Jaylen Smith graduated from high school in May. Less than a year later, the 18-year-old will be tasked with governing Earle, Arkansas, as the rural city’s newly elected mayor.
Smith, a Democrat, was elected mayor of Earle – population 1,831 – on Tuesday. He defeated his opponent, Nemi Matthews, the city’s street and sanitation superintendent, by 235 votes to 185, according to unofficial results from the Crittenden County Clerk’s office and relayed to CNN by Patrick Robinson, a probate clerk.
“I didn’t run to make a name for myself,” Smith told CNN on Wednesday. “I ran because I wanted to help my community and move my community in the direction that it needed to be moved in.”
Frank Scott Jr., the mayor of Little Rock and someone whose advice Smith sought as he prepared for the mayoralty, said Smith will be the youngest Black mayor elected in the United States.
“I’m excited for Jaylen and the entire community in Earle as he becomes the youngest-ever African American mayor elected in the country. I’m proud of his willingness to enter into public service at such a young age and his aspirational goals for the City,” said Scott, who also serves as president of the African American Mayors Association.
Smith said it was through his work in the student government association in school that made him “passionate and determined” about serving his community at a higher level.
Although Smith is young, he has a clear vision of what he wants to see in Earle, and he knows it won’t happen overnight. He wants to rebuild the city by ridding it of abandoned homes, make the police department operate 24 hours, create jobs for the youth and implement public transportation to grocery stores.
To prepare, Smith consulted with several mayors across Arkansas. He will be sworn in during the first week of January, and he said his ultimate goal is “to show the people of Earle results.”
7:35 pm: Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports that Giles asked for a release from the Mariners, who granted his request. That should alleviate any concerns that the club was simply giving up on him contributing down the stretch. Nicholson-Smith also says that several teams are showing interest in Giles, including the Blue Jays, the team he was with from mid-2018 through the end of 2020.
6:05 pm: The Mariners announced that reliever Ken Giles has declined an outright assignment and elected free agency. Giles was designated for assignment on Friday and this announcement would seem to indicate he has passed through waivers unclaimed. As a veteran with over five years of MLB service time, Giles has the right to reject an outright assignment without forfeiting any salary.
Giles, now 31, underwent Tommy John surgery in October of 2020. The Mariners later signed him to a two-year deal, knowing that he would miss the entirety of the 2021 campaign, but hoping for a payoff in 2022. Giles made $1.5MM last year and is making $5MM this season. (There was also a club option for 2023, which now seems to be a moot point.) Unfortunately, things haven’t gone according to that long-term plan, with Giles missing much of this season due to other injuries. Though it was hoped he’d be ready for Opening Day, a finger injury in Spring Training kept him from making his Mariner debut until June 21. After five appearances with diminished velocity, a shoulder issue sent him back to the IL yet again. He was rehabbing from that issue when the M’s designated him for assignment.
Giles will now head back to the open market and try to find his next opportunity. Prior to his current run of injury woes, he was one of the better relievers in all of baseball. He was last healthy for an extended period of time in 2019 with the Blue Jays, throwing 53 innings with a 1.87 ERA, 39.9% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 39.3% ground ball rate.
While dreams of that kind of performance will surely leave some people salivating, there are reasons to feel bearish about Giles for the rest of the season. For one thing, the Mariners didn’t have any need for his roster spot at the time of his DFA, which perhaps suggests that they weren’t expecting his shoulder issues to subside between now and the end of the year. Giles also could have been nabbed on waivers by any of the 29 other teams, with the claiming club only on the hook for the remainder of his salary this year, which would have been about $1.4MM. That claiming team also could have retained him for 2023 via the club option on his contract, which would have given Giles $9.5MM next year and came with a buyout of just $500K. The fact that every team passed up on that chance suggests at least some degree of pessimism from the market.
