelical Protestants, 84 percent of whom voted for him in 2020, Trump also holds his own among women, having won 44 percent of their vote in the last election, according to the Pew Research Center. "This election will decide whether America will be ruled by Marxist, fascist, communist tyrants who want to smash the Judeo-Christian heritage," Trump, 77, said at the summit, "or whether America will be saved by God-fearing freedom-loving patriots like all of the people in this room." "Is he a flawed individual? Sure. But most Christians will say, we are all sinners. Jesus is not on the ballot," said William Wan, a 60-year-old Catholic engineer from Winter Garden, Florida who attended the summit. Still, Trump may strike many as offensive. He was found liable in a civil trial in May for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in 1996. He's also set to go on trial for allegedly paying election-eve hush money to a porn star. And he was heard boasting of groping women's genitals when the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape was published, just one month before the 2016 presidential election. But lots of conservative evangelicals believe he "is the perfect man for the job precisely because he does not reflect Christian values," Kristin Du Mez, a history professor at Calvin University, told AFP. Trump's supporters "certainly like what he's done for them. But I think that many are also very comfortable with how he's done it," Du Mez said. She points to his take-no-prisoners approach in getting conservative Christians what they wanted, from ending the federal right to an abortion to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Her book "Jesus and John Wayne" chronicles the rise of rugged masculinity ideology within white evangelical Christianity. Penny Nance, CEO of conservative Christian women's group Concerned Women for America, echoed this dogma when she introduced Trump before he spoke across town at a leadership summit for her advocacy group on Friday. "Conservative women are not looking for a pastor or a husband for president, we are looking for a bodyguard," she told the audience to cheers. "Someone willing to stick the knife in his teeth and swim the moat to our rescue from those who threaten our safety and our freedom." Melissa Deckman, CEO of the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, points out that while some political observers had initially been surprised by the number of women willing to vote for Trump, not all women see eye-to-eye on issues of sex and sexism. "American women are far from monolithic when it comes to attitudes about gender dynamics," she told AFP in an interview. Much stronger man Trump's former vice president Mike Pence -- who is also running for the Republican 2024 nomination and spoke at the "Pray Vote Stand" summit -- brandishes authentic evangelical bona fides as a deeply religious long-time churchgoer who has described himself as "a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order." Yet only five percent of surveyed white, evangelical potential Republican primary voters said they would choose him as their nominee. Trump meanwhile would receive 56 percent of their vote, according to a July 2023 New York Times/Siena Poll. "He is the clearest kind of white evangelical poster boy out there," said Du Mez. "They might want (Pence) as a Sunday school teacher; that's not who they want in the Oval Office." Horswell, the retired nurse, thinks "Mike Pence is OK," but adds, "I think at this point in our government, we need a much stronger man." For conservative Christians, Trump's accomplishments as a "strong man" are many. He appointed three of the Supreme Court's nine justices, creating a bench that went on to overturn abortion rights. In 2020 he became the first sitting president to attend the annual anti-abortion March for Life rally in Washington. He has repeatedly expressed his opinion that gender is biological, siding against trans inclusion in women's sports and against gender-affirming care for minors. Any personality flaws take a back seat said Deckman: "The moral character, I think, matters less in some ways than what a candidate is willing to stand for and fight for." As Wan, the engineer from Florida, put it, "Many Christians would argue we're electing a president, we are not electing a chief theologian." The post Sinner, savior or both?: Trump woos evangelicals, women appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Iran court orders U.S. to pay 1980 coup victims $330M
A court in Tehran has ordered the United States government to pay $330 million in damages to families of several people killed in a 1980 failed coup d’etat allegedly planned and executed by Washington. Relatives of those killed in the coup filed last year a legal petition with Iran’s International Court demanding damages, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said. The petitioners claimed that a year after the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed shah, a group of mostly army officers tried to overthrow the new government. State news agency IRNA said the “insurgents” were led by Saeed Mahdiyoun, a former Iranian air force commander, and had their headquarters in Nojeh, an air base in the western Hamedan province. “Their objective was to seize control of military bases across the country and target strategic centres and residences of the revolution's leaders. However, their efforts were thwarted,” IRNA said. Several people were killed in clashes between the coup plotters and government forces, and scores of others were arrested. Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic relations since the aftermath of the 1979 revolution. In 2016, the US Supreme Court ordered that Iranian assets frozen in the country should be paid to victims of attacks Washington has blamed on Tehran, including the 1983 bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon and a 1996 blast in Saudi Arabia. Tehran, which denies all responsibility for the attacks blamed on it by the United States, says that a series of US court judgments have awarded victims a total of $56 billion in damages. WITH AFP The post Iran court orders U.S. to pay 1980 coup victims $330M appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Michael Ted Macapagal: Making tracks in public service
If life were a train, then Michael Ted Macapagal’s has been quite a ride. Raised by a labor leader and human rights lawyer father who served the people of Olongapo, including the workers of the US American Base in Subic, Michael Ted Macapagal had always wanted to become a public servant. It took Ted, though, a long journey to reach his goal, first achieving success in the insurance field in the United States where he lived for 20 years starting in 1991. Today, he is the chairman of the Philippine National Railways, a position “that allows me to make a difference in the lives of my countrymen,” he shared during his recent visit to the Daily Tribune office in Makati. Ted, good-looking and affable, proudly spoke of a father, his namesake, Atty. Teddy C. Macapagal who, early on, exposed his son to a firsthand view of a gentleman who looked beyond himself and his personal interests, and instead dedicated his career to protecting the common man and bettering their lot. The elder Ted served as a city councilor for 10 years. In 1984, he ran for the Batasang Pambansa, and in the late 1980s, for city mayor. “In all these electoral processes, I was involved and saw for myself how my father related to the people. He was a sincere man who helped them in the best way he could. He provided free legal services to those in need,” Ted recounted. Ted grew up in Olongapo, his place of birth. It was in the neighboring province of Pampanga, though, at the Don Bosco Institute in Bacolor town, where he first studied, but he eventually returned home to Olongapo, where he finished high school at the St. Columban. Aiming to become a lawyer, he enrolled at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, where he majored in History, which he intended as his pre-law course. Not unexpectedly, he joined the Upsilon Sigma Phi, his father’s fraternity. He also joined rallies where he stood with those who wanted the retention of US bases in the Philippines, in keeping with the sentiments of his townsmen. “It was the one concern where the whole of Olongapo was united,” he recalled, “because the people’s livelihood was connected to the base and the American presence in the