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Hall of Famer manager Tony La Russa's second stint with the Chicago White Sox is off to a bumpy start. And a decision during a 1-0 loss at Cincinnati will only raise more doubts about whether he is the right person for the job. La Russa acknowledged he was unaware of a rule that would have allowed him to use José Abreu as the automatic runner at second base rather than closer Liam Hendriks in the 10th inning. La Russa says ““I’ll re-read that situation.” The pandemic rule states the runner must be the batter preceding that inning’s leadoff hitter, but there is an exception if it would be the pitcher.

The South Carolina House has voted to add the firing squad to the state's execution methods amid a lack of lethal-injection drugs. The chamber’s 66-43 vote Wednesday is one of the last steps needed to finalize the bill. The measure is meant to jump-start executions in a state that used to have one of the busiest death chambers in the country. The last execution was carried out 10 years ago. The bill requires death row inmates to choose between the firing squad and the electric chair if lethal- injection drugs aren't available.

First lady Jill Biden spoke at a Salt Lake City school as the U.S. makes uneven progress toward reopening classrooms during the coronavirus pandemic. On Wednesday she visited Glendale Middle School, which serves a diverse student body and returned to in-person instruction a few months ago. The stop is part of a swing through the U.S. West that also includes Nevada and Colorado. Biden visited with a few students and later spoke to a group of teachers in an auditorium where she thanked them for their work during the pandemic. She also stressed the Biden administration’s commitment to investing in education.

The Republican candidates for governor in Virginia have found themselves in the unusual position of appealing to be the second choice of voters at the party's nominating convention on Saturday. The convention is relying on ranked-choice voting, which requires delegates to rank the seven candidates from top to bottom. Poor performers are eliminated and those votes are reallocated to second choices. The top candidates are Amanda Chase, Kirk Cox, Pete Snyder and Glenn Youngkin. With no clear frontrunner, candidates will need second-choice votes, and some are explicitly asking to be the delegates' No. 2. 

The Milwaukee Brewers have joined the list of Major League Baseball teams to have at least 85% of players, coaches and Tier 1 employees vaccinated. MLB announced before the season it would relax pandemic-related protocols for teams that reached that 85% threshold for vaccination. Manager Craig Counsell and pitcher Brandon Woodruff talked during the Brewers’ pregame Zoom sessions with reporters about how their protocols had been relaxed. One of the major changes for teams that reach the 85% vaccination mark is they are no longer required to wear masks in the dugout. MLB announced at the end of April that nine teams had reached an 85% vaccination rate.

Chelsea ensured a turbulent season will end in a Champions League final by making the competition’s most successful team look ordinary. Timo Werner and Mason Mount clinched a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid that ousted the record 13-time European champions 3-1 on aggregate. It will be an all-English final against Manchester City. But the Premier League rivals will have to fly four hours to play the UEFA showpiece on May 29 in Istanbul which is currently in a coronavirus lockdown. Getting a shot at adding to its 2012 Champions League title will vindicate Chelsea’s decision in January to fire club great Frank Lampard and hire Thomas Tuchel.

SpaceX has finally launched and successfully landed its futuristic Starship. The full-scale, stainless steel, bullet-shaped rocketship blasted off from the southeastern tip of Texas on Wednesday in the company's latest test flight. It soared more than 6 miles, before flipping and descending horizontally. It then went vertical again just in time for touchdown. A fire at the base of the rocket quickly was extinguished, and the rocket remained standing. It was the fifth high-altitude test flight of the rocketship that SpaceX's Elon Musk plans to use to land astronauts on the moon and send people to Mars.    

The firing of the former Atlanta police officer who’s charged with murder in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks has been reversed. Garrett Rolfe was fired in June, a day after he shot Brooks in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. The Atlanta Civil Service Board on Wednesday released its decision on Rolfe’s appeal of his firing. Based on the city's failure to comply with some provisions of its code and on witness testimony, the board says it concluded Rolfe wasn't given due process before he was fired.

U.S. officials say the Army plans to put a civilian in charge of the command that conducts criminal investigations, in response to widespread criticism that the unit is understaffed, overwhelmed and filled with inexperienced investigators. Officials familiar with the decision tell The Associated Press the decision reflects recommendations made by an independent commission in the wake of violent crimes and murders at Fort Hood, Texas, including the death of Vanessa Guillén, whose remains were found about two months after she was killed.

NASCAR's first new car in seven years has finally arrived. The Next Gen has been designed with competition, cost containment and manufacturer relevance in mind. It was first proposed in 2018 and expected to debut this season before the pandemic delayed it until next year. The car is a collaboration between NASCAR and its stakeholders. Its design will closely resemble the showroom version of the manufacturer models and include modern upgrades found on street cars. The Next Gen will also allow NASCAR to eventually shift to hybrid technology that could encourage new manufacturers to enter the sport. 

Many Broadway productions are scrambling to resume ticket sales in the coming days to welcome theater-goers this fall after city and state leaders have green-lit a reopening of the Great White Way at full capacity. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says Broadway theaters can reopen Sept. 14 and will be allowed to decide their own entry requirements, like whether people must prove they’ve been vaccinated to attend a show. Selling tickets will allow theaters to gauge interest before stages open, said Robert Mujica, Cuomo’s budget director. The Broadway that reopens will look different, with “Frozen” and “Mean Girls” deciding not to restart.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are revising key sections of their sweeping legislation to overhaul U.S. elections, hoping to address concerns raised by state and local election officials even as they face daunting odds of passing the bill through Congress. The…

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its authority when it imposed a federal eviction moratorium. The Justice Department said it would appeal the ruling from the U.S. District Court…

Baltimore Orioles left-hander John Means has not allowed a hit to the Seattle Mariners through eight innings. Means has faced the minimum and allowed just one base runner. Sam Haggerty struck out swinging in the third inning, but reached first when the pitch in the dirt bounced away from catcher Pedro Severino. Haggerty wasn’t on base long, getting thrown out attempting to steal second. Means has struck out seven and induced weak contact when the Mariners have put the ball in play.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Setting foot in a restaurant for his first time as president, Joe Biden made a Cinco de Mayo taco and enchilada run to highlight his administration’s $28.6 billion program to help eateries that lost business because of…

The Justice Department’s massive prosecution of those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has not been without its problems, including a potential instance of mistaken identity. The home of an Alaska woman was raided by agents who did not arrest her, and she says she was wrongly identified. She said the agents told her they were looking for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop. As Republicans are increasingly seeking to minimize the insurrection and play down the horror of that day, any missteps by federal prosecutors could be used in that effort to discredit what actually happened.