However, now that he has cleared, any team could sign him and pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount being subtracted from what Seattle pays. That will make him an interesting wild card in the baseball world until he signs. On the one hand, he’s now three years removed from his last signs of effectiveness and has dealt with various ailments since. But on the other hand, with the trade deadline now gone, teams desiring bullpen upgrades have very limited options for doing so. Given Giles’ past success and no-risk acquisition cost, teams could consider him worth a dice roll.
The Mariners also announced that catcher Luis Torrens cleared waivers and was outright to Triple-A Tacoma. His situation is slightly different from Giles, given that he has just over three years of MLB service time. Players between three and five years can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, though they have to forfeit their remaining salary. Torrens qualified for arbitration this past offseason as a Super Two player and is making a $1.2MM salary this year. With approximately $340K remaining to be paid out this year, no team deemed him worthy of a claim. Though the Mariners didn’t announce if he accepted the assignment, it seems fair to assume that he has, given that the club announced Giles’ rejection and the money Torrens would leave on the table by walking away. Torrens isn’t rated very highly for his defense but provided strong offense last year, hitting 15 home runs and slashing .243/.299/.431, wRC+ of 101. He’s been far worse this year, however, adding just a single long ball and producing a batting line of .214/.262/.252, wRC+ of 52.
The Mariners announced they’ve reinstated outfielder/designated hitter Kyle Lewis from the concussion injured list. To clear an active roster spot, they attempted to option Justin Upton to Triple-A Tacoma. As a veteran with well over five years of MLB service, Upton exercised his right to refuse an optional assignment in favor of free agency. In effect, the transaction is akin to a release, as Upton heads back to the open market while Seattle frees a spot on their 40-man roster.
Lewis has missed nearly two months after suffering a concussion in late May. It was the latest in a number of health woes for the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year, who lost the bulk of last season due to a meniscus injury in his right knee. Lingering knee concerns kept Lewis from making his season debut until May 25, and he suffered the concussion within four games of returning. He’ll obviously hope for a lengthier stay now that he’s back with a Seattle club amazingly carrying a 14-game win streak into the season’s unofficial second half.
The 27-year-old worked exclusively as a designated hitter in his four MLB games, but he’s gotten a little bit of work in left field on his latest minor league rehab stint. The M’s have used Carlos Santana as their primary designated hitter since acquiring him from the Royals last month. Right field has primarily been the purview of Sam Haggerty. Seattle will surely be cautious with Lewis’ workload easing him back in, but that duo seems likeliest to see their playing time reduced by his presence. That’ll be even more true when Mitch Haniger makes his return from a high ankle sprain; Seattle’s High-A affiliate announced yesterday that he’d begin a rehab assignment of his own there this weekend.
As for Upton, the move brings a rather quick end to his time in the Pacific Northwest. Released by the Angels at the end of Spring Training, he latched on with the Mariners on a big league deal six weeks into the season. After some time spent working into game shape, he was recalled to the major league roster just over a month ago. That stay didn’t prove fruitful, however, as Upton stumbled to a .125/.263/.208 line with just one home run in 17 games. He didn’t have the benefit of regular playing time, but it was the continuation of below-average production that eventually ended his time in Orange County.
Upton is making $28MM this season on the final guaranteed year of his original extension with the Halos. Los Angeles is on the hook for essentially all of that sum, with Seattle paying him only the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum for his month on the roster. Another club would owe him the same amount if they were to bring him aboard, although Upton seems likely to be limited to minor league offers after struggling with the Mariners. If he wants to continue playing, he shouldn’t have an issue finding a non-roster opportunity.
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, sidelined the last four games with back spasms, will not play in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
The three-time American League MVP will be replaced on the All-Star roster by Ty France of the Seattle Mariners, and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins has been moved into the starting lineup.
Trout was in the Angels’ posted pregame lineup as the center fielder on Saturday night, but was removed about three minutes before the first pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Trout said afterward that his back felt wrong while swinging in the cage before the game. The Angels had a day off on Sunday.