community.” As a lawyer who specialized in labor, his father himself handled cases for the base employees. In 1988, his father lost his mayoralty bid in Olongapo. He fought against his fraternity brother, Richard Gordon. Actually, the two had been fighting it out for decades. “Olongapo became too small for them,” shared Ted. “A vivid memory to me to this day was the night I cried after my father lost. I was heartbroken because, for the most part of my life, I saw him give his all to the people. Throughout all those years, I just loved assisting my father. I followed him whenever he visited his constituents. I was a witness to everything that happened to him, his conflict with his political adversary and the loyalty of the people who believed in him and saw in him the man who would change the face of politics in our city.” The elder Macapagal became OIC-Mayor in 1986, but only two months after he received his appointment from the new president because the incumbent mayor did not easily give up his post which he was required to vacate under the new revolutionary government. “The next local election was the most expensive political exercise that our family ever waged,” Ted recounted. “It was then that my father decided that I pursue a new life in the United States, away from politics back home. “All the while, my heart never left the Philippines. Even before I left, I promised myself I would return to continue what my father started.” First non-white president Ted stayed in San Francisco for 20 long years. He had a tough time at the beginning of his new life. “I started off doing odd jobs. I worked as a security guard, janitor and waiter in a pizza parlor. “I also guarded the heavy equipment in a construction site in San Francisco. Thievery was a problem in that kind of situation. We would sleep in a trailer. “I transferred to a construction firm because I found out it offered a bigger salary. But I didn’t know the technical aspects of construction. Once, I made a portable ladder, but it fell apart, for which I was scolded by the owner of the company. I was fired on my third day on the job. Too bad because it paid high.” Ted then decided to pursue another degree, one that would be more useful in the United States. He took up Human Resource Management, a four-year course at the University of California in Berkeley. When he finally entered the corporate world, his first job was as a clerk. It wasn’t long before he became Division President of Stewart Title Company, one of the largest underwriters in the world, with offices across the United States, and in some 80 countries around the globe. He was based in the San Francisco Bay Area. “I may have been the first non-white president,” he said. “And I was a division president for the whole of North America. I was the first Filipino to reach that level.” Of his trailblazing accomplishments, he shared, “I was able to bring cultural diversity to the company, which enhanced its value. I got the top post because I asked for a meeting with the president. I told him we were not diverse enough to appeal to the non-white clients, and there were many of them who were first-time home buyers. Then, I told him to make the rounds. He would see that none of the home buyers was white. They were of different ethnic groups. I told him that if he appointed me as vice president, I would give him multi-cultural buyers because I would appeal to them and they would be our first-time buyers. So, he appointed me, and one month later, he made me president.” As an adjunct, he lectured on the topic of title insurance and escrow procedures in several community colleges in and around the San Franciso Bay Area. Through it all, he chose to keep his Filipino citizenship. The ‘Railway President’ For all the successes he was enjoying, the Philippines beckoned. He felt he still had a mission to accomplish. “My father was surprised. He asked me why I would still want to go home when I was doing well in the States. I insisted, so I came back and I plunged into political life. I worked on difficult campaigns, like the one for Rodrigo Duterte.” Back to his first love and passion, the political arena, he was in his element and served as president of PDP LABAN in Olongapo City from 2016 to 2021. In 2022, he joined LAKAS-CMD as its local chairman. This engagement led to his original target, as his father had achieved in his lifetime — serving the people. This time, he would be appointed to key posts in the government. He became director of the Clark Board and Gulf Oil Philippines. He took his oath of office as chairman of the Philippine National Railways on 28 April 2023. It is a job in a government agency where he is confident “I could make a difference because I can see that President Bongbong Marcos is really intent on improving the railway system of the country. “On my part, I want to make a difference. I want to be able to contribute whatever I can to help the president to achieve that objective. I call him now the ‘Railway President’ because I consider him the father of the railway system in our country.” Of course, he noted that many plans have been formulated during the time of President Rodrigo Duterte. Moreover, he recognized that President Gloria Arroyo “navigated our country through the global crisis. I was in the United States when the global economic crisis happened, and the Philippines was one of the countries spared, and I give credit to her. The economic fundamentals were very strong during her time. Being an economist, she was there at the right time when the country needed her the most.” With President BBM at the helm, he is confident “we will be able to push through with our development plan and finish the projects we have started, like the North-South Commuter Railway, which is a 147-kilometer stretch from Clark to Laguna. We hope to have the dry run in 2026 and it will be fully operational in 2027.” He also looks forward to the completion of the Bicol South Long Haul project. He is equally hopeful for the North Long Haul, the Subic-Clark and the Mindanao railways. He clarified that “we are now talking with the proponents, while some negotiations are being undertaken.” Working boots and a hard hat It would seem that this successful insurance executive was out of place in the railway sector. He pointed out, though, that “coming from the outside, I have the technical advantage of being able to look outside the box. So, I’m looking at it from outside the box, looking in. I am able to see the problems that need to be fixed. Stoppage is one of the problems so we have a bus augmentation program. We will also deploy UV Express units. We are closely coordinating with the LTFRB to provide emergency alternative transportation.” On the other hand, his exposure to people of all backgrounds from his youth, being his father’s son, has given him the advantage of “knowing how it is to be one of the boys. Something that I also experienced in the United States. “When people ask me what my management style is, I tell them straight I like to go down to the ground. I like hands-on supervision. I want my hands to be dirty. If you open the trunk of my car, you will find my working boots and my hard hat. I enjoy going to the construction sites and seeing for myself the progress, the problems, whatever it is that needs to be attended to. “Finally I want those working in the field doing the most difficult tasks to be satisfied and never to be hungry. Gusto ko, busog sila lagi. I am not happy when I get invited by the constructors and I am honored with a feast-like lunch or dinner, and not knowing what the workers are eating. I am on a diet anyway, so I make sure that my hosts bring the food to where the workers are eating. I can only eat so much and I would rather that the workers and the staff are full and happy. I am vocal about my displeasure when the construction workers are not eating the same food that is served to me. I may not be able to invite them to where I am eating but I can have the food brought to them.” Smiling from heaven Without a doubt, the old man Atty. Teddy C. Macapagal is smiling happily from his heavenly perch. He had served his fellowmen well, but he had done right as well by raising a son who took after his heart, to whom service to the people and compassion for the less fortunate matter more than any personal gain. His father, according to Ted, “died a broken man at the young age of 63. But whatever he lacked in longevity and riches, he made up for it with his compassion for others, for the free legal services that he gave to the people of Olongapo. “If you didn’t have money, you went to him because he was generous with his time and expertise. He would even give you some cash to use for your transportation fare to go home. That was my father. “The people whom he helped in turn would come to our home and bring him gifts like eggs, fruits, fish, vegetables and native chickens that they raised in their backyards. My father accepted them all. When I came home and saw all this, I teased him and said that he should probably open a sari-sari store so he could resell them. “Of course, we had a good laugh. But beyond the laughter, we both knew in our hearts that doing good to one’s fellowmen is its own reward and nothing in this world can take the place of personal fulfillment for having put a smile on people’s faces because you somehow made their lives better. “I am grateful that I have been raised by such a great father.” The post Michael Ted Macapagal: Making tracks in public service appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Iran takes Canada to UN court over terror compensation
Iran has taken Canada to the International Court of Justice for allowing victims of alleged terror attacks to claim damages from Tehran, the UN's top tribunal said on Wednesday. Tehran's case claims that Ottawa, which listed the Islamic Republic as a sponsor of terrorism in 2012, had violated Iran's state immunity. Iran asked the Hague-based ICJ to make Canada overturn a law passed in the same year that allows victims to collect damages from state terror sponsors in Canadian civil courts. "Canada has adopted and implemented a series of legislative, executive, and judicial measures against Iran and its property in breach of its international obligations," Iran said in its filing to the court. Tehran also demanded compensation from Canada. Iran's application cites a Canadian court judgment in 2022 that awarded more than $80 million in compensation to the families of six people who died when Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner almost two years ago. Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was downed shortly after take-off from Tehran on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people aboard -- including 85 Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Three days later, the Iranian armed forces admitted to downing the Kyiv-bound plane "by mistake." 'International obligations' Iran also cited a 2016 ruling by a Canadian judge ordering Iran's non-diplomatic land and bank accounts to be handed over to victims of attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah. The judgment awarded a reported $13 million to families of Americans who died in eight bombings or hostage-takings in Buenos Aires, Israel, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia from 1983 to 2002. The families, led by the parents of Marla Bennett, who was killed when a suicide bomber struck at a cafeteria at Hebrew University in Israel in 2002, had successfully sued Iran in the United States. "Iran respectfully requests the Court to adjudge and declare that by failing to respect the immunities of Iran and its property, Canada has violated its international obligations toward Iran," Iran's ICJ filing said. Canada broke diplomatic ties with Iran in 2012 as relations frayed over Tehran's support for Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, its nuclear program, and threats to Israel. Iran launched a similar case at the ICJ against the United States in 2016 seeking to unfreeze assets seized by Washington to compensate victims of terror attacks. Judges in March rejected Iran's bid to free nearly $2 billion in central bank assets but ruled the United States had illegally seized funds of some Iranian companies and individuals. The ICJ was set up after World War II to resolve disputes between UN member states. Its judgments are final but can take years. The post Iran takes Canada to UN court over terror compensation appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Ex-VP Pence jumps into 2024 White House race
Washington, United States Republican former vice president Mike Pence launched his bid for the 2024 presidential nomination on Monday, offering a traditionalist alternative to the battle royale being waged by populists Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. The evangelical Christian filed his paperwork with the Federal Election Commission ahead of an official declaration Wednesday in the early voting state of Iowa -- joining an already crowded field. Pence, 63, honed his reputation as an unstintingly loyal deputy who stuck with Trump throughout a scandal-plagued four years and brought the religious right into the tent. But he became a pariah in Trumpworld after rejecting the Republican leader's demands that he overturn the 2020 election in his role as president of the Senate. Berated constantly by Trump after Joe Biden's victory -- and even heckled at a conservative conference with chants of "traitor!" -- Pence continued to praise the tycoon in public. That eventually changed after Trump's torrent of false claims of election fraud led to a mob chanting for Pence to be hanged at the US Capitol. Pence has spent much of the last two years touring early-nominating states such as Iowa and New Hampshire to reinforce his political vision as a "Christian, conservative, Republican -- in that order." His entry doesn't much change the dynamics of the race, which is divided into three lanes -- runaway leader Donald Trump, Trump's closest rival and sitting Florida governor DeSantis, and everyone else. Pence is framing himself as a traditional Republican, concerned with fiscal responsibility and family values, who can deliver Trump's economic policies without the drama. But he has also pointed to some clear blue water between the pair, as he allies himself strongly with Ukraine and refuses to rule out cuts to welfare payments. While his politics are popular among Republicans, critics question whether Pence has a constituency in a party that is more focused now on populism and cultural politics than traditional conservatism. And voters sympathetic to his decision to stand up for the Constitution have other candidate choices, such as the proselytizing Christian Tim Scott who do not bring with them the baggage of the Trump years. "We all give (Pence) credit for certifying the election," Republican strategist Sarah Longwell told Politico. "But he also stood next to Donald Trump and normalized and validated him for four years while Trump ran roughshod over the presidency." DeSantis has consistently been polling almost 20 points above Pence and is hoping to outflank Trump from the right. But the Florida governor's poor showing in head-to-head polls has opened the floodgates, with Chris Christie due to announce on Tuesday, joining former governors Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson and Doug Burgum in the race. Like Haley and DeSantis, Pence has appeared determined to avoid conflict with Trump in hopes of wooing his former supporters should the cascade of criminal investigations targeting the former president take him out of the race. The lower-ranked candidates have also pointed out that there is a long way to go in the race, and that Trump was trailing in the low single digits at this point in the 2016 cycle. Democrats watching from the sidelines pointed to Pence's socially conservative agenda as an abortion hardliner who has opposed same-sex marriage as evidence that he would drag the contest to the right. "In Mike Pence's own words, he was a member of the extreme Tea Party 'before it was cool,' and he hasn't slowed down since," said Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison. Zee Cohen-Sanchez, a left-leaning election strategist who has worked with progressives like Bernie Sanders, said Pence's break with Trump over the insurrection was a double-edged sword. "Despite allegations and charges against Trump, his base remains strong and given Pence essentially turned against Trump, these voters will not support him," she told AFP. "The majority of other Republicans support DeSantis, who has a track record conservatives are excited about and they see him as a powerful alternative to Trump." ft/jh © Agence France-Presse The post Ex-VP Pence jumps into 2024 White House race appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Gov’t reviews business perks
