The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called off the Wednesday February 28 2024 protest.
This is as organised labour revealed that the seven days initial ultimatum given to the federal government has been extended by another seven days to elapse on March 13, 2024.
The NLC President Joe Ajaero disclosed this at the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja to ascertain the successful execution of the Tuesday nationwide protest.
Disclosing the outcome of the meeting, Ajaero said that the NEC in session has resolved to shelve tomorrow’s protest.
He said, “NLC to suspend street action for the second day of the Protest having achieved overwhelming success thus attained the key objectives of the 2-day protest on the first day
“However, nationwide action continues tomorrow with simultaneous press conferences across all the states of the federation by the state councils of the Congress, including the national headquarters.
“To reaffirm and extend the 7-day ultimatum by another 7 days which now expires on the 13th day of March 2024 within which the government is expected to implement all the earlier agreement of the 2nd day of October 2023 and other demands presented in our letter during today’s nationwide protest.
“To meet and decide on further lines of action if the expiration of the 14 days Government refuses to comply with the demands as contained in the ultimatum”.
THEWHISTLER reported that the NLC stormed the National Assembly in Abuja to press their demands on the hardship caused by the devaluation of the naira and the removal of fuel subsidy.
NLC Suspends Protest, Extends Strike Ultimatum To March 13 is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
An international study of around 99 million people confirmed known serious side effects of COVID-19 vaccination. It also identified a possible relationship between the first dose of the Moderna vaccine and a small risk of a neurological condition. Social media posts about the study left out information on the vaccines’ benefits and the rarity of the side effects.
How safe are the COVID-19 vaccines?
How safe are the COVID-19 vaccines?
More than half a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have now been administered in the U.S. and only a few, very rare, safety concerns have emerged. The vast majority of people experience only minor, temporary side effects such as pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, or muscle pain — or no side effects at all. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said, these vaccines “have undergone and will continue to undergo the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history.”
A small number of severe allergic reactions known as anaphylaxis, which are expected with any vaccine, have occurred with the authorized and approved COVID-19 vaccines. Fortunately, these reactions are rare, typically occur within minutes of inoculation and can be treated. Approximately 5 per million people vaccinated have experienced anaphylaxis after a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC.
To make sure serious allergic reactions can be identified and treated, all people receiving a vaccine should be observed for 15 minutes after getting a shot, and anyone who has experienced anaphylaxis or had any kind of immediate allergic reaction to any vaccine or injection in the past should be monitored for a half hour. People who have had a serious allergic reaction to a previous dose or one of the vaccine ingredients should not be immunized. Also, those who shouldn’t receive one type of COVID-19 vaccine should be monitored for 30 minutes after receiving a different type of vaccine.
There is evidence that the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines may rarely cause inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) or of the surrounding lining (pericarditis), particularly in male adolescents and young adults.
Based on data collected through August 2021, the reporting rates of either condition in the U.S. are highest in males 16 to 17 years old after the second dose (105.9 cases per million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine), followed by 12- to 15-year-old males (70.7 cases per million). The rate for 18- to 24-year-old males was 52.4 cases and 56.3 cases per million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, respectively.
Health officials have emphasized that vaccine-related myocarditis and pericarditis cases are rare and the benefits of vaccination still outweigh the risks. Early evidence suggeststhese myocarditis cases are less severe than typical ones. The CDC has also noted that most patients who were treated “responded well to medicine and rest and felt better quickly.”
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been linked to an increased risk of rare blood clots combined with low levels of blood platelets, especially in women ages 30 to 49. Early symptoms of the condition, which is known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS, can appear as late as three weeks after vaccination and include severe or persistent headaches or blurred vision, leg swelling, and easy bruising or tiny blood spots under the skin outside of the injection site.
According to the CDC, TTS has occurred in around 4 people per million doses administered. As of early April, the syndrome has been confirmed in 60 cases, including nine deaths, after more than 18.6 million doses of the J&J vaccine. Although TTS remains rare, because of the availability of mRNA vaccines, which are not associated with this serious side effect, the FDA on May 5 limited authorized use of the J&J vaccine to adults who either couldn’t get one of the other authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines because of medical or access reasons, or only wanted a J&J vaccine for protection against the disease. Several months earlier, on Dec. 16, 2021, the CDC had recommended the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna shots over J&J’s.