Trout said after Saturday’s game that he would sleep on it before deciding whether to bow out of the All-Star Game. On Sunday afternoon, Major League Baseball made his decision official with an announcement on social media.
Trout is batting .270 with 24 homers and 51 RBIs in 79 games this season, although he has just one multihit game and six total RBIs in the past three weeks.
France, heading into Sunday’s series finale vs. the Texas Rangers, led the Mariners with a .306 batting average, 95 hits and a .396 on-base percentage.
The Rangers announced this evening that reliever Greg Holland has cleared outright waivers and elected minor league free agency. That was always the likeliest outcome once Texas designated him for assignment on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old will now have an opportunity to explore offers from all 30 clubs. He’ll presumably be looking at minor league pacts, as he was this past offseason. Holland tossed 55 2/3 innings over 57 outings for the Royals last year, but he managed below-average production. He posted a 4.85 ERA with a personal-low 21.8% strikeout percentage and an elevated 10.7% walk rate. That led him to sign a non-roster deal with Texas, although Holland cracked the Opening Day roster and locked in a $2.1MM base salary for this season.
Texas remains on the hook for that money. Any team that signs Holland would only owe him a prorated portion of the league minimum salary for whatever time he spends in the big leagues, which would be subtracted from the Rangers’ tab. Despite feeling comfortable enough with his Spring Training form to carry him out of camp, Texas didn’t give Holland much of a look. He made just five appearances in Arlington, serving up as many runs over 4 2/3 innings on six hits (including a trio of homers).
One of the game’s elite late-inning stoppers during his 2011-15 peak in Kansas City, Holland’s performance has been up-and-down since he underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2015 campaign. He returned to save 41 games with a 3.61 ERA for the Rockies in 2017, but he posted an ERA of 4.54 or higher in three of the four seasons between 2018-21. The lone exception was the shortened 2020 season, when he pitched to a sterling 1.91 mark with a 27.7% strikeout rate during a reunion year with the Royals.
Despite his recent struggles, Holland shouldn’t have a problem finding a minor league deal somewhere. Not only is he a respected 12-year MLB veteran who reached heights few of his peers matched, Holland has still generated swinging strikes at a solid rate in recent seasons. His average fastball checked in at a capable 93.8 MPH during his brief look in Texas.
SAN JOSE, April 3 (Reuters) – Anti-establishment economist Rodrigo Chaves clinched Costa Rica’s presidency on Sunday, upending decades of political consensus in the Central American country that is grappling with growing social discontent and mounting national debt.
Chaves, a veteran former official of the World Bank, was projected to win about 52.9% of the vote in the run-off ballot, a preliminary tally by the electoral tribunal showed, based on returns from some 97% of polling stations.
Rival candidate and former Costa Rican president Jose Maria Figueres was seen securing about 47.1%.
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Speaking to supporters in San Jose, the capital, the 60-year-old Chaves said he accepted his victory with humility, and urged Figueres to help him move the country forward.
“I humbly beg Jose Maria and his party to work together to make possible what Don Jose Maria himself called the Costa Rican miracle,” he said, referring to Figueres’ father, Jose Figueres Ferrer, who served as president three times.
“Let’s put aside pettiness and vanity. Tonight we will begin together to serve our country,” added Chaves, who is set to assume office on May 8.
Figueres quickly conceded defeat after results came in.
“I congratulate Rodrigo Chaves, and I wish him the best,” he told supporters.
Caravans of cars sporting the flag of Chaves’ Social Democratic Progress Party (PPSD) crowded the streets of downtown San Jose in celebration.
Polls had shown Chaves to be a slight favorite heading into the election after he unexpectedly finished runner-up to Figueres in an indecisive first round of voting in February.
Chaves, who briefly served as finance minister for outgoing President Carlos Alvarado, ran as a maverick. He has vowed to shake up the political elite, even pledging to use referendums to bypass Congress to bring change. read more
“If the people go out to vote, this is going to be a sweep, a tsunami,” Chaves said after casting his ballot on Sunday.
