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Andrew Benintendi is focused on feel over results — and now the Chicago White Sox LF is ready to go ‘full throttle’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

Andrew Benintendi homered to right in his first at-bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday at Camelback Ranch.The trip around the bases was nice. But for Benintendi, the third at-bat of the day stood out when the Chicago White left fielder reached on a fielder’s choice on a ball fielded by shortstop Miguel Rojas.“My last at-bat was the bat I was most excited about, hitting a ball to the six-hole,” Benintendi said Saturday. “(Rojas) made a nice play.“That’s what I was trying to do. Focus on what I’m trying to do instead of results. Because if you chase results in spring training, it is just going to (tick) you off.”Benintendi said his swing “feels pretty good” as he ramps up for the season.“This spring more than others, I’m not really focused on results as much as feel,” he said. “I feel like I’m recognizing pitches, not getting fooled too many times.“(It’s) just stick with a...

Nonprofit works to improve maternal mortality rate nationwide

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

CHICAGO — A new report is sounding the alarm about maternal mortality in the U.S., especially for Black and Brown women. The report released by the CDC in 2021 showed that more than 1,200 people died of maternal causes in the United States. ‘I was too young to die.’ How research and funding can help pediatric cancer patients — and what more can be done The COVID-driven surge represents a 40% jump from the year before, including significant increases for Black and Hispanic Americans. The mortality rate was 2.6 times higher for Black women than for white women. Dr. Elizabeth Cherot with the March of Dimes says the number shows the crisis is worsening for the most vulnerable communities. "The disparities with black and brown women are just getting worse and that’s what’s really shocking," Cherot said. Preliminary numbers for 2022 suggest a return to pre-pandemic levels. Even before COVID-19, the U.S. had the worst maternal mortality rates compared to other wealthy countries. At a ro...

Spring finally arrives Monday, March 20 at 4:24 PM CDT

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

SPRING BEGINS AT 4:24 PM CDT TOMORROWHere’s what that means across the globeTEMPERATURE OUTLOOKSA dominant high-pressure system spanning from the south-central U.S. to the East Coast has ushered in a very chilly airmass from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast, which is likely to lead to widespread freezing temperatures across the Southeast on Monday morning. Low temperatures are forecast to dip into the low 30s and 20s across the Gulf Coast and Southeast. These temperatures equate to around 20 to 30 degrees below average compared to climatology for the date and could even break several daily low temperature records. Freeze Warnings have been issued and spread from eastern Texas to the Carolinas, including much of the Tennessee Valley and Deep South. Temperatures below the freezing mark could kill sensitive vegetation, as well as damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. As the high-pressure system gradually slides eastward on Tuesday, slightly warmer temperatures will surge northward throug...

'I loved it': SXSW wraps up 2023 conference and festival

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — No more red carpets, concerts and conferences until next year: South by Southwest came to an end Sunday. The closing barbecue and softball tournament concluded the ten day conference and festival with some good food and new connections. Read More from KXAN about SXSW 2023 "I get to network with artists from all over the world. Folks, I would never meet otherwise and from LA and the UK," said SXSW performer, Dionel Alvarez. Record breaking airport passengersAustin has gone from packed streets to now a packed airport. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport said three of the SXSW travel dates ranked in the top ten for record breaking days at AUS. 3 of top 5 record-breaking days at Austin airport happened during 2023 SXSW The busiest day had nearly 37,000 passengers. One of the people catching their flight back home was Nashville performer Lauren Rose. "Austin is such a weird town. I loved it," Rose said. "I think South by definitely kind of kicked my career into ...

Texas baseball notches 10th consecutive win, sweeps home series vs. New Orleans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns baseball team ran its winning streak to 10 games with a weekend sweep of New Orleans, capping it off with a 9-3 victory Sunday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.The Longhorns scored 27 runs against the Privateers, including a 15-1 win Saturday and a 3-1 win to open the series Friday. MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersOn Sunday, senior Eric Kennedy had a game most players only dream about at the plate. He smashed two home runs in his first two at-bats and then added a double later to finish 3-for-3 with 10 total bases. For the week, Kennedy was red-hot, hitting .555 with five home runs, two doubles, 10 RBIs and nine runs scored against New Orleans and North Dakota State. He's now hitting .376 for the season with a .753 slugging percentage.Dylan Campbell and Mitchell Daly also hit homers in the finale. Campbell's was a 3-run blast in the seventh ...

