Tag Archives: plea

Sports

Yankees’ Luke Voit earns honors after plea for more playing time

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Luke Voit backed up his impassioned plea about earning more playing time with the Yankees by slugging his way to a weekly honor.

After declaring last week he “deserves to play just as much as [Anthony Rizzo] does,” Voit was named American League Player of the Week ahead of Monday’s game against the Braves in Atlanta.

Voit was not in the lineup despite earning the award by hitting .476 (10-for-21) with two home runs, 11 RBIs and a 1.427 OPS in six games — all victories for the Yankees, who entered this series with a nine-game winning streak.

“I mean, he’s playing great,” Yanks manager Aaron Boone said before the game. “I think the biggest thing is he’s healthy, and we know what kind of hitter he is when he’s healthy. He’s obviously gotten some big hits for us.

Luke Voit won AL honors for this week.
Bill Kostroun/New York Post

“In what was a very good week for us, he was right in the middle of a lot of that. So it’s just good to see. I feel like he’s taking better and better at-bats all the time. And just being healthy and we know, again, what he can do when he’s healthy.”

After leading the majors in home runs in 2020 — with 22 in the pandemic-shortened 60-game slate — Voit has appeared in just 42 games this season due to three IL stints due to knee or oblique ailments.

During his most recent sidelining, the Yanks acquired Rizzo from the Cubs ahead of the trade deadline, primarily to play first base. He got off to a strong start with three homers in his first nine games before landing on the COVID-19 injured list on Aug. 8.

When Rizzo was set to be activated last week, however, Voit declared “I’m not going down. I want to play and I deserve to play just as much as [Rizzo] does.” That confidence obviously has translated well since both players have been on the roster at the same time over the past week.

“I think Luke’s confident, even usually when he’s not going great,” Boone said. “He’s still usually very confident. He knows what he’s capable of at the plate.

“When he’s at his best, he controls his zone well and hits the ball hard. That’s a good combination if you’re a hitter. But there’s no question that he’s risen to the occasion, I think, as these games have become very important for us.”

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World

Not jamón it: Spanish minister’s eat less meat plea meets resistance | Spain

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To many Spaniards it was a sensible, responsible and rather overdue suggestion. But to others it was as heretical as a well-done steak, a lean slice of jamón or a barbecue of nothing but assorted veg.

This week Spain’s consumer affairs minister, Alberto Garzón, launched a campaign inviting people to consider reducing their meat consumption for the good of their health and the planet.

In a video he noted that Spain eats more meat than any other EU country, slaughtering 70 million pigs, cows, sheep, goats, horses and birds each year to produce 7.6m tonnes of meat. In a country facing rapid desertification in the coming decades, added Garzón, it made little sense to use 15,000 litres of water to raise each kilogram of meat.

He also pointed out that while the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition recommends people eat between 200g and 500g of meat a week, the average Spaniard puts away more than 1kg.

“This doesn’t mean that we can’t have a family barbecue from time to time, just that we do it with a bit more restraint and that we make up for the days we eat meat by having days where we eat more salad, rice, pulses and vegetables,” the minister said.

“Our health and the health of our families is at stake. Eating too much meat is bad for our health and for the planet.”

Garzón acknowledged that many people did not have the time or money to avoid cheap, meat-based meals. He also said meat from smaller farms was healthier and far more sustainable than that produced by huge megafarms, which he said had a detrimental effect on the environment and local economies.

And although he stressed that he was merely asking people to think about the personal and environmental consequences of what they ate, and not telling them what to do, his comments were swiftly criticised by a fellow minister in the coalition government and by the livestock sector.

Luis Planas, the minister for agriculture, fishing and food, told Cadena Ser radio that the farming sector was being subjected to “profoundly unfair criticisms when it deserved respect for the honest work it does for both our food and our economy”. He said meat consumption had been decreasing over the past 10 years until the start of the Covid pandemic.

Six meat-producing associations wrote an open letter to Garzón saying they were stunned to see him and his ministry waging a campaign that “defamed” a sector that accounts for 2.5 million jobs and exports worth almost €9bn.

Asked for his thoughts on the campaign, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, appeared to side with his agriculture minister, saying: “Speaking personally, a medium-rare steak is hard to beat.”

Others, meanwhile, struggled to see exactly what all the fuss was about. “Eating less meat is better for your health and better for the environment,” tweeted the Spanish food journalist Mikel López Iturriaga. “You can stuff your face with all the steak you want, but don’t get huffy because a minister tells you exactly the same thing as the World Health Organization, other institutions and countless other scientific experts in the field.”

