Ingested Articles

Tyler Naquin hit another leadoff home run and the high-scoring Cincinnati Reds kept rolling, backing Luis Castillo to rout the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-4 for their fifth straight win. The Reds have started a season 5-1 for the first time since 2016. They outscored the Pirates 30-8 in the three-game series sweep. Their 56 runs are the most in Reds franchise history through the first six games of a season. The 1976 Big Red Machine scored 51 en route to a second straight championship.  Naquin hit a leadoff homer for the second straight day. Nick Castellanos, Tyler Stephenson and Aristides Aquino also homered for the Reds.

A former American priest who saved lives during East Timor’s struggle for independence is standing trial over accusations he sexually abused girls who lived at a shelter he founded in the Asian country. Richard Daschbach established the shelter decades ago for orphans and other destitute children. The 84-year-old from Pennsylvania is revered in the impoverished village where he worked in East Timor for his actions during the country's fight for independence, at one point leading a ragtag group armed with spears to stave off attackers. Daschbach faces 14 counts of child sexual abuse, one count of child pornography, and one count of domestic violence. 

Virginia has become the first Southern state to legalize marijuana. Lawmakers voted Wednesday to approve Gov. Ralph Northam’s proposed changes to a bill to allow adults in Virginia to possess and cultivate small amounts starting in July. Northam sent the bill back to lawmakers substantially changed from the version they sent him in February. The amendments lawmakers agreed to Wednesday would accelerate the timeline of legalization by about three years. It will be years before legal retail sales follow legalized possession. The legislation lays out a complex process of creating a new state agency to oversee the marijuana marketplace, with sales beginning in 2024.

The defense attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer on trial in the death of George Floyd has tried to show that Floyd yelled “I ate too many drugs” as officers pinned him to the ground. Attorney Eric Nelson didn’t get the clear confirmation he was seeking. But he may have planted a seed in jurors’ minds anyway as he seeks to sow reasonable doubt about the prosecution’s case against Derek Chauvin. His strategy includes deflecting responsibility away from Chauvin and onto Floyd himself. One witness couldn't tell from a clip what Floyd said. Another initially agreed with the defense, but after hearing the clip again concluded Floyd said, “I ain’t do no drugs.”

Atlanta pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval drove a two-run homer to the deepest part of the ballpark off a Washington reliever who took over after Stephen Strasburg’s six scoreless innings to lift the Braves to a 2-0 victory over the Nationals and a doubleheader sweep. In the opener, Ronald Acuña Jr. led the way with a double and a pair of singles to help Atlanta snap a season-starting four-game losing streak by edging Washington 7-6. Sandoval, the 2012 World Series MVP for San Francisco, signed a minor league contract in January with the Braves, setting him for a one-year, $1 million deal if he made the 40-man roster. 

The main character of Oliver Hermanus’ shattering “Moffie," set in 1981 South Africa, is a handsome, white 18-year-old. In the country's system of apartheid, he is a member of the ruling class, but he's no insider. Shy, timid and closeted,…

The most surprising thing about “ Voyagers,” a sci-fi thriller about a group of young adults who have been tasked with travelling to and repopulating a new planet, is that it isn’t based on a Young Adult book series. Writer…

No one needed to see the colorful blooms at Augusta National to realize this will be a much different Masters than the last one. The greens looked yellow. And it was only Wednesday. The Masters that was held in November because of the pandemic is a distant memory. Excitement for the first major of the year was mixed with trepidation because of the conditions. The course is usually not this tough until the weekend. The wild card is what the weather brings. But it figures to be far different from when Dustin Johnson won last time at 20-under par.

The Biden administration and allies in the states are combating vaccine hesitancy among older Americans, one person at a time. The vaccination rate for this top-priority group is reaching a plateau even as virus supplies have dramatically expanded. Federal officials say about 76% of Americans aged 65 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines. But the rate of new vaccinations among the group has slowed in recent week. It’s a growing source of concern, not only because of the potential for preventable deaths and serious illness among seniors, but also for what it could portend for the broader population.  

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two House Republicans are demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency provide records related to a decision by the agency's new leader to remove dozens of scientists and other experts from two key advisory boards. EPA Administrator Michael…

Arizona has parted ways with men’s basketball coach Sean Miller as the program awaits its fate in an NCAA infractions investigation. The school announced Miller will be leaving the program and associate head coach Jack Murphy will serve as interim head coach. Miller and the Wildcats have been in the NCAA’s crosshairs since being ensnared in a 2017 FBI investigation into shady recruiting practices. The NCAA issued a Notice of Allegations last year and the case is currently going through the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. Arizona issued a self-imposed postseason ban this year and finished 17-9.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a resumption of U.S. assistance to the Palestinians, including to the U.N. agency that deals with Palestinian refugees, nearly all of which had been eliminated by former President Donald Trump. The…

President Joe Biden will unveil a series of executive actions aimed at addressing gun violence on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the plans, delivering his first major action on gun control since taking office. He’s also expected to nominate David Chipman, a former federal agent and adviser at the gun control group Giffords, to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. If confirmed, Chipman would be the agency’s first permanent director since 2015. Biden is expected to announce tighter regulations requiring buyers of homemade “ghost guns” to undergo background checks.