Austin to mark coldest spring equinox in 40 years on Monday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The chilly air that has settled into Central Texas to wrap up spring break looks like it will stay with us for the first day of spring.Looking back at data for Austin's Camp Mabry — a dataset that stretches back to 1898 — this could be one of the coldest spring equinoxes ever.The spring equinox doesn't always fall on the same day each year. While most of the time it's on March 20, it can also fall on March 19 or March 21.To figure out the coldest spring equinoxes ever, we had to look at the high temperature data for March 19-21 and cross check those days with the dates of the spring equinox.The coldest first day of spring had a high of 48º back in 1965 and 1970. Those were the only times spring has been in the 40s in Austin.We're currently forecasting a high of 58º this spring equinox, which would make it among the coldest equinoxes in recorded history.Coldest spring equinox in AustinThis would also mean that we're forecasting the coldest spring equinox since 1983 w...

Texas pitcher Estelle Czech flirts with no-hitter, Longhorns go 4-1 in south Florida

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (KXAN) — The Texas softball team wrapped up the South Florida Showdown with a 4-1 record, and if not for some bad luck against the hosts, it would have been a perfect weekend.A walk-off home run by South Florida shortstop Kathy Garcia lifted the Bulls to a 4-3 win in the Longhorns' second game on Friday at the tournament. After that, the Longhorns won three straight including a redemption game Sunday against the Bulls.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersIn the tournament finale against South Florida, Texas picked up a 6-1 win behind a great pitching performance by Estelle Czech. She went the distance and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before allowing a run on a pair of hits. She struck out five and walked one in 84 pitches while facing 24 hitters. Longhorns head coach Mike White said Czech, "was in control the whole day.""I thought (Estelle) was ju...

Six healthcare institutions devote a year to studying health and housing

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

Six of Minnesota’s largest health systems have dedicated some 30 administrative employees and financial and operational executives toward a joint year-long learning endeavor — probing the intersection of health and housing.It’s an unusual undertaking, but the inaugural Minnesota Healthcare Learning Cohort seeks to deepen growing research into “social determinants of health,” or the everyday aspects of modern living that steer some groups to healthier outcomes and hold others back. Research shows some 80% of health is linked to what happens outside of a doctor’s office or medical institution.The 30 fellows, drawn from wide-ranging departments such as operations, finance, community engagement, patient education and pediatric care, will weigh results from community investments and practices across the country surrounding affordable housing. They’ll convene in six half-day, full-day and two-day sessions between March 28 and Nov. 30.The cohort is...

Students urge UMN to better fund scholarship, Native American studies

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

Students and activists protested in the freezing cold to urge the University of Minnesota to follow through on promises to tribal communities. At the top of their list was an expansion of a tuition program that they say too few can access.“[It] is kind of frustrating and hard for the students that are here already and aren’t getting the support that we feel like we need,” said Laila Gourd, a sophomore from the Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota.A new tuition support program for the university’s campuses, including the Twin Cities, began last fall, but it has limits.The university’s Morris campus has had a full tuition waiver program for all American Indian students since its inception, as stipulated by federal legislation and Minnesota statute due to the site’s history as a former boarding school. In 2021, the university announced the Native American Promise Tuition Program to extend tuition support for Native students attending its four other campuses.At the time, Unive...

Hermann officer laid to rest, remembered as ‘the best friend anyone could ever ask for’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

OWENSVILLE, Mo. – It was a solemn farewell for a police officer who was killed in the line of duty. Hermann Detective Sgt. Griffith Mason Griffith was laid to rest Sunday, one week after he and his partner were shot while trying to make an arrest at a convenience store.Nearly 2,000 people filled the gymnasium at Owensville High School to pay tribute to Griffith, a husband and father to two sons.The service featured music and a series of speeches from friends and former colleagues, some providing a much-needed dose of humor. Top story: Remains in Crawford County possibly of woman missing since 2014 “Anybody that Mason knows, that he was one of the most un-athletic people that you will meet in your entire life. Not the first guy you’d pick first for dodgeball,” Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Stack said. “However, he was one of the most genuine people you’d ever meet. He was also the best friend anyone could ever ask for. He was fun to be around. The best example of a coun...