The J&J vaccine has also been linked to an increased risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks nerve cells. Most people who develop GBS fully recover, although some have permanent nerve damage and the condition can be fatal.
Safety surveillance data suggest that compared with the mRNA vaccines, which have not been linked to GBS, the J&J vaccine is associated with 15.5 additional GBS cases per million doses of vaccine in the three weeks following vaccination. Most reported cases following J&J vaccination have occurred in men 50 years old and older.
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COVID-19 vaccines — like all vaccines and other medical products — come with side effects, including serious side effects in rare cases. The vaccines were rolled out to protect people from a novel virus that has killed millions of people globally and would likely have killed millions more without the arrival of the vaccines. There is a broad consensus from experts and governmental health agencies that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the risks.
Researchers have scrutinized the COVID-19 vaccines’ safety and continue to do so. A study published Feb. 12 in the journal Vaccine reported on an international group of more than 99 million people who received COVID-19 vaccines, primarily finding links to known rare side effects. The study largely focused on the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which have been widely given in the U.S., as well as the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was never authorized in the U.S.
“What we take away, is that the Covid-19 vaccination campaigns have been very effective in preventing severe disease,” study co-author Anders Hviid, head of the department of epidemiology research at the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, told us in an email. “The few serious side effects that we have observed in this and other studies have been rare.”
Many popular posts on social media have shared results from the study, some lacking the context that the identified health problems are rare, that most aren’t new and that the vaccines have proven benefits. Various posts made unfounded claims, stating or implying that people should not have received the vaccines, that the risks outweigh the benefits or that the risk of the rare side effects is greater than was reported in the study.
“Hundreds of millions of people were used as lab rats and now the truth that WE ALL ALREADY KNEW can no longer be denied,” said one popular post, referring to the vaccines as “experimental” and “UNTESTED.” The post shared a screenshot of the headline of a New York Post article about the new study, which read, “COVID vaccines linked to slight increases in heart, brain, blood disorders: study.”
“This thing was forced on people who faced almost no risk from Covid,” said another widely read post. “It is completely unacceptable.” The post shared statistics from the paper without making it clear that serious health problems after vaccination were rare and that risk varied by vaccine type and dose.
The Vaccine study confirmed that the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines are linked in rare cases to myocarditis and pericarditis, conditions involving inflammation of the heart muscle and lining. The rate of myocarditis was most elevated after the second dose of the Moderna vaccine. Myocarditis risk — which is greatest in men in their late teens and early twenties — was identified via vaccine safety monitoring and first reported in 2021. Based on the current evidence, the CDC says, the benefit of vaccination outweighs the risk of these conditions, which improve for most people after medical treatment and rest.
The study confirmed neurological and blood clotting conditions associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. In the U.S., these problems were linked to the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, contributing to this vaccine no longer being recommended or available.
The study also identified a new possible safety signal indicating a potential link between the first dose of the Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines and rare neurological conditions. This included an association between the first doses of the vaccines and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, or ADEM, an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.
Hviid emphasized that the researchers only saw these neurological events after first doses of the two vaccines. “We did not see these signals following further doses of these two Covid-19 vaccines, nor did we see them after any dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine which has been more widely used,” he said.
“We are also talking about very rare events,” Hviid continued. “As an example, the association between the first dose of Moderna and acute inflammation of the brain and spine would, if causal, correspond to 1 case per 1.75 million vaccinated. It is only due to the sheer scale of our study, that we have been able to identify this minute potential risk.”
Study Bolsters the Evidence Serious COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects Are Rare
The Vaccine study drew on national or regional health records from eight countries with institutions participating in the Global Vaccine Data Network, an international group that studies vaccine safety. The researchers analyzed health outcomes after around 184 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, 36 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and 23 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Orathai / stock.adobe.com
The researchers focused on 13 health problems that either had a known association with vaccination or for which there was some rationale to investigate whether there was an association. To determine whether the health problems were associated with vaccination, they compared the expected rates of the health problems — or the number of health events that should occur based on background rates in the regions studied — with the number of events they observed in the 42 days after vaccination.
“This study confirms the primary already detected and validated side effects established by previous literature,” Jeffrey S. Morris, director of the division of biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, told us via email, referring to the rare heart conditions associated with the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, as well as the rare conditions associated with the AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson vaccines.
Morris said that findings on ADEM — the rare autoimmune neurological condition linked to first doses of the Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines — “might be a new safety signal.”