In any case, he added, there was no need to resort to “eating kale with quinoa and chia”, thanks to Spain’s long and rich history of vegetarian dishes and others that use minimal meat. “Traditional Spanish cooking is full of dishes that contain very little or no meat: gazpachos, tortillas, rice dishes, pulses, pistos, salads, vegetables … Give those a go and you’ll be doing yourself and the planet a favour.”



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US

Trump’s cash plea could complicate GOP fundraising efforts

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — “Trump needs you,” one fundraising email implored.

“President Trump’s Legacy is in your hands,” another pleaded.

Others advertised “Miss Me Yet?” T-shirts featuring Donald Trump’s smiling face.

While some Republicans grapple with how fiercely to embrace the former president, the organizations charged with raising money for the party are going all in. The Republican National Committee and the party’s congressional campaign arms are eager to cash in on Trump’s lure with small donors ahead of next year’s midterm elections, when the GOP hopes to regain control of at least one chamber of Congress.

But there’s a problem: Trump himself. In his first speech since leaving office, the former president encouraged loyalists to give directly to him, essentially bypassing the traditional groups that raise money for GOP candidates.

“There’s only one way to contribute to our efforts to elect ‘America First’ Republican conservatives and, in turn, to make America great again,” Trump said Sunday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida. “And that’s through Save America PAC and donaldjtrump.com.”

The comment was particularly notable because Trump is generally loath to ask for money in person. It amounts to the latest salvo in the battle to shape the future of the GOP, with Trump making clear that he holds no allegiance to the party’s traditional fundraising operation as he tries to consolidate power.

That could help him add to an already commanding war chest, aiding his effort to influence the party. Save America has more than $80 million cash on hand, including $3 million raised after the CPAC speech, according to a person familiar with the total.

Some of that money could help Trump settle scores with incumbent members of Congress who have crossed him. In his Sunday speech, Trump read aloud the names of every Republican who voted against him and called for them to be defeated. He’s already endorsed a Republican challenger to GOP Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, who voted to impeach him over the U.S. Capitol riot.

“Trump’s call to give directly to him shows that the normal organs of the party … are going to have to fight for relevance in the 2022 cycle,” said Dan Eberhart, a longtime Republican donor who has given large sums to all three as well as to Trump’s campaign.

Bill Palatucci, a RNC member from New Jersey, called Trump’s comments “unwelcome” and “counterproductive” and voiced concern that the GOP would suffer further losses, like Georgia’ Senate runoff elections in January, if they don’t work together.

“Listen it’s a free country. Anybody can form a federal PAC or a super PAC and there’s always lots of competition for dollars. But the crossing the line there is then to also tell people to not give to the important committees of the national party,” said Palatucci. “There’s got to be a willingness on the former president to look beyond his own self-interest.”

The RNC and spokespeople for the House and Senate campaign committees declined to comment. But others sought to downplay the apparent tensions. They noted, for instance, that Trump is scheduled to speak at the RNC’s spring donor retreat — a major fundraising source — in April in Palm Beach.

And Trump told the party’s chair, Ronna McDaniel, in recent days that he wants to continue fundraising for the RNC, according to a person briefed on the conversation who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private conversations.

Before making his money pitch on Sunday, Trump’s team quietly updated its fundraising filings. They converted his Save America leadership PAC to an entity that can also support other candidates, and turned his main Donald J. Trump for President campaign committee into the Make America Great Again, or MAGAPac. Money raised through Trump’s website now goes to Save America JFC, a joint fundraising agreement between the two.

While Trump left office as a deeply unpopular figure, he remains a powerful draw for small-dollar, grassroots donors, a reality that has been abundantly clear in fundraising appeals over the last week.

Over the course of a single hour last Thursday, the RNC, both GOP congressional campaign committees and the Republican State Leadership Committee, which tries to elect Republicans to state office, blasted supporters with urgent fundraising appeals that included urgent references to Trump.

And the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned this week that its “limited edition” T-shirts featuring Trump were almost sold out.

Regardless of Trump’s next move, the GOP is unlikely to remove him from its sales pitch anytime soon.

“Our digital fundraising strategy is simple: raise as much money as possible,” said Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for the RSLC.

Read original article here

US

Trump’s cash plea could complicate GOP fundraising efforts

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — “Trump needs you,” one fundraising email implored.

“President Trump’s Legacy is in your hands,” another pleaded.

Others advertised “Miss Me Yet?” T-shirts featuring Donald Trump’s smiling face.

While some Republicans grapple with how fiercely to embrace the former president, the organizations charged with raising money for the party are going all in. The Republican National Committee and the party’s congressional campaign arms are eager to cash in on Trump’s lure with small donors ahead of next year’s midterm elections, when the GOP hopes to regain control of at least one chamber of Congress.

