Contreras launched a two-run shot in the second inning and finished with three RBIs. ST. LOUIS (AP) Willson Contreras homered against his former team and matched a career high with four hits, leading the Boston Red Sox past the St. Louis Cardinals 9-3 on Sunday. Trevor Story also had four hits for the Red Sox. Contreras launched a two-run shot in the second inning and finished with three RBIs. He was acquired by Boston from St. Louis in a December trade. Contreras singled in the third, fourth and seventh before popping out to left field in the ninth. It was his eighth career four-hit game and first since June 2023 with the Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs in London. Brayan Bello (1-1) allowed two runs and six hits over 6 2/3 innings in his 100th career start. Jordan Walker hit his major league-leading seventh home run in the second for St. Louis. Alec Burleson also went deep, but Andre Pallante (1-1) gave up seven runs and 10 hits in five innings. Jarren Duran lined a three-run double over Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II’s head and later scored in the fourth to put Boston ahead 7-1. Roman Anthony gave the Red Sox a 3-0 lead in the second when he drove in Trevor Story on a one-out, bases-loaded grounder to shortstop Thomas Saggese, who was forced to throw to first after Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt was tardy covering the bag at second. Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn missed his second consecutive game with a bruise below his left knee after he was hit by a pitch Friday night. Red Sox: Open a three-game series at Minnesota on Monday night when LHP Garrett Crochet (2-1, 3. 12 ERA) opposes Twins RHP Bailey Ober (1-0, 5. 27). Cardinals: LHP Matthew Liberatore (0-0, 3. 38 ERA) faces Cleveland RHP Gavin Williams (1-1, 2. 04) to begin a three-game home series Monday night.
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2026/04/12/contreras-and-story-each-get-4-hits-to-help-the-red-sox-beat-the-cardinals-9-3/
Author: admin
Pope Leo, President Trump at odds over immigration in U.S. and Iran war
In recent weeks, Pope Leo XIV has significantly sharpened his rebukes on the war in Iran, moving from prayers for peace to a rare condemnation, rebuking President Trump’s rhetoric. Shortly before the ceasefire was negotiated on April 8, Mr. Trump threatened to destroy Iranian civilization. Leo called the president’s comment “truly unacceptable.” He also issued a call to action. “Contact the authorities political leaders, congressmen to ask them, tell them to work for peace and to reject war always,” he said to journalists gathered at Castel Gandolfo, the papal retreat. The Iran conflict is not a just war, according to Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington. “The Catholic faith teaches us there are certain prerequisites for a just war,” McElroy said. “You can’t go for a variety of different aims. You have to have a focused aim, which is to restore justice and restore peace. That’s it.” Emergence of a moral voice for a ceasefire with Iran Mr. Trump has argued that military action against Iran was needed to destroy its nuclear and ballistic missile program, among other reasons. Iran has backed several terrorist organizations for decades. “It’s an abominable regime, and it should be removed,” McElroy said. “But this is a war of choice that we went into, and I think it’s embedded in a wider moment in the United States that’s worrying, which is this: We’re seeing before us the possibility of war after war after war.” Leo has been a prominent voice in calling for an end to the conflict in Iran since the war began in late February. “I am praying for peace, I hope that [a] ceasefire would be the most effective way to work together to find peace for all parties, to respect all parties and to come to a solution,” the pope told 60 Minutes last month, weeks before a ceasefire was reached last week. Leo usually avoids calling out the president or any member of his administration by name. But in a Palm Sunday homily, he appeared to reference the religious language of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who is Christian, but not Catholic. The pope warned that Jesus “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.” Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, takes issue with what he calls “the gamification” of how the White House has portrayed the war on social media. He’s called videos posted of bombings in Iran “sickening. We’re dehumanizing the victims of war by turning the suffering of people and the killing of children and our own soldiers into entertainment,” Cupich said. When asked, he acknowledged that some parishioners may not want to hear politics from their priests. “I say fine. I want to preach the gospel,” Cupich said. “God wants us to promote peace in the world because His desire is that we be one human family.” The Catholic Church and immigration Leo has also communicated through his actions on another Trump administration policy: mass deportations. When the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary on July 4, the first American-born pope will not spend this day in the U. S., but instead at a primary European entry point for migrants. With his July 4 plans, Leo is sending a message that “his top priority right now is to be with those who are downcast and marginalized,” according to Cupich. Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, this past January, called U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a “lawless organization. I didn’t say that they were people without law,” Tobin said. “But when people act in this way, when they have to hide their identities to terrify people, when they can actually violate other guarantees of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, well, I think somebody’s got to call that out and I’m not the only one.” In November, the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a rare and unified rebuke denouncing the “indiscriminate mass deportation of people.” The last time the bishops criticized the policy of a sitting president in a “special message” was 13 years ago, when they opposed an Obamacare mandate requiring employers to cover contraceptive care. McElroy said he believes in strong borders and felt immigration was “getting out of control” under the Biden administration. But he also doesn’t agree with the Trump administration’s policy. “This is a roundup of people throughout the country,” he said. “People who have been living good, strong lives, been here a long time, raised their children here, many of their children born here, and are citizens. That’s what our objection is.” While Catholic leadership is defending the rights of immigrants and calling for humane treatment, the majority of the Catholic population in the U. S. voted for Mr. Trump, who campaigned on cracking down on immigration and securing the border. He won 55% of the Catholic vote, according to a Pew Research survey of validated voters. However, Cupich, referring to mass deportations, said he thinks “it’s very clear the American people are saying, ‘We really didn’t vote for this.’I think Pope Leo wants to make the dream of Pope Francis a reality” Before his death last year, Pope Francis rebuked the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations. During his papacy, he also helped open up Castel Gandolfo which for 400 years has been the pope’s summer home to the broader public, creating a job training center on the land. It’s centered around migrants and locals in need, according to the Rev. Manuel Dorantes, a priest from Chicago and immigrant to the U. S. himself. “I think Pope Leo wants to make the dream of Pope Francis a reality,” Dorantes said. “After we explained the whole vision and talked with him, he said to us, ‘Full force ahead, Father Manny.'” At the same estate where Leo travels to rest every week, migrants and other vulnerable individuals will train each week in sustainable farming practices, gardening and cooking. The goal is to be able to train around 1, 000 people a year. “That doesn’t sound like a big number. But ultimately, it’s a model of how if every church did something like this, every diocese we have 6, 000 of them, you know that’s a lot of people we could train in a year,” Dorantes said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-leo-america-policies-60-minutes/
Judge told to reconsider security implications of halting White House ballroom
A federal judge must reconsider the possible national security implications of halting construction of President Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom, a federal appeals court ruled on Saturday. A three-judge panel from the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said it did not have enough information to decide how much of the project can be suspended without jeopardizing the safety of the president, his family or the White House staff. The case was returned to the trial judge, who, in a March 31 ruling, barred work from proceeding without congressional approval, but suspended enforcement of that order for 14 days. The appeals court extended that for three days, to April 17, to allow the Trump administration to seek Supreme Court review. The panel instructed U. S. District Judge Richard Leon to clarify whether and how his injunction interferes with the administration’s plans for safety and security. Government lawyers had argued that the project includes critical security features to guard against a range of possible threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards, and that holding up construction “would imperil the President and others who live and work in the White House.” Leon, in issuing the temporary pause, concluded that the preservationist group behind the legal challenge was likely to succeed because the president lacks the authority to build the ballroom without approval from Congress. Leon exempted any construction work necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House, but said he reviewed material the government privately submitted before determining that a halt would not jeopardize national security. The Republican administration’s appeal cited materials that would be installed to make a “heavily fortified” facility and said construction included bomb shelters, military installations and a medical facility underneath the ballroom. The appeals panel noted that much of the government’s concerns focused on that below-ground security work, which the White House argued was “distinct from construction of the ballroom itself and could proceed independently.” Now, however, the White House seems to suggest those security upgrades are “inseparable” from the project as a whole, the appeals court said, making it unclear “whether and to what extent” moving forward with certain aspects of the ballroom is necessary for the safety and security of those upgrades. Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said in a statement that the organization awaited further clarification from the district court. She said the group was committed “to honoring the historic significance of the White House, advocating for our collective role as stewards, and demonstrating how broad consultation, including with the American people, results in a better overall outcome.” The organization sued in December, a week after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing for a 90, 000-square-foot (8, 400-square-meter) ballroom that Trump said would fit 999 people. The administration said aboveground construction on the ballroom would begin in April. Leon concluded last month that the lawsuit was likely to succeed because “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have. The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!” wrote Leon, who was nominated by President George W. Bush, a Republican. Two days after Leon’s ruling, the ballroom project won final approval from a key agency that Mr. Trump had stocked with allies. Another oversight entity constituted with Trump loyalists had approved the project earlier this year. But the president had proceeded with the biggest structural change to the White House in more than 70 years before seeking input from the commissions. Mr. Trump says the project is funded by private donations, although public money is paying for the construction of underground bunkers and security upgrades. The three-judge appeals court panel was made up of Patricia Millett, Neomi Rao and Bradley Garcia. Millett was nominated by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Rao was nominated by Mr. Trump. Garcia was nominated by President Joe Biden, a Democrat. Rao wrote a dissenting opinion, which cited a statute that allows the president to undertake improvements to the White House. “Importantly, the government has presented credible evidence of ongoing security vulnerabilities at the White House that would be prolonged by halting construction,” Rao wrote, adding that such concerns outweigh the “generalized aesthetic harms” presented in the lawsuit.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-appeals-court-white-house-ballroom-construction-lawsuit/
