Author: Gulf News Week

NEW YORK (news agencies) — Jeff McNeil, arms clasped behind his back, tossed his bat and shouted toward the New York Mets dugout, starting up the first base line as his go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning off Luke Weaver sailed into the second deck at Citi Field.Twenty-five minutes later, the second baseman sprinted a half-dozen steps to his left, sprawled onto the outfield grass and with an outstretched glove angled toward the right-field corner snagged DJ LeMahieu’s one-hopper. McNeil popped to his feet and threw to first for the second out of the ninth.“The homer was sick,” McNeil…

SEATTLE (news agencies) — On the spot, Cal Raleigh compiled a laundry list of players he would consider for a Mount Rushmore of Seattle Mariners following their 6-0 victory over Pittsburgh on Friday.Ichiro was one of the first names off the board, followed by the likes of stud starting pitchers Felix Hernandez and Randy Johnson. When identifying who is the face of the Mariners, though, Raleigh immediately landed on Ken Griffey Jr., who he tied for the franchise record for home runs before the All-Star break with 35 with a pair of blasts.“To be mentioned with that name, somebody that’s…

CHICAGO (news agencies) — Michael Busch and the Chicago Cubs turned their holiday into a home run.Eight of them, to be exact.Busch hit three longballs, Pete Crow-Armstrong connected twice and the Cubs went deep a franchise-record eight times to hammer the St. Louis Cardinals 11-3 on Friday for their fourth straight victory.“It was just a fun game to be a part of,” Busch said. “Baseball is kind of a July Fourth kind of deal and especially to do it in Wrigley Field and have just so much excitement in the game — that was one I’ll never forget.”The fireworks started…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — President Donald Trump is getting praise from his most ardent supporters for withholding some weapons from Ukraine after they recently questioned the Republican leader’s commitment to keeping the U.S. out of foreign conflicts.This week’s announcement pausing deliveries of key air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other equipment to Ukraine comes just a few weeks after Trump ordered the U.S. military to carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Bombing those sites in Iran had some hardcore supporters of the “Make America Great Again” movement openly questioning whether Trump was betraying his vow to keep America out…

LONDON (news agencies) — Carlos Alcaraz kept his Wimbledon three-peat campaign chugging along by beating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court on Friday to reach the fourth round.Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 21 matches overall and 17 consecutive victories at the All England Club, where he has won the past two titles.The five-time Grand Slam champion shook off a second-set wobble with an early break and by dropping only four points on his serve in the third set.Struff held tough but Alcaraz broke for a 5-4 lead in the fourth set and served out the victory.___news…

Brazil’s Fluminense earn hard-fought 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal to book place in semifinals.Substitute Hercules scored his second goal in as many second-half appearances to send Fluminense into the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals with a 2-1 quarterfinal win over Al Hilal in Orlando, Florida. The tournament underdogs struck first on Friday through Matheus Martinelli in the first half before Al Hilal hit back after the break when Marcus Leonardo found the net. But Fluminense refused to be denied and regained their lead in the 70th minute through Hercules to secure a memorable win over Al Hilal in…

Palestinian group’s reply boosts chances of 60-day Gaza ceasefire, but Israel hasn’t responded publicly to the proposal.Palestinian group Hamas says it has given a “positive” response to a United States-brokered proposal for a Gaza ceasefire, raising hopes of a possible breakthrough in halting Israel’s deadly offensive. US President Donald Trump earlier announced a “final proposal” for a 60-day truce in the nearly 21-month-old war, stating he anticipated a reply from the parties in the coming hours. Hamas said late on Friday that the group had submitted its reply to Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating the talks. “The movement [Hamas]…

PHILADELPHIA (news agencies) — Rapper LL Cool J and R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan say they will not perform at a Fourth of July festival in Philadelphia in support of a strike by nearly 10,000 city workers in Philadelphia.LL Cool J had been scheduled to appear at the Wawa Welcome America Festival on Friday, along with Sullivan and other performers. LL Cool J said in a video posted on social media that “there’s absolutely no way that I can perform, cross a picket line and pick up money when I know that people are out there fighting for a living wage.”“I…

NUUK, Greenland (news agencies) — Greenland has a message for the rest of the world: We’re waiting for you.“Come visit Greenland,” said Nukartaa Andreassen, who works for a water taxi company in the capital city, Nuuk. “Learn about it, learn about us. We love to have you. We love to tell our stories and our culture.”The mineral-rich Arctic island is open for tourism. Whale-watching tours, excursions to the iconic puffin island and guided charters through remote settlements are just the beginning of what Greenland has to offer visitors. Locals want to show what makes the island unique beyond a recent…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — Republicans muscled President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cut bill through the House on Thursday, the final step necessary to get the bill to his desk by the GOP’s self-imposed deadline of July 4th. At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. Democrats united against the legislation, but were powerless to stop it as long as Republicans stayed united. The Senate passed the bill, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote. The House passed an…