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is studying fiscal incentives reforms with the Department of Finance as part of his administration’s efforts to boost economic growth, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said during a Malacañang press briefing on Tuesday. This, after data from the International Monetary Fund Tax Reform Database showed that the Philippines posted the lowest VAT efficiency ratio in the Southeast Asian region from 2016 to 2020, or 0.40 efficiency level despite having the highest VAT rate in the region at 12 percent. Comparatively, Indonesia has a VAT efficiency level of 0.50 with an 11 percent VAT rate, Singapore achieves a level of 0.71 with an 8 percent VAT rate, Vietnam maintains a level of 0.70 with an 8 percent VAT rate, and Thailand has a level of 0.79 with a 7 percent VAT rate. Highest rate vs other countries “The Philippines (has) the highest VAT rate compared to other countries in this part of the world but our VAT collection is the most inefficient,” Diokno said. “We only collect 40 percent (of all expected VAT collection), and that’s because of a lot of exemptions,” Diokno pointed out. The DoF also cited a 2018 World Bank study which said that the Philippines’ tax system faces challenges due to exemptions granted outside the tax code. According to the Finance chief, the government collected P723 billion from VAT annually from 2016 to 2020 on average. BBM issues order Diokno said the President has instructed the DoF to review the country’s fiscal incentives system to ensure that it is effective and efficient. He added that the government will lose collection revenues when it gives more tax incentives and exemptions. Prior to tax reforms, the Philippines have 56 lines of exemptions and an additional 84 exemptions under special laws, he added. “We actually talked with the International Monetary Fund and we asked them to conduct a study on where we can improve on broadening the tax base meaning maybe find areas where we can recover from too much exemptions,” Diokno said. “I say at 0.40, that’s really poor performance, but you know the value-added tax is the best tax in the world. It’s I think being imposed in 90 percent of the countries in the world, so it is in our best interests to improve on the efficiency of the VAT,” he added. Potential improvements Diokno pointed out that the government is currently looking into potential improvements in its medium-term fiscal framework but he insisted that the country’s revenue system is doing well. We actually talked with the International Monetary Fund and we asked them to conduct a study on where we can improve on broadening the tax base meaning maybe find areas where we can recover from too much exemptions. He added that the government is also pushing collection agencies to improve in order to create “better” revenues. “So we are studying it, it’s not a perfect system so we’ll look for improvements but right now our revenue system is doing well,” Diokno said. The post Gov’t reviews business perks appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Next five years set to be hottest period ever: UN
It is near-certain that 2023-2027 will be the warmest five-year period ever recorded, the United Nations warned Wednesday as greenhouse gases and El Nino combine to send temperatures soaring. Global temperatures are soon set to exceed the more ambitious target set out in the Paris climate accords, with a two-thirds chance that one of the next five years will do so, the UN's World Meteorological Organization said. The hottest eight years ever recorded were all between 2015 and 2022 -- but temperatures are forecast to increase further as climate change accelerates. "There is a 98-percent likelihood that at least one of the next five years, and the five-year period as a whole, will be the warmest on record," the WMO said. The 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries agree to cap global warming at "well below" two degrees Celsius above average levels measured between 1850 and 1900 -- and 1.5C if possible. The global mean temperature in 2022 was 1.15C above the 1850-1900 average. The WMO said there was a 66 percent chance that annual global surface temperatures will exceed 1.5C above pre-industrial levels for at least one of the years 2023-2027, with a range of 1.1C to 1.8C forecasted for each of those five years. ' Uncharted territory' While this does not mean that the world will permanently exceed the Paris benchmark, "WMO is sounding the alarm that we will breach the 1.5C level on a temporary basis with increasing frequency", said the agency's chief Petteri Taalas. "A warming El Nino is expected to develop in the coming months and this will combine with human-induced climate change to push global temperatures into uncharted territory. "This will have far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management and the environment. We need to be prepared." El Nino is the large-scale warming of surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. The weather phenomenon normally occurs every two to seven years. Conditions oscillate between El Nino and its opposite La Nina, with neutral conditions in between. The WMO said earlier this month that the chances of El Nino developing were 60 percent by the end of July and 80 percent by the end of September. Typically, El Nino increases global temperatures in the year after it develops -- which in this cycle would be 2024. Despite the cooling influence of La Nina conditions over much of the past three years, the warmest eight years on record have all been from 2015 onwards, with 2016 the hottest. Heat gets trapped in the atmosphere by so-called greenhouse gases, which are at a record high. The three major greenhouses gases are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Temperatures rising since 1960s Global land and sea mean near-surface temperatures have increased since the 1960s. The chances of temperatures temporarily exceeding 1.5C above the 1850-1990 average have risen steadily since 2015, a year when they were considered close to zero. Britain's Met Office national weather service is the WMO's lead center on yearly to 10-yearly climate predictions. While there is a 66-percent chance that one year between 2023 and 2027 will exceed the 1.5C threshold, there is now a 32 percent chance that the entire five-year mean will do so, the Met Office said. "Global mean temperatures are predicted to continue increasing, moving us away further and further away from the climate we are used to," said Met Office expert scientist Leon Hermanson. Temperatures in 2023 are likely to be higher than the 1991-2020 average in almost all regions except for Alaska, South Africa, South Asia and parts of Australia, the WMO said. Parts of the South Pacific Ocean are likely to be cooler than average. The post Next five years set to be hottest period ever: UN appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Ex-Solsona SB member in hot water (2)
Mark Dennis del Castillo, one of the accused in the P23-million botched social housing project in Solsona, Ilocos Norte, reached out to Daily Tribune on Wednesday, 10 May, to air his side of the story. Del Castillo, in a recorded interview, says that the project papers were started in 2016 when De Lara was the mayor but initiated during the administration of Mayor Alex Calucag. Del Castillo claimed that De Lara was still the mayor when he started processing the papers on the project while Calucag was still an ABC president. When the administration changed, Calucag gave the go signal to the project with him and Del Castillo going to the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s regional office to ask for their help. Del Castillo says that what the local government unit will do is indicated in the memorandum of agreement between the LGU and DSWD. In December 2016, Del Castillo was in Hawaii when the funds were deposited to the account of the Neighborhood Association for Shelter Assistance, the group of housing recipients. “It was not on my account that the funds were deposited and, thus, I do not have the authority to withdraw such money. Because the only signatories there are the MSWDO (municipal social welfare and development officer), the representative of the regional office in the person of Ms. Cynthia Ablog, who is the provincial operations officer of DSWD, and the President and the Treasurer of NASA. They are the ones who withdrew the money, not me,” Del Castillo says. Del Castillo clarified the P21 million given to him by them, referring to the above-mentioned individuals. Withdrawal came sometime between January of 2017 and Del Castillo helped them all throughout the process. It was required by the DSWD to open an account for NASA. Del Castillo says he borrowed P10,000 to open the account with LandBank. Yet they haven’t returned the money to him. Del Castillo says he does not see anything wrong there. Cynthia Ablog, Bella Ballesteros, Reynald Campanano and Mr. Raymundo were the people who opened the account. Withdrawal slip clarified In the interview, Del Castillo admitted that he deposited the P21 million to his account. He explained that officers of NASA told him to go to LandBank-Laoag Rizal. When he arrived in the bank, officers of NASA hand-carried and handed the money to him. “It is not true that I clandestinely asked the officers of NASA to sign the withdrawal form. Why would I be the one to hand them over the withdrawal slip? I am not a bank employee,” Del Castillo adds. According to Del Castillo, he deposited the money to his account for safe-keeping and in less than a week, all materials were paid. He was also accompanied by members of NASA and DSWD and all the receipts are now with DSWD. On 25 August 2022, the DSWD wrote a demand letter to Del Castillo, Campanano, Raymundo, Ablog and Ballesteros, informing them that based on the joint validation and inspection conducted on 20 to 29 July 2022 by the LGU of Solsona and the DSWD, P3,835,701.97 of the funds for the said project were not utilized and unliquidated. In the said demand letter signed by DSWD Regional Director Marie Angela S. Gopalan, the agency gave the respondents 10 days to return the money. Del Castillo, however, alleges that the LGU did not fulfill the technical aspect of the project as they did not provide an engineer, foreman and skilled workers. Being the Committee Chairman on Housing, he provided for the wages of a foreman, a skilled worker and two laborers. “I indicated all my expenses to the DSWD and if we base it on computations and all, the DSWD is the one who owes me money worth P5 million,” he says. Del Castillo says he applied for a loan and until now he’s still suffering because of the loans. He says all the materials that were not included in the program of work and the bill of materials were provided by him. (To be continued) The post Ex-Solsona SB member in hot water (2) appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
China tells Phl: Oppose Taiwan’s independence
If the Philippines “genuinely cares” about 150,000 overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan, it should “unequivocally oppose” Taiwan’s independence, China said Friday. Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian stressed this in his keynote speech at the 8th Manila Forum, which was co-presented by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Manila and the Association for Philippines-China Understanding. “The Philippines is advised to unequivocally oppose ‘Taiwan independence’ rather than stoking the fire by offering the US access to the military bases near the Taiwan Strait if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs,” Huang said. While China commends the Philippines for adhering to the one-China principle, he explained that Taiwan's issue is “entirely China’s internal affair, as is the Mindanao issue to the Philippines.” “You will never allow any third party to meddle with resolving rebel issues in Mindanao. Likewise, it should not be hard to understand why the announcement of the four additional EDCA sites has caused widespread and grave concern among Chinese people,” he said. Last week, Malacañang identified the locations of the four additional EDCA sites, to where American forces will have access. The Presidential Communications Offices said the new locations will be in Camilo Osias Naval Base in Sta. Ana town and Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo town, both in Cagayan province; Camp Melchor dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela province; and Balabac, the southernmost island in Palawan province. Of the four additional EDCA sites, three are situated in the northern part of the country, with the naval base at Cagayan's Santa Ana being about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Taiwan. Huang said the new EDCA sites were “obviously” chosen by the United States to “interfere in the situation across the Taiwan Strait to serve its geopolitical goals, and advance its anti-China agenda at the expense of peace and development of the Philippines and the region at large.” Earlier this week, Beijing conducted live-fire drills for three days near Taiwan, in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s recent trip to the United States. China considers Taiwan, an ally of the US, as part of its territory, to be retaken one day -- by force, if necessary. Huang said that China is the “last country that wishes to see conflict over the Strait because people on both sides are Chinese.” “This is to guard against external interference and all separatist activities,” he said. China also warned the Philippines against the plan to increase American military deployment in the country. “To know if increased US military deployment in another country truly helps to protect the host country’s sovereignty and security, one just need to take a look at the long list of mess left behind by the scourge of American military around the world, the turmoils, divisions and devastation,” he said. “Answers will not be difficult to find. To have strategic independence or to be at the mercy of others? French President Macron proffered the answer: Being an ally does not mean being a vassal,” he added. ‘Phl, China friendship’ Huang noted that the bilateral relations between the Philippines and China were “defined by peaceful coexistence for over a thousand years and will continue to be so in the future.” “Friendship is always the mainstream of our bilateral relations,” he said. “We each have our respective claims and positions regarding the South China Sea. Differences thereof should be resolved by parties directly involved through dialogues and with mutual respect,” he added. Huang said that Beijing is committed to strengthening dialogue mechanisms with the Philippines. Under the 2016 ruling of a Hague-based arbitral tribunal, the Philippines has sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, which invalidates China’s nine-dash line claim. Beijing, however, has continued to disregard the UNCLOS decision, installing man-made military infrastructure on several reefs and features within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. Huang said that “provocative actions or bringing in external forces will not help but further complicate the situation and cause more problems, putting regional peace and security at risk.” “We should learn from history and avoid repeating mistakes,” he added. The post China tells Phl: Oppose Taiwan’s independence appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US guardsman to appear in court over Pentagon documents leak
A 21-year-old national guardsman was due to appear in court on Friday, authorities said, after he was arrested on suspicion of leaking a trove of sensitive US government secrets. Jack Teixeira, an employee of the US Air Force National Guard, was to make an initial appearance in a Massachusetts federal court, a district court official told AFP. His dramatic arrest was broadcast live on US TV networks Thursday following a week-long investigation into one of the most damaging leaks of classified information since the 2013 dump of National Security Agency documents by Edward Snowden. US Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters Thursday that Teixeira had been arrested "in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information." News footage of the operation in the southern Massachusetts town of North Dighton showed the suspect dressed in red shorts and a T-shirt with his hands behind his head, backing slowly toward rifle-armed, camouflage-clad law enforcement personnel who took him into custody. Police in the small town in the northeastern state sought to reassure the community about the heavy law enforcement presence, saying in a statement that there was "no threat to public safety." The US National Guard Bureau said Teixeira had enlisted in September 2019 and was an IT and communications specialist who reached the rank of airman first class -- the third-lowest for enlisted air force personnel. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a statement praising the Justice Department and FBI "for their swift arrest in connection with this investigation." Austin added that he was ordering a "review of our intelligence access, accountability, and control procedures within the (Defense) Department to inform our efforts to prevent this kind of incident from happening again." Teixeira's arrest came a day after The Washington Post reported that hundreds of pages of documents had been posted on the social media platform Discord by a man who worked on a US military base. Top secret material According to The New York Times, a "trail of digital evidence" pointed to Teixeira as the leader of the private group on Discord, called Thug Shaker Central, where the documents surfaced. The embarrassing security breach has revealed US unease over the viability of a coming counteroffensive by Kyiv's forces against Russian troops as well as concerns about Ukrainian air defenses and pointed to US spying on allies including Israel and South Korea. President Joe Biden addressed the leak earlier on Thursday during his visit to Ireland, saying he was "concerned". US media reported that the Biden administration is seeking to beef up its monitoring of social media sites and chat rooms after intelligence agencies failed to spot the leaked documents online for weeks. The Pentagon has also "begun to limit who across the government receives its highly classified daily intelligence briefs," CNN reported on Thursday. The alleged leaker reportedly went by the nickname "OG" and regularly posted documents in the chat group in question for months. The group of around 24 people, including some from Russia and Ukraine, bonded over their "mutual love of guns, military gear, and God," and formed an "invitation-only clubhouse in 2020 on Discord," reported the Post -- which like the New York Times cited unidentified members of Thug Shaker Central. OG told the group members that he spent "some of his days inside a secure facility that prohibited cellphones and other electronic devices," the Post report said. He first wrote down the contents of classified documents to share with the group, but later began taking photos, telling other members not to share them, the newspaper reported. OG had a "dark view of the government," and "spoke of the United States, and particularly law enforcement and the intelligence community, as a sinister force that sought to suppress its citizens and keep them in the dark," the Post said, citing one of the group's members. A Discord spokesperson told AFP that user safety is a priority and that content violating its policies can result in people being banned, servers being shut down, and police alerted. "In regards to the apparent breach of classified material, we are cooperating with law enforcement," the spokesperson said. "As this remains an active investigation, we cannot provide further comment at this time." The post US guardsman to appear in court over Pentagon documents leak appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US airman arrested over Pentagon documents leak
FBI agents on Thursday arrested a 21-year-old national guardsman suspected of being behind a major leak of sensitive US government secrets -- including about the Ukraine war. Broadcast live on TV networks, the dramatic arrest was the culmination of a week-long investigation -- fuelled by frenzied media coverage -- into one of the most damaging leaks of classified information since the 2013 dump of National Security Agency documents by Edward Snowden. Addressing a news briefing, US Attorney General Merrick Garland named the suspect as Jack Teixeira, an employee of the US Air Force National Guard and the reported leader of the online chat group where the document trove first emerged. Arrested "in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information," Teixeira was taken into custody without incident by FBI agents, Garland said. News footage of the operation, in the southern Massachusetts town of North Dighton, showed the suspect dressed in red shorts and a t-shirt with his hands behind his head, backing slowly toward rifle-armed, camouflage-clad law enforcement personnel who took him into custody. Police in the small town in the northeastern state sought to reassure the community about the heavy law enforcement presence, saying in a statement that there was "no threat to public safety." The US National Guard Bureau said Teixeira enlisted in September 2019 and is an IT and communications specialist who reached the rank of airman first class -- the third-lowest for enlisted air force personnel. He was expected to make an initial appearance in a Massachusetts federal court as early as Friday. The Pentagon has said the leak presents a "very serious" risk to US national security, and spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder on Thursday condemned it as a "deliberate criminal act." In response, the Defense Department is "examining and updating distribution lists, assessing how and where intelligence products are shared, and a variety of other steps," Ryder told journalists. Teixeira's arrest came a day after The Washington Post reported that hundreds of pages of documents had been posted on the social media platform Discord by a man who worked on a US military base. Top secret material According to The New York Times, a "trail of digital evidence" pointed to Teixeira as the leader of the private group on Discord, called Thug Shaker Central, where the documents surfaced. The embarrassing security breach -- which included top secret documents -- has revealed US unease over the viability of a coming counteroffensive by Kyiv's forces against Russian troops as well as concerns about Ukrainian air defenses and pointed to US spying on allies including Israel and South Korea. President Joe Biden addressed the leak earlier on Thursday during his visit to Ireland, saying he was "concerned" but that federal authorities were "getting close" to identifying the source of the leak. The alleged leaker reportedly went by the nickname "OG" and regularly posted documents in the chat group in question for months. The group of around 24 people, including some from Russia and Ukraine, bonded over their "mutual love of guns, military gear, and God," and formed an "invitation-only clubhouse in 2020 on Discord," reported the Post -- which like the Times cited unidentified members of Thug Shaker Central. OG told the group members that he spent "some of his days inside a secure facility that prohibited cellphones and other electronic devices," the Post report said. He first wrote down the contents of classified documents to share with the group, but later began taking photos, telling other members not to share them, the newspaper reported. OG had a "dark view of the government," and "spoke of the United States, and particularly law enforcement and the intelligence community, as a sinister force that sought to suppress its citizens and keep them in the dark," the Post said, citing one of the group's members. A Discord spokesperson told AFP that user safety is a priority, and that content violating its policies can result in people being banned, servers being shut down, and police alerted. "In regards to the apparent breach of classified material, we are cooperating with law enforcement," the spokesperson said. "As this remains an active investigation, we cannot provide further comment at this time." The post US airman arrested over Pentagon documents leak appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Catriona Gray, Nicole Cordoves gagawa ng ‘history’ sa Bb. Pilipinas 2021
SA unang pagkakataon (sa beauty pageant history) ay parehong babae ang magiging host sa gaganaping Binibining Pilipinas 2021 coronation night sa Hulyo 11 sa Smart Coliseum. Sina Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray at Miss Grand International 2016 1st Runner-up Nicole Cordoves ang napiling mga host sa nasabing pageant base na rin sa post ng una […] The post Catriona Gray, Nicole Cordoves gagawa ng ‘history’ sa Bb. Pilipinas 2021 appeared first on Bandera......»»
Endangering data privacy
Netizens have called on National Privacy Commissioner Raymond Liboro to investigate a possible breach of the LTO data base after complaints were raised that the website lisensiya.info has apparently been able to falsely associate (connect may be a better description) itself to that agency's data base......»»