ADEM involves inflammation to the brain and spinal cord, arising most often in children following an infectious illness. It has a sudden onset and typically eventually improves, with a full recovery in many, although not all, cases.
After the first dose of the Moderna vaccine, researchers observed seven ADEM cases, when they expected two. As we’ve said, Hviid calculated the rate of this side effect — if ultimately shown to be related to vaccination — to be 1 in 1.75 million following the first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
The data show “this was indeed an EXTREMELY rare adverse event,” Morris said, referring to ADEM. “It is understandable at this incidence rate why it may not have been detected before now, and why a study with 99 million participants like this is important to find even the most rare serious adverse events that are potential minority harm risks of these vaccines.”
The authors of the study wrote that more research is needed into ADEM following COVID-19 vaccination, saying that “the number of cases of this rare event were small and the confidence interval wide, so results should be interpreted with caution and confirmed in future studies.” The authors also wrote that neurological events have been found to occur at a much higher rate after COVID-19 than after COVID-19 vaccination.
The study means that “early warning systems are solid,” said Marc Veldhoen, an immunologist at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes in Portugal, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “To avoid any adverse reaction is not possible, but, identifying those at higher risk may be possible.”
Identifying those at greater risk of side effects can help guide decisions on which vaccines to recommend and what problems doctors should watch for in their patients.
Editor’s note: SciCheck’s articles providing accurate health information and correcting health misinformation are made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation has no control over FactCheck.org’s editorial decisions, and the views expressed in our articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation.
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LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Joe Biden and Donald Trump easily won their party’s primaries in Michigan, but Tuesday’s results showed that both candidates have cause for concern in their bid to to win the swing state in November.
An “uncommitted” vote in Michigan’s Democratic primary was the first indication of how backlash over President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza might impact his reelection campaign. Trump won his primary by a large margin, but support for rival Nikki Haley once again showed that some Republican voters may have misgivings about giving the former president another four years in the general election.
Here are some takeaways from Michigan:
Michigan was the last major primary state before Super Tuesday, and both sides were watching closely for implications for the November general election in one of the few genuine swing states left in the country.
Biden has now cruised to victories over lesser known candidates in South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire, which he won in a write-in campaign. Tuesday’s results show that his standing is still strong in Michigan, which Biden returned to the Democratic column in 2020.
Trump has swept all five of the early state contests, including South Carolina, the home state of rival Haley. He now heads into Super Tuesday, when 15 states and one territory hold Republican nominating contests, as the overwhelming favorite to lock up the Republican nomination.
Michigan was one of three so-called blue wall states, including Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, that Trump won in 2016. He predicted a big win beforehand.
Just 16 of Michigan’s 55 Republican presidential delegates will be determined by the primary results, while the remaining delegates will be allocated during a March 2 convention. Trump’s anticipated dominance at the state convention, where grassroots activists will play a key role, will decide the allocation of the remaining 39 GOP delegates.
Michigan has become the focal point of Democratic frustration regarding the White House’s actions in the Israel-Hamas conflict. It has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the nation.
That anger came through loud and clear on Tuesday as some voters marked “uncommitted” on their ballot in the Democratic primary. Biden still dominated the primary, but the result could be a concern in a state he won by less than 3% in 2020 and likely can’t afford to lose this year.
Organizers of the “uncommitted” movement had purposely kept expectations low, having only seriously begun their push a few weeks ago. The “Listen to Michigan” campaign that organized the push said they were hoping for 10,000 votes, pointing to Trump’s win of less than 11,000 votes in 2016 to show the significance of that number.
When Barack Obama ran for reelection in 2012, the last time a Democratic presidential incumbent sought re-election, the “uncommitted” option received close to 21,000 votes — or 11 percentage points.
The “uncommitted” vote totals would need to be between 20 and 30 percentage points for Democrats to worry about their impact in November, said Richard Czuba, a pollster who has long tracked Michigan politics.
“Twenty percent gets my attention. If it rises to 25%, that gets a lot more attention and if it rises above 30%, I think that’s a signal that Joe Biden has pretty substantial issues in his base,” said Czuba.
Much of the “uncommitted” vote was expected to come from the east side of the state, in communities such as Dearborn and Hamtramck, where Arab Americans represent close to half of the population. Biden won Dearborn by a roughly 3-to-1 advantage in 2020 and Hamtramck by a 5 to 1 margin.