Trump touts newly released plans for D.C. triumphal arch
President Trump on Friday unveiled official architectural renderings for the triumphal arch he plans to add to the National Mall in Washington, D. C. The proposed monument would stand at one end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge next to the Arlington National Cemetery. In addition to the president’s post on Truth Social, the plans were released by the Commission on Fine Arts, a federal agency that has review authority over the design and aesthetics of construction within Washington, D. C., and produced by Harrison Design, an architecture, interior and landscape design firm with offices in six U. S. cities, including D. C. The mockup shows a structure very similar to the 3D model that Trump touted at a fundraising dinner at the White House last October. At 250 feet tall, the overall height of the structure is intended to serve as, “a fitting recognition of America’s 250th birthday,” the White House said in an email to NPR. A monument aimed at honoring what and whom? The proposed arch bears a striking resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris though would stand almost 100 feet taller and is topped with two golden eagles and a winged, crowned figure reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty (which was gifted to the U. S. by France in 1884.) On one side, the words “One nation under God” appear, with the phrase “Liberty and justice for all” on the other. The structure would also loom over the nearby Lincoln Memorial at more than twice the height. “The Triumphal Arch in Memorial Circle is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D. C., but throughout the world,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle in an email to NPR. “It will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike, serving as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250 year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today. President Trump will continue to honor our veterans and give the greatest Nation on earth America the glory it deserves.” When asked by CBS political correspondent Ed O’Keefe whom the monument was intended to honor after Trump initially unveiled his plans in October, Trump responded: “Me.” The exchange was captured in a social media video. A group of Vietnam War veterans launched a lawsuit in February seeking to bar the Trump administration from constructing the arch. The plaintiffs argued the project violates statutes requiring express congressional authorization for the erection of commemorative works or any “building or structure” on federal park grounds in D. C., among other issues. “It’s textbook Trump,” said Sue Mobley, director of research at Monument Lab, of the proposed plans for the arch, in an interview with NPR. The nonprofit design studio based in Philadelphia reimagines public art and structures. “It has to be the biggest. That’s the authoritarian impulse.” Trump has repeatedly pushed back on accusations of authoritarianism, rejecting the label of dictator. Mobley added that she doesn’t think the plans will come to fruition. “It will likely get tied up in court,” she said. Approval process The White House said it will “follow all legal requirements” in constructing the triumphal arch. As part of that process, it mentioned the National Park Service’s recent request to present potential designs to the Commission on Fine Arts. The plans are scheduled to be reviewed next week. At this point, that commission is composed entirely of members appointed by Trump. (In October 2025, Trump took the unusual step of firing six sitting members of the commission.) The National Capital Planning Commission, the federal government’s central planning agency for the National Capital Region, is also expected to weigh in on the plans. The White House said the estimated cost of the project, which it anticipates will draw on a combination of public and private funds, is still being calculated. Harrison Design, the architecture firm behind the plans, did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for information about the price tag. Multiple D. C. makeover projects The arch plans are the latest in a series of current and potential architectural interventions from the White House in and around Washington, D. C. Most dramatically, the administration is pushing for the creation of a $400 million neoclassical ballroom at the White House. A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily allowed the construction of the ballroom to move forward while the administration challenges a March ruling that it required congressional approval. Whatever the outcome, the historic East Wing has already been demolished to make room for the new structure. Trump has converted the White House Rose Garden into a stone-covered patio. He aims to shut down The Kennedy Center for two years to facilitate a major renovation (a coalition of groups including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects, and the D. C. Preservation League, filed a lawsuit in the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia in March opposing the plans.) And he has proposed architectural changes to the Washington Dulles International airport through an initiative the Department of Transportation launched late last year to overhaul the Northern Virginia airport. Several prominent architecture firms including Zaha Hadid Architects and Adjaye Associates have submitted proposals. In August, the president also signed an executive order requiring that new federal buildings with construction budgets of more than $50 million be designed in “classical” or “traditional” styles. Anastasia Tsioulcas contributed to this story.