Figueres campaigned on his experience and family political legacy in Costa Rica, a tourist destination and bastion of environmentalism long regarded as one of the most stable democracies in Latin America.
On Twitter, Alvarado said he had called to congratulate Chaves and pledged an orderly handover of power.
Turnout was 57.3%, the electoral tribunal said, less than the 60% who cast ballots in the first round.
Going into Sunday’s vote, some voters said they were lukewarm on both candidates, whose political careers have been tainted by accusations of wrongdoing.
Chaves faced accusations of sexual harassment during his World Bank tenure, which he denied. Figueres resigned as executive director of the World Economic Forum in 2004 amid accusations that he had influenced state contracts with Alcatel, a telecoms company. That case was never tried in court.
David Diaz, 33, said he was not enthused by Chaves or Figueres. He left home early to vote by 7 a.m. in the rural town of Tacacori, about 30 km (19 miles) from San Jose.
“I see very little movement, there is a lot of apathy,” said Diaz, a mechanic at a medical device factory.
Chaves faces the challenges of reviving an economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and alleviating the poverty in which about 23% of a population of 5.1 million live.
Growing income disparity makes Costa Rica one of the world’s most unequal countries, with unemployment of almost 15%. read more
In January 2021, the country agreed to $1.78 billion in financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
In return, the government vowed to adopt a raft of fiscal changes and austerity measures, but lawmakers have only passed a law to make savings on public sector workers’ benefits.
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Reporting by Diego Ore and Alvaro Murillo, writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Clarence Fernandez
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
CNN projected Sears’ win over Democrat Del. Hala Ayala, also a woman of color, on Wednesday.
Sears will serve alongside Republican Glenn Youngkin, whom CNN projected would win the Virginia gubernatorial race.
Sears, who was born in Jamaica, is the first Black Republican woman to be elected to the Virginia General Assembly, representing the 90th district from 2002 for one term. In 2004, she launched an unsuccessful bid for Congress against Democrat Rep. Bobby Scott. She is also a Marine veteran, former vice president of the Virginia Board of Education and owner of an appliance business. She is a wife and mother of three daughters. In 2012, her 27-year-old daughter DeJon L’Air Williams and two grandchildren died in a car accident.
She was national chair of Black Americans Making America First, a coalition that promotes initiatives by former President Donald Trump and has defended him after controversies and racist comments. Asked about her support for Trump, Sears told CNN, “I am an independent thinker” and promised to ensure “more diverse representation is appointed on boards and commissions.” She also said she would increase funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
In general, Sears has downplayed the influence of race on her political outlook and touted the progress of equality for Black Americans, but has also acknowledged that there is more work to be done.
“There is no Census Bureau category called ‘of color.’ I am Black. Virginians are ready for strong, principled and sensible leaders who will serve them — no matter one’s color,” Sears previously told CNN when asked the importance of being the first woman of color as lieutenant governor.
Her ascension to the second-highest office in the state culminates the end of a nationalized and close gubernatorial race where she and Ayala were split on several issues, including vaccine and mask mandates. It also comes amid the aftermath of a racial reckoning over police brutality and Confederate imagery, a shadow of its dark past stained with slavery.
The election of a woman as lieutenant governor in the state takes place nearly two years after the state’s legislature elected its first female speaker of the House.
Conservative views
Along with the closely watched gubernatorial race, which was widely seen as a bellwether as President Joe Biden won Virginia by 10 percentage points last year, the commonwealth is also garnering national attention as a civil trial is underway regarding organizers of the deadly “Unite the Rally” in Charlottesville four year ago, fueled by the city’s decision to remove a Confederate statue.
Sears would not say whether she supports the removal of Confederate monuments when asked by CNN, though she has previously criticized Republicans who embraced the Confederate flag. Instead, Sears emphasized the progress made by Black people in her lifetime when asked about race relations in the commonwealth.