Rays hold Yankees to 2 hits in 1-0 win
By The Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Pinch-hitter Michael Perez hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning on his 28th birthday, six Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a two-hitter and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the AL East-leading New York Yankees 1-0 on Friday night. Yoshi Tsutsugo drew a leadoff walk from Adam Ottavino (2-1) in the eighth and went to second with one out when Kevin Kiermaier walked. Both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch before Perez put the Rays up 1-0 on his fly to center. Chaz Roe (2-0) went the final two innings for the win. Masahiro Tanaka allowed one hit and struck out five over five innings, retiring his final 13 batters after giving up a first-inning single to Yandy Diaz. The Yankees’ right-hander needed just 59 pitches in his second start after beginning the season on the concussion list after being struck in the head by Giancarlo Stanton’s liner during a July 4th summer camp simulated game. Three New York pitchers also limited the Rays to just two hits. MARLINS 4, METS 3 NEW YORK (AP) — Francisco Cervelli hit a three-run homer, Humberto Mejia impressed in his abbreviated major league debut and Miami kept up its surprising surge. The Marlins won their sixth in a row and improved to 7-1 — they’re 5-0 since missing more than a week because of the team’s coronavirus outbreak. Cervelli waved and pointed to the imaginary fans in the seating areas after hitting his second homer of the season. Jonathan Villar added an RBI double in Miami’s four-run second. Dominic Smith homered for the Mets, who have lost seven of nine. New York scored its other runs in the eighth on a throwing error by third baseman Brian Anderson and RBI single by J.D. Davis. Stephen Tarpley (2-0) pitched two innings for the win. Nick Vincent escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and finished for his first save since 2016 with Seattle. Michael Wacha (1-2) allowed four runs and six hits in five innings. WHITE SOX 2, INDIANS 0 CHICAGO (AP) — Dylan Cease worked his way through five shutout innings, and the Chicago White Sox beat Aaron Civale and Cleveland. Cease walked the leadoff man four times and hit a batter, but wiggled out of trouble each time. The right-hander allowed two hits and struck out four. The Indians went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base, continuing a season-long problem and wasting a terrific start by Civale. They had won three in a row. Civale (1-2) allowed five hits, struck out five and walked one in seven innings. Cleveland played without manager Terry Francona and hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo. Francona missed his sixth straight game while addressing a gastrointestinal issue he has been dealing with for months. The team announced before the series opener that Van Burkleo had opted out of the 2020 season because of the coronavirus. RED SOX 5, BLUE JAYS 3 BOSTON (AP) — Alex Verdugo hit two solo homers over the Green Monster, Mitch Moreland had a two-run shot and Boston’s beleaguered staff rebounded to lift the Red Sox past Toronto. Verdugo also robbed Travis Shaw of a homer with a leaping grab and Moreland had a bases-loaded walk to help Boston win its second straight following a four-game losing streak. Cavan Biggio hit a solo homer, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette each had an RBI double for Toronto, which has dropped five of six. Moreland’s homer sailed just over the 380-foot sign at the edge of the Blue Jays’ bullpen in right off starter Tanner Roark (1-1) in the third inning for his fourth homer. Reliever Heath Hembree (2-0) got three outs for the victory and Brandon Workman the final three for his third save. ROYALS 3, INDIANS 2 KANSAS CITY, Mo, (AP) — Ryan McBroom hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning and Kansas City held Minnesota to a pair of solo homers. Nick Heath and Nicky Lopez also drove in runs for the Royals, who have won two straight after a six-game slide. Jakob Junis served up homers to Byron Buxton and Marwin Gonzalez before leaving with two outs in the fifth inning, and Greg Holland (2-0) led four relievers in holding down the Twins the rest of the way. Trevor Rosenthal retired the final three batters in order for his second save. Matt Wisler (0-1) served up McBroom’s homer as Minnesota lost a one-run game for the second consecutive night. REDS 8, BREWERS 3 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Trevor Bauer turned in another stellar outing, and Matt Davidson and Nick Castellanos homered to lead Cincinnati. Bauer (2-0) gave up three hits and one run in six innings while striking out 12. The Reds scored six runs in the second off Milwaukee starter Eric Lauer (0-1), ending a 24-inning scoring drought. Cincinnati had pushed across three runs before Davidson’s three-run homer, his first of the season, which barely cleared the wall in center field. The Reds (6-8) lost 13-0 to Cleveland on Thursday night, failing to score in the last 23 innings of the home-and-home series. PADRES 3, DIAMONDBACKS O SAN DIEGO (AP) — Zach Davies retired the first 13 Arizona batters, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a leadoff homer and rookies Jake Cronenworth and Edward Olivares also went deep to lead San Diego. Davies (2-1) took a perfect game into the fifth before giving up consecutive one-out singles to Eduardo Escobar and David Peralta. He got out of the jam by retiring the next two batters on popups. Davies allowed three singles in 5 2/3 innings, struck out six and walked none. Four relievers finished the combined four-hitter for San Diego’s first shutout. Kirby Yates pitched the ninth for his second save in two chances. Luke Weaver (0-3) went only three innings, allowing two runs and two hits with three strikeouts and one walk. TIGERS 17, PIRATES 13, 11 INNINGS PITTSBURGH (AP) — Niko Goodrum drove in five runs, two on a double in a big 11th inning that sent Detroit past Pittsburgh. Both teams finished with 16 hits, surprising since each club had four players in the starting lineup batting under .190. Those numbers soon changed as Detroit played its first game in five days. Erik Gonzalez drove in six runs. He homered, doubled and singled twice as Pittsburgh lost for the eighth time in nine games and fell to 3-11. It was 12-all after nine innings and Jeimer Candelario broke a 13-all tie with an RBI single in the 11th. Austin Romine singled home another run and Goodrum capped the inning with his line drive to right field. Candelario finished with three hits and three RBIs. Rookie Bryan Garcia (2-0) got the win despite giving up the 10th-inning run. Dovydas Neverauskas (0-2) allowed all four runs in the 11th. ATHLETICS 3, ASTROS 2, 13 INNINGS OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Marcus Semien singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 13th to lift Oakland to its seventh straight win in a game that matched the longest this season with baseball’s new extra-innings rule. Alex Bregman hit an RBI double in the top of the 13th inning only for the A’s to tie it on Austin Allen’s single in the bottom half against Cy Sneed (0-2). J.B. Wendelken (1-0) worked three strong innings and the A’s finally delivered after squandering bases-loaded chances in the 10th and 12th. Houston lost its third straight. The Astros were supposed to visit Oakland months ago in late March for their first road trip of 2020 after a sign-stealing scam that blemished baseball during the offseason. Coronavirus delayed the Bay Area trip. Robbie Grossman hit a tying homer in the seventh and Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman made a terrific stop on Jose Altuve’s sharp grounder to keep the game tied in the 10th. ROCKIES 8, MARINERS 4 SEATTLE (AP) — Daniel Murphy had a key two-run single and later hit a two-run home run, Garrett Hampson and Charlie Blackmon added solo shots, and Colorado won for the sixth time in seven games. Murphy’s hit with two outs in the sixth ended the night for Seattle starter Yusei Kikuchi (0-1) and gave Colorado a 4-1 lead. Colorado then feasted on Seattle’s shaky bullpen. Hampson hit his first home run of the season with two outs in the seventh, and Blackmon led off the eighth with his third long ball. Murphy capped his night lining the first pitch from reliever Yohan Ramriez into the right-field seats with one out in the eighth. Colorado starter Antonio Senzatela (3-0) threw six strong innings, allowing two earned runs and struck out five. DODGERS 7, GIANTS 2 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mookie Betts homered for the first time at Dodger Stadium, and Max Muncy, Will Smith and Edwin Ríos went deep to lead Los Angeles. The Dodgers have won three in a row and eight of 10. Betts was back in the lineup for the first time since injuring his left middle finger last Sunday in Phoenix. He didn’t waste any time, doubling in his first at-bat. He homered into the left-field pavilion in the third, tying the game 1-all. Two batters later, Justin Turner’s RBI single gave Los Angeles the lead for good, 2-1. The Dodgers pummeled Jeff Samardzija in the fourth. Muncy homered to the right-field pavilion leading off. Smith slugged his second homer of the season — both against the Giants — that eluded a leaping Darin Ruf in left field, extending the lead to 5-1. Samardzija (0-2) struggled again in the fifth, and was pulled after loading the bases with no outs. Samardzija was charged with six runs (five earned) and seven hits in four-plus innings. Dylan Floro (1-0) got the victory, giving up one hit in one inning with two strikeouts. RANGERS 4, ANGELS 3 ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mike Trout homered again on his birthday, but Robinson Chirinos drove in two runs without a hit and Texas snapped a three-game losing streak. Trout turned 29, and homered for the fifth time in the seven big league games he has played on his birthday. The three-time AL MVP put the Angels up 2-0 in the first with his 444-foot drive over their bullpen in left-center. Chirinos had a sacrifice fly in the second inning, then walked with the bases loaded as part of a three-run fourth when the Rangers went ahead to stay when all of those runs were unearned. Jordan Lyles (1-1), one of three offseason additions to the Rangers rotation, struck out five in 5 1/3 innings. Rafael Montero, activated from the injured list earlier in the day, worked a perfect ninth for his first career save capped by Trout’s game-ending strikeout. Angels starter Griffin Canning (0-2) threw more balls (45) than strikes (43) while walking six batters in 3 2/3 innings. ORIOLES 11, NATIONALS 0 BALTIMORE (AP) — Even Chris Davis got in on the act for the suddenly slugging Orioles, doubling his season total by collecting two of Baltimore’s 19 hits and raising his average from .087 to .143 in a big win over Washington. Seven of the Orioles’ nine starting position players each got at least a pair of hits. José Iglesias led the way by going 4 for 4 with three RBIs, and Renato Núñez added a three-run homer to back left-hander Tommy Milone (1-1), whose six-inning outing was the longest by an Orioles pitcher this year. Milone, who was drafted by the Nationals in 2008 and briefly pitched for them in 2011 and 2018, allowed just three hits and didn’t walk anyone. The Orioles were coming off getting swept in four games at home by the cobbled-together, coronavirus-struck Miami Marlins. But after scoring a grand total of once through the first three games of that series, Baltimore put up seven runs in the finale Thursday, then kept on swinging well Friday against the reigning World Series champion Nationals and starter Aníbal Sánchez (0-2)......»»