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/11/nx-s1-5782027/trump-triumphal-arch-plans-architecture
Invasive rodent plaguing California may have been deliberately released. Here’s the theory
State wildlife officials have finally come up with a theory to explain where a giant, highly destructive rodent that’s been terrorizing California came from: Oregon. Nutria, a creature with the body of a small beaver, webbed feet like a platypus, and the tail of a rat, reappeared in the state’s wetlands a few years ago, nearly four decades after it was considered eradicated. California has been battling the rodent ever since, and recent research by wildlife officials suggests the rodents’ sudden return may have been intentional. The study, released Tuesday by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, found that the state’s nutria populations share a close genetic match to nutria from Oregon. The distance between the states makes it near impossible for them to have migrated on their own, according to researchers, which means they were likely transported here intentionally. Researchers speculate that people may have brought the rodent to California as a natural remedy to battle overgrowing vegetation or simply because they liked them. The exact reason is unclear. Native to South America, nutrias were originally brought to the U. S. in the early 1900s to breed and reproduce for a fur trade that was never successful. The rodent was largely unseen until 2017, when a pregnant female was found in Merced County. Nutrias love the sun, and they reproduce rapidly in places with mild winters, according to wildlife experts. Today, they’re mostly found roaming marshes of the Central Valley, particularly around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. They can eat a quarter of their body weight in vegetation, burrow destructively and ravage waterways and ecosystems. Researchers say the animal is a threat to the state’s agriculture and water supply. Since 2017, the Department of Fish and Wildlife has removed 7, 841 nutrias by trapping them or releasing other sterilized nutria back into the wild with tracking devices.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-10/invasive-rodent-plaguing-california-may-have-been-deliberately-released-heres-theory
Artemis II does for our era what Apollo 8 did for 1968
Millions in the streets. An unpopular war. Violence. And in the middle of all that: a moonshot. The parallels between today and 1968 are eerie. Nearly 60 years ago, civil rights marches and anti-Vietnam-war rallies burst across the country. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. Police beat protesters outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. A congressional committee stated that “the mental picture that many foreigners have of our nation is increasingly that of a violent, lawless, overbearing, even sick society.” At year’s end, fearing that the rival Soviet Union would launch a cosmonaut to the moon, the U. S. sent its first crew there. The daring Apollo 8 mission was only the second time humans had flown the spacecraft and the first time they had journeyed to another object in our solar system. Orbiting the moon on Christmas Eve, the astronauts read from the opening of Genesis on live television. One woman wrote NASA that the mission had “saved” 1968. That message was underscored by the iconic color “Earthrise” photo. The poet Archibald MacLeish also wrote a front-page New York Times essay, saying we are all “brothers who know now they are truly brothers.” Today, “No Kings” protests draw huge crowds to oppose President Trump, standing up against masked federal agents abducting people; the illegal surprise attack on Iran; corruption; and inflation. Americans have been killed by ICE in full view of cameras, and twice in the last two years would-be assassins have gone after Trump himself. And then came our era’s moonshot, Artemis II, whose four astronauts have returned safely to Earth after a lunar flyby, the first time humans have been in the vicinity of the moon since 1972. This week commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover (a Southern California native), mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian mission specialist Jeremy Hansen traveled 252, 756 miles from Earth the farthest any humans have ever been. A cynic might say, given the state of Earth, perhaps they should have stayed up there. But astronauts are anything but cynical. A nearly flawless test mission of the Orion capsule well, there were toilet problems unfolded from a literally brilliant launch to the stately splashdown. On Tuesday, more than 600, 000 people watched the NASA YouTube channel as the crew saw the moon as it truly is, a sublime, wild, awesome place as Koch put it, “not just a poster in the sky.” She offered metaphor after metaphor, bringing the moon into focus, noting that bright, small craters dotted the surface like “a lampshade with tiny pinprick holes and the light shining through.” Wiseman compared huge gorges to how water looks draining off a Grand Canyon cliff. Glover saw darkness so intense he imagined falling through “to the middle of the moon.” More domestically, Hansen saw a brownish area and compared it to “a piece of pie.” This is not breathlessness