Despite Trump’s clear victory in Michigan, Haley still saw significant support from the swing state’s Republicans.
Some of her best results came in Oakland and Kent counties, where Democrats have been gaining ground in recent years, contributing to their recent statewide success. She also performed better in counties where the state’s largest universities are located, Washtenaw and Ingham counties.
Trump has dominated in primaries with help from his base but his strength among general election voters remains unclear. The former president has appeared in Michigan regularly in the eight years since he became president, while Haley only began stumping in the state over the weekend.
AP VoteCast reveals that a large portion of Trump’s opposition within the Republican primaries has come from voters who abandoned him before this year.
All three statewide Republican candidates that Trump endorsed in the 2022 midterms were crushed by Democratic incumbents.
Erik Thurston prepares ballots from a drop box for the sorting machines on Election Day at the King County Elections headquarters, Nov. 7, 2023, in Renton, Wash. The Washington state Senate has voted Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 to make harassing election workers a felony. The decision comes three months after several county election offices received envelopes containing suspicious powders and had to be evacuated. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, file)
By HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to make harassing election workers a felony, three months after four county election offices received envelopes containing suspicious powder — including three testing positive for fentanyl — and had to be evacuated.
“This cannot be something we take as normal,” Democratic Sen. Manka Dhingra said during the vote. “We have to make sure that our election workers are protected, that people who participate and engage in our democracy have faith that the system works well and that we don’t have bad actors that can actually disrupt vote counts.”
The bill is among a wave of legislation across the U.S. seeking to boost protections for these workers in the lead-up to the 2024 election amid an increasing number of threats some attribute to false claims by former President Donald Trump and his allies that the 2020 election was stolen.
Twenty-three states are considering bills addressing protections, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen. In Maryland, for example, lawmakers are considering legislation to enable authorities to prosecute people who threaten to harm election officials or their immediate family members.
The bill in Washington would increase the possible penalty for harassing an election worker in person or by mail from up to one year in jail to up to five years in prison. It would also give targeted workers the opportunity to join a program run by the secretary of state’s office designed to keep their address confidential.
The measure has already been approved by the House but will need to go back to that body for verification before heading to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk. Mike Faulk, spokesperson for the Democratic governor, said in an email that they haven’t reviewed the bill in detail but that Inslee is “generally supportive of efforts to protect our democratic process and the people who carry it out.”
Some Republican lawmakers pushed for the bill to include protections for election observers and people gathering initiative signatures.
“They are physically, I would say, unprotected,” Republican Sen. Keith Wagoner said during a vote on an amendment to protect people collecting signatures. “They’re not inside impressive looking buildings like some of our elected election folks are. They don’t have access to security, but they are vulnerable.”
The amendments were voted down, with Dhingra explaining that individuals collecting signatures are already protected under a harassment statute.
The legislation comes two years after the state made online harassment of an election worker a felony. Democratic Rep. Mari Leavitt, sponsor of the latest bill, said it will better align the punishment for in-person and virtual threats.
“Our election workers are unsung heroes,” she told The Associated Press. “They’re workers of democracy and we need to demonstrate to them that we value them and we want them to show up to work and feel safe, and this is one method to be able to do that.”
In November, four county elections offices in Washington were evacuated the day after election day after receiving envelopes with powder and a message that said, “End elections now.” Three tested positive for fentanyl, according to a spokesperson for the Washington secretary of state.
Linda Farmer, auditor for Pierce County, where one of the elections offices was evacuated, said she remembers over 100 workers being evacuated that morning and hazmat teams along with the FBI and fire department swarming the area, while paramedics made sure the staff member who opened the letter was safe.
“It was terrifying,” she said. “I was nauseous and really scared for the staffer who had opened the letter, but I put on a brave face for the staff.”
Actor Hill Harper, who left “The Good Doctor” and launched a Democratic bid for a Michigan Senate seat, argued that more Democratic lawmakers should be calling for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
“I’m very proud of being a Democrat, but our party’s gotten off course,” Harper said in an interview with Politico.
“Seventy-one percent of Michigan Democrats are in favor of a cease-fire. But an extremely small percentage of our establishment congressional members have called for a cease-fire,” he said of the ongoing war in Gaza. “My opponent in my Senate race has not.”
Harper announced his bid in November and is set to take on Rep. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) in the Democratic primary.