Indians Bieber strikes out 13 against Twins to tie record
By The Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland’s Shane Bieber tied the major league record for strikeouts in a pitcher’s first two starts of the season, punching out 13 Minnesota Twins over eight innings in the Indians’ 2-0 victory on Thursday night. Bieber (2-0) fanned 14 over six scoreless innings on Friday against Kansas City. His 27 strikeouts in the two games matched the record set by Karl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers in September 1954 during the first two starts of his short career. Facing a Twins team that came in with the second-best run differential in baseball, Bieber allowed three singles in his eight innings. Francisco Lindor supplied all the offense Cleveland needed with a two-run homer in the third inning off Jose Berríos (0-1). After Jose Ramirez singled with two outs, Berrios left an 0-2 pitch up over the plate, and Lindor drove it over the fence in right for his second homer of the season. YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 6 BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning after New York blew an early five-run lead, and the Yankees swept an impromptu two-game series. Luke Voit hit his first career grand slam for the Yankees, who stretched their winning streak against Baltimore to 18 games and notched their 17th consecutive victory at Camden Yards. New York has swept six straight series from the Orioles dating to early last year. Judge’s second homer in two games — a no-doubt shot to left off Cole Sulser (0-1) — came after Pedro Severino put Baltimore in front with a two-run drive in the eighth against Jonathan Loaisiga (1-0). Zack Britton worked the ninth for his second save. After Voit connected in a five-run first inning against John Means, Hanser Alberto hit a two-run drive in the bottom half off J.A. Happ. Rio Ruiz homered for the third time in five games with a man on in the second to cut the deficit to 5-4. RED SOX 4, METS 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Christian Vázquez hit two more homers and Martín Pérez gave Boston’s patchwork rotation a much-needed lift. Pérez (1-1) overcame four walks and some shaky defense behind him, allowing only two hits while striking out five in 5 2/3 innings for his first win with the Red Sox. Vázquez connected twice off Steven Matz (0-1), including a two-run shot on an 0-2 pitch in the fourth that put Boston ahead 3-2. Boston loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth and added an insurance run when Edwin Díaz hit José Peraza with a pitch. Brandon Workman, on the mound for the third straight day after throwing 30 pitches Wednesday, got the last three outs for his second save — both in the last two nights. ROYALS 5, TIGERS 3 DETROIT (AP) — Trevor Rosenthal pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save since 2017 and Kansas City overcame Miguel Cabrera’s first multihomer game since 2016. Once a standout closer for St. Louis, Rosenthal has struggled with his health and his effectiveness in recent years, finishing 2019 with a 13.50 ERA in 22 appearances with the Nationals and Tigers. When he retired JaCoby Jones on a grounder to end the game, he gave his glove a little celebratory tap. The Royals' offense came through late. Whit Merrifield scored on Salvador Perez’s grounder to break a 2-all tie in the seventh. Bubba Starling added a double the following inning that gave Kansas City two insurance runs it ended up needing. Cabrera hit solo homers in the first and eighth, and Jonathan Schoop added one for Detroit in the fourth. It was Cabrera’s first multihomer game since Sept. 30, 2016 at Atlanta, and he’s gone deep three times in the first seven games this year after hitting only 12 home runs in 2019. Greg Holland (1-0) won in relief for the Royals, and Jose Cisnero (1-1) took the loss. BRAVES 2, RAYS 1 ATLANTA (AP) — Max Fried retired Tampa Bay’s first 14 batters and combined with three relievers on a four-hitter to lead Atlanta. Dansby Swanson had a run-scoring single in Atlanta’s two-run second inning. Fried (1-0) struck out seven and walked one while allowing one run in 6 2/3 innings. The left-hander improved to 4-0 in four interleague starts. Luke Jackson, and Shane Greene combined for four outs before Mark Melancon pitched the ninth for his second save. Ryan Yarbrough (0-1) allowed two runs on only two hits with three walks in 6 1/3 innings. NATIONALS 6, BLUE JAYS 4 WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael A. Taylor’s second homer of the season helped the “visiting” Nationals knock around struggling Hyun-Jin Ryu and beat home-away-from-home Toronto before both teams head into a coronavirus-caused mini break. Kurt Suzuki delivered a two-run double and Asdrúbal Cabrera added an RBI double off Ryu (0-1), who gave up Taylor’s two-run shot to straightaway center that he celebrated with a socially distanced dugout dance in the fourth. Erick Fedde, making his second start in place of a sidelined Stephen Strasburg, gave up two runs in 3 1/3 innings. Ryne Harper (1-0) followed and got five outs for the win. Daniel Hudson pitched the ninth to earn his first save of the year. Nationals rookie third baseman Carter Kieboom reached base four times — two singles, two walks — and scored twice. Teoscar Hernández homered twice, giving him four during this four-game series at Washington, and Cavan Biggio hit a solo shot for Toronto. Neither team will play again until Tuesday, a four-day gap that is normally unheard of in baseball, where clubs can go weeks at a time without any respite......»»
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