But there’s a problem: Trump himself. In his first speech since leaving office, the former president encouraged loyalists to give directly to him, essentially bypassing the traditional groups that raise money for GOP candidates.

“There’s only one way to contribute to our efforts to elect ‘America First’ Republican conservatives and, in turn, to make America great again,” Trump said Sunday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida. “And that’s through Save America PAC and donaldjtrump.com.”

The comment was particularly notable because Trump is generally loath to ask for money in person. It amounts to the latest salvo in the battle to shape the future of the GOP, with Trump making clear that he holds no allegiance to the party’s traditional fundraising operation as he tries to consolidate power.

That could help him add to an already commanding war chest, aiding his effort to influence the party. Save America has more than $80 million cash on hand, including $3 million raised after the CPAC speech, according to a person familiar with the total.

Some of that money could help Trump settle scores with incumbent members of Congress who have crossed him. In his Sunday speech, Trump read aloud the names of every Republican who voted against him and called for them to be defeated. He’s already endorsed a Republican challenger to GOP Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, who voted to impeach Trump over the U.S. Capitol riot.

“Trump’s call to give directly to him shows that the normal organs of the party … are going to have to fight for relevance in the 2022 cycle,” said Dan Eberhart, a longtime Republican donor who has given large sums to all three as well as to Trump’s campaign.

Bill Palatucci, a RNC member from New Jersey, called Trump’s comments “unwelcome” and “counterproductive” and voiced concern that the GOP would suffer further losses, like Georgia’ Senate runoff elections in January, if they don’t work together.

“Listen it’s a free country. Anybody can form a federal PAC or a super PAC and there’s always lots of competition for dollars. But the crossing the line there is then to also tell people to not give to the important committees of the national party,” said Palatucci. “There’s got to be a willingness on the former president to look beyond his own self-interest.”

The RNC and spokespeople for the House and Senate campaign committees declined to comment. But others sought to downplay the apparent tensions. They noted, for instance, that Trump is scheduled to speak at the RNC’s spring donor retreat — a major fundraising source — in April in Palm Beach.

And Trump told the party’s chair, Ronna McDaniel, in recent days that he wants to continue fundraising for the RNC, according to a person briefed on the conversation who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private conversations.

Before making his money pitch on Sunday, Trump’s team quietly updated its fundraising filings. They converted his Save America leadership PAC to an entity that can also support other candidates, and turned his main Donald J. Trump for President campaign committee into the Make America Great Again, or MAGAPac. Money raised through Trump’s website now goes to Save America JFC, a joint fundraising agreement between the two.

While Trump left office as a deeply unpopular figure, he remains a powerful draw for small-dollar, grassroots donors, a reality that has been abundantly clear in fundraising appeals over the last week.

Over the course of a single hour last Thursday, the RNC, both GOP congressional campaign committees and the Republican State Leadership Committee, which tries to elect Republicans to state office, blasted supporters with urgent fundraising appeals that included urgent references to Trump.

And the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned this week that its “limited edition” T-shirts featuring Trump were almost sold out.

Regardless of Trump’s next move, the GOP is unlikely to remove him from its sales pitch anytime soon.

“Our digital fundraising strategy is simple: raise as much money as possible,” said Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for the RSLC.

Read original article here

US

Trump’s cash plea could complicate GOP fundraising efforts

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — “Trump needs you,” one fundraising email implored.

“President Trump’s Legacy is in your hands,” another pleaded.

Others advertised “Miss Me Yet?” T-shirts featuring Donald Trump’s smiling face.

While some Republicans grapple with how fiercely to embrace the former president, the organizations charged with raising money for the party are going all in. The Republican National Committee and the party’s congressional campaign arms are eager to cash in on Trump’s lure with small donors ahead of next year’s midterm elections, when the GOP hopes to regain control of at least one chamber of Congress.

But there’s a problem: Trump himself. In his first speech since leaving office, the former president encouraged loyalists to give directly to him, essentially bypassing the traditional groups that raise money for GOP candidates.

“There’s only one way to contribute to our efforts to elect ‘America First’ Republican conservatives and, in turn, to make America great again,” Trump said Sunday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida. “And that’s through Save America PAC and donaldjtrump.com.”

The comment was particularly notable because Trump is generally loath to ask for money in person. It amounts to the latest salvo in the battle to shape the future of the GOP, with Trump making clear that he holds no allegiance to the party’s traditional fundraising operation as he tries to consolidate power.

That could help him add to an already commanding war chest, aiding his effort to influence the party. Save America has more than $80 million cash on hand, including $3 million raised after the CPAC speech, according to a person familiar with the total.