In the interview, Harper said he recently met with 14 Arab and Muslim leaders in Michigan. He urged them to vote for President Biden because if they don’t, “it’s literally supporting Trump.” He reported being told by many that people in their culture feel “that the Democratic Party has stabbed them in the back.”
The actor said that he wouldn’t “uniformly” support aid being sent to Israel for its war against Hamas because he doesn’t want the U.S. to be “in the business of funding violence.”
“So if further funding to fund a foreign war is going to create more death, then I’m not interested in that now,” he said. “But, I am interested in helping a democracy like Israel.”
“We’re allowing people to conflate the idea that you are anti-Israeli or anti-Jewish if you advocate for a cease-fire. It’s not true. Two things can be true at once,” Harper continued.
When Harper announced his bid, he said that he was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and owned a coffee shop in Detroit, which would make him the “only U.S. senator who is a current dues-paying, card-carrying union member” and “one of the very few small business owners” in the Senate, if elected.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino reveals the “Bump List”:
26 people selected by John Brennon and the CIA during the 2016 Election Cycle to “bump and target with Russian interaction and spying.” pic.twitter.com/SfZpjmbiGX
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, has urged Nigerian judges to uphold the law and pass verdicts against government actions that violate the constitution or harm the country’s advancement.
He made the call on Tuesday in Abuja while delivering a lecture titled “Strengthening the Synergy between the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary under the Rule of Law – Executive Perspective” at a refresher course for judges and Khadis at the National Judicial Institute.
The event was chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola.
Fagbemi said while the judiciary and legislature must reject attempts to frustrate the government, judges have a duty to rule against government overreach and excesses when warranted.
“It is my firm submission that the courts must continue to reject any attempt to be manipulated or employed by any individual or entity for personal benefit. In this regard, situations where private persons seeking to scuttle the government’s procurement procedures as provided in the procurement laws or other governmental processes, by approaching the courts to acquire spurious injunctions, should be rejected by the courts.
“On the other hand, the judiciary has the responsibility to pronounce on government processes or action(s) that are not in line with the law or in the interest of the advancement of society, thereby serving as a tool for socioeconomic Advancement,” said the AGF.
Fagbemi advised that the three branches of government must remain in their constitutionally defined roles to prevent arbitrary excesses by any one branch.
He said though their powers overlap at points, no single branch has absolute power.
“The need for synergy among the three arms of government cannot be over emphasized. All the arms of the government must see themselves as partners in progress. Without the synergy and cooperation, the vision of our constitutional democracy is hardly achievable.
“Each arm must do all that is lawful to enhance the operation of government and no act must be done to undermine the vision of government and Nigeria as a democratic entity.
“The constitutional powers of the three arms of government overlap in some cases and each of them connects with the others at various points,” Fagbemi was quoted as saying in a statement by his spokesperson, Kamarudeen Ogundele.
Fagbemi further noted that the judiciary is often called upon to adjudicate on the relationship between two or even all three arms of government but advised that all this must be done according to the rule of law.
“An independent and efficient court system is a cornerstone of the rule of law. Where the judiciary falters, that is a clear invitation to anarchy. This must never happen,” he said.
He urged lawmakers to work in such a way to help enhance the performance of the executive arm of government.
“This is so because virtually all the policies to be implemented by the executive in a democratic setting emanate from laws passed and/or to be passed by the legislature.”
“Therefore, it is in the best interest of the system for the legislature not only to pass such laws that would boost the work of the executive, but they must also initiate such developmental bill and where existing laws are constituting impediments, efforts at amending same to achieve better results must quickly be embarked upon and seen to conclusion in record time, it is only by so doing that the desired collaboration between both arms of government can be achieved,” he said, adding that his office is also available to address any lapses or other strategic issues that inhibit the judiciary from carrying out its constitutional functions.
Rule Against Govt Actions That Violate Law – AGF Tells Judges is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — It was a meaningful day around Giants camp, at least as far as these things go in spring training, where the games don’t count and the stats don’t matter. Some $160 million worth of newcomers made their much-anticipated debuts in black and orange.
“It’s very exciting,” manager Bob Melvin blurted at the mention of Jung Hoo Lee’s name Tuesday morning.
