John Antonoff/Chicago Sun-TimesPederson has a career .576 OPS against left-handed pitching, but the Cubs are going to give him a chance to play everyday. Joc Pederson wants to shed some of the labels attached to him after seven seasons with the Dodgers. There weren’t many teams that would allow him to do that going into free agency during the offseason, but after looking over some rosters late one night, the Cubs looked like a hand-in-glove fit. Following the departure of Kyle Schwarber, the Cubs had an opening in their outfield, and after an increase in the team’s budget, they signed Pederson to a one-year, $7 million deal to be the Cubs’ primary left fielder. Pederson, 28, had other multi-year deals on the table, but the Cubs were the only team that would give him a chance to be an ev

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 26, 2021, in Orlando, Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesCawthorn has denied the allegations; more than three dozen people told BuzzFeed News they are true. Several women who are former college classmates of Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against the representative, dating back to their days together at Patrick Henry College, according to a BuzzFeed News report. The report describes incidences of Cawthorn inappropriately touching and kissing women at the small Virginia school, and taking them for “terrifying” rides alone in his car on the backroads around campus. The report also recounts Cawthorn verbally harassing many of his

Each year, IndieWire partners with MIT’s Open Documentary Lab to offer a deeper look at Sundance’s New Frontiers work. Here, Master’s Candidate Andrea S. Kim highlights the innovative use of browser-based media by Black storytellers, which are still accessible at the links provided in the article. While the idea of extended reality (XR) may evoke traditions of cyberpunk dystopias, at this year’s Sundance New Frontiers, five Black storytellers were leading a shift to place cultural memory and ancestral knowledge at the center of designing collective futures. “Secret Garden” and “Traveling the Intertitium with Octavia Butler” are exemplary pieces that leverage interactive, browser-based media (WebXR) to challenge our current notions of futurity while also demonstrating the potential for XR w

Summary List PlacementCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau indicated he's looking forward to fortifying the country's relationship with the United States now that President Joe Biden is in office.  "It's great to see America re-engage" on the global sphere again, Trudeau said in early remarks from a forthcoming interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press." When asked by "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd about global policy initiatives Trudeau expects the Biden administration to push forward, Trudeau said Canada and the United States will have to "work together" on several issues, including climate change and solidifying the middle class.  "And of course as a Canadian, I believe that we all need to work together in a more active way, and I'm glad to see the new administration — this is som...

Alex and Gracie Faulkner walk their dog Henry at the Montrose Dog Beach in the Uptown neighborhood Saturday as temperatures rise to 50 degrees. | Pat Nabong/Sun-TimesPeople across the city came out from hibernation Saturday as temperatures hit 50 degrees to help thaw Chicago out of a brutal February. After below-freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall troubled Chicagoans for most of February, winter-weary residents breathed a collective sigh of relief Saturday as the city enjoyed its warmest day of the year. The Lakefront trail was flooded with runners, walkers and cyclists who were basking in the sun on the first weekend since the lakefront was officially reopened from Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s coronavirus shutdown. With temperatures reaching a balmy 50 degrees, some broke out their shorts

Thousands of Marin teachers and other school staff could be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by spring break, if a new “vaccine super-pods” plan goes forward as expected. “We’re hoping to have vaccine super-pods of 12-hour days, with 2,000 shots a day,” Mary Jane Burke, Marin superintendent of schools, said Friday. Tentative dates for the mass vaccination events are March 6, 13,  27 and April 3 at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael. The latter two events would be for the second doses of the vaccine. “if this works out, we could have everyone done before spring break,” Burke said. County schools have a spring vacation set the week of April 5-9. “We’ll be using all our school volunteers to help,” Burke said. “Somewhere between 200 and 400 people.” Dr. Matt Willis, Marin public heal

Pharmacist Mike Ruane talks to patients who signed up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine during a drive-thru clinic at Scranton High School in Scranton, Pa., Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. | Sean McKeag/The Citizens’ Voice via APAfter a year of struggling to boost testing, communities across the country are seeing plummeting demand, shuttering testing sites or even trying to return supplies. WASHINGTON — Just five weeks ago, Los Angeles County was conducting more than 350,000 weekly coronavirus tests, including at a massive drive-thru site at Dodger Stadium, as health workers raced to contain the worst COVID-19 hotspot in the U.S. Now, county officials say testing has nearly collapsed. More than 180 government-supported sites are operating at only a third of their capacity. “It’s shocking how quickly

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — One of Rockies outfielder Sam Hilliard’s goals is to cut down on strikeouts, which soared to 36.8% during last year’s shortened season. Hilliard should turn to all-star shortstop Trevor Story for some tips. Story made an immediate impact as a rookie in 2016, slugging 27 homers in 97 games before his season ended because of a thumb injury. Still, he struck out in 31.3% of his plate appearance that season, and that number rose to 34.4% in 2017. Since then, however, Story’s K-rate has come down (25.6% in 2018, 26.5% in ’19 and, 24.3% in ’20) but he’s still been able to hit for power. “A lot of times it’s about not missing your pitch early in the count,” Story said. “For me, it was being consistent in the tempo of my load, and controlling my effort level. “With Sam, probabl

Coloradans age 60 to 64 and people with two or more chronic health conditions will be able to get their COVID-19 vaccines starting March 5 in the Phase 1B.3 rollout, according to state mandate. About 1 million people will be in the phase, which includes those with two or more chronic health conditions, people who are 60 or older and frontline workers in grocery stores or agriculture. The state’s list of health conditions that qualify people for early vaccination includes: Cancer (patients who are currently receiving treatment or have received treatment within the last month for cancer)  Chronic kidney disease COPD Diabetes mellitus (types 1 and 2) Down syndrome Specific heart conditions (heart failure, cardiomyopathies or coronary heart disease, and severe valvular/congenital heart disea...

Summary List PlacementA healthcare provider in California has been barred from distributing the COVID-19 vaccination after its staffers admitted to giving it to young people ahead of older groups more susceptible to the disease. California is currently vaccinating people who are 65 years of age or older.   Dozens of ineligible people in five California counties received the vaccination from One Medical staffers, ABC News reported. The figure comes after Forbes reported in early February that One Medical staffers in Los Angeles did not verify the credentials of people who said they were healthcare workers.  NPR previously reported that leaked internal communications show the provider flouted eligibility guidelines for recipients, some of whom were directly connected to One Medical's top ...