“We have a saying in church, ‘I may not be what I’m supposed to be, but I ain’t what I used to be.’ And that’s America,” Sears said. “We are not back in 1963, when my father arrived at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and things were very bad for us as Black people.”
“Are there changes that need to be made? Most assuredly,” Sears added. “There is no country in this world that does not suffer from racism. … But you have seen people who are dying to cross the border into America because they know that if they can get their foot on American soil, the trajectory of their lives will change — as it did for my father.”
While Ayala was open about being fully vaccinated and backed mask mandates in certain settings, Sears has refused to say whether or not she is vaccinated, opposes vaccine mandates and called for an end to the state’s mask mandate earlier this year. She has encouraged people to get vaccinated but said “no one should be forced to disclose their vaccination status.”
During the campaign’s last weeks, there was fiery debate over how race should be taught in Virginia’s public schools, particularly over the teaching of “critical race theory,” a concept that examines the extent to which longstanding systems in America have led to unequal outcomes for people of color. Although the state’s Department of Education denies that CRT is taught in public schools, the debate emerged as a key issue and is the latest flashpoint in Republican-promoted culture wars.
Sears has called the concept “racist” but also said the good and bad of American history should be taught.
“If Critical Race Theory means that telling a child that once you emerge from the womb you are a racist and a colonizer and whatever else, that’s not going to be good. That’s going to create morale problems for everybody,” Sears told the Virginia Mercury in August. “If we’re going to teach about African American history, why just keep it to one month? Let’s teach it throughout. Let’s talk about these things. You can’t escape history. Let’s talk about the good, the bad and the ugly.”
As the debate over teaching America’s dark past continues across the country, the legacy of last year’s protests over racial justice has also renewed national debates about policing, crime and gun violence, particularly in Virginia, which is still reeling from the 2019 Virginia Beach shooting that left 12 dead.
Sears has vowed to protect gun rights, opposes red flag laws, has voiced support for law enforcement and spoke of the need for “our police, Sheriff, corrections officers to keep our families and our neighborhoods safe.” She told CNN she would work with law enforcement and families who have experienced gun violence to “develop workable solutions” to balance her support for gun rights and stem gun violence.
Sandra Mason was elected late on Wednesday by a two-thirds vote of a joint session of the country’s House of Assembly and Senate. In a statement, the government called her appointment a milestone on its “road to republic.”
A former British colony that gained independence in 1966, the nation of just under 300,000 had long maintained ties with the United Kingdom’s monarchy.
But many Barbadians have long agitated to remove the Queen’s status — and with it, the lingering symbolic presence of imperialism over its governance. Multiple leaders this century have proposed that the country become a republic.
That will finally happen on November 30, the country’s 55th anniversary of independence from Britain, when Mason will be sworn in.
A former jurist who has been governor-general of the island since 2018, Mason was also the first woman to serve on the Barbados Court of Appeals.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called the election of a president “a seminal moment” in the country’s journey.
“We have just elected from among us a woman who is uniquely and passionately Barbadian, does not pretend to be anything else (and) reflects the values of who we are,” Mottley said after Mason’s election.
Several countries dropped the Queen as head of state in the years after they gained independence, with Mauritius the last to do so, in 1992. That makes Barbados the first country in nearly three decades to drop the monarch.
The Queen is still head of state in more than a dozen other countries that were formerly under British rule, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Jamaica.
Wazim Mowla of the Atlantic Council think tank told Reuters the election could benefit Barbados both at home and abroad.
The move makes Barbados, a small developing country, a more legitimate player in global politics, Mowla said, but could also serve as a “unifying and nationalistic move” that may benefit its current leadership at home.
“Other Caribbean leaders and their citizens will likely praise the move, but I don’t expect others to follow suit,” Mowla added. “This move will always be considered only if it is in the best interest of each country.”
Mottley said the country’s decision to become a republic was not a condemnation of its British past.
“We look forward to continuing the relationship with the British monarch,” she said.