For the first time, Melvin wrote the name of the Giants’ biggest free-agent acquisition in the top spot of his lineup card. Occupying the bottom spot reserved for the starting pitcher, was another cause célèbre, Jordan Hicks, whose high heat lit up the Scottsdale Stadium radar gun for the first time, too.
It didn’t take long for either to show why they enticed the Giants to pay a nine-figure sum.
Backed into a two-strike count in his first at-bat, Lee slapped a single into right field, broke up a double play by bolting for second base, then scored without a throw when LaMonte Wade Jr. dropped a single into center field. It was the start of a five-run first inning that was capped by a grand slam from Patrick Bailey.
“After kind of a long wait, to be delayed a little bit, and to go up there and get a hit in his first at-bat, score a run, looked pretty good to me,” Melvin said afterward.
Nicknamed the “Grandson of the Wind,” it wasn’t just Lee who flew around the base paths. His helmet caught air, too.
Ha-Seong Kim, the last player to make a successful jump from Korea, apparently experienced the same issue. Lee is eagerly awaiting a custom model from the same company that outfitted Kim, so that the only thing moving around the bases is himself.
It didn’t take more than the naked eye to tell that Lee immediately became one of the quickest players on a team that stole the fewest bases in the majors last year. Belying his speed and nickname, though, Lee only swiped 69 bases in seven seasons, never more than 13 in one year.
“Until you really get him on the field and see what he can do, (you don’t know) what kind of havoc he can create,” Melvin said. “I think he’s kind of looking forward to being a little more aggressive on the bases. … He definitely has some speed. He had the ankle injury, and my understanding was last year they wanted him to be a little bit more careful. But from what we’ve seen there’s good foot speed, so we’re going to try to see what he can do.”
It wasn’t just Lee’s first game in the U.S., it was his first time on the field in seven months, since he injured his ankle last July.
His spring debut was delayed by tightness in his side, but Lee said he is “100%” recovered. He won’t play Wednesday against the A’s, Melvin said, but will be back atop the lineup Thursday.
The biggest question mark about Lee has been his ability to adjust to major-league pitchers, who throw harder and often with more movement than those in the KBO, which is generally considered about two levels below the majors.
He faced a stiff first test in George Kirby, the Mariners’ young ace who features six pitches and can crank his fastball into the upper 90s. (Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons paid a visit to camp Monday and mentioned Kirby as his favorite pitcher to watch in today’s game.)
“Personally I was satisfied,” Lee said of facing Kirby, with Justin Han interpreting from Korean. “He is a very known pitcher. I was at two strikes and thought let’s just make contact. … Talking about the fastball, for sure there is a difference. But I feel like the biggest difference will be the breaking ball speed. Compared to the KBO, the major leagues will be different.”
San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jordan Hicks throws to a Seattle Mariners batter during the first inning of a spring training baseball game Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Hicks debuts
Lee wasn’t the only one who noticed the radar gun.
“I think I was a little excited. I threw a little harder than I was expecting that first inning,” Hicks said following his first Cactus League outing. “Looked back at the radar and it said 99, 98, and I had only hit 97 in lives. … I was amped up a little bit, spraying some pitches, but overall I felt like I liked where my stuff was today.”
In fact, Hicks registered multiple readings of triple digits against the first batter he faced.
Throwing about 40 pitches over 1⅔ innings, Hicks used his heater, splitter and slider to record four strikeouts. However, he also walked a batter and served up a two-run homer to Mitch Garver, who swatted a low-and-inside offering over the visitor’s bullpen in left field.
“I thought he threw the ball well,” Melvin said. “His ball was sinking, running. Obviously one pitch ends up with two runs. We weren’t gonna pitch him past 40, so (that’s) the reason he came out with two outs in the second. But looked like he really settled in more in the second inning as far as strikes.”
The five-run first meant a lot of downtime in the dugout for Hicks, a quirk of being a starting pitcher that’s new to the former reliever.
When he came back out for the second inning, Hicks’ first fastball was 93 mph and he sat in the mid-90s but recorded two quick outs before bumping up against his pitch count. As he builds up from a reliever’s workload, the next step will likely be three innings and 45 pitches.
“I’m glad it happened in the first outing just to get my feet with it again, just that long sit,” Hicks said. “It was good to get that. I know it’s going to be part of the game. … I feel like that was a good workload. Obviously 30 in the first inning is not where I want to be. I was amped up a little bit, spraying some pitches, but overall I felt like I liked where my stuff was today.”