Some of that money could help Trump settle scores with incumbent members of Congress who have crossed him. In his Sunday speech, Trump read aloud the names of every Republican who voted against him and called for them to be defeated. He’s already endorsed a Republican challenger to GOP Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, who voted to impeach Trump over the U.S. Capitol riot.

“Trump’s call to give directly to him shows that the normal organs of the party … are going to have to fight for relevance in the 2022 cycle,” said Dan Eberhart, a longtime Republican donor who has given large sums to all three as well as to Trump’s campaign.

Bill Palatucci, a RNC member from New Jersey, called Trump’s comments “unwelcome” and “counterproductive” and voiced concern that the GOP would suffer further losses, like Georgia’ Senate runoff elections in January, if they don’t work together.

“Listen it’s a free country. Anybody can form a federal PAC or a super PAC and there’s always lots of competition for dollars. But the crossing the line there is then to also tell people to not give to the important committees of the national party,” said Palatucci. “There’s got to be a willingness on the former president to look beyond his own self-interest.”

The RNC and spokespeople for the House and Senate campaign committees declined to comment. But others sought to downplay the apparent tensions. They noted, for instance, that Trump is scheduled to speak at the RNC’s spring donor retreat — a major fundraising source — in April in Palm Beach.

And Trump told the party’s chair, Ronna McDaniel, in recent days that he wants to continue fundraising for the RNC, according to a person briefed on the conversation who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private conversations.

Before making his money pitch on Sunday, Trump’s team quietly updated its fundraising filings. They converted his Save America leadership PAC to an entity that can also support other candidates, and turned his main Donald J. Trump for President campaign committee into the Make America Great Again, or MAGAPac. Money raised through Trump’s website now goes to Save America JFC, a joint fundraising agreement between the two.

While Trump left office as a deeply unpopular figure, he remains a powerful draw for small-dollar, grassroots donors, a reality that has been abundantly clear in fundraising appeals over the last week.

Over the course of a single hour last Thursday, the RNC, both GOP congressional campaign committees and the Republican State Leadership Committee, which tries to elect Republicans to state office, blasted supporters with urgent fundraising appeals that included urgent references to Trump.

And the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned this week that its “limited edition” T-shirts featuring Trump were almost sold out.

Regardless of Trump’s next move, the GOP is unlikely to remove him from its sales pitch anytime soon.

“Our digital fundraising strategy is simple: raise as much money as possible,” said Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for the RSLC.

Read original article here

Entertainment

Rod Stewart, son Sean reach plea deal over Florida altercation

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Rod Stewart is wrapping up his legal drama.

Stewart and his son, Sean, were accused of battering a security guard at a Florida hotel on New Year’s Day 2020 when the guard barred the rocker and his son from entering a party they weren’t allowed to attend.

The guard, Jessie Dixon, alleged that Sean pushed him while the “Maggie May” singer punched him after he found the two of them and their family at a check-in table for a private party at The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach.

Misdemeanor battery charges were brought against the two, though they will now avoid trial thanks to the plea deal, the South Florida SunSentinel reported. The terms of the deal were not released.

ROD STEWART, SON SEAN ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN NEW YEAR’S EVE ALTERCATION WITH RESORT EMPLOYEE, REPORT SAYS

Dixon said that Stewart, now 76, and his group were making a scene and he placed his hand on Sean’s chest, telling him to make space during the altercation, according to the SunSentinel.

Rod Stewart (left) and his son Sean Stewart (right) have reached a plea deal in the case of misdemeanor battery charges brought against them following an altercation in a Florida hotel. (Photo by Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Sean then allegedly got “nose to nose” with the guard and shoved him. Next came the rock star’s alleged punch to Dixon’s “left rib cage area,” according to a police report.

The police report also stated that Sean became agitated when Dixon blocked his family from attending the event “due to Dixon’s interaction with him and his family.”

ROD STEWART ACCUSES ELTON JOHN OF SNUBBING HIS EFFORTS TO HEAL RIFT: ‘BIG FALLING OUT’

Security footage of the incident led Palm Beach officer Stephen Mancino to determine that the Stewarts were the “primary aggressors” in the incident.

Additionally, two hotel employees said that they witnessed Sean push the guard.

Dixon signed an affidavit indicating he would press charges against the rocker and his son.

Rod Stewart was accused of punching a security guard after his son shoved the same guard. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)

The police report said that Stewart “apologized for his behavior in the incident.”

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Reps for Stewart did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

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At the time, a source close to the star told Page Six that the incident “was an unfortunate quick, brief misunderstanding and they apologized. No one was detained and there were no injuries.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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