or frivolity. As Koch said, the moon is “a real place.” We need to know it as such, and as a human symbol, while we aim for future flights. Compare this eloquent, science-based and culturally respectful enthusiasm to Apollo 8’s negative reactions. The moon was not, in the words of commander Frank Borman, “a very inviting place to live or work.” The astronauts who just came back from there would disagree though their love of Earth shone through too. I was also moved by the kinship of the Artemis II fliers. I’ve never seen astronauts smile and laugh as much as this crew did. I’ve never seen astronauts cry in space. When Hansen proposed naming a crater Carroll, after Wiseman’s late wife, he choked up. So did I. All four hugged and wiped tears from their eyes. This may have been Artemis II’s Apollo 8 moment: In 1968, the crew read an origin story from an ancient text. In 2026, the crew used the name of a loved one to mark the moon. Both gestures captured human hearts. “We love you from the moon,” Glover said. Koch added, “We will always choose each other.” Artemis II sets the stage for a new era of lunar exploration, science and possible commerce. With the discovery of water ice at the lunar poles, humans can tap that material to understand the history of our solar system and the development of conditions that led to life like us and project that understanding to exoplanets around other stars. Back on Earth, the chaos of the antiscience Trump administration led to the release during Artemis! of a proposed nearly 50% cut to NASA science. A similar cut was defeated last year and will again galvanize strong opposition. We are these days quite present with doom. There is so much to be done, to be set against and to work for. We need to embrace the wonder and care embodied in Artemis II, remembering what backup astronaut Jenni Gibbons said of her own work. She didn’t fly but was still on a “shared mission.” So are we: We’re all crewmates on a shared mission.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2026-04-10/artemis-ii-moon-american-space-program-nasa-apollo-8
NASA crew on any concerns about Artemis II reentry: “We’ve done our homework”
The Artemis II crew is set to splash down on Friday, plunging through the atmosphere at temperatures half as hot as the sun’s surface.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/nasa-crew-any-concerns-artemis-ii-reentry-weve-done-our-homework/
‘Thanks to the lady on 8’: Xander Schauffele saves par after ball lands in fan’s bag at Masters
Xander Schauffele made par on the eighth hole Thursday at Augusta National. What was noteworthy about that accomplishment is he did it after his tee shot landed in a most unusual spot: A fan’s merchandise bag. During the opening round of the 2026 Masters tournament, Schauffele’s shot on the par-5 hole sailed just left of the fairway and somehow came to rest inside a woman’s clear plastic shopping bag, which appeared to be sitting on the ground. Spectators chuckled as Schauffele and an official made their way to the bag and located the ball within it. After Schauffele used a tee to mark the ball’s location on the ground, he retrieved the ball and returned the bag to its owner. He was able to continue play without penalty. “It just flew straight into the bag,” Schauffele said after finishing his round with a 2-under 70. “It was a great break. That bounce would’ve put me in the pine straw and who knows if I would’ve had a shot to hit up the hill.” “So thanks to the lady on 8,” added Schauffele, the two-time major championship winner whose best Masters finish was a tie for second in 2019. No doubt, Schauffele got lucky but not as lucky as Louis Oosthuizen in the final round of the 2016 Masters. Oosthuizen sent his tee shot on the 16th to the green, where the ball collided with that of J. B. Holmes, changed direction and rolled in for a hole-in-one. Schauffele’s shot also brings to mind another, perhaps even more bizarre, play from the first round of the 2021 Masters. Playing from partially behind a tree on the seventh hole, Rory McIlroy missed the right side of the fairway with a high shot that ricocheted off the back of his father’s leg on the way down. Luckily, Gerry McIlroy was unharmed. His son, however, bogeyed that hole on his way to a 4-over 76 for the round.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2026-04-09/xander-schauffele-masters-ball-lands-fans-bag-augusta-national
NASA releases more dazzling photos, moonshots from Artemis II
The crew of Artemis II is once again in the pull of Earth’s gravity on Wednesday as their capsule speeds at 2, 000 miles an hour toward a splashdown off Southern California. Mark Strassmann has the latest from mission control in Houston and Rob Marciano tracks the weather ahead of their return.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/nasa-releases-more-dazzling-photos-moonshots-artemis-ii/
Masih Alinejad says Iran ceasefire is not real: “A wounded regime is like a wounded animal”
The U. S., Israel and Iran have begun a fragile two-week ceasefire in the Middle East. CBS News contributor and Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad joins with analysis.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/masih-alinejad-iran-ceasefire-not-real-wounded-regime-animal/