Notable
— OF Mike Yastrzemski (shoulder) will make his spring debut Wednesday at designated hitter, and RHP Spencer Howard will get the nod on the mound. Mason Black was moved up to start Monday in place of Tristan Beck (right hand discomfort), so Howard, a non-roster invitee, was chosen to fill the opening. “He’s got some experience,” Melvin said, “and we’re a little thin with our starters right now.”
From mundane moments to life’s greatest milestones, my affirmations for my daughter, Sasha, are an enduring prayer for her well-being. The thoughts and words are illuminated by our unbreakable bond of self-love, shared, and wellness.
For any Black woman who is a mother or daughter, I’m hoping you find resonance in my shared journey of unconditional love. Here’s a gift that will keep giving — my blueprint for navigating your life-long passages together.
1. Speaking of Love
For as long as I can remember, I’ve made it a habit to tell Sasha that I love her in a sing-song chant, regardless of where we are or what we’re doing — “I love my Sasha…I love my Sasha.” Even when she’s not physically near, I find myself verbalizing this love song, hoping that wherever she may be, she feels the warmth of my unconditional affection in her spirit. Here I tap into the scientifically-verification that repetitive messages powerfully seep into our unconscious mind.
Backing up words with actionis essential. I vividly recall a moment from Sasha’s childhood when she handed me a list of her needs with remarkable clarity and respect. The requests included: “Be a little bit more nice; Spend more quality time together;Try to listen to what I want for my room; and Be a good listener, please.”
Sasha’s list was my wake-up call to be more attentive and responsive to her emotional needs, leading me to adopt a gentler demeanor and prioritize quality time together. Being a single mom and newly stressed-out Legal Aid lawyer with a heavy caseload was no excuse to deny my then 9-year-old little girl a fully-present Mommy.
2. Loving Yourself Through Self-Care
In a candid exchange, Sasha, now 26, assured me that she feels deeply loved, particularly by me, contributing to her strong sense of self-love. Her daily self-care rituals include affirmations, morning meditation, exercise, reading, and setting healthy boundaries with others. Our conversation revealed how our relationship fosters love between us but also encourages our individual wellness and self-care.
3. Supporting Dreams
From encouraging Sasha’s interests in technology as a teenager to exposing her to various experiences without pressure, I’ve supported her dreams and fostered her personal growth. While I was never a helicopter mom, I was an invested Momager acting as a springboard for sound business advice and encouragement as her dreams manifested.
Striking this balance helped empower her to pursue her passions fearlessly on her own terms. For Sasha, this has led to remarkable educational and career achievements, inspiring her social justice initiatives that empower young women and girls.
4. Staying Connected
Despite living busy lives in different states, Sasha and I make a concerted effort to stay connected through daily phone calls, texting, and sharing humorous moments/stories. And when we get together, whether it’s trying new restaurants, binge-watching provocative films, taking brisk walks, or plotting our next adventure, our bond remains unwavering. It is strengthened by open and consistent communication.
5. Respecting Boundaries
This has also been crucial in maintaining a healthy relationship. Sasha’s understanding of my need as an introvert for solitude and recovery time speaks volumes about her consideration and respect for my well-being. And my awareness of when I am getting on her nerves by picking up mostly subtle cues is a must for me. I know when to back off.
6. Grounded Positivity
Sasha now works for a global company and is also the author of the best-selling children’s book, “Sasha Savvy Loves to Code.” We grabbed some quality time during her recent visit to Washington (in town to make a presentation to children at a local hospital). After hours on my couch, snacking and watching movies, it was time for her to head back home. Our farewell ritual — a super short hug and ungushy “goodbye”—reminded me of the unbreakable threads that bind us. We give more weight to “hellos” than “good-byes.” We remain grounded, rooted in love and positive outlooks.
Although my daughter and I have encountered and overcome many challenges, it’s never been a lonely journey. Whatever life’s uncertainties, we’ll face them together with the inner strength, spirituality, and the support of our loved ones and dear friends.
Tracy Chiles McGhee is the author of the acclaimed novel Melting the Blues and Constituency Engagement advisor for Unerased | Black Women Speak.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to be tweaking on some kind of drug during a recent interview — Alex Jones breaks it down!
Alex Jones reviews a recent MSNBC interview with Ukraine President Zelensky where he clearly demonstrates, yet again, that he is under the influence of some sort of drug.
