Astros win World Series, finishing Phillies with dramatic moonshot
With one mighty swing from Yordan Alvarez, the Houston Astros – after scandal, organizational tumult, free-agent defections and a maddening series of near-misses – returned to the baseball summit Saturday night, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in Game 6 of the World Series, earning their first championship since a now-sullied 2017 title. That electronic sign-stealing scandal threatened to frame every movement of the organization, and certainly its protagonists, in a disputed light. For some, that may always be the case. But rather than chafe at their detractors, or wallow in guilt, the Astros simply went back to the work of building and sustaining excellence. And in winning just the second championship in franchise history, they left no doubt.
Midterms: Trump, Obama, Biden hit the Pennsylvania campaign trail
Former PresidentBarack Obama campaigned with Democratic Senate hopeful John Fetterman at a Pittsburgh rally Saturday, the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor who represents his party’s best chance to flip a Republican-held seat. Obama and Fetterman appeared alongside President Joe Biden and gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro later in the day in Philadelphia. Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, was courting voters in the southwestern corner of the state with Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz and gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano. The Fetterman-Oz contest could well decide the Senate majority – and with it, Biden’s agenda and judicial appointments for the next two years.
👉 Mid-term updates: GOP says it will accept Election Day results; powder mailed to Kari Lake’s office investigated.
RealQuick
Aaron Carter, singer and reality TV star, found dead at 34
Singer Aaron Carter, who began performing as a child and had hit albums starting in his teen years, was found dead Saturday at his home in Southern California. He was 34. Representatives for Carter’s family confirmed the singer’s death to The Associated Press. Carter, the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, performed as an opening act for Britney Spears as well as his brother’s boy band, and appeared on the family’s reality series “House of Carters” that aired on E! Entertainment Television. In 2009, I competed on Season 9 of “Dancing With the Stars.” Carter’s fiancée, Melanie Martin, mother of his young son, asked for privacy as the family grieves.
Powerball jackpot grows to a record $1.9 billion
The world’s largest lottery prize is going to get bigger. After Saturday’s jackpot climbed to $1.6 billion – the largest lottery prize ever – with a cash option of $782.4 million, none of the tickets sold matched all six of the winning numbers drawn. The record-breaking jackpot is now expected to increase to $1.9 billion, holding a cash value of $929.1 million, Powerball announced. The next drawing is Monday at 10:59 pm ET. Even though there was no grand prize winner, 16 other tickets won million-dollar prizes by matching all five white balls. One ticket sold in Kentucky had the Power Play to win $2 million. In total, more than 10.9 million tickets won cash prizes totaling $102.2 million in Saturday’s drawing.
Blackouts hit Ukraine amid Russian strikes on energy infrastructure
While the heavy fighting in Ukraine is concentrated in the east and south, the capital of Kyiv in the northcentral region and its surrounding areas are subjected to a different kind of assault — one relying on suffering and disruption as weapons. Under duress because of Russian attacks that have destroyed 40% of the country’s energy infrastructure, Ukraine’s electricity operator has announced rolling blackouts for Kyiv and six other nearby regions, including Kharkiv. Power outages caused by Russia’s drone and missile attacks have affected 16 provinces and forced Kyiv officials to contemplate conducting mass evacuations. They plan to establish about 1,000 heating shelters but noted that may not be enough for the city’s 3 million people. Kyiv’s average temperatures in the winter range from the low 20s to the low 30s.
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Contributing